It is rather agonizing to run through the pages of that novelist who, being a good writer, meticulous and serious, cannot rise above the banal. Oh, how unfortunate! We cheer for him, we want to help him, we hope that on the next page the narrative will reach a higher level; but it is no use, nothing comes of it, and in the end we are left to lament. At least we remember that the great writer is great among many, and it is precisely his rarity that makes him special.
Category: Notes
Sometimes the Most Vast Culture Proves…
Sometimes the most vast culture proves to be sterile. It develops, reaches an impressive stature and still fails to bear fruit. Or at least not as expected. And when we analyze the reasons for this, it is always, always proven by example that no culture can bear fruit unless it is embedded in a sufficiently vast and equally unique experience. It is only in conjunction with this that it can be transformed into a work that is not only unique, but real. For this reason, it may even be intended for seniors who, years before, had very different things to worry about.
Modern Man Has a Taste for Comfort…
Modern man has a taste for comfort, and all he does not want are experiences that shake him up and force him to move. And when we analyze his days, his years, we see how regrettable the effects of mediocrity, convenience and idleness are. It is curious to note the frequency of extreme experiences in great souls, whose character seems to be consolidated precisely by them. Sublime or harsh, they mark less by nature than by intensity, representing the transformative essence that modern custom wants to avoid.
More Impressive Than the Deeds Described…
More impressive than the deeds described in Milarepa’s biography is the perfect characterization of madness as a necessary constituent of holiness. Just imagining him as he is portrayed, a “skeleton” with greenish skin, a “ghost”, a miserable weakling, dressed in rags… And yet we notice his stubborn will, his total self-denial and the resolution that does not give in to the most intense and basic needs. What is most impressive is that, after assimilating the reasonableness of madness, one ends up realizing that mad, in fact, was everyone else.