Titus Burckhardt, a German Swiss, was born in Florence in 1908 and died in Lausanne in 1984. He devoted all his life to the study and exposition of the different aspects of Wisdom and Tradition. In the age of modern science and technocracy, Titus Burckhardt was one of the most remarkable of the exponents of universal truth, in the realm of metaphysics as well as in the realm of cosmology and of traditional art. In a world of existentialism, psychoanalysis, and sociology, he was a major voice of the philosophia perennis, that "wisdom uncreate" that is expressed in Platonism, Vedanta, Sufism, Taoism, and other authentic esoteric or sapiential teachings. In literary and philosophic terms, he was an eminent member of the "traditionalist" or "perennialist" school of 20th century thinkers and writers.

The work of [the Perennialist pioneers] Guénon and Schuon was… taken up by two illustrious continuators: the Indian Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877- 1947) who wrote in English, and the German-Swiss Titus Burckhardt, who wrote in both German and French.…

Although he first saw the light of day in Florence, Burckhardt was the scion of a patrician family of Basle. He was the great-nephew of the famous art-historian Jacob Burckhardt and the son of the sculptor Carl Burckhardt. Titus Burckhardt was Frithjof Schuon's junior by one year, and they spent their early schooldays together in Basle around the time of the First World War. This was the beginning of an intimate friendship and a deeply harmonious intellectual and spiritual relationship that was to last a lifetime.

Burckhardt's chief metaphysical exposition, beautifully complementing the work of Schuon, is An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine. This is an intellectual masterpiece which analyzes comprehensively and with precision the nature of esoterism as such. It begins by making clear, by a series of lucid and economical definitions, what esoterism is and what it is not, goes on to examine the doctrinal foundations of Islamic esoterism or Sufism, and ends with an inspired description of "spiritual alchemy", or the contemplative path that leads to spiritual realization. This work clearly established Burckhardt as the leading exponent, after Schuon, of intellectual doctrine and spiritual method. On the specific question of the perennialists' use of the term "Intellect" (Intellectus = Spiritus, not mens or ratio), see the quotation from Meister Eckhart on p. x.[1]

Burckhardt devoted a large portion of his writings to traditional cosmology, which he saw in a sense as the "handmaid of metaphysics". He formally presented the principles at stake in a masterly and concise article "The Cosmological Perspective", first published in French in 1948 and now constituting a chapter in the present volume. Much later—in a series of articles published in both French and German in 1964—he covered the cosmological ground very fully indeed, and also made many detailed references to the main branches of modern science. All of these articles are included in the present book, in the section entitled "Traditional and Modern Science".

Not unconnected with his interest in cosmology, Burckhardt had a particular affinity with traditional art and craftsmanship and was skilled in the evaluation of traditional architecture, iconography, and other arts and crafts. In particular, he dwelt on how they had been—and could be—turned to account spiritually, both as meaningful activities which by virtue of their inherent symbolism harbor a doctrinal message, and above all as supports for spiritual realization and means of grace. Ars sine scientiâ nihil. Here of course it is a case of scientia sacra and ars sacra, these being the two sides of the same coin. This is the realm of the craft initiations of the various traditional civilizations, and specifically of such things, in the Middle Ages, as operative masonry and alchemy. Indeed Burckhardt's principal work in the field of cosmology was his full-length book Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul, a brilliant presentation of alchemy as the expression of a spiritual psychology and as an intellectual and symbolic support for contemplation and realization.

Burckhardt's main work in the field of art was his Sacred Art in East and West, which contains masterly chapters on the metaphysics and esthetics of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam, and ends with a useful and practical insight into the contemporary situation entitled "The Decadence and Renewal of Christian Art". Many extracts from this book are included here.

During the fifties and sixties Burckhardt was the artistic director of the Urs Graf Publishing House of Lausanne and Olten. His main activity during these years was the production and publication of a whole series of facsimiles of exquisite illuminated medieval manuscripts, especially early Celtic manuscripts of the Gospels, such as the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow (from Trinity College, Dublin) and the Book of Lindisfarne (from the British Library, London). This was pioneer work of the highest quality and a publishing achievement which immediately received wide acclaim both from experts and the wider public.

