The Art of Thought

Rene Daumal, A Night of Serious Drinking


"I refuse to accept that a clear thought can ever be inexpressible. Appearances, however, are against me. For just as there is a level of pain at which the body ceases to feel because, because should it become involved in its pain, should it groan but once, it would seemingly crumble and return to dust; and just as there is a peak at which pain takes to the air on its own wings - so there is a level of thought where words have no part to play. Words are made for a certain exactness of thought, as tears are for a certain degree of pain. What is least distinct can not be named: what is clearest is unutterable. And yet things merely appear so. If human discourse is capable of expressing perfectly no more than a level of thought, it is because the mean of humankind thinks with this degree of intensity; it is to this level it assents, it is to this measure of exactness that it agrees. If we fail to make ourselves clear, we should not blame the tool we use.

Clear discourse presupposes three conditions; a speaker who knows what he wishes to say, a listener in a state of wakefulness, and a language common to both. But it is not enough for a language to be clear in the way that an algebraic proposition is clear. It must also have a real, not simply a possible content. Before this happens, the participants must have, as a fourth element, a common experience of the thing which is spoken of. The common experience is the gold reserve which confers an exchange value on the currency which words are; without this reserve of shared experiences, all our pronouncements are checks drawn on insufficient funds; algebra in fact is no more than a vast intellectual credit exercise, a counterfeiting operation which is legitimate because it is acknowledged: each individual knows that it has its object and meaning in something other than itself, namely arithmetic. But it is still not enough for language to have clarity and content, as when I say "that day, it was raining" or "3 + 2 makes 5"; it must also have a goal and an imperative.

Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble, and from babble to confusion. In this confused state of languages, men even though they have a common experience, have no language with which to exchange its fruits. Then, when this confusion grows intolerable, universal languages are invented, clear and hollow, where words are but counterfeit coins no longer backed by the gold of authentic experiences, languages which allow us from childhood to swell our heads with false knowledge. Between the confusion of Babble and the sterile esperantos, no choice is possible. It is these two forms of non-understanding, but more particularly the second, which I shall describe."
__________________
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow

T. S. Eliot

The Seraph of the Heart

From Idle Speculations

The mysticism of Saint Bonaventura was peculiar in that it was based on a theory of knowledge in which all degrees of knowledge were similarly direct, immediate, and nonrational. One sees God's traces in the sensory world; one sees His image in the mind; one sees His goodness in human goodness; one sees His powers in the operations of our own powers--it is always a question of direct seeing.


Thus we have the possibility of real, rather than notional, assent in all fields of knowledge. We are not forced to know about things; we can know them. We have, to use other familiar terms, direct acquaintance with, rather than descriptions of, them. In other words, there is never any real need for rational discourse, for erudition.


The simplest man of good will can see God as clearly as the most learned scholar. That made a philosophy such as this a perfect instrument for the Christian, for throughout the Christian tradition ran a current of anti-intellectualism.

Meditations on the Tarot

As one example of these insights, consider the distinction Tomberg makes between three forms of mystical experience: union with Nature (pantheism), union with the transcendental human Self (Asian spirituality), and union with God. The later is the goal of Christianity, and is inevitably dualistic because it involves the uniting in love of two distinct beings. Characteristic of this third type of mysticism is the "gift of tears", whereas the "advanced pupil of yoga or Vedanta will forever have dry eyes". Another key point is that for Tomberg "the spiritual world is essentially moral".

As Balthasar writes, after sketching the history of the Kabbalah and the Tarot and the various attempts to reconcile these with Catholicism, Tomberg is interested not in the "commonplace, magical will-to-power, which seeks by way of world forces to gain dominion in the realm of knowledge and in the sphere of destiny. Rather, it is something very different. One can only call it the 'magic of grace', the magic which issues forth from the very heart of the mysteries of the Catholic faith. Since this faith neither is nor aspires to be magical, the 'magic' amounts to the content of faith: that all cosmic 'principalities and powers' are subject to the sole rulership of Christ. The New Testament depicts this subjugation of the cosmic powers to Christ as a process, which - although achieved in principle - will continue until the end of the world. Thereby a dangerous possibility emerges: the temptation - through curiosity or the desire for power - prematurely to give oneself up to the cosmic powers instead of approaching them by way of the triumphant victory of Christ. The right approach is only possible through faith and, ultimately, through truly Christian wisdom.

