...Jim Blaisdell suspects there's somethin' strange, but he doesn't know. I'll shore never tell anyone else but you. An' you must promise to keep my secret now an' after I am gone."
"I promise," said Jean.
"Wal, an' now to get it out," began his father, breathing hard. His face twitched and his hands clenched "The sheepman heah I have to reckon with is Lee Jorth, a lifelong enemy of mine. We were born in the same town, played together as chldren, an' fought with each other as boys. We never got along together. An' we both fell in love with the same girl. It was nip an' tuck for a while. Ellen Sutton belonged to one of the old families of the South. She was a beauty, an' much courted, an' I reckon it was hard for her to choose. But I won her an' we became engaged. Then the war broke out. I enlisted with my brother Jean. He advised me to marry Ellen before I left. But I would not. That was the blunder of my life. Soon after our partin' her letters ceased to come. But I didn't distrust her. That was a terrible time an' all was confusion. Then I got crippled an' put in a hospital. An' in aboot a year I was sent back home."
At this juncture Jean refrained from further gaze at his father's face.
"Lee Jorth had gotten out of goin' to wawr," went on the rancher, in lower, thicker voice.
"He'd married my sweetheart, Ellen...I knew the story long before I got well. He had run after her like a hound after a hare...An' Ellen married him. Wal, when I was able to get aboot I went to see Jorth an' Ellen. I confronted them. I had to know why she had gone back on me. Lee Jorth hadn't changed any with all his good fortune. He'd made Ellen b'lieve in my dishonor...But, I reckon, lies or no lies, Ellen Sutton was faithless. In my absence he had won her away from me. An' I saw that she loved him as she never had me. I rekon that killed all my generosity. If she'd been imposed upon an' weaned away by his lies an' had regretted me a little I'd have forgiven, perhaps. But she worshipped him. She was his slave. An' I, wal, I learned what hate was."
"The war ruined the Suttons, same as so many Southerners. Lee Jorth went in for raisin' cattle. He'd gotten the Sutton range an' after a few years he began to accumulate stock. In those days every cattleman was little bit of a thief. Every cattleman drove in an' branded calves he couldn't swear was his. Wal, the Isbels were the strongest cattle raisers in that country. An' I laid a trap for Lee Jorth, caught him in the act of brandin' calves of mine I'd marked, an' I proved him a thief. I made him a rustler. I ruined him. We met once. But Jorth was one Texan not strong on the draw, at least against an Isbel. He left the country. He had friends an' relatives an' they started him at stock raisin' again. But he began to gamble an' he got in with a shady crowd. He went from bad to worse an' then he came back home. When I saw the change in proud, beautiful Ellen Sutton, an' how she still worshipped Jorth, it shore drove me near mad between pity an' hate...Wal, I reckon in a Texan hate outlives any other feelin'. There came a strange turn of the wheel an' my fortunes changed. Like most young bloods of the day, I drank an' gambled. An' one night I run across Jorth an' a card-sharp friend. He fleeced me. We quarreled. Guns were thrown. I killed my man...Aboot that period the Texas Rangers had come into existence...An', son, when I said that I never was run out of Texas I wasn't holdin' to strict truth. I rode out on a hoss...
-Zane Grey, "To the Last Man"
Monday, June 29, 2009
Dunderberg
Dunderberg, "Thunder Mountain," at the southern gate of the Hudson Highlands, is a wooded eminence, chiefly populated by a crew of imps of stout circumference, whose leader, the Heer, is a bulbous goblin clad in the dress worn by the Dutch colonists two centuries ago, and carrying a speaking trumpet, through which he bawls his orders for the blowing of winds and the touching off of lightnings. These orders are given in Low Dutch, and are put into execution by the imps aforesaid, who troop into the air and tumble about in the mist, sometimes smiting the flag or topsail of a ship to ribbons...
Skinner, Charles M. Myths and Legends of our Own Land. J.B. Lippencott. New York 1896.
Skinner, Charles M. Myths and Legends of our Own Land. J.B. Lippencott. New York 1896.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
First Travels of Max
..."Become St. Michael's sword!" said Max to the stick,
And to the stone, "Be a forty-four revolver!"
Then Max was glad that he had armed so wisely
As darker grew the wood, and shrill with silence.
All good fairies were helpless here; at night
Whipped in an inch of their lives; weeping, forbidden
To play with strange scared truant little boys
Who didn't belong there. Snakes were allowed there
And lizards and adders - people of age and evil
That lay on their bellies and whispered - no bird nor rabbit.
There in the middle of the wood was the Red Witch.
Max half expected her. He never imagined
A witch's house that would be red and dirty,
Or a witch's bosom wide and yellow as butter,
Or one that combed so many obscene things
From her black hair into her scarlet lap;
He never believed there would attempt to sing
The one that taught the rats to squeal...
-John Crowe Ransom
And to the stone, "Be a forty-four revolver!"
Then Max was glad that he had armed so wisely
As darker grew the wood, and shrill with silence.
All good fairies were helpless here; at night
Whipped in an inch of their lives; weeping, forbidden
To play with strange scared truant little boys
Who didn't belong there. Snakes were allowed there
And lizards and adders - people of age and evil
That lay on their bellies and whispered - no bird nor rabbit.
There in the middle of the wood was the Red Witch.
Max half expected her. He never imagined
A witch's house that would be red and dirty,
Or a witch's bosom wide and yellow as butter,
Or one that combed so many obscene things
From her black hair into her scarlet lap;
He never believed there would attempt to sing
The one that taught the rats to squeal...
-John Crowe Ransom
Dream
"What feast is this?" I whispered, reeling, lost.
Round the court their laughter, thinner than the breeze
Through the poplar lanes whose dark geometries
Had led me, hushed; they turned in their lifted toast.
"Your birthday, Prince?" I faltered to their host.
Grave-eyed and calm they weighed me; founts of snow
Spewed wine; the walls were lakes of phosphor glow.
He smiled whose crown bore gems as cold as frost
Then, like a statue pealing, from his throne
He spoke: "Ours is the Land Where All is Known.
That birth of mine we feast is not of breath,
But one contracted on those calendars."
And from his robe a pale arm showed the stars.
"This night, this hour, I am three years under death."
-Jesse Wills
Round the court their laughter, thinner than the breeze
Through the poplar lanes whose dark geometries
Had led me, hushed; they turned in their lifted toast.
"Your birthday, Prince?" I faltered to their host.
Grave-eyed and calm they weighed me; founts of snow
Spewed wine; the walls were lakes of phosphor glow.
He smiled whose crown bore gems as cold as frost
Then, like a statue pealing, from his throne
He spoke: "Ours is the Land Where All is Known.
That birth of mine we feast is not of breath,
But one contracted on those calendars."
And from his robe a pale arm showed the stars.
"This night, this hour, I am three years under death."
-Jesse Wills
Premonition
The friendly milestones passing waved me on;
The road ahead was level as behind,
The plain as fair. What need had I to mind
Grim tales sent back by those who once had gone
This way? Could that bright, careless gold
Of dandelions, those grackles glittering,
Sun-purpled, or the field larks that took wing
Portend a scoriac desert, chasms, and cold?
Nonsense! Yet for the moment trees had grown
A little denser so that the green flames died
From grass and leaves. Earth shook as thought it snored,
Troubled with dreams of thunder, and I spied
Far off above a pale wall, cloud or stone,
Brandished, the yellow lightning of a sword.
-Jesse Wills
The road ahead was level as behind,
The plain as fair. What need had I to mind
Grim tales sent back by those who once had gone
This way? Could that bright, careless gold
Of dandelions, those grackles glittering,
Sun-purpled, or the field larks that took wing
Portend a scoriac desert, chasms, and cold?
Nonsense! Yet for the moment trees had grown
A little denser so that the green flames died
From grass and leaves. Earth shook as thought it snored,
Troubled with dreams of thunder, and I spied
Far off above a pale wall, cloud or stone,
Brandished, the yellow lightning of a sword.
-Jesse Wills
Magic
He could not synchronize old shadowed pain,
(Which moves detached along an under cave)
With the present pulse, which sweeps in junketings
To climaxes previsioning a grave.
But trefoils spring where fair Iseult
Once passed through love to martyrdom.
The flash of muscled arms in Babylon,
The porting ships of kings at Avalon,
Receding mountains of Icelandic gloom,
And dangered paths of queens in Ascalon,
Penumbral, tint the whitest flower
That tangles with the instant hour.
