Friday, October 31, 2008
Superfluous (Introduction)
Superfluous Man - …an individual, possibly of talent and capability, who does not fit into the state-centered pattern of employment.
- Wikipedia
Superfluous. I’ve often felt superfluous, working a job that I feel contributes little of importance to anyone, holding political views that are unpopular and definitely out of the mainstream, voluntarily choosing a fairly isolated labor-intensive lifestyle for reasons that most people cannot even begin to comprehend. I’m eccentric, I guess. But it’s more than that.
A few years ago, I read a book that literally changed my life. It turned the way I look at the world upside down, not by changing my outlook on things, but by giving me the courage and clarity of thought to embrace what I already knew in my gut to be true. I’ve been meaning to write about it in detail for quite awhile, but the timing never seemed right.
This book is titled Memoirs of a Superfluous Man, by Albert Jay Nock. Now, I feel the timing is right, and I’m reading and writing for myself more than for anyone else.
Reading this book is a centering exercise that I try to do at least once a year. Being in contact with Nock’s ideas and wisdom helps me “take the long view”, and to remember that there are more important things in life than who wins next week’s election. Nock initially infected me with shock and confusion, combined with a profound sense of finally finding my place in the world. There are people like me out there, but they are rare. Over time, Nock has led me to a profound sense of peace, along with instilling in me a sense of mission.
One of Nock’s main theses is that there exist a group of people called the Remnant. The idea is explored fully here, and it doesn’t really get fleshed out in this book. However, it is clear who Nock’s intended audience for this book is – the Remnant and people who aspire to that ideal. After reading this book, I found myself craving a community of like-minded people, literally craving interaction with people of similar goals and ideals. On several occasions I went on a hunt to find these people. Nock told me I would fail – these people are rare, they do not draw attention to themselves, and they typically live quietly in whatever community they find themselves. He was absolutely right. I found no community, but I did find an occasional website with a snippet here, an essay there. Part of my reason for writing now is to provide another signpost for people who discover Nock after me, to let them know that even though life can be lonely, you are not alone.
Nock wrote the book as an autobiography, but not a typical autobiography. He wrote it as an autobiography of the mind, of ideas, of thoughts and ideals that led to a certain way of living. It is not a recounting of his life, though he does occasionally use anecdotes from his life to illustrate some points. The book is more a manifesto, an extended statement of a personal philosophy, than an autobiography. In Nock’s words, it is “the autobiography of a mind in relation to the society in which it found itself.” His goal is to impart knowledge of truth, but not in the way that a teacher passes knowledge of addition and subtraction to his students. Rather, the intent is to hang ideas out for examination, allowing people to take or leave them as they will. His goal was always “to see things as they are,” to find truth, to help others find the truth, and to leave his own personality out of this process as much as is possible. He felt that what is right, is infinitely more important than who is right, and as such, he led a secretive life avoiding all temptation of groupies and hangers-on. In addition, he put the whole unvarnished, unpleasant truth out there, knowing full well that many are not equipped to handle it. He felt it is no service to anyone to hide the truth, nor to try to impart truth to minds that were incapable of handling it. Thus, his passive mode of communication, hanging his ideas out for all to see, letting them come and accept them, or go and reject them, as they pleased.
He was 73 when this book was published, and he died two years later, in 1945. It was an era of collectivist sentiment, at home and abroad, and his ideas of liberty and individualism were largely drowned out by the prevailing political winds of the day. But then, and in years that have passed since, people have found him and people continue to find him.
I’m tempted to discuss some of the specifics of his ideas here, but I think it is best to preserve this entry as nothing more than what it’s title states – an introduction. So to that end, I will close with a quote. This is Nock’s introduction to a different book, “The Works of Rabelais,” where he states the value of that book in identical terms to how I would describe the value of this one:
It must be laid down once and for all, that the chief purpose of reading a classic like Rabelais is to prop and stay the spirit, especially in its moments of weakness and enervation, against the stress of life, to elevate it above the reach of commonplace annoyances and degradations, and to purge it of despondency and cynicism. He is to be read as Homer, Sophocles, and the English Bible are to be read… The current aspect of our planet, and the performances upon it, are not always encouraging, and one therefore turns with unspeakable gratitude to those who themselves have been able to contemplate them with equanimity, and are able to help others to do so. In their writing one sees how the main preoccupations, ambitions, and interests of mankind appear when regarded “in the view of eternity,” and one is insensibly led to make that view one’s own. Thus Rabelais is one of a half-dozen writers whose spirit in a conspicuous way pervades and refreshes one’s being, tempers, steadies, and sweetens it, so that one lays the book aside, conscious of a new will to live up to the best of one’s capacity, and a clearer apprehension of what the best may be.
Nock is not interested in how to do and to get, he is interested in how to be and become. One’s spirit is to be nurtured, truth is to be found and embraced, and excellence is to be sought. Reading this book, even for the fourth time, helps me remember these things, to once again reorganize priorities in my life, to remember that while the masses are fair weather friends, true self-worth and true joy come not from the approval and agreement of others, but in finding, cultivating and appreciating excellence wherever it may be found.
Nock is a rare character in the history of the world, and I am proud to know him.
Comments
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I regret to say that I haven’t embarked fully on my Nock adventure yet. I read quite a bit of his Book of Journeyman. Several things struck me forcefully. Others put me off a bit, though they don’t stick out right now.
It’s an interesting observation that, “He felt that what is right, is infinitely more important than who is right...” When you approach a conversation about principles from that quarter, no one understands that that’s what you’re doing. They get their guard up and try to defend without ever realizing there’s nothing to defend against. It becomes so wearying.
I look forward to this series.
Weetabix | 11/3/2008 10:29 AM CDT -
Nock’s style of criticism and analysis is brutal. He doesn’t throw you any bones. He doesn’t manipulate you to feel good about things we shouldn’t feel good about.
I think it would be fair to say that on American Farmer’s first reading he found Nock to be a pessimist… and it leaves you feeling profoundly depressed.
But Nock is not a pessimist, on the contrary, and that emotion changes with a full understanding and awareness… which takes time.
It is something akin to The Tree Grows in Brooklyn in a non-fiction form. Sure some folks are miserable. Sure the odds seem insurmountable if not impossible… but in that inhospitable place, a tree manages to grow and survive… and flourish. It is all the more remarkable because it wasn’t easy and rare.
Mrs. du Toit | 11/4/2008 08:12 AM CDT -
weetabix- I feel your fatigue. We live in cult of personality.
raven | 11/7/2008 03:59 PM CDT
