Transmigrations

English fiction imitating Oriental tales

The mythical narrative of transmigration tells the story of myriad wandering souls, each migrating from body to body along a path of recurrence amid the becoming of the All. In this highly original study, James Luchte explores the ways in which the concept of transmigration is a central motif in Pythagoras' philosophy, representing its fundamental meaning. Luchte argues that the many strands of the tale of transmigration come together in the Pythagorean philosophical movement, revealing a unity in which, for Pythagoreans, existence and eschatology are separated only by forgetfulness. Such an interpretation that seeks to retrieve the unity of Pythagorean thought goes against the grain of a long-standing tradition of interpretation that projects upon Pythagoras the segregation of 'mysticism' and 'science'. Luchte lays out an alternative interpretation of Pythagorean philosophy as magical in the sense that it orchestrates a holistic harmonization of theoria and praxis and through this reading discloses the radical character of Pythagorean philosophy.

Simon, a seemingly normal teenager with abnormal abilities, unwittingly uncovers a plot by an army of souls that intends to take over the world and supplant the human race.

Four humans find themselves in a small village of Betaham without knowledge of where they come from or who they are. It is a pleasant little town but disturbing memories of a brutal war and a different life flash spasmodically into their minds. Their dreams seem so real but are quite unrelated to their present lives ... that is until they meet a strange farmer and a violent sandstorm arrives at Betaham. They find the farmer isn't even human. Furthermore, they may not even be human themselves. A bombed out city is on the other side of the hills and can be reached though a railway tunnel. The trouble is that the city was destroyed a millennium before and is an archeological site visited by the farmer's race who arrived from another planet. Only then do the four learn the truth about themselves...

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.