Augustine inaugurated the path of confessionalism with his Credo, ut intelligam. All of the Axial Age Monotheistic religions developed a “heart path” which was mystical. This path was recognized by Gurdjieff as being one of the three paths to transcendence, along with the mind (yoga) and the body (fakir). Although … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: April 2011
The Glory of God
“The essential American soul is hard, stoic, isolate, and a killer. It has never yet melted”. – DH Lawrence If it is true that the “Great Divide” was the Middle Ages, it might be worthwhile examining to what extent they remain with us, and how we might recover such. Ordinarily, … Continue reading
The Great Divide and our Ownmost
In The Hermetic Tradition, Julius Evola mentions two competing views of history: History is the continuous upward evolution of collective humanity. Civilizations arise, mature and die in a series of epochs and disconnected cycles. The first, he rejects out of hand. The second has some merit yet is inadequate. When … Continue reading
Titus Flavius Clemens and the Golden Chain
What evidence could we adduce for the claim that Clement of Alexandria possessed secret wisdom? First of all, we could establish his difference from (say) Tertullian or even Jerome (who had the dream about getting rid of his pagan library): “…by philosophy I mean not the Stoic, nor the Platonic, … Continue reading
Death and Stupidity
Originally published in July, 2007 for a private seminar. Call no man happy until he is dead. ~ Ancient Greek proverb Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more of it there must be … Continue reading
Archaeology of the Soul
What tradition can remain to us of those generations that have not left us a single written line? … Fortunately, the past never completely dies for man. Man may forget it, but he always preserves it within him. For, take him at any epoch, and he is the product, the … Continue reading
Knowledge and Love
Originally published in 2006. Jack and Jill were playing and fetching water one day, when Jack had this sudden realization: “I love you”, he said to Jill. This is the essence of metaphysical intuition, not in the sense of a gut feeling or hunch, but of a direct and positive … Continue reading