Traditionalism Quotes

“Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition such a bad name.”
― Jaroslav Pelikan, The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities

“Modern colonialism won its great victories not so much through its military and technological prowess as through its ability to create secular hierarchies incompatible with the traditional order.”
― Ashis Nandy, The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of Self Under Colonialism

“The term “Asia” ascribes a deceptive coherence to a disparate region.
Until the arrival of modern Western powers, no Asian language had a word
for “Asia”; none of the peoples of what are now Asia’s nearly fifty
sovereign states conceived of themselves as inhabiting a single
“continent” or region requiring solidarity with all the others. As “the
East,” it has never been clearly parallel to “the West.” There has been no
common religion, not even one splintered into different branches as is
Christianity in the West.”
― Henry Kissinger, World Order

“When we refer to Liberalism, then, we must be understood as referring to the continuous and wide-ranging tradition of the Enlightenment, a tradition which has gone to form the political and social consensus of the modern world, for there is no developed nation that is not a child of this original Liberalism. It informs and dictates the positions and goals of both the American Right and the American Left. If the former seems by its rhetoric to despise it, we must simply remember Davila's observation: "Today's conservatives are nothing more than Liberals who have been ill- treated by democracy.”
― Daniel Schwindt, The Case Against the Modern World: A Crash Course in Traditionalist Thought

“We often see this today: people expect the liturgy to be conformed to their emotional states rather than they conforming themselves to an objective cult, which conforms itself to God.”
― Chad A. Ripperger, Topics on Tradition

“Why do you think so few women run away? WHy do you think nothing really changes for book eaters, century after century?”….

“We lack imagination,” Devon said, relentless. “Even if we used dictaphone and scribes, we’d never be able to write books the way humans can. We struggle to innovate, are barely able to adapt, and end up stuck in our traditions. Just eating the same books generation after generation, thinking along the same rigid lines. Creativity is our world and yet we aren’t creative.”……

‘Our childhood books always end in marriage and children. Women are taught not to envision life beyond those bounds, and men are taught to enforce those bounds. We grow up in a cultivated darkness and not even realize we are blind.”…….

“I should have run sooner,” Devon said, voice cracking a little. “But I didn’t. Know what really stopped me? My lack of imagination, the same one that all ‘eaters suffer from. I could not imagine a better or different future, Hes, and because I couldn’t imagine it, I assumed it didn’t exist.” Her throat was lumping up. “I was wrong. Life can be different.”
― Sunyi Dean, The Book Eaters

“Modernism deliberately abstracted Nature and glamorized convenience, and this is why we have ended up seeing the natural world as some sort of gigantic production system seemingly capable of ever-increasing outputs for our benefit. … We have become semi-detached bystanders, empirically correct spectators, rather than what the ancients understood us to be, which is participants in creation. This ideology was far from benign or just a matter of fashion. The Marxism of the Bolshevik regime totally absorbed, adopted and extended the whole concept of Modernism to create the profoundly soulless, vicious, dehumanized ideology which eventually engineered the coldly calculated death of countless millions of its own citizens as well as entire living traditions, all for the simple reason that the end justified the means in the great ‘historic struggle’ to turn people against their true nature and into ideological, indoctrinated ‘machines.”
― Charles III, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World

“The true rightist is not a man who wants to go back to this or that institution for the sake of a return; he wants first to find out what is eternally true, eternally valid, and then either to restore or reinstall it, regardless of whether it seems obsolete, whether it is ancient, contemporary, or even without precedent, brand new, “ultramodern.” Old truths can be rediscovered, entirely new ones found. The Man of the Right does not have a time-bound, but a sovereign mind[...]
The right stands for liberty, a free, unprejudiced form of thinking, a readiness to preserve traditional values (provided they are true values), a balanced view of the nature of man, seeing in him neither beast nor angel, insisting also on the uniqueness of human beings who cannot be transformed into or treated as mere numbers or ciphers; but the left is the advocate of the opposite principles. It is the enemy of diversity and the fanatical promoter of identity. Uniformity is stressed in all leftist utopias, a paradise in which everybody should be the “same,” where envy is dead, where the “enemy” either no longer exists, lives outside the gates, or is utterly humiliated. Leftism loathes differences, deviation, stratifications. Any hierarchy it accepts is only “functional.”
― Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Leftism Revisited: from de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Pol Pot

