O(,'!ihli.'1 p1;b,'lt<1I/(»; 0,, fQ.~11(/t~ Pn:.s l.W ,, /rto,to/f~.', 19i6

f irst publi$hed by CARCANET PRESS LI MIT ED In 1986

208 ·2·12 Corn e)(ch~rige, M.anehmer M4 38 0 , UK 108 Eut 3 1H Streat. New York, NY 10016, USA

All rir,ht$ me f\'ttd,

"Werk.e" b•f Karl K,aus. are pvb lished in Getman \l ndcr ,h~ cd \101, hip of Melnrich !=helm Copyri sht i, Ktl scl .Ver lag GmbH & Co .. Munich

T 1i1Ml atlon & lntrodvct ion Copy 1i1,1ht o 1976, 1986 by Han y Zohn

(J.n't};./1 L,' /)( '¥()' Cot,iOglt fn,; (r, Pl11J{}cqlfon Dlilv

K<'1111s, Kt1:! H<J.'(..tt:.Hh) (,'/!(} Ot~ .tmd-<NIG>'I Ua( l:s.

J. ,t()/liJtllms and ~lhtJrr.~ :. rl i!r $3 !>'.902()2 P7"2621.292,'

!Sfl N (),$$63S·S60·1

The Pvbli$hcr ;x;kno,,.,lcdges the tini!l'lcla l assi$tance of th<: Arts Council of Great B1italn.