His production of the magnificent facsimile of the Book of Kells brought him a remarkable encounter with Pope Pius XII. The Urs Graf Publishing House wished to present a copy of the edition to the saintly and princely Pope, and it was decided that there could be no better person to effect the presentation than their artistic director Burckhardt. In the eyes of the Pope, Burckhardt was ostensibly a Protestant gentleman from Basle. The Pope granted him a private audience at his summer residence at Castelgandolfo. When, in the audience chamber, the white-clad figure of the Pope suddenly appeared, he welcomingly approached his visitor and said to him in German: "Sie sind also Herr Burckhardt?" ("So you are Herr Burckhardt?"). Burckhardt bowed and, when the Pope offered him his hand bearing the Fisherman's Ring, he respectfully took it in his. As a non-Catholic, however, he kissed, not the ring (as is the custom amongst Catholics), but the Pope's fingers. "Which the Pope smilingly permitted," Burckhardt adds.

Together they talked about the Dark Ages and about the surpassingly beautiful manuscripts of the Gospels that had been so lovingly and so finely produced during them. At the end of the audience the Pope gave his blessing: "From my heart I bless you, your family, your colleagues, and your friends."

It was during these years with the Urs Graf Publishing House that Burckhardt presided over an interesting series of publications with the general title of Stätten des Geistes ("Homesteads of the Spirit"). These were historical-cum-spiritual studies of certain manifestations of sacred civilization, and covered such themes as Mount Athos, Celtic Ireland, Sinai, Constantinople, and other places. Burckhardt himself contributed three books in the series: Siena, City of the Virgin, Chartres and the Birth of the Cathedral, and Fez, City of Islam. Siena is an enlightening account of the rise and fall of a Christian city which, architecturally speaking, remains to this day something of a Gothic jewel. Most interesting of all, however, is the story of its saints. Burckhardt devotes many of his pages to St. Catherine of Siena (who, amongst other things, was a powerful influence on the Pope of her day) and to St. Bernardino of Siena (who was one of the greatest Catholic practitioners—and teachers—of the invocatory mode of prayer, based on the saving power of the Holy Name). Chartres is the story of the religious "idealism" (in the best sense of the word) which lay behind the conception and practical realization of the medieval cathedrals—the still extant monuments of an age of faith. In Chartres, Burckhardt expounds the intellectual and spiritual contents of the different architectural styles—distinguishing in this respect not merely between the Gothic and the Romanesque, but even between the different varieties of the Romanesque. It is a dazzling example of what is meant by intellectual discernment or discrimination.

One of Burckhardt's several masterpieces is undoubtedly his Fez, City of Islam. As a young man, in the 1930s, he spent a few years in Morocco, where he established intimate friendships with several remarkable representatives of the as yet intact spiritual heritage of the Maghrib. This was obviously a formative period in Burckhardt's life, and much of his subsequent message and style originates in these early years. Already, at the time concerned, he had committed much of his experience to writing (not immediately published), and it was only in the late 1950s that these writings and these experiences ripened into a definitive and masterly book. In Fez, City of Islam, Burckhardt relates the history of a people and its religion—a history that was often violent, often heroic, and sometimes holy. Throughout it all runs the thread of Islamic piety and civilization. These Burckhardt expounds with a sure and enlightening hand, relating many of the teachings, parables, and miracles of the saints of many centuries, and demonstrating not only the arts and crafts of Islamic civilization, but also its "Aristotelian" sciences and its administrative skills. There is indeed much to be learnt about the governance of men and nations from Burckhardt's penetrating presentation of the principles behind dynastic and tribal vicissitudes —with their failures and their successes.

Close in spirit to Fez is another of Burckhardt's mature works, namely Moorish Culture in Spain. As always, this is a book of truth and beauty, science and art, piety and traditional culture. But in this book, perhaps more than in all others, it is a question of the romance, chivalry, and poetry of pre-modern life.

During his early years in Morocco, Burckhardt immersed himself in the Arabic language and assimilated the principal classics of Sufism (Islamic mysticism) in their original form. In later years, he was to share these treasures with a wider public through his translations of Ibn ‘Arabî [2] and Jîlî. [3] One of his most important works of translation was of the spiritual letters of the renowned 18th century Moroccan Shaikh Mulay al-‘Arabî ad-Darqâwî. [4] These letters constitute a spiritual classic and are a precious document of practical spiritual counsel.

Burckhardt's last major work was his widely acclaimed and impressive monograph Art of Islam. Here the intellectual principles and the spiritual role of artistic creativity in its Islamic forms are richly and generously displayed before us. With this noble volume, the unique Burckhardtian literary corpus comes to its end.