“I only preserve traditions that bring joy, not traditions that keep people from it.”
― The Thoughtful Beast

“Pray for lightning.”
― Cormac McCarthy, The Road

“In the ancient world the higher forms of knowledge were supra-individual: the sacred books of the Hindus, for example, have no author, are not expected to have had an author, and this fact is not considered to present any problems for the Hindu mind. In the West, this simply would not do—we must know the author, and it must be demonstrably proven that authorship is correctly attributed. There is no better illustration than this of the difference between an individualist, rationalist approach to knowledge and one that is supra-individual and supra-rational one. The East has retained the latter, while the West has settled inflexibly into the former.”
― Daniel Schwindt, The Case Against the Modern World: A Crash Course in Traditionalist Thought

“Nobody starts out as a conservative. Everyone starts out as a progressive liberal. If a little child burns himself on the stove, it wasn’t because he was conservative and learned, it was because he was wild and far too liberal. Conservatism is spawned by affliction—it is the philosophy that is learned the hard way. Whereas liberalism is the philosophy that always comes before conservatism. Liberalism produces conservatives in almost every area of the world, where no conservatives are there to check it. Anywhere liberalism has been allowed to run its wild course, you will see people running the opposite direction into conservatism, whether it be from a burning stove or from a burning communist regime.”
― Rob Primeau, The Law of Liberty: A Practical Look at the Judeo-Christian Tradition

“The trend went from fathers teaching children to be independent to the academy teaching children to become dependent. As we can see, when God is not central, all peripheral pursuits are quickly elevated to new idolatrous heights. The religion of modern education can be called the gateway to socialism and the rest of the new “isms”. For there is no other pursuit in which parents abandon everything they have ever stood for, in order to have their child peruse it. When it comes to career, progressivism is a mixed up with the idea that children are liberated when they follow their professors and held back when they follow their fathers.”
― Rob Primeau, The Law of Liberty: A Practical Look at the Judeo-Christian Tradition

“The recognition of that which is "beyond both 'being' and 'nonbeing' opens to ascetic realization possibilities unknown to the world of theism. The fact of reaching the apex, in which the distinction between "Creator" and "creature" becomes meta-physically meaningless, allows of a whole system of spiritual realizations that, since it leaves behind the categories of "religious" thought, is not easily understood: and, above all, it permits a direct ascent, that is, an ascent up the bare mountainside, without support and without useless excursions to one side or another. This is the exact meaning of the Buddhist ascesis; it is no longer a system of disciplines de-signed to generate strength, sureness, and unshakable calm, but a system of spiritual realization.”
― Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakenin

“Prince Siddhattha stated that he himself had attained knowledge through his own efforts, without a master to show him the way; so, in the original Doctrine of Awakening. each individual has to rely on himself, and on his own exertions, just as a soldier who is lost must rely on himself alone to rejoin the marching army.”
― Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakening

“One conclusive piece of evidence emerges quite clearly from the corresponding testimony of all traditions: that an archetypal 'Holy Land' does exist; that it is the prototype for all other 'Holy Lands', the spiritual centre to which all others are subordinate. The 'Holy Land' is also the 'Land of the Saints', the 'Land of the Blessed', 'Land of the Living', and 'Land of Immortality'. All these titles have equal validity, including that of the 'Pure Land' which Plato aptly bestows on the 'Abode of the Blessed'.”
― René Guénon, The King of the World