l'thlr ~d IJ/ SRP Lrt1., E~t W

ro the memory of

Robert Stolz

Half-T ruths & One-and-a-Ha lf Truths

kraUS S EL ECTED AP M O R IS MS

~~~w~~~ HAR RY Z OHN

(FR, fID Ii' f,\ fN-fl 71'."'ir' -~~L~,~ .. r t,ll'\I ~ d

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HaRSbucg.d,e1310ll-i,"l,c.a rna le 1" spar,oed a.!most seventy ye.l' s and witnessed th<! slow and inevit able di ssolvt ion of an old 1>0!itic.1.I. social, an<l ,,_,hural st,n, .. ctu'f.E11t ,,...as

,t a ti(Oe gf o..-.e-r.1efu)eme,,g nd o-.·er-ripeness to the point of de~ dc;:i~ _.rnd~tis.,s ma,k:e~poca lvptic

~ n-itf and sfl'n€e""as a ' ·late v,·.'ltner derive ~~~ c--­meas urc i,om h is epoch's Zeitgeist: transito riness, d isintegr,lt;on, and innc, inse<:uri~ '° ;1ically, the satirist shated h is i11iti,1ls with lmp&'lal·Roy,;11 AVWia, the kaise:lich-kQn.:giich emp ire, designated by KK

'> r'K;i h-Kah ., in Ccrma,1>-. 1 count:;· ·Nhich Robe,1 .\.\us:l i,, h is r)ovel The Man Wi1hout Q1.1aUOes called " Ka· k,,n ien; · O' "' Kakani a .. , l( ,aus <Jme to regMd lhis cen • trall•t located cm1>ire as a "prov ing g£<tund for wotld

• deSll'UCtion"; his p rewat <-Tri1tng:s-eOnstifl!te"~-:!ria~ions 6°1'r1hiSITI:1ior the,rc, cxpo$ing ar.d satirizing man~· o i

._the uglier features of Austri,m Ii(~ and cu1ture. From prison condition s to the (in,rncial r ligh t o f civil ser­van ts, Kraus held o;.i to ridicule all tbat he foond noxious, perce iving 1he seeds of Europea'l d1s,n t<:g,.i1io,'l

1( in wl,ano:o tKe"rs might b.,.,-e ~ee"mcdl Ocal a,lCnncori- · SeGventiaJ pheffome na. ~ · - -

Kraus's first satiric.ii wcrk o( importar.ce, Die <Jc:.mo,'frCe (}tc,;1wr •'.A 1.iler,,ture Demolished: , was a witl't' d ;,.:itribe ,.:ibou_Lthe ra:i:ing of a ViC"'l,'le>e cafC freque nted by litc,ali.J 1'hc follov.·:ng yeu saw him pr::>dvce the p,1m-

1fe1 F.ir.e ,'<.<one fur Z.i<J,, :A Crown (o r Zion. '1898;, in wh.ich he laM~..J29 .lilical z,onism rr·::>frT the s~acd:

11>ow.t of <)n assimilatecl 1;~ncs1~JevN',-fn pa t.l:e t1c with the cause of soda lis,n, Kr,1us' s Jewishness and h so wn

6

,lllitude tc ward it at(q~1obl~m_.i~.c... The man has bee n called' eve ryth ing from ... , shining example of Jewish '/. 'lclf.hatred" 10 .. an a, ch .Jcw.'4 J:lis w itings provide a foundation for both these juds men:$~ Allhough ove r lhc years his efforts to disassociate h imsc'f from what he bdic v<:cl to b~ the ne,gafrve fruits o( modem lurlaisff1 led Kraus to make statemco:.r..,ovcr tly-a·ft!i-~emil:c io Gha,a , te, , m~u-ch o7 his work t~Ods strong n1pport tc the view of F-,mk Field that Kraus's h:wishness is ··of vital frnpo ,ta·Ke in vnde-s:and ing the p,111iculJ.r extremism ,rnd sense o ( the apoca lyptic which A. p~~rvades his work·· and {hat Krnus "a ttacked h is own ., JjCbf,)lc in the san1e way tha t the pro1>hets o f the Old,, rest,1ment <<":>ligated the unwor~hines's·e f-tb~ l~ it~

( to, the trust which Cod had placed in 1hcm.'' ~her l(',wir.g the JC\Vish fold In 1899 (rnd remain i kon- f ~(jo ra los :religiou sly unaffiliated} for some year's, Kraus sccl'~t!y ,o nve,tecl to C 11hg lkisro in ·1911,..on ly 1 to lc;:we tl-leea t~ lic,ehurche!eve n 'r'ears later in~ ' protest against what he ,cgardcd ;is its V'I\Vholesome 1>Mlicip.it 10n ir1 p:;_e.11do -artis.t:c.and touristic aspec ts .o the S.\lzburg Fe! tival. \+\/hat musf aS--o·ie all'he bcrn e in ' ,riind ih hafttre -nian ,•.:ho once not~d that acco,dhg I () the census Vienn,1 h,,d 2.030,834 inhab itan ls-" that .... 2.030,833 souls and myself"- re fuscd to be iclcl'lti•

3. T·,eodo, Le,sin(!, oe, .iucJlicfie St•,/1)$\i:ast \Uer ·in : Jjdlschej .,.,,,l,1t1. ~9)0!, :>, .!3: ;ind 6c-i'iold Vi<;llel .. ' ;t(;ir! K1:iu1,J.in .f .. ;i ,11kle1 ,wl rlie Zei t .'' in Ok!f'11.·1:ge;1 u,1(1· Dol(.:,n:er1re :M,C:ich: !<5~

1~6: . p: "259_ - ------- -,1. Fr.n'( ric-'d. Tlic lJ sl O.:yJ oi Mal'lib:d: .~.ll.l 1(111\lS llt"d f.l(s

1.:;{',.·1.t :i-:e--v Yo,k: St. , 1a1t1n·s P1ess; 1,Q.'l(!Qn : .... i.,cmil!.1r & C".o •• 1•11;,.,, p 60.

7

Karl Kraus: An Introdu ct ion

• ·'\Vl1cn the age died by its ovm hand, he was t~ l,and.''

'fhus did 8etloh Hred ,l su-i, up the achie.,,ement o il Ktirl Kr,;1us ('1874-1936:, the vit1iollc Viennese sa.i.i,i~J \ who haull!d the µowe rfu~thepi iffnlalfkcl,ef ore 1h$ !!l.bw!i!Ld.h~t il-O a.1,d who gr._::w to be a leg~nd \

~ 1n h's ovm life1im.::, ~r ed or vilified bV' ;s cor,tem­pnr.u ies. II is o·, ly oi l,:itetha 1-~raefs's signi11c:anc:e has c:unu:: to be recognized in the English-spea ldng world; •;arious ;i•tid es ar,d books of recent 6at<: h;,we focused ni lica~ all<mtion ~r: thi$ sa!irist'S accc mplishmer'lts, lcnd hg cred ibility thereby to Kraus's Sp,u d~ -M Wfr:'~rspr w::h (c:gn_tr.ad i<:tion), ' ' I have to w,:1.'t u~til \J nw wntmgs a,eoliso lete; then thC}' may ;i.cquu e-111r:e-l r,_gss,'' - ---

'Mcrc lv l he sm.illest fracli o ,1 of Krau>'i.e d ensi\'e uutp\.H h,1s .;1r peared in t:ngrs·., uanslat ·o~ howe\•er,

0 ;rnd th is p:imauh· for !WO reaso1u : fost. m1.1ch o f his writir.g is so firmly roote d in the passing scene o f his

J I uro1>e or his Vienna that its lntelr gib il ity fot today's \ re.:ider w ould be sli ghl w itl'o: .11 an abu1}dance o f

,•,:pl.rnatory rnaner; secor.d and more importar\ l', 1·K,.-.,1s did nol,'' in frid 1 Mct:er's v.-c.Hds. ' 'wr ite ' in a l;,nguage,' b ut t!uoug"l ''l im the beauty. profo nd ity, and

1

ac<:umul a.(ed mora l expe r:ence o f t he Ce r:nan l,10guage assumed personal shape ar'ld boca,l'le the c.r~1da l witness in the case th :s inspired pros-ecu1.or brought ,lgainsthi s timc .'·1 Kr,1us·s timeliness {and, a t Ie ng last. his reial!w ~ exportab ility and tr;,rn:,lat.1bility) der ive at leas t in pa rt from ce rtain pa r.illels be twee n his era arid

_ ours, and fromlh e ,leed of our age (or his vibraJH pacifism, his kind of defense of the spi1it ag.1inst de· humanizing tendencies, and his...::!l!!&_1::is:ic•moral

-~.Jmper:~i~ ·· whi~b eqtia tes purity of la,~guase with purity of thought, with a return lo (he sources of splihuaJ streng th. and with steadi.istncss of ,noral p urpose. lit is the ai,n o( the present volt1me to set before l:nglish rea ders a mosaic of Kati Kraus·s.views, .lt t itudes. and ideas as h~ di sclosed them iri Jp hotlstk form, a manner o ( expn~ssion in wh ich Kraus has (ew pc<:ts amo;1g mod~rn autho,s.

Karl Kraus was born the so n o f a wc ll ,to •do rnanu ~ $ factu rer on 28 April 1874 ;;it Jilin , a small Bohem ian

~ow n no l'thcas1 o f Prague. 1'hree yea rs late, the fa:ni !)' moved to Vienna , where Kraus was to spen d the rest of his life and wilh wh ich c ity he- like his co ntem­

,(po rary Sigmund F,~ud- had a love -hate re lationsh ip. HiS'\\l·tfs ,1 family situatio n not un1yptca l of the tuir1 of tho cent u,y, o ne in whic h the so n~ o f Central European

, Jew ish businessme n- o ften self-made men who headed pat riarcha lly o rga nized families- rejec ted the iamily

/ , ' ,t ·1. £rich 11·rl!cr, "K.l.1t K1;i1,1;," h , T,'ia Dlsiqt,('r,11«J .V.ii1d :,'-'e'"

Yotk : Flf1111(.S!.-a~1$ & Cu6.tt·1 .. '19j7:, p,. 239. -

2

I

business in f.:wor of a literary caree~ Fra1z Kafka, Stefo ·1 ·f' Zweig a'.!-d~Fr~ \Vcrfcl , among o the rs, jo ined 'Krnu:, · •l'l-SClc-c}m,S this J}ath .... ~

.. Ha .... ing .it ten-df d the Univers ity of Vienna witho uL.. laking a deg ree, Kt t'H.JS o;, te-d (01 a ca reer o n the stage . · I lis sho l'tcomin~s as an ac to·. howeve ·, wme d him -irrevoc.:ably to jou tnclllsm .ind liter.a1ure, tho ugh h is ~ 1alents fo, mimi~ an d _r,a rody_wer.e,toJ io.d..M.!.P.1c <>xr~ i,lla' lc , pub lic ,ca din~ . Indee d, Kraus said of lmlise lf that ti·e w.ts pe rhaps the first .iuthor to ('lq>cdence h is ,,...,ilings as an ac !or; a:'l .?phori$n11IO- "-._ d uded in this vohune :e ferS to tl' c autho7r l,lc raiy wo rk it. as '' writt en ac tin{ .''

In 1892 Kraus )Cgan to co ntribu te theater c riticism, hoo k rev iews and o ther pro se pieces 10 a var iety oj news papers and r>eriodica ls. tole la te , co nfessed that h ·s youthiul Sto rm-an d-Stress period took the foul', of cv '.t lvating journ alistic and;l"!Jerary .. co nne ctions" with J view to earn ing ~v i1g wif'1in the iran'lowo, k o f libera l jo_urn alismUn his J<veh:ies, however, the s.at iric,ll impulse w:ixed tco war1_n.fol' acco mn,od.it :0.1 o f an)'· sort, an<:l"Kraus rejectcilthe p :os,oect o i becom in~ a kind of "cu itul'O d own' 1absorbed by a dece1>tive!y , t•rfe te, slack and gern(ithch env if'Or)rrent, an d be ing ;iccor d~d. as he p ut it, "t he ;;c;c;ursed pop ularity wh:Ch a grinnin g Vienn :i bestows." Because wo rk wi th in the (s tablislun ent see med t<> be hedged in with mull iforio us taboo s .rnd cons 1dora.t icns oi a per:<.o nal and com­mcrd aJ nawr e , Kraus t'-.une d down a job o ffe r from the .l\'eve Freie Pr<·ssc- Vhm na's most pre:-tigious da ily­;ind fouo~.s..o: u'.Qjo u~le £ackcl ('fhe ror ch), the ffrst Tue of whichjp pearecl on 1 A~I 18.22,

3

/ .,.,

\ I .• ~

' r \ , .~, ~'", ,. "t; ~ f The r:ack.<-,' to me<! out to be as long· l ived as it was ~

\){ f. agg,·essive. Setting out to ''d rain a S•N;;im p of dichCs,'' /) Kraus a_t fif'Sl en ~ist~d the se .-vi,ces of n u,.netous w n~e1;::

--~ and art 1sls- He1nnch 1\<l;inn. Augu st Stnnd ne ti~ and ·,..;. • Oskar Kokc schka, to name but three- though the)e '\.I

'- ~-- nevc:r con:ribute<l more th,,n mugh\y one- third o i thCT"'" 1 mt1gazin<fs co,~tent.$. F,om ·1911 to ·1936 th.• per iod ka le

1\- '1co nl ai.:'1ed K•aus·s w 1 ti ngs exdusivc i~·: '' I no longer ;, '\:i have co llabo iato r$. '' he wrote. " I vsed to b-0 envious ,'(J-

X of thcrn . lhex repel l'W readers whom I war.t :o los~c ~ ;-mfself. ·'<:Jfie sl:tlement is in · 1<:.1 ve of'1~ -...._. rmismg hMure of the uni~ue s,,tirk:al j ournal in whic h

\j Kraus effectively cl ipped his e ra ancl 1>ul it betwee n

1 qu ota tion ,ra -tro ~ ta licn was t':1e halln:a rk o f K,aus.'s

~ -.. sati,e , and :nit s us hcv:3s guided by the i·1sigh; lha~ / what was. rno sl or.spe ... kab l~bo ut h is age cou :d b€' _,,/

--,. spoke.-. Ofll't· by 1!"1e age its~ hir ty. !.cven-vo lumes o f the f<icKei (re ;s:mcd io

rfi csirni form in rece nt yc.irs) are the fruit of J g;ir­'1;:an ;in effo rt to fashio .-11he impc nsl-l<1b le r :o file oi an

age from such highly pe rishable mate rial :is news1>ape r ,e1>0m. They con tain the bulk of Kraus's lite1<11~' o.it1>ut;

~ most o f tbc S<lt i tist's pu b lic.it'o1 s in bonU? nn .-epre­scnt di stilla tions j, om1tl:,e f,,r;Ket s pages.\TI,:le jo urna l is an enom10 u\if>illory .• 1 1un:1in autob iO"f ~ and

> an inimit ,,bly persona l h ry 01 vs lrian a ffa~T he sm•~l-for at F-1<:kel h;;1d an exlraord 1r,~Hy sat ifie'al ~ ~ od matters tha t might ~,we anra ctc d limited ~ nt 1. - sewl,e rc took o:i he1ghte 1;ed' .-e le ·.•,:ince when

they made 1he ir appea rance in ils pages , and "litl fe • peo ple" there ac'1ieved "g reatness. " Thus Kraus's

pe riod ical cont inued to have a sood many cont ribulo,s,

4

·1 ,,

ulhr-it u;1willing and unw ia ing on es!µ wa~ut1-t.1lal._ 1h,1t n<.~ tr ~Ple4 $C ,ts, ,~adc , ~;)( ,aus, io fact, was 1-1M)11etf to "w'riTe that "one 0 1 : e m()sl di sagreea ble

, i.f•r1comilan1s o f the F.ackc·I is its 1<:ade rsbip ," J. r . S~ rn has Mte1np 1ed h> .1ssess the F;;cke,'·s sign ificar.ce anc -1111iqu eness as follows:

1o de limit the inte llect ual regio n n wh ich to place this jo urn 11I. one wou ld have to think oi P6guy minl•S his C llhol ids m ,:ind ;, :itriot ism: of F. R. leavis uninvo l\•ed i,~ any ed uca t ion ,11 "es:,1bli~hm ent" plus ger ,'us; oi the sa tirist in Geo rge Bern;ird Shaw ,1s rriilk-a ;,d •wJlcr to Kravs's viui o l: o f the ea: lv \.ViUgenste in's equat iOr'I of ' ·'lang u~ge' ' <llld wo;ld : of H. L Mencke1's critic·s·n c f the k::SJ1e d ass; oi the poe: SiegHed Sas::c-on's ··sc,dct ,n ajo , al the h,, se" .: of lhe ea rlt ~\·elyn \\.'augh's lype-c.1stir.g­;11ul a!I lhis wo uld have to be han sla!<:d into the pcc1.:lk1r medium o( Vienoa. 1

) Kr..-lus began 10 wrile w hc:1l a centu,y top· he,w-; with h .•,:o, k:JI ,rnd cuh t.Jt,l1 even1s ;ird inr ov.1tions was af) · j itfMChi1g its en?.°) 'l the spec ific case o f hi !. home land

wh ch was both the so urce and the 1a ·se t of his s.,tire 1hc H\l.psb urg dyr1,1sl}·, wo·n out a fte r a reigr , of over ~

i'( hun dred yea rs. was CO(nir'g to ,l close along with A11Wia.~l·lun s,1,y, the pol h ko'.11 c,cnste llalion o f its las t f1v(' dec;1des. The reign o i Emperor F,aoz Jose i, a man \",hom Kraus cam~ 10 au a.ck .ind lampoo:i ::is " the

\ ~ ' .. .!. I ?. Siem, .. <.:.,I K1ai1>'1 V i iO.'l of u.ncu11g-c.'' .\l t:Jt/r,:•: .'.~:;· u "'IW Re•r,'e-." 61 (1!16&i: ;J ,

5

vi ri~d,,.with a,w ethnic, po lit i..c;al or 5-ocial gr:-oup._ \32.f the lwo wom en who ligw ed 1>roinir ently in

K,aus's li ie ar.d w rit in s, the fi~ t, Anni e Kalmar, a yo~:ng ac;tress wl1 ie m 19Q1 of tubcr culos s, had .'I profoum.l-a ocl{e_os1:-h.1.tf!!Ous: ::fnlluen<:e on the mora:­ist's e,1rly thoug!JA The ;·oung wo:nan·s asso<.iation

V , with Krau$ occas,oncd :i scu·r ilous ;.lll,1ck on her in a ~- · Vicrn e-se p,1per after her dealh, a libel that opened the '1/ ~ 1irisl's eyes to :he pe rve,sc .na nda·ds of sexu,ll mo, -

\ ~ ;ility en tc rta ioe d by co nte mpo ra t\' Au:,11:fil Jh_us;.ya} a . '- \\ n:i.a,.0.LJ~ f Krau~·$ earlier wo,k/fi,f{ a·1(l! he

'- s.Ccond pericd0 il~7s cre.·u\ •ity nl'lf e ated froM the app earance of the essa y "Si llli chke't un d K1;m1nali 1lit" ~a l.iJ:i-' nd C, imina1 Ju~t,c~; in 9_(9... The <:ssay be •

\ came the th ¢ 1>1ecc < o -.ep.gt:n co llection issued six: vea 1s laler h whic h Krau !-co r.ce rncd hir"'lself, e n the .b asis o i comt cases. w·th the glar ing CO"llrns.t

• bc t·NeCfl p dv,1te an d public mora litr a"l<l wit h the hypocris.y inhe,er.t io the .admi nlW<ll ion of justice i:l Aus tria. .\otfn w rnin g a pow eriu l spotli gh t cm a male -domin ated

/ socie~y with it s d oub le sta1dal'cis, its sh,1meless en-I c,oac hm cnt on p rivllcy and its se nsa lior-m ong e•ing

pre}s. Kraus cxp,csscd not a few id~as a:ld a tti!udc s. gct,nane to su<.:h pr e s.e,1t -da~· is.sue s as wnmen ·s rig~,

\ child a buse~, sexual iro rcs. aud even ''ga f libc, a tio,1.'.) The 1Iloomy, bittet wil o f th' s conection g;i.\'e w,,y to a lighter brand o ( hu mor in Kraus·s nex t bo ok, 0 11: ch!11esiscl1<! Mau£:: ,;1'hc Gtea l Wall oi China ). which went through live edition s be twee n '1910 and '1930. Kraus 's bWern ess 'A-as far fro«~ ha\'i'lg run ii.) C¢urse, howcve·: wri ting on Peary-'s disco .,.e ry o i 1he 'l o11h Pe le in ·1909, heco ukl re mark •..v th ol<l-tirnc ace rbity

B

- an<l with awful prescie nce- th ,l.l ···p rog ress C(!lc b rates 1\oh ic .,.ic tories ov~f nawr e "' a "ld that ii. ' ·makes pw ses out.o f hu ma, ski1' .. ,