The above biography of Titus Burckhardt
was excerpted from William Stoddart's introduction to
The Essential Titus Burckhardt (World Wisdom, 2003)

1.  Editor's note. Here is the text to which Stoddart refers (i.e. "page x"):

Aliquid est in anima quod est increatum et increabile; si tota anima esset talis, esset increata et increabilis; et hoc est Intellectus.

There is something in the soul which is uncreated and uncreatable; if the whole soul were such, it would be uncreated and uncreatable; and this is the Intellect.

- Meister Eckhart

2.  La Sagesse des Prophètes [Fusûs al-Hikam] (Paris: Albin Michel, 1955).

3.  De l'Homme Universel [al-Insân al-Kâmil] (Lyons: Derain, 1953).

4.  Letters of a Sufi Master [Rasâ‘il] (Bedfont, Middlesex, England: Perennial Books, 1969).

Comments about Titus Burckhardt

"No one since the legendary A.K. Coomaraswamy has been able to demonstrate how entire civilizations define themselves through their art with the precision of TItus Burckhardt. This distillation of his life's work is a precious memento."
— Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions and Why Religion Matters

"Titus Burckhardt lived the truth of which he wrote. The exceptional light of intelligence which emanated from him pierced to the heart of the texts he studied and illuminated their meaning in a manner which is possible only by a person in whom the truth has descended from the plane of the mind to the center of the heart and become fully realized."
— Seyyed Hossein Nasr, University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, and author of Islam : Religion, History, and Civilization and The Heart of Islam : Enduring Values for Humanity

“One of the leading authorities of the Perennialist School, Titus Burckhardt brought a unique combination of gifts to the exposition of the world’s great wisdom traditions. Burckhardt was at home in a variety of religious worlds and able to speak with authority on many wide-ranging subjects. His eloquently written and beautifully crafted books are an enduring treasure.”
— James Cutsinger, University of South Carolina, editor of Paths to the Heart: Sufism and the Christian East

"In the age of modern science and technocracy, Burckhardt was one of the most remarkable of the exponents of universal truth, in the realm of metaphysics as well as in the realm of cosmology and of traditional art. In a world of existentialism, psychoanalysis, and sociology, he was a major voice of the philosophia perennis, that 'wisdom uncreate' that is expressed in Platonism, Vedanta, Sufism, Taoism, and other authentic esoteric teachings. In literary and philosophic terms, he was an eminent member of the 'traditionalist school' of 20th-century authors."
— Banyen Books and Sound

"Titus Burckhardt looks at Islam and Christianity with the eyes of a scholar who combines deep spiritual insight with the love of eternal Truth. Burckhardt's writings reveal that this Truth is as fresh today as it was millenia ago, and that it will last as long as humans long to see the Divine light."
— Annemarie Schimmel, Harvard University, and author of Mystical Dimensions of Islam

"Titus Burckhardt was one of the most authoritative exponents of the perennialist school. His work was centrally concerned with the interrelationships of Truth, Beauty and Goodness, with the principles informing traditional arts and sciences, and with the nexus between intellectuality and spirituality."
— Harry Oldmeadow, La Trobe University at Bendigo, and author of Traditionalism: Religion in the Light of Perennial Philosophy

"As a writer and thinker on a wide range of topics integral to the sacred traditions, Titus Burckhardt has an unerring ability to reach to the essential truths and to speak persuasively of their relevance and importance to the contemporary mind."
— Brian Keeble, editor of Every Man An Artist: Readings In The Traditional Philosophy Of Art

"The singularity of [Burckhardt's] scholarly achievement is that his intellectual discernment was predicated on a `lived' engagement with the arts, cultures and religions he studied."
— Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

Excerpts from the writings of Titus Burckhardt

In order to understand a culture, it is necessary to love it, and one can only do this on the basis of the universal and timeless values that it carries within it. These values are essentially the same in all true cultures, that is to say, in cultures which meet not only the physical, but also the spiritual needs of man, without which his life has no meaning.

