Julius Evola

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

Any interest here in discussing Julius Evola? Anybody here read the most recent English translation of Cavalcare le Tigre?

I want to send a special invitation out to a very excellent VNN contributer Fred from Sweden. Have you read any? If not I invite you to read "Revolt against the Modern World." I think you will find it worthwhile. If you havent heard of Evola, you should know he is a favorite of De Benoist and Nouvelle Droit types in Europe.

[Fredrik Haerne]

Thanks for the invitation, I'll add it to the list of books to read some day. There are so many good books written by White folks it's hard to keep up with them.

I haven't read any Evola, only heard the name of Revolt Against the Modern World once or twice. Would you care to give a short description of how it is structured, and what it teaches the reader?

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

Thanks for the invitation, I'll add it to the list of books to read some day. There are so many good books written by White folks it's hard to keep up with them.

I haven't read any Evola, only heard the name of Revolt Against the Modern World once or twice. Would you care to give a short description of how it is structured, and what it teaches the reader?

Baron Julius Evola was an Italian. He was a dadaist painter in the twenties and then somehow switched to become an academic who covered a wide range of topics that he synthesized into something they know call Traditionalism and is associated with Rene Guenon and Mircea Eliade. Traditionalism is intensely focused on the meaning of myth and symbol and ritual in society and for the individual. Some traditionalists like Evola and Guenon were clearly of the opinion modern society was degenerate whereas Eliade was more forgiving. Eliade is often quoted by Joseph Cambell, who in the US is known for his interpretation of myths, and others in the short-lived "mens movement" of the 80s. "Iron John" and other books.

Evola was mildly approving of the fascist takeover, though never a member of the party. He actually discussed NS more than fascism and toured Germany after the machtergreifung (NS takeover) on an SS sponsored lecture tour. He was present in a German city during a terror bombing which injured him and left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Some commentators have suggested that he would have been tried at Nuremberg like the other intellectuals Rosenberg and Streicher but for the wheelchair making him a more sympathetic figure.

Evola discusses in Revolte the cycle of ages, ie, Golden age followed by silver age degenerating into Iron Age or "kali yuga," the function of caste in society, the role of initiation in secret societies and religion, and what he called the Atlantic-Solar-Olympian tradition, which he juxtaposed to the Semitic-lunar-Titanic or cthonic social-cultural form. Evola had more than a little, but not a lot, to say about the Jews and their degenerative activities in European history. Evola accepted race as a valid concept, but insisted that he believed in a "spiritual" definition of race as opposed to a "merely biological" one, which he clearly considered as the chief shortcoming of NS, along with its appeal to the masses. Evola talked extensively about "aristocracy of the spirit" and identified himself with the Kshatriya caste, and not the brahmin. He explored the "path of action" as an equally valid course for the superior man as "the path of contemplation" which he identified with the brahmin caste and obtains in religious traditons particularly ascetic ones.

Evola lived to 1974 and published many books on subjects such as the Grail, Buddhism, Sex, Yoga, and politics. His books on politics, which are not really coherent unless you've read the other stuff, are "Men among the Ruins" and "Ride the Tiger."

Evola was indicted as a member of a rightist terror bombing plot in postwar Italy. There is no evidence that he was involved other than as a sort of spiritual inspiration to the conspirators, a few of whom he did admittedly know personally. He was acquitted.

Evola was embraced by the Nouvelle Droit wholeheartedly. De Benoist and others. Ever read the "Scorpion" online?

[Fredrik Haerne]

Evola was embraced by the Nouvelle Droit wholeheartedly. De Benoist and others. Ever read the "Scorpion" online?

Haven't read it, but I will now. I have heard of De Benoist, of course.


Do Evola's thoughts on different ages have any similarity to Spengler's thoughts on cyclical civilizations? Do his theories predict light or darkness in the future, or don't they predict the future at all?

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

Very similar to Spengler in terms of subject material. If you like Untergang des Abellandes or whatever, you'll like Revolte.

Evola adheres to the classical notion of devolution, which suggests that there was a golden age long ago, followed by things getting worse and worse until out of the chaos comes a new golden age. Think Plato.

Savitri Devi is much more enjoyable if you've read Evola. Otherwise it's hard to get ahold of some of her allusions.

[albion]

For book by Julius Evola, try Anathema Occult Books at: http://www.anathemabooks.com/evola.shtml
Under "Ride The Tiger," it says this:
"The organizations and institutions that, in a traditional civilization and society, would have allowed an individual to realize himself completely, to defend the principal values he recognizes as his own, and to structure his life in a clear and unambiguous way, no longer exist in the contemporary world. Everything that has come to predominate in the modern world is the direct antithesis of the world of Tradition, in which a society is ruled by principles that transcend the merely human and transitory. Julius Evola's final major work, examines the prototype of the human being who can give absolute meaning to his or her life in a world of dissolution. Presents a powerful criticism of the idols, structures, theories, and illusions of our modern age and reveals how to transform destructive processes into inner liberation."

[Robert Bandanza]

The staff at Corrupt.org are organizing an Evola hiking trip–in the Swiss Alps!

Duration

Thursday April 10th – Sunday April 13, 2008.

http://ie.novopress.info/?p=292