Assorted Readings (2013-02-10)

Readings:

* "First Walk," chaper 1 of the book, "Reveries of the Solitary Walker" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* "Pomiscuous Intercourse and Unnatural Use of the Sex Functions," chapter 23 of the book, "The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage" by Dion Fortune.

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"Reveries of the Solitary Walker" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

After a period of forced exile and solitary wandering brought about by his radical views on religion and politics, Jean-Jacques Rousseau returned to Paris in 1770. Here, in the last two years of his life, he wrote his final work, "The Reveries." In this eloquent masterpiece the great political thinker describes his sense of isolation from a society he felt had rejected his writings - and the manner in which he has come to terms with his alienation, as he walks around Paris, gazing at plants, day-dreaming and finding comfort in the virtues of solitude and the natural world. Meditative, amusing and lyrical, this is a fascinating exploration of Rousseau's thought as he looks back over his life, searching to justify his actions, to defend himself against his critics and to elaborate upon his philosophy.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788) is one of the more original thinks of Enlightenment France, associated with the idea of the social contract, the nature of power and government, and the primacy of nature and sentiment against what Frederick Copleston calls "arid rationalism, materialism and religious scepticism."

But Rousseau was proscribed and exiled by church and state for his radical writings advocating a freedom and individual autonomy untenable at the time. Because of both his writings and his temperament, he unwittingly collected many enemies among the elite of France and Switzerland until he was literally fleeing for his life. Out of the experience of persecution and exile came the interesting collection of essays called Reveries of a Solitary Walker (Les reveries du promeneur solitaire). The work is of special value to anyone interested in solitude as a way of life.

The Reveries are sketchy essays Rousseau composed not for publication but for his own perusal as he grew older (he was already in his seventies). The Reveries continue his Confessions but no longer as public apologetics. He is still keenly sensitive about past wrongs, but Rousseau is here consciously striving for an equanimity that only comes with solitude. Rather than analyze each "walk" or essay as scholar or critic, we shall walk with Rousseau and consider his frame of mind and insights as a "solitary walker."

WALK 1
"I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother, neighbor, friend, or society other than myself." So begins Rousseau's Reveries, and Walk 1 briefly reviews what has brought him to this point.

Everything is finished for me on earth. People can no longer do good or evil to me here. I have nothing more to hope for or to fear in this world; and here I am, tranquil at the bottom of the abyss, a poor unfortunate mortal, but unperturbed, like God Himself.

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"The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage" by Dion Fortune

Dion Fortune's basic esoteric textbook on the psychology of love and relationships explains the universal factors governing the interaction between masculine and feminine, from the "lowest" to the "highest" level of the Seven Planes. With uncanny intuition and hands-on psychological experience, Fortune clearly states the principles of polarity underlying all relationships between men and women.

She explains that sex is a function, not an ideal, with many factors that produce or hinder harmony. The feminine is "positive" on the Spiritual and Emotional Planes, while the male tends to be "positive" on the Mental and Physical Planes. In a harmonious union, these aspects complement each other so the relationship stays balanced. Where these aspects are unrecognized or denied free expression, disharmony often results. Needless to say, the physical expression through sex will also suffer, since attitudes derived from the "higher levels" control or inhibit the "lower physical aspect". These principles remain as true today as when this book was first published. Also included is Fortune's teaching on some of the esoteric principles behind abstinence and asceticism, contraception and abortion.