Description

Hermann Keyserling looks at our inner lives through his travels. His time in South America shapes his thoughts. He reflects on fear, hunger, nature and spirit. The book blends philosophy, travel and vivid visions of his own. It suits those drawn to the soul and its roots.

He uses strange scenes, like dreams, to study life's basic forms. Beings shaped like snakes seem evil at first. They then show life before ideas of right and wrong. While ill, he has a vision. It leads him to think about hunger, weakness and fear. He sees hunger as life's drive to take in the world. Life has limits and must rely on nature. He sees these facts as the source of fear.

He also asks how spirit can act on nature. He links magic, suggestion and scientific formulas. Each offers a way to change nature's course. He blends reason with images drawn from verse and music. The last two chapters draw the book's themes together. Light and joy mark the close.

This edition is volume four of Keyserling's collected works. Corneliu Sterian translates the text.