To Sol a Thane

The wolf with lamb's heart falls in shame
Having died tasting no blood but his own
Having died a coward

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Perpetual War

[caption id="attachment_6445" align="aligncenter" width="332"] Adolf Münzer “Tod des Kriegers” 1939[/caption]

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master, such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their free choice, — is often the means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other.”

John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy

God Sun of my Fathers

“The sun burns in my mind, the moon turns in my soul. The black night of no moon night is in myme. The only nothing in the universe: God Sun of my fathers fathers sky forever. I give my me to the one of my dark minds night of Gods center of everything, that meets in my nothing of forever. The soldier's already dead and in my grave. I give my death to the Life 4 ever and ever in the heart of all Air Trees Water Animals. Soldiers of sun and cages of America.”

Charles Manson 2013

Breath of Pestilence vinyl represses

OUT NOW: 

ORDER OF THE DEATH’S HEAD (fra) “Sous le Signe de Thule” LP (BOP046)



French radical Black Metal. Pressed on black vinyl, comes with large double sided insert.
Co-released with Darker Than Black.

18,88 Eur + shipping...

and:

DER STÜRMER / REEK OF THE UNZEN GAS FUMES / COMMAND / FOGGED BY FLESHFLIES 4-way splitLP (BOP038) 



Re-press on black vinyl. Only a few slight adjustments made to the lay-out, otherwise identical to the first pressing!
Militant hordes from Hellas, Brazil and Japan join forces for this obscure split release.New and exclusive material, total of 9 tracks. Comes with large double sided insert.

17 Eur + shipping...
_________________
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-finnish underground distribution & productions-

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Frédéric Boissonnas - The trip to Olympus

Frédéric Boissonnas (1858-1946) was a Swiss photographer and philhellene who traveled extensively to Greece during the early years of the 20th century, capturing dozens of stunning images of Greek village and island life.

The following pics are from the trip of Frédéric Boissonnas to Olympus 1913 with Christos Kakalos as his guide. Christos Kakalos (Litohoro, 1879 or 13 July 1882 - 12 April 1976) was a Greek hunter from Litochoro, who is considered the first climber to mount Olympus on August 2, 1913, leading the famous photographer Frédéric Boissonnas and his companion , Daniel Baud-Bovy . He is the first to go to the peak Mytikas at the top of Mount Olympus. Rumor has it that he ascended to the peak Stefani from location Kazania and slept in a "cave" under the Stefani, almost in the air, tied only by ropes. Today at Mount Olympus there is a shelter named after it, located in the "Plateau of the Muses" at an altitude of 2,650 meters.



[caption id="attachment_6422" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Camp at location Prionia[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6423" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Stefani and Mytikas[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6424" align="aligncenter" width="400"] At Stefani[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_6426" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Mytikas seen from Skala[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6427" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Stefani or Throne of Zeus[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6428" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Christos Kakalos[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_6430" align="aligncenter" width="500"] At the location Petrostrouga[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_6434" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Mytikia under the highest peak of Olympus[/caption]

 

The “demands” of modern woman

[caption id="attachment_6414" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Fidus - Fruhlingsodem 1900[/caption]

“We can’t ask ourselves if woman is superior or inferior to man more than we can ask ourselves if water is superior or inferior to fire. Therefore, for each of the sexes the criterion of measurement cannot be given from the opposite sex, but exclusively from the “idea” of their own sex. The only thing that can be done is establish the superiority or the inferiority of a certain woman according to her being more or less near to the female typicity, to the pure or absolute women; and analogous thing also applies to man. The “demands” of modern woman derives from wrong ambitions, besides from a complex of inferiority – from the wrong idea that a woman as “only woman”, is inferior to man. Rightfully it has been said that feminism has not fought for the “rights of woman” but rather, without realizing it, for the right of woman to be the same as a man: a thing that, even if it were possible outside of the exterior practicistic-intellectual plane just said, would be equivalent for the right of woman to distort herself, to degenerate. The only qualitative criterion is, let us repeat, that of the degree of more or less perfect realization of its own nature. There is no doubt that a woman that is perfectly woman is superior to a man that is imperfectly man, in the same way as a peasant loyal to the land, who performs perfectly his functions, is superior to a king unable to perform his task”.

"Eros and the Mysteries of Love"
Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola

Οι Πολύθεοι

[caption id="attachment_6386" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Georgios Gemistos-Plethon[/caption]

"Blessed be you, who have researched

to raise on your shoulders

the shattered temple of the Hellenes"

From the poem «Oi polytheoi» («Of many gods») of Kostis Palamas (1859-1943), which is dedicated to Georgios Gemistos-Plethon who died on June 26, 1452 in Mystras.

Here is the whole poem in Greek:

Οι Πολύθεοι του Κωστή Παλαμά (αφιερωμένο στον Πλήθωνα) 

Μακαρισμένος εσύ που μελέτησες 
να τον ορθώσης απάνω στους ώμους σου 
το συντριμμένο ναό των Ελλήνων! 
Του Νόμου τ’ άγαλμα σταίνεις κορώνα του, 
στις μαρμαρένιες κολώνες του σκάλισες 
τους λογισμούς των Πλωτίνων. 

Είδες τον κόσμο κι ατέλειωτο κι άναρχο 
ψυχών και θεών, μαζί κύριων και υπάκουων, 
σφιχτοδετά κρατημένη αρμονία 
και των καπνών και των ίσκιων τα είδωλα 
παραμερίζοντας όλα, ίσα τράβηξες 
προς την Αιτία 
και σε κρυψώνα ιερό, και σωπαίνοντας 
έσπειρες, έξω απ’ το μάτι του βέβηλου, 
κ’ έπλασες λιόκαλη εσύ σπαρτιάτισσα 
τη θυγατέρα σου την Πολιτεία. 

Στους χριστιανούς τους μισόζωους ανάμεσα 
ξαναζωντάνεψες Ολυμπους άγνωρους, 
έθνη καινούριων αθανάτων κι άστρων 
μέσα σε σένα Λυκούργοι και Πλάτωνες 
απαντηθήκαν, το λόγο ξανάνιωσες 
των Ζωροάστρων. 

Κι αφού το τέκνο μεγάλωσες, ένιωσες 
τότε μονάχα την κούραση, κ’ έγυρες 
ζωή κατόχρονη ισόθεης σκέψης, 
κι αλαφροπήρε σε ο θάνατος κ’ έφυγες 
το μυστικό, τρισμκάριε, τον ίακχο 
με τους Ολύμπιους θεούς να χορέψης. 
Σοφός, κριτής και προφήτης μας μοίρασες 
από το γάλα που εσένα σε πότισε 
της Ουρανίας Αφροδίτης η ρώγα. 

Του κόσμου αφήνεις το τέκνο, το θάμα σου 
μα ο μισερός κι ο στραβός κι ο ζηλόφτονος 
λυσσομανάει και το ρίχνει στη φλόγα. 
Όμως ο αέρας τριγύρω στη φλόγα σου 
πνοή σοφίας κι αλήθειες πνοή γίνεται, 
κι από τη θράκα της φλόγας πετάχτη 
στον ήλιο ολόισα ένας νους μεγαλόφτερος 
τ’ αποκαίδια σου κρύβουμε γκόλφια μας, 
και θησαυρός της φωτιάς σου είν’ η στάχτη! 

Funeral Oration for The Emperor Julian

[caption id="attachment_6380" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Death of Roman emperor Julian the Apostate[/caption]

“He divided his life into care for the state and devotion to the altars, associating with the gods in countless initiations, mourning for our desecrated temples, when mourning was all that he could do, but then, when the opportunity came, taking up arms for them. He restored the ruined temples to their places, and he restored their ritual back to them and all others: he brought back, as it were from exile, sacrifice and libation, and renewed the festivals that had fallen into abeyance. He did away with the danger that was attached to the worship of higher powers, never allowed his intellect to be diverted from his consideration of the gods, dispersed the mist that enveloped so many, and would have done the same for us all, had he not been untimely taken from us.”

Libanius, Funeral Oration for The Emperor Julian

 

Civis romanus sum

[caption id="attachment_6375" align="alignnone" width="900"] Benito Mussolini (1888-1945) by Granger[/caption]

"To celebrate the Birth of Rome" - Mussolini proclaimed in April 21, 1922, a few months previous to the march over Rome:     

"..means to celebrate our kind of civilization, means to exalt our history and our race, means to lean firmly on the past in order to project better onto the future. As a matter of fact, Rome and Italy are two inseparable terms [...] The Rome we honor is certainly not the Rome of the monuments and ruins, the Rome of the glorious ruins among which no civilian walks without feeling a thrilling shiver of veneration [...] The Rome we honor, but mainly the Rome we long for and prepare is another one: it is not about honorable stones, but living souls: it is not the nostalgic contemplation of the past, but of the hard preparation of the future. Rome is our starting point and reference; it is our symbol, or, if you will, our myth. We dream about the Roman Italy, that is, the wise and strong, disciplined and imperial Italy. Much of what was the immortal spirit of Rome is reborn in fascism: the lictor is Roman, our organization of combat is Roman, our pride and our courage are Roman: 'Civis romanus sum'."

MALOBESTIO - In Cauda Venenum

Underground band from south of France, MALOBESTIO make and play old school Black/Death metal. Featuring Herr C (Hakenkreuzzug, Defiance etc.) on drums. The first full length "In Cauda Venenum" available in jewelcase CD with 8 pages booklet. Limited to 500 copies.



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https://hassweg-prod.com

https://malobestio.bandcamp.com

Spartan Society by Xenophon (c.400 BC)

[caption id="attachment_6361" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Jean-Jacques-Francois Le Barbier, The Magnanimity of Lycurgus, 1791[/caption]

1. Now once it had struck me that Sparta, despite having one of the lowest populations, had nonetheless clearly become the most powerful and most famous state in Greece, I wondered how this had ever happened. But I stopped wondering once I had pondered the Spartiates’ institutions, for they have achieved success by obeying the laws laid down for them by Lycurgus. I certainly admire him and consider him in the highest degree a wise man, since it was not by copying other states, but by deciding on an opposite course to the majority that he made his country outstandingly fortunate.

2. Putting first things first, think for instance of the production of children. Elsewhere girls who are prospective mothers and considered to be well brought up are fed the plainest practicable diet with as few extras as possible; certainly wine is not given to them at all, or only if watered down. Other Greeks require girls to be sedentary, sitting still and working wool. But in Lycurgus’ view, by contrast, clothes should be produced by slave women; the production of children was the most important duty of free women. So he required females to take physical exercise just as much as males. He arranged for womean also, just like men, to have contests of speed and strength with one another, in the belief that when both parents are strong their children too are born sturdier.

3. Moreover, he made it a matter of disgrace that a man should be seen either when going into or leaving his wife’s room. His thinking was that sex under these circumstances increased a couple’s desire for each and any children born would be much sturdier. Besides he no longer allowed each man to marry when he liked, but laid down that men should marry only when they are at their peak physically — his idea being that this too would help in the production of fine children. He observed, also, that where an old man happened to have a young wife, he tended to keep a jealous watch on her. So he planned to prevent this too by arranging that for the production of children the elderly husband should introduce to his wife any man whose physique and personality he admired. Further, should a man not wish to be married, but still eager to have remarkable children, Lycurgus also made it lawful for him to have children by any fertile and well-bred woman who came to his attention, subject to her husband’s consent. The question of whether he did thereby endow Sparta with men whose size and strength are in any way superior is for anyone who wishes to investigate for himself.

4. Now that I have explained about procreation I want to give a precise account of education. Elsewhere in Greece those who claim to give their sons the finest education put their children under the care of servants as tutors and dispatch them to schools to learn reading and writing and music and the art of wrestling. They make their children’s feet soft with shoes and their bodies delicate with many clothes. As for food, they let them eat as much as their stomachs can hold. But Lycurgus, in place of the private assignment of slave tutors to each boy, stipulated that a man should take charge of them as Train-in-Chief. Lycurgus gave this man authority both to assemble the boys and to punish them severely. He also gave him a squad of young adults equipped with whips to administer punishment when necessary. The result has been that respect and obedience in combination are found to a high degree at Sparta.

[caption id="attachment_6362" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Spartan Agoge[/caption]

5. Rather than letting boys’ feet grow soft in shoes, he told them emphatically to make them strong by not wearing shoes, in the belief that this practice should enable them to walk uphill with greater ease, jump better, and run faster than the one with shoes. And instead of their clothes serving to make them delicate, he required them to become used to a single garment all year round, the idea being that thereby they would be better prepared for cold and heat. As for food, he instructed the eiren to furnish for the common meal just the right amount for them never to become sluggish through being too full, while also giving them a taste of what it is not to have enough. His view was that boys under this kind of regimen would be better able, when required, to work hard without eating, as well as to make the same rations last longer; they would be satisfied with a plain diet, would adapt better to accepting any type of food, and would be in a healthier condition. He also considered that a diet which produced slim bodies would also make them grow tall.

6. On the other hand, while he did not allow them to take what they required effortlessly, to prevent them suffering from hunger he did permit them to steal in order to ward off starvation. Clearly a prospective thief must keep awake at night, and by day must practice deception and lie in wait, as well as have spies ready if he is going to seize anything. So clearly it was Lycurgus’ wish that by training the boys in all these ways he would make them more resourceful at feeding themselves and better fighters. Someone might ask then, if he considered theft a good thing, why on earth did he inflict many lashes on a boy who was caught stealing? My answer is, because people chastise anyone who does not perform satisfactorily. After making it an honor for them to snatch as many cheeses as possible from the Temple of Artemis Orthia, he commanded others to whip them, thereby demonstrating that a short period of pain may be compensated by the enjoyment of long-lasting prestige. With the intention that even in the absence of the Trainer-in-Chief the boys should always have someone ein charge of them, he authorized any citizen who happened to be present at the time to give the boys whatever instruction he thought proper, and to punish any slip they might make. By this measure he gave the boys a greater sense of respect. To ensure that someone should be in control of the boys even when no adult happened to be on the spot, he deputed the smartest of the eirens to take command of each squadron. As a result the boys of Sparta are never without someone in charge of them.

7. The time when boys reach their teens is the very moment when others remove them from tutors, remove them from schools and have nobody in charge of them any longer, but rather leave them independent. Here, too, Lycurgus took the opposite view. Because he appreciated that at this age boys become self-willed and are particularly liable to cockiness — both of which produce powerful cravings for pleasure — this was the age at which he loaded them with the greatest amount of work and contrived that they should be kept occupied most of the time. In his wish to see a sense of respect strongly implanted in them, he have orders that even in the streets they should keep both hands inside their cloaks, should proceed in silence, and should not let their gaze wander in any direction, but fix their eyes on the ground in front of them. Certainly, you would sooner hear a cry from a stone statue or succeed in catching the eye of a bronze one than a Spartan boy. And whenever they attended the mess, they were only allowed to respond to questions the men put to them. Such, then, was the attention he devoted to youths.

8. However, he displayed the greatest concern by far for the young adults, in the conviction that they had the most influence for the good of the state if they were of the right character. From his observation that when people have the strong innate spirit of competition their choruses are the ones most worth watching, he came to think that if he could also urge the young adults to compete in excellence, then they would attain the height of manly gallantry. Let me explain how he used to urge them.

9. From among them the ephors select three of those in their prime. Each of these picks 100 men with a clear explanation of why he approves some and rejects others. As a result those who do not achieve the honor are at war with both those who have dismissed them and those chosen instead of them, and the two groups are on the lookout for any negligent act which may go against the accepted standards of honor. This is also the type of competition most highly favored by the gods and best suited to a citizen community — in which the conduct demanded of brave men is spelled out and each of the two groups independently strives to ensure that it will always prove superior. But should any need arise they would as one protect the city with all their might. They must keep themselves physically fit too, since their rivalry brings on fights whenever they meet. However, all passers-by have the right to separate the combatants. Anyone who defies the man attempting to separate them is brought before the ephors; they levy a stiff fine in their desire to establish the principle that anger must never prevail over respect for the law.

10. As for those who have passed beyond the youngest grade of adulthood, other Greeks, after removing their obligation to keep up their physical strength, nonetheless require them to go on serving in the army when necessary. Lycurgus by contrast made hunting the noblest of pastime for men of this age, so that they could stand up to the exertions of campaigning just as well as the youngest men. This then completes my account of the training Lycurgus prescribed by law.

11. When Lycurgus too the Spartans in hand they were living in separate households like Greeks elsewhere. He concluded that this was the cause of a great amount of misbehavior and so devised his scheme for common messes, thinking gthat these would reduce disobedience. The rations he fixed in such a way that they should have neither too much nor too little food. There is never a shortage of food on the table, yet neither is there a lavish spread. When it came to wine he stopped excessive drinking — which causes both physical and mental degeneration — and just let each man drink whenever he felt thirsty. In his view this is the least harmful and most enjoyable way of drinking. With common messes of this type how would anyone ruin either himself or his household by greediness or alcoholism?

12. In other cities men of the same age generally congregate together and respect only their own social group. But at Sparta Lycurgus mixed ages together in the belief that it is beneficial for the younger men to learn from the older ones. Indeed, it was the custom that any noble act on the part of any citizen was discussed in the messes, so that there was limited opportunity for drunken behavior. Eating out certainly brings out more benefits. To get home the Spartans have to walk, taking care not to trip and fall under the influence of wine. They also have to do in the dark what they do by daylight; men still liable for military service are not even allowed a torch. Lycurgus further noted that the same rations improve the complexion, physique, and strength of hard workers, whereas they give lazy people a bloated, ugly, and feeble appearance. It would certainly not be easy for anyone to find men healthier or more physically adept than Spartiates.

13. Lycurgus definitely held the opposite view to the majority of Greeks in the following ways too. In other cities each man is master of his own children, slaves, and property.. But Lycurgus, in his wish to arrange that citizens might enjoy a mutual benefit without injury to anyone, caused each man to be master of other people’s children just as much as his own. Should any boy ever tell his father that he was beaten by another, then it is a disgrace if the father does not give his son another beating. To such a degree do Spartans trust each other not to discipline children carelessly or dishonor good order. He even authorized them to use other people’s household servants too if anybody needed them. He also authorized the sharing of hunting dogs. They have the same arrangement with horses, so that if someone needs to go somewhere fast and happens to spot a horse anywhere, he just takes it, and then duly returns it after use. He also arranged to have food caches stocked throughout Sparta so that those in need could break the seals and take what they needed. By sharing with each other in this way, even those who possess little can benefit from everything in the polis whenever they are in need.

14.  There are also the following practices instituted by Lycurgus which are quite the opposite from those elsewhere in Greece. In the other poleis everyone naturally makes as much money as possible; some are farmers, others ship owners or traders, while crafts support others. But at Sparta Lycurgus banned all free men from the pursuit of wealth and prescribed that their sole concern should be with things that make cities free. Lycurgus demanded that provisions should be contributed on an equal basis and the way of life be uniform, thus doing away with self-indulgent passion for wealth. There is no point in making money even for the sake of clothes, since it is physical vitality which gives men a distinctive appearance not lavish dress. There is no point in amassing money to spend on fellow members of the mess either, since Lycurgus instilled the idea that the person who helps his companions by undertaking physical labor is more reputable than the one who spends money — the former service comes from the heart, whereas the latter is a function of being rich.

15. He also prevented moneymaking by illegal means. First he instituted currency of such a type that neither master nor servant could ever be unaware of money coming into the house; indeed this would require a great deal of space and a wagon for transport. Searches are made for gold and silver, and should any be found anywhere its possessor is fined. So what would be the point of being eager to make money when more trouble comes from having it than pleasure does from spending it?

16. Now we all know that in Sparta there is the strictest obedience to both the authorities and to laws. In other states the more powerful people do not wish to give the impression that they fear the authorities and consider it demeaning to free men. But at Sparta the most influential figures are in fact particularly submissive towards the authorities. They take pride in being humble for they believe that they should take the lead in showing exceptional obedience.

[caption id="attachment_6360" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Eugène Delacroix - Lycurgus Consulting the Pythia. 1835[/caption]

17. In order to make the citizens willing to obey the laws, Lycurgus issued his laws only after going to Delphi and asked the god if it would be preferable and better for Sparta to obey his laws. Once the god had responded in the affirmative, only then did he issue them, with the prescription that it would be not only lawful but also impious to disobey laws ordered by the Pythian god.

18. Lycurgus merits admiration for also bringing it about that the citizens considered an honorable death preferable to a life of disgrace. In fact anybody will find upon investigation that casualties among them are lower than among men who prefer to retreat from danger. To be truthful, self-preservation in most instances is really associated more with bravery than with cowardice, since the former is in fact easier and more pleasant. Clearly glory is the companion of bravery; everyone wants some alliance with brave men. Now it would be quite wrong to neglect how Lycurgus contrived this attitude. Clearly, he offered the brave prosperity and the cowards adversity. In other cities whenever someone displays cowardice, he merely gets the name of coward; yet the coward continues to go out in public and take exercise in the same place as the brave man. But at Sparta everyone would be ashamed to associate with a coward in his mess or have him as a wrestling partner. When sides are being picked for a ball game, that sort of man is often left out with no position assigned, and in dances he is banished to the insulting places. Moreover, in the streets he is required to give way and give up his seat even to younger men. The girls of his family he has to support at home and must explain to them why they can’t get husbands. He must endure having a home with no wife and pay a fine on top of this. He must not walk around with a cheerful face, nor must he imitate men of impeccable reputation. If he does he must submit to being beaten by his betters. When disgrace of this kind is imposed on cowards I am certainly not surprised that death is preferred to life of such dishonor and ignominy.

[caption id="attachment_6363" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier — A Spartan Woman Giving a Shield to Her Son[/caption]

19. Equally splendid in my opinion was Lycurgus’ law that excellence be cultivated through old age. By establishing that election to the Gerousia should occur near life’s end, he ensured that they would continue to care about their moral excellence even in old age. He is to be admired also for the protection he offered to virtuous men in old age, for by making the elders [senators] supreme judges in capital cases he produced more respect for old age than for those at the peak of their strength. And it is certainly reasonable that of all mankind’s competitions this one should prompt the greatest rivalry. While athletic contests are honorable too, they are mere trials of physique, whereas the competition for the Gerousia involves a test of the noble qualities of the spirit. Thus, just as the spirit is superior to the body, to the same degree contests of spirit merit greater rivalry than those of physique.

20. How could one truly deny that the following measure by Lycurgus merits tremendous admiration? He recognized that where only enthusiasts show concern for virtue, their numbers are not sufficient to exalt their polis. So at Sparta he made it compulsory for everyone to develop all the virtues as a public duty. Thus, just as private individuals who cultivate excellence are superior to those who neglect it, so Sparta too is superior to all cities in this quality, because she alone makes the development of moral excellence [arête] a public duty. Isn’t it splendid too, that where other cities inflict punishment in cases where one person injures another, Lycurgus imposed even greater punishment on someone who neglected to be as good as possible? He made the exercise of all good qualities of citizens an inescapable duty, thus he gave an equal share in the state to all law-abiding citizens without regard for physical or financial deficiencies. Lycurgus made it clear that if anyone should shirk the effort required to keep his laws, then he would no longer be considered one of the Equals.

21. Now it is plain that these laws are extremely ancient, since Lycurgus is said to have been a contemporary of the grandson’s of Heracles. But despite their age, even today other peoples find them new and strange. And the most extraordinary thing of all is that despite the universal praise for such a code of behavior, not a single city is willing to copy it.

22. Now these advantages they enjoy jointly in time of both peace and war. But if anyone wishes to understand how Lycurgus also caused their military organization to be superior to that of others he should pay attention to what follows. First of all, the ephors announce which age groups are required for service and exactly which craftsmen are needed. Consequently, even on campaign the Spartans are fully supplied with everything used by a city population. Now as to their equipment for battle, he arranged that they should have a red cloak and a bronze hoplon, on the thinking that the former presents the greatest contrast with any female dress as well as the most warlike appearance; the latter certainly can be polished quickly and is slow to tarnish. He permitted those who had reached adulthood [age 30] to wear their hair long too, in the belief that they would thereby look taller and have a nobler, more fearsome appearance.

23. The general view that the Spartan battle formation is complicated is an assumption completely at variance with reality. In the Spartan formation the men who stand in the front line are officers and all the ranks cooperate by doing what is required of them. Orders for deployment are given verbally, so that the phalanzes thin out or grow thicker as required. None of this is difficult to grasp. What isn’t at all easy to grasp, except to those trained under the laws of Lycurgus, is the tactic of continuing the fight after the line has been thrown into confusion.

24. Spartans also execute with complete smoothness maneuvers regarded as extremely difficult by military instructors. For instance, whenever they are marching in column and suddenly meet an enemy phalanx, the order is passed to form front to the left, and this continues down the entire line until the counter-phalanx is in place. Should the enemy appear in the rear when the Spartans are in this position, each line counter-marches itself so that the men of highest caliber are always facing the enemy. Even the fact that in these circumstances the commander is now on the left of the line is not seen as a drawback. If it happened to seem advantageous that the commander hold the right wing, they first turn the unit in file and reverse the phalanx to the point where the leader is on the right and the rearguard to his left.

25.Given that the angles of a square are indefensible, Lycurgus laid out circular military camps, except where a secure hill or wall or river lay to the rear. In the daytime he posted sentries by the weapons facing inwards — men stationed to guard against their friends rather than their enemies. A watch for the enemy was kept by cavalry who could spot anyone approaching from a great distance. During night-time he assigned skiritae [Spartan light infantry] to mount guard on the camp perimeter, and nowadays any mercenaries who happen to be present join them too. One should also be clear that the practices of always walking about with spear in hand and of keeping slaves away from the weapons both have an identical purpose: security. Moreover, they change their campsites frequently.

