Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 22

Chapter 22: The Doctrine of the Four Ages

In this chapter, Evola explores the Doctrine of the Four Ages, which contrasts modern views of progress and evolution with traditional beliefs in regression and decay. He discusses the idea that humanity has declined from higher, divine states to more mortal and contingent conditions. This concept is articulated in various ancient traditions, including Greco-Roman, Hindu, Persian, Chaldean, and others, which describe the ages using symbols like gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Evola challenges the Darwinian perspective, suggesting that superior races existed in the past and that current primitive populations are degenerate remnants of these once-great civilizations.

Footnotes:

1. Hesiod, Works and Days, 5.109 ff.

2. The Laws of Manu, 1.81-83.

3. Dio Chrysostom, Oraliones, 36.39.

4. Daniel 2:31-45.

5. Cicero, De legibus 2.11: “Antiquitasproxime accedit addeos"(Ancient times came very close to the gods).

6. Gen. 6: 4—13.

7. Plato, Critias, 110c; 120d-e; 121a-b: “As long as the divine element in their nature survived, they obeyed the laws and loved the divine to which they were akin. But when the divine element in them became weakened by frequent admixture with mortal stock, and their human traits,became predominant, they ceased to be able to carry their spiritual legacy with moderation.”

8. Douglas Dewar, The Transfomist Illusion (1957).

9. J. de Maistre, Soires de St. Petersburg (Paris, 1924), 1.63.

10. Ibid., 1.82. One of the things de Maistre points out is that the ancient languages are more essential, organic, and logical than modern ones; they reveal a hidden formative, nonhuman principle, especially when the ancient or “primitive" languages obviously contain fragments of even older languages that have either been lost or fallen into disuse, an eventuality hinted at by Plato himself.

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1. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Foreword (https://rumble.com/v4zm5tq-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-forward.html)
2. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 1, The Beginning (https://rumble.com/v4zmraf-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
3. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 2, Regality (https://rumble.com/v4zq2nw-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
4. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 3, Polar Symbolism (https://rumble.com/v4zr566-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
5. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 4, The Law, The State, The Empire (https://rumble.com/v4zshwr-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
6. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 5, The Mystery of the Rite (https://rumble.com/v4zv075-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
7. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 6, On the Primordial Nature of the Patriciate (https://rumble.com/v4zydz5-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
8. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 7, Spiritual Virility (https://rumble.com/v500py2-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
9. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 8, The Two Paths in the Afterlife (https://rumble.com/v50556i-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
10. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 9, Life and Death of Civilizations (https://rumble.com/v50aqwt-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
11. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 10, Initiation and Consecration (https://rumble.com/v50kzgb-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
12. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 11, On the Hierarchical Relationship Between Royalty and Priesthood (https://rumble.com/v50rmrr-monetized-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-on.html)
13. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 12, Universality and Centralism (https://rumble.com/v50sybe-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
14. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 13, The Soul of Chivalry (https://rumble.com/v51anjl-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
15. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 14, The Doctrine of the Castes (https://rumble.com/v51o38z-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
16. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 15, Professional Associations and the Arts; Slavery (https://rumble.com/v525v94-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
17. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 16, Bipartition of the Traditional Spirit; Asceticism (https://rumble.com/v525zx1-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
18. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 17, The Greater and the Lesser Holy War (https://rumble.com/v526gxc-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
19. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 18, Games and Victory (https://rumble.com/v5272gy-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
20. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 19, Space, Time, the Earth (https://rumble.com/v52ee4o-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
21. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 20, Man and Woman (https://rumble.com/v52etn8-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
22. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part One, Chapter 21, The Decline of Superior Races (https://rumble.com/v52f2wz-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-one-chapter-.html)
23. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Genesis and Face of the Modern World, Introduction (https://rumble.com/v52j35f-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-introduc.html)
24. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 22, The Doctrine of the Four Ages (https://rumble.com/v52jgnv-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
25. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 23, The Golden Age (https://rumble.com/v52k2of-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
26. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 24, The Pole and the Hyperborean Region (https://rumble.com/v52l5fs-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
27. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 25, The Northern-Atlantic Cycle (https://rumble.com/v52lmre-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
28. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 26, North and South (https://rumble.com/v52qht7-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
29. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 27, The Civilization of the Mother (https://rumble.com/v52s4qq-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
30. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 28, The Cycles of Decadence and the Heroic Cycle (https://rumble.com/v52ssg7-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
31. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 29, Part 1, THE AMERICAN CYCLE AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CYCLE (https://rumble.com/v52wwp5-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
32. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 29, Part 2, THE HEBREW CYCLE AND THE EASTERN ARYAN CYCLE (https://rumble.com/v52xk3d-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
33. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 30: The Heroic-Uranian Western Cycle, Part 1 (https://rumble.com/v52zblu-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
34. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 30: The Heroic-Uranian Western Cycle, Part 2 (https://rumble.com/v52zn03-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
35. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 31, Syncope of the Western Tradition (https://rumble.com/v533fax-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
36. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 32, The Revival of the Empire and the Ghibelline Middle Ages (https://rumble.com/v533vya-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
37. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 33, Decline of the Medieval World and the Birth of Nations (https://rumble.com/v5346cg-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
38. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 34, Unrealism and Individualism (https://rumble.com/v535jkt-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
39. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 35, The Regression of the Castes (https://rumble.com/v535tox-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
40. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 36, Nationalism and Collectivism (https://rumble.com/v53bwd2-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
41. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Part Two, Chapter 37, The End of the Cycle (https://rumble.com/v53c5ag-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-part-two-chapter-.html)
42. Audiobook: Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola, Conclusion (https://rumble.com/v53hjf7-audiobook-revolt-against-the-modern-world-by-julius-evola-conclusion.html)