Nothing brings us into such immediate contact with another culture as a work of art which, within that culture, represents, as it were a “center”. This may be a sacred image, a temple, a cathedral, a mosque, or even a carpet with a primordial design. Such works invariably express an essential quality or factor, which neither a historical account, nor an analysis of social and economic conditions, can capture. A similarly rich insight into another culture can be found in its literature, especially in those works that deal with eternal verities. But such works are by definition profound and symbolical, and are mostly unintelligible to the modern reader without the aid of a detailed commentary. A work of art, on the other hand, can, without any mental effort on our part, convey to us immediately and “existentially” a particular intellectual truth or spiritual attitude, and thereby grant us all manner of insights into the nature of the culture concerned. Thus one can more readily understand the intellectual and ethical forms of a Buddhist culture if one is familiar with the Buddha-image that is typical of it; and one can much more easily form a picture of the religious and social life of the Middle Ages if one has first assimilated the architecture of a Romanesque abbey or a Gothic cathedral—always assuming, of course, that one is sufficiently sensitive to the forms of an authentic traditional art.

The purpose of my book Chartres and the Birth of the Cathedral was to evoke, as authentically as possible, the spiritual climate in which the Gothic cathedral was born. My aim was to show how the Gothic cathedral was the final fruit to ripen on the tree of an ancient tradition.

From the standpoint of the agitated and over-cerebral age in which we live, Medieval men often seem naïve, child-like, and untouched by any psychological uncertainty, and this can mislead us into thinking that they were less reflective and more instinctbound than ourselves. In reality, however, their actions were inspired by a vision or an idea—namely, the spiritual meaning of life—to a much greater extent than in the case of modern man. It was precisely because they lived for a timeless truth that their love and their creative joy gave rise to that undivided strength which we see and admire in their productions. As has been said, they were closer both to Heaven and to earth than are we.

In modern man, generally speaking, it is the exact opposite: his motivation consists of feelings, in the service of which a whole apparatus of mental activity, theories, and “ideologies” are brought into play; for him, individual and collective passions are the underlying factor, while mental activity is visible on the surface. To put it another way (and following an observation by Frithjof Schuon), in traditional artists, it is the element “object” that determines the work, whereas in most modern artists, it is the element “subject”.

To understand modern man, it may well be appropriate to study psychology; but one can only understand Medieval man if one acquires a true notion of his loftiest aims and aspirations, and if one grasps how and to what extent his ideas symbolically express what is universally and eternally true.

(from Moorish Culture in Spain and Chartres and the Birth of the Cathedral)

It is characteristic of Sufism that its expressions often hold the balance between love and knowledge. The language of love makes it possible to express the most profoundly esoteric truths without coming into conflict with dogmatic theology. Furthermore, the intoxication of love symbolically corresponds to states of knowledge that go beyond discursive thought.

There are also expressions which, though they do not arise from an attitude of love, nevertheless evoke it, because they reflect an inner beauty which is the seal of Unity on the soul. It is from this Unity that clarity and rhythm spring, whereas any kind of mental rigidity or vanity of speech contradicts the simplicity, and thus also the transparency, of the soul with regard to Truth.

Some Sufi writers, such as Muhyi’d-Dîn ibn ‘Arabî, Ahmad ibn al ‘Ârif, Suhrawardî of Aleppo, al-Junaid, and Abû’l-Hasan ash-Shâdhilî manifest an attitude that is essentially intellectual. These writers look on the Divine Reality as the universal essence of all knowledge. Others, such as Omar ibn al-Fârid, Mansûr al-Hallâj, and Jalâl ad- Dîn Rûmî, express themselves in the language of love. For them, the Divine Reality is above all the limitless object of desire. But this diversity of attitude has nothing to do with a divergence between different schools, as is believed by those who consider that the Sufis who used an intellectual language had been influenced by doctrines foreign to Islam, such as Neo-Platonism, and that only those who represent a devotional attitude are the mouthpiece of authentic Islamic mysticism.

In fact, the diversity in question derives from a diversity of vocation: different vocations naturally graft themselves onto different types of human genius, and all find their place in true Sufism. The difference between an intellectual and a devotional attitude is merely the most important and the commonest of the differences that are to be found in this domain.

Hinduism makes a clear distinction between the three spiritual ways: the Way of Knowledge (jñâna), the Way of love (bhakti), and the Way of action (karma). This distinction is in fact to be found in every complete tradition. In Sufism the distinction of these three ways corresponds to the three fundamental reasons for an aspiration towards God—knowledge or gnosis (ma‘rifa), love (mahabba), and fear (makhâfa). But Sufism tends rather to the synthesis than to the differentiation of these three ways, and in fact, in “classical” Sufism, a certain equilibrium of the intellectual and emotional attitudes is always to be found. The reason for this lies in the general structure of Islam, which is founded on the doctrine of Unity (tauhîd), and which thus gives an intellectual orientation to all variants of spiritual life. As for the aspect of love, this arises spontaneously whenever the Divine Reality is recognized or contemplated.

