"Romanian historian and philosopher of comparative religion， born in Bucharest. A student of Indian philosophy and Sanskrit at Calcutta University （1928-31） before becoming a lecturer in the history of religion and metaphysics at Bucharest from 1933 to 1939. He served in the diplomatic service during World War II， and later taught at the Sorbonne （1946-8） and the University of Chicago （1957-85）. Author of many books and papers. He was editor-in-chief of The Encyclopaedia of Religion （1987）."