This quote of Cormac’s also struck me as quite conservative. Not sure if there is a relation to Gnosticism here though.
“I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous.”
Here is Russell Kirk in “the conservative mind”
“Ultimate equality in the judgment of God, and equality before courts of law, are recognized by conservatives; but equality of condition, they think, means equality in servitude and boredom.” (Pg 9)
And he lists as one of the principles conservatives are opposed to:
“(1) The perfectibility of man and the illimitable progress of so-ciety: meliorism. Radicals believe that education, positive legis-lation, and alteration of environment can produce men like gods; they deny that humanity has a natural proclivity toward violence and sin.”(pg 10)
I wish more authors would let their work speak for itself like McCarthy did. So rrefreshing during a time when authors feel the need to shove their unadorned opinions down their audience's throat, alienating a sizable portion of those who might have otherwise enjoyed their work.
It's always better to lay out a narrative situation that asks the reader to ponder issues that matter, rather than blatantly saying "I care about this."
Great, great article, thank you, when you said you saw Gnosticm everywhere the next time you read Blood Meridian, that is how I feel about Catholicism in McCarthys books, but then I read the vanity fair piece about his years long lover, and I had to accept that he actually hated the Catholic Church, but like Bruce Springsteen has said it’s not easy to wash being Catholic off you or off your art, I’ve reread his books many times, and I still see it everywhere, in its simplistic beauty, almost like the song “I wish it were true”
“His work lies all wheres and his hounds tire not. I have seen them in a dream, slaverous and wild and their eyes crazed with ravening for souls in this world. Fly them.” I have this quote on the wall, I’ve always taken it to mean, your thoughts, that they can be slaverous and wild, so the answer is to fly them
I enjoyed this essay, thank you for sharing it. That said, I don’t really follow you. I don’t think there’s anything particularly Gnostic at all in McCarthy, an author I greatly admire.
First off, there is no such thing as “Gnosticism”. Academics, for several decades, have largely agreed this term is problematic at best. There was a large diversity amongst early Christians in the first and second century. The battle with archons is described by Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. Archons are not fallen Angels. The word archon means ruler, sometimes the word principality is used interchangeably, particularly with Paul. Archons are world rulers. However, the idea of fallen Angels comes to us out of Judaism, and is reinforced in the letters of Peter and Jude. Again, these concepts are not in any way unique to gnostic Christians of the first and second century. The understanding that the world is flawed or fallen and that the Kosmokrator of this world is not God but a devil is also not a gnostic concept but reinforced throughout the letters of Paul (Ephesians) and the gospel of John (8:44). Bearing a light or fire or candle and holding it where others can see is also a foundational teaching of Christ in normative Christianity, and not at all unique to gnostic variations of the faith.
I have been steeped in academic literature regarding gnostic strains of Christianity in the early centuries of the church for over a decade- I could go on.
The short version is you have no fucking clue what you’re talking about when it comes to gnostic Christianity.
In The Passenger/Stella Maris Alicia Western talks about looking through a sort of peephole as a child, catching a glimpse of an entity she dubs the “archetron”. This act dooms her to a life of misery and madness. Her life is defined by obsession with mathematics and music, and a love that is ultimately denied her by the rules of the world she lives in. She abandons music in favor of mathematics. When asked to say one thing she thinks is true, she says “The world has created no living thing it does not intend to destroy.”
Thanks for extending beyond Blood Meridian. McCarthy does have a recognizable voice, but he’s not flat across all of his works. I find there’s nuance. The Suttree callout was appreciated!
This quote of Cormac’s also struck me as quite conservative. Not sure if there is a relation to Gnosticism here though.
“I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous.”
Here is Russell Kirk in “the conservative mind”
“Ultimate equality in the judgment of God, and equality before courts of law, are recognized by conservatives; but equality of condition, they think, means equality in servitude and boredom.” (Pg 9)
And he lists as one of the principles conservatives are opposed to:
“(1) The perfectibility of man and the illimitable progress of so-ciety: meliorism. Radicals believe that education, positive legis-lation, and alteration of environment can produce men like gods; they deny that humanity has a natural proclivity toward violence and sin.”(pg 10)
My brain requires well thought out and coherent examinations of subjects that are esoteric. This is a fine example.
I wish more authors would let their work speak for itself like McCarthy did. So rrefreshing during a time when authors feel the need to shove their unadorned opinions down their audience's throat, alienating a sizable portion of those who might have otherwise enjoyed their work.
It's always better to lay out a narrative situation that asks the reader to ponder issues that matter, rather than blatantly saying "I care about this."
Great, great article, thank you, when you said you saw Gnosticm everywhere the next time you read Blood Meridian, that is how I feel about Catholicism in McCarthys books, but then I read the vanity fair piece about his years long lover, and I had to accept that he actually hated the Catholic Church, but like Bruce Springsteen has said it’s not easy to wash being Catholic off you or off your art, I’ve reread his books many times, and I still see it everywhere, in its simplistic beauty, almost like the song “I wish it were true”
Thank you for the kind words, Tony!
“His work lies all wheres and his hounds tire not. I have seen them in a dream, slaverous and wild and their eyes crazed with ravening for souls in this world. Fly them.” I have this quote on the wall, I’ve always taken it to mean, your thoughts, that they can be slaverous and wild, so the answer is to fly them
do you know who created that art work?
I enjoyed this essay, thank you for sharing it. That said, I don’t really follow you. I don’t think there’s anything particularly Gnostic at all in McCarthy, an author I greatly admire.
First off, there is no such thing as “Gnosticism”. Academics, for several decades, have largely agreed this term is problematic at best. There was a large diversity amongst early Christians in the first and second century. The battle with archons is described by Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. Archons are not fallen Angels. The word archon means ruler, sometimes the word principality is used interchangeably, particularly with Paul. Archons are world rulers. However, the idea of fallen Angels comes to us out of Judaism, and is reinforced in the letters of Peter and Jude. Again, these concepts are not in any way unique to gnostic Christians of the first and second century. The understanding that the world is flawed or fallen and that the Kosmokrator of this world is not God but a devil is also not a gnostic concept but reinforced throughout the letters of Paul (Ephesians) and the gospel of John (8:44). Bearing a light or fire or candle and holding it where others can see is also a foundational teaching of Christ in normative Christianity, and not at all unique to gnostic variations of the faith.
I have been steeped in academic literature regarding gnostic strains of Christianity in the early centuries of the church for over a decade- I could go on.
The short version is you have no fucking clue what you’re talking about when it comes to gnostic Christianity.
In The Passenger/Stella Maris Alicia Western talks about looking through a sort of peephole as a child, catching a glimpse of an entity she dubs the “archetron”. This act dooms her to a life of misery and madness. Her life is defined by obsession with mathematics and music, and a love that is ultimately denied her by the rules of the world she lives in. She abandons music in favor of mathematics. When asked to say one thing she thinks is true, she says “The world has created no living thing it does not intend to destroy.”
Thanks for extending beyond Blood Meridian. McCarthy does have a recognizable voice, but he’s not flat across all of his works. I find there’s nuance. The Suttree callout was appreciated!
Kind of ironic to use a William Blake painting for this, yea?
Not ready. McCarthys values are clearly Nietzschean and anti- Christian. Lost me when you started with a bible verse.
Could you recommend some literature regarding gnostic strains of Christianity? Thanks
I’d recommend the Nag Hammadi Scriptures (otherwise known as the gnostic bible.
Thank you for making this accessible - it’s been a piece which has teased and fascinated me and reading it more than lived up to expectations.