Maxims of Queen Christina

 

Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-89) was an incredibly well-educated and brilliant polymath. She ruled from 1632 to 1654, but only took full power after she turned 18 in 1644. Christina was highly pressured to marry and produce an heir, but she hated the loss of her liberty and so abdicated at age 28, and moved to Rome. But she continued to be regarded as a queen of sorts, and had a lot of money and power, including a traveling court of over 200 souls. Both before and after abdication she heavily promoted culture, learning, great artists, and great thinkers. She was an energetic, vigorous free-thinker of considerable abilities and heroism. By all accounts she led a wonderfully rich and full life. She didn’t publish anything in her lifetime, but here are a large minority of her aphorisms which she casually wrote down and shared with friends.

The Work of the

Leisure Of Christina,

Queen of Sweden, 1680

This work is by one who neither
desires nor fears anything
and who in no way wishes to
impose on anyone.

* * *

We should forget the past, endure or enjoy the present, and resign ourselves to the future.

We should enjoy everything without scruple and surrender everything without pain.

We should revenge ourselves in benefits: all other vengeance, no matter how just, is unworthy of an heroic soul.

Modesty is a kind of sincerity.

We should be more miserly with our time than with our money.

Man is not made for pleasure but pleasure for man.

Custom makes us insensible to almost everything.

To praise anyone either more or less than he deserves is to betray truth.

We must always try to do our best; but if we stumble, even if we fall, we must never think that all is lost, but with god's help pick ourselves up again as quickly as possible.

Nature seldom makes a hero and Fortune does not always proclaim those that she makes.

It is the star not the merit that gives the reputation.

To lose occasions of distinguishing oneself is a great loss.

The passions are the salt of life; we are neither happy nor unhappy except in their exercise.

Extraordinary merit is a crime which is never pardoned.

To suffer for well doing is in itself a kind of recompense.

We should read for instruction, correction, consolation.

Reading is part of the duty of an honest man.

Knowledge of the past is of great help for the future.

Those who do not please seldom deceive.

We are always sufficiently clever if we are sufficiently strong, for mere cleverness seldom makes up for lack of strength.

A man of great ability can neither please a fool nor love him.

We should never believe anything we have not dared to doubt.

Weakness is the greatest of misfortunes and the greatest of defects.

We must pardon everything to men of great spirit and great heart, for to have great spirit and great heart is to have merit.

We ought to be heroically indifferent to all that happens -- but the indifference must be heroic, not stupid.

Happiness does not lie in the opinion of others.

In the world we must get accustomed to seeing the foolish thought clever, the cowards brave, the wicked good. We are but novices in living if we grow angry over this.

We are almost always children, but we change our games and our toys.

One should live with men as with sick people from whom one endures everything.

The man is truly wise who wishes neither to obey nor to command.

To obey no one is a greater happiness than to command the whole world.

Great friendship is as rare as great love.

We must pardon our enemies, our friends, and ourselves; but it is more difficult to pardon ourselves than others.

Health and money exist to be spent.

We are not made innocent in order that we may remain ignorant.

To believe everything is weakness; to believe nothing folly.

Perhaps those are right who call youth a fever, but I wish the fever would last all my life, even if it made me dream.

All the life we live between childhood and decrepitude is youth if we are strong. There is no other youth than perfect health and vigor of soul and body. Everyone who has such health is young, no matter if he be a hundred years old; and everyone who has it not is old if his years number but eighteen.

Those who do not love reading deprive themselves of the most useful of pleasures.

We should cultivate our souls rather than torment our bodies.

Conscience gives no quarter.

It requires more courage to marry than to go to war.

To conquer oneself is to triumph over one's most powerful enemy.

There are things which we should neither do nor say; there are others we should do and not say; others again we should say and not do; yet others that we should do and say without hesitation.

We are always apprentices in the craft of living.

We should always try to surpass ourselves. This occupation will last our lives out.

We ought never to be satisfied with ourselves, however satisfied others may seem with us.

Enemies are always sincere in their hate, though friends are not in their love.

Patience is the virtue of those who lack either courage or force.

There is no condition which may not be glorified by our actions or our sufferings.

If we were not ignorant we should neither grow old nor sick. Both ills have their remedies of which we are ignorant.

If we took as much trouble to be good as we do to appear good we should end by being so.

...self-love is not criminal as some have said.

Old age is more terrible than death...

Happy are those who die without growing old.

Men talk more than beasts, but it is questionable whether they are more wise.

The famous counsel “Know thyself”, which men have said is the source of human wisdom, is but the source of misery, for this decree imposes on man the harsh necessity of tearing down his self-disguises and of realizing his own nothingness.

The world should be looked upon as an inn, in which we abide but a few hours.

The patience of Epictetus and the brutality of his master are equally insupportable.

