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Thou Art That is a compilation of previously uncollected essays and lectures by Joseph Campbell that focus on the Judeo-Christian tradition. Campbell explores common religious symbols, reexamining and reinterpreting them in the context of his remarkable knowledge of world mythology.Campbell believed that society often confuses the literal and metaphorical interpretations of religious stories and symbols. In this collection, he eloquently reestablishes these symbols as a means to enhance spiritual understanding and mystical revelation. With characteristic verve, he ranges from rich storytelling to insightful comparative scholarship. Included is editor Eugene Kennedy's classic interview with Campbell in the New York Times Magazine, which originally brought the scholar to the attention of the public.… (more)
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This is the first volume in a series of compilations of material from the lectures and essays of Joseph Campbell, selected, integrated, and edited by various scholars on behalf of the Joseph Campbell
It could conceivably be the case that the editor has unwittingly introduced errors and interpretations that don't belong to Campbell. Editing someone else's work is a worthy enterprise, but inevitably fraught with risk. The perils become many times greater when the author is no longer around to answer questions and review his own work.
I would have expected, for instance, that Campbell himself would have spoken of the precession and not the procession of the equinoxes; but one way or another, the term appears erroneously on page 44. That is not the only such lapse I noticed in the book.
With that caveat in mind, I did enjoy reading this small volume, awed, as ever, by the breadth and depth of Campbell's knowledge, his ability to assimilate vast quantities of material, and his representation of it through the lens of a single clear vision. Any exposure to Campbell's thinking always makes me feel that I have glimpsed other dimensions of being. Even when I fail to retain the perspective gained at a higher elevation, I remember that I've been there.