-Walter Clyde Curry
(Which moves detached along an under cave)
With the present pulse, which sweeps in junketings
To climaxes previsioning a grave.
But trefoils spring where fair Iseult
Once passed through love to martyrdom.
The flash of muscled arms in Babylon,
The porting ships of kings at Avalon,
Receding mountains of Icelandic gloom,
And dangered paths of queens in Ascalon,
Penumbral, tint the whitest flower
That tangles with the instant hour.
-Walter Clyde Curry
An Outland Piper
I heard strange pipes when I was young,
Piping songs of an outland tongue.
I heard, and was agape to see
How like that piper was to me,
His brow, his gesture, even his dress
Perfections of my awkwardness,
And wandering forms of early wonder
Shaped into him, no more asunder...
Playing a tune to the rabble's whim
He marched away; I followed him.
For something in his rolling eye
Plucked at my senses mightily,
And something in that outland tongue
Drew me away, for I was young.
Then over the town he piping went;
Streets tipped, I thought, in ravishment;
Roofs clapped, and windows blazed to see
That alien piper, so like me...
I followed till the pipes trilled sweet,
At the winding end of an unknown street,
And none of all the mob was nigh,
Nor door nor window cracked an eye
And - "Follow me no more," he said,
"Though I be of thy father bred,
And though I speak from thine own blood,
Yet I am not of mortal blood;
And follow not my piping sweet
To find the walking world a cheat;
And cherish not my outland grace,
Nor pride in likeness to my face,
For children of an earthly mother
Cry out upon their demon brother."
His smile flashed out a sudden dawn,
In the dark stree, -then he was gone;
And through the town where he had sung
The futile ravelled silence hung.
I heard, but I could not forget,
And through the world I follow yet,
And many a time I pause and sigh,
Thinking I hear his melody;
And peer at all men's charactery
to find that image so like me;
And wonder that his piping sweet
Left me to know a world's deceit,
Left me to seek an unknown kin
Through all the streets I travel in.
-Donald Davidson
Piping songs of an outland tongue.
I heard, and was agape to see
How like that piper was to me,
His brow, his gesture, even his dress
Perfections of my awkwardness,
And wandering forms of early wonder
Shaped into him, no more asunder...
Playing a tune to the rabble's whim
He marched away; I followed him.
For something in his rolling eye
Plucked at my senses mightily,
And something in that outland tongue
Drew me away, for I was young.
Then over the town he piping went;
Streets tipped, I thought, in ravishment;
Roofs clapped, and windows blazed to see
That alien piper, so like me...
I followed till the pipes trilled sweet,
At the winding end of an unknown street,
And none of all the mob was nigh,
Nor door nor window cracked an eye
And - "Follow me no more," he said,
"Though I be of thy father bred,
And though I speak from thine own blood,
Yet I am not of mortal blood;
And follow not my piping sweet
To find the walking world a cheat;
And cherish not my outland grace,
Nor pride in likeness to my face,
For children of an earthly mother
Cry out upon their demon brother."
His smile flashed out a sudden dawn,
In the dark stree, -then he was gone;
And through the town where he had sung
The futile ravelled silence hung.
I heard, but I could not forget,
And through the world I follow yet,
And many a time I pause and sigh,
Thinking I hear his melody;
And peer at all men's charactery
to find that image so like me;
And wonder that his piping sweet
Left me to know a world's deceit,
Left me to seek an unknown kin
Through all the streets I travel in.
-Donald Davidson
Avalon
There was glory on the windy street
As he went stumbling home,
For the grape had climbed to a lofty seat
Under the tippling dome,
And he heard the grog in a jubilant hum
Pounding the casks of Christendom
Yet something absent plagued his mind -
Change that would not be changed.
The blossoms blew upon the wind.
Horns rang - as he arranged -
But he could not charm to the tinselled air
A golden presence once known there...
The spring had power; the streets grew dark.
He sought in hopeful tryst,
At door and window's slitted spark
The vision that he missed,
The final grace to seal the spell,
The shadow that was Rosabelle...
Fair Rosabelle was not abroad.
Could he call the journey waste?
At least he declared himself not awed
By the wonder of the spires interlaced
On the heavenward towers of Avalon,
For he looked, -and towers cracked and were gone...
He commanded no other sort of magic
As he went shambling home,
But he sat on the doorsteps finding it tragic
(Under a tippling dome)
To face a snow and a bleak wind slanting
Or within, a cold voice, peevish and ranting.
-Donald Davidson
As he went stumbling home,
For the grape had climbed to a lofty seat
Under the tippling dome,
And he heard the grog in a jubilant hum
Pounding the casks of Christendom
Yet something absent plagued his mind -
Change that would not be changed.
The blossoms blew upon the wind.
Horns rang - as he arranged -
But he could not charm to the tinselled air
A golden presence once known there...
The spring had power; the streets grew dark.
He sought in hopeful tryst,
At door and window's slitted spark
The vision that he missed,
The final grace to seal the spell,
The shadow that was Rosabelle...
Fair Rosabelle was not abroad.
Could he call the journey waste?
At least he declared himself not awed
By the wonder of the spires interlaced
On the heavenward towers of Avalon,
For he looked, -and towers cracked and were gone...
He commanded no other sort of magic
As he went shambling home,
But he sat on the doorsteps finding it tragic
(Under a tippling dome)
To face a snow and a bleak wind slanting
Or within, a cold voice, peevish and ranting.
-Donald Davidson
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Running of Streight
-And so there came a time when battles lagged.
It was sixty-three. The cavalry went riding
North into Tennessee with Forrest at last.
At Thompson's Station, Brentwood, Harpeth River,
They slashed at Rosecrans' rear, and kept him scared
While Bragg lay quiet, idling in the hills,
And Forrest was tetchy as a cat;
He needed room to work his temper off
And got it, when the Yankees tried his trick,
And sent Streight riding deep in Alabama...
So Forrest got his orders , and they rode
Looking for trouble and shouting to head it off.
Men wanted no rooster crow to waken them.
At three o'clock there were stars in the ragged clouds;
The critters were limber on Pulaski Pike.
That was a day - and another - on the third
They rode to the sound of guns in Alabama,
Beyond Town Creek, and made a line of battle
And at day-dawn on Sand Mountain dropped
One cannon-shot on General Dodge's tents -
A visiting card, with Forrest's kind respects...
Like hounds through the mist and rain the cannon belled.
Their mouths were set for Yankee meat, but no,
The Yankee bear laid low that day. They hushed
The hounds' voices, waiting. Dodge was fooling.
The bear made show for a fox who had stolen away.
Then, when the bugles blew, the word was passed;
Men had the news that Streight had slipped away
From the Yankee rear, swinging east with a raid,
Thousands in line, all cavalry and guns,
Bound somewhere, God knew where, to burn or kill.
They set their mouths for fox, and were right glad...
Then Forrest came among them, and his beard
Was thick with battle, and his skin was red
With hot blood-anger as he gave commands.
He said these were picked men; and all the rest
Must go to hold the line; his boys would ride.
The blue eyes of Forrest took in the horse...
The blackness beat men's faces with a drizzle,
And all that night the lick of cold rain creeping
In the stiff boot. Men could not see their horses'
Ears, and the bridle rein was a twitching
Halter slipped on the great mane of the dark.
Dawn saw the column twine by mist hung creeks.
The Alabamans said: "Behind that fog
Is Sand Mountain - and a road by Day's Gap...
Mist towered on the slopes like Indian ghosts.
No sound or track to tell of any foe.
They looked and rode again, and at Moulton resting
Took saddles off; men said the climb was long.
At the bugle call they tossed the stirrups high,
The sun charged through spent clouds; and Forrest
Galloped the line on his black horse and hollered,
Move up, men! And the blood of an Alabama
April where the fox runs into morning
Yelled at the rebel lips as the wild hoofs rang
Thunder against the mountain, and it was spring...
Miles went under their feet. They scaled ravines
And saw new mountains where the low sun raked
Tall pines with little strength, and twilight
Darkened Hog mountain where again the rifles
Blazed from shadow; and again they followed
Shoulders of Forrest heaving through the fight
As once more Streight turned, firing.
In charge after charge the Rebel yell went up
Like the long keen of the mountain cat. It made
A music fit to mix with the bullet's whiine,
And Streight talked back with the loud bass of cannon...
