Elephas Levi (the pen name of Abb Louis Constant, 1810-1875) was one of the leading occultists of the 19th century. For most of his life he was a Roman Catholic priest; even after he was defrocked in 1844, his views continued to have a strong Catholic influence. His books, translated into English after his death, were essential to the development of other occultists such as Albert Pike, Helena Blavatsky, A.E. Waite, and Aleister Crowley.

"Paradoxes of the Highest Science" was the first of Levi's books to be translated into English. (The original French version was published in 1856.) This edition reprints the 1883 text issued by the Theosophical Society (translated by Anonymous) and includes the 1922 commentary by "an Eminent Occultist" (perhaps Helena P. Blavatsky).

In addition to "Paradoxes of the Highest Science," this edition includes two more essays by Levi, "Synthetic Recapitulation" and "The Great Secret."