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Antigone, rebellious and intimate (1/7. The family)
Part 1: The Family From the first reading of Antigone, an ambiguity sets in in the reader's mind. Does Antigone embody action or reaction? What moves Antigone? Reaction never exists by itself, whereas action needs no one; it legitimizes itself in the act. Action always inaugurates something. Unlike what is often Continue reading
Antigone , Charles Maurras , counter-revolution , ethics , history , intimacy , forgiveness , priest , religion , revolution -
Charlie's Fate
"The enemy limits you, therefore gives you your shape and founds you." This phrase from Saint-Exupéry expresses our condition quite well at the end of this first week of 2015. The enemy forces me to evolve according to his codes, within a space that he has circumscribed. I am first a prisoner. He chooses the terrain and forces me to Continue reading
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On totalitarian states
"Totalitarian states, which alternately use lies and violence (lies to cover up violence and violence to silence those who discover the lies), owe the greater part of their success to having paralyzed the forces of reaction against imposture and lies. This is on the moral level. Continue reading
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The abandonment of Benedict XVI
"Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?" 1 When Benedict XVI signifies, in a few simple words, that he is renouncing the office of Pope, it is an earthquake that shakes the world and strikes Catholics. The most outlandish rumors are circulating and everyone is wondering about the causes of this decision which, even if it Continue reading
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What is Steve Jobs the name of?
"Steve Jobs 1955-2011," read the Apple website on October 5, 2011. Until the end, this unique signature, minimalist, elegant, and effective. His signature. The noise created by the death of this American business leader took the world by surprise. A little, and the comparison was made, as for Lady Continue reading
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A year that ends...
As the year draws to a close, we often take a furtive look back. Don't linger too long. You never know how many things you've forced yourself to bury might reappear, like those impromptu, rude, and irritating pop-ups on the internet. The exercise you can do is to Continue reading
Bernanos , stupidity , Catholicism , Ernesto Sabato , ethics , literature , politically correct , priest , religion -
In the shadow of Ernesto Sabato
When Ernesto Sabato died on April 30th at the age of 99, he repeated to himself the words of Maria Zambrano: To die, that elusive action that is carried out by obedience, happens beyond reality, in another realm. In his house in Santos Lugarès ("Holy Places" near Buenos Aires), Ernesto Sabato obeyed this last injunction. He Continue reading
Argentina , stupidity , Catholicism , counter-revolution , Ernesto Sabato , war , history , forgiveness -
Newman and Socrates
The links between ancient Greek philosophy and Christianity are numerous. The most famous of the Greek precepts: Gnothi Seauton, "Know thyself," inscribed at Delphi, retains a certain mystery. Another part of the phrase has remained with us: "But not too much"... Know thyself... But not too much! Plato leads Socrates to reflect on the Delphic formula in Continue reading
Catholicism , ethics , ancient Greece , history , Newman , Notre-Dame du Lys , Plato , politically correct , priest , religion , Socrates , Zenit -
And by Saint Antoine… (Death of General Antoine Lecerf)
Antoine is no more. He left on Good Friday. April 22, 2011. He is in the Father's house. Antoine is Antoine Lecerf. Army Corps General Antoine Lecerf. A master of war. A brilliant leader of men. One of the most extraordinary men I have ever known. When you first met Antoine Lecerf, Continue reading
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Emmanuel Todd or intellectual vulgarity
Emmanuel Todd was on France Culture the other morning to deliver his good word. Emmanuel Todd is a prophet. He has the eloquence. He has the pretension, above all. He lacks the honesty. Indeed, one cannot be a prophet and an ideologue. Continue reading
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The chronicler's hatred
I call this article "The Hatred of the Columnist." The French columnist—because it is indeed a French evil—is how he invents himself master of time, of the world, and above all of how it is. It is unbearable. Expunge the columnists and pluck the buds! All these columnists gathered together form nothing other than a Café du Commerce. Continue reading
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Another stopover...
Alvaro Mutis is a great writer and, what's more, one of my dearest friends. Since he hasn't published any books for a few years, I thought I'd pay him a little tribute with quotes from "The Last Stop of the Tramp Steamer," a short novel full of Continue reading
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The virtues of boredom
In a small, acidic book (De la France, translated by Alain Paruit, L'Herne), Emil Cioran gave an answer to the French malaise. He explained how much he cared about boredom, but he distinguished two kinds of boredom: the one that opens "its doors to infinity," "as an extension into the spiritual of an immanent void of being," and the one that Continue reading
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Notes on the French Revolution
Most of the quotes about the French Revolution given in this article come from the book "Historically Correct" by Jean Sévillia. — Solzhenitsyn: "Since men are not endowed with the same capacities, if they are free, they will not be equal, and if they are equal, it is because they are not free." — There is a revolutionary idea Continue reading