Julius Evola : My Encounter With Codreanu

Among the various leaders of the movements for national reconstruction that emerged during the interwar period, which I had the opportunity to meet, I remember Corneliu Codreanu, the leader of the Romanian Iron Guard, as one of the purest, most righteous, and noblest figures. It was in the spring of 1936 that I met him in Bucharest during a study trip I had undertaken to various European countries at the time.

We enter the building and reach the first floor. Here we are met by a tall and slender young man in casual attire. His open face immediately gives an impression of nobleness, strength and loyalty.This man is Corneliu Codreanu, the leader of the Iron Guard. He is a distinctly Aryo-Roman type—like a contemporary embodiment of the ancient Aryo-Italic world.

While his grey-blue eyes convey the harshness and

cool will of a leader, on the whole his contour is marked by a peculiar note of

idealism, inwardness, strength, and human understanding.

His manner of speech is also characteristic: before answering, it is as if he became absorbed

in himself and removed; then suddenly he starts speaking, expressing himself

with almost geometrical precision in clearly articulated and well-constructed

sentences.

JULIUS EVOLA