Hymn of the Universe
New York: Harper & Row, 1965. Octavo (8 5/8 inches tall), original blue cloth, spine and front board lettered in silver, gray endpapers, original dust jacket. Fine. Item #1677
"LET US LEAVE THE SURFACE AND, WITHOUT LEAVING THE WORLD, PLUNGE INTO GOD" (PENSÉES 66)
Early edition of Hymn of the Universe—collecting early prayers and meditations by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin—including "The Mass on the World" and "Hymn to Matter." Complete with the mosaic dust jacket designed by Guy Fleming and the photograph of Teilhard (on the rear inner flap) by Phillipe Halsmann. A bright, fresh copy.
Distinguishing the earlier "prayerful Teilhard" from the later "Aquinas of the Atomic Era" (Time Magazine), much of Hymn of the Universe was written during Teilhard's decades-long exile from teaching and publishing in Europe. During his exile, Teilhard became "thrilled with the idea that through work in the world human beings were participating in the ongoing extension and consecration of God's creation. This insight was especially nourished by his devotion to the Eucharist. But many times, while on the road he lacked the requirements for Mass. Thus, he was inspired to write 'Mass on the World. Since once again, Lord, I have neither bread nor wine nor altar I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I, your priest, will make the whole earth my altar and on it will offer you all the labors and suffering of the world'" (Robert Ellsberg).
First published in France in 1961, the book consists of three sections: I. The Mass on the World ("Ordos [desert] 1923"), II. Christ in the World of Matter ("Three stories in the style of [R.H.] Benson"), and III. The Spiritual Power of Matter (dated, "Jersey, 8th August 1919"). The book opens with a short Prefatory Letter by Queen Marie-José of Belgium (on the "saintliness of Pere Teilhard") and a Translator's Note by Simon Bartholomew, assuring readers that "while an acquaintance with Pere Teilhard's scientific works must naturally be helpful in understanding fully this present book, it is by no means necessary to know, still less to be in full agreement with, the author's scientific theory in order to be profoundly stirred and illumined by these pages." The Hymn to Matter, which concludes the third section, is carefully footnoted by the editor "for an exact understanding" of the text. A final section—Pensées ("Thoughts")—brings together an additional eighty-one numbered passages, selected by Fernande Tardivel and divided into four groups: 1. The Presence of God in the World, 2. Humanity in Progress, 3. The Meaning of Human Endeavor, and 4. In the Total Christ. Robert Ellsberg. All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets and Witnesses for Our Time.
Price: $75.00