Bygone Beliefs: Being a Series of Excursions in the Byways of Thought — Background and Themes

Magic as a Lens for Science

Redgrove draws a provocative parallel between magical thinking and inductive reasoning. He quotes Cornelius Agrippa on the 'attracting of like by like' and suggests that the magical worldview sees causation as 'essentially spiritual,' with physical events as symbols of deeper realities. Rather than dismissing this as irrational, Redgrove argues that modern science also rests on unexamined assumptions—such as force and motion—that ultimately lead into 'the psychical or spiritual world.' The term 'magic' becomes significant, he claims, when we ask why phenomena occur at all.

This section challenges the reader to reconsider the boundary between science and philosophy. Redgrove does not claim that magic is science, but that both share a foundation in experience that cannot be fully explained. The essay on 'The Magic of Experience' (which he references) apparently develops this idea further, though the excerpts only hint at its content.

Symbolism in Architecture and Art

In the chapter on architectural symbolism, Redgrove proposes a criterion for distinguishing art from craft: craft aims at physical utility, while art aims at spiritual utility. He notes that modern architecture, which creates 'dwelling-houses, factories, and even to a large extent our places of worship,' is often 'pure craft unmixed with art.' This observation reflects his broader concern that contemporary society has lost touch with the symbolic dimension of experience.

Redgrove previously argued in an essay 'On Symbolism in Art' that a true work of art is 'at once realistic, imaginative, and symbolical,' making manifest the spiritual significance of natural objects. He acknowledges that many artists may disagree with him, but he offers this framework as a way to evaluate the deeper purpose of creative work. The connection to his main theme is clear: just as bygone beliefs saw the world as a web of symbols, so too can art reveal the spiritual truths hidden in everyday life.

The Debt to the Cambridge Platonists

Redgrove singles out the Cambridge Platonists as representing 'the highest phase' of bygone thought, to which the modern world may be 'completely debtor.' This group of seventeenth-century philosophers emphasized reason and spirituality, opposing both materialism and religious enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the excerpts do not include the full essay, so Redgrove's specific arguments about their ideas remain unclear. However, his mention of them suggests that he sees their work as a bridge between medieval symbolism and modern philosophy.

The preface warns that the excursions are uneven in treatment—some byways are examined in detail, others only glimpsed. This essay may be one of the latter, but its inclusion signals Redgrove's interest in traditions that harmonize reason with spiritual insight. The reader should expect a sympathetic but critical analysis, grounded in the texts of the Platonists themselves.

Redgrove's excursions reward a patient reader willing to follow his winding paths. He does not provide a systematic history of occult thought, but rather a series of reflective essays that invite comparison between past and present. The book is best approached as a philosophical meditation on the persistence of wonder in human reasoning. Readers interested in the history of science, religion, or esotericism will find much to ponder, especially in the connections Redgrove draws between alchemy, art, and the limits of scientific explanation.