The running went to the Black Warrior River
That running went over rocks and fallen trees,
By crossroads and by field, by land and water
They gnawed and nagged and shot and charged him down,
And soon by country stores and villages
Came fast and hard, while women and old men
Waved from porches, whooped at roadside gates
Without a rest of the spend fox, without
A spell to tighten girth or breathe a horse.
They left him not a shady place to lie in,
They cut him off from every telegraph,
They drove him from his oats, his corn, his pasture,
They harried Streight to hell in Alabama...
Hardly six hundred out of Forrest's men
Were left to ride and fight, grim riders all
On steeds the last and finest, steeds the best
Of all that great breed that the stallions got
On Tennessee hills, Kentucky bluegrass land;
Down valleys now they rode; their long hair fell
Tangled beneath the sodden hat; the flesh
Clung to the bone; eyes red with wind and madness
Clutched at the swimming road. The flag went up.
The bugle sang. Taller than sons of men,
The avengers followed Forrest's shout, and all
Who saw them whispered, Now they'll cut Streight off!
Whispered, and saw the white teeth ground beneath
The muddy beard, and said, It's Bedford Forrest...
And Forrest said, they had surrounded Streight,
Riders behind, riders in front. He waved
A gauntlet, and around the ridge and back,
And back again, and back again, his lone
Five hundred men and guns paraded all.
I've got enough to whip you out of your boots,
Forrest said, and the bluff worked, and then
Without a shot the Yankees stacked their arms,
But wanted them back, seeing they had been fooled...
And then rode on to Rome where hills and trees
Pierce the sweet mountain air by Coosa River.
They saw the pretty girls crying and laughing all
Together, and children waving flags, the South
Swept into victory on Forrest's shoulders.
Forrest they followed all in that great riding
And had their time of glory under the sun.
Then regiments moved in column where the fields
Sloped toward the mountain pines, and Tennessee
Called for her Forrest boys, and Mississippi
Beckoned through battle murk, and roads
Of Alabama gathered with lean men
Riding to meet the flag and follow where
The Wizard of the Saddle led them on.
-Donald Davidson
It was sixty-three. The cavalry went riding
North into Tennessee with Forrest at last.
At Thompson's Station, Brentwood, Harpeth River,
They slashed at Rosecrans' rear, and kept him scared
While Bragg lay quiet, idling in the hills,
And Forrest was tetchy as a cat;
He needed room to work his temper off
And got it, when the Yankees tried his trick,
And sent Streight riding deep in Alabama...
So Forrest got his orders , and they rode
Looking for trouble and shouting to head it off.
Men wanted no rooster crow to waken them.
At three o'clock there were stars in the ragged clouds;
The critters were limber on Pulaski Pike.
That was a day - and another - on the third
They rode to the sound of guns in Alabama,
Beyond Town Creek, and made a line of battle
And at day-dawn on Sand Mountain dropped
One cannon-shot on General Dodge's tents -
A visiting card, with Forrest's kind respects...
Like hounds through the mist and rain the cannon belled.
Their mouths were set for Yankee meat, but no,
The Yankee bear laid low that day. They hushed
The hounds' voices, waiting. Dodge was fooling.
The bear made show for a fox who had stolen away.
Then, when the bugles blew, the word was passed;
Men had the news that Streight had slipped away
From the Yankee rear, swinging east with a raid,
Thousands in line, all cavalry and guns,
Bound somewhere, God knew where, to burn or kill.
They set their mouths for fox, and were right glad...
Then Forrest came among them, and his beard
Was thick with battle, and his skin was red
With hot blood-anger as he gave commands.
He said these were picked men; and all the rest
Must go to hold the line; his boys would ride.
The blue eyes of Forrest took in the horse...
The blackness beat men's faces with a drizzle,
And all that night the lick of cold rain creeping
In the stiff boot. Men could not see their horses'
Ears, and the bridle rein was a twitching
Halter slipped on the great mane of the dark.
Dawn saw the column twine by mist hung creeks.
The Alabamans said: "Behind that fog
Is Sand Mountain - and a road by Day's Gap...
Mist towered on the slopes like Indian ghosts.
No sound or track to tell of any foe.
They looked and rode again, and at Moulton resting
Took saddles off; men said the climb was long.
At the bugle call they tossed the stirrups high,
The sun charged through spent clouds; and Forrest
Galloped the line on his black horse and hollered,
Move up, men! And the blood of an Alabama
April where the fox runs into morning
Yelled at the rebel lips as the wild hoofs rang
Thunder against the mountain, and it was spring...
Miles went under their feet. They scaled ravines
And saw new mountains where the low sun raked
Tall pines with little strength, and twilight
Darkened Hog mountain where again the rifles
Blazed from shadow; and again they followed
Shoulders of Forrest heaving through the fight
As once more Streight turned, firing.
In charge after charge the Rebel yell went up
Like the long keen of the mountain cat. It made
A music fit to mix with the bullet's whiine,
And Streight talked back with the loud bass of cannon...
The running went to the Black Warrior River
That running went over rocks and fallen trees,
By crossroads and by field, by land and water
They gnawed and nagged and shot and charged him down,
And soon by country stores and villages
Came fast and hard, while women and old men
Waved from porches, whooped at roadside gates
Without a rest of the spend fox, without
A spell to tighten girth or breathe a horse.
They left him not a shady place to lie in,
They cut him off from every telegraph,
They drove him from his oats, his corn, his pasture,
They harried Streight to hell in Alabama...
Hardly six hundred out of Forrest's men
Were left to ride and fight, grim riders all
On steeds the last and finest, steeds the best
Of all that great breed that the stallions got
On Tennessee hills, Kentucky bluegrass land;
Down valleys now they rode; their long hair fell
Tangled beneath the sodden hat; the flesh
Clung to the bone; eyes red with wind and madness
Clutched at the swimming road. The flag went up.
The bugle sang. Taller than sons of men,
The avengers followed Forrest's shout, and all
Who saw them whispered, Now they'll cut Streight off!
Whispered, and saw the white teeth ground beneath
The muddy beard, and said, It's Bedford Forrest...
And Forrest said, they had surrounded Streight,
Riders behind, riders in front. He waved
A gauntlet, and around the ridge and back,
And back again, and back again, his lone
Five hundred men and guns paraded all.
I've got enough to whip you out of your boots,
Forrest said, and the bluff worked, and then
Without a shot the Yankees stacked their arms,
But wanted them back, seeing they had been fooled...
And then rode on to Rome where hills and trees
Pierce the sweet mountain air by Coosa River.
They saw the pretty girls crying and laughing all
Together, and children waving flags, the South
Swept into victory on Forrest's shoulders.
Forrest they followed all in that great riding
And had their time of glory under the sun.
Then regiments moved in column where the fields
Sloped toward the mountain pines, and Tennessee
Called for her Forrest boys, and Mississippi
Beckoned through battle murk, and roads
Of Alabama gathered with lean men
Riding to meet the flag and follow where
The Wizard of the Saddle led them on.
-Donald Davidson
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Doctrine of Awakening - 3
...it is possible to conceive of and to work out what we may call a pure ascesis, that is to say, one made up of techniques for developing an interior force, the use of which, to begin with, remains undetermined...
...it is not a question of "values" but of "instruments," instruments of a virtus, not in the moralistic sense but in the ancient sense of virile energy.
The concept and the realization of the extreme apex or, in other words, of that which is beyond both such a "being" and its opposite, "nonbeing," was and is natural to the Aryan spirit. It does not deny the theistic point of view but recognizes it in its rightful hierarchic place and subordinates it to a truly transcendental concept.
The fact of reaching the apex, in which the distinction between "Creator" and "creature" becomes metaphysically meaningless, allows of a whole system of spiritual realizations that, since it leaves behind the categories of "religious" thought, is not easily understood: and, above all, it permits a direct ascent, that is, an ascent up the bare mountainside, without support and without useless excursions to one side or another. This is the exact meaning of the Buddhist ascesis: it is no longer a system of disciplines de-signed to generate strength, sureness, and unshakeable calm, but a system of spiritual realization. Buddhism carries the will for the unconditioned to a limit that is almost beyond the imagination of the modern Westerner.
Lion's Roar:
There are penitents and priests who exalt liberation. They speak in various manners glorifying liberation. But as for that which concerns the most noble, the highest liberation, I know that none equals me, let alone that I may be surpassed.
-Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakening
...it is not a question of "values" but of "instruments," instruments of a virtus, not in the moralistic sense but in the ancient sense of virile energy.