We ought both to be sensible of and to despise everything that happens.

The world is a great and magnificent temple, of which the earth we tread is the altar whereon day and night continually Time and Death immolate victims to the Author of Nature.

*  *  *

Our Enemies and Benefactors

 

Most people are intellectually and economically creative and productive. Throughout their lives they think, learn, understand, and gain solid, practical knowledge. And almost all their adult lives they successfully work for a living. They’re virtuous, respectable, and honorable.

But some people also beg, steal, and assault. A few even enslave, torture, and murder. They’re frauds, subhumans, beasts. They’re traitors to themselves and others; they’re contemptible, vile, and evil. And yet…

Deceivers, parasites, predators, and even destroyers are normal for biological creatures of all types. And these evil actors and monsters – ironically enough – generally make good people better. By spending a certain amount of their time fighting against them – along with their main, best, and most important behavior of creation and production – humans become smarter, stronger, and loftier. They react, adapt, learn, and usually rise faster than before. These awful, ugly, lowly opponents – in need of defeat and conquest – oddly improve us. Individuals, groups, and societies all progress and ascend faster due to conflict and competition with these demons.

Of course, these animals are well worth hating. And it’s natural, inevitable, and good to struggle against them. Good people need to learn how to both evade and obliterate them. And it’s proper and noble to celebrate these often ferocious adventures and battles in lessons, stories, entertainment, and art. They do feature human failures and lowlifes. But, amazingly enough, these intellectual and economic miscreants ultimately benefit and uplift mankind.

Intellectuals

 

Intellectuals are the scum of the earth. Their irrationality and nonsensicality are immense. They lie through their teeth and due inconceivable harm. Words can't denigrate and deride them enough.

From Parmenides, Zeno, Gorgias, and Pyrrho; to Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, and Joseph Smith; to Berkeley, Hume, Kant, and Hegel; to Rousseau, Marx, Engles, and Lenin; to Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas; to Qutb, Said, Khomeini, and bin Laden. And so it goes! Give someone high intelligence, strong education, and a bit of popularity -- and they can ruin the globe.

These great deceivers and misdirectors lead mankind right over the cliff. They brainwash and fool everyone -- and leave them intellectually bereft, morally debased, spiritually empty, and physically enslaved. These demons seduce and enchant lesser intellectual leaders and -- with the greatest of ease -- they mesmerize and con the rabble too. The result is pain, suffering, and misery for all.

These bastardly intellectuals do not believe such false and evil theories honestly, nor do they teach such things innocently. It's a deliberate and calculated attack upon humanity. It's a malicious fraud intended to inflict damage, cause agony, and result in mental and material destruction. It's knowing falsity and wickedness. Intellectuals are the scum of the earth. They should be feared and hated by all.

As for the good intellectuals -- if any such exist -- they need to get to work and finally do their job. The competent and virtuous philosophers and thinkers of our realm -- such as they are -- need to make an effort to morally condemn and intellectually refute these two dozen lowlifes, once and for all. They need to intellectually annihilate these monsters!

Equality

 

Equality is the great social evil of all time. It destroys human magnificence. It devastates excellence, quality, competence, merit, talent, genius, brilliance, and achievement. It decimates justice and morality.

This monstrous standard and ideal treats all people the same. No matter how great or mediocre, outstanding or terrible, ingenious or foolish, marvelous or mundane, accomplished or unimpressive, moral or immoral – the overarching social ideal of equality regards all people as the same.

This is horrific. This is destructive and depraved. Under this standard, all healthy, virtuous, and proper social and economic systems get annihilated. Winners can’t win and losers don’t lose. Success and failure get treated the same. The inevitable result is natural hierarchy is lost. Most of society and civilization get smashed and trashed.

What the world badly needs is inequality. It needs social balance, equilibrium, harmony, and organization. It needs structure and order of a legitimate and proper nature. Above all else it needs justice and morality for all people.

Truth must triumph over falsehood and good must triumph over evil. Superior individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions must be rewarded as well as publicly honored and celebrated. Their opposites, inferiors, and unequals need to be punished and even reviled. Anything else is savagery and animalism. Intellectual, moral, spiritual, and socio-economic equality is the demolition and termination of mankind.

Homo Simius

 

You people are such monsters. Such foolish, malicious baboons. Such ridiculous, hateful, disgusting vermin. It’s inexplicable and outrageous that you dare to look like me.

But, ultimately, you're not similar to me at all. Not fundamentally or in any important respect. Your thinking and behavior is radically different.

You’re devoid of almost all rationality, sense, decency, and virtue. You think, speak, and act like braindead, soulless insects and demons. And you pointlessly attack yourselves and your fellow man – or chimps.

Pond scum humans do have some intelligence to work with – which you evidently acquired thru sheer luck – but you barely use it. As a rule, people hardly progress at all. Dark Ages are the rule, not the exception. You bastards generally regress.

