¶6 It is on this break with tradition that we must still insist, for it is from it that the modern world was born, all of whose proper characteristics could be summed up in a single one, opposition to the traditional spirit; and the negation of tradition is again individualism.1 This, moreover, is in perfect agreement with what precedes, since, as we have explained, it is intellectual intuition and pure metaphysical doctrine that are at the principle of every traditional civilisation; as soon as one denies the principle, one also denies all its consequences, at least implicitly, and thus the whole ensemble of what truly merits the name of tradition is thereby destroyed.2 We have already seen what occurred in this respect with regard to the sciences; we shall not return to this, and we shall consider another side of the question, where the manifestations of the anti‑traditional spirit are perhaps even more immediately visible, because here it is a matter of changes that have directly affected the Occidental mass itself. Indeed, the ‘traditional sciences’ of the Middle Ages were reserved for a more or less restricted élite, and some of them were even the exclusive prerogative of very closed schools, constituting an ‘esotericism’ in the strictest sense of the word; but, on the other hand, there was also, in tradition, something that was common to all indistinctly, and it is this exterior part that we wish to speak of now.3 Occidental tradition was then, outwardly, a tradition of a specifically religious form, represented by Catholicism; it is therefore in the religious domain that we shall have to consider the revolt against the traditional spirit, a revolt which, when it took a definite form, was called Protestantism; and it is easy to realise that this is indeed a manifestation of individualism, to such an extent that one could say that it is nothing other than individualism itself considered in its application to religion.4 What constitutes Protestantism, as what constitutes the modern world, is only a negation, that negation of principles which is the very essence of individualism; and one can see here yet again one of the most striking examples of the state of anarchy and dissolution that is its consequence.5
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Summary

Guénon insists on the break with tradition as the origin of the modern world, whose defining characteristic is opposition to the traditional spirit, and the negation of tradition is again individualism. Denying the principle of intellectual intuition and pure metaphysical doctrine implicitly denies all its consequences, thereby destroying the whole ensemble of true tradition. Having discussed the sciences, he turns to another domain where the anti‑traditional spirit is even more visible because it directly affected the Western masses: religion. In the Middle Ages, Western tradition outwardly took the form of Catholicism, but the revolt against tradition became Protestantism, which is nothing other than individualism applied to religion. Protestantism, like the modern world itself, is merely a negation of principles, and its consequence is a state of anarchy and dissolution.

General notes

  1. rupture avec la tradition — Rendered as ‘break with tradition’. Guénon identifies the essence of modernity as a radical break with Tradition (in the sense of the sophia perennis). It is not a simple evolution or change of form, but an active opposition. The unifying character of the modern world is precisely its anti‑traditionalism. Individualism is the negation of Tradition because Tradition rests on the recognition of supra‑individual principles that the modern individual rejects. ↩︎
  2. négation du principe — Rendered as ‘negation of the principle’. Guénon recalls that Tradition is an organic whole. To deny the principle (intellectual intuition, pure metaphysics) is to deny at the same time all its consequences (sacred sciences, traditional arts, social institutions, rites). One cannot ‘keep’ a part of Tradition while rejecting its metaphysical foundation. Moderns who claim to preserve Christian morality without its metaphysics, or medieval art without its spirituality, are inconsistent. The negation of the principle entails the implicit or explicit destruction of all the rest. ↩︎
  3. ésotérisme / partie extérieure — Rendered as ‘esotericism / exterior part’. Guénon distinguishes ‘esotericism’ (initiatic doctrines reserved for an élite) from ‘exotericism’ (public doctrines, accessible to all, often of a religious form). In the Middle Ages, exotericism was Catholicism, common to all Christendom. Esotericism (for example, Hermeticism, certain initiatic confraternities) was reserved for restricted circles. Guénon will now show how the anti‑traditional spirit first attacked exotericism (exterior religion) before attacking the sciences and philosophy. ↩︎
  4. Protestantisme comme manifestation de l’individualisme — Rendered as ‘Protestantism as a manifestation of individualism’. Guénon sees in the Protestant Reformation (16th century) an application of individualism to the religious domain. The principle of free examination (each individual interprets Scripture by his personal reason) is the exact equivalent, in religion, of the autonomy of reason in philosophy (Descartes). Protestantism rejects the external authority of the Church and the Magisterium, substituting for Tradition an immediate and individual relationship with the sacred text. Guénon considers this a ‘revolt’ against the traditional spirit, for Tradition supposes a transmitted spiritual authority and an initiatic interpretation. ↩︎
  5. anarchie et dissolution — Rendered as ‘anarchy and dissolution’. Protestantism, by denying the unique authority of the Church, led to a proliferation of sects and contradictory interpretations (religious anarchy). Likewise, modern politics has produced democracy and the pluralism of opinions (social anarchy). Guénon sees in these phenomena a ‘dissolution’ (dislocation) of the organic unity of medieval Christendom. Individualism, applied to religion, destroys the unity of faith and produces fragmentation. ↩︎