The influence of the greater over the lesser, and in its own way that of the lesser over the greater, was exercised in function of a relation of Christian affection established on both parts. An affection that bore the effect of mutual dedication and confidence, and which even formed a true society made up of domestics and patrons.
“My Mother, if thou desirest that the others progress much more than I, and thus put me to shame, I would prefer that this happen rather than all becoming stagnant, for it is necessary to reach that ideal degree not at the pace that I in my self-love desire, but at that pace that Thou desirest.”
“The superior serves as the handrail, on the stairways of supreme ideals…”
The superior serves as the handrail, on the stairways of supreme ideals, for those elevated souls that aspire, freely and intrepidly, to hasten to the apex, without giving in to the dizziness of the heights.
In the temporal order, that which is more, in its own way, is sacred in relation to that which is less. For example, the patron [employer?] is sacred in relation to the worker.
Instead of being the absorption of the inferior by the superior or the revolt of the inferior against the superior, the relation between a superior and an inferior is a participation of life. It is a relation that has as a consequence a third common element which gives life to both – and this is something fabulous!
Charlemagne, painted by Albrecht Dürer
In Charlemagne, Roland saw the symbol of the emperor, the standard and outpouring of the marvelous which he imbibed. He was happy that Charlemagne was his emperor, but above all he was happy that Charlemagne was his planet.
I don’t know anything more conformed to the natural order, human nature, and the sacral than feudalism.
A liberal and imbecilic way of seeing things would be: “He who obeys is despoiled by he who commands.” Not so! Between one and the other there is a conjugation of advantages which originate from the most sacred exigencies of the human soul.
It is natural for a man not to be entirely free, as the Revolution imagines, but rather to belong to a web made up of vassals and suzerains.
