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The Writings of Maurice Nicoll: Context, Method and Sources

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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Maurice Nicoll and the Kingdom of Heaven: a study of the psychological basis of ‘esoteric Christianity’ as described in Nicoll’s writings JOHN PATRICK WILLMETT This is a thesis submitted in compliance with the regulations for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh 2017 1 The University of Edinburgh A Thesis submitted in compliance with the regulations for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh Abstract Maurice Nicoll and the Kingdom of Heaven: a study of the psychological basis of ‘esoteric Christianity’ as described in Nicoll’s writings JOHN PATRICK WILLMETT Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953) was a Harley Street doctor, an analytical psychologist trained by C. G. Jung (1875-1961), and a student of the independent ‘spiritual’ teachers G. I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949) and P. D. Ouspensky (1878-1947). In his later years he became a mystical philosopher, a biblical exegete, and leader of his own groups of students. Early in his life he rejected his natal Christian religion associated with his father, Sir William Robertson Nicoll (1851-1923), eminent litterateur and Free Church of Scotland minister. Vindication of this rejection came to Maurice Nicoll through a mystical experience: a ‘moment of insight’ which propelled him into a life-long search to discover what ‘really mattered’. I will argue that although this apparently involved a journey away from his natal Christian practice, Nicoll came to understand that he was working towards a ‘truer’ form of it. Nicoll’s oeuvre as a whole – published works as well as archival sources, including a large amount of recently discovered original material – will be analysed to show the development of his thinking on what he came to call ‘esoteric Christianity’. After a biographical ‘portrait’ the start of Nicoll’s journey will be presented as a reaction against the religious stance of his father. Maurice Nicoll’s early ‘moment of insight’ is described and analysed in the light of the ideas of William James (1842-1910) on mystical experience. Following this Nicoll’s first book, Dream Psychology (1917), an interpretation of the views of Jung which demonstrates clearly the early formative influence of Jung on Nicoll is treated. I then turn to Living Time (1931), in which Nicoll integrates Ouspenksy’s ideas on time and higher dimensions into his own psychological system. Following the influence of Jung and early Ouspensky, Nicoll’s next work reveals the influence of the system of ideas and practices known as ‘the Work’ taught by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, which Nicoll encountered at first hand in Gurdjieff’s colony near Paris and subsequently at Ouspensky’s classes in London. The Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky (1957) was compiled from notes used by Nicoll in teaching his groups his own version of ‘the Work’ from 1931. However, the completion of Nicoll’s quest for an understanding of ‘esoteric Christianity’, it will be argued, is documented in his two mature texts, The New Man (1950) and The Mark (1954). These books analyse New Testament writings in the light of influences partly absorbed from Jung, but most centrally from Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. In these books Nicoll interprets the narrative theology of the New-Testament texts in terms of a form of ‘esoteric psychology’, encapsulating his vision of how ‘the Kingdom of Heaven’ is really to be understood: not in terms of a life after death, or a millennial restoration of Christ’s Kingdom, but as the psychological development and fulfilment of the individual in this life. It is argued that this ‘esoteric psychology’ is Nicoll’s version of the psychology he saw as underlying the Gurdjieff-Ouspensky system, but given an explicitly Christian locus and interpretation. In conclusion some reflections are made on the significance of understanding Nicoll’s writings as ‘esoteric Christianity’ and their implications for contemporary religious thought. 