11..'l h<: Olhe t woman of grea t impo rtanc e to Krau s wa s 1hc 6<1rones .s. Sidonic i' tidhemY, a Czec h .al'is tocr<1l to whom Krau> pr opose d 1n a 1ria3c n-, o ,e than once hctwc-c11913 and '19'1j a nd by whom he was coosis· h·~ll ly w rne d !!pwn, pal'tl)· oo 1he stre ngth of 1he po et IWke's couns.:;,Lll hc rcl.Hionsh ip (lhe so ur <.:e o f much 11( Kraus's po e try and man}' oi his apho 1isms on 1he • .. ubjcCl o{ wom en) ,~maird w arm un t I the s.at: rist's de .:llh. K•au:s's more than ,11hou sa nd le He rs ancl 1>0Sl· c,l•ds IO the O;m:mess . lon g tho ugh t lost , we re rc dis , c uvered in '1%9 and rc<:e r t ly p ublished in Ge rm any . fhe co llec tio ,1 i> o f inte rest fo 1 i1s J h l<Hl ove rv,+·elm -1ng p re:,e "lta tion o i an c ,'"'lotional side o f K1a~1s no t " hil hc1to revealed to th e puhl c .

11 should be no ted tha t despite Kr,, us.'s a t lack O'l the 1lul1ble sta ndmd of sexo3 I moca lilv, he by '10 mei ns .J .,,,.,._. m C1l and w:,n•en as i<len lical beh gs: in tun e with , c11.1in ide as in the a i, al lhe li1ner!;a 1d <l,.awins conv ic­tion from pl:1so nal ,e lat iom,h ips Krauss.av, man as a < ,c.it1.:·& st1·011g in in lel'et:l and h Hl.Sin,ll ion while ) w,lll ling in emo tional cao.-icitv. a 'ld wo.!l'c:n as se,n:,0-1 ,us. irt cllectv<1lly f lacr;id, a nd irratio:1.-il.\ l n time Kia us t .irnc lo exto l what he thought of ii$ fe"n'l<, le qva l ties , 1,vweve•, find,r ,g i1 them a much·nCcdcd .:in1idole to n1,111·t i'ln,lle rcilionalism which he bc' ie.,..ed to bl: a l the um t o i his con te mpor,11 ie>' unhea lthy respr:c l for,. •,c icrn::c: a,,d lec hr.ologv.

K,,1u$ e ngai; e d in unl'<:mi:fn g sa t irica l wa , farc aga: nsl 1111~ press., a st ru ggle mot iva~ed by h is v'<!Y; of joum,11-

~ ,,,•u ;.is a vast swi lchb oa rd that co,1cent 'a\ed and ac ti•

9

('

/

' . ~ . l,." ' l <,.

I,;

, \·Med the focces oi corn,..1ption, dissolu lion .-ind deca'G 1 Recognizing a d :sturbing idc ,Hily bet-..,.een Zell and

I Z<:l:ung, his age and the-newspap c,s it sp,.wmed, w,~h \·1/-orre {words) •,mirping ar.d destroy ing Werre (valuesi, and nev,.s repo rls causing ,lS well as desc, ibi:lg .-ic;t:ons

\ ,m e eve nts, he had visions o f tho d estruction of the 'f, world by the black magic of prin ter's ir:k {Ulller3,mg

<lcr Weit dcHCh sd>'11,vze Magie is the tille o f ,, co llec­tion issued in ·1922 and made up of material (10:n the 1>rew,1r Fackef;. Kraus once expressed the wish that eve,ythin g could be printed in the Neve Freie Pr<:sse

'f. so thil.t he might co,Kenu,lle his fire and. God-like, ,est on the SC\1er.th d,1y. (Th;i.t libc,.il pape r, re :'err<:d to by more than one commeotato r as the ,,.,.·cw Y~lk., J'lmes of Hs.daf, logelher with its lo,,g time e<litor . S\odz Bened 'kt- or ·'Maleclikt''- was a 1>dme t3rget i

/t o( Kraus·s satire.; Kraus was c:onvinc<:d that the movir1g fc'm:cs oi his time we1e enw,rnched not in parliaments but in editorial offices, cont ro lling capital and the g:ovc,nfflent, influencing pubHc opinio n ,;is well a~ 1hc

J.Jft.s Jnd sciences, and ki~ling thought, taste, a.1}d ima.gi­nation. Decodes before Hermann t-less-e coined the phi.1se ··(la:, feuilletonist sche-2eit3:tlc!r" in his utopl<1n 'lOVel Tht! Class Bead G,tme,;Brnus ,ccognizcd his era as ··'t"he .ise of the (euillcw n: "' which newspaper ;:ic­cour.ts took p,cc~ @hce over evenls, form ed 'psed substance, and the style !he atmosphere, the '' pack• age" were all-import<1nt\The press, that "go i1e1 ojJb.e..

)I~' wos ::ee'l ns the pollulor (If 1;:i.nguage and poisoner oi the huma.o s1>irit. In h is polemical essay Heine 1.md die Fo}gen (Heine and t'-'e ConseG,uences, 1910'.•, Kr,luS~ :<coria]scJ}the nineteenth-centu,~· Ger~

10

ma•H ew;sh poet and essayist io, introduci ng the (C'uille1on in Germa,,>' and p:ovid ing an inheritance on whic;hJE>um~lism has ,drawn to this day: its ~u;)Ction 11., a dangerous 1rtcnned 1ary berwee" Mt ;:ind life a~d ;1H p.u.u iteo r both .. Cfeclt'ng<1 delete1ious. li:1guistic-11II,, dece itful mixtu,eo i intellect and inio,mation, it•J)o,tago and lilc,atur~ l

O' l he outbreak o i the war in 191.4 marked a 10mins poi'lt

'In Ktaus's life and creativity, and the ou1raged convic-1k,ns of the pa,Qfl_lland moialist in sp ited him to pro · flu<c hi:s most f)O\V"edi.il"'a'l<I most <:hMclCteri$t/C work. "" I ollowing several mon ths of silence. Kraus delive,e,d, cm 19 November . a sa,don ic public lecwre, ' 'In these ~,..,,,t limes . .. .. , which ma-,· be :egarded as the ge ,m , <-II of his extensh•c w.i,tirnc output. .¼ra.us set himself up as the lone!v, boid, inexor.:ab le chronicler of what he termed "t he las: day.Soi ,!Tlao~ind" and ' ' the Oa.·, o f h1d1imcnt'' ior 1h( :"Dene~~I or a posterity th,11 might no-< longer inhabit th 's planet ··v.;haU u.u 1ake in tjle w.ir," w,ote Kraus, ''is th rfteo r dea lh of langu~. '' H ~o,cs w11'ho1.1t saying 10.Ufie WJS Slfi5CSl:eci-15y ihe enor· mrn1s loss of human lives. including those oi several of h,s l>clovcd and admi~ed ,elatives, fellow v;fiters. and > (. iends. Kravs s<1w 1he w at as the tragedy of m,,nkind c·11,1ctcd by figures with all the stature, sul}jtance a.fld -< 11 u1hf .111ess of charncters i" an ope rett;.l.' Witho\.1t \\•,1ilins for !he detachmenl that time miSht have luought him, Kf,lllS. wrote 1hc ~2 i._cenes of the 5 ac,li <1f me je~zum Tdge cfer ,•.,fe:m:hhei! (The las t Da~·s of .,,,.,, M,m!{ind} as well as the 10-sct-nc Prologue ,:in<I~

- I• - J. , • , ' /1 , < ' rf 11

' '' '

Epilr.>sue belween July ·19·1 S and Jult.:.J.W. Tho first ve rs,on of the pk,y jp pc,;11ec! in sever;il srec:ial issues of

A the .'J<:!<ef, ;i.nd pall!. o i ii were read by K,:i.,s a l a number o i wartinH: recitals, ce,~sorsh ip ,,pparentl't· hav­i1g bee n bot a mino r prob lem in lhat era. I ·1 K,aus·s lifetime only the l:pilogue - " The t.,~t l'\ig:ll"-\v-a s

)( 1>erformcd ir1 J speci al s1;i;ge version; a her World War II, l'>owever, Heim icli l:jsch<:r, a do se Msoci,He o f Kra1..s ar,d his onc ti1ne !iteraiy executor, and Leopo ld l.indtberg prep ared an ab:ic'gcd versio,, of the drama (in its entirely it• un:, to almost 80:l p :inted pages) whic;h was seer: o r: the stage and televised in Eu1ope .

The· l ast Days oi Mankind, origi11,;1lly su~titled ''Ei.:1 Angsur.:ium" (1-\ l'\'ightr1a:e) . beg ins with the \•Oice oi a newsboy ar.d ends with tho voice o f God. Its sett ing Is" ;) hundred scenes ,;1nd he lls,'' the streets o i Vieci·,a .rnd Berlin, ofi;c:e!> and army b;,1rracks, chu rches and c.lfes. p l,Kes or .rn1usemen1 and military hospitals, rail­road !>lations a.:1d ar·ny po sts. The plJy's m<rny ht1ndreds

f ci e:haraciers include poe ts ;ind p rostitu tes. pro fesso ,s and po liticians, tead :e,s a:'ld t,adesmen, so ldiers and s~,co hants. ch ilchen ,m e> churchmen. iourna lists and fe$lel'$, e .,tors and empero ,s. 1lol.•1e are mar,y actual as

,,t well as fictitious pel"Sons, and through their authentic speech pauer15 tl·e r_r~~ve;ilJ!_'_'ld l ~e~-® · Krnus 211empts-a s .~\ax Spalfr:1 has poi rued out- to 11<1ke

;J a')BUil&C lhe •)lOral index qf ,;1 d~'..!!)g,.vtf )' 9f iife; 1ilil n eno rmous phor:om ontage '·a wc rld litcra llt talks its way to 1>e1d ltio". "Ii

5. M:i:c s,,a'1e,, e,echts 11/ld!Ucn· (U-altl'":>u?: Johs Hop 'dns i'r,o;s, 1<J6il. p . 149,

12

I !tis d ramatic lypolotw of man's inhumanity lo man, h 1'11<:(lll )· do<:ument ar~· in character, Is J striki11g amal· ... ,t 1111 of nat uralistic a:1d ~ lic;..cleme_i11s. The scenes UC b~· (0 >I) '1/i'1C'al andif),.!~ COf'lliC aoa t1<1giC; C:VCll

wlrnt seems to be ' ighthe.irted and pore I}' hw norc us, hr>wcvcr. tc1:.ds :<> acquire a cena in grimn(!SS from ilS 1 or•text ;ind results i1~ s,1llows hu11or. The ,e is no hui,,or 0 1 plot in the conventional :\ :is:otelian sense . 1 ht• scenes r.inae in lc..-1gth fro ,n o,,e -lh e "b lack~outs" ~u 1he u.;1dil.ion o( l'1e c.1ba'Cl (mo,e often 1ha1' not, wl1,1l gc:ts bfack<?d out is the human s::,iril: 10 lengthy )I

