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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome to Mythic Mind, where we pursue wisdom

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<v Speaker 1>on the past between primary and secondary worlds. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew Snyder, and I am always grateful for your company.

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<v Speaker 1>Today I bring you the audio from a recent video

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<v Speaker 1>As I announced in the last episode and in a

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<v Speaker 1>the show notes as well. But I will say that

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<v Speaker 1>moving forward, but whenever you purchase anything, don't use the

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<v Speaker 1>would like to thank by name all Tier three patrons

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<v Speaker 1>and higher and so that's Mark, Aaron, Evy, Jamie Justin

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<v Speaker 1>patrons Chas and Kyle. Kyle's currently in the talking course

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<v Speaker 1>and he just purchased a Tier three annual patronage to

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<v Speaker 1>access the upcoming courses that I announced, And so Kyle

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<v Speaker 1>is making some really good decisions with his life, and

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<v Speaker 1>you should be like Kyle. And of course many thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to all of my Tier one and two patrons as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Contributions do not go unnoticed. And I'm glad that you're here,

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<v Speaker 1>although you could get even more value if you can

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<v Speaker 1>swing the investment to upgrade to Tier three year higher.

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<v Speaker 1>Just saying all right, so now, without further ado, I

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<v Speaker 1>give you j R. R. Tolkien and a long defeat. Actually,

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<v Speaker 1>I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so

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<v Speaker 1>I do not expect history to be anything but a

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<v Speaker 1>long defeat, though it contains, and in a legend may

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<v Speaker 1>contain more clearly and movingly, some samples or glimpses of

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<v Speaker 1>final victory. J. R. R. Tolkien in a letter to

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<v Speaker 1>Amy Ronald fifteenth of December nineteen fifty six, Tolkien was

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<v Speaker 1>enamored with the Northern Spirit, which did not fight for

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate victory, but for the victory of the day. In

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<v Speaker 1>the Norse Mythos, there is no hope for the final

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<v Speaker 1>triumph of the life of man, or even most of

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<v Speaker 1>the gods for that matter, As the great Apocalypse of Ragnarok,

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<v Speaker 1>claims the lives of both. This awareness of impending doom

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<v Speaker 1>gives the Northern tales a unique flavor against their Southern counterparts.

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<v Speaker 1>Tolkien rights, in the Monsters and the Critics his monumental

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<v Speaker 1>essay on Beowulf, that the Southern gods are not the

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<v Speaker 1>allies of men in their war against these or other monsters.

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<v Speaker 1>The interests of the gods is in this or that

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<v Speaker 1>man as part of their individual schemes, not as part

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<v Speaker 1>of a great strategy that includes all good men as

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<v Speaker 1>the infantry a battle. In Norse. At any rate, the

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<v Speaker 1>gods are within time doomed with their allies to death

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<v Speaker 1>their battles with the monsters in the outer darkness, they

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<v Speaker 1>gather heroes for the last defense. In the Norse understanding,

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<v Speaker 1>gods and noble men fight together against the monsters against

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<v Speaker 1>the chaos, not to win in the ultimate sense, but

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<v Speaker 1>because it is the valiant thing to do. Tolkien continues,

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<v Speaker 1>the Northern gods, Kur said, have an exultant extravagance in

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<v Speaker 1>their warfare, which makes them more like Titans than Olympians.

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<v Speaker 1>Only they are on the right side, though it is

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<v Speaker 1>not the side that wins. The winning side is chaos

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<v Speaker 1>in unreason mythologically, the monsters, but the gods, who are defeated,

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<v Speaker 1>think that defeat no refutation, and in their war men

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<v Speaker 1>are their chosen allies, able whin heroic to share in

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<v Speaker 1>this absolute resistance. Perfect because without hope, at least in

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<v Speaker 1>this vision of the final defeat of the humane and

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<v Speaker 1>of the divine made in its image, and into the

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<v Speaker 1>essential hostility of the gods and heroes on the one

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<v Speaker 1>hand and the monsters on the other. We may suppose

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<v Speaker 1>that Pagan English in Norse imagination agreed. Now if there

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<v Speaker 1>is no hope of ultimate victory, the what reason does

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<v Speaker 1>the Northern hero have to fight on the side of

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<v Speaker 1>the gods? Why fight an impossible fight? The answer is valiants.

