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A Handbook for Dissidents: The Spiritual Testament of a Samurai of the West
We have comfort, knowledge, wealth. But our cities are crumbling, and our ancient homelands are not what they used to be. The worst rule the best. Money has become the exclusive standard of all value. Our historical memory is attacked and its symbols destroyed. Under the trappings of "democracy", we are not free. The causes go back a long way. But history never stands still. The time has come for the Europeans and their brothers, the Amerikaners, to awaken and free themselves. How? Certainly not by retracing the steps that have led us here. We share a rich hidden Tradition, going all the way back to Homer, the repository of all the values we need for our future rebirth. Faced with the emptiness around us, the insane voracity of the financial oligarchs, the threat of an ethnic war on our soil, this "Handbook" sets out to awaken our memory, and allow us to think differently and rebuild our lives, our communities, and eventually our nations, out of fidelity to a higher vision.
This is the spiritual testament of a man who gave his life for the sake of this great awakening--before the hour grows too late. This edition brings the text, suppressed in France and until now unavailable, to the community of all English-speaking lovers of civilization.
This is the spiritual testament of a man who gave his life for the sake of this great awakening--before the hour grows too late. This edition brings the text, suppressed in France and until now unavailable, to the community of all English-speaking lovers of civilization.
- GenresPhilosophyPolitics
241 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
3 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Dominique Venner
68 books62 followersAward-winning French historian, journalist and writer.
Venner was a member of the Organisation de l'armée secrète and later became a European nationalist before withdrawing from politics to focus on a career as a historian. He specialized in military and political history. At the time of his death, he was the editor of the La Nouvelle Revue d'Histoire, a bimonthly history magazine. On 21 May 2013, Venner committed suicide inside the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
Venner was a member of the Organisation de l'armée secrète and later became a European nationalist before withdrawing from politics to focus on a career as a historian. He specialized in military and political history. At the time of his death, he was the editor of the La Nouvelle Revue d'Histoire, a bimonthly history magazine. On 21 May 2013, Venner committed suicide inside the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 21, 2022
This new translation is a good introduction of Venner to English readers. It is accompanied by full page plate images which are always very relevant to the specific chapter in which they are placed. The cover features Durer's 'the knight, death and the devil' woodcut since Venner describes this on page 20 as an example of the stoic warrior spirit of Europe. The book touches on this same spirit in numerous ways, using the Iliad as its foundation, and arguing the spirit of Europe issues forth from the values therein. He also touches on non-european equivalents, specifically the samurai of Japan. The book is critical of Christianity in a respectful way, preferring Homeric, and aristocratic values to Biblical ones. Close to the end the author ominously discusses the moral validity of suicide in relation to Cato, having already praised the Japanese custom of seppuku - this less than a year before his own suicide in Notre Dame.
December 19, 2024
"Only Fighting Yields
Happiness on Earth
Yes, on Battlefields
Friendship has its Birth"
It is a much more personal book than I expected, and not so much a 'handbook' or guideline for readers to 'take action.' The alternative title is "The Spiritual Testament of a Samurai of the West," which is far more accurate, and in the French title Venner actually uses the word Insoumis, which in English can be interpreted as rebellious, refractory, unsubdued, pariah, etc. The cover art chosen fits well: The Knight, Death & the Devil, 1513 engraving by Albrecht Dürer, which depicts a Stoic warrior (with his horse & dog) completely unbothered by the monstrous figures which are meant to intimidate and frighten him. Instead he rides past, appearing focused and certainly not distracted by "dEaTh" and "tHe dEvIL!," which look more foolish than they are imposing. It is a great example of Master Morality as opposed to Slave (victim) Morality, the mindset of somebody who is spiritually disciplined & in control, not unnerved by his adversaries, but showing Superiority to them.
Other notes & significant content:
- this is the last thing Venner wrote before committing suicide in 2013 at Notre Dame Cathedral during a protest against gay marriage with ~1,500 people present; left on the altar
- he addresses certain crises throughout France & Europe, like mass immigration, demographic replacement, spiritual & cultural rot, self-hatred, commercialization/modernization, etc.
- his own experience with the Foreign Legion & the Algerian War
- revisiting Homer, the Stoics, The Princess of Cleves, Cato & Augustine, French authors (Montaigne, Celine, Lyautey, Montherlant, Maurras), medieval literature, Constantine
- balancing Christian civilization with European spirituality (ie the 'Westernization' of Christianity)
- comparing Samurai, Zen & other Japanese ethics to the different warrior-aristocratic (and artistic) traditions manifesting throughout European history
- touching on notable philosophers; Nietzsche, Heidegger, Goethe, Ortega y Gasset (Revolt of the Masses), Evola, Alexis Carrel (Man, the Unknown)
If you are already invested with a lot of these topics, authors and ideas, this book could be a decent way to refresh some of that knowledge, and particularly his long dives into the 'Founding Poems' of Homer are helpful. Otherwise, in my opinion, it is best suited for late-teenage to young adult men & women who are taking interest in European history, philosophy, politics, etc. without wanting to consume incredibly dense or academic literature.
Happiness on Earth
Yes, on Battlefields
Friendship has its Birth"
It is a much more personal book than I expected, and not so much a 'handbook' or guideline for readers to 'take action.' The alternative title is "The Spiritual Testament of a Samurai of the West," which is far more accurate, and in the French title Venner actually uses the word Insoumis, which in English can be interpreted as rebellious, refractory, unsubdued, pariah, etc. The cover art chosen fits well: The Knight, Death & the Devil, 1513 engraving by Albrecht Dürer, which depicts a Stoic warrior (with his horse & dog) completely unbothered by the monstrous figures which are meant to intimidate and frighten him. Instead he rides past, appearing focused and certainly not distracted by "dEaTh" and "tHe dEvIL!," which look more foolish than they are imposing. It is a great example of Master Morality as opposed to Slave (victim) Morality, the mindset of somebody who is spiritually disciplined & in control, not unnerved by his adversaries, but showing Superiority to them.
Other notes & significant content:
- this is the last thing Venner wrote before committing suicide in 2013 at Notre Dame Cathedral during a protest against gay marriage with ~1,500 people present; left on the altar
- he addresses certain crises throughout France & Europe, like mass immigration, demographic replacement, spiritual & cultural rot, self-hatred, commercialization/modernization, etc.
- his own experience with the Foreign Legion & the Algerian War
- revisiting Homer, the Stoics, The Princess of Cleves, Cato & Augustine, French authors (Montaigne, Celine, Lyautey, Montherlant, Maurras), medieval literature, Constantine
- balancing Christian civilization with European spirituality (ie the 'Westernization' of Christianity)
- comparing Samurai, Zen & other Japanese ethics to the different warrior-aristocratic (and artistic) traditions manifesting throughout European history
- touching on notable philosophers; Nietzsche, Heidegger, Goethe, Ortega y Gasset (Revolt of the Masses), Evola, Alexis Carrel (Man, the Unknown)
If you are already invested with a lot of these topics, authors and ideas, this book could be a decent way to refresh some of that knowledge, and particularly his long dives into the 'Founding Poems' of Homer are helpful. Otherwise, in my opinion, it is best suited for late-teenage to young adult men & women who are taking interest in European history, philosophy, politics, etc. without wanting to consume incredibly dense or academic literature.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews