The Decadent: Being the Gospel of Inaction / Wherein Are Set Forth in Romance Form Certain Reflections Touching the Curious Characteristics of These Ultimate Years, and the Divers Causes Thereof

Name: The Decadent: Being the Gospel of Inaction / Wherein Are Set Forth in Romance Form Certain Reflections Touching the Curious Characteristics of These Ultimate Years, and the Divers Causes Thereof
Author: Ralph Adams Cram

By Ralph Adams Cram

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Philosophy & Ethics

About This Book

A weary traveler named Malcolm McCann arrives in a grim urban setting and becomes drawn into the company of an urbane aesthete, Aurelian, whose languid conversations and opulent surroundings frame extended meditations on cultural decline. The text alternates close scenes of squalor and luxurious, symbolic interiors with polemical reflections that blame materialism, individualism, and institutional systems for the death of art, proposing a posture of aesthetic inaction and elegiac resignation rather than reform. The work mixes romance-like episodes with philosophical aphorism to diagnose late decadence.

About the Author

Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram was an American architect and author, known for his contributions to both literature and the architectural landscape of the early 20th century. He is particularly recognized for his ghost stories, as exemplified in his collection "Black Spirits and White: A Book of Ghost Stories," which showcases his flair for the supernatural. Cram's literary work often reflects his philosophical musings on society and culture, as seen in titles like "The Decadent: Being the Gospel of Inaction." His writings explore themes of existentialism and the human condition, making him a notable figure in American literature.