The concept and the realization of the extreme apex or, in other words, of that which is beyond both such a "being" and its opposite, "nonbeing," was and is natural to the Aryan spirit. It does not deny the theistic point of view but recognizes it in its rightful hierarchic place and subordinates it to a truly transcendental concept.
The fact of reaching the apex, in which the distinction between "Creator" and "creature" becomes metaphysically meaningless, allows of a whole system of spiritual realizations that, since it leaves behind the categories of "religious" thought, is not easily understood: and, above all, it permits a direct ascent, that is, an ascent up the bare mountainside, without support and without useless excursions to one side or another. This is the exact meaning of the Buddhist ascesis: it is no longer a system of disciplines de-signed to generate strength, sureness, and unshakeable calm, but a system of spiritual realization. Buddhism carries the will for the unconditioned to a limit that is almost beyond the imagination of the modern Westerner.
Lion's Roar:
There are penitents and priests who exalt liberation. They speak in various manners glorifying liberation. But as for that which concerns the most noble, the highest liberation, I know that none equals me, let alone that I may be surpassed.
-Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakening
The Doctrine of Awakening - 2
It is true that Buddha, picking up a formula of Brahmanism, the religion in which he had been raised prior to his departure from Kapilavastu, affirmed that everything on earth is "suffering." But he also clarified for us that this is the case because we are always yearning to reap concrete benefits from our actions. For example, warriors risk their lives because they long for the pleasure of victory and for the spoils, and yet in the end they are always disappointed: the pillaging is never enough and what has been gained is quickly squandered. Also, the taste of victory soon fades away. But if one becomes aware of this state of affairs (this is one aspect of the Awakening), the pessimism is dispelled since reality is what it is, neither good nor bad in itself; reality is inscribed in Becoming, which cannot be interrupted. Thus, one must live and act with the awareness that the only thing that matters is each and every moment. Thus, duty (dhamma) is claimed to be the only valid reference point: "Do your duty," that is..."let your every action be totally disinterested."
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Doctrine of Awakening - 1
The historical Siddhartha was a prince of the Sakya, a ksatriya (belonging to the warrior caste), an "ascetic fighter" who opened a path by himself with his own strength. Thus Evola emphasizes the "aristocratic" character of primitive Buddhism, which he defines as having the "presence in it of a viril and warrior strength ("the lion's roar" is a designation of Buddha's proclamation) that is applied to a nonmaterial and atemporal plane..."
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is the preeminent symbol of the United States of America. The reasons for this are somewhat speculative or subjective but usually pertain directly to the actual anatomy of the bird and its association with certain concepts. The eagle has a graceful aerodynamic beauty that is inspirational. His eyesight is four times sharper than ours. He soars, for real, and in our minds. Yet he is a creature that is also aggressive and ruthless when hunting or defending his territory. When he dives, he does so at a speed approaching 150 mph. On the Great Seal, in one talon, he holds a bundle of arrows, and in the other, an olive branch, signifying the bipolar "war and peace" nature of the Union. In understanding the structure that animates the eagle, the artist is better able to depict the psychophysical components that continue to make him a transcendent part of the American's imagination.
Most species of eagles are found in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Bald Eagle and the Golden Eagle are the only two found in North America with the Bald Eagle being unique to the continent. Bald Eagles, aka Haliaeetus leucocephali ("sea eagle with a white head"), are members of the Falconiformes Order and the Accipitridae Family. They are often referred to as raptors because they are birds that hunt their prey with large talons, a predominant feature of their anatomical structure. Raptors also have such large eyes that they are unable to rotate them in the socket. The limitation is compensated for by their flexible vertebral column which contains fourteen vertebrae. The eye size and its placement on the side of the skull enable the eagle to achieve a "dual focus" on an object in front as well as to the right or left at the same time.
Another interesting feature is that their respiratory air sacs are not confined to the lungs but exist throughout the body and within their hollow bones. This extensive breathing system enables them to take in the enormous amounts of oxygen which are required to fuel the extensive burden on the muscles when flying. This also acts as a cooling system. The bald eagle has a wingspan that can reach up to 7 ft. It weighs anywhere from 8-14 pounds. The wings are flexed by two powerful pectoral muscles that meet together on an enormous breastbone or sternum.
Friday, June 19, 2009
characteristics of the Southern Tradition
1)a feeling for the concrete and the specific
2)an awareness of conflict
3)a sense of community and religious wholeness
4)a belief in human imperfection
5)genuine and never wavering disbelief in perfection ever developing as a result of human effort and planning
6)a deep seated sense of the tragic
7)a conviction that nature is mysterious and contingent
Any attempt to harness nature and make it a servant of man will always be doomed to failure.
This is the ground in which the South's artistic promptings took root and flourished.
-Cleanth Brooks - distinctive characteristics of the Southern tradition
2)an awareness of conflict
3)a sense of community and religious wholeness
4)a belief in human imperfection
5)genuine and never wavering disbelief in perfection ever developing as a result of human effort and planning
6)a deep seated sense of the tragic
7)a conviction that nature is mysterious and contingent
Any attempt to harness nature and make it a servant of man will always be doomed to failure.
This is the ground in which the South's artistic promptings took root and flourished.
-Cleanth Brooks - distinctive characteristics of the Southern tradition
Omnipresent-World-substance-Okidanokh
"Nevertheless, there's more reality in it than in the wiseacrings of an "expert" in monkey-business.'
"Well, then, my boy...
"When this subsequent essence-friend of mine, Gornahoor Harharkh, was informed of what was required of him, he invited us by a sign to approach one of the special appliances which he had made and which, as it later turned out, was named by him 'Hrhaharhtzaha.'
"When we were nearer the said special and very strange construction, he pointed to it with a particular feather of his right wing and said:
"This special appliance is the principal part of the whole of my new invention; and it is just in this that the results are revealed and shown of almost all the peculiarities of the Omnipresent-World-substance-Okidanokh.'
"And, pointing to all the other special appliances also present in the 'Khrh,' he added:
"I succeeded in obtaining extremely important elucidations concerning the omnipresent and everywhere penetrating Okidanokh, because thanks to all these separate special appliances of my invention, it became possible, first to obtain all three fundamental parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh from every kind of sur- and intra-planetary process and then artifically to blend them into a whole, and secondly, also artificially to disassociated them and elucidate the specific properties of each part separately in its manifestations.'
"Having said this, he again pointed to the Hrhaharhtzaha and added that by means of the elucidating apparatus, not only can any ordinary being clearly understand the details of the properties of the three absolutely independent parts-which in their manifestations have nothing in common-of the whole 'Unique-Active-Element,' the particularities of which are the chief cause of everything existing in the Universe, but also any ordinary being can become categorically convinced that no results of any kind normally obtained from the processes occurring through this Omnipresent World-substance can ever be perceived by beings or sensed by them; certain being-functions, however, can perceive only those results of the said processes which proceed for some reason or other abnormally, on account of causes coming from without and issuing either from conscious sources or from accidental mechanical results."
"The part of Gornahoor Harharkh's new invention which he himself called the Hrhaharhtzaha and regarde as the most important was in appearance very much like the 'Tirzikiano' or, as your favorites would say, a 'huge-electric-lamp.'
"The interior of this special structure was rather like a smallish room with a door that could be hermetically closed.
"The walls of this original construction were made of a certain transparent material, the appearance of which reminded me of that which on your planet is called 'glass.'
"As I learned later, the chief particularity of this said transparent material was that, although by means of the organ of sight beings could perceive through it the visibility of every kind of cosmic concentration, yet no rays of any kind, whatever the causes they may have arisen from, could pass through it, either from within out or from without in.
"As I looked at this part of this said astonishing being-invention, I could through its transparent walls clearly distinguish inside in the center what seemed to be a table and two chairs; hanging above the table, what is called an 'electric-lamp'; and underneath it three 'things' exactly alike, each resembling the 'Momonodooar.'
"On the table and by the side of it, stood or lay several different apparatuses and instruments unknown to me.
"Later it became clear that thesaid objects contained in this Hrhaharhtzah, as well as everything we had later to put on, were made of special materials invented by this Gornahoor Harharkh.
"And as regards these materials also, I shall explain a little more in detail at the proper time in the course of my further explanations concerning Gornahoor Harharkh.
"Meanwhile bear in mind that in the enormous Khrh or workshop of Gornahoor Harharkh there were, besides the already mentioned Hrhaharhtzaha, several other large independent appliances, and among them two quite special what are called 'Lifechakans' which Gornahoor himself called 'Krhrrhihirhi.'
