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King Arthur associated with the bear. Beowulf associated with the bear. Tough and powerful, it lives in the forest. And like a lot of violent warriors, you probably don’t want it to come around the house.

Love the idea of there being a British or Celtic Arthur, and then an Anglo-Saxon Arthur.

Also like the idea of Arthur as a king, that being something like a warlord in a stronghold on the edge of society. A sort of berserker, too dangerous to be around normal people, but useful when giants or foreign invaders show up.

Grapevine is where the earth and the sun unite. The material and the spiritual. Hercules and Dionysus. King and Priest. Left Hand and the Right Hand.

Jünger paints a picture of modern man on the Titanic. It’s all very fine when you get going, but when the icebergs show up you’re at the mercy of the crew. How should one conduct themselves in such a case? Retreat to the Forest, the connection we have to the spiritual realm. No wonder he converted to Catholicism.


Connection to “On Pain” and “War as an Inner Experience.”

A good spread of history, but written in a 'popular' and 'modern' format. Something does not sit right with me describing the military orders as 'commando units.' The spirit of these two military formations doesn't align like that.

Something finally happened! And then we went back to people having boring conversations where they don’t really say what they intend to say, as if that’s supposed to be very clever.

A threshold has been crossed! It feels cathartic.

Beautiful scene at Old Carlo's vineyard.

Vanessa and Farghestan are outside the confines of stale Orsenna. The main character wants something romantic and adventurous and that’s why he is attracted to both.

Really liking the unfolding of the plot concerning the aristocratic family trying to undermine the city-state.

Very nice atmosphere in this book. Lots of moonlight and soft moving water. The main character is a prickly man, with a good deal of ego. Fitting his name is Aldo.

The violent mob can destroy the town and the villages, but not the Narrator’s retreat. Places in this novel are not purely locations but have metaphysical importance. The mob cannot destroy the inward, spiritual retreat of the Narrator, because it is protected by forces totally the Mob.

Entire chapter devoted to the hunting dogs, sleek humters and heavy mastiffs. Next chapter there is something I never noticed before, the tree-line with its mob of hunters is something like a skirmish line. The charge to take it is very reminiscent of trench warfare; avoiding traps, storming barricades, hand to hand fighting.

Never picked up before the comparison between Braquemart’s tehcnical skills and Prince Sunmyra’a noble spirit, and how both of them could be brought together and made more full by the Priest. This is Jünger explaining how the whole disaster could have been averted.