commentary on Tomberg, from Second Spring Forum

Meditations on the Tarot

As one example of these insights, consider the distinction Tomberg makes between three forms of mystical experience: union with Nature (pantheism), union with the transcendental human Self (Asian spirituality), and union with God. The later is the goal of Christianity, and is inevitably dualistic because it involves the uniting in love of two distinct beings. Characteristic of this third type of mysticism is the "gift of tears", whereas the "advanced pupil of yoga or Vedanta will forever have dry eyes". Another key point is that for Tomberg "the spiritual world is essentially moral".

As Balthasar writes, after sketching the history of the Kabbalah and the Tarot and the various attempts to reconcile these with Catholicism, Tomberg is interested not in the "commonplace, magical will-to-power, which seeks by way of world forces to gain dominion in the realm of knowledge and in the sphere of destiny. Rather, it is something very different. One can only call it the 'magic of grace', the magic which issues forth from the very heart of the mysteries of the Catholic faith. Since this faith neither is nor aspires to be magical, the 'magic' amounts to the content of faith: that all cosmic 'principalities and powers' are subject to the sole rulership of Christ. The New Testament depicts this subjugation of the cosmic powers to Christ as a process, which - although achieved in principle - will continue until the end of the world. Thereby a dangerous possibility emerges: the temptation - through curiosity or the desire for power - prematurely to give oneself up to the cosmic powers instead of approaching them by way of the triumphant victory of Christ. The right approach is only possible through faith and, ultimately, through truly Christian wisdom.

commentary on Tomberg, from Second Spring Forum

SPQR

The return to the Roman Tradition implies the integral return to the spirit of the truth according to the name, symbol and reality of Rome that must be considered as the sacred, indefectible, unpolluted apex, beyond any egoism or ambition of men or peoples, in the true light of the divine plane to which it belongs. This and nothing else is the ultimate goal of the Roman Tradition, the exaltation of the power of Rome in the ambit of the Tradition that alone can give truth, justice and greatness to the West.

The restoration that we propose, by taking up again the thought, aspiration and ideal of Dante, is a return to the spirit of Rome, not the repetition pure and simple of the past that would in any case by unrealizable since nothing repeats itself in the contingencies of the world, but the integral adherence to those eternal principles of truth that are contained in the Holy Books and expressed by ancient symbols.

- Julius Evola, The Roman Tradition from Gornahoor

Edward Gibbon, I read your Book!

Peter Frost has some good arguments as to why Edward Gibbon may have been (God bless the old pagan) partially right in attributing Rome's fall to "Christianity". I think the main point here is that we "Christians" have absorbed a rather vain glorious view of ourselves (necessary as children, shameful in an adult) in which people like Saint Martin of Tours didn't essentially act as an imprudent jerk in abandoning all of Gaul to the barbarians in favor of his monastery. Sulcipius Severus has the whole story, if you want to look it up. Of course, it's hard to judge a man (let alone a saint's) heart, but it does seem like the Christian religion unnecessarily abandoned the legitimate use of the sword. Looking at what passes for "Christianity" these days, one can certainly sympathize with the old Romans who saw it as a religion for the weak, the deracinated, the effeminate, and those dead to Roman customs. Or take the story of Iceland's conversion - peace was made by the man respected by both sides, but as soon as he died, the "Christians" violated their agreements with the pagans. Should we return to the Runes?

Roman Persecutions

In order of succession, the Gnosis that Jesus revealed to John, James, and Peter after His resurrection reached Clement of Alexandria (about 160-215) and his direct disciples. Due to the persecutions of the third century, and the troubles that arose in the heart of Christianity after it became the State religion, it became imperative to make it ‘hermetic’ if it were to survive. Hidden like a treasure buried in the earth, it slienty made its way and, like a subterranean stream, flowed from master to disciple and from generation to generation until the present, when it rose to the surface again. Stripped of its occult character, it reappears with it original significance as an esoteric projection into the future taking the form of a New Covenant, or, in other words, a Third Testament.

The Law of the Old Testament, dictated to Moses on Mount Sinai amid thunder and lightning, took the form of a command. On the other hand the New Testament was not imposed on human beings, it came to them as Good News, and each was free to welcome or reject it. Though of great significance, this difference goes unnoticed. We will try to understand this different attitude of the divine Will in the two cases. This will enable us to penetrate more deeply the true meaning of the Third Testament, as well as its message.

~ Boris Mouravieff, Gnosis Book Three VII, IV (1)


Something I've wondered about relates to this. What did the persecutions inevitably do to the Faith? We often act as if we "won" and nothing changed, but in the real world (and the unreal world) we know this is not how things work...

Hate Crimes

Anyway, a question, hypothetical. "[A] minister gives a sermon, quotes the Bible about homosexuality, is thereafter attacked by a gay activist because of what the minister said about his religious beliefs and what Scripture says about homosexuality." Is the minister protected, is what Sessions said. Here's a portion of the answer, the testimony from Eric Holder.

HOLDER: Well, the statute would not -- would not necessarily cover that. We're talking about crimes that have a historic basis. Groups who have been targeted for violence as a result of the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, that is what this statute tends -- is designed to cover. We don't have the indication that the attack was motivated by a person's desire to strike at somebody who was in one of these protected groups. That would not be covered by the statute.

Transcript

How did people think "hate crimes" would work? For everyone?

The Banality of Evil

Gurdjieff applied these words to minor concepts, as well as some major ones. One of the major concepts is where Gurdjieff applies the word Hasnamuss to certain types of people. According to Beelzebub's Tales, Hasnamuss is a being who acquires "something" which creates certain harmful factors for himself, as well as for those around him. According to Gurdjieff this applies to "average people" as well as to those who are on "higher levels".

This "something" is formed in beings as a result of the following manifestations:

1) Every kind of depravity, conscious as well as unconscious

2) The feeling of self-satisfaction from leading others astray

3) The irresistible inclination to destroy the existence of other breathing creatures

4) The urge to become free from the necessity of actualizing the being-efforts demanded by nature

5) The attempt by every kind to artificially conceal from others what in their opinion are one's physical defects

6) The calm self-contentment in the use of what is not personally deserved

7) The striving to be not what one is

Brand Label Conservatism

Conservatives are their own worst enemy. Many people like (and want) conservative policies - until they see the brand label.

Modernity's Beauty?

David Nye points to the fact that experiences of the sublime are not confined to the grand vistas of nature, but are also found in technological and urban civilization.

“A city sounds much different at the top of a skyscraper than on the streets below. The wind makes on feel more vulnerable out on the open span of a long bridge. The steam locomotive shook the ground and filled the air with an alien smell of steam, smoke, and sparks; the Saturn rocket did much the same thing on a larger scale. The strong contrast between the silence of a rocket’s liftoff and the sudden roar that follows a few seconds later is also a vital element in making that spectacle sublime. The sheer size of the crowd attracted to a technological display further arouses the emotions. In each event, the human subject feels that the familiar envelope of sensory experience has been rent asunder.”

Leithart - This quote reminds me of Junger's essay "On Pain" where much the same claim is made.

Silence

The Last Angel

The Princeton Plato

Funny thing about the Princeton Plato, Jonathan Edwards, is how he transcends all later American denominational stereotypes. He promotes revival like the most enthusiastic Charismatic, accommodates secular learning like the most worldly Episcopalian, preaches hellfire like the stoutest Baptist, celebrates beauty like an Orthodox iconographer, subscribes to sovereignty like an uncompromising Presbyterian, and practices personal piety like the most earnest of Methodists. Best of all, he typologizes like a Catholic, and the way he uses nature to extrapolate about the character of God makes him thoroughly guilty of the (Christologically grounded) analogia entis. Edwards is, as Perry Miller put it, a Puritan Saint.

Millinerd on Princeton Plato