il Giardino Romantico

Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln shocked the world by their collaboration of the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which inspired Dan Brown’s international bestseller, the Da Vinci Code.  The book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail was extremely carefully researched and well organized.  However, without the rudimentary knowledge on the background of Christianity, the Crusades, and/or the Kights Templar, one may easily find themselves lost in the labyrinth of excess information. 


Two of the collaborators, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, published another book many years later, which I personally found easier to absorb.   The Elixir and the Stone is a book that captures the true essence of the Renaissance spirit.  It touches upon a whole variety of subjects which means any reader is bound to be able to relate to a few of the subjects mentioned. 


The book links the whole world to, not Jesus Christ, but another significant figure – Faust.  The ‘magician’ that signed a contract with the devil in order to excel beyond his limit for twenty-years, and in exchange, he would give up his soul.  Two significant literary depictions of the Faust story are plays by a Elizabethan English playwright, Christopher Marlowe and by a German Romantic writer, Johann Wolfgan von Goethe.  In Marlowe's version, Faust forfeited his right to repent; and in Goethe's version, eventually Faust's repentance is accepted.


The authors’ approach to this argument, or hypothesis, by first, analyzing the history of magicians.  Then they move on to explaining in detail how Faust is linked to everything.  Once the reader has grasped the idea of the history and the two versions of the Faust story, they go on to explaining how the modern world is linked to Faust, or magic, in a more general term.


While some are briefly mentioned, and others more in detail, you will find in this book how everything is in deed, related to everything else.  From the artistic world of Botticelli, Da Vinc; to the literature of Marlowe, Goethe, and Spencer; also the musical world of Wagner, and even the Rolling Stones; the authors’ determination to link everything together with magic is eminent. 


For someone who has been raised in a world of magic, the idea is anything but elusive.  Why shouldn’t everything be magical?  Taiwan, as observed by a friend of mine, is a place where magic is overtly believed, practiced, and discussed.  Incense burnings, ghost money burning, and ancestral/gods and goddesses worship still remain an important part of the daily lives of people in Taiwan.  Therefore, it was easier for me to understand their reasoning.


Then I soon realized that my job as an English teacher to Taiwan students is as magical as it can get.  How is it that someone who had always been notorious for being a terrible dancer, awful singer, and bearing illegible handwriting can become a teacher of the English language to young children, and remain in the business for more than five years?  A job which requires the teacher to sing and dance and be funny, hardly seems ideal for someone like me.  On top of that, there has also been many complaints from my co-workers concerning my unfriendliness towards them.  However, each and every one of my students and parents have certified to my superior that I am an ‘outgoing, humorous, and friendly’ person.  If there is no magic behind this transformation, then I honestly can’t tell you what it is that causes the dramatic difference. 


I have often felt extremely worn-out before walking into a classroom, but somehow feeling more energy in me than ever as soon as I stepped into one.  Then, right after class, the energy flow once again ceases, and I feel twice as tired as I already did.  Having said enough about myself, I think it is more than evident now, that each and every one of us is a magician.  We are capable of conjuring up magic, be it black magic or white magic. 


The book is informative and extremely satisfying.  Although the language is a little sophisticated, the lucidity of speech keeps the ideas easy to grasp and to follow along.  There are very few books that, by the end of the reading, can make you feel like a more intelligent person.  This one certainly is one of them. 


Further Reading [old reviews]:
Holy Blood, Holy Grail - Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln