Warrior Culture and the Importance of Honour
 
 
 

David Myatt

Vision of a Future Golden Age
 
 

I have a vision of a future Golden Age where it is natural for individuals to behave courteously toward each other and where they are pursuing worthwhile goals which bring a joy to their living and which aid the society in which they live in a way which enhances evolution itself.

This future society is a place where beautiful ideals are triumphant and where individuals aspire to uphold the noble civilized values of honour and fairness because they feel or know that such values aid their own lives in a positive, healthy way. This is a society where individuals willingly co-operate together for their own benefit and advancement, and where they understand that it is often necessary for the interest of others to come before their own self-interest because to do otherwise is uncivilized, and detrimental to everyone in the long-term. This is a society where the almost divine potential individuals have, as human beings possessed of consciousness, is understood and where that potential is made real in practical ways. In brief, this is a society where individuals continue the glorious work of evolution by striving to advance themselves in positive noble ways through pursuing ideals of excellence, and where this individual advancement aids or is of benefit to the other individuals of this society.

This idealistic vision can be made real. But to be made real, certain fundamental truths have to accepted and acted upon. That is, the wisdom which we have achieved through thousands of years of evolution - through thousands of years of conscious understanding, of Thought - has to be made real in a practical way.
 

Nature - The Fundamental Truth:

The most fundamental truth is that an individual can only be truly healthy, vital and joyful, and only fulfil the potential latent within them by virtue of being human, if they live their life in a certain way. Being human means being possessed of consciousness - possessed of the ability to think, and possessed of the ability to consciously decide to change one's actions, behaviour, and life through an act of will.

To be truly healthy, vital, joyful, and to truly fulfil their latent potential, an individual needs to belong - they need to be aware of their place in 'the scheme of things', how they are a living link between the past and the future and how they can aid or assist in the development of a better future. They need to be aware of how they are a part of something, greater than themselves, which lives and whose future depends to a certain extent on them: on their choices and their way of life.

Fundamentally, an individual is part of the living order which exists on this planet. They are born because of this order, as their own life influences or changes, or can change, this living or organic order. They are also dependant on this order - if this order is unhealthy in some way, then this affects them in some way. In brief, there is a symbiotic relationship here - a relationship which our faculty of Thought makes us aware of. That is, we, as human beings, have the ability to: (1) sense or experience this relationship; (2) to understand this relationship in a conscious or rational way; and (3) to act on this understanding by changing our own lives through an act of will.

Expressed another way, life on this planet is like a living being - and we are a part of this being, although at present a majority of people seem unaware of how they are part of this being, and unaware of how their own existence depends on this being. That is, a majority are not fulfilling their potential, as human beings, because they do not rationally understand their place in the scheme of things - they are, in fact, living as though they were not human, being how they are for the most part motivated by basic material and animal desires, and being as how they will not or cannot change themselves for the better through an act of will.

This 'living being' which exists on this planet of ours is Nature, and an individual is thus of Nature, and thus a part of the process of evolution which makes Nature what it is. Furthermore, an individual is thus Nature 'in evolution' - Nature itself made manifest in that individual. In essence, an individual human being is evolution in action - Nature advancing herself, or striving to create more order. An individual therefore has the potential to continue this work of Nature - to increase the living order which is Nature by consciously striving to continue with evolution. This is a 'working in harmony with Nature' - a fulfilling of the potential which we as individuals possess.

To evolve, and thus aid Nature, we must respect what is of Nature. We can only evolve if we live in such a way that our lives enhance Nature - that is, if we continue with what Nature has produced. Our uniqueness and thus our humanity is what makes us, as a species, different from other species - and we are different because we are 'thinking-beings'; because we possess consciousness: a knowledge of ourselves, as individuals, and a knowledge of our surroundings. We have become 'thinking-beings' - we have become human - because of evolution. That is, we have evolved into our present, human, species. This evolution has occurred over vast, æonic, spans of time - hundreds of thousands of years, and in an important way, this evolution expresses the life of Nature herself, a means whereby Nature has grown, changed and acquired a consciousness.

This evolution, here on this planet, which has made us human has been toward diversity and difference. That is, Nature has evolved distinct cultures whose people have a sense of identity with that culture, and it is these different cultures which express our nature as humans, and thus our humanity.

