Publisher's Synopsis
An Essay on the Founder of Simonianism Based on the Ancient Sources with a Re-evaluation of his Philosophy and Teachings. First published in 1892. Mead (1863-1933) was an English historian, writer, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society as well as the founder of the Quest Society. His scholarly works dealt mainly with the Hermetic and Gnostic religions of Late Antiquity and were exhaustive for the time period. He became interested in Theosophy while at Cambridge University and later abandoned the teaching profession to take the role of Helena Blavatsky's private secretary, having joined her Theosophical Society in 1884. He also became a joint-secretary of the society's Esoteric Section reserved for those deemed more advanced. He made many contributions to The Theosophical Review (formerly Lucifer) and became sole editor in 1907. In 1909 he and some 700 members resigned from the Theosophical Society in protest against Charles Webster Leadbetter's reinstatement, and he went on to found the Quest Society which took an undogmatic approach to the comparative study of religion, philosophy and science, holding lectures in central London and publishing The Quest: A Quarterly Review which ran from 1909-31 with many respected contributors.