26. All Spartans are also instructed by law to keep up their gymnastic training for the duration of campaigns, with the consequence that their sense of their own impressiveness is enhanced and they look superior to other men. No walking or running is to be done beyond the area occupied by the army, so nobody goes far from his weapons. Following the main evening meal they sing a hymn to those gods who have responded favorably to sacrifice and ordered to sleep with weapons close to hand. Where military matters are concerned the Spartans have overlooked little that demand attention.

27. Let me further describe the authority and prestige which Lycurgus bestowed upon a king on campaign. While on service a king and his entourage are maintained by the state. The officers join his mess so that they are always at his side to allow them to confer whenever necessary. There other Equals are also members of the mess and take care of the others’ needs and ensure that they have no concerns to distract them from the business of war.

28. I should go back to how the king starts out with his army. First, while still at home, he sacrifices to Zeus and associated gods. If the sacrifice appears favorable, the Fire-bearer takes the fire from the altar and conveys it to the frontier of the polis, where the king sacrifices again to Zeus and Athena. Only after both of these gods have reacted favorably does he cross the frontier of the polis. Fire from these sacrifices is conveyed onwards without being extinguished. In every instance when he is making a sacrifice he begins the operation before daybreak, with the aim of being the first to win the god’s favor. Also present are two ephors, who do not involve themselves, but observe each person’s actions and ensure that they are correct in every case. Once the sacrifices are completed, the king assembles everyone and gives orders. In short, if you witnessed this you would think that militarily all others are amateurs, whereas Spartans alone are the real masters of the craft of war. With these arrangements the king is left with no other duty on campaign except to act as priest in the divine sphere and as general in the human one.

29. When not in the presence of an enemy, nobody goes in front of the king except the skiritae and the cavalry on reconnaissance. However, if battle is immanent the king takes command of the first battalion and wheels it right until it is placed between two other battalions. The troops positioned behind these are marshaled by the eldest member of the king’s entourage. Lycurgus also made the following splendid, and in my view advantageous, arrangements for actual combat. Once the enemy can see what is happening, a she-goat is sacrificed, all the pipers present begin playing, and every Spartan decorates himself with garlands of flowers and polishes his weapons. Young men may enter battle with their hair oiled and groomed and with a joyful, distinguished appearance.

30. The king’s oath is to rule according to the city’s established laws, while that of the city is to keep the king’s position unshaken so long as he abides by his oath. His special privileges at home do not amount to much beyond those of an ordinary citizen, for it was not Lycurgus’ intention either that kings should acquire a tyrannical attitude or that citizens should come to envy their power. As to the honors shown a king after his death, the aim of the laws of Lycurgus demonstrate that they give special honor to Spartan kings not as humans but as heroes.

30. Were anyone to ask whether I think that the laws of Lycurgus still remain in force and unchanged even at the present time, by Zeus no, I would not have the confidence to make that claim today. I am aware that in the past the Spartans chose to live together at home with modest means rather than to serve as harmosts in various cities and so be corrupted by flattery. I am also aware of how in the past they feared any disclosure that they possessed gold or silver, though nowadays there are even some who glory in having acquired it. I know that in the past too, for this reason, expulsions of foreigners used to occur and Spartans were not permitted to go abroad lest they be infected by lax habits caught by foreigners. But I know that nowadays those who have the reputation of being leading citizens have proved keen to serve abroad as harmosts all their lives. At one time, too, they would have taken care to ensure that they deserved to occupy the position of leadership, but nowadays their main preoccupation is just to exercise authority rather than be worthy of doing so. In the past, for instance, the Greeks came to Sparta and asked her to be the leader against those they felt were wronging them. But now many are calling upon each other to prevent a further period of Spartan rule. It is certainly no wonder that these aspersions are being cast against them, since plainly they are obedient neither to heaven nor to the laws of Lycurgus.

A leap into gloomy death

Today we preach a methodical and everyday heroism; a taste for despair that encourages the heart to give up all its fruits, a habit for enthusiasm; intoxicating madness… We preach a leap into gloomy death under the watchful and clear gaze of the Ideal! We preach by example, giving ourselves to the fierce dressmaker that is War, who carved out for us a fitting scarlet uniform. Brand new beneath the sun, it will put light in our hair, which was combed by bombs.



Thus the heat of the summer evening paints the fields with the flickering lights of fireflies. It is necessary that people electrify their nerves with insane pride every day!.. It is necessary that people be ready to bet their own lives in an instant, not paying attention to the roguish dealer, nor controlling the balance of the roulette that had sprawled over the vast green carpets of war, so cherished by the dubious lamp that is the sun… It is necessary – understand this! – for the soul to cast the body into the fire, like a fire-ship is cast against the foe… an eternal foe, one that ought to have been invented, had he not already existed!

~ Tommaso Marinetti 

Mystical spheres of War

[caption id="attachment_6353" align="aligncenter" width="300"] August Bischoff - Siegfried 1940[/caption]

"All men, inasmuch as they are not liberated from the bondage of time, follow the downward path of history, whether they know it or not and whether they like it or not. Few, indeed, thoroughly like it, even in our epoch, let alone in happier ages, when people read less and thought more. Few follow it unhesitatingly, without throwing at some time or other a sad glance towards the distant lost paradise towards into which they know, in their deeper consciousness, that they are never to peer; the paradise of perfection in time within so remote that the earliest people of which we know remember it as only a dream. Yet they follow their fate away; they obey their destiny. That resigned submission to the terrible law of decay; that acceptance of the bondage of time by creatures who dimly feel they could be free from it, but who find it too hard to try to free themselves, who know beforehand that they would never succeed, even if they did try, because at the bottom of that incurable unhappiness of man the deplored again and again the Greek tragedies, long before these were written. Man is unhappy because he knows, because he feels, in general, that the world in which he lives, of which he is a part, is not what it should be; not what is could be; not what, in fact, it was at the dawn of time, before decay set in. He cannot wholeheartedly accept the world as his, especially not accept the fact that it is going from bad to worse (be glad). However much he may try to be a realist, and snatch from destiny whatever he can, when he can, still an invincible yearning for the better remains at the bottom of his heart; he cannot, in general stomach the world as it is.
In heralding the most widespread massacre, I believe that war is preparing mystical spheres for the apparition of great ideals. Where the charnel house dissolves, joy will be born in from it; where the weight of mortality sinks down, the soul's freedom will be uplifted. The greater the offering, the greater will be the wonder and the miracle."