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<v Speaker 1>The answer is justice, which is good for its own sake.

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<v Speaker 1>The answer is that there is good in this world,

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<v Speaker 1>and it is worth fighting for, even if it is

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<v Speaker 1>only the good of to day. Again, in the Monsters

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<v Speaker 1>and the Critics, Tolkien says, it is the strength that

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<v Speaker 1>the Northern mythological imagination, that it faced this problem, put

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<v Speaker 1>the monsters in the center, gave them victory but no honor,

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<v Speaker 1>and found a potent but terrible solution in naked will

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<v Speaker 1>and courage. So potent is it that, while the older

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<v Speaker 1>Southern imagination has faded forever into literary ornament, the Northern

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<v Speaker 1>has power, as it were, to revive the spirit even

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<v Speaker 1>in our own times. It can work, even as it

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<v Speaker 1>did for the godless Viking, without God's martial heroism as

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<v Speaker 1>its own end. But we may remember that the poet

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<v Speaker 1>of Beowulf saw clearly the wages of heroism is death.

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<v Speaker 1>The story of Beowulf is to some degree one of futility.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, Beowulf dies, and the Gayats whom he

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<v Speaker 1>led and protected, would soon be conquered by its neighbors.

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<v Speaker 1>It might be argued that Beowulf failed, but that surely

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<v Speaker 1>is not what we are meant to get from the story.

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<v Speaker 1>What we principally see is that Beowulf did what the

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<v Speaker 1>Northern hero is expected and lauded for doing. He secured

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<v Speaker 1>the life, the festivity, and the human good of the

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<v Speaker 1>mead Halls against the encroaching winter for as long as

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<v Speaker 1>he possibly could, as in a little circle of light

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<v Speaker 1>about their halls. Men with courage as their stay went

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<v Speaker 1>forward to that battle with the hostile world in the

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<v Speaker 1>offspring of the dark, which ends for all, even the

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<v Speaker 1>kings and champions in defeat. Now our Beoa poet, himself

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<v Speaker 1>a Christian, is surely telling us something about the futility

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<v Speaker 1>of mortal life. Tolkien explains, Beowulf is not then the

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<v Speaker 1>hero of an heroic lay. Precisely he has known mesh loyalties,

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<v Speaker 1>nor halfless love. He is a man, and that, for

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<v Speaker 1>him and many is sufficient tragedy. The story of Beowulf

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<v Speaker 1>is the story of all mortal heroes. They do heroic things,

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<v Speaker 1>and then they die. Their death does not erase their heroism,

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<v Speaker 1>but the heroism does make their death significant as they

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<v Speaker 1>enter into the eternal realm of legend. Yet there is

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<v Speaker 1>surely still a futility in this pagan hope, and our

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<v Speaker 1>Christian poet of Beowulf was surely intentional about making this known,

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<v Speaker 1>about making this experienced. Even if he did not explicitly

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<v Speaker 1>provide a solution in the poem. Tolkien, however, does identify

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<v Speaker 1>that solution with his idea of the yucatastrophe. He explains

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<v Speaker 1>idea of Youu catastrophe as follows in his essay on

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<v Speaker 1>Fairy Stories The Consolation of Fairy Stories. The joy of

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<v Speaker 1>the happy ending, or more correctly, of the good catastrophe,

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<v Speaker 1>the sudden joyous turn, For there is no true end

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<v Speaker 1>to any fairy tale. This joy, which is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things which fairy stories can produce supremely well, is

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<v Speaker 1>not essentially escapist nor fugitive in its fairy tale or

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<v Speaker 1>other world setting. It is a sudden and miraculous grace,

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<v Speaker 1>never to be counted on to recur. It does not

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<v Speaker 1>deny the dis catastrophe of sorrow and failure, the possibility

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<v Speaker 1>of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance. It denies,

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<v Speaker 1>in the face of much evidence, if you will, universal