Being human means being part of the species that has evolved into 'human beings', and this evolution has resulted in many diverse and different cultures, each of which express evolution in action.

Further evolution means a continuation of what Nature has produced - it means nurturing what Nature has produced so that there is more, and higher, development. This higher, or evolutionary, development by definition must be toward more diversity and difference, and thus towards more humanity.

The global spread of materialism and international capitalism means the destruction of the diversity and difference which Nature has produced. It is thus anti-evolutionary and therefore inhuman because it will destroy what Nature has taken hundreds of thousands of years to evolve - our unique human species, the different cultures within it and the respect those ancient and living cultures have for Nature.

To continue to evolve - to continue to express our humanity - what Nature has produced must be nurtured and used as the foundation to create more evolution. This means maintaining, and keeping healthy, the unique cultures of our species, and developing those cultures in an evolutionary way: in a way which maintains that respect for Nature which is inherent in living cultures. By doing this, Nature herself will be protected and maintained.

Anything other than this is anti-evolutionary, inhuman, and against Nature, and will assuredly undermine and then destroy our very humanity. Anything which undermines or destroys our unique human cultures is inhuman and anti-evolutionary, for the fact is that these cultures are our unique heritage, as human beings: they have made us what we are, and they express who we are. We should celebrate this difference and diversity, and not seek to destroy it through either global capitalism or the spread of political and social ideas which are anti-cultural.

Furthermore, the unique ethos of each culture - the customs, spirituality and ways of living which different cultures have evolved - is important. It expresses the essence of that culture - it enshrines what makes it special, and different, and what is necessary for the individuals, and the communities of that culture, to live in a healthy, joyful way conducive to further evolution. This unique cultural 'soul' or spirit needs preserving, as it needs to be further developed. But perhaps most of all, it needs to be expressed in practical ways in a new society so that the individuals of that society can live better, more human, lives.

In summary, culture expresses our humanity, our very identity, and to live as human beings, fulfilling the potential Nature has given us, we have to live in such a way that our unique cultures are preserved and extended in a positive way. If we do this, we are acting wisely, and actively aiding Nature herself.
 

The Golden Age Society:

To preserve what makes us unique, as humans, societies must be re-organized on a cultural basis, as these societies need to enshrine the ethos of the particular culture of the members of that society. Anything other than this is de-evolutionary, disorded and unhealthy: it is inhuman, unwise and uncivilized; it expresses a barbaric way of living where selfish material concerns outweigh honour, duty and the pursuit of excellence.

Fundamentally, the world needs re-organizing on the basis of separate cultural societies, with each such society dedicated to the welfare, well-being and advancement of its own culture. These societies need to inspire individuals with a desire to continue the glorious work of evolution by striving to advance themselves in positive noble ways through pursuing ideals of excellence. In practice, this means these societies upholding the civilized values of honour, fairness, duty and courtesy as ideals to be aspired to by individuals, as it means the individuals of such societies understanding and acting upon the fundamental truths of Nature evident in culture. Thus would a Golden Age be created, as thus would Nature benefit, with individuals at last able to fulfil their potential as human beings, and at last able to live a civilized existence in contrast to the uncivilized living which dominates in nearly all the societies which presently exist on this planet.

This Golden Age - where individuals joyfully participate in evolution and live lives suffused with beauty, harmony and order - can be made real. All it requires is for individuals to understand their humanity, and to change their lives by an act of will so that Nature, their own culture and they themselves, benefit.
 
 
 

Civilization and Honour
 

Honour is fundamentally a conscious expression of the instinctive feeling noble individuals possess for civilization and what is civilized. On the personal level, civilization means: (a) certain high or honourable standards of personal behaviour, and (b) individuals being prepared to place the welfare and advancement of their own community before their own self-interest. Thus, in essence, civilization means and requires individuals to accept the noble ideals of honour, loyalty and duty.

Personal honour also and just as importantly consciously expresses what is necessary for civilizations to be created and maintained, as it expresses the fundamental truth that the higher living of civilization is preferable to the selfish, barbaric way which exists when there is no civilization. Furthermore, personal honour expresses what is necessary for higher, more noble, civilizations and individuals to be produced or created. That is, it explains and shows how we as individuals can fulfil the evolutionary purpose of our lives by transforming ourselves through an act of will in such a way that we advance and evolve.