"It is interesting to note that your favorites also have something like this 'Lifechakan' or 'Krhrrhihirhi'; and they anme such an apparatus a 'dynamo.'
"There was also there, apart, another independent large appliance, which, as it afterwards appeared, was a 'Soloohnorhahoona' of special construction, or as your favorites would say, a 'pump-of-complex-construction-for-exhausting-atmosphere-to-the-point-of-absolute-vacuum.'
"While I was looking over all this with surprise, Gornahoor Harharkh himself approached the said pump of special construction and with his left wing moved on of its parts, owing to which a certain mechanism began to work in the pump. He then approached us again and pointing with the same special feather of his right wing to the largest Lifechakan, or Krhrrhihirhi, or dynamo, further continued his explanations.
"He said, 'By means of this special appliance, there are first "sucked-in" separately from the atmosphere, or from any intra- or surplanetary formation, all the three independent parts of the Omnipresent-Active-Element-Okidanokh present in it, and only afterwards when in a certain way these separate independent parts are artificially reblended in the Krhrrhihirhi into a single whole, does the Okidanokh, now in its usual state, flow and is it concentrated there, in that "container" -saying which, he again with the same special feather pointed to something very much like what is called a 'generator.'
"And then from there,' he said, 'Okidanokh flows here into another Krhrrhihirhi or dynamo where it undergoes the process of Djartklom, and each of its separate parts is concentrated there in those other containers'-and this time he pointed to what resembled 'accumulators'-'and only then do I take from the secondary containers, by means of various artificial appliances, each active part of Okidanokh separately for my elucidatory experiments.
"'I shall first demonstrate to you,' he continued, 'one of the results which occur when, for some reason or other, one of the active parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh is absent during the process of their "striving-to-reblend" into a whole.
"'At the present moment this special construction contains a space which is indeed an absolute vacuum, obtained, it must be said, only owing firstly to the special construction of the suction pump and to the materials of special quality of which the instruments are made, which alone make experiments possible in an absolute vacuum; and secondly, to the properties and the strength of the material of which the walls of this part of my new invention are made.'
"Having said this, he pulled another lever and again continued:
"'Owing to the pulling of this lever, that process has begun in this vacuum whereby in the separate parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh, which is proceeding at the present moment there in this vacuum, has a force, as calculated by objective science, of 3,040,000 what are called "volts," and this force is indicated by the needle of that special appliance there.'
"Pointing to a 'something' very much like the apparatus existing also on your planet and called there 'voltmeter' he said:
"'One of the advantages of this new invention of mine for the demonstration of the given phenomenon is that in spite of the unusual power of the process of the "force-of-striving," now proceeding there, the what are called "Salnichizinooarnian-momentum-vibrations," which most beings consider also to be "rays," and which ought to be obtained and to issue from this process, do not issue out of the place of their arising, that is, out of this construction in which the particularities of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh are being elucidated.
"And in order that the beings who are outside of this part of my invention may nevertheless also have the possibility of elucidating the force of the given process, I intentionally made the composition of the material of the wall in one place such that it has the property of permitting the passage through it of the said "Salnichizinooarnian-momentum-vibrations" or "rays."'
"Having said this, he approached nearer to the Hrahaharhtzah and pressed a certain button. The result was that the whole of the enormous Khrh or 'workshop' was suddenly so strongly lit up that our organs of sight temporarily ceased to function, and only after a considerable time had passed could we with great difficulty raise our eyelids and look around.
"When we had recovered and Gornahoor Harharkh had pulled still another lever, which resulted in the whole surrounding space being restored to its former usual appearance, he first, with his customary angel-voice, again drew our attention to the 'voltmeter,' the needle of which constantly indicated the same figure, and then continued:
"'You see that, although the process of the clash of two opposite component parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh, of the same power of "force-of-striving" still continues, and that the part of the surface of this construction which has the property of admitting the passage of the said "rays" is still open, yet in spite of all this there is no longer the phenomenon which ordinary beings define by the phrase "the-causes-of-artificial-light."
"And this phenomenon is no longer there, only because by my last pulling of a certain lever, I introduced into the process of the clash of two component parts of Okidanokh, a current of the third independent component part of Okidanokh, which began to blend proportionally with its other two parts, owing to which the result derived from this kind of blending of the three component parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh-unlike the process of the non-law-conformable blending of its two parts - cannot be perceived by beings with any of their being-functions.'
-G.I. Gurdjieff, from Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson
"Well, then, my boy...
"When this subsequent essence-friend of mine, Gornahoor Harharkh, was informed of what was required of him, he invited us by a sign to approach one of the special appliances which he had made and which, as it later turned out, was named by him 'Hrhaharhtzaha.'
"When we were nearer the said special and very strange construction, he pointed to it with a particular feather of his right wing and said:
"This special appliance is the principal part of the whole of my new invention; and it is just in this that the results are revealed and shown of almost all the peculiarities of the Omnipresent-World-substance-Okidanokh.'
"And, pointing to all the other special appliances also present in the 'Khrh,' he added:
"I succeeded in obtaining extremely important elucidations concerning the omnipresent and everywhere penetrating Okidanokh, because thanks to all these separate special appliances of my invention, it became possible, first to obtain all three fundamental parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh from every kind of sur- and intra-planetary process and then artifically to blend them into a whole, and secondly, also artificially to disassociated them and elucidate the specific properties of each part separately in its manifestations.'
"Having said this, he again pointed to the Hrhaharhtzaha and added that by means of the elucidating apparatus, not only can any ordinary being clearly understand the details of the properties of the three absolutely independent parts-which in their manifestations have nothing in common-of the whole 'Unique-Active-Element,' the particularities of which are the chief cause of everything existing in the Universe, but also any ordinary being can become categorically convinced that no results of any kind normally obtained from the processes occurring through this Omnipresent World-substance can ever be perceived by beings or sensed by them; certain being-functions, however, can perceive only those results of the said processes which proceed for some reason or other abnormally, on account of causes coming from without and issuing either from conscious sources or from accidental mechanical results."
"The part of Gornahoor Harharkh's new invention which he himself called the Hrhaharhtzaha and regarde as the most important was in appearance very much like the 'Tirzikiano' or, as your favorites would say, a 'huge-electric-lamp.'
"The interior of this special structure was rather like a smallish room with a door that could be hermetically closed.
"The walls of this original construction were made of a certain transparent material, the appearance of which reminded me of that which on your planet is called 'glass.'
"As I learned later, the chief particularity of this said transparent material was that, although by means of the organ of sight beings could perceive through it the visibility of every kind of cosmic concentration, yet no rays of any kind, whatever the causes they may have arisen from, could pass through it, either from within out or from without in.
"As I looked at this part of this said astonishing being-invention, I could through its transparent walls clearly distinguish inside in the center what seemed to be a table and two chairs; hanging above the table, what is called an 'electric-lamp'; and underneath it three 'things' exactly alike, each resembling the 'Momonodooar.'
"On the table and by the side of it, stood or lay several different apparatuses and instruments unknown to me.
"Later it became clear that thesaid objects contained in this Hrhaharhtzah, as well as everything we had later to put on, were made of special materials invented by this Gornahoor Harharkh.
"And as regards these materials also, I shall explain a little more in detail at the proper time in the course of my further explanations concerning Gornahoor Harharkh.
"Meanwhile bear in mind that in the enormous Khrh or workshop of Gornahoor Harharkh there were, besides the already mentioned Hrhaharhtzaha, several other large independent appliances, and among them two quite special what are called 'Lifechakans' which Gornahoor himself called 'Krhrrhihirhi.'
"It is interesting to note that your favorites also have something like this 'Lifechakan' or 'Krhrrhihirhi'; and they anme such an apparatus a 'dynamo.'
"There was also there, apart, another independent large appliance, which, as it afterwards appeared, was a 'Soloohnorhahoona' of special construction, or as your favorites would say, a 'pump-of-complex-construction-for-exhausting-atmosphere-to-the-point-of-absolute-vacuum.'
"While I was looking over all this with surprise, Gornahoor Harharkh himself approached the said pump of special construction and with his left wing moved on of its parts, owing to which a certain mechanism began to work in the pump. He then approached us again and pointing with the same special feather of his right wing to the largest Lifechakan, or Krhrrhihirhi, or dynamo, further continued his explanations.
