The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

MERTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH:
Huxley, Aldous, 1894-1963

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Descriptive Summary

Record Group: Section A - Correspondence

Dates of materials: 1958-1959, 1973

Volume: 6 item(s); 8 pg(s)

Scope and Content

In his one extant letter to Huxley, Merton responds to an article Huxley wrote entitled, "Drugs That Shape Men's Minds" (The Saturday Evening Post. 231, October 18, 1958). (Source: The Hidden Ground of Love, p. 436.)

Biography

Philosopher, social critic, and author of books such as his most famous, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley was born and educated in England and moved to the California in the 1930's. Becoming ever more critical of Western civilization and the dehumanizing character of technology, Huxley became drawn to Eastern philosophy and religion and to mysticism. Merton was influenced early on by Huxley though his book, Ends and Means. Similar views on technology, Eastern philosophy, and mysticism appear in Merton's thinking, as well. (Source: The Hidden Ground of Love, p. 436.)

Usage Guidelines and Restrictions

Related Information and Links

Contains one letter from Mrs. Huxley to Tommie O'Callaghan; see also "O'Callaghan, (Tommie) Thomasine (Cadden)" file. One letter from Merton to Huxley can be found in The Hidden Ground of Love, pp. 436-439. Huxley's reply to Merton appears in the Letters of Aldous Huxley, edited by Grover Smith (Harper & Row, 1969), pp. 862-864. In the same volume, Merton is mentioned in his St. Bonaventure days in a 1942 letter from Huxley to Christopher Isherwood, pp. 474-475.

Other Finding Aids

If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
   

Series List

This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.

Container List

SeriesDateTypeTo/FromFirst LinesPubFull TextNotes
 1958/11/27 TAL[c]from MertonTwenty years, or nearly that many, have gone by since a very pleasant exchange of letters took placeYes Huxley's article “Drugs That Shape Men’s Minds” from the <u>Saturday Evening Post</u> / question of drug-induced mystical experience / aesthetic and natural vs. mystical and supernatural experiences / addiction / Zen and "use of a Koan to dispose one for Satori"
 1959/01/10 transcriptto MertonThank you for your letter. The problems you raise are interesting and difficult, and their solutionYes mescaline and lysergic acid (LSD), Huxley's use / treating alcoholism in British Columbia with lysergic acid and in Catholic frame of reference / Christian and Oriental mystics / Julian of Norwich / dependency / good and bad experiences
 1973/11/30 TL[c]from Center to Aldous Huxley EstateMr. Victor Kramer at Georgia State University has requested permission to look at Mr. Aldous Huxley  regarding permission to publish materials
 1973/12/07 TLSto Center from Huxley, LauraYour letter of November 30 is very interesting to me and I would be inclined to grant permission to  regarding permission to publish materials
 1973/12/17 TL[c]from Center to Huxley, LauraThank you for your kind letter of December 7. Mrs. O'Callaghan has forwarded it to me in order that  regarding permission to publish materials
 undated/no/no other ALDOUS LEONARD HUXLEY  biographical information
        

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