1,279 words
Though I am certainly no Emil Cioran scholar, I can write about him from the point of view of having been impacted by him. Would-be Cioran enthusiasts beware, for his influence is not necessarily a bright one; after all, his ideas belong to a school of thought known as philosophical pessimism. Though I am sure he would hate it, I am going to attempt to extract some positivity from his writings.
I am focused much more on the past than the future. (more…)
The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, one of the unexpected victories of history.
The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, one of the unexpected victories of history.
731 words
Author’s Note: In a recent livestream, a long-time listener, Sutton, asked me, “Greg, what would you do if you decided that the cause is hopeless?” I revisited this question in a later livestream. Hyacinth Bouquet transcribed my answers, and I combined them and cleaned them up a bit. I want to thank both Sutton and Hyacinth. (more…)
5,641 words
Machado de Assis, Joaquim Maria
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
Penguin Classics, 2020
“How do you have the nerve to write some of the things you do?” I asked him. “Oh, it’s easy. I just pretend that I’m already dead.” — Michel Houellebecq[1]
Some years ago, in that white-collar internment camp known as graduate school, a classmate pointed out to me a book with a title that, being nominally philosophy students, amused us: Philosopher or Dog? by one Machado de Assis. (more…)
The Critical Drinker
The Critical Drinker
1,307 words
As autumn creeps closer, I find myself staying indoors more and more often. As the dreaded date of my birthday approaches, I shed much of my natural vim and vigor and run the risk of giving in to despair as an aspect of sloth, a sin I’ve not yet learned to overcome. (more…)
4,994 words
Of peasant ancestry on his father’s side and boasting aristocratic (boyar) maternal roots, the Romanian poet, prose writer, and editorialist Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889) had not put his modest inherited wealth to waste. Educated in the German language since childhood, Eminescu was culturally — if not always geopolitically — an enthusiastic Germanophile. (more…)
Jean Raspail as photographed by Pascal Parrot in 1981.
Jean Raspail as photographed by Pascal Parrot in 1981.
8,709 words
On June 13, 2020, the French explorer and novelist Jean Raspail died in Paris at the age of 94. Many were the nationalists, identitarians, and traditional Catholics who paid tribute at his passing. Former European MP and co-founder of the European identity movement Iliade, Jean-Yves Gallou, stated that Raspail was “the man who foretold the destructive impact of blame culture and anti-racism on our civilization back in 1973.” (more…)
Alphonse de Neuville, The Huns at the Battle of Chalons
Alphonse de Neuville, The Huns at the Battle of Chalons
2,411 words
Translated by Guillaume Durocher
Translator’s Note: The following extracts are drawn from Emil Cioran, Précis de décomposition (Paris: Gallimard, 1949). The title is editorial.
There are no beings more dangerous than those who have suffered for a belief: The great persecutors are recruited among the martyrs who were not beheaded. (13)
Finnish hero Lauri Törni
Finnish hero Lauri Törni
2,050 words
Our goal this year is to raise $100,000 in order to expand our efforts to build a metapolitical vanguard for White Nationalism. So far, we have received 80 donations totaling $18,115.92. We set our goals high because the task we have before us is formidable, but not impossible. And we need your help to succeed.
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I sometimes wonder who I am writing for. I know that a couple of my friends read every essay I post (though recently, one of them has been falling down on the job). (more…)
2,942 words
Emil Cioran
De la France
Paris: L’Herne, 2015
This is a strange, vile little book as only Emil Cioran knew how to produce. It was only recently published, in both the original Romanian and in French translation,[1] having been written in 1941 and left to languish for decades in some cardboard box in the Cioran archives. (more…)
Emil Cioran
Emil Cioran
495 words
Translated by Guillaume Durocher
Translator’s Note:
The following is Alain Soral’s negative assessment of Emil Cioran, as contained in his “dictionary” of aphorisms. While this appraisal is not exactly fair, the text expresses some understandable frustration with the nihilist Cioran and gives one a sense of the oppressive atmosphere, for Right-wingers, of the postwar French literary scene. (more…)
873 words
Translated by Guillaume Durocher
Translator’s Note: The following are some rare more-or-less political comments from the post-war Emil Cioran, more in keeping with his pessimistic outlook. These are translated from Emil Cioran, De l’inconvénient d’être né (Paris: Gallimard, 1973). The title is editorial.
1,097 words
Translated by Guillaume Durocher
Translator’s Note: Emil Cioran is notorious as perhaps the most pessimistic philosopher of all time. Nonetheless, I was able to find some aphorisms of his which I would consider inspiring. These are translated from Emil Cioran, De l’inconvénient d’être né (Paris: Gallimard, 1973).