Transcending oneself: this is the great imperative of the human condition; and there is another that anticipates it and at the same time prolongs it: dominating oneself. The noble man is the one who dominates himself; the holy man is the one who transcends himself. ~ Frithjof Schuon In writing … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Nietzsche for Today
This essay by Julius Evola was originally published in the journal “Roma” on 28 July 1971 under the title “Nietzsche ancora oggi”. This is Evola’s mature statement on Nietzsche, although it is not always clear if he is describing Nietzsche or himself. Tomorrow we will post our own opinions on … Continue reading
Numbers According to Iamblichus
Plato said that no one could be a philosopher who had not studied mathematics. Undoubtedly, this is partially a reference to the Pythagoreans. Having been a mathematical dunce until college (although not innumerate entirely), this is part of my penance, to work through Iamblichus’ treatise. Luckily, this work supplies a … Continue reading
The Mystery of Sleep
Sleep is not the mystery as it is the normal state of nature. The real mystery is awakening The end of a world never is and never can be anything but the end of an illusion. ~ Rene Guenon The world ended in 2012, right on schedule, or at least … Continue reading
Some observations regarding Christmas
The ancient dispute of the emerging Christian tradition against the dying greco-roman-meditaranean paganisms very much remained confined to the externals. The fight against the neo-platonist school, for instance, as well as against much of the Hellenistic doctrines was, in the end, completely surpassed. The Church Fathers, on the one hand, … Continue reading
Spiritual Combat and the War on Christmas
With all the recent publicity about the so-called “war on Christmas”, as it has weirdly become the “holiday that dare not speak its name”, it is easy to forget that there has always been a war on Christmas, ever since Herod. The forces of revolution are the obvious culprits, who … Continue reading
Principle X: Tradition
From Chapter II, “Principles”, La Tradition, of Mes Idées Politique, by Charles Maurras. Maurras concludes his list of fundamental principles with Tradition. This will be a disappointment to those who want to reduce everything to the rational, since traditional is beyond that. It is tied, as he says, to “blood … Continue reading
The Poet and the Sacred
The most ancient Traditions are expresses in the form of poetry as, for example, in the Hindu Mahabharata, which includes the Bhagavad Gita, or the poems of Homer. These poems were originally sung, rather than read, by the priests of wandering cantors. As we have pointed out, poetry reaches a … Continue reading
Thoughts on Evil, Disorder, and Redemption
There was an early morning fire in Boca Raton at a sushi restaurant … it seems someone had left the stove on. Why does a sushi restaurant need a stove? It is more than a little amusing that men who are clueless about what they want in their own lives … Continue reading