Those who maintain the view that only Sufis who manifest an attitude of love truly represent the mystical aspect of Islam, wrongly apply criteria that are valid only in relation to Christianity, in which the basic theme is Divine Love. It is for this reason that the representatives of gnosis in Christianity generally express themselves— though there are exceptions—through the symbolism of Love.

In reality, the distinction between the Way of Knowledge and the Way of Love amounts to the question of predominance of one or the other, for there is never a complete separation between these two modes of spirituality. Knowledge of God always engenders love, while love always presupposes a knowledge of the object of love, even though this knowledge may be only indirect. The object of spiritual love is the Divine Beauty, which is an aspect of Infinity and, through this object, desire becomes lucid. It is in the object, Beauty, that love virtually coincides with knowledge. In a sense, Truth and Beauty are the criteria of one another, although sentimental prejudices can distort the concept of beauty just as, from another angle, rationalism limits truth.

It is highly significant that there is hardly a single Muslim metaphysician who did not compose poetry, and whose most abstract prose is not, in some passages, transformed into a rhythmic language full of poetic images. On the other hand, the poetry of the most famous adepts of love, such as Omar ibn al-Fârid and Jalâl ad- Dîn Rûmî, is rich in intellectual perceptions.

As for the attitude of fear (makhâfa), which corresponds to the Way of action, this is not directly manifested in the style of expression; its role is an implicit one. It is true that fear stands, as it were, only at the threshold of contemplation, but, when it is spiritualized, it can nonetheless bring man out of the collective dream which is the “world”, and bring him face to face with Eternal Reality. “The Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom.” Love is higher than fear, even as knowledge is higher than love, but this is true only of direct, immediate knowledge which outstrips reason (or discursive thought), for spiritual love embraces every individual faculty and imprints each of them with the seal of Unity.[1]

(from Introduction to Sufi Doctrine)

1.  On the question of knowledge and love and the distinction between the spiritual ways which respectively correspond to them, see Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts by Frithjof Schuon (Bedfont, Middlesex: Perennial Books, 1987).

Bibliography of Titus Burckhardt's Books

 
Books in German

Land am Rande der Zeit. Basel: Urs Graf Verlag, 1941.

Schweizer Volkskunst/Art Populaire Suisse. Basel: Urs Graf Verlag, 1941.

Tessin (Das Volkserbe der Schweiz, Band I). Basel: Urs Graf Verlag, 1943.

Vom Sufitum–Einführung in die Mystik des Islams. Munich: Otto Wilhelm Barth-Verlag, 1953.

Vom Wessen heiliger Kunst in den Weltreligionen. Zurich: Origo-Verlag, 1958.

Siena, Stadi der Jungfrau. Olten (Switzerland) and Freiburg-im-Breisgau (Germany): Urs Graf Verlag, 1958.

Tessin (Das Volkserbe der Schweiz, Band I [Greatly enlarged edition]). Basel: Urs Graf Verlag, 1959.

Alchemie, Sinn- und Weitbild. Olten and Freiburg-im-Breisgau: Walter-Verlag, 1960.

Fes, Stadt des Islam. Olten and Freiburg-im-Breisgau: Urs Graf Verlag, 1960.

Chartres und die Geburt der Kathedrale. Lausanne: Urs Graf Verlag, 1962.

Von wunderbaren Büchern. Olten and Freiburg: Urs Graf Verlag, 1963.

Lachen und Weinen. Olten and Freiburg: Urs Graf Verlag, 1964.

Die Jagd. Olten and Freiburg: Urs Graf Verlag, 1964.

Der wilde Westen. Olten and Freiburg: Urs Graf Verlag, 1966.

Die maurische Kultur in Spanien. Munich: Callwey, 1970.

Marokko, Westlicher Orient: ein Reiseführer. Olten and Freiburg: Walter-Verlag, 1972.

Spiegel der Weisheit: Texte zu Wissenschaft und Kunst. Munich: Diederichs, 1992.

Scipio und Hannibal: Kampf um das Mittelmeer by Friedrich Donauer. Cover design and six illustrations by Titus Burckhardt. Olten and Freiburg: Walter-Verlag, 1939.

Wallis (Das Volkserbe der Schweiz, Band 2) by Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. Translated and edited by Titus Burckhardt. Basel: Urs Graf Verlag, 1956.

