A arte e estratégia do obscurantismo

Do What I Mean, Not What I Say

Ancient philosophers deliberately concealed the meaning of their writings to protect society from dangerous truths. A review of Arthur M. Melzer’s ‘Philosophy Between the Lines.’

A fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii. Getty Images

By

James Ceaser

Good prose always strives to be clear and direct. Or so we all think now. Arthur Melzer’s remarkable book shines a floodlight on a topic that has been cloaked in obscurity: esoteric writing. Using such techniques as deliberate contradiction, parable and allusion, authors who write esoterically craft texts so that they operate on two levels. There is a surface message intended for the ordinary or inattentive reader and a deeper meaning, often diametrically opposed to the first, that is addressed to the discerning reader.
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