"He said, 'By means of this special appliance, there are first "sucked-in" separately from the atmosphere, or from any intra- or surplanetary formation, all the three independent parts of the Omnipresent-Active-Element-Okidanokh present in it, and only afterwards when in a certain way these separate independent parts are artificially reblended in the Krhrrhihirhi into a single whole, does the Okidanokh, now in its usual state, flow and is it concentrated there, in that "container" -saying which, he again with the same special feather pointed to something very much like what is called a 'generator.'
"And then from there,' he said, 'Okidanokh flows here into another Krhrrhihirhi or dynamo where it undergoes the process of Djartklom, and each of its separate parts is concentrated there in those other containers'-and this time he pointed to what resembled 'accumulators'-'and only then do I take from the secondary containers, by means of various artificial appliances, each active part of Okidanokh separately for my elucidatory experiments.
"'I shall first demonstrate to you,' he continued, 'one of the results which occur when, for some reason or other, one of the active parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh is absent during the process of their "striving-to-reblend" into a whole.
"'At the present moment this special construction contains a space which is indeed an absolute vacuum, obtained, it must be said, only owing firstly to the special construction of the suction pump and to the materials of special quality of which the instruments are made, which alone make experiments possible in an absolute vacuum; and secondly, to the properties and the strength of the material of which the walls of this part of my new invention are made.'
"Having said this, he pulled another lever and again continued:
"'Owing to the pulling of this lever, that process has begun in this vacuum whereby in the separate parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh, which is proceeding at the present moment there in this vacuum, has a force, as calculated by objective science, of 3,040,000 what are called "volts," and this force is indicated by the needle of that special appliance there.'
"Pointing to a 'something' very much like the apparatus existing also on your planet and called there 'voltmeter' he said:
"'One of the advantages of this new invention of mine for the demonstration of the given phenomenon is that in spite of the unusual power of the process of the "force-of-striving," now proceeding there, the what are called "Salnichizinooarnian-momentum-vibrations," which most beings consider also to be "rays," and which ought to be obtained and to issue from this process, do not issue out of the place of their arising, that is, out of this construction in which the particularities of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh are being elucidated.
"And in order that the beings who are outside of this part of my invention may nevertheless also have the possibility of elucidating the force of the given process, I intentionally made the composition of the material of the wall in one place such that it has the property of permitting the passage through it of the said "Salnichizinooarnian-momentum-vibrations" or "rays."'
"Having said this, he approached nearer to the Hrahaharhtzah and pressed a certain button. The result was that the whole of the enormous Khrh or 'workshop' was suddenly so strongly lit up that our organs of sight temporarily ceased to function, and only after a considerable time had passed could we with great difficulty raise our eyelids and look around.
"When we had recovered and Gornahoor Harharkh had pulled still another lever, which resulted in the whole surrounding space being restored to its former usual appearance, he first, with his customary angel-voice, again drew our attention to the 'voltmeter,' the needle of which constantly indicated the same figure, and then continued:
"'You see that, although the process of the clash of two opposite component parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh, of the same power of "force-of-striving" still continues, and that the part of the surface of this construction which has the property of admitting the passage of the said "rays" is still open, yet in spite of all this there is no longer the phenomenon which ordinary beings define by the phrase "the-causes-of-artificial-light."
"And this phenomenon is no longer there, only because by my last pulling of a certain lever, I introduced into the process of the clash of two component parts of Okidanokh, a current of the third independent component part of Okidanokh, which began to blend proportionally with its other two parts, owing to which the result derived from this kind of blending of the three component parts of the Omnipresent-Okidanokh-unlike the process of the non-law-conformable blending of its two parts - cannot be perceived by beings with any of their being-functions.'
-G.I. Gurdjieff, from Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson
La Cenicienta (Cinderella)
dedicated to Bonnie Ashley Harris...
I.
Habia un caballero que tenia una hijita llamada Alba.
Aunque este caballero era noble y rico, estaba triste porque su esposa se habia muerto y la nina necesitaba los cuidados y el amor de una madre.
Para consequir una madre para Albita el padre resolvio casarse otra vez.
Se dijo a si mismo:
-Conozco a una viuda llamada Belandra que puede ser una buena madre para Albita; ella tiene dos hijas que pueden ser como hermanos mayores para mi hijita.
El caballero y Albita fueron a visitar a la viuda y a sus hijas, llamadas Belisa y Benita.
La viuda, advertida ya de la visita, habia hecho muchos preparativos y Alba fue objeto de mil manifestaciones de carino.
-Que nina tan bella, simpatica e inteligente! - exclamo la viuda Belandra. - Mis hijas seran hermanas mayores para ella.
Le ensenaran a tocar el piano, a bailar, y a cocinar.
Y sus hijas movieren afirmativamente la cabeza.
El caballero estaba muy contento porque las tres trataban con tanto carino a su amada Albita.
Al poco tiempo se caso con la viuda y ella y sus hijas fueron a vivir en la hermosa casa de Albita y su padre.
Todos estuvieron muy contentos por algunos meses hasta que el padre tuvo que hacer un viaje largo del que nunca volvio.
Con la ausencia de su padre, las cosas empezaron a cambiar para Albita.
Belandra y sus hijas Belisa y Benita empezaron a tratarla a como una sirvienta.
II.
Albita tenia que levantarse al amanecer y trabajar hasta tarde por la noche.
Tenia que frefar el suelo, encender los fuegos, lavar los platos, dar de comer a los animales y servir a Belandra y a sus dos hijas.
Muy tarde en la noche, despues de limpiar la cocina, Albita estaba tan cansada que solia echarse para descansar sobre las cenizas junto al hogar.
Por eso todo el mundo vino a llamarla la Cenicienta.
Un dia se anuncio que Cristalin, el principe heredoro, seria presentado a la corte.
A la casa de Albita llego una invitacion del rey para la gran fiesta.
Belandra y sus hijas se volvieron locas de alegria.
A la media hora llegaban a la casa la sombrerera, la modista, el zapatero y el peluquero; pues la madrasta y sus hijas querian lucirse en la fiesa.
Las tres no dijeron a Albita que la invitacion le correspondia a ella por haber sido su padre noble y amigo del rey.
Llego la noche de la gran fiesta y Belandra y sus hijas partieron para el palacio despues de burlarse de la pobre Cenicienta.
La muchacha quedo sola en casa y empezo a llorar amargamente.
Por fin exclamo:
-Oh, mi Hada buena! Porque no estas conmigo?
-Aqui estoy - contesto una bella mujer que aparecio por encanto.
Era la buena Hada.
Estaba vestida con una tunica y tenia una varita en la mano.
-Siempre has sido buena y estoy dispuesta a ayudarte - dijo.
-Quieres ir a la fiesta, verdad?
-Si, si - respondido la Cenicienta. - Pero no tengo ni zapatos, ni vestido ni nada.
El Hada la toco con su varita y los harapos se convirtieron en un vestdio muy hermoso y sus zapatos rotos se convirtieron en zapatitos de cristal.
Entonces el Hada hizo de una calabaza un coche esplendido, convirtio cuatro ratoncitos en caballos, un raton en cochero, y dos langostas en lacayos.
III.
-Vete al palacio y diviertete mucho! - exclamo el Hada, - pero a las doce en punto se rompera el encanto y estaras como antes.
Tienes que salir del palacio antes de la medianoche.
-Lo hare, querida Hada - prometio la Cenicienta.
Y en seguida la joven subio en el coche y fue al palacio donde el principe Cristalin habia de ser presentado a la corte y donde tendria lugar la mas lujosa de las fiestas.
Cuando la Cenicienta entro en el palacio todos se quedaron admirados de su hermosura.
Cristalin la invito a bailar el primer baile con el, y despues, todos los otros bailes.
Ella y el principe encabezaron la gran marcha hacia el salon de banquetas y juntos gozaron de la cena exquisita.
La Cenicienta, por su gracia y belleza, fue la reina de la fiesta. Estaba tan feliz que el tiempo volo para ella, hasta que al volver la cabeza vio que el reloj estaba a punto de dar las doce.
La Cenicienta huyo y el principe corrio tras ella.
La bajarse la joven por la escalera, se le salto uno de sus zapatitos de cristal pero ella no se detuvo para recogerlo.
Huyo como un rayo e el principe la perdio de vista, pero se quedo con el zapatito de cristal.
