The New Man: An Interpretation of Some Parables and Miracles of Christ. This item is unavailable.The New Man: An Interpretation of Some Parables and Miracles of Christ

Argues that the purpose of Jesus Christ's parables and miracles was to teach people how to reach a higher level of spiritual development

The son of a celebrated Free Church minister in Scotland, Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953) studied at Cambridge, where he gained a 'First' in science. He qualified as a doctor at St Bartholomew's hospital in London and then travelled to Paris, Vienna, Berlin and finally Zurich where he became a colleague of Carl Jung. The psychological insights of Jung left a lasting impression on the young Nicoll. During the First World War, he served in the Army Medical Corps, and there revealed himself as a pioneering psychiatrist, being one of the first to recognise shell shock as a psychological illness rather than moral weakness. He returned to England after the war, worked in Harley Street and published many papers on psychological medicine. In 1921, he heard a lecture by the Russian philosopher P.D. Ouspensky which was to prove a turning point in his life. He became a pupil of the 'Fourth Way' teaching of the Armenian G.I.Gurdjieff and from 1931, ran his own study groups in England on the psychological and spiritual teaching that became known as 'The Work'. And all along, he combined his understanding of the Fourth Way with his understanding of Christian teaching in the New Testament scriptures. 'The Mark' and 'The New Man' are the books of his which most clearly explore this interest.