¶8 We shall say, therefore, to bring things back to their just proportions, that it seems indeed that we are really approaching the end of a world, that is to say, the end of an epoch or of a historical cycle, which may moreover be in correspondence with a cosmic cycle, according to what all traditional doctrines teach in this regard.1 There have already been in the past many events of this kind, and no doubt there will be others in the future; events of unequal importance, moreover, according to whether they terminate more or less extended periods and concern either the whole of earthly humanity, or merely one or other of its portions, a particular race or people.2 It is to be supposed, in the present state of the world, that the change that will intervene will have a very general scope, and that, whatever form it may take, and which we do not intend to seek to define, it will more or less affect the whole earth.3 In any case, the laws that govern such events are analogically applicable to all degrees; thus what is said of the ‘end of the world’, in a sense as complete as it is possible to conceive, and which moreover ordinarily relates only to the terrestrial world, is still true, with all due proportions, when it is simply a matter of the end of any world in a much more restricted sense.4
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Summary

Guénon explains that, to restore just proportions, we are really approaching the end of a world, i.e., the end of an epoch or historical cycle, which may correspond to a cosmic cycle according to traditional doctrines. Such events have occurred in the past and will occur again in the future, varying in importance according to the extent of the periods they terminate and whether they concern all of humanity or only a part. In the present state of the world, the coming change will likely have a very general scope and affect the whole earth. The laws governing such events apply analogically to all degrees: what is said of the ‘end of the world’ in the fullest sense remains true, proportionally, for the end of any world in a more restricted sense.

General notes

  1. fin d'un monde … en correspondance avec un cycle cosmique — Rendered as 'end of a world … in correspondence with a cosmic cycle'. Guénon here recalls the fundamental principle of correspondence between human history and cosmic cycles (macrocosm and microcosm, 'as above, so below'). The end of a historical epoch (for example, the end of the Roman Empire, the end of the Middle Ages, the end of modernity) is not a contingent fact, but the expression, at a particular level, of a vaster cosmic rhythm. All traditional doctrines (Hindu, Greek, Christian, Islamic, etc.) teach that time is cyclical and that civilisations are born, grow, decline and die according to laws analogous to those of the seasons, of the ages of man, of planetary cycles. ↩︎
  2. événements d'importance inégale — Rendered as 'events of unequal importance'. Guénon here introduces a hierarchy of ends and beginnings. There are local ends (the fall of an empire, the disappearance of a regional civilisation) and global ends (the end of a major cycle affecting all humanity). In both cases, the same laws apply, but their scale differs. The error of modern apocalypticists is to take for an absolute end what is only the end of a relative phase. But the opposite error (refusing to see any end, denying that anything is coming to an end) would be equally serious. Guénon seeks a just proportion: the present crisis is probably an end of great scope, but not the end of everything. ↩︎
  3. portée très générale — Rendered as 'very general scope'. Guénon does not give details, but suggests that the present transformation is not local (like the fall of Rome), but tends to be planetary. The reason is that modern civilisation has become global (through colonisation, trade, communications, technology). Its crisis cannot therefore be confined to one region; it affects all humanity. The post-crisis period will probably see a differentiation: some parts of the world may be able to preserve or restore traditional forms, others not. This is the 'judgment' of which he spoke earlier. ↩︎
  4. applicables analogiquement à tous les degrés — Rendered as 'analogically applicable to all degrees'. Guénon here reaffirms the principle of universal analogy, which is the keystone of his method. The same structural laws apply to all levels of reality: physical, biological, psychological, historical, cosmic, metaphysical. What is true of the 'end of the world' (in the absolute cosmic sense) is also true, mutatis mutandis, of the end of a civilisation, of an epoch, of a life, of a day. But note: analogy is not identity. Differences of scale and mode are essential. That is why we need 'all due proportions'. ↩︎