111,,losues. dr<1matized ed ito, :.als, and p l,antasmagork: 111h'caux. Kr.,u s's wartime waxworks oi '' Goethe's tJ<•op!e'' :ind his fellow Aust:ians in d ude such char-.1c tNs ;i;s the iwo IJ1.co11s pr:·.·y councillors who vie •Ni-:h N<h o th' .•r in mangling Coe lhe's "Wand e-er's l'\ight·

, ·i i-;," one cf the glories of Gc:nnan f)O(:hy; 1hc O:ivar-1,111 !>torytel!er l.udwig Ganghofer who yode ls. his ·,11,,y •l•mg the i,on t, wri1cs wa, repor 1s ior the Ne ll e ,i:, e1e J'•t·\\<.• .ind swaps : okes with an ,,pprecitltive Kaiser; 'f1,\h101ic'' pasto, s o f t11e "p1aise-t he- Lord-and-pass-1ht•-,umrn1ni1ion" "MJety who bear the na ·n<:s of bi rds , 11 p,cy; and .-\lice Schatek, lhe first woman ;i;ccredited lu 1hc Austri<rn an~w as a co, .-cs1>ondcn1, whose gushy ,tlfusions in denatured langunge ;i.bo ut the "com:no n 11111n," the '' l iberated human spirit" and the ''forvo, of "\ l1f'rienc;ing," a.nd whose se<l.•ch ro, "hum .rn -interest' ' 111.1tcri;1I amidst deg radation, desu uction and deat h 1,u<lc her a m.ie:abrc 1okc and a (rcq,.icn t target o i 1\1 ,111~·s satire. A!> the tr,,gedy rushes toward its c<1t3cly.s.-1111<: concll ,sion. s.u11ealistk louches are in lr<:duc:ed: Cmyban~ <llld ,\,taeMcfs' · spew forth word fragme n ts;

13

and Gas MJsks, Froze,, Soldiecs, 1200 O,ovmed Horses, and the Doomed Children of the lu sic,rnia de liver chorus-Os, The rhymed ~pilogue is a hanow iog poetic satire raised to a superna tv·a t plane in which man•, oi the play's l'l)Otifs a:e <ecapitulatec! in <::inematogr,1phic o r oper,lt tc form. And ih 1lly, breaking the s'le nce that fo llows un er destr uction, Cod' s voice is heaid 10 echo

"l the words ,lltr ibuted to Kaiser Wilhetm M the w;ir's beg"nning: " It h habe es nicht gcwo llt'' \lhis was no t lll'r' will;..

;/

The sto,y of K1a\1s's postwar w1ithts ar.cl po lemics is x. esscn1ially t.he hislO,y of l~ _d isillusio 'lment as h is

: ' 'homeland's loy,,I hater .''l,!!\e best that Kravs cou ld find to say about thu Aust11an Republic, which was ~till bede\·illed by "th e parasites reinain ing from the im­perial age and ~he blackhea ds of the ,cvcfo tion,' ' was

l'lh3l it had repla<:ed 1he monarchy and rid Karl Kraus or "tha t burdensome companio n, 1he othe, K.K.'' lrl a poem entitled ·'Herc in Thi~ Lal'ld,"'' Krnu~ described his situat?.on a·1d pinpo intod wh ,ll impEaded h is full effcct ive,,ess .

( Herei n this land no one is deemed ;;i\)surd '-1,ut who should s1>e.1k the truifil And all defenseless

he t lands befo re the snec, ing;g'rinning herd, ~·•1lch holds a sense o f honor sense less.

Ii. T'le 1roMl;,tion ii; that of A'bert R!r>t:h in J<e,,' Kt.;<,s: ,?01:rr:s :Boston Fo\ ir Sl~ .l Co., 19301, 11· 'lOli. MtS. AM il r1;inr.i1, Bk:d1 hil$ g111cki .1f> 'y CO-.":scn:00 t:) iis re1>l'od1-cMn in :his oon:e:<!.

14

Herc in th is lind, where Cod is bough t and sold and m,rnhood is pursued with execr,1tio11, all infam)' is coh,ed to pun.-sl gold ,md lords it high in honor' s stat ion,

Here in this land )'OU nm a g,1untlef's l,·mc of c:ut-1wrSes " 'ho (er.'e ntl>· des1>lse you ,rnd either get }'Our purse b)' some chicane 1>1 1>al your back 10 show they prize you.

~ere in this 1,,nd, wh.1tever be your bo• ~ you are not m.a5ter of )'Our own decisio,~ The pest of greed ob trudes by every 1,ost, C!ffecth•ely to blighl )'Our \·ision.

l-lere in this land you beat the emply air would you denouo ce one e\·il or ano ther, and C\'CI)' grinn ing r.ucal debona ir in this land hails )'OU ,,s hi$ brothe r.

Among 1hos.e with who m Kravs en~agcd in ex.:ended pole,nics over th-0 years ma',' be ,:,ent ioned the Ccr -111.1n-Jc•.vish 1>vbl icist Maximilian Harde n an.d the ,,. P1<1gue-born pool, r,ove list 3nd dram a1:s1 frJn7. \\.'er­(,,1, Jhe two bcirg typical in th.it KtJ\1s's oppo1,~n1s h.1d ffeque n~ly been ci~~ r gc_eat..1.dm.it~ _m_J' ... nr<>:1tly admired ,.by h1m.f Another apos tle turned 11posr.rr~ the psychoanalyst Fritz \Vittels who p,e­,.,,nted a. pr.per on ' ·Toe F Jekel Neurosis'' at a mee ting ,,r !he! Vicooa Psychoanalytil.: Socielt, Sigmund Freud h,1d at one time been in touch with Kraus, per haps •wring in hirn a kind,ed spirit, but his effons to est ab •

15

llsh <'l fruitil..11 l ine of co mmunic ation w ith the S.i!.tiri sl came 10 naught. \"/iu eh'> p.i.per con sti tuted something o i a countc: :offcn sive against !he pot shot s th.:il Kta'JS

1 :\•/i!S won t lo dir ec t J l the ,ol'actke o i :v i.alysis an d psychoan alysis general:i'· \Vhile he may have had sorne

\\ Jespect fo, lhe pioneering sp:,it of 1:,eud himself, ~ Kraus's to leran<.:e of the man's (o llowc ,s and lhe non~ f sense they cx.pou:1d~d in the name of science was nil.

Kr.iu.s. w as convince d tha t the "psychoa :1als'' were d oing thc 1i 1>arl lo crush 1he hu1na'l spi ti:, la-gely thiOugb

.t their (or,,y> ht o t~<: , ca lm o i a ,1 -criticism, and his swo rd ·crossing with t.he (lM lysts \\·<lS <'l le ngth~· ai fair.

In the midd:e ,'Ind l.lte 1we,'ll ics Kraus castigated the: t.:nholy alliance bclwee:1 a po lice ch•ef named Jo'l,rnnes Schobe, :rnd a cor:upt press boss named hure Bekess~-. Prevailing agaiml a c;Jique and a clac1t1<:, l(ra.1.-s a'mo sl single·handec'ly w.ige<l a s.::iiri!ed l'l:ld orc t1ac;1ed fight

'/.. lo "kick !he croo k out o i \/ien1a" (' 'Mina.us aus \'\'ien mit dem Sd uir ' •,vas h is ringing slog,rn:,, and his ca.in~ pai:i;n bore f1vit in the s.11111cr o i '1926 when Bekess~' fied th c•1y. t he literary :estilt of the S<~lobc ,-86kcssy

,;1affoi1 v,as ano ther d ::11::u1r (!nlar\' Cra1na, Oie 1Jnlib er­wfr1o'iid 1en ff he Unconquer;i.bfes:, which p:emicre<l h ·1929. ' ·Once agaio. as in the la,;: d,1ys oi a ,nar:kind -.vhose mys1eric 11s conti,w cd ex1s1ence has nov.-given us thcs<: sccnl!s,'' wrot e Kraus in his o,e;.:ice, .. doc1.:­ments have become iigures, report s have materi;:1lized as forms. and d ic;hCs swnd e n two legs. ·1 Other plays wrilten in the twcnfil':s ir.d ude Woike•1i:<,•c.'<vcks(;e}:f• (Cloudcuc:koolcrnd:•, a verse play baSC!<l on Mis'.ophl'lnes a-1d p,e senting a son of " l ,1st Days o i 6i,dkir-d/ but wi :~ ,;1 Shal<esr,cada1l solo by 1he Lark ;it 1he end 1>ro,, :singco nc:ilia:i(ln ,rnd ;e ,Ke.

16

l • ~'

l ·" ---- -- ---~:::::~~;;l:~"'~1

, / I • Krnus's public readings of h is c;:wn works .:t"ld those ,'-\" ·" t 1f others nlUi t be reg2rdeci as ,rn i-ltegral part o i his ;,I'

c u•,uh,il~' ar.d perha1>s even .1s the apog~e of his t lfr·ctivencstfo lkMing a iev, ea.dy re,;1dings in 1892. ,._(, , lwtwcc r1 ·19·10-ar.d ·19~ 1(1a1.1s p1esen1e<l 700 ,ecit,1ls in r ll ~ 111,in y European dti ~ ,~··ilh the proceeds oiten going , I'' Iii 1. haiitab1e c.auseiJ ,\ fler 1925 l(r;ius used '"l heJ ter 1h•r Okt1hmg'' ,;l'hcMer c( Poetrv. or UterMy Tt,ealer: ,11, .1 $ubheadii~g. reading poett y," prose. a:-i<l e,n:,e p!,;1ys I l "

11, l<11uc audiences in spellb inding one-man shows- X c.,' wrre ctives lo lhc o-.,ergrown 1heat'i'iar'Spect<1des' of 1

lw, 1i,nc. Kta;,1s m,1y be credited with the -ncde m rc­,

