Editing Mircea Eliade (section)

===''Criterion'' and ''Cuvântul''===
[[File:Casa lui Eliade.jpg|thumb|250px|Eliade's home in [[Bucharest]] (1934–1940)]]

After contributing various and generally polemical pieces in university magazines, Eliade came to the attention of journalist [[Pamfil Șeicaru]], who invited him to collaborate on the [[Nationalism|nationalist]] paper ''[[Cuvântul]]'', which was noted for its harsh tones.<ref name="smihai"/> By then, ''Cuvântul'' was also hosting articles by Nae Ionescu.<ref name="smihai"/>

As one of the figures in the ''[[Criterion (literary society)|Criterion]]'' [[literary society]] (1933–1934), Eliade's initial encounter with the traditional far right was polemical: the group's conferences were stormed by members of [[A. C. Cuza]]'s [[National-Christian Defense League]], who objected to what they viewed as [[pacifism]] and addressed [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] insults to several speakers, including Sebastian;<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bejan|first=Cristina A.|title=Intellectuals and Fascism in Interwar Romania: The Criterion Association|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2019|isbn=978-3-030-20164-7|location=Cham, Switzerland}}</ref><ref>Ornea, pp. 150–151, 153</ref> in 1933, he was among the signers of a manifesto opposing [[Nazi Germany]]'s state-enforced racism.<ref>Ornea, pp. 174–175</ref>

In 1934, at a time when Sebastian was publicly insulted by Nae Ionescu, who prefaced his book (''De două mii de ani...'') with thoughts on the "eternal damnation" of Jews, Mircea Eliade spoke out against this perspective, and commented that Ionescu's references to the verdict "[[Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus|Outside the Church there is no salvation]]" contradicted the notion of God's [[omnipotence]].<ref name="aoamniotica"/><ref>Eliade, 1934, in Ornea, p. 408; see also Ellwood, p. 85</ref> However, he contended that Ionescu's text was not evidence of antisemitism.<ref>Eliade, 1934, in Ornea, pp. 408–409</ref>

In 1936, reflecting on the early history of the [[Kingdom of Romania|Romanian Kingdom]] and its [[History of the Jews in Romania|Jewish community]], he deplored the expulsion of Jewish scholars from Romania, making specific references to [[Moses Gaster]], [[Heimann Hariton Tiktin]] and [[Lazăr Șăineanu]].<ref>Eliade, 1936, in Ornea, p. 410</ref> Eliade's views at the time focused on innovation—in the summer of 1933, he replied to an anti-[[Modernism|modernist]] critique written by [[George Călinescu]]:
<blockquote>All I wish for is a deep change, a complete transformation. But, for God's sake, in any direction other than [[spirituality]].<ref>Eliade, 1933, in Ornea, p. 167</ref></blockquote>

He and friends [[Emil Cioran]] and [[Constantin Noica]] were by then under the influence of ''[[Trăirism]]'', a school of thought that was formed around the ideals expressed by Ionescu. A form of [[existentialism]], ''Trăirism'' was also the synthesis of traditional and newer right-wing beliefs.<ref>Ornea, Chapter IV</ref> Early on, a public polemic was sparked between Eliade and [[Camil Petrescu]]: the two eventually reconciled and later became good friends.<ref name="Şora, Handoca"/>

Like Mihail Sebastian, who was himself becoming influenced by Ionescu, he maintained contacts with intellectuals from all sides of the political spectrum: their entourage included the right-wing [[Dan Botta]] and [[Mircea Vulcănescu]], the non-political Petrescu and [[Ionel Jianu]], and [[Belu Zilber]], who was a member of the illegal [[Romanian Communist Party]].<ref name="tanasezilber2">[[Stelian Tănase]], [http://www.revista22.ro/html/index.php?art=569&nr=2003-08-18 "Belu Zilber", Part II] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010402/http://www.revista22.ro/html/index.php?nr=2003-08-18&art=569 |date=2007-09-27 }}, in ''[[22 (magazine)|22]]'', Nr. 701, August 2003; retrieved October 4, 2007 {{in lang|ro}}</ref>

The group also included [[Haig Acterian]], [[Mihail Polihroniade]], [[Petru Comarnescu]], [[Marietta Sadova]] and [[Floria Capsali]].<ref name="aoamniotica">[[Andrei Oişteanu]], [https://archive.today/20071019121943/http://www.revista22.ro/html/index.php?nr=2007-12-05&art=4157 "Mihail Sebastian şi Mircea Eliade: cronica unei prietenii accidentate" ("Mihail Sebastian and Mircea Eliade: the Chronicle of an Abrupt Friendship)"], in ''[[22 (magazine)|22]]'', Nr. 926, December 2007; retrieved January 18, 2008 {{in lang|ro}}</ref>

He was also close to [[Mihail (Marcel) Avramescu|Marcel Avramescu]], a former [[Surrealism|Surrealist]] writer whom he introduced to the works of [[René Guénon]].<ref name="pccheie">[[Paul Cernat]], [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/informatiiarticol.phtml?xid=8679&print=true "Eliade în cheie ezoterică" ("Eliade in Esoterical Key")] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912131216/http://www.observatorcultural.ro/informatiiarticol.phtml?xid=8679&print=true |date=September 12, 2015 }}, review of Marcel Tolcea, ''Eliade, ezotericul'' ("Eliade, the Esoteric"), in ''[[Observator Cultural]]'', Nr. 175, July 2003; retrieved July 16, 2007 {{in lang|ro}}</ref> A doctor in the [[Kabbalah]] and future [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian Orthodox]] cleric, Avramescu joined Eliade in editing the short-lived [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] magazine ''Memra'' (the only one of its kind in Romania).<ref>[[Paul Cernat]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110423225049/http://www.observatorcultural.ro/informatiiarticol.phtml?xid=14626 "Recuperarea lui Ionathan X. Uranus" ("The Recuperation of Ionathan X. Uranus")], in ''[[Observator Cultural]]'', Nr. 299, December 2005; retrieved November 22, 2007 {{in lang|ro}}</ref>

Among the intellectuals who attended his lectures were [[Mihai Şora]] (whom he deemed his favorite student), [[Eugen Schileru]] and [[Miron Constantinescu]]—known later as, respectively, a philosopher, an art critic, and a sociologist and political figure of the [[Communist Romania|communist regime]].<ref name="Şora, Handoca"/> [[Mariana Şora|Mariana Klein]], who became Șora's wife, was one of Eliade's female students, and later authored works on his scholarship.<ref name="Şora, Handoca"/>

Eliade later recounted that he had himself enlisted Zilber as a ''Cuvântul'' contributor, for him to provide a [[Marxism|Marxist]] perspective on the issues discussed by the journal.<ref name="tanasezilber2"/> Their relation soured in 1935, when the latter publicly accused Eliade of serving as an agent for the secret police, ''[[Siguranța Statului]]'' (Sebastian answered to the statement by alleging that Zilber was himself a secret agent, and the latter eventually retracted his claim).<ref name="tanasezilber2"/>