Heart of Matter by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Author:Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, pdf
Tags: planetization, complexity/consciousness, globalization, noogenesis, conscious evolution, omega point, totalization, teilhard de chardin, noosphere

1 don't yet know,' he continues, whether I could really do justice to this theme in a few pages.' (pp. 203-4). Two days later, however, he finds that the idea is taking shape; he has decided on his title, and is proposing to describe what is meant by nostalgia for the front' and explain the reasons that lie behind the feeling:

"Hie reasons, I believe, come down to this; the front cannot but attract us, because it is, in one way, the extreme boundary between what

THE HEART OF MATTER

one is already aware of, and what is still in process of formation. Not only does one see there things that you experience nowhere else, but one also sees emerge from within one an underlying stream of clarity, energy, and freedom that is to be found hardly anywhere else in ordinary life - and the new form that the soul then takes on is that of the individual living the quasi-collective life of all men, fulfilling a function far higher than that of the individual, and becoming fully conscious of this new state. It goes without saying that at the front you no longer look on things in the same way as you do in the rear: if you did, the sights you see and the life you lead would be more than you could bear. This exaltation is accompanied by a certain pain. Nevertheless, it is indeed an exaltation. And that's why one likes the front in spite of everything, and misses it.' (pp. 205-6)

At that time, P&re Teilhard was still wondering whether he would be able to achieve "the clarity of ideas and language 9 without which he would be unable to express his meaning; but on 4 October he tells us (p. 206) that he had already posted his paper 9 two or three days earlier to P&re de Grandmaison in Paris. On 7 October he had an encouraging acknowledgement. P&re de Grandmaison found 'the little article most original and interesting 9 (p. 209), and it was in fact printed in the issue of Etudes dated 20 November, but with the final paragraph cut out.

It was twilight, and I had walked up to the top of the hill from which there was a general view of the sector we had just left and to which we would shortly, no doubt, be returning. Stretched out before me lay rough meadow-lands wreathed in the mist that was now forming, and in these the elbow-bends of the Aisne curved into milk-white splashes; and beyond, the bare ridge of the Chemin des Dames stood out, sharp as a knife-edge, against the golden sunset, dotted with drachen [kite-balloons]. At intervals a mine sent up a plume of smoke into the silence.

Why, I wondered to myself, am I standing at just this place on just this evening?

When I am in the front-line, I am frightened of the shelling, just as everyone else is. Like everyone else, I count the days until

NOSTALGIA FOR THB FRONT

our relief and I watch carefully for the signs that announce its arrival.

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