[dropcap]Z[/dropcap]eta Masculinity is not a new concept. It has existed since the Axial Age and has had many adherents in every epoch of civilization since. Though it comes to our attention when many attempts at proscribing a new masculinity are in vogue. Most of these are contrived collections of mores and traits constructed at the behest of and for the convenience of women. Zeta masculinity is very different. It is ancient. It has always been a viable life strategy. The principles are unified and well developed. It is unquestionably and uniquely male in origin and practice. So much so that it is doubtful that any woman could ever pursue or mimic it and it would never be mistaken for a feminist inspired new manhood.

The main difference between the traditional Alpha, Beta, Omega model of masculinity and Zeta masculinity is focus. Traditional masculinity emphasizes duty to the man’s particular society and the women in it. Zeta masculinity is devotion to a duty to humanity as a whole within in the service of virtue. The familiar traditional model depends greatly upon physical prowess, conformity and aggression – traits that advance the interests of society. Men who are not physically gifted men, men who are inhibited in the ways of aggression or have an unconventional turn of mind can often struggle to obtain an acceptable self image using the traditional model. Zeta masculinity, on the other hand, places a premium upon discipline and mental acuity – characteristics that further civilization, that ALL men can cultivate and do not have to be born with. Since it is not inborn, it can be acquired peace-meal, refined and altered according to a man’s particular situation, and even discarded as conditions warrant.

Core Concepts – The three “V’s”

Virtue – To a Zeta, virtue is an important concept. It is not to be confused with hand wringing shame over sexuality or bathroom activity. It is the manifestation of supremely developed skill – as in a virtuoso. Virtue is far too important an idea to limit it to the mere abstention from sex.

Volition – Other types of men have duties and responsibilities forced upon them by society. A Zeta man voluntarily selects his own duties in furtherance of his own purposes. This has two very important implications for mankind: 1) The individual judgment of a Zeta is superior to and more functional than the received edicts of his society. He may freely choose the optimum solution over the proscribed and most often faulty course of action that his society directs. 2) A Zeta may change his mind. When events go badly, the Zeta man has the flexibility to evaluate circumstances and change direction immediately and unapologetically. Ordinary men typically do not. They are bound by such sentiments as “My country right or wrong”, “He who is not for us is against us” or even a simple “Stay the course.” Only an ordinary, traditional man would think, “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do”. A Zeta believes a man’s gotta do what he sees fit.

Veracity – Truth is the Zeta’s stock in trade. It is his final and only authority and the basis of everything he thinks, says or does. He spreads it like seed and he gathers it like grain.

Prominent Zetas of the Past

Plato, Themistocles, Augustus, Seneca, Diocletian, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Benedict, Scotus, Anselm, Chaucer, Dante, Copernicus, Machiavelli, Columbus, Luther, Marlowe, Raleigh, Newton, Penn, Charles II,Voltaire, Rossini, Casanova, Hamilton, Jefferson, Emerson, Lincoln, Forrest, Bismark, Lord Byron, Lloyd George, Hemingway, Lenin, Rohm, Hess, Shostakovitch, Picasso

Special Mention

Diogenes – Cynic philosopher who slept in a barrel and carried a lamp through Athens in daylight looking for an honest man. Had the stones to trifle with Alexander the Great (Alpha if there ever was one) not once but twice and was permitted to live. Alexander went out to meet the notorious Diogenes and found him sun bathing. Alexander asked Diogenes if there was anything he could do for him. Diogenes said “Yes. Get out of my light.” Alexander also found him studying a pile of bones. Diogenes told Alexander that he was searching for the bones of Alexander’s father (Phillip II) but he could not distinguish them from the bones of a slave. Alexander stated that if he were not Alexander, he would wish to be Diogenes.

Julian the Apostate – Roman Emperor, writer, reformer and most accomplished man of his time. Gibbon (a celebrated Beta) said of him that if he had not been Emperor, Julian would have excelled in any circumstance. He would have obtained or at least deserved the highest honors of any profession he chose.

Zeta Jump Start

It is the nature of Zeta masculinity to be highly individualized. Therefore, it doesn’t lend itself readily to rules or guiding principles. Most of the writings about Zeta are often a bit vague as Zetas don’t demand any particular behavior of another man. Still, there is at least one proven tenant that if fully explicated and diligently applied to all facets of life, will yield the intended result. A man need to remember only one thing:

“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” – Henry David Thoreau

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If he can let pussy alone, there is no chance of being exploited by women.

If he can let pride alone, he cannot be manipulated.

If he can let fame alone, he will not be a target for envy.

If he can let drugs and alcohol alone, he avoids a myriad of problems. etc.

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By this saying, a Zeta is always a very rich man. He practices the virtue of restraint and sets himself apart from those on the hamster wheel. He does so according to his own priorities and his own understanding. He is his own man and an indisputably masculine one. It is now and has always been the mark of a superior existence.