Peasant of Garonne - Old Layman Questions Himself about Present Time

Table of contents :
Preface, p. ix
Thanksgiving, p. 1
Three contradictory descriptions, p. 4
2 Our Cockeyed Times, p. 12
Itching Ears, p. 12
Epistemological time-worship, p. 12
Logophobia, p. 14
Contemporary Trends, Especially the Trends of
“Left” and “Right,” p. 21
At the time of the “Letter on Independence,” p. 21
Today, p. 24
3 The World and Its Contrasting Aspects, p. 28
The Religious or “Mystical” Truth Concerning the World In Its Relation With the Kingdom of God, p. 28
God so loved the world, p. 29
The world hates me, p. 32
Some conclusions, p. 35
The “Ontosophic” Truth, p. 38
Concerning the world in its natural structures, p. 38
The natural end of the world, p. 40
On the temporal mission of the Christian, p. 41
A Long Misunderstanding With Bitter Fruit, p. 44
. Speculative vocabulary and practical vocabulary, p. 44
The “contempt of the world” and its perilous vicissitudes, p. 46
Schema XIII, p. 50
The Teaching Church Has Put An End to the Long
Misunderstanding, p. 50
Kneeling Before the World, p. 53
Factual behavior and thought more or less confused, p. 53
The Saints and the world, p. 58
The insane mistake, p. 60
4 The True New Fire — Christians and Non-Christians, p. 64
The announcement of a new age, p. 64
Practical cooperation in a divided world, p. 65
Brotherly love among men who are all (at least potentially)
members of Christ, p. 70
Two short anecdotes, p. 78
The law of the cross, p. 79
5 The True New Fire — The Liberation of the
Intelligence, p. 84
Preliminary notice, p. 84
The Truth, p. 87
A few words on the capacity of human reason, p. 94
Philosophy and ideosophy, p. 98
The liberation of philosophic eros, p. 104
Contemporary phenomenology, p. 107
The need for fables or intellectual false currency, p. 112
Teilhard de Chardin and Teilhardism, p. 116
6 The True New Fire — The Requests and Renewals
of Genuine Knowledge, p. 127
A great wise man, p. 127
The intuition of Being and the contemplation of Being itself subsisting by itself, p. 132
The philosophy of St. Thomas, p. 135
Philosophy and theology, p. 141
Truth and freedom, p. 166
Vita'i lampada tradunt , p. 170
7 The True New Fire — The Affairs of God's Kingdom, p. 174
The One and Holy, p. 174
The personality of the Church, p. 175
The Church, Bride and mystical Body, p. 176
The Church, kingdom of God begun here on earth, p. 183
The Church, Holy and Penitent, p. 185
The Church, People of God, p. 189
Contemplation in the World, p. 194
By way of introduction, p. 194
A digression (on the temporal mission of the Christian), p. 198
Another digression (on the condition of the layman) and
the end of the introduction, p. 205
The two necessary aids on the never-ending road, p. 213
Liturgy, p. 214
Contemplation, p. 220
The diversity of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, p. 229
Contemplation on the roads, p. 232
The Disciples — James and John, p. 254
The True Face of God, or Love and the Law
(text by Raissa), p. 257
Appendices, p. 261
1 On a text of Saint Paul, p. 261
2 On two studies concerning the theology of
Pere Teilhard, p. 264
3 A short epistemological digression, p. 270
4 On the unity and visibility of the Church, p. 274

Citation preview

THE PEASANT OF THE GARONNE An Old Layman Qyestions Himself about the Present Time

Holt, Rinehart and Winston New Yorl:: Chicago San Francisco

CONTENTS #

Preface, p. ix 1

A. D. 1966,

p. 1

•

1430092

Thanksgiving, p. 1 11uee contradictory descriptions, p. 4 2

Our Cockeyed Times, p. 12 Itching Ears, p. 12 Epistemological time-worship, p. 12 Logophobia, p. 14 Contemporary Trends, Especially the Trends of "Left" and "Right," p. 21 At the time of the "Letter on Independence," p. Today, p. 24

21

3 The \Vorld and Its Contrasting Aspects, p. 28 The Religious or "Mystical" Truth Concerning the \Vorld In Its Relation \Vith the Kingdom of God, p. 28 Cod so loved the world, p. 29 The world hates me, p. 32 Some conclusions, p. 35 The "Ontosophic" Truth, p. 38 Concerning the world in its natural structures, p. 38 The natural end of the world, p. 40 On the temporal mission of the Christian, p. 41 A Long Misunderstanding \Vith Bitter Fruit, p. 44 . Speculative vocabulary and practical vocabulary, p. 44 The "contempt of the world" and its perilous vicissitudes, p. 46 Schema XIII, p. 50 The Teaching Church Has Put An End to the Long l\founderstanding, p. 50 V

