Post Tenebras Lux is a Latin phrase that translates as “light after darkness”. It appears as Post tenebras spero lucem (“After darkness I hope for light”) in the Vulgate version of Job 17:12.
The phrase was adopted as a Calvinist motto, and later as a motto for the entire Protestant Reformation. It is used by John Calvin’s adopted city of Geneva, Switzerland, on its coins. As a mark of its role in the Calvinist movement, the motto is engraved on the Reformation Wall in Geneva and on the Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek, South Africa.
Title page of the first edition of Part I of Don Quixote (1605), with the motto Post tenebras spero lucem in the strapwork around the central device.
In the form Post tenebras spero lucem, the motto appears in Part II of Cervantes’ Don Quixote and appears on the title pages of the first editions of both Parts I and II, published by Juan de la Cuesta in 1605 and 1615 respectively – source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_tenebras_lux.
The Enlightenment brought enormous progress to humanity in terms of civil rights, knowledge, technology and many other aspects of the post-medieval world.
However, we now realise that this progress and these inventions were ultimately and inextricably linked or intertwined with an enormous potential and risk to severely impact on the stability of the Earth’s environment, and also on the position and exploitation of minorities who had no voice at all, or a voice not strong enough to be heard. Today, and in fact for almost half a century, it is clear to the scientific and intellectual leadership of our societies that fundamental transformations in many fundamental areas of today’s societies are inevitable in order to lead humanity to a safe harbour in the coming decades and centuries.
We call for a fundamental yet sustainable transformation of the values and principles on which our modern global societies are built. The generation of our children’s children and beyond will be grateful. Otherwise, humanity will face extremely troubled waters and turmoil that no one on Earth wants to be exposed to.
A major crisis will most likely be unavoidable unless a drastic renewal of fundamental values and principles is agreed upon and implemented by our global society.
Through the Post Lux Benignitas Movement, we want to contribute to the global thought process, information exchange and opinion forming process, so that the innermost values of the world are based more on goodness in the sense of the Greek word “Benignitas“.
Over the coming months we will conduct a thought process to help shape a future society that implements our values and principles and that nobody would be strongly opposed to be part of.
If you would like to join the effort and or have valuable or positive criticism please reach out to us by email to info@postlux.org .
Post Lux Benignitas