Cuando ella llego fuera del palacio, el reloj del palacio empezo a dar las doce y la Cenicienta volvio a llevar su ropa vieja y remendada, con excepcion del zapatito de cristal, que ella resolvio guardar como recuerdo.
Despues de llegar la madrastra y sus dos hijas a casa contaron a la Cenicienta muchos cuentos sobre las atenciones que habian recibido del principe. La muchacho sonrio sin decir una palabra.
IV.
El principe Cristalin se puso tan triste al no poder hallar a la hermosa joven que se enfermo.
Los reyes, sus padres, hicieron fabricar copias del zapatito de cristal perdido. Entonces enviaron a varios nobles a todas las casas del reino a ver que mujer podria calzar la copia para que el principe se casara con ella.
Todas las jovenes del reino, sabiendo que el zapatito era muy pequeno, empezaron a hacerse masajes en los pies.
Por fin un noble enviado por el rey llego con una copia del zapatito a la casa de Cenicienta. La madrastra y sus dos hijas trataron de calzarse el zapatito, pero sin exito.
El noble hallo a la Cenicienta en la cocina y ella facilmente metio su pequeno pie en el zapato y mostro al caballero el otro de cristal que ella habia escondido.
Despues, todo paso como un sueno. Los reyes lloraron de alegria y el principe se recupero y se sintio muy feliz.
El rey anuncio la proxima boda de su hijo, el principe Cristalin, con la princesa Alba.
Se hicieron mil festejos en el palacio y por todo el reino.
I.
Habia un caballero que tenia una hijita llamada Alba.
Aunque este caballero era noble y rico, estaba triste porque su esposa se habia muerto y la nina necesitaba los cuidados y el amor de una madre.
Para consequir una madre para Albita el padre resolvio casarse otra vez.
Se dijo a si mismo:
-Conozco a una viuda llamada Belandra que puede ser una buena madre para Albita; ella tiene dos hijas que pueden ser como hermanos mayores para mi hijita.
El caballero y Albita fueron a visitar a la viuda y a sus hijas, llamadas Belisa y Benita.
La viuda, advertida ya de la visita, habia hecho muchos preparativos y Alba fue objeto de mil manifestaciones de carino.
-Que nina tan bella, simpatica e inteligente! - exclamo la viuda Belandra. - Mis hijas seran hermanas mayores para ella.
Le ensenaran a tocar el piano, a bailar, y a cocinar.
Y sus hijas movieren afirmativamente la cabeza.
El caballero estaba muy contento porque las tres trataban con tanto carino a su amada Albita.
Al poco tiempo se caso con la viuda y ella y sus hijas fueron a vivir en la hermosa casa de Albita y su padre.
Todos estuvieron muy contentos por algunos meses hasta que el padre tuvo que hacer un viaje largo del que nunca volvio.
Con la ausencia de su padre, las cosas empezaron a cambiar para Albita.
Belandra y sus hijas Belisa y Benita empezaron a tratarla a como una sirvienta.
II.
Albita tenia que levantarse al amanecer y trabajar hasta tarde por la noche.
Tenia que frefar el suelo, encender los fuegos, lavar los platos, dar de comer a los animales y servir a Belandra y a sus dos hijas.
Muy tarde en la noche, despues de limpiar la cocina, Albita estaba tan cansada que solia echarse para descansar sobre las cenizas junto al hogar.
Por eso todo el mundo vino a llamarla la Cenicienta.
Un dia se anuncio que Cristalin, el principe heredoro, seria presentado a la corte.
A la casa de Albita llego una invitacion del rey para la gran fiesta.
Belandra y sus hijas se volvieron locas de alegria.
A la media hora llegaban a la casa la sombrerera, la modista, el zapatero y el peluquero; pues la madrasta y sus hijas querian lucirse en la fiesa.
Las tres no dijeron a Albita que la invitacion le correspondia a ella por haber sido su padre noble y amigo del rey.
Llego la noche de la gran fiesta y Belandra y sus hijas partieron para el palacio despues de burlarse de la pobre Cenicienta.
La muchacha quedo sola en casa y empezo a llorar amargamente.
Por fin exclamo:
-Oh, mi Hada buena! Porque no estas conmigo?
-Aqui estoy - contesto una bella mujer que aparecio por encanto.
Era la buena Hada.
Estaba vestida con una tunica y tenia una varita en la mano.
-Siempre has sido buena y estoy dispuesta a ayudarte - dijo.
-Quieres ir a la fiesta, verdad?
-Si, si - respondido la Cenicienta. - Pero no tengo ni zapatos, ni vestido ni nada.
El Hada la toco con su varita y los harapos se convirtieron en un vestdio muy hermoso y sus zapatos rotos se convirtieron en zapatitos de cristal.
Entonces el Hada hizo de una calabaza un coche esplendido, convirtio cuatro ratoncitos en caballos, un raton en cochero, y dos langostas en lacayos.
III.
-Vete al palacio y diviertete mucho! - exclamo el Hada, - pero a las doce en punto se rompera el encanto y estaras como antes.
Tienes que salir del palacio antes de la medianoche.
-Lo hare, querida Hada - prometio la Cenicienta.
Y en seguida la joven subio en el coche y fue al palacio donde el principe Cristalin habia de ser presentado a la corte y donde tendria lugar la mas lujosa de las fiestas.
Cuando la Cenicienta entro en el palacio todos se quedaron admirados de su hermosura.
Cristalin la invito a bailar el primer baile con el, y despues, todos los otros bailes.
Ella y el principe encabezaron la gran marcha hacia el salon de banquetas y juntos gozaron de la cena exquisita.
La Cenicienta, por su gracia y belleza, fue la reina de la fiesta. Estaba tan feliz que el tiempo volo para ella, hasta que al volver la cabeza vio que el reloj estaba a punto de dar las doce.
La Cenicienta huyo y el principe corrio tras ella.
La bajarse la joven por la escalera, se le salto uno de sus zapatitos de cristal pero ella no se detuvo para recogerlo.
Huyo como un rayo e el principe la perdio de vista, pero se quedo con el zapatito de cristal.
Cuando ella llego fuera del palacio, el reloj del palacio empezo a dar las doce y la Cenicienta volvio a llevar su ropa vieja y remendada, con excepcion del zapatito de cristal, que ella resolvio guardar como recuerdo.
Despues de llegar la madrastra y sus dos hijas a casa contaron a la Cenicienta muchos cuentos sobre las atenciones que habian recibido del principe. La muchacho sonrio sin decir una palabra.
IV.
El principe Cristalin se puso tan triste al no poder hallar a la hermosa joven que se enfermo.
Los reyes, sus padres, hicieron fabricar copias del zapatito de cristal perdido. Entonces enviaron a varios nobles a todas las casas del reino a ver que mujer podria calzar la copia para que el principe se casara con ella.
Todas las jovenes del reino, sabiendo que el zapatito era muy pequeno, empezaron a hacerse masajes en los pies.
Por fin un noble enviado por el rey llego con una copia del zapatito a la casa de Cenicienta. La madrastra y sus dos hijas trataron de calzarse el zapatito, pero sin exito.
El noble hallo a la Cenicienta en la cocina y ella facilmente metio su pequeno pie en el zapato y mostro al caballero el otro de cristal que ella habia escondido.
Despues, todo paso como un sueno. Los reyes lloraron de alegria y el principe se recupero y se sintio muy feliz.
El rey anuncio la proxima boda de su hijo, el principe Cristalin, con la princesa Alba.
Se hicieron mil festejos en el palacio y por todo el reino.
Pistis Sophia I
Only the one who knows how to be serene, to work and to be patient can be saved. To be born, to die, and to sacrifice for humanity are the three factors of the revolution of consciousness...Only through the Buddhist annihilation can we qualify for each one of the eight initiations. We will obtain the radical change, by virtue of the disintegration of the ego. We need to convert ourselves into something different. We must even lose our very personal identity.
The change must be absolute.
The change must be absolute.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Foundation
The foundation of every true state is the transcendence of its own principle, namely the principle of sovereignty, authority, and legitimacy.
Through the multifaceted variety of these forms we always find as a "constant" the notion of the State as the intrusion and the manifestation of a higher order, which is then actualized in a power.
Therefore, every true political unity appears as the embodiment of an idea and a power...
In previous eras it was possible to speak of the sacred character of the principle of sovereignty and power, namely of the State.
For instance, the ancient Roman notion of IMPERIUM essentially belonged to the domain of the sacred.
