Maestro— At West End Gallery
A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
He who bears in his heart a cathedral to be built is already victorious.
–Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Flight to Arras (1942)
Yesterday I shared a passage concerning a metaphor of a pile of stones and a cathedral from the book Flight to Arras from French author/pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who I failed to mention was also the author of the classic The Little Prince. The passage felt very relatable to the current situation here in this country.
I thought I would share a Credo from Saint-Exupéry that came soon after that passage. In general, I like these statements of belief from writers and thinkers. I have shared a few here in the past, the short one below from 19th century orator Robert Ingersoll, which was one of several creeds he wrote, being the one that immediately comes to mind:
Justice is the only worship.
Love is the only priest.
Ignorance is the only slavery.
Happiness is the only good.
The time to be happy is now,
The place to be happy is here,
The way to be happy is to make others so.
Wisdom is the science of happiness.
The credo below from Saint-Exupéry really struck a chord with me. It is a statement of belief and purpose that I wish to aspire to for myself, especially in this moment in time which is one that demands that a person consciously acknowledge that which they firmly believe. His description of the cult of the particular being a cult of death really jumped out at me since it seems, from my perspective, that we are currently dealing with the cult of the particular, which is used here to indicate cult that elevates and serves a particular race, a particular gender, a particular class, a particular religion, a particular definition of liberty and justice as well as a particular way of living.
It is a cult of the particular that will, as Saint-Exupéry writes, ultimately imprison the individual in an irredeemable mediocrity. It feels like that has already began, right from the top down.
Please take a moment and read the Credo below from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I think it’s worth the time.
My eyes have been unsealed, and I want now to remember what it is that they have seen. I feel the need of a simple Credo so that I may remember.
I believe in the primacy of Man above the individual and of the universal above the particular. I believe that the cult of the universal exalts and heightens our particular riches, and founds the sole veritable order, which is the order of life. A tree is an object of order, despite the diversity of its roots and branches.
I believe that the cult of the particular is the cult of death, for it founds its order upon likeness. It mistakes identity of parts for unity of Being. It destroys the cathedral in order to line up the stones. Therefore, I shall fight against all those who strive to impose a particular way of life upon other ways of life, a particular people upon other peoples, a particular race upon other races, a particular system of thought upon other systems of thought.
I believe that the primacy of Man founds the only equality and the only liberty that possess significance. I believe in the equality of the rights of Man inherent in every man. I believe that liberty signifies the ascension of Man. Equality is not identity. Liberty is not the exaltation of the individual against Man. I shall fight against all those who seek to subject the liberty of Man either to an individual or to the mass of individuals.
I believe that what my civilization calls charity is the sacrifice granted Man for the purpose of bis own fulfillment. Charity is the gift made to Man present in the insignificance of the individual. It creates Man. I shall fight against all those who, maintaining that my charity pays homage to mediocrity, would destroy Man and thus imprison the individual in an irredeemable mediocrity.
I shall fight for Man. Against Man’s enemies – but against myself as well.
Redtree Times 