Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Julien Green’s Diary, 1928-1957

It arrived yesterday evening, and I am already 32 pages into it.  Why keep a journal? Green gives an answer on page one in the entry from 4 December 1928.  He tells of "the incomprehensible desire to bring the past to a standstill that makes one keep a diary." Reading that, I knew I would read the whole 306 page translation of selections from this author's  sprawling diary.  He nailed it.

In '66 I started my journal scribbling. I didn't want that summer to pass away unrecorded. A life unrecorded, like a life unexamined, is not worth living. So I felt then, so I feel now.  Such a life lacks diachronic unity and internal cohesion.  I love cats, but a man is not cat, nor should he live like one.

I'll pull some quotations from Green's diary as the spirit moves me.

This First Things article will provide some background on Green and includes translations of some journal entries written around the time of, and about, the 'reforms' of  Vatican II.

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Bill Vallicella

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3 responses to “Julien Green’s Diary, 1928-1957”

  1. DaveB Avatar
    DaveB

    “Such a life lacks diachronic unity and internal cohesion.”
    Almost thou hast convinced me…
    In fact, thou hast – I will find me a journal to scribble in.
    Dave

    Reply
  2. BV Avatar
    BV

    You should, Dave. Do it daily, in the morning. Start with the mundane, date, time of arisal, vitals (BP, pulse rate, O2 uptake, weight, etc.) Then record anything worth remembering about the previous day, a snatch of conversation, whatever. Then move to broader observations.
    Keep it up for a year, then re-read what you have written. See if doesn’t give you great pleasure. Recently I read entries from 50 years ago, the summer of ’75. Brought those times back vividly. the people, the places, the girls, the doings, the toilings and moilings. The delights of Boston, the coffee houses, the chess games . . . . Do it honestly and end up after many years with a critical account of one’s inimitable life . . . What an asshole I was on that occasion, but what a heroic action on some other occasion . . . .

    Reply
  3. DaveB Avatar
    DaveB

    Ordered.

    Reply

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