Editor's introduction

This correspondence provides a window into the formative years of René Girard's mimetic theory and Raymund Schwager's dramatic theology, in the last quarter of the twentieth century. It takes place between two convinced Catholic intellectuals. The older man was a French-American genius whose powerful synthesis of psychology, culture, and religion impressed and shaped the younger man"”a Swiss Jesuit theologian, who built a base for developing and commending the mimetic theory at Innsbruck that is still going strong. Not only did Girard influence Schwager's project, which gradually developed into a systematically fully rendered model called dramatic theology,1 but Schwager was a major influence on Girard as well. Our volume presents all of the letters that have come to light. The essay "Beautiful Minds in Dialogue" sets out the provenance of these letters and the story of how a critical edition of the French originals was first published, with parallel German translation. We know that this set of extant letters does not represent the complete correspondence, and you will notice gaps in the flow of communication where some letters are missing. However, what we do have represents a sufficient tranche to establish the strong collaboration, mutual influence, and personal friendship that developed between Girard and Schwager.