c A BIOGRAPHY OF MIRCEA ELIADE'S SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT FROM 1917 TO 1940 by Dennis A. Doeing Thesis presented to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in Religious Studies 0O*BIBf/ v [Ml UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA OTTAWA, CANADA, 1975 0 L.BRAKttS A CjD.A. Doeing, Ottawa, Canada, 1975 UMI Number: DC53829 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform DC53829 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am very grateful to Dr. Reinhard Pummer, of the Department of Religious Studies of the University of Ottawa, who provided direc­ tion for this research. His insistence on exactness and coherency led to many revisions in the text, and his valuable comments helped me to realize the purpose and extent of this work. I am further indebted to Mr- Georges Tissot, of the University of Ottawa, and to Dr. Edward Zimmermann, of Ganisius College in Buffalo, for sug­ gestions concerning the general style and readability of the dis­ sertation. I extend appreciation to the government of Romania and to the Director of the Biblioteca Academiei R.S. Romania, Bucharest, for permission to research documents which were not obtainable elsewhere and some of which were deteriorated and partially des­ troyed. A word of thanks is given to the personnel of this out­ standing library for their assistance and good will. I also acknowledge, without naming, a Romanian friend who helped me in Romania to find and procure most of the original volumes of Eliade's work before 19^0. Finally, I express my admiration for Mircea Eliade himself, who clarified certain points of the thesis and corrected the bibli­ ography where necessary. CURRICULUM STUDIORUM Dennis A. Doeing was born July 23» 19^5» in Niagara Falls, New York. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Immaculate Conception Seminary, Conception, Missouri, in 1968. He received the Master of Arts degree in Mission Studies from the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, in 1970. The title of his thesis was "Symbol, The Transmission of Religion". He also studied at the Gregorian University, Rome, Italy. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page CODE vi BIOGRAPHICAL DATA x INTRODUCTION xii I. ADOLESCENCE 1917-1924 1 1. Romania 1 2. Lycee 8 3. Nostalgia 16 II. SPIRITUAL ITINERARY 1925-1928 22 1. University and Travels 22 2. The New Man 33 3. Complexity of the Spirit 38 4. A Synthetic Method 44 5« Adventure and the Absolute 54 6. The Hostility of Time 60 III. INDIAN ADVENTURE 1929-1931 65 1. Impressions and Attitudes 67 2. Personality Crises 83 3» Self and Universals 91 4. Yoga Techniques of Synthesis 99 A. Negation and Coincidence 107 B. Homologation and Unification 109 C. Transcendence and Transformation 111 5. Indian Education 112 6. The Passing of Time 117 IV. EDUCATOR 1932-1934 124 1. Activities and Publications 125 2. The Tragedy of Impersonality 132 3. A New Humanism 137 4. A New and Creative Method 143 5. Techniques of the New Method 148 6. Lost Time 151 TABLE OF CONTENTS v . "SCIENCE" OF RELIGION 1935-1940 156 1. Pursuits and Controversy 157 2. The Human Condition 164 3. The Imitation of Great Models 169 4. A Revolutionary Method 182 5« Structure of the Revolutionary Method 188 A. Traits and Archetypes 190 B. Rituals and Myths 198 C. Signs and Symbols 204 6. A Study of Time 209 . RECAPITULATION: ADVENT OF THE NEW MAN 216 1. Religion, Science, and the New Man 216 2. The New Man and the History of Science 225 3« The Threshold of Time 233 CONCLUSION 239 BIBLIOGRAPHY 245 CODE Note that code letters which are followed only by title, place of publication, and date refer to periodicals in which Eliade's articles appear. A particular article in question, that is from the text of the dissertation, can be found in the BIBLIOGRAPHY by looking in section B. ARTICLES BY ELIADE under the date of the periodical and then its title, as indicated by the code letters. Most of the other code letters refer to Eliade's books which can be found in section A. BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS BY ELIADE under the date of the book and then its title, as indicated by the code letters. The few remaining code letters refer to works which are located in other appropriate sections of the BIBLIOGRAPHY. A Amintiri; I. Mansarda (Colecjia Destin) Madrid, Destin, 1966, 176 pp. AA Alchimia Asiatica. Bucharest, Cultura Poporului, 1935, 76 pp. AL Adeverul Literar gi Artistic. Bucharest, 1926-?. AR Arena. London, 1963 Zsee 19537* AZ Azi. Bucharest, 1932-4. B Buletinul Bibliotecii Romane. Freiburg, 1955* C Cuvantul. Bucharest, 1926-34, 1938. CA Cosmologie