CONTENTS

vi

Kneeling Before the World, p. 53 Factual behavior and thought more or less confused, p. 53 The Saints and the world, p. 58 The insane mistake, p. 60 4

The True New Fire-Christians and Non-Christians, p. 64 The announcement of a new age, p. 64 Practical cooperation in a divided world, p. 65 Brotherly love among men who are all (at least potentially) members of Christ, p. 70 Two short anecdotes, p. 78 The law of the cross, p. 79

5

The True New Fire-The Liberation of the Intelligence, p. 84 Preliminary notice, p. 84 The Truth, p. 87 A few words on the capacity of human reason, p. 9-4 Philosophy and ideosophy, p. 98 The liberation of philosophic eros, p. 104 Contemporary phenomenology, p. 107 The need for fables or intellectual false currency, p. 112 Teilhard de Chardin and Teilhardism, p. 116

6

The True New Fire-The Requests and Renewals of Genuine Knowledge, p. 12 7 A great wise man, p. 127 The intuition of Being and the contemplation of Being itself subsisting by itself, p. 1 32 The philosophy of St. Thomas, p. 135 Philosophy and theology, p. 141 Truth and freedom, p. 166 Vita"i lampada tradunt, p. 170

7

The True New Fire-The Affairs of God's Kingdom, p. 174 The One and Holy, p. 174 The personality of the Church, p. 175 The Church, Bride and mystical Body, p. 1 76

CONTENTS

vii

The Church, kingdom of God begun here on earth, p. 183 The Church, Holy and Penitent, p. 185 The Church, People of God, p. 189 Contemplation in the \Vorld, p. 194 By way of introduction, p. 194 A digression ( on the temporal mission of the Christian), p. 198 Another digression ( on the condition of the layman) and the end of the introduction, p. 205 The two necessary aids on the never-ending road, p. 213 Liturgy, p. 214 Contemplation, p. 220 The diversity of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, p. 229 Contemplation on the roads, p. 232 The Disciples-James and John, p. 254 The True Face of God, or Love and the Law ( text by Raissa), p. 2 57

Appendices, p. 26i 1 2

3 4

On a text of Saint Paul, p. 26i On two studies concerning the theology of Pere Teilhard, p. 264 A short epistemological digression, p. 2 70 On the unity and visibility of the Church, p. 274

PREFACE The subtitle of this book needs no explanation. I will merely note that in the expression "an old lay­ man" the word "old" has a twofold meaning: it says that the author is an octogenarian, and that he is an inveterate layman. As for the title, it is explained by the fact that there is no Danube in France, and that the Little Brothers of Jesus, with whom I stay, live at Toulouse on the Garonne River. Consequently, given my pur­ pose, I considered the Garonne a suitable equivalent for the Danube. A peasant of the Danube-or of the Garonne-is, as anyone who has read La Fontaine knows, a man who puts his foot in his mouth, or who calls a spade a spade. This is what, in all mod­ esty, and not without fearing to be unequal to the task (less easy, to be sure, than one might believe), I would like to attempt. December 31, 1965

Jacques Maritain

I

A. D. 1966

THANKSGIVING

I tum first to the holy visible Church (she is, I realize, invisible as well), the Roman Catholic Church, which on December 8, 1 0 it is an unending path through con­ quests, and which has no term, and over whose entire length mankind is laboring to ·overcome fatality and reveal itself to itself. Nor do I for­ get that in the natural order the world has an opposite "end" (in the sense of a final occurrence)-namely the losses and waste resulting from Jhe growth of evil ( not as great, in the last analysis, but a pretty From a new translation by Joseph Evans of True Humanism, still in manu­ script ( French ed., pp. 1 1 4-1 1 6 ) . w He said of beatitude, "it is a path through pleasures." 49

T H E P E A'S A N T O F T H E G A R O N N E

37 nuisance for all that) in the course of history. There we have-in a purely ph ilosophical perspective-a sort o f historical hell ( a faint image of the real hell ) from which the world and the history of the world can only be delivered if this world, regenerated from top to bottom, finds itsel f changed into a totally new universe : th e new heaven and the new earth of Christian eschatology, according to which the absolut