Jünger on Eros in "Across the Line"

The power of eros in the face of Leviathan.

René Magritte, The Lovers, 1928

The second fundamental power is eros; when two individuals love, they seize ground from Leviathan, creating a space it cannot control. Eros will always triumph as the gods’ true messenger over all titanic constructs. One will never fail when one stays by its side. In this connection let us mention the novels of Henry Miller—in them sex is a weapon against technology. It brings redemption from the iron chains of the age; turning to it annihilates the world of machines. The fallacy here lies in the fact that this annihilation is selective and must always be increased. Sex opposes nothing, but rather corresponds to the technical processes in the organism. On this level it is just as akin to the titanic as, for example, meaningless bloodshed, for the instincts are in opposition only when they drive one to love, to sacrifice. This sets us free.

Eros is also alive in friendship, which, confronted with tyranny, is subjected to the ultimate ordeal. Here it is purified and tested, like gold in the furnace. In times when suspicion penetrates into the family, the individual adapts to the form of the state. He arms himself like a fortress, from which no signs emerge. Where a pleasantry, even forgetting a gesture can mean death, great vigilance dominates. Thoughts and feelings remain locked within; one even avoids wine, since it awakens truth. In a situation like this, conversation with the trusted friend is not only infinitely consoling, but restores and affirms the world in its free and just measures. One single individual is a sufficient witness that freedom has not yet disappeared; but we need that witness. Then the powers of resistance awaken in us. Tyrants know this and seek to dissolve the human into the universal and the public—keeping at a distance everything unpredictable and extraordinary.

Eros has several meanings. One is sexual love or desire. Another, the Platonic definition, is permanent aspiration and desire. C.S. Lewis defines it as carnal desire, while Pope Benedict XVI, in Deus Caritas Est, says: “That love between man and woman which is neither planned nor willed, but somehow imposes itself upon human beings, was called eros by the ancient Greeks.” He expands this further and characterizes eros as a seeking love. He warns that eros can be reduced to lust and that it can be dangerous without discipline and purification.

What, then, can we learn from Jünger’s brief comments on eros in his short essay Across the Line, which was written on the occasion of Martin Heidegger’s 60th birthday? Why does Jünger write so positively about eros, and how do we make sense of these comments in our own time?

I would suggest that we begin by recognizing the dire state of erotic love today. Contrary to popular belief, today’s youth are not hedonists. They may dress more promiscuously than their parents and grandparents, and they may seem to give the impression that they are very sexual, but in reality, today’s youth are having less sex than previous generations.¹ Of course, we can reasonably speculate as to why that might be. We know that young people are meeting and interacting with friends and romantic partners far more frequently online than in person, that they are exposed to graphic adult content at a young age, and that they are more risk averse. If you actually sit down and listen to young people today, you will realize that they are lonely, struggle to find meaningful romantic relationships, have an impoverished view of romance, and that while they may talk a lot or watch a lot, they actually do very little. It’s no wonder that we have an entire social group of males—who label themselves as incels—characterized by their inability to acquire meaningful opposite-sex relationships. Loneliness is a big challenge for young men and women today, and all this is part of the reason why we are seeing a decline in birth rates and marriage rates in the West.

Jünger says that “when two individuals love, they seize ground from Leviathan, creating a space it cannot control. Eros will always triumph as the gods’ true messenger over all titanic constructs.” First of all, what exactly is a “titanic construct?” To understand this concept, let us refer to A Handbook of Traditional Living: Style & Ascesis. In it, we read:

The titan, as opposed to the hero, is caged in his human limits and in his own ego—sentimentalism; his force is the savage and elementary throng of lower nature, the brutal and crude force of the animal and material faculties which tend to overpower consciousness, the inebriation of chaos and of instantaneous sensations. The ‘titan’ refuses to recognize spiritual reality, discipline and order, and he deludes himself that he has achieved who knows what goals.

With this understanding, we must return to the concept of eros itself. Recall how it was described: as desire, passion, un-willed attraction between two lovers. Further, think of how Benedict warned of its potential base corruption. Now we can begin to see that Jünger does not imagine the lowered, perverted form of eros, but the higher form, the form that is, in fact, tempered by discipline and purity; for he would not set eros and love in opposition to the titanic, nor would he say “the instincts are in opposition only when they drive one to love, to sacrifice. This sets us free.” When he says this, he hints at the fact that eros, far from being base desire, actually allows us to sacrifice for another. Eros opens the door to a sacrificial love, which flies in the face of Leviathan, as eros, itself an uncontrollable instinct, is strong enough to counteract the titanic age in which we live and the instinct of self-preservation.