2 The University of Edinburgh A Thesis submitted in compliance with the regulations for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh Lay Summary Maurice Nicoll and the Kingdom of Heaven: a study of the psychological basis of ‘esoteric Christianity’ as described in Nicoll’s writings JOHN PATRICK WILLMETT Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953) was a Harley Street doctor, an analytical psychologist trained by C. G. Jung (1875-1961), and a student of the independent ‘spiritual’ teachers G. I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949) and P. D. Ouspensky (1878-1947). In his later years he became a mystical philosopher and leader of his own groups. Nicoll’s rejection early in life of the Christian religion associated with his Free Church of Scotland Minister father, Sir William Robertson Nicoll (1851-1923) was vindicated by a mystical experience in his teens that led him to undertake a life-long search to find what ‘really mattered’. This led him first away from his natal Christianity practice and then eventually back to what he came to see as a ‘truer’ form of it. Nicoll’s oeuvre – published and archival, including a large amount of recently discovered original material – will be analysed to show the development of his thinking on what he came to call ‘esoteric Christianity’. Dream Psychology (1917), an interpretation of the views of Jung, Living Time (1931), the integration of Ouspensky’s ideas on time and the fourth dimension into his own psychological thinking, The Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky (1957), a compilation of notes used by Nicoll in teaching his own version of ‘the Work’ to his groups, and Nicoll’s two mature texts, The New Man (1950) and The Mark (1954), analysis and interpretation of New Testament writings in the light of influences absorbed from Jung, but most centrally from Gurdjieff and Ouspensky will be described and analysed. Nicoll’s view is that the narrative theology of the New-Testament texts, a form of ‘esoteric psychology’, encapsulates his vision of how ‘the Kingdom of Heaven’ is to be understood. Neither life after death, nor a millennial restoration of Christ’s Kingdom, it is the psychological development and fulfilment of the individual in this life. This esoteric psychology, it is argued, is Nicoll’s version of the psychology he saw as underlying the Gurdjieff-Ouspensky system, but given an explicitly Christian locus and interpretation. In conclusion some reflections are made on the significance of understanding Nicoll’s writings as ‘esoteric Christianity’ and their implications for contemporary religious thought. 3 I hereby certify that this thesis is my own unaided work. Any citation of the work of others, either directly or in paraphrase, is duly acknowledged. John Patrick Willmett 4 Maurice Nicoll and the Kingdom of Heaven: a study of the psychological basis of ‘esoteric Christianity’ as described in Nicoll’s writings Contents Abstract Page 2 Lay Summary Page 3 Contents Page 5 Preface: personal involvement: a reflexive introduction Page 6 Introduction Page 11 Chapter 1: The writings of Maurice Nicoll: context, method and sources. A biographical portrait Page 17 Chapter 2: ‘The Religion of my Father’. Nicoll’s early ‘mystical’ experiences Page 63 Chapter 3: Psychological training with C. G. Jung Page 88 Chapter 4: ‘Living Time’: a response to P. D. Ouspensky Page 135 Chapter 5: Nicoll’s view of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky’s teaching of ‘the Work’ Page 177 Chapter 6: ‘The New Man’ and ‘The Mark’: Nicoll ‘comes home’ to Christianity Page 211 Conclusion: On the Psychological Basis of ‘esoteric Christianity’: a recapitulation Page 262 Bibliography Page 275 5 Preface: personal involvement: a reflexive introduction1 When the present writer says he is writing a dissertation on Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953), this usually draws a blank stare. Further elucidation, that Maurice was the son of Sir William Robertson Nicoll (1851-1923) evinces recognition from those who move in literary or end-of-nineteenth-century theological (especially Scottish) circles; the names Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (whose ‘disciple’ Nicoll was) draw either blank looks, or limited recognition from those familiar with New-Age Religion. But sometimes there is an immediate response as, for instance when the 'I don't expect you've heard of him' line evinces the answer; ‘we are members of the Gurdjieff Society and know the writings of Maurice Nicoll well’. Though this makes me feel grounded in a reality others share, it also shows Gurdjieff’s world to be rather elusive and esoteric. After a conventionally Christian upbringing I was led by an interest in the myths and legends underlying Wagner’s operas to read the works of C. G. Jung. Given as a parting gift from a fifteen- year schoolboy In Search of the Miraculous, [Ouspensky’s theoretical presentation of the ideas underlying the path of personal development Gurdjieff calls ‘the Fourth Way’], reading it but not understanding its significance, I was, nevertheless, thanks to the influence of Jung, opened to one of those [synchronous] accidents that determine life.
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