“Irá o Mundo Moderno até ao fundo desse declive fatal ou, como
aconteceu na decadência do mundo greco-romano, uma nova
recuperação se produzirá ainda desta vez, antes que ele atinja o
fundo do abismo para onde foi arrastado? Parece que uma paragem
a meio do caminho já não será possível e que, segundo todas
as indicações fornecidas pelas doutrinas tradicionais, entramos
realmente na fase final de “Kali-Yuga”, no período mais sombrio
desta “Idade Sombria”, neste estado de dissolução do qual não é
mais possível sair senão por um cataclismo, porque não é já
necessária apenas uma simples recuperação, mas antes uma
renovação total. A desordem e a confusão reinam em todos os
domínios; foram levadas a tal ponto, que ultrapassam de longe
tudo o que se tinha visto anteriormente e, partindo do Ocidente,
ameaçam agora invadir o Mundo inteiro. Sabemos bem que o seu
triunfo nunca pode ser mais do que aparente e passageiro, mas
um tal grau parece ser o sinal da mais grave de todas as crises
que a Humanidade atravessou no decurso do seu ciclo atual. Não
teremos nós chegado a essa época temível, anunciada pelos Livros
sagrados da Índia, “em que as castas serão misturadas, em que a
própria família não existirá”? Basta olharmos à nossa volta para
nos convencermos que esse estado é realmente o do Mundo atual,
e para verificar por toda a parte essa profunda queda que o Evangelho
chama “a abominação da desolação”. Não devemos esconder
a gravidade da situação; convém encará-la tal como ela é, sem
nenhum “otimismo” mas também sem qualquer “pessimismo”,
visto que, tal como eu disse anteriormente, o fim do Mundo antigo
será igualmente o começo de um Mundo novo.”
― René Guénon, A Crise do Mundo Moderno

“That the divinities can do little for men, that man is fundamentally the artificer of his own destiny, even of his development beyond this world—this characteristic view held by original Buddhism demonstrates its difference from some later forms, especially of the Mahāyāna schools, into which infiltrated the idea of a power from on high busying itself with mankind in order to lead each individual to salvation.”
― Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakening

“(...) A dita transformação conseguir-se-ia por meio da iniciação, no sentido mais restrito do termo. Mediante a iniciação, alguns homens escapavam duma natureza e alcançavam a outra, deixando assim de ser homens. A sua aparição noutra forma de existência constituía, no plano desta última, um acontecimento rigorosamente equivalente ao da geração e do nascimento físico. Assim, pois, aqueles homens re-nasciam, eram re-gerados (ou re-«generados»). Tal como o nascimento físico implica a perda da consciência do estado superior, também a morte significa a perda da consciência do estado inferior. Daí que, na medida em que se perde toda a consciência do estado superior — quer dizer, segundo os termos que já conhecemos, na medida em que sobrevêm a «identificação» [a «ensimesmação»] —, nessa mesma medida a perda de consciência do estado inferior (a humana), provocada pela morte e pela desintegração do sustentáculo de tal consciência (o corpo), equivale à perda de toda a consciência no sentido pessoal. Ao sono eterno, à existência larvar no Hades, à dissolução pensada como destino de todos aqueles para quem as formas desta vida humana constituem o princípio e o fim, a tudo isso só escaparão aqueles que ainda em vida souberam orientar a sua consciência para o mundo superior. Os Iniciados, os Adeptos, encontram-se no extremo desse caminho. Conseguida a «recordação», a Άνάμνεσις, segundo a expressão de Plutarco, fazem-se livres, desligam-se dos liames e, coroados, celebram os «mistérios» e veem sobre a terra a massa dos que não são iniciados nem são «puros» a afundarem-se e a perecerem no lodo e nas trevas.”
― Julius Evola, A Tradição Hermética

“there are people whose minds have ceased to be content with modern negation, and who, feeling the need for something that our own period cannot offer, see the possibility of an escape from the present crisis only in one way: through a return to tradition in one form or another. Unfortunately, such 'traditionalism' is not the same as the real traditional outlook, for it may be no more than a tendency, a more or less vague aspiration presupposing no real knowledge; and it is unfortunately true that, in the mental confusion of our times, this aspiration usually gives rise to fantastic and imaginary conceptions devoid of any serious foundation.”
― René Guénon, The Crisis of the Modern World

“In modern civilization everything tends to suffocate the heroic sense of life. Everything is more or less mechanized, spiritually impoverished, and reduced to a prudent and regulated association of beings who are needy and have lost their self-suffiency. The contact between man's deep and free powers and the powers of things and of nature has been cut off; metropolitan life petrifies everything, syncopates every breath, and contaminates every spiritual "Well".”
― Julius Evola, Meditations on the Peaks