si alchimie babiloniana. Bucharest, Vremea, 1937, 135 PP. CODE vii CD Caete de Dor. Paris, 1953~5. I960. CL Comentarii la Legenda Megterului Manole. Bucharest, Publi- com, 1943, 144 pp. CO Comprendre. Paris, 1951. CR Criterion. Bucharest, 1935' CS Cuvantul Studenjesc. Bucharest, 1927, 1936. DI Discobolul. Bucharest, 1933• F Fragmentarium. Bucharest, Vremea, 1939* 160 pp. FA Familia. Bucharest, 1934-6. FR Fiinja RomaneascS. Paris, 1966. G Gandirea. Bucharest, 1927~30. GE Godel, R., Essais sur 1'experience liberatrice, pref. by M. Eliade (Les Essais, 54) Paris, Gallimard, 1952, 342 pp. HS Ha§deu, B.P., Scrieri literare. morale gi politice. ed. with notes by M. Eliade, Bucharest, Fundajia Regala pentru Literatura §i Arta, 1937, 2 vols. I India. Bucharest, Cugetarea, 2nd ed., 1935» 280 pp. IA Isabel gi apele Diavolului. Bucharest, Najionala Ciornei, 1930, 237 PP- IE Insula lui Euthanasius. Bucharest, Fundajia Regala pentru Literatura §i Arta, 1943, 381 pp. IR Ionescu, N., Roza Vanturilor. ed. with afterword by M. Eliade, Bucharest, Cultura NaJionalS, 1936, 450 pp. J Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art. Calcutta, 1937. L Lumina ce se stinge. Bucharest, Cartea RomaneascS, 1934, 415 PP- M unpub. Romanian manuscript, written c. 1970. A sequel (chapter 10) to Amintiri (A). CODE viii MD Myths. Dreams and Mysteries, trans, by P. Mairet, London, Collins Fontana Library ed., 1968, 256 pp. MG ^'La me'thode de Roger Godel, " in Roger Godel. de I'humanisme a l'humain. Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1963, pp. 99-105. MM Mesterul Manole. Bucharest, 1939. MR Mitul ReintegrSrii. Bucharest, Vremea. 1942, 109 pp. 0 Oceanografle. Bucharest, Cultura Poporului, 1934, 304 pp. OR Os Romenos. Latinos do Oriente. trans, by E. Navarro (Col- lecgao Gladio, 12) Lisbon, Livraria Classica, 1943, 95 pp. Q The Quest. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1969, 180 PP. R Revista Fundajiilor Regale. Bucharest, 1934-40. RL Romania LiterarS. Bucharest, 1933* RR Ricerche Religiose. Rome, 1930, 1932. RU Revista UniversitarS. Bucharest, 1926. S Shamanism. Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, trans, by W.R. Trask (Bollingen Series, 76) N.Y., Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1964, 634 pp. SA gantier. Bucharest, Cugetarea, 1935, 277 pp. SO Soliloauii. Bucharest, Carte cu Semne, 1932, 83 pp. TO The Two and the One, trans, by J.M. Cohen, N.Y., Harper Torchbook ed., 1969, 223 pp. TT Two Tales of the Occult, trans, by W.A. Coates, N.Y., Herder, 1970, 130 pp. U Universul Literar. Bucharest, 1926-7, 1939-40. V Vremea. Bucharest, 1932-8. VL Viaja LiterarS. Bucharest, 1927-9, 1931-2, 1934-5, 1937- CODE ix Y Yoga. Immortality and Freedom, trans, by W.R. Trask (Bol- lingen Series, 5^>) Princeton, Princeton University Press, rev. 2nd ed., 1969, 536 pp. YE Yoga. Essai sur les origines de la mvstiaue indienne. trans, by M.S. Rivain, Paris, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1936, 346 pp. Z Zalmoxis. Bucharest, 1938-40. ZG De Zalmoxis a Gengis-Khan. Paris, Payot, 1970, 252 pp. ZS Ziarul gtiinjelor populare. Bucharest, 1921-5. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA ON MIRCEA ELIADE UP TO 1940 1907 March 9, born in Bucharest, Romania. Father's original name: Gheorghe Ieremia. Family moves to village Ramnicul- Sarat. 1914 Family moves back to Bucharest. 1917 Enters the lycSe in Bucharest. 1919 Writes first series of short stories: Nuvele gi povestiri (unpub.). 1921 Begins first autobiographical journal: Jurnalul (unpub.). First published articles on entomology in Ziarul gtiinjelor •populare. 1922 Begins first novels: Memoriile unui soldat de plumb (unpub.) and Romanul adolescentului miop (parts pub.). 1924 Discovers works of Frazer. Articles on Orientalism and occultism published. 1925 Enters the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the Univer­ sity of Bucharest. Nae Ionescu is his teacher. 1926 Writes controversial articles on N. Iorga and resigns from school magazine. Joins Ionescu on the staff of public news­ paper CuyantUl. 1927 Tours Italy for three weeks, visiting scholars. Publishes series of articles entitled "Itinerariu Spiritual". 1928 Studies in Italy for three months. Researches and writes Master's thesis on the Italian Renaissance. Receives schol­ arship from a maharaja to study in India. 1929 Begins three year adventure in India. Studies Yoga under S. Dasgupta at the University of Calcutta. Visits R. Tagore. Completes first published novel: Isabel §i apele Diavolului. 1930 University closes because of civil war- Lives in Dasgupta's residence and has misunderstanding with him over his daughter, Maitreyi.