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<v Speaker 1>final defeat, and in so far as Euangelium giving a

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<v Speaker 1>fleeting glimpse of joy, joy beyond the walls of the

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<v Speaker 1>world poignant as grief. Tolkien does not expect history to

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<v Speaker 1>be anything but a long defeat, despite the many victories

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<v Speaker 1>that we may experience along the way. Even as the

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<v Speaker 1>Gospel tells of Christ who suffered and died before entering

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<v Speaker 1>his glory, so too we must meet with the terms

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<v Speaker 1>of our mortality before the yu catastrophe of resurrection, And

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<v Speaker 1>so too does Tolkien believe will be the affairs of

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<v Speaker 1>world history. Things will become worse than the long run,

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<v Speaker 1>until finally they become infinitely better with the unexpected that

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<v Speaker 1>is unexpected except by faith and happy turn of redemption.

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<v Speaker 1>Although Tolkien knows this Christian hope, he recognizes that pagan

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<v Speaker 1>futility is by no means erased with this revelation. He

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<v Speaker 1>says again in The Monsters and the Critics, Beywuff's author

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<v Speaker 1>is still concerned primarily with man on Earth, re handling

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<v Speaker 1>in a new perspective an ancient theme that man, each man,

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<v Speaker 1>and all men, in all their works shall die, a

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<v Speaker 1>theme no Christian need despise. This temporal defeat is real,

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<v Speaker 1>but its reality is taken up by the yucatastrophe, and

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<v Speaker 1>thus we may face death with finite futility because we

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<v Speaker 1>have a glimpse of eternal goodness. Tolkien says that the

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<v Speaker 1>tragedy of this great temporal defeat remains for a while poignant,

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<v Speaker 1>but ceases to be finally important. It is no defeat,

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<v Speaker 1>for the end of the world is part of the

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<v Speaker 1>design of Metod, the arbiter, who is above the mortal world.

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<v Speaker 1>Beyond there appears to be a possibility of eternal victory

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<v Speaker 1>or eternal defeat and the real battle is between the

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<v Speaker 1>soul and its adversaries. So the old monsters became images

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<v Speaker 1>of the evil spirit or spirits, or rather the evil

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<v Speaker 1>spirits entered into the monsters and took visible shape in

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<v Speaker 1>the hideous bodies of heathen imagination. Bailiff's poet, himself, being

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<v Speaker 1>a Christian, does not despair of death. He does not

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<v Speaker 1>object to demonstrating the role that death plays an ending

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<v Speaker 1>and even in wiping out finite pursuits. As a Christian,

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<v Speaker 1>he finds this element of the Northern mythos entirely palatable

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<v Speaker 1>and even correct. However, what the Christian poet brings to

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<v Speaker 1>the table is the ultimate hope that even in the

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<v Speaker 1>catastrophe of death, we can expect to find or at

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<v Speaker 1>the very least, hope to find you catastrophe the happy term.

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<v Speaker 1>So our bao of poet is not, as talking points out,

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<v Speaker 1>muddling up his Christian and pagan mythos, but he is

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<v Speaker 1>rather bringing them together into something true, something that's truly

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<v Speaker 1>Christian and profoundly powerful. A good way of thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>this is to consider the Battle of Helm's Deep in

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<v Speaker 1>the Two Towers. The men of Rohan, who are largely

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<v Speaker 1>a stand in for the Anglo Saxons, stand against the

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<v Speaker 1>monsters of chaos and darkness until the last free man

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<v Speaker 1>would inevitably fall. If this played out, then this would

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<v Speaker 1>be a Northern story. However, Gandolf arriving with the morning

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<v Speaker 1>light alongside the forces of nature rightly oriented, make it

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<v Speaker 1>into a Christian story. We do not know where the

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<v Speaker 1>road will take us in this life, but we can,

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<v Speaker 1>as Tolkien says, despair of an event while maintaining belief

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<v Speaker 1>in the value of doomed resistance. There are many examples

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<v Speaker 1>of the long defeat and the role of you catastrophe

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<v Speaker 1>throughout Tolkien's writing, but we'll look at just a couple

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<v Speaker 1>now from The Lord of the Rings. First, consider this

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<v Speaker 1>statement of Gladiol concerning Caliborne. For the Lord of the

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<v Speaker 1>Gallatin is accounted the wisest of the elves of Middle Earth,

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<v Speaker 1>and a giver of gifts beyond the power of kings.

