Symbol & Archetype: A Study of Meaning of Existence

Symbol & Archetype

A Study of The Meaning of Existence

By Martin Lings

Paperback 158 Pages

ISBN: 9781887752794

Publisher: Fons Vitae

About The Book

“The answer to the question ‘What is Symbolism?’, if deeply understood, has been known to change altogether a man’s life; and it could indeed be said that most of the problems of the modern world result from ignorance of that answer. As to the past, however, there is no traditional doctrine that does not teach that this world is the world of symbols, in as much as it contains nothing which is not a symbol. 

A man should therefore understand at least what that means, not only because he has to live in the here below but also and above all because without such understanding he would fail to understand himself, he is the supreme and central symbol in the terrestrial state. Needless to say, this little book does not claim to be exhaustive. Its purpose is to enable the reader to dwell on certain basic aspects of symbolism in relation to the Divinity, the hierarchy of the universe, the function of man, his faculties and his qualities, the conditions to which he is subject, the natural objects which surround him, his works of art, and his final ends, all with reference to the great living religions of the world, and in particular to Christianity and Islam.” (From the Preface)

This book does not claim to be exhaustive. Its purpose is to enable the reader to dwell on certain basic aspects of symbolism in relation to the Divinity. With references to all the world’s great faith traditions, both ancient and current (with special attention devoted to Christianity and Islam), Lings demonstrates how the science of symbols is inextricably linked with the path of Return.

About The Author

Martin Lings was born in Lancashire in 1909. After a classical education, he read English at Oxford where he was a pupil and later a close friend of C. S. Lewis. In 1935 he went to Lithuania where he lectured on Anglo-Saxon and Middle English and subsequently he went to Egypt and lectured mainly on Shakespeare at Cairo University.

 In 1952 he returned to England and took a degree in Arabic and in 1955. He joined the staff of the British Museum where from 1970 to 73 he was Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts. For the following year, he held the same post in the newly founded British Library.

In addition to writing many books, he is also the author of the chapter Mystical Poetry in Abbasid Belles-Lettres, which is Volume 2 of The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, and the chapter on The Nature and Origin of Sufism in Vol.19 of World Spirituality, as well as articles for Studies in Comparative Religion, Sophia, The New Encyclopaedia of Islam and the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din better known as Martin Lings passed away in the year 2005.