This notion, in its specific meaning, even before expressing a system of territorial, supernational hegemony, designated the pure power of command, the almost mystical power and auctoritas inherent in the one who had the function and quality of Leader: a leader in the religious and warrior order as well as in the order of the patrician family, the gens, and eminently, of the State, the "res-public-a".
In the Roman world, which was intensely realistic, the notion of this power, which is simultaneously auctoritas, always retained its intrinsic character of a bright force from above.
A power and authority that are not absolute, are not real authority or real power.
What will be paramount is the virile quality of him who, in the case of conflict between opposite needs, knows how to assert the right of given principles and a given law over that which belongs to the naturalistic and material realm, whether in his case or that of others.
The personality is realized and consolidated along the path of the special "asceticism" required by freedom understood in this way - namely by inner freedom and control over oneself as a physical individual; likewise the foundations of the hierarchical connections proper to that which can be rightly called "the natural right of heroic peoples" are not to be sought elsewhere.
1) The first of these foundations is that the measure of what one can demand from others is dictated by the measure of what one can demand from oneself.
2) The second foundation is the idea, previously upheld by Plato, that those who cannot be their own masters should find a master outside of themselves.
Superiority and power need to go hand in hand, as long as we remember that power is based on superiority and not vice versa, and that superiority is connected with qualities that have always been thought by most people to constitute the true foundation of what others attempt to explain in terms of brutal "natural selection."
Ancient primitive man essentially obeyed not the strongest members of society, but those in whom he perceived a saturation of mana (sacred energy and life force) and who, for this reason, seemed to him best qualified to perform activities usually precluded to others.
An analogous situation occurs where certain men have been followed, obeyed, and venerated for displaying a high degree of endurance, responsibility, lucidity, and a dangerous, open, and heroic life that others could not; it was decisive here to be able to recognize a special right and a special dignity in a free way.
To depend on such leaders constituted not the subjugation, but rather the elevation of the person.
It is the inferior who needs the superior, and not the other way around.
Everything that has an emotional or irrational motivation has and will play a larger role in human conduct than that played by petty utility -
The higher and more genuine legitimization of a true political order, and thus of the State itself, lies in its anagogical function, namely, in arousing and nourishing the individual's disposition to act and think, to live, to struggle, and eventually to sacrifice himself for something that goes beyond his mere individuality.
-Julius Evola, Men Amongst the Ruins
Through the multifaceted variety of these forms we always find as a "constant" the notion of the State as the intrusion and the manifestation of a higher order, which is then actualized in a power.
Therefore, every true political unity appears as the embodiment of an idea and a power...
In previous eras it was possible to speak of the sacred character of the principle of sovereignty and power, namely of the State.
For instance, the ancient Roman notion of IMPERIUM essentially belonged to the domain of the sacred.
This notion, in its specific meaning, even before expressing a system of territorial, supernational hegemony, designated the pure power of command, the almost mystical power and auctoritas inherent in the one who had the function and quality of Leader: a leader in the religious and warrior order as well as in the order of the patrician family, the gens, and eminently, of the State, the "res-public-a".
In the Roman world, which was intensely realistic, the notion of this power, which is simultaneously auctoritas, always retained its intrinsic character of a bright force from above.
A power and authority that are not absolute, are not real authority or real power.
What will be paramount is the virile quality of him who, in the case of conflict between opposite needs, knows how to assert the right of given principles and a given law over that which belongs to the naturalistic and material realm, whether in his case or that of others.
The personality is realized and consolidated along the path of the special "asceticism" required by freedom understood in this way - namely by inner freedom and control over oneself as a physical individual; likewise the foundations of the hierarchical connections proper to that which can be rightly called "the natural right of heroic peoples" are not to be sought elsewhere.
1) The first of these foundations is that the measure of what one can demand from others is dictated by the measure of what one can demand from oneself.
2) The second foundation is the idea, previously upheld by Plato, that those who cannot be their own masters should find a master outside of themselves.
Superiority and power need to go hand in hand, as long as we remember that power is based on superiority and not vice versa, and that superiority is connected with qualities that have always been thought by most people to constitute the true foundation of what others attempt to explain in terms of brutal "natural selection."
Ancient primitive man essentially obeyed not the strongest members of society, but those in whom he perceived a saturation of mana (sacred energy and life force) and who, for this reason, seemed to him best qualified to perform activities usually precluded to others.
An analogous situation occurs where certain men have been followed, obeyed, and venerated for displaying a high degree of endurance, responsibility, lucidity, and a dangerous, open, and heroic life that others could not; it was decisive here to be able to recognize a special right and a special dignity in a free way.
To depend on such leaders constituted not the subjugation, but rather the elevation of the person.
It is the inferior who needs the superior, and not the other way around.
Everything that has an emotional or irrational motivation has and will play a larger role in human conduct than that played by petty utility -
The higher and more genuine legitimization of a true political order, and thus of the State itself, lies in its anagogical function, namely, in arousing and nourishing the individual's disposition to act and think, to live, to struggle, and eventually to sacrifice himself for something that goes beyond his mere individuality.
-Julius Evola, Men Amongst the Ruins
A Museum of Postmodern Digital Wonders
3d Art portfolio - Dow Harris...
Digital Sculpture - 3d Max/Zbrush
game character - 3d max - "Thelucian"
"The Great Savannah Races" - Peter Helck reference art used as inspiration for vintage 3d car game
3d Max Scene - racetrack through oak tree tunnel in 1911 Savannah
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer
3d Max - Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer
3d Max - Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer - wireframe
3d Max - Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer - solid
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat wireframe
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat solid
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat - example of a texture map
Video Game Animatic/Trailer for "Race in Savannah, 1911"
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House - wireframe
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House - initial Max frame up with reference photo
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House Ballroom
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House Ballroom Chandelier
original Wilson House Ballroom - only reference photo
3d Max Architecture - Wilson House Ballroom - early blocking in 3d Max
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Infiltration of the Knights Templar Lodge
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Infiltration of the Knights Templar Lodge
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Uncle Sam's Amusement Park
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Uncle Sam's Amusement Park
The Automaton Organism - 3d Max / Photoshop / Zbrush
The Automaton Organism - 3d Max / Photoshop / Zbrush
The Automaton Organism - 3d Max / Photoshop / Zbrush
The Automaton Organism - Animation sequence
Animation Morph Targets - 3d Max
3d game character - Aquarius - 3d Max
Game Weapon - The Magnetic Attractor - coded to attract enemy weaponry out of opponent's hands and into one's personal arsenal
Maya - Men of War
3d Max/ZBrush - The Super Eye
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
3d Max - The Caduceus Ride
sketch for "the Caduceus Ride"
Digital Sculpture - 3d Max/Zbrush
game character - 3d max - "Thelucian"
"The Great Savannah Races" - Peter Helck reference art used as inspiration for vintage 3d car game
3d Max Scene - racetrack through oak tree tunnel in 1911 Savannah
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer
3d Max - Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer
3d Max - Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer - wireframe
3d Max - Game Vehicle - 1911 Mercer - solid
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat wireframe
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat solid
3d Max Game Vehicle - 1911 Fiat - example of a texture map
Video Game Animatic/Trailer for "Race in Savannah, 1911"
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House - wireframe
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House - initial Max frame up with reference photo
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House Ballroom
3d Max architecture - Gilded Age Mansion - Wilson House Ballroom Chandelier
original Wilson House Ballroom - only reference photo
3d Max Architecture - Wilson House Ballroom - early blocking in 3d Max
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Infiltration of the Knights Templar Lodge
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Infiltration of the Knights Templar Lodge
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Uncle Sam's Amusement Park
Unreal Tournament Environment - 3D Max/Photoshop/UnrealEd
Uncle Sam's Amusement Park
The Automaton Organism - 3d Max / Photoshop / Zbrush
The Automaton Organism - 3d Max / Photoshop / Zbrush
The Automaton Organism - 3d Max / Photoshop / Zbrush
The Automaton Organism - Animation sequence
Animation Morph Targets - 3d Max
3d game character - Aquarius - 3d Max
Game Weapon - The Magnetic Attractor - coded to attract enemy weaponry out of opponent's hands and into one's personal arsenal
Maya - Men of War
3d Max/ZBrush - The Super Eye
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
3d Max/ZBrush - Digital Rose
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
The Grid - 3d Max - Tron-esque Digital Circuitry
3d Max - The Caduceus Ride
sketch for "the Caduceus Ride"
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