¶4 It is easy to understand that these traditional data, of which we must confine ourselves to sketching a very summary overview, make possible conceptions that are very different from all the attempts at ‘philosophy of history’ in which moderns engage, and far vaster and deeper.1 But we have no intention, for the moment, of going back to the origins of the present cycle, nor even more simply to the beginnings of the Kali-Yuga;2 our intentions relate, at least in a direct way, only to a much more limited domain, to the final phases of this same Kali-Yuga.3 One can indeed, within each of the great periods of which we have spoken, distinguish various secondary phases, which constitute so many subdivisions of them; and, each part being in some fashion analogous to the whole, these subdivisions reproduce, as it were, on a smaller scale, the general course of the great cycle in which they are integrated;4 but here again, a complete investigation of the modalities of application of this law to diverse particular cases would lead us far beyond the framework that we have traced for ourselves for this study.5
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kali-yugamanvantara

Summary

Guénon explains that traditional data allow for conceptions far vaster and deeper than modern attempts at a ‘philosophy of history’. He does not intend to go back to the origins of the present cycle or to the beginnings of the Kali-Yuga, but only to the final phases of this same Kali-Yuga. Within each great period, one can distinguish secondary phases that reproduce on a smaller scale the course of the larger cycle. However, a complete investigation of the application of this law would exceed the scope of this study.

General notes

  1. données traditionnelles — Rendered as 'traditional data'. Guénon here opposes the traditional conception of cyclical time to modern systems of philosophy of history (Hegel, Comte, Marx, etc.), which imagine a linear and cumulative development oriented towards indefinite progress. The doctrine of cycles, on the contrary, is neither optimistic nor pessimistic: it describes objective laws, independent of human desires or beliefs. Traditional conceptions are 'far vaster and deeper' because they embrace periods of millions of years (manvantaras, kalpas) and relate human history to cosmic rhythms, whereas modern philosophies limit themselves to a few centuries of European history and to purely human and material causes. ↩︎
  2. débuts du Kali-Yuga — Rendered as 'beginnings of the Kali-Yuga'. Guénon reminds us that he is not treating the whole cycle here, but only its final phases. The beginnings of the Kali-Yuga go back more than five thousand years (3102 BCE). The modern era (from the Renaissance onwards) is only its last, darkest and most accelerated segment. This distinction makes it possible to avoid two errors: believing that the whole Kali-Yuga is identical to modernity, or believing that the present crisis is the first in history. Neither is true. ↩︎
  3. dernières phases du Kali-Yuga — Rendered as 'final phases of the Kali-Yuga'. Guénon specifies the real subject of his work: not world history or the entire cycle, but the present situation, that is, the end of the Kali-Yuga and the crisis of modern civilisation. This limitation is voluntary and methodological: it is not a matter of saying everything, but of saying what is useful for understanding the present epoch and preparing for the future. Intellectual humility (recognising that one cannot treat everything) is also a mark of the traditional method, opposed to modern encyclopaedism, which is often superficial. ↩︎
  4. chaque partie étant en quelque façon analogue au tout — Rendered as 'each part being in some fashion analogous to the whole'. Guénon here states the fundamental hermetic principle of correspondence ('as above, so below'), applied to temporal cycles. A great cycle (a Manvantara) is subdivided into smaller cycles (yugas), and each of these cycles reproduces on its own scale the structure of the total cycle (with its four ages: gold, silver, bronze, iron). Likewise, the 'final phases' of the Kali-Yuga reproduce the structure of the Kali-Yuga itself, with its own sub-periods. This law of analogy allows one to project knowledge of large periods onto small ones, and vice versa. ↩︎
  5. cadre que nous nous sommes tracé — Rendered as 'framework that we have traced for ourselves'. Guénon reaffirms the voluntary limits of his exposition. He cannot and does not wish to enter into all the details of the application of cyclical law. He concentrates on the general traits that illuminate the modern crisis. This reserve is typical of Guénon's method: he develops only what is necessary for his purpose, referring the reader to other works or to personal research for the rest. Excessive detail would distract from the meaning of the whole. ↩︎