vulgarity
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The froth of lives
Can we still find refuge in our inner lives, rebel against this world that loves nothing but the external and its procession of emotions pushed to their extreme, and that distorts lives to make them all similar and ghostly? Continue reading
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Paradise Lost by Sébastien de Courtois
There is a nostalgia for a lost paradise. We all feel it, more or less; it connects us to Original Sin and the Fall. This affliction torments pure souls. It lurks and agitates. A quintessential youthful affliction, a romantic folly, this nostalgia lies at the heart of Sébastien de Courtois's novel, Continue reading
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Identify
Identity is divided, on the one hand, into a foundation that is within us, without which we can derive any particular merit—our nature and the education (culture) we have received—and, on the other hand, a constitutive movement of life that discovers elements not listed by our nature or our education, but which must continue reading
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What does it mean to be out of touch with reality?
The most illuminating example concerning human nature is found in the New Testament when Peter and Jesus Christ speak together, and Peter insists to his master that he believe his devotion is entirely sincere. Thus, Jesus tells him that before the rooster crows, he will have denied him three times. The first place Continue reading
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Antigone, defiant and intimate (3/7. Destiny)
Part 3: Destiny. Man descends from the tree. Man, like the tree, is defined as much by his roots as by his fruit. Man, like the tree, depends on external and internal elements to reach maturity. Man resembles this trunk sculpted by trials, leaning on its roots and bearing fruit of varying quality. Continue reading
Antigone , counter-revolution , ethics , history , intimacy , forgiveness , religion , revolution , totalitarianism , vulgarity -
News about Hyppolite Taine
He's a pedant, a pedant is a hollow, puffed-up mind that, because it's full of words, believes itself full of ideas, revels in its own phrases, and deceives itself to rule over others. He's a hypocrite who believes himself sincere, a Cain who fancies himself Abel. In this shrunken brain, given over to abstraction, and Continue reading
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To which saints should we pray?
The Marcial Maciel case forces us to confront the question of evil. Our era avoids engaging with it. What do we know of the devil's work, and what can we do to protect ourselves from it? After attempting to conceal the good in life, should we be surprised that evil is now revealed? The works of the devil are... Continue reading
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Christian Testimony – 2
When I started this blog, the idea of writing about the liturgy came to me very quickly. Not to claim the status of an expert, but to share my experience of what represents the heart of a Christian's life. So there were two paths that had to converge: I had to describe the Mass (and Continue reading
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A short history of Envy, from hero to scapegoat
The modern world constantly presents us with scapegoats. Lance Armstrong, Richard Millet, Jérôme Kerviel, John Galliano, to name just a few, each in their own field, with completely different causes and reasons, have recently embodied the scapegoat, the justly punished culprit, the troublemaker put in their place. Continue reading
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What kind of death for the West?
It is increasingly pleasing to me to hear these speeches from Westerners reveling in the death of Catholicism, the death of this old religious hide, or even the death of God himself. Continue reading
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Emmanuel Todd or intellectual vulgarity
Emmanuel Todd was on France Culture the other morning to deliver his gospel. Emmanuel Todd is a prophet. He has the eloquence. He has the pretension, above all. He lacks the honesty. Indeed, one cannot be both a prophet and an ideologue. Continue reading
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Tribute to Jean-Marie Domenach
Rereading notes I took years ago while reading Jean-Marie Domenach's *The Return of the Tragic*, I remember our meeting. I see him arriving at my small studio in La Fourche, asking me for a glass of wine, and me beginning to explain in detail the direction I was taking. Continue reading
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Philia, agape and other little things…
The Greeks used three words to describe love: eros, carnal love; philia, friendship; and agape, mature and fulfilled love. Is love only there to comfort us? Shouldn't we seek to give meaning to love, as with every event in life? Only meaning saves the human condition. Meaning… Continue reading
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The columnist's hatred
I've titled this article "The Hatred of the Columnist." The French columnist—because it truly is a French affliction—is such that he invents himself as master of time, of the world, and above all, of how it's doing. It's unbearable. Purge the columnists and pluck out the buds! All these columnists gathered together are nothing more than a bunch of idle chatter. Continue reading