Zeus und Eros: Briefe und Aufzeichnungen des Bildhauers Carl Burckhardt (1878–1923), edited by Titus Burckhardt. Basel: Urs Graf Verlag, 1956.

Das Ewige im Vergänglichen by Frithjof Schuon. Translation from the French by Titus Burckhardt of Regards sur les Mondes anciens. Weilheim: Otto Wilhelm Barth-Verlag, 1970.

Athos, der Berg des Schweigens by Philip Sherrard. Translation from the English by Titus Burckhardt of Athos, the Mountain of Silence. Lausanne and Freiburg: Urs Graf Verlag, 1959.

Clef spirituelle de l’astrologie musulmane. Paris: Les Éditions Traditionnelles, 1950; Milan, Archè, 1964.

Du Soufisme. Lyons: Derain, 1951.

Principes et Méthodes de l’art sacré. Lyons: Derain, 1958.

Introduction aux Doctrines ésotériques de l’Islam. Paris: Dervy-Livres, 1969.

Alchimie (translated from the English edition by Madame J. P. Gervy). Basle: Fondation Keimer, 1974; Milan: Archè, 1979.

Symboles: Recueil d’essais. Milan: Archè, 1980; Paris: Dervy-Livres, 1980.

Science moderne et Sagesse traditionnelle. Milan: Archè, 1985; Paris: Dervy-Livres, 1985.

L’Art de l’Islam. Paris: Sindbad, 1985.

Chartres et la Naissance de la Cathédrale (translated from the German by Genia Catalá). Milan: Archè, 1995.

Fès, Ville de l’Islam (translated from the German by Armand Jacoubovitch), in preparation.

An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine (translated from the French by D. M. Matheson). Lahore: Ashraf, 1959; Wellingborough, England: Thorsons, 1976.

Siena, City of the Virgin (translated from the German by Margaret Brown). Oxford: University Press, 1960.

Famous Illuminated Manuscripts (partial translation of Von wunderbaren Büchern). Olten and Lausanne: Urs Graf Verlag, 1964.

Sacred Art in East and West (translated from the French by Lord Northbourne). Bedfont, Middlesex, England: Perennial Books, 1967; Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae, 2001; Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom Books, 2001.

Alchemy, Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul (translated from the German by William Stoddart). London: Stuart and Watkins, 1967; Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1972; Longmead, Shaftesbury, Dorset: Element Books, 1986; Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae, 2001.

Moorish Culture in Spain (new edition, translated from the German by Alisa Jaffa and William Stoddart). Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae, 1999.

Art of Islam: Language and Meaning (translated from the French by Peter Hobson). London: Islamic Festival Trust Ltd, 1976.

Mystical Astrology according to Ibn ‘Arabî (translated from the French by Bulent Rauf). Sherbourne, England: Beshara, 1977; Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae, 2002.

Fez, City of Islam (translated from the German by William Stoddart). Cambridge, England: Islamic Texts Society, 1992.

Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Science and Sacred Art (translated by William Stoddart). Cambridge, England: Quinta Essentia, 1987; Albany, NY: SUNY, 1987.

Chartres and the Birth of the Cathedral (translated by William Stoddart). Ipswich, England: Golgonooza Press, 1995; Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom Books, 1995.

The Universality of Sacred Art, a précis of Sacred Art in East and West by Ranjit Fernando, published in The Unanimous Tradition, Institute of Traditional Studies. Colombo, Sri Lanka: 1999.

Photos of Titus Burckhardt

Titus Burckhardt in 1950	Titus Burckhardt in later life
Titus Burckhardt with Frithjof Schuon in Switzerland in the 1950s. These two major Perennialist/Traditionalist writers had been friends since childhood.
Mr and Mrs Titus Burckhardt in Pully, Switzerland, in 1950	Titus Burckhardt in Granada, Spain, in 1968
Titus Burckhardt with Crow Sun Dance Chief and Medicine Man Thomas Yellowtail in 1979.
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Slideshows related to the life and work of Titus Burckhardt

There are two World Wisdom slideshows that relate to books written by Titus Burckhardt: They are:

What is Sacred Art? This includes a few introductory thoughts and quotes from two early and influential Traditionalist writers on sacred art, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, and Frithjof Schuon. The rest of the slideshow is devoted to passages from Titus Burckhardt's Sacred Art in East and West.

What are the "Foundations of Christian Art?" This slideshow is based on the 2006 Titus Burckhardt book The Foundations of Christian Art: Illustrated. Both text and images are taken directly from this richly illustrated book.