Arquivo de Notes | Page 267 of 282

Inaccuracy of Biblical Texts

There is an extremely irritating argument in the rebuttal of biblical texts: precariousness in the process of reconstruction and transmission of ancient texts. Well, if we consider that the methods of transmission were precarious to the point of compromising the authenticity of what was written — and we have minimal coherence, — then we will have to throw in the trash all that was produced in antiquity; soon, we will be proclaiming the falsehood of, to cite a single example, all the work of Aristotle. I believe it is absurd to believe in the falsehood of what has been written and passed on in the light of thousands of witnesses over time, in absolute focus of attention: to this end, it will be necessary to believe in the joint action of many men of different generations in favor of forgery . This, to me, is a cowardly offense to the honorable initiative of so many over the centuries in order to preserve human knowledge; if we proceed in this way, we will end up strictly considering invalid the entire cultural production other than that of modernity.

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To Love and To Be Loved

“To love and to be loved”: this is capitalism applied to affective relations, showing us its immense vigor. I could say: only love those who do not require anything in return, or love is precisely to expect nothing. But how outdated it would sound! Today is all an exchange: “I generate value, then I want my retribution!” And it is naïve to think that the exchanges do not apply to everything, that the greatest of loves or the tiniest of conventions could not be summarize in a relation of exchange. To observe this, it takes only a modest interior examination…

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Contradict Oneself Voluntarily

The great artist must contradict himself. Because contradiction — abominable word when applied to art… — means that the artist gave way to opposite manifestations of his personality. If he not allow himself to be ambiguous, if he does not recognize in himself duality, if he is not able to raise to the summit opposing feelings that will necessarily manifest itself at his core, then he is a minor artist, amputated, or devoid of soul amplitude or simply powerless, limping of expression.

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The Intellectual Life, by A. D. Sertillanges

The Intellectual Life, by Antonin-Dalmace Sertillanges is, above all, a practical book: a manual intended for all those who seek to structure a life that exceeds everyday banality. I say for my part: when, by my twenties, I came across this work, I found precisely what I needed: the motivation and the means to architect a plan of long-term studies, recognizing the importance of habits, the selection of readings, the solitude, in short: the organization of life to intellectual progress. And I remember the pleasure in breathing those beautiful pages of Sertillanges, gifted with contagious serenity, justifying, elevating and ennonoking intellectual work. No doubt it’s book to close inspired, grateful and motivated.

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