The Classical Wisdom Tradition
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Exploring the spirituality inherited by Europe from Greece and Rome. Twitter: https://twitter.com/gnothisauton
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"Concerning unseen things, [which] concern divine things, clarity is what the gods have, whereas for men there is inference, albeit of one thing after another."
Alcmaeon, fragment D-K 24 A1
"Dithyrambs are hymns composed to Dionysus, not the son of Kore (korikos) but the one [born] from Semele and from the thigh of Zeus. This latter is the god responsible for rebirth, who some say is called Dithyrambus because he was born a second time, first from Semele, then from the thigh of Zeus; and what is more to the point is the one who creates the enmattered forms for a second time and prepares all generation to go forth (thuraze). (‘For a second time’ [actually means] many times, or times without number.) "
Hermias, On Plato's Phaedrus 1.52
"For love of bustle is not industry, – it is only the restlessness of a hunted mind."
Seneca, Letters 3
"'Live with the gods.' The man who lives with the gods is the one whose soul is constantly on display to them as content with its lot and obedient to the will of the guardian spirit, the fragment of himself that Zeus has granted every person to act as his custodian and command center. And in each of us this is mind and reason."
Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.27
"Now goods are of two kinds, human and divine; and the human goods are dependent on the divine, and he who receives the greater acquires also the less, or else he is bereft of both. The lesser goods are those of which health ranks first, beauty second; the third is strength, in running and all other bodily exercises; and the fourth is wealth—no blind god Plutus, but keen of sight, provided that he has wisdom for companion. And wisdom, in turn, has first place among the goods that are divine, and rational temperance of soul comes second; from these two, when united with courage, there issues justice, as the third; and the fourth is courage."
Plato, Laws 631b-d
"For the remedy, words of reason, requires listeners; but the garrulous listen to nobody, for they are always talking. And this is the first symptom of their ailment: looseness of the tongue becomes impotence of the ears."
Plutarch, Concerning Talkativeness 1
"Is it not the case that, whenever there are no impediments to the functions of all the parts of the body, under these circumstances people say they are healthy and think they have no need of doctors whereas, whenever they become aware that any one whatsoever of the natural actions of the body is occurring either badly or not at all, they consider themselves to be diseased, at least in that particular part of the body whose function they see to be damaged, and they do have recourse to medical consultation regarding the treatment? ... And this person, in whom all the parts of the body function in accord with nature, is called healthy compared to them, and someone in whom there is damage, diseased."
Galen, Method of Medicine 1.5
🔸 Click on the links in the text below to view supporting quotes. The text is from the Romanist Society creed posted above.
I believe
that the Gods exist;
that they govern the universe well and justly;
that they are causes only of good;
that they are providential;
that they cannot be influenced by evil.
I honor,
first, Jove, King and Father of the Gods,
maker of the whole visible and invisible world-order;
and the immortal Holy Gods, His divine children.
Next,
those beings who unfold the powers of the Gods and purify lower natures:
the angels;
the good spirits [daimones];
the illustrious heroes.
Lastly,
the saints;
ancestral divinities;
my living kin.
I hold
that the human soul, being akin to the Gods, is immortal;
that, by a life of virtue and the favor of Father Jove, I will be purified of all evils;
that thereby having been freed from the wheel of destiny and generation,
I will rejoin the procession of the Gods and govern the universe with them.
🔸 Click on the links in the text below to view supporting quotes. The text is from the Romanist Society creed posted above.
I believe
that the Gods exist;
that they govern the universe well and justly;
that they are causes only of good;
that they are providential;
that they cannot be influenced by evil.
I honor,
first, Jove, King and Father of the Gods,
maker of the whole visible and invisible world-order;
and the immortal Holy Gods, His divine children.
Next,
those beings who unfold the powers of the Gods and purify lower natures:
the angels;
the good spirits [daimones];
the illustrious heroes.
Lastly,
the saints;
ancestral divinities;
my living kin.
I hold
that the human soul, being akin to the Gods, is immortal;
that, by a life of virtue and the favor of Father Jove, I will be purified of all evils;
that thereby having been freed from the wheel of destiny and generation,
I will rejoin the procession of the Gods and govern the universe with them.
"But souls that live according to virtue shall, in other respects, be happy; and when separated from the irrational nature, and purified from all body, shall be conjoined with the gods, and govern the whole world, together with the deities by whom it was produced." Sallust, On the Gods and the World Chapter 21
"And to be entangled by the Demiurgic God, who, determining (reward) for all in conformity with merit, both to the wheel of destiny and generation, which, according to Orpheus, we are unable to escape without the favor of the Gods:
'In which Zeus enjoined
to free the human souls from the circle (of births) and lift them from misery.'" Simplicius, Scholion On Aristotle's De Caelo 284a14
"But souls that live according to virtue shall, in other respects, be happy; and when separated from the irrational nature, and purified from all body, shall be conjoined with the gods, and govern the whole world, together with the deities by whom it was produced." Sallust, On the Gods and the World Chapter 21
"And to be entangled by the Demiurgic God, who, determining (reward) for all in conformity with merit, both to the wheel of destiny and generation, which, according to Orpheus, we are unable to escape without the favor of the Gods:
'In which Zeus enjoined
to free the human souls from the circle (of births) and lift them from misery.'" Simplicius, Scholion On Aristotle's De Caelo 284a14
Some (but certainly not all) proof texts for the above creed.
I believe
that the Gods exist;
that they govern the universe well and justly;
that they are causes only of good;
that they are providential;
that they cannot be influenced by evil.