The Leviathan—seeking to control and annihilate, with modern technology and machines at its disposal—is thwarted by eros because eros defies the Leviathan in that two individuals form a bond so strong and so unbreakable that it brings those individuals to act outside the boundaries set by the Leviathan. It is unpredictable, wild, passionate and full of life, all things that Leviathan hates. Eros, as Jünger says, creates a space that the Total State cannot control. This is why Leviathan actually prefers a world where men and women do not love one another, where families disintegrate and where individuals are lonely and isolated. Two people in love are a force to be reckoned with, while lonely, frustrated atoms floating around aimlessly are easy to control and manipulate.

The eros and love that Jünger speaks to in the first paragraph is obviously of a more romantic and sexual nature. In the second paragraph, however, he speaks more to friendship. He does not mean a loose friendship, or the kind of friendship most people experience today. He means a deep, loving, and reliable friendship, one that lasts a lifetime. This type of friendship is important, as Jünger says, especially in times of tyranny. When the State exerts near total control over our lives and threatens us with extreme consequences for stepping out of line, it is easy to become isolated. Actually, that is what the State wants, because isolated individuals are far easier to manage than groups of people with strong bonds that transcend their relationship to the State. Therefore, when a man has a friend that he can speak openly and honestly with, he feels a real sense of consolation and refreshment. To never be able to speak openly is a hallmark of tyrannical government, and a population that feels it cannot speak its mind is a population that is well under control by the State.

It is not hard to see how this is relevant to us now, in an age of extreme hate speech laws and internet censorship. The government does very little to protect our speech, and that in many countries, such as Canada, the U.K., and Germany, the State actively policies speech of all kinds. Beyond the government, corporations and NGOs police speech, and mobs of angry people both online and in real life threaten to cancel anyone who may have the wrong opinion on any given day. In this environment, one can feel a visceral sense of constraint on his mind and speech. It is enough to drive a man insane.

Enter in the friend. The true friend. A true friend is naturally someone who you share a lot in common with, for if you had a friend that you feared may betray you at any moment if you were to say the wrong thing, they are not actually a friend at all. No, a real friend is one who shares a vision of the good with you, and who you can speak confidently with, trusting that even if they may disagree, they do not disagree enough to hand you over to the mob. Having a true friend today is a blessing and ought to be cherished, because many people lack a true friend. Finding your friends should be a goal of yours, and I would suggest trying to find some you can interact with in person. Nevertheless, in this age, having even a handful of anonymous online friends can be a consolation.

The Leviathan knows that real friends are a threat to its power. That is why it has every interest in keeping you isolated, lonely, and afraid. The Levithan is not frightened of a "public,” it is frightened by groups of friends with unbreakable bonds. These groups of friends may be tiny. They may be rather large, depending on the circumstances. Regardless, a group of people who are united as friends and stand together, apart from the universal public, are a threat to tyranny. Even a single individual, as Jünger says, can be proof of a liberty not yet lost. A single individual can inspire others, and together they can resist.

Sometimes friendship and subsequently resistance does not manifest itself directly. Rather, it may be felt only in a passing glance or by coming across a defiant piece of graffiti that was not made by your own hands. Nevertheless, such moments give us just a brief respite, and a knowledge that we are not alone.

Two practical recommendations for forest rebels that we can take from Jünger’s thoughts would be these:

First, if you have someone you are in love with romantically, cherish that love and give yourselves entirely to one another. If you haven’t yet fallen in love, that’s okay. Don’t force anything. But do not allow yourself to be trapped by the anti-social environment we live in today. Get out there and meet people—real people—and give yourself a chance to fall in love.

Second, cultivate real friendships. If you are a man, then having even just one or two close male friends can make a world of difference. Do not neglect these friendships. If you are a woman, you probably know how difficult it can be to build a real, selfless friendship with another woman. But to do so is infinitely valuable. It may not come quickly or easily, but it can be done. Men and women must find real friends and build strong, reliable, lasting relationships.

1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sexual-intelligence/202208/why-todays-teens-are-having-so-much-less-sex