From the descriptions of Greek philosophy found in the research of both Pierre Hadot and Anton Dumitriu, we are confronted with a startling emphasis on the ‘practical,’ that is, the ‘experimental’ dimension of philosophy.
The powers-that-be dislike inherited forms, like the feminine woman and the masculine man, whose roles and relationships escape their control.
FROM THE SUMMER 2023 PRINT EDITION: We need to educate people to understand that the culture they have is a product of human history and choice, and to see that, beyond gratitude to their ancestors, they also have obligations to those who will come after them.
Christ alone can rescue His Church, but we have ousted Him in a diabolic effort to divorce Bride from Bridegroom. Perhaps the sacred magic of Hermes Trismegistus is what’s needed to banish the black magic of Enlightened man.
The bullfight will long continue to fascinate, as well as shock, upset, and mesmerise. Hemingway wrote, “Anything capable of arousing passion in its favour will surely raise as much passion against it.”
The spirit of modern Western man is like a faulty pressure cooker that’s going to explode, and every attempt to fix the problem pushes him further into false and malignant solutions of individualism, statism, transhumanism, and all the deceitful promises of the technological age.
“Some have questioned the importance of remembering our painful history. To those who believe that the youth should not be burdened with the past, let me say: a nation without memory is like a ship without a rudder and compass.”
It seems to me that the paradigm of rationalism—with all its chaotic relationships, ugly architecture, shallow sentimentalism, fetishization of abstractions, legal positivism, and blindness to persons—to which the institutional Church has conceded so much moral territory, must be overcome if we are to recover the primacy of the mystical in the life of the Church.
The advent of scientific ‘progress’ and the marginalisation of the farming world have given the illusion that we can do without them. Climate change has put things back in their proper place, and we are seeing the return of rogations and processions in our countries.
Never in human history has it been easier and cheaper to amass an enormous personal library of the greatest literature produced by our civilization (and others)—and never, perhaps, has it been more important to do so.
FROM THE SUMMER 2023 PRINT EDITION: In Europe, populists were permanently marginalised—or so it was claimed by hostile observers. However, since pandemic policies ended, unresolved problems have returned to the forefront of political debate, giving a boost to right-wing populist parties everywhere.
The message Monteverdi wants to deliver is clear: “I master all techniques and styles, from the most learned ‘stile antico’ to the most modern styles.” Not surprisingly, a contemporary described him as “the greatest composer in Italy.” As far as I am concerned, he could have added: “of all time.”