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<v Speaker 1>He has dwelt in the West since the days of Dawn,

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<v Speaker 1>and I had dwelt with him years uncounted for ere

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<v Speaker 1>the fall of nargothrind of Gondolin. I've passed over the mountains,

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<v Speaker 1>and together through ages of the world we have fought

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<v Speaker 1>the long defeat. So there you have it, talking directly

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<v Speaker 1>working this idea of the long defeat into his narrative.

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<v Speaker 1>And who better to recognize the reality the long defeat

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<v Speaker 1>than his long lived elves. And if you have read

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<v Speaker 1>through the Cimmarillian, then you likely are already very aware

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<v Speaker 1>of how this theme plays out throughout the course of

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<v Speaker 1>his legendary. The glories of the elder days are ruins

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<v Speaker 1>and stories in the Third Age, and they far outshine

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<v Speaker 1>what the latter has to offer. Things fade, things get

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<v Speaker 1>worse over time, but that is all the more reason

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<v Speaker 1>for heroes to maintain valiance. As Rigorn says in the

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<v Speaker 1>Two Towers, the Council of Gandolf was not founded on

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<v Speaker 1>foregnoledge of safety for himself or for others. There are

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<v Speaker 1>some things that is better to begin than to refuse,

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<v Speaker 1>even though the end may be dark. And now we

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<v Speaker 1>end with a word from Gandolf in the Council of Elrond,

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<v Speaker 1>it is not to spare, for despair is only for

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<v Speaker 1>those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.

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<v Speaker 1>It is wisdom to recognize necessity when all other courses

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<v Speaker 1>have been weighed, Though as folly it may appear to

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<v Speaker 1>those who cling to falsehope. When you go to the

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<v Speaker 1>roots of the word philosophy, you find the love of wisdom,

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<v Speaker 1>which unfortunately is not what you find at the roots

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<v Speaker 1>of all who call themselves philosophers. Now, how do we

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<v Speaker 1>get here? What are the ideas that shape our world?

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<v Speaker 1>And what can the old world tell us in response

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<v Speaker 1>to the perennial questions of what it means to be human,

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<v Speaker 1>what is our purpose? And what, if anything, ought we

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<v Speaker 1>aspire to? In a brief history of ideas, we will

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<v Speaker 1>navigate major epics of thought and survey some of the

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<v Speaker 1>most important figures in the Western canon, including Plato, Aristotle, Boethius, Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Nietzsche,

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<v Speaker 1>Sart and carecguard and of course we will consider even

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<v Speaker 1>more names. But these are the thinkers that will supply

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<v Speaker 1>our primary readings. Each week will include primary sources that

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<v Speaker 1>will be provided as PDFs. Although these are all texts

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<v Speaker 1>that do belong in your personal library. You will be

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<v Speaker 1>recommended some secondary text You'll be provided with some recorded

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<v Speaker 1>presentations for you to watch at your leisure, ongoing discord chats,

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<v Speaker 1>and weekly live meetings to discuss the readings. I've been

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<v Speaker 1>teaching philosophy for many years, and I can say with

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<v Speaker 1>confidence that you will leave this six week course with

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<v Speaker 1>a better understanding of the foundation to Western thought than

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<v Speaker 1>most contemporary philosophy majors enrolled today. By going to patreon

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<v Speaker 1>dot com slash Mythic Mind and checking out the shop,

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<v Speaker 1>or you can gain access to all courses past present

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<v Speaker 1>in any course that begins during the term of your

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<v Speaker 1>subscription by purchasing a Tier three annual subscription. So again,

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<v Speaker 1>purchase a Tier three annual subscription, and I will give

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<v Speaker 1>you a special code that gives you access to all

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<v Speaker 1>courses that either have taken place or do start in

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<v Speaker 1>this term, and I sincerely hope to see you there.