v1v~I oi interest in the ,1h eteenth-cen1urv Viennese pl,wwr'~ht ii.lld ~c1or Johann l''e.slloy, whose wo·ks he 11d,11He<I crnd presert ed to s~1ow Nes troy in h is foll it.,ture as a powe dul soda l satirist a,1d <l linguislic ,it•n 1.-s, Kraus often .1dded Ze.lts;.rophen, top icai st.anzas 111 his own creatio ,~ .. to the songs in Ncst(Oy's COi",_ledies. ~h,tkespN re a?so w.is a livin~ force ir Kravs's lf e~.r n<•lween w· 1<> and 1936 K ·aus ,eciled his adaptations 11( 1hifleen <lral'nas o i the 6a:d; he also published two • o llcctions o( plays ar.d the So:>:,e-ts ln l· is tta"lslaticn . Iv ,us knew little ~nglish. and w.is su ided, in fashioning lw, nwn ve:tsi0 ilS from exisrn g lrar s!ations, b•; his r , unel'ior poet ic seosc and 1.1nerring lir,guistic; instir cl. '-11111:e hi; unf;imilia11ty with th<: ofiginal 1>'even1cd him IMm .,chievi,1g liter.ilness. Kr,;1us must h.ive felt that ho 11wc<l lideli1y to ~he spiril rather than to lhe lener oi 111<' O'iginal text Ar,c ther figure.-worthy o ( men1io·1 in Iii s cootcxt is Ja<<1ues Offenbach, whose wo~k Kraus h.,d ()(:mired from his boyhoo d. He adapted and per· f111mcd. wi lh a piano accom1>anlM, ma.nf oi Offenbach's op<.•re:aas, Vo'hose esprit, enchantin g wit, and tel'ing "

17

'l

social satire he 3-ppreciatcd ii) 1>~ogr3-mmat ic cor Hast to the Vien nese ope, et:a o f his rm e (that oi f 1Jn ,: l eh.ir and Emmeri<;h Kil.lmfii\. amo ng others) w''liCh Kraus regarded as inane, meret· ·ciou s, false, and v :i~ who lesom<:.

( Mi, fallt zu Hitler nichts cin"- Concerni.'lg Hitler I cannot think of an'f th ing lo sa.v.°SThi~ is ,he stri ldns .-ils1 sernence o f Kraus's work 1'.ifo Driae ···Valpurgimacht (The Thi•d \Nalpurgi~ Nigh!- lhe title re ie rs to both

~ parts of Goe! he' s F.wst ,1s well as to the Third Reich:,, wrinen in the late sp ,ing and sum--ner o f 1933 bul no t

,tpubl ished in its entire ty during Kraus·s liietime. That sentence, the rco t of !he mls1.1·,de·s :ord ·ng~ and con ~ fl' c;~ wh ich marked Kraus's last yea•s, n·,ay ':)e ind' ca live of ,esi3·1.:itiO'l :I.hough Kraus c.-ou,'d th ink o f m-a.ny ,things :o say about 1-lil lc• arid did indeed sa~, them) but il is also a hype: boli c,! 1e11tisti£. device for de1>icting the witches' sabbath of the time . The re had been no f :,cke( for ten mo nths w'1er no . 088 appea red ill O<tober 1933. Its four pages co ntained 1)0 mor e than Krnus's fu11eral oratio n o ·, his friend 1he atch i1ec1 Ado1f Loos, and what was 10 be the sat irist's l.m poem, w:,h ilS po ign,rnt clos ing lino, ''OM, Wo ll en tscblief, als jene \Veit c ,.,.,,.adHe" {The word expi,ed v:l·en th3t wo,ld

' awoke!. Karl Kraus was .:i fundamert:1lly ai>Olitk ,11 man 1 with an ad hoc attitud e 1ow;nd po li1 cs based 0 ,1 1>er­

S.Of"J1i:ies rather than part ies. ''I a""l a member of no patty," h~ had ,,·,!Hen in 1931, "bu i view them all with

~disdain .'' And though he sup1>0'led the Social Demo · crats at various times in his We, thal part~·- wili<:1' i~ rd

18

t 111.1juri1•; positioo in postwar A.uslria-grcw increas- ") ~}· lrtHlv :i,nl)oyed by wha t i i took to be l(raus's deficient 11f'de1s1anding of eco ,,om ics, h is b li ndness to the y 11 h1cvcinents and promises of modc,.o tedrno logy. 1111<1 his carpir g criticism, But in ·1933 Kraus sadly !f'11ll1eri the incommen surn.bility o f the hum a,, spiri! ~ w!lh 1hc vnspea kabl~, b ruta l and mindles.s pow c:1 , tw t lure across the Germ a,, border. ''ls ~hat which has l,r('1l do ne lo the sp:rit s1ill a con cern of the spi rit?" w,,~ his .1ns11ished question. And the equa lly anguish ed n 11ly he h imself furnished was: ' 'Force is no objec t of 1~olcrnics , madness no objec t of satire.''

Once ,,gain fa!lguagc ,.,..as i'l morta l dmge, (Kraus's x 11•rn.irks on this subje<t ar,tidp a.1e and confirm the dic­!lon.:ifics of 1he la,.'lgu~ge of inhu ~an ity ar'( I the mur· 1l,·1('rs· 1ex·ca wh ich .appeared after:] e end o ( Hider' s

U-:s1ylcd ,,.Thous.rnd -Year Reich·' :,, and 1hc perpe tra- ~ 11 ,11 of the r ew ho rrors obviously\ re no! characters ~ ,s i hu m an ope rclla.As K1aus Jtternp ts 10 dea l wit h the \':, · 1+.lif'ly c-x<:csses of 1he Nazi regime- which led him to .-~· lm,·~<'C much o l 1he full fury to come- he -:eems to be i·n~.,ging in a desperate i-eargu;i.rd .:iction;~ s writing 11 1hc ramblin g monolog ue o f ,he wo11it<I mao who I(

1o1nc-1 inc;essa:i1ly in an effo, t 10 k~ p the demo ,1s +•t h,iyj In v-0ici11g genv ine concern over Ccn"ar,y's p1•·Hu1e on his home land, Kraus. for once fo und him- )' w H in ,\u Wia's con ~cr. Paradoxically, this led him to ,1tl1• wilh the de rico.ta sc;isl regime of Chance llo r Doll­'"" '·· whose assassinalion in 1934 ca-ne as a sevc,cs ~hcH"k and blow to Kraus. Many of the satirist's erstwhile '"" " ' ;idhe1e11ts, some o f th<l'll'I now Communists or l'fnl •:rnnl s or both , expected Krau~ to jo:n them in their

19

} <l>I f ,

"" \ •

, l~ C.,

'\. s tn.1gs le .-igJinst Hitle fism, but IIH!~' were d isapp o :nte d by what they regarded a$ his cquivccMlo n.

{!lle f,l<:ke( lost man}~ ~.1ders, and Kraus was content to reduc e h is 1eaders hie,ilo those who 1lO~ o,,iy hea·d "the t rumpets of t ·1~ day'' but who were ;ilso interesied in Shakespeare . Nes troy, Offen ba ch, and Gcnm1n style, inclu d ing K,.,us·s uni c.uc '·commJ problem s." Kraus p1ep;1red to "live in the safe se n :ence suuct ur e," as he

,t put ii , and t.( ed- pathe ticall~· a1ld futilely- to pit the wo ,d against the sword. His death o f heart fail ure on

,f l 2 Jiine 1936 followh1G a long period of physical .ind s1>irit ual c>thaustion me·cifully s<1ved him fro m w itness­iog the Nn i take-over o f Austria 10 the ch"c,s oi mos t of ils po pula tion, and -a moog o the , ho u ors-t he

,tlest ru Cl io,, o f his b<:-longings ,,-id lhe deaths of dose friend > in co nce nt ra: io n camps . " lo the tv;elveyear s 1hat followe d ~ht acc<:-ssron of Hille r to power in Germany," wrile s Fr,rnk Field, "th r gs wer e lO hap 1>en lh.:it surp asse d the most p<:ssiinisl ·c ins:glHs of lhe ~at iri:H: the bui lding or the co ncen trat io n ca mp al

~ Buchenwal d arcund Goet l-e's. beec h tree. (l-id the procession s that took place into the e>:terminalior , chambers of 1-\uscl•wi lz while e lsev,hQ1(i in the c,.;mp the or c hes tra played se lectio ns fron Viennese light mus ic- a ll this on ly bec om es a little mor<: exp lic.ible ai ter reading the wo rks o r Kraus.' '.,.

Apall fro n, the impo,t ,ulCe o f the time less- human i · tari.an ideals that Kr<111s espo use d. 1he re!e•,ance o f his

>,sa tire to o ur age is rea d ily a1>P¥ent. So .'ISlvte an ob · se ,vcr oi the ls ,ae li sce -ie as Rohe rt We i tsd1 has ,c ,

7. Field. p. 212.

,o

,n ,Hked that in the Yom Kippur \.Var o i ·1973 ''t here \Vas 1\<-• sho rtage of the s.on o f re po rting which has bec ome , modem fe<1ture -an d a roauer of d i>f:rust-sincc l'-le ,( 111<:t Wor ld War , Md to w hich Karl Kra us has se t a 11,o numen1."s It is no t diifit uh lC imagine what Kiau s would ha .,.e had to say .-.bout the ··Newspeak '' or our 1lav. a':Jout the cle11awred la:iJ~uagc of co nte mpora ry j)(>lit icking, a language de signed to concea l, cot ,eve-al, l111m.in 1houg h;, or abov t lhe "O ()ub lcthink'' in O rwell's 'J(' 1•1114. Sure ly :here is a para llc' be twee n ,\ lice Scha lek's u~e o f the word <wspo:zen (dea r: o ul) i1 co nn ec tio:-i with enemy trenc hes , or thc Viennese ... ulgarism o!ud,·,1'1( fo r a sim:la1 a.Cl. .ind c -ur so lclic,y's ''was te" ur "o ff" as c uph e mis.ms for "ki ll.., 5', cl ou: lingu istica lly pN n'issive age. an e ra wh ich, ;J;S Mar sha :t McLuhan ,,uts il, lends lo "byp..'tSS l,·rngua~c in fovor of a genc;a l t o~ol' c CO'l~ ious,iess;· is as " la;1a11age- fo rsaken" as K,,,us's time. Rob<'rt l i!ienfe l;r:-'finiilly, has dra'wn ou , ,11en 1ion lo 1 ,e inc.:ontroverlibic fa.ct that the vnco n-11ue rab les are bac k and th;,ll Kr.u,s w ould not fail to 1<-coxniz<: lhein . '' In his. time ," LilieMe ld wr ites, "ho 1 ,mid trade the m d own and unccwe r :he ir lies , for they hu<I o nly the pr ess : but now they have no t o nly the ¥ prc•ss bu t rad io . ielev ision, iilms . .ind the vn i\'ersitic s."• "'urcl~· 1he fact 1ha1 ther e i:; no Karl Kraus today to do lMlllc w ith the po llute rs o f language and 1he defi lers -. u f the hum a n spir it is pa : t or 1he sa.dness of our time.