Thus, personal honour is a means whereby an individual, and a community, can be become cultured, and thus civilized, where it should be understood that the term 'culture' is used here in its correct sense to describe those things which can aid an individual to improve or advance themselves. Hence its fundamental importance, for it makes conscious what hitherto had been instinctive in the noble few. Because of this 'making conscious', its wisdom can be applied in a practical way enabling the creation of a more advanced, more noble, more civilized and more cultured society than any existing hitherto.
 
 
 

The Arts of Civilization
 

'Culture' is the term used to describe those things which can aid an individual to improve or advance themselves in a natural way in accord with Nature. Each culture is associated with a particular people (and sometimes a particular part of the Earth) and embodies and represents a unique Weltanschauung or 'outlook'. In practice, the culture of a particular people or community embodies the ethos, or 'soul' of that community. Furthermore, a particular culture is healthy if the people of that culture live their lives in such a way that their societies embody and seek to maintain and expand this culture. These people thus identify with their culture and their own unique heritage. The societies which do this are living, or organic, societies and such societies stand directly opposed to the abstract, lifeless, soul-destroying societies which an abstract dogma creates and maintains. It is such abstract, lifeless, societies which dominate the modern world, with these lifeless societies being created by, and being maintained by, an unnatural, abstract political and materialistic dogmas which are anti-cultural in essence. One of the most powerful and destructive of these materialistic dogmas is capitalism.

A culture may be said to be a living embodiment of Nature in a particular time and place, and as such is a type of being: something which lives, which possesses life - a being with a past, a present and a future.

The things which normally embody the ethos of a culture are art, literature, achievements, customs and a particular 'religious attitude', religion or Way of Life. The unique ethos of warrior culture is expressed in the noble, heroic, and reasoned attitude and way of life of warrior peoples. This ethos, this spirit or soul, gave rise to, or created, civilization and civilization itself may be regarded as the greatest achievement warrior peoples.

The warrior ethos can be represented by three words: honour, curiosity and conquest. These words represent the Arts of Civilization, just as someone who has mastered these arts is a civilized person. Conquest and honour express the nobility of warrior culture, while curiosity expresses or describes that desire to know, to explore, to rationally understand which has arisen from a healthy, expanding warrior Empire, and which has led the societies founded by such an Empire to create astronomy, philosophy, logic, science, technology and mathematics.

The archetypal, best, or most excellent warrior is someone who upholds a code of honour, who is rational, who has some knowledge and understanding of warrior culture, and who possesses a desire to discover or achieve. A knowledge and understanding of warrior culture means some knowledge and understanding of warrior history and traditions, and a skill in using weapons in combat. Someone who has this knowledge and understanding, who upholds and lives by a code of honour and who possess a desire to go beyond what they are, is a civilized individual, someone of breeding and nobility. That is, someone possessed of real character. By the nature of the warrior ethos, such individuals are 'restless' when young and they remain generally unsatisfied even after achieving things. They yearn for new adventures; or new conquests; or they desire to understand more, to know more, to discover more. They possess spirit and vitality - a pagan enthusiasm and a pagan soul: that is, a respect for and innate understanding of Nature.

Such individuals represent warrior culture and thus what is healthy, natural and necessary for warriors to live healthy, natural and vital lives. In essence, for warriors to live healthy, natural and vital lives, they must embody or strive to embody their own warrior ethos.

We who belong to a warrior culture - who have a warrior heritage and a warrior Destiny - must rediscover the heritage we have lost. In practice, we must seek to become masters of the Arts of Civilization. We must learn the Art of Honour by striving to uphold and live by a code of honour. We must learn the Art of Conquest by seeking to learn and master the art of fighting, of combat: by training to be a warrior. We must learn the Art of Curiosity by seeking to learn about and understand our warrior history, traditions and our vast scientific heritage. We must also strive to add to our culture by either living like a warrior and seeking glory through the pursuit of conquest, or by living to discover, explore or create something new. If we do this, we shall become civilized individuals - enlightened ones - and as such we will not only represent and express our warrior culture but also fulfil the potential which is latent within us and which makes us the human beings we are, gifted with the possibility of evolving into something higher.