"Three things, therefore, are asserted by Plato in [the Laws]; that there are Gods; that their providence extends to all things; and that they administer all things according to justice, and suffer no perversion from worse natures." Proclus, Theology of Plato 1.13
"As regards piety towards the gods, you should know that the most important point is to hold correct opinions about them, regarding them as beings who exist and govern the universe well and justly, and to have made up your mind to obey them and submit to everything that comes about, and to fall in with it of your own free will, as something that has been brought to pass by the highest intelligence." Epictetus, Handbook 31.1
I honor,
first, Jove, King and Father of the Gods,
maker of the whole visible and invisible world-order;
and the immortal Holy Gods, His divine children.
"Through the whole of [Homer's] poetry, likewise, he praises [Jupiter] as the supreme of rulers, and the father of men and Gods, and celebrates him with all demiurgic conceptions." Proclus, Commentary on the Timaeus 1.316
"[Hierocles'] investigation posits the prior existence of god [ = the Demiurge], the creator of both the whole visible and invisible world-order..." On Providence, Codex 214.4
"The authors of the Orphic hymns supposed Zeus to be the mind of the world, and that he created all things therein, containing the world in himself. ... Zeus, therefore, is the whole world, animal of animals, and god of gods; but Zeus, that is, inasmuch as he is the mind from which he brings forth all things, and by his thoughts creates them." Porphyry, On Cult Images fr. 3
"King Jupiter is the king to all alike." Virgil, The Aeneid Book 10
Next,
those beings who unfold the powers of the Gods and purify lower natures:
the angels;
the good spirits [daimones];
the illustrious heroes.
Lastly,
the saints;
ancestral divinities;
my living kin.
"First, honor the immortal Gods, in the order established by Law,
And reverence the Oath. Next, honor the illustrious Heroes.
Likewise, honor the holy men [lit. terrestrial daimones], performing the lawful rites.
Honor your parents and your nearest relations." The Golden Verses 1-4
"The Golden Verses order, that the immortal Gods be honoured first as they are disposed by law; afterwards the illustrious Heroes, under which appellation, the author of the verses comprehends also angels and daemons properly so called; and in the last place the terrestrial daemons, i.e. such good men as transcend in virtue the rest of mankind. But to honour the Gods as they are disposed by law, is, as Hierocles observes, to reverence them as they are arranged by their fabricator and father; and this is to honour them as beings superior to man." Thomas Taylor, The Theology of the Greeks
"Honor the gods of the underworld next after those of Olympus, the patron-gods of the state; the former should be allotted such secondary honors as the Even and the Left, while the latter should receive superior and contrasting honors like the Odd. That's the best way a man can hit his target, piety. After these gods, a sensible man will worship the spirits, and after them the heroes. Next in priority will be rites celebrated according to law at private shrines dedicated to ancestral gods. Last come honors paid to living parents." Plato, Laws 717a-b
I hold
that the human soul, being akin to the Gods, is immortal;
"But it is necessary that the rational soul should be immortal, because it knows the gods; for nothing mortal knows that which is immortal." Sallust, On the Gods and the World Chapter 8
that, by a life of virtue and the favor of Father Jove, I will be purified of all evils;
that thereby having been freed from the wheel of destiny and generation,
I will rejoin the procession of the Gods and govern the universe with them.
Repost from N/a
The Romanist Creed lays out the central beliefs that separate Romanists from other religious groups. While traditionally, Gentile religion has not been credal, there is good reason for us to establish a creed today.
In the presence of many other world religions, it is crucial for us to be able to clearly state what we value and what makes us Romanists. This isn't a Creed that all Gentiles must accept or a statement of absolute infallible truth.
Instead, it's a statement of our ideals, spiritual goals, and core tenets. This fits the classical definition of doxa as opinion. This is the opinion of the Romanists and the statement we make as an affirmation of our faith in the Gods and our aspiration for spiritual liberation.
When someone asks what it means to be a Romanist, this creed states our core principles while leaving an enormous amount of room for further interpretation and speculation, philosophically and theologically.
How many times have you seen a cross or a Buddha statue in a shop or some other place?
Help popularize public displays of busts or statues of the Gods, Homer, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoic philosophers, etc. When appropriate, have one on your desk at work or in other places. This is a simple and powerful way to spread awareness. Or have a picture of a Delphic Maxim on the wall, for example. There are many things along these lines that could be done which will make people curious and raise awareness of our native spiritual tradition.
- CWT Admin
Repost from From Modern to Ancient
Who do you trust:
Ancient Greek philosopher whose ideas have resonated in our civilization for thousands of years
Or
Telegram anons?
A video was published by the Kulture Dads podcast today which critiques Platonism. I do not normally make personalized responses like this, but I felt I needed to address the points made in their video.
In order to avoid posting an enormous wall of text, I decided to experiment with audio recording. I guess time will tell if that was a good decision.
Link to the Kulture Dads video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obQVaHUV3m0
"All human laws are in the keeping of the one divine law."
Heraclitus, fragment 114
Repost from The Classical Wisdom Tradition
"Well then, they say that those who live according to their own essence - that is, as they were born to live - have the divine daimon allotted to them, and for this reason we can see that these people are held in high esteem in whatever walk of life they pursue. Now to live 'according to essence' is to choose the life that befits the chain from which one is suspended: for example, to live the military life, if one is suspended from the chain of Ares; or the life of words and ideas, if from that of Hermes; or the healing or prophetic life, if from that of Apollo; or quite simply, as was said earlier, to live just as one was born to live. But if someone sets before himself a life that is not according to his essence, but some other life that differs from this, and focuses in his undertakings on someone else's work - they say that the intellective daimon is allotted to this person, and for this reason, because he is doing someone else's work, he fails to hit the mark in some instances."
Olympiodorus, On Plato's First Alcibiades 20