,1. Rober~ \Veluc'li, · '~V,,c,r, Oo We Go r -<>.'ll M~re? Reflection~ ,., , :he Y:iom Kipp 11-· W,:r ." AJR 1t1fo11'!l~l)()(I :1.011(!0-:,) 23, r.Q, 11 , 1.-te:n•':c , 1973) : 1 '> ~obc•l L lienfe l<l, " Rt-Bt!ctiCM <Yl Kail Krnus-l'a·t 11," n:-e

N.,1,:)1~, 30 :\p · il 1973, p. 572,

21

•

:/ ry

~

,·. . '

''Mcioc Sprache ist die Alle,we ltshurc, die ich zu, f:. J:rngfrau machc'' (My lansi..•age is the common pros 1i­

\ tut~ tha t I tuul into .1_ virgin:. This. apho,i s1n 1llur1in.1tes ,J, bo th Kraus's mission a nd his rne thod " •/hile m.rn y

poets have s1rivc1 to res:ore pri~t ine pu rity lO a lan ­guage and make of ii o nte ,uon:: .a se ,vi<:eab le veh icle for poe tic t);,;J1cssion, Kr.1us·s. obsession_with laoguage

w,•<:IH conside:ably befon d such a pur'Suh. As Heinrich Flsche · has po inled out , Kravs 'A'~l> '·'one'-ef the most ma ,ked ego<:cntdcs of art, filled with a met aphys ical

\. co mpu lsion to trace in him self the div ine and intell ec:­-.iual center o{ language .rnd ,e-1>1es.ent it through him­seli.''' '!!fc saw an ;:ib;olute congruity bet wee,, word J nd w orld, language and life: th<.' unw o1thin ess of '!2 age was ror him de fined by i:s lrea tme nt of lang u."I~

-,Kravs never t•:e rl oi emphas izir~g the con nect ion be -tween language .'Ind mo ral i1y/1n h is eyes language was th ~ mora l cr iterion and accre diTation for a wr iter or spe ,, ke~ . P, Stet.!1, l<) be sure, suspec ts that wha1 ho ha.s ca l@ kr,lUs"s "mo ral-l ingu istic impe rati\'-e,'' his e<1u,lt iO,'l of lingu ·stic ob tuseness or dishonesty with moral lorpo, or d cgc ,'leri\c~·, may be an indica lioo th<ll

~..-· J ,. . /the sa tirist w,1s ' 'Sl•ccumbing to th(} c urse oi Vie nna­the ci t•; in w hich the <:x1>erime nt of rep lacing mora lity

• \

and po litics by the life o f the irnagir, at io n was carr ied to the ~n t of moia l par a lysis and po litical disin :egra· tio n.'' ' 'i,Qid'ltl .. mg - litcr,Hure- mean l to Kraus cxc lu~ sivc ly SprJchgesu ,'~~J.'lg- linguist ic ior~' 'Op inions,

\ .!t, 10, Hcin,i<,;-i fi s(hc1, A'H:rworC to Kail Kt, .• ,s, o:c s,,.-.icl:.e ;-~ :Mudc h: KOsel, 19541, p. <14 1.

'>' 1'1. St.em. p, 8:l. , , r.

: ... ·' 22

11,•nds, WeJl.ir.schauung cl'l, ., he wrc t.e i'l ·192 1, "what n.auc·s iirst or · , h~:;Qn~<::ncc . . , . .t,11 rn"{:"'ITel If'

~;w(' c.u e a 0 111 no~hing but sentences, 1rust in8 th,ll lht" truth about manki'ld, lts w.us and 1C):plu1ions, ils 11 lt•w:. and Ch ris:ia n; w ill o ccur to the m.'1.!:.a, from seek · \ , -· • '> In~ lmu uist :c exp ress ion (or an idea , Kraus makes a \,-)') .\t 1lmu~~ht come 10 him beca use he takes it by the wo i~ ',\ ·· (or ,1t its word, a no~her 1>ossible mea nin g or ''be im \ '"°'ort' 'L ''A,~ ap hori-sm need not be true, bu\ it shou ld y. ovct tak:c tr uth,'' he o nce w rote. ' 'It mu st set beyo nd it ,11, .. ,c .. n Sa:z .. , l he las : p.ut of this apho rism defies 1r,1nslatio n; :;he Ge, ma'l ph rase mea ns both "in one 1,en:enc;e'' a'l d " with o ne lea p,., and Krnus was fond oi pl,,ying w:th - and even physica lly ill.1s1ra1ing- shis linguistic (o·u ,itousness.

Desp ite the fac t tha t K·aus 1Jised language to a:'I • l111os1 apoc.:ilyp t ic sis nificance. howe ver, he reve,

•

f r· ·

dev,..io;:ied ;i theory or ph i:osophy of language. bcir 1g _ ('1sc ntia lly a n un s.ys:errwtic ,rnd r.n !i-phi losopl-iic.il A . at· 11,inkc,. Yet 1he Vie"lna Circle <.:i logkJ I pos itivists w as t -If 1t1<~at!y ir.~ercstcd in Kf,1us's ,e la:ion ship to li ,,g uage, - A ll.,( i1nd there .:ire ce rta in pa ra llels be twee n Kraus·s thou~h J

1>

11nd 1he ide as o i Ludwig \ViHger1s1e·n, tl--e forc tnost j llo.1rc o i thal ( rde ; thei r common insigh t for exam p;e ln!o the funda menla l coo ncc t .on be tw.,een, or even ,,,..j ,

idco;Hic at lon of, et hic; 11nd es the tics.,t~ ·ingens tcin ,,,,11ned ( •om Kraus how to th ink in .:t'l(r thr :,ugh la n-,l~•·1gc. y~t he lhou gh t ~gni;;s: language -w hich ro., ...J1..,.

lum. wJs .in -0bs:.,cle lo tho ugh t tha l had to be p a,ns·• 1.,kingl•1 su•mo i1'lled- w here;;.s Kraus fough l iQ! lall · ituilSe , mystica lly u .'lccvc ring thought thro t•sh )JJ Thu s linih Krnus and 'Ni agenste in s<rove to fash ion. each

n

'

·~ • ~~

t

from his own vis.ion of languilse. a fortreu cap,;1ble oi ";1:SiM1Uing inviolate against the com :p1ior. o f language

and mora ls tl"at they heheld all a,o uncf them. It is next 10 im,oossib!c. on a large SQ le, to conv&-~·

in Enslish a n ide a o i K:au$'s :Hyle , the most b1illi.mt i:1 modern Cerman lene,s. 'l'he af!usiver.es.s c f this style, its ait e ntio n to ve: bal asso ciatio ns. a nd ih-a rt fol p l,ws upon words make n::ading Kr,,us in 1he o, igh1al an intel4

lectual delight. Xra1us w,,s net onr.,. a m;1ster of 1he .-.,1 o f pu r.n!ng. with a d eep se riou snesstrmlef lymg his verbal w it, but ,1ls<J ,, skillful praclitio.'ler of VMious

,, subtle stylistic devices based l!pon the spirit oi Ger-n,;1n g,,1mn1ar and Kr11us's enfoyment oi wha: he Glll<:d Sprach.'eil rc.

The ho rism was a literary sub -genr e that Kr,,u> e mp lo~·e cxtens i\•elV,IMany of Ms aph or islic say,r,gs

y,,e re d ist illed f ,om .rlong.e r text t1a t had or igi.'l,;1lly appe.:irec in p rose or verse; ;n <Kher c;1se> .rn ap horism car.1e, in ti,ne, to be 1~·: ica11t expan ded in to ,rn e pigra m,

•of wa s made to serv e as the nt1de1.1s o f a prose p iece. The apho risms that make up the p re-sen t selec tion a re drawr ) from the oo lleClion 8eim Vlor( gc ,~omm er.-(ed. He inr ich Fische r, 19.;5; w hich inco rpo r,;1te s th,ce smallc, co Cect ion s p ub lished by K,.-.us in his life tun e: Sr,,Oche und Wide1sprii d1c, .;1909), Pro domo c: mundo n912). and .-..·a.chi s (19 18t.

Bo th the choice ano' the transl.-.:ion o i these ap hcr ~ isms po x:d ce-rtain prob lems. Any se lect ioo from the wo rk of an~· wfltt:r is bouiid to be sub je ct :ve <'Ind neces sMily ie flec ts the tas te and the ju dgmen t o f one cdi!or o r an tholog iH. Wh e n tran >latabilit~· beco mes. the prime c riter ion for il' clus lon or non -inclusion. as mu s.t

24

t\eeds be lhe case with Ka rl J(raus, a se lection ca .mot be fully re p rere ntativ e of tho write r's wo rk as a who le. In th,s pa rticular Insta nce , it· shovld be no ted th.'lt rnany o( lhe mo~t brilliant and cha ra cte ristic o r J<raus's tho u· ,11nds of ,;1phori.sms, espec ial/>· tho se dea lins w ith 1,msuagc, imagin3tion , the mis tic pfoce s.s, a nd verba l C'rcat ivit~·. have had to be e><cluded because oi the ir es­M:ntia l vnt ran sla.cabilit>·· rn many case s the aphor ist (lre\ v his insp irat ion rrom the inexh,;1ustibfe reserv oir or lang uage, to use a Kra usia.,, locutio n, and these ideas IMl..tin Ine xtr icab ly lied lo the Ge rm,rn language and Im ge nius. In ot her cases so many expla natory notes would hav e bee n Meded to un rave l the comple xity und a llvsiveness o( the odgi nal aphor isms tha t the 1hrus t o f Kr.:ius's ideas woo kl havo bee n blunted o r to mpfete ly des troyed . As a result, wha t can be offered n•rnains in many insta nces the Meinungen (op inions ) that Kraus abho rred rat he r than the Ccdanken {id eas) that he w ishe d to co nvey . Ye t a sufficient ly ro un de d tJiclure of Kr,luS the peMn arid the a rtist may eme rge 10 con vince the rea der that Krclus·s ap horism about a linguist ic wo,k tran slate d into an othe r lclnguage be ins , ,1m1>arab1e to c rossing a bord er wit hout on e's skin 11ml p utting on 1he loca l garb o n the othe , side is itse lf ii "h a lf-truth ."

