The Philosophers and the Mere: A Modern Myth Without a Tower

The inner circle of the philosophers of Pavi Bujdam are a close group of friends who include a renowned artist, a mathematician, musicians, dancers, theologians and an astrologer, who all live with the great philosophical question of what lies beyond the mere surrounding their almost trouble-free land. In their meetings together they are always exploring their philosophies, an exploration in which the reader is invited to share in the form of the entertainment of the story.

In a setting of symbolism and literary device, through the storytelling in The Philosophers and the Mere we tacitly meet Buddhism, ancient Greek philosophy, the Hindu Puranas, Renaissance Neoplatonism, Christianity, the subject matter of great paintings by Poussin and Botticelli, and even the deep philosophical questions of modern physics, all in an original, progressively poetical setting.

The tenor of The Philosophers and the Mere is outside the mould of ordinary stories of troubles and strife in personal affairs of human love and relationships. In The Philosophers and the Mere such trouble regularly appears only in the annual masquerade which takes place at the Mereage, the most beautiful part of Pavi Bujdam in which all the friends live.

As the story progresses, the philosophy of the friends begins to come to life. In the language of Mythic Symbolism the very landscape of the tale itself undergoes its own metamorphosis. Its final unfolding reveals a post-contemporary myth within whose fabric is woven a message about love and human existence.

Brian Capleton is an alumnus of Wolfson College Oxford, The Royal College of Music, Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance), Dartington College of Arts, and Keele University. He holds a Doctorate in music and a Masters in Performance and Research. He was a lecturer at the Royal National College and worked for many years in the field of music performance and musical instruments. He currently lives in Cornwall and writes both fiction and non-fiction.