Boyd Rice - paradise of perfection (Scorpion Wind) 

 

Kupala Night

Ivan Ivanovich Sokolov (Russian, 1823-1918) “Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala“

Germania

"The Germans, like many other peoples, are said to have been visited by Hercules, and they sing of him as the foremost of all the heroes when they are about to engage in battle. Ulysses also, in all those fabled wanderings of his, is supposed by some to have reached the northern sea and visited German lands, and to have founded and named Asciburgium, a town on the Rhine inhabited to this day. They even add that an altar consecrated by Ulysses and inscribed also with the name of his father Laertes was discovered long ago at this same place, and that certain barrows with monuments upon them bearing Greek inscriptions still exist on the borders of Germany and Raetia. I do not intend to argue either for or against these assertions; each man must accept or reject them as he feels inclined."

"... the peoples of Germany have never contaminated themselves by intermarriage with foreigners but remain of pure blood, distinct and unlike any other nation. One result of this is that their physical characteristics, in so far as one can generalize about such a large population, are always the same: fierce-looking blue eyes..."

Tacitus - Germania

 

The Soul of the North

[caption id="attachment_6344" align="alignnone" width="635"] "The destruction of Irminsul by Charlemagne" (1882) by Heinrich Leutemann.[/caption]

An article translated from the Der Vaderen Erfdeel (1938, October edition), a foundation found by the Dutch NSB, about the christianization of Europe and the effects of that on our heathen ancestors.

Read the article here

The Secret of Steel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGHEFNixdWY

MANOWAR - The Secret of Steel 

Atop the mountain, where the river of steel flows
Black is the forest, white was the snow.
There as children, how could children know?
One without name or number soon would show.

There stood he, on his chariot made of gold
He did reveal the trinity of secrets old.

A sceptre of iron could mercy bring.
A shield of gold, the Creator and king,
And the great sword of steel.

Sons of destiny shall wield.
Hear Wisdom's voice.
Rise, know the strength that you feel.
Hold in your heart, but never reveal
You were called by the Gods, their powers to wield.
Guard well the secret of steel.

A sceptre of iron could mercy bring.
A shield of gold, the Creator and King,
and the great sword of steel.

Sons of destiny shall wield.
Hear Wisdom's voice.
Rise, know the strength that you feel.
Hold in your heart, but never reveal.
You were called by the Gods, their powers to wield.
Guard well the secret of steel.

June 17, 1462 - The Night Attack of Târgovişte

"Like flaming demons, Wallachians rushed out of the night and into the Turkish camp, striking terror in their army. Leading the charge was a gore-spattered chieftain—hewing and hacking a path to the central tents where the Sultan huddled in fear. On he came, Vlad Dracula, raining down slaughter and raging for Mehmed’s blood. The assassination attempt failed and Mehmed marched to the Wallachian capital of Târgovişte, where he discovered another 20,000 impaled Turks. Horrified, the Sultan and his troops retreated."

Death Hector's Reward

[caption id="attachment_6322" align="alignnone" width="900"] Triumphant Achilles by Franz von Matsch[/caption]

“Then Hector said, as the life ebbed out of him, “I pray you by your life and knees, and by your parents, let not dogs devour me at the ships of the Achaeans, but accept the rich treasure of gold and bronze which my father and mother will offer you, and send my body home, that the Trojans and their wives may give me my dues of fire when I am dead.”

“Achilles glared at him and answered, “Dog, talk not to me neither of knees nor parents; would that I could be as sure of being able to cut your flesh into pieces and eat it raw, for the ill have done me, as I am that nothing shall save you from the dogs- it shall not be, though they bring ten or twenty-fold ransom and weigh it out for me on the spot, with promise of yet more hereafter. Though Priam son of Dardanus should bid them offer me your weight in gold, even so your mother shall never lay you out and make lament over the son she bore, but dogs and vultures shall eat you utterly up.”

“Hector with his dying breath then said, “I know you what you are, and was sure that I should not move you, for your heart is hard as iron; look to it that I bring not heaven’s anger upon you on the day when Paris and Phoebus Apollo, valiant though you be, shall slay you at the Scaean gates.”

“When he had thus said the shrouds of death enfolded him, whereon his soul went out of him and flew down to the house of Hades, lamenting its sad fate that it should en’ youth and strength no longer. But Achilles said, speaking to the dead body, “Die; for my part I will accept my fate whensoever Jove and the other gods see fit to send it.”

“As he spoke he drew his spear from the body and set it on one side; then he stripped the blood-stained armour from Hector’s shoulders while the other Achaeans came running up to view his wondrous strength and beauty; and no one came near him without giving him a fresh wound. Then would one turn to his neighbour and say, “It is easier to handle Hector now than when he was flinging fire on to our ships” and as he spoke he would thrust his spear into him anew.”

–Iliad, Homer

 

Léon Degrelle (15 June 1906 – 31 March 1994)

The Saga of King Radboud

[caption id="attachment_6313" align="aligncenter" width="312"] 17th-century illustration of King Redbad[/caption]

