In the Westminster Abbey composition, published in "The New Age" in 1910,
the characteristics of four personalities are plainly manifest--Coleridge,
Milton, Shelley and Shakespeare--and I have not forgotten the sensation
caused by this great work in London at the time of its appearance.
Having had occasion to study the social and psychic conditions in France,
Germany, Italy, Austria and England before the great war, and after having
been an eye witness of scenes unique in the annals of musical inspiration
in the artistic and literary circles of Europe as well as the most
intellectual of the royal courts, in which Mr. Grierson was the central
figure, I now have a better understanding of the work he accomplished and
its far-reaching import. The more complex the work the longer must be the
preparation, and we are now confronted with what will appear to many as
the most interesting phase of Mr. Grierson's psychic gifts, for the seer
who ushered in the new mystical movement by the publication of "Modern
Mysticism" in 1899 is now the recorder of messages which must induce
thinking and unprejudiced minds to pause and consider such matters in a
new light, and it is to be hoped that many more messages like these may
be recorded by the same hand.
As I write, I have before me a unique collection of letters written to Mr.
Grierson by men and women eminent in philosophy, art, music, literature
and journalism, in Europe and America. Among the letters that Mr. Grierson
values the most in this remarkable album are eight from members of the
French Academy, with Sully Prudhomme, winner of the first Noble Prize,
heading the list. Which reminds me that I heard him say one evening in
Paris, after hearing Mr. Grierson's music: "You have placed me on the
threshold of the other world. There are not words in the French language
to express what I have felt tonight!" Up to that moment the famous
Academician had been known as an avowed agnostic.
Maeterlinck writes that the first Grierson volume (in French) influenced
him more than any book he had ever read. There are four letters from the
Belgian mystic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account