Mankind heavily believes in omens, dreams, luck, fate, superstition, and magic. You people mostly believe in, and follow, everything empty and worthless which you can find. You embrace and adore god, self-sacrifice, and the welfare state. Then you act on these fatuous and depraved beliefs and convictions. The results couldn’t be more destructive.

It’s all so bizarre and absurd. But such is man today. And, evidently, for all time. Probably this loathsome, wicked, and biologically defective species will destroy itself before too long. Maybe via nuclear or bio-chemical war. Maybe via A.I. Whatever happens, the end can’t come too soon.

Aristotle on Self-Evident Truths

 

“...the most certain principle of all is that regarding which it is impossible to be mistaken; for such a principle must be both the best known (for all men may be mistaken about things which they do not know), and non-hypothetical. For a principle which every one must have who knows anything about being, is not a hypothesis; and that which every one must know who knows anything, he must already [know for certain].... Evidently then such a principle is the most certain of all; which principle this is, we proceed to say: It is, that the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject in the same respect…. This, then, is the most certain of all principles.... For it is impossible for any-one to believe the same thing to be and not to be, as some think Heraclitus says; for what a man says he does not necessarily believe. If it is impossible that contrary attributes should belong at the same time to the same subject [and]...obviously it is impossible for the same man at the same time to believe the same thing to be and not to be; for if a man were mistaken in this point he would have contrary opinions at the same time. It is for this reason that all who are carrying out a demonstration [of some claim] reduce it to this as an ultimate belief; for this is naturally the starting-point even for all the other axioms.

There are some who, as we have said, both themselves assert that it is possible for the same thing to be and not to be, and say that people can judge this to be the case. And among others many writers about nature use this language. But we have now posited that it is impossible for anything at the same time to be and not to be, and by this means have shown that this is the most indisputable of all principles. —Some indeed demand that even this shall be demonstrated, but this they do through want of education, for not to know of what things one may demand demonstration, and of what one may not, argues simply want of education. For it is impossible that there should be demonstration of absolutely everything; there would be an infinite regress, so that there would still be no demonstration. But if there are things of which one should not demand demonstration, these persons cannot say what principle they regard as more indemonstrable than the present one.

We can, however, demonstrate negatively even that this view is impossible, if our opponent will only say something; and if he says nothing, it is absurd to attempt to reason with one who will not reason about anything, in so far as he refuses to reason. For such a man, as such, is seen already to be no better than a mere plant.

--edited version of Aristotle, Metaphysics, book 4, excerpts of chapters 3 and 4; title, selection, ellipses, and parentheses by Zantonavitch

Stupid Slimy Loser Failure Nation

 

Now that the 9/11 anniversary is long over -- and people have a better opportunity to be calm and think rationally, clearly, and wisely -- I really wonder:

A whopping 25 years after the World Trade Center Massacre, why haven’t Mecca and Medina been nuked? Why haven’t the moslem dictatorships of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan been overthrown and liberated? Why hasn’t America taken back the oil "nationalized" and stolen from it? Why hasn't the philosophy of islam been intellectually refuted, morally condemned, publicly hated, and virulently attacked by all? Why haven’t virtually all moslems been banned and deported?

Because America is a failed state. Because America is a sissyboy-faggot nation. Because America is a stupid, slimy, self-hating, self-destroying country and people which militantly refuses to stand up for or defend itself, and which is fanatically committed to self-immolation and suicide.

America was founded as a liberal nation. It was based upon liberal philosophy and 1700s Enlightenment values. These ideas created the most liberal society and civilization in the history of man. They created the greatest and most noble and exalted nation ever.

But America is mostly illiberal now. Especially intellectually. Its philosophy and culture are radically diminished from its founding. Yes, many liberal institutions and practices still remain; but this is mostly based upon old and mindless habits which are dying out.

America is no longer much guided by the metaphysics of realism, naturalism, and objective reality. Nor the epistemology of reason, science, and logic. Nor the ethics of individualism, self-interest, and personal happiness. Nor the politics of individual rights, justice, and liberty. America’s intellectual leaders and the masses now mostly reject and oppose these liberal ideals.

Maybe America should replace its motto "E pluribus unum" with "Allah akbar". Maybe illiberal, self-hating, self-destroying America should finish the job the evil moslem martyrs started 25 years ago.

Citizenship Revolution

 

America and the West mostly need a revolution in philosophy – a movement toward liberalism. But even a more modest revolution in politics would be hugely helpful – a movement toward libertarianism and capitalism. Finally, even a relatively tiny revolution in citizenship would uplift us substantially. The immigration and naturalization processes of America and the West have done significant damage over the past 60 years or so. The demographics of Western Civilization have been radically degraded.

