What is now called the Christian religion already existed among the ancients, and was not lacking at the very beginnings of the human race. When Christ appeared in the flesh, the true religion already in existence received the name of Christian. ~ Augustine of Hippo Augustine was involved both in … Continue reading
It is pointless to repeat something to the intelligent man and it is futile to repeat it to the unwise. Continue reading
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
“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
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
In all of us there dwells a secret marvelous power of freeing ourselves from the changes of time, of withdrawing to our secret selves away from external things, and of so discovering to ourselves the eternal in us in the form of unchangeability. This presentation of ourselves to ourselves is the most truly personal experience upon which depends everything that we know of the supra-sensual world. Continue reading
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
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
this path is not for the man with a pedigree but rather for the Twice-born, or noble man. This path is not for the man with a degree, but rather for the man of power. This path is not for the specialist, but rather for the genius. Continue reading