“The traditional spirit is already tending as it were to withdraw into itself, and the centers where it is preserved in its entirety are becoming more and more closed and difficult of access; this generalization of confusion corresponds exactly to what must occur in the final phase of the Kali-Yuga. [...] it would be quite logical for the ideas spread by Westerners to turn against them, since they are of a kind that can never beget anything but division and ruin. It is through these ideas that the modern world will perish in one way or another; it is of small importance whether this be by way of quarrels among Westerners themselves, quarrels between nations, between social classes, or, as some people assert, through the attacks of 'Westernized' Easterners-or, another possibility, as the result of a cataclysm brought about by the 'progress of science'; in any case, the dangers facing the Western world are entirely of its own making and proceed from itself. [...] but the spiritual power inherent in tradition, of which its adversaries know nothing, may triumph over the material power when this has played its part, and disperse it as light disperses the shadows; we may even say that it must triumph sooner or later, but it is possible that there will be a period of complete darkness before this happens. The traditional spirit cannot die, being in its essence above death and change; but it can withdraw completely from the outward world, and then there would really be the 'end of a world'.”
― René Guénon, The Crisis of the Modern World

“It is in the intellectual realm that are to be found the principles from which everything else derives, either consequentially or by way of application; [...] that knowledge of principles is essential knowledge, or metaphysical knowledge, in the true sense of the word, and is as universal as are the principles themselves; it is therefore entirely independent of all individual contingencies, [...] a true understanding can come only from above and not from below; and this should be taken in a twofold sense: the work must begin from what is highest, that is, from principles, and descend gradually to the various orders of application, always keeping rigorously to the hierarchical dependence that exists between them.”
― René Guénon, The Crisis of the Modern World

“Our modern society is terrified of judging anything that's in any way subjective; it's almost like we're scared of human judgment. We create regulations to lower the power of human decision versus society, creating committees, and we encourage group identities while discouraging individual responsibility. The legendary German historian Oswald Spengler said, "Civilization switched into decay when society starts to strangle the individual's sense of judgment and choice and replace it with social collective controls." He feared this process would happen to Western society in the 20th century, which it largely did.”
― Whatifalthist

“He opposed the capitalist imperial order, but he remained at heart a traditionalist, imbued with the patriotic values of his childhood and implacably wedded to a patriarchal view of society.”
― Laura Beers, Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-first Century, Library Edition

“What is truth? What is knowledge? If there is no absolute standard by which these are to be measured, they cannot even be defined. The Agnostic, if he acknowledges this criticism, does not allow it to disturb him; his position is one of "pragmatism," " experimentalism," "instrumentalism": there is no truth, but man can survive, can get along in the world, without it. Such a position has been defended in high places--and in very low places as well--in our anti-intellectualist century; but the least one can say of it is that it is intellectually irresponsible. It is the definitive abandonment of truth, or rather the surrender of truth to power, whether that power be nation, race, class, comfort, or whatever other cause is able to absorb the energies men once devoted to the truth.”
― Seraphim Rose, Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age

“The traditional family is the cornerstone of Western Society and should never be undermined.”
― Mark Collett, The Fall of Western Man

“Nature favoured the male and the female coming together as a lasting and stable family unit and bringing up children in such a way because males and females form a complementary pair. Both the male and female are different, physically and mentally, both bringing different skills and attributes to the relationship. When a male and female come together they create a union that is more rounded and balanced than either individual, and ultimately a couple can be seen as more than the sum of its parts.”
― Mark Collett, The Fall of Western Man

“If the male can be described as the 'head of the house', the female could easily be described as the 'heart of the home'. The loving and motherly female was as much a central component of Western society and the nuclear family as the male, and her role as the compassionate, supportive, nurturing and loving influence on the child is as important as the discipline, the order and the authority imparted by the male.”
― Mark Collett, The Fall of Western Man

“The previous phase, limited in its extent, had been that of the Romantic hero: the man who feels himself alone in the face of divine indifference, and the superior individual who despite everything reaffirms himself in a tragic context. He breaks accepted laws, but not in the sense of denying their validity; rather, he claims for himself exceptional rights to what is forbidden, be it good or ill.”
― Julius Evola, Ride the Tiger: A Survival Manual for the Aristocrats of the Soul