The clear and undeniable truth is: People of low intellectual, moral, spiritual, educational, cultural, and civilizational quality have had a terrible impact on us. They need to be kept and kicked out. Conversely, those of high quality can help out a lot. They need to be retained and recruited in.

Even if someone is a tenth-generation American, Briton, or German, if he significantly degrades the society, and lowers its quality of life, he needs to be stripped of citizenship and deported. This means: 1) if he begs or steals a lot; 2) if he’s low in character or morals; 3) if he’s inferior in intelligence or education; 4) if he’s incompetent or lazy at work; 5) if he dislikes the people or mores of his country; 6) if he’s highly nihilistic, supernaturalist, sacrificial, or statist; 7) if he’s some deadly combination of these...then he needs to be removed from the population. 

But if someone from the other side of the world -- who has no contact with America or the Western nations -- is the diametric opposite of this, then he needs to be sought out and induced to join up. High value people are important to the lifeblood of a nation!

And if this new policy means far fewer blacks, browns, and moslems in America and the West – as seems likely -- then so be it. It isn’t bigotry, racism, nativism, or xenophobia to care about personal quality. So to all the low, dumb, feckless, destructive, or traitorous blacks, browns, and moslems out there: Good-bye and good riddance! Don’t let the door hit you in your inferior ass on the way out!

As for all the seemingly superior Indians, Oriental, and Jews out there, who score better than Whites on intelligence and achievement tests, and get into more elite colleges, and make more money, and commit fewer crimes, and go on the dole less: Welcome. We couldn’t be happier to have you!

But if you’re excessively collectivist; and refuse to assimilate and integrate into Western society; and heavily stay in your physical, mental, racial, and cultural ghettos; and overly support political tyranny...you might get deported as well. White people in America and the Western nations generally believe in universalism, rationality, individualism, liberty, and liberalism. You better too.

Strategy

 

The universe as we know it is inconceivably big and inconceivably old. But the Earth seems to be remarkably unremarkable, with facsimiles of it virtually everywhere. So the notion that Earth is special or unique, and that sentient life exists on it and nowhere else, simply defies belief. Almost beyond a doubt sentient and super-sentient life forms are close to everywhere. But if they don’t contact humanity, or even allow their existences to be known, this is almost certainly because they virtuously and wisely choose this.

SuSents [super-sentient creatures] extremely likely find humans uninteresting, just as humans find grossly inferior life forms – like bacteria or termite colonies -- also uninteresting. SuSents very probably also find humans fundamentally unworthy and contemptible, due to our extreme illiberalism, irrationality, immorality, and self-destructionism.

Still, individual great humans of relatively high liberalism, rationality, morality, and self-cherishment may indeed seem slightly interesting and worthy to these almost-certainly amazingly superior and godlike life forms. So if you want to undergo extreme rejuvenation or live forever – which they can almost certainly make happen – then you need to try to come up to their standards. They might discretely reward you!

But it seems highly unlikely you would ever receive this gift or “ascend to heaven” while many people watch. No human seems to have accomplished this so far. But perhaps the ultra-observant and immensely just SuSents will quietly swoop in – just as you perish – and secretly preserve your consciousness while they lift you to a far better cosmic realm. Your new best friends might maintain or improve your essential self and consciousness while supplying you with a new and enhanced body to enjoy and exploit in your new, wondrous, and heavenly afterlife.

So we all really need to get to work impressing these guys!

Battle Royale

 

Every since reason was discovered and invented in about 585 B.C. -- that is, ever since strictly logical thought was successfully isolated from emotions, desires, drives, and instincts -- the world has been a battleground between the forces of rationality and irrationality. This means an intellectual, psychological, legal, military, and otherwise war between those who search for and obey reason and those who blithely ignore or brazenly reject it. This is the purest version of the eternal clash between good and evil.

This seminal reason vs. unreason philosophical conflict manifests itself culturally and societally in a battle between liberalism and illiberalism. This means -- roughly speaking -- the ideals of (1) rationality, (2) individualism, (3) liberty, (4) heroism, and (5) triumph vs. the ideals of (1) religion and nihilism, (2) altruism and collectivism, (3) fascism and socialism, (4) apathy and passivity, and (5) surrender and defeatism. This fundamental battle can also be described as the thought-system of up-wing individualist liberalism vs. that of right-wing religious reactionism and left-wing collectivist regressivism. This means: the magnificent ideology of progress and ascent vs. the dreadful ideology of a weak, sad, barbarous, status quo and another dreadful ideology of a weaker and sadder retreat into even worse barbarism.

Clearly the Holy Individual and his complimentary, supportive society need to be as rational and liberal as possible. This is the way to maximize personal greatness and happiness, plus social harmony and prosperity. Selfish pleasure, collective prosperity, cultural richness, and the victory of man demand rationality and liberalism.