moderate
conservative hedonism", "mch" for
short, is a term used to broadly describe the weltanschauung -- sociopolitical & otherwise --of any well-bred
gentleman, scholar, bonvivant, & gourmand before the death of old europe.
mch is characterized by a propensity for the general enjoyment of life. -- within a certain moderation, Μηδὲν ἄγαν, & with a keen eye for the tradition.
though the mch outlook has declined since the death of old europe, some men, like roberto calasso or
gerard depardieu, remain
true to the old ways.
expressions of mch in the heritage of europe are too numerous to count, though here is a list of some quintessentials:
wine, the delphic maxims, cheese, decadent plates of cold cuts, fruit, & marzipan, observance of the
faith, rococo painting & second empire furniture, death in venice, sonnets to the fishermen of capri, a gallon of beer a day, hatred of taxes, an aloof & cosmopolitan view of things (in particular in matters culinary & poetic), the study of botany, ornithology, monteverdi's madrigals, chess, collections of old cookbooks, gambling (but not too much), an interest in pencils, coffeehouse brawling, orientalism, a fine assortment of various rare teas, liberatory book theft, quoting vauvenargues at the cute cashier in the store, hiking, opening a beauty salon in the ruins of the
lotus-land, foie gras for
breakfast.
Si bene qui cenat bene vivit, lucet, eamus
quo ducit gula, piscemur, venemur!
(Horace)
example a)
person 1: I watched an episode of
gerard depardieu's europe last night. he talked about cheese for half an hour.
person 2: yes, he's a true moderate
conservative hedonist.
example b)
person 1: how do you interpret horace's epistle to numicius?
person 2: i think wieland is right in his commentary when he says that the epistle is about finding the ways of moderate
conservative hedonism.