I would like to tell you a story. It is a story which has inspired me, personally, on a number of levels. I also believe the story is beneficial to Nationalists in general. In truth, the story is a wonderful (true) fable for all White men of good conscience. It is the story of a warrior king who resisted temptation and remained true to his soul’s calling in his final hour and judgement.

~~~

Once, in a land that occupies what is now the Netherlands, there was a King. He was a brave man, and shrewd, too. Some might say he was born too late, others might say he was born too soon. Radboud was the name of this King. He was Lord of Frisia. Radboud was a faithful servant of his realm, upholding the ways of his ancestors, and abhorring the foreign Gods imparted by the sons of Rome.

The king who preceded him had imposed Christendom, but when Radboud took the throne, he attempted to drive Christendom from the realm. Of course, this was during the height of the reign of Charlemagne – Karl the Great. Charlemagne was a self-styled Emperor who sought to bind all of Europe under the Christian Cross. It would consolidate power and strengthen borders, he felt. It would also give the European Kings more power.

Radboud disagreed. He waged a defensive war against invading Christians, but was overwhelmingly outmanned. The Pagan, resolute that right was on his side, wages his wars. Ferocity and nobility marked his strides. He marched with valour. It was not enough.

Radboud suffered defeats, and his pride was wounded. He began to question his very cause, whether this foreign import, this vapid juggernaut, could indeed be defeated. After seeing so many good men die, Radboud conceded that Christian subjects were better than a dead realm. He began to negotiate with the missionaries. Indeed, it came to pass that a Bishop was admitted to his holding. Radboud hosted the Christian and learned of the new religion which was to take Europe by force, by coercion and stealth. Allowing himself to feign being swayed, the pagan warrior listened as the Christian went on and on.

Finally, Radboud considered it. And, he smiled to himself – at least I will see my fallen fathers again. In that moment, a few of his closest friends saw the grim King smile. Alas, it would not last. Radboud’s smile slowly warped into a crooked grimace as the Bishop said: “since you prefer the company of Heathens to good Christian men, you shall see your brethren, you shall see them in Hell. Not one Heathen shall taste the pleasures of Heathens. They are despised by Christ.”

The Bishop, of course, was thrown out on his head. Radboud was through. Wasn’t it enough that he was willing to allow the Christians leeway? He was not about to drag his tribe through the dirt, to grovel and to beg, and to bear insult to boot. Hardened about the heart, Radboud gathered up his courage and prepared for what he knew would be a death struggle.

Indeed, his struggle was real, for as the wicked Bishop scampered back to his power hungry sire, an army was mounting on Radboud’s door. But Radboud, ah, Radboud was already there. He gathered his Heathen host and made his band to march. They gathered on Cologne, where they met this man, this Heretic Hammer. In Battle, Radboud faced Charles Martel and the Christian horde. He faced one of the princes who had dealt the Heathen Host so much harm. That man, rumour had it, was blessed by Christ, invincible in battle. How many Heathens then had this man erased? How many more would Radboud take from him?

Legend has it that Radboud and his men prevailed, on that day. In a stroke of victory handed down by Wodan himself, the noble Friesians struck like lightning. They came without warning, they came without trump. Radboud struck, and Martel’s men fell. The Christians had neither time to prepare, nor even pray.

Radboud took the town. Once more, as in times past, the Heathen flag hung. Triumph filled the air, for a time. However, the Christians, sly, and unafraid of levying, sieged the men. Bribes and hunger eventually drove the Heathen back home. Unwilling to submit for good, Radboud continued his scheming, until his winter years, he upheld the struggle. Such was his ferocity, his cunning, his vim, and vigour and will, that even the mention of greybearded Radboud rustling filled the Christian French with fear.

In the end, Radboud died. Radboud died, and died a pagan. His successors, half the man that Radboud was, tried their best to hold his legacy. But they all fell, in time. Christianity spread, and it took the minds of Frisian sons – by deception, war was waged. Some say that the Heathen Sons sealed their secrets in vague manuscripts. Others say that the spirit of Wodan slept in the souls of Dutch sons. But though Christianity had conquered, Radboud and his race had proved true Sons of Wodan, for even unto promise of bitterest erosion, they dared to defy the inevitable.

~~~

So what is our moral to be, for this sad and epic tale? We know what is right, we know what is wrong. Today, Radboud’s struggle is against the Marxist, the Bolshevik, the whole host of Semitic subcultures which have degraded culture so. Today Radboud fights the lunacy of political correctness. His Martel and Charlemagne are Obama, are Merkel today – tomorrow: Clinton and the United Nations. Radboud’s sons face their cousins – a host of brainwashed liberals, they outnumber him a hundred to one.

Yet one thing remains the same: one good Heathen can inflict fear in ten passive Christians; one great renegade can upset a baker’s dozen of American sheep. There lies another secret, often neglected by Heathen poets. When Odin knelt at the funeral pyre of bright Baldur, he whispered something, something secret. I know that Odin spoke a truth: Ragnarok is not forever, the end is just another beginning. Man can bargain with his Wyrd, for what is written is unknown. Our only defeat is the one we write ourselves.

Long Live King Radboud, may he smile on his Sons and Legates!

[caption id="attachment_6314" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Embroidery depicting the legend in which the Frisian king Radbod is ready to be baptized by Wulfram (in this embroidery replaced by Willibrord), but at the last moment refuses. From the Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht[/caption]

"I’d rather go to hell, with my noble ancestors, than to go to heaven and join the likes of you…"

King Radboud, talking to Christians trying to force him into baptism

http://www.renegadetribune.com

Northern Light

Here Evola characterises six basic types of traditional civilisation that came after the primordial golden age. These modes of tradition are split into the Demetrian and Titanic cycles respectively. He associates the Demetrian spirit with the “Southern Light”, a feminine and non-transcendent “lunar” spirituality concerned with fertility and “Mother Earth” style cults that arose after spiritual power began to split from the regal figure and rose in the priestly caste. Aphroditism is an even further degenerated form of Demetrism that replaces the mother figure with that of the lover and focuses on the erotic relationship between phallic man and woman. Amazonism was a later reactionary attempt at restoring the feminine spirituality after Titanism had risen. Evola associated Titanism with that of the “Northern Light” characteristic of the primordial golden age, which was a masculine and transcendent “solar” warrior spirituality concerned with conquering the self and establishing order, orientated upwards. Titanism is described as a degeneration of the Northern Light, stripped of its transcendent qualities and left with a materialistic and chaotic will to power in the lowest sense of the term. Dionysism was a further degenerated masculine spirituality oriented around reaching frenzied, ecstatic and mystical states typically through erotic and demonic experiences. Clearly Evola views both the Demetrian and Titanic cycles as aberrations of the traditional spirit and instead views Heroism as the restoration of the Olympian spirituality typical of the primordial and solar golden age that is capable of overcoming the figures of both the Mother and the Titan.

https://thefrontoftradition.tumblr.com

Grabens Symphonie

LAMENTATION
Grabens Symphonie (The Years Of 1994-1996)

It's time to leave the present behind, forget the significance of time and go back into the glorious past that lay in the fog... Back in the early 90's through the ruins, mist and old myths of ancient glorious Hellas, there were two unknown shadows known as "Count Wrathven" and "Prince Locathah", who hold the flame of wisdom from the dark. From the knowledge of darkness their creations took place under the banner of LAMENTATION, which channeled their spell through a chalice that was a musical ritual of dark ambient and dungeon synth. Between 1994 and 1996 LAMENTATION created three rituals that were available on cassette back in those days: "Eine Symphonie Der Nacht" (1994), "Fullmoon Over Faerhaaven" (1995) and "As ShadowKingdom Comes To My Sight" (1996). Those three releases became very known for people who were into the dark realms of dungeon synth, especially in the underground. Now, more than 20 years later, we are proud to present you a evenly matched and more fully dedicated release:

The deluxe-box which include all three releases on noble black cassette with silver print:

* "Eine Symphonie Der Nacht" (1994)
* "Fullmoon Over Faerhaaven" (1995)
* "As ShadowKingdom Comes To My Sight" (1996)
* Logo Metal-Pin (Zinc alloy with silver plating)
* Poster (A2 format)
* Logo sticker
* A huge booklet in DIN-LANG format, including old photos and interviews

Limited to 150 handnumbered boxes.



