Metaphysics of War

Description

Battle, Victory & Death in the World of Tradition

“War is father of all and king of all; some he has revealed as gods, some as men; some he has made slaves, some free.” This proverb from the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus is re-energised for the modern day in Julius Evola’s Metaphysics of War. Revolting against the modern world’s reduction of war to geopolitics, economic interests, and humanitarian ideology, Evola summons ancient and medieval sources from both East and West to reveal how war can be seen as a unique arena of heroism and spiritual transformation at the origins of civilisation.

Written during the explosive years around the Second World War, the essays gathered in this volume explore the existential situation of war and the heights of the warrior ethos. Drawing on Nordic, Roman, Vedic, and other sacred texts and rituals, Evola points to the opportunity for men of the degraded, materialistic, nihilistic modern age to achieve a higher state of consciousness, rediscover the meaning of life and the human condition, and reconnect with metaphysical reality through a bond of mind and action. Unlike today’s armies, which demand mere soldiers in the mercenary employ of a decadent ruling class, the authentic warrior tradition is a path toward transcendence which extends beyond the battlefield to transform all spheres of life and culture.

This revised and expanded edition of Metaphysics of War features additional essays as well as a new foreword and introduction connecting Evola’s ideas to both his era and our own.