SOON... Light of the day will turn to darkness of damnation!

The loss of the warrior spirit

“Take a look at the men today. It seems that most of them have a woman’s heart. There are very few true men anymore. It is easy for a strong warrior to gain the advantage these days because so few have any courage at all. This loss of the warrior spirit is easily shown by the fact that men today cannot even behead a convicted criminal with his hands tied behind his back.”

Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure

A tragic view of life

"Heidegger decided in 1933 to join the Nazi Party, to join the National Socialist German Workers Party and gave lectures for a year in his university in full Nazi uniform; and was involved with all of the party Gauleiters and other figures in his area to the shock and horror and consternation of much of the academic elite that he was associated with. And don’t forget that Heidegger did this for purely speculative and theoretical reasons. Heidegger had no concern with doctrines of race, no concerns with doctrines of conspiracy, no concerns with politics at all. Politics was irrelevant in relation to placing man before death, which is what life was about. And what he loved about this movement was that he thought it was a primordial movement that was bringing back, almost in an occultistic way, the partiality towards death, and in some ways it was bringing back the ancient world with modern technology. That’s why he reached out to it. […] In the hut in the woods where he wrote Being and Time and where he wrote other books on Greek tragedy and on Nietzsche, Celan and Heidegger have this talk… And Celan says, “Why did you join the Nazi Party?” And Heidegger replies, “Because they were the one movement of the 20th century that, in my terms, had a tragic view of life. That had a view of life which is actually the motif and the inner essence—Dasein—of the Greek tragedians taken up to date two and a half thousand years later"."

Jonathan Bowden, “Heidegger and Death’s Ontology”

Fascism

To Pound Fascism was the culmination of an ancient tradition, continued in the personalities of Mussolini, Hitler, and the British Fascist Sir Oswald Mosley.

Pound had already studied the doctrines of the [German] ethnologist [Leo] Frobenius during the 1920’s and gave a mystical interpretation of race. Cultures were the product of races, and each had its own soul, or “paideuma,” of which the artist was the guardian.

In Mussolini, Pound saw not only a statesman who had overthrown plutocracy, but someone who had made politics an art form. Pound stated, “Mussolini has told his people that poetry is a necessity of State, and in this displayed a higher state of civilization in Rome than in London or Washington.”

Writing in his 1935 book Jefferson and/or Mussolini, Pound explained: “I don’t believe any estimate of Mussolini will be valid unless it starts from his passion for construction. Treat him as ARTIFEX and all the details fall into place … The Fascist revolution was FOR the preservation of certain liberties and FOR the maintenance of a certain level of culture, certain standards of living … ”

Pound and his wife Dorothy settled in Italy in 1924. In 1933 he had a meeting with Mussolini, outlining his ideas for monetary reform.

He also became a regular contributor to the periodicals of Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, met Mosley in 1936 and continued to correspond until 1959.

From the late 1930s he began to look increasingly toward the economic policies of Hitler and regarded the Rome-Berlin Axis as “the first serious attack on the usurocracy since the time of Lincoln.”

In 1940, after having returned to Italy from a tour of the USA during which he attempted to oppose the move to war against the Axis, Pound offered his services as a radio broadcaster. The broadcasts called “The American Hour,” began in January 1941. Pound considered himself to be a patriotic American. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor he attempted to return to the USA, but the American Embassy refused him entry. With no means of livelihood, Pound resumed his broadcasts, attacking the Roosevelt administration and usury in a folksy, American style, with a mix of cultural criticism.

In 1943 Pound was indicted in the USA for treason. Hemingway, concerned at the fate of his old mentor after the war, suggested the possibility of an “insanity” plea and the idea caught on among some of Pound’s and Hemingway’s literary friends who had landed jobs in the US Government. Other interests were pressing for the death penalty for America’s most eminent cultural figure.

Two days after Mussolini’s murder Pound was taken at his home by Italian partisans after he had unsuccessfully attempted to turn himself over to American forces. Putting a book on Confucius in his pocket he went with the partisans expecting to be murdered. Instead he ended up at an American camp at Pisa constructed for the most vicious military prisoners. Pound was confined to a bare, concrete floored iron cage in the burning heat, lit continuously throughout the night. Pound had a physical breakdown and was transferred to a medical compound, where he got to work on the Pisan Cantos.

In November he was flown to Washington and jailed. He was declared insane and sent to a ward for the criminally insane at St. Elizabeth’s. Here his literary output continued, and he translated 300 traditional Chinese poems, which were published by Harvard in 1954.

Among his many visitors he became mentor to John Kasper, a fiery young intellectual who toured the South agitating on behalf of racial segregation, causing the calling out of the National Guard in Tennessee.

By 1953 Pound had still not been formally diagnosed. Inquiries from the Justice Dept. solicited an admission that at most Pound had a “personality disorder.” By the mid-1950’s various influential figures and magazines were campaigning for Pound’s release. After 13 years confinement, Pound’s treason indictment was dismissed on 18 April 1958.

On 30 June he set sail for Italy, giving the Fascist salute to journalists when he reached Naples, and declaring “all America is an asylum.” He continued with his Cantos and stayed in contact with political personalities such as Kasper and Mosley. He remained defiantly opposed to the American system in magazine interviews despite complaints from US diplomats. Because of his politics, Pound did not receive the honours due to him until after his death on 1 November 1972.

Kerry Bolton 

No peace with the rule of the mass

"Modern nationalism thirsts what is special - such is the primary feeling of the new generation which is sick to its stomach with vapid Enlightenment talk. Modern nationalism does not wish to measure with universal rulers, it wants to set its own standards based on spiritual strength. It has no intentions of proving its rights using scientific methods like marxism. It utilizes the canvas of life itself, on which any science relies in the first place. It does not wish to measure and ration rights but demands only the right of life to live. Nationalism is unthinkable without this right, and it will inevitably limit all other rights. Nationalism does not wish to make peace with the rule of the mass, but demands the dominance of identity, whose supremacy is made up of inner content and living energy. It wants neither equality, nor impartial justice, nor freedom that is summed up in empty claims. It wishes to get drunk on joy and its joy is to be itself, and not something else. Modern nationalism does not wish to float in the airless space of theories, it does not strive for "free thinking" but desires to gain strong ties, order, to grow roots in society, blood and soil. It does not wish for socialism of opportunities, it longs for socialism of duty, for that rigid stoic world that the individual man must sacrifice himself to."

Interwar Articles 1923-1931
Ernst Jünger