O ne or two examp les may se rve to clarify both K,.,us's imag inat ive respon s~ to language .-.nd the d if· ,,,ultics inherent hl trans ferrins th is , espon se to 11110 1her lang uage . The ;;ipho, ism ",\.tan l~bt n ic ht e inma l 1•inma l" is re nd e,~d ·'Yo u don't even live once"; the 111te Ger ma n saying '' .\~an le bt nu r einm a l," wh ich has 111• l!ngfish eq uivale nt in the (e qualJyH ite) he donist ic

25

'' Yo1.1 only live once,'' has been turned around by Kraus. The English translation offered here seems to reOcct a pessimist ic 'NelcaMch,;1uung, a mere opinio n. Yet Kraus has utilized the possibi lities of the German languase to give \·erbal play to an icfe.a directly derived from this language: elnmaf, .stre~scd on the first syll.ablc and meaning "onc;e,'' is preceded by e!nma(, s1r-0ssecl oo the sec;ond syllable and meaning- in <onjunction wilh nicht-"not even." /\ .s l:dwatd Timms points out, 10 reproduce the synt.ac1ical u1)iquenes-s of German and still conve)' Kr<'lus·s 1hough1 ,:which is bastcall)' life· affoming:, one would have to use the analogous (though not fully equivalent) resources of the Eilglish language, er'lding up with a version of Kraus's aphorism !hat would re,1d s.omething !eke this: "One 's cha1\CCS of living a h.appy life tHe not even even." Yet such ii rendi · lion would have no place i1~ the I>resen1 volume; it would be a NachdJchtung, a free and somcr.vhat labored re·creation, r<'lther than an Obersetzung, a translat ion.

Another case in point whecc an English rend iii on al best results in a coni1>romise that. howe\•C1 i"ge niOIJ$, c;annot do full jus~ice 10 a devaSl<'lt!t,gly wi uy· idea is Kr au s's aphorism ''Je grosser der Stiefel, des to grosser der Absat.z.11 On the foce of it. this is a shoemaker's 1ruiSl'O: " The bigger the boot, the bigger the heel," Bt•t in colloquial Ger.nan. Stiefel also mCal'IS " blather" or " nonsense." and another mcanlns of Ab.safz is ·•:rnle," The t, .-ins.l;ition in this book, " The bigger the bull, the bigger the bull ll'larkel,'' still docs oot convey all tho levels of meaning ,11ld the fonguage-derivcd ideas in Kraus·s aphorism, especially when one considers that yet another meaning of Abs.itz is "paragraph.'' (I-n \'ie'\v

26

of Kraus's interminable paragraphs, the satirist's de· uactors might w<!II use this aphoris,n t1Silin.st him.>

·ro sum 1.1p: the reader sho·,1ld not, on the basis of an l1i-olated statement, attempt to pigeonhole Kr,ms in this or 1h,,1 ca!egory. Kraus was the most mercutial o( thinkers: aI)J)arent ir ·C01lsister.c· e.s and contradicli ons 111 his writ ings had for him no signiiiCJnc;e. 'vVroto the *' •.l lirist him self: " He who expresses opinion s mus~ not lei hi-nseli be caught i.-. a conH.adict ion. He who has lde,,s 1hink! ainidst contradi<lions as well." As noted * obovc, Kraus trusted in the power of his Indiv idual sen· Icnces to supply truths about the va,ious,masks and y endc~avo,s of humankind. If the selection of aphori!ms thdt follows p:o\•ides at leas! a glimI>se into the work~ lngs of a fascinating mind, it w'ill count itsQU a success.

Ult ,\NO f.l s U 1' ,v eRSllY

W.'lh .h,;ro,, t..•lc1).u1cr,u.~e11.s Nov..-mbe, '1975

27

H.Z.

My h elplessness srows w·ilh the completion o f whM I have wrluen . The closer I co me to a word, the more it blee<fs, like a corpse in the p,ese nce of the mu rderer. I do not spare myself this. b ier tribunal, and I CO\'er the margin of a proofsh cet- which ffl3)' have bee n pre­cc,ded by fifteen carefree ones-w ith marks that are like wou nd s. I a lways ha-.·e at least t-.vo rou tes, ;md it would be best to take bo th and all of them, Eventua lly I shall prob ab ly bring myself to pu t do wn various ver­sions of a sentence for the bene fit of the reade r, who will thus be forced to read a sentence several times, and to get very far aw<'ly from those who o:,1~· snatc h at op inions . Until then I shall always have to leJve the respo nsibility for the best of al\ good routes to the pel'$on I am consulti1,s , His mech;:mic;al decision wou ld suffice me, b ut since I co uld help h im ge t ou t of a similar situation m uch beue r than he co uld help me, 1 don't make th ings that easy for us .-.nd plunge him so dee p into the ab~·ss o f my doubt s that I sain assurance from h is situation, save him, and th\.1S s.ive myself as well.

Sound opinio ns are value less. \.Vhat matters is who holds them.

S6

Mo ·who cxprosses opjnio,, s must not let h imself be causht in .i co ntrad iction. He who has ideas 1hinks :unidst co ntradiction s as well.

It i.s be tter not to expreS$ what one means than to ex­p,ess what on e doe-snot rncan .

In c;ase o f do ubl, dec ide in (,wor of whal Is ootrect.

1\1) ide.i's birt h is legiti,nat c o nly if one has the (ee ling 1hat o ne is catching o neself p lJgiariz ing oneself.

An idea Is~ love child . An o pinion is recognized by bourgeois society,

Opinions are contaslo us; the idea is a miasma.

59

Most writers have no o ther quality than the reader: tilste . But the t,11tter has the better taste. becaose he does not write-a nd the best if ho do es. no t read.

Scholarship cou ld make itself usefo l. A write r needs all its subjects to supply the raw malerial for his. images, and often he lacks a term which he surmises. but docs no t know·. Looking it up is bo1hersome, bo ring, and ove rl~· in formative . Therefore, wh ile a writer is worldos, 1>eople ought to be sitling in the o~hcr rooms and come running on ;;i signal when tlfe writer has someth ing to ask the m. One , iog for 1hc histor ian, two fo r the econo· mist, three for lhe handyman who has been to medical school, and pe rha1>s four for the T3.lmud ic scho lar who also mas1ers the jargon of philoso phy . Out none of them should be permi.tled to say more than what they are asl<ed ab out, and they would hJve to leave immedi­ately after a1nwering beca use their proidmitv is not stimulatin~ beyo nd the se1\'ices they rend er. One. could, of course, do without such aids altogethe r, and an artistic simile wou ld re1ain its value even if an edu • ca1ional gap in ils formv lation might later bdng censure from an expett. But it would be an o pport unity to give the expt:fts an occupation as use ful a.s it is glorious and spafe lhem subsequen t annoyan ce.

54

Wanted : a .suitabl-0 de-sort for a Fata Morgtlna.

My writings must be read lwice if o ne is to get close 10 them . But I don't object to their being read three times. Howevef, I prefe, their no t being read al all to (heir being re;;id o nly o nce. I would not want to be rcs1>onsible fo1 the conge; tions of a b lockhea d who has no time . . . , O ne l'rlUSI r~ad all writers twice- the 80od as well as the bad . The on-0 kind will be ,ec og· ,, ized; the o ther, unmasked .

I.et rny style cap ture all the sound s of my time. This shou ld mak-0 it an anno)•ance to my co nlemporaries . llut later generatio ns sho uld hold ir to their e.1rs like a :.cashc ll in wh ich !here is the mvsic of an ocean of mud.

fo write a novel mav be pufe plea.sure. To Jive.-. novel ,)resents cer tain difficulHC$. As for reading a novel, I do my besl to get out or it.

55

I Sa'I\' a 1>oet chase a b utteril>· in a meadow. He p ut his r,et o n a bench whe re a boy sat read ing a book. It's a misfortuoe tha t it is usually the o the( -.v;1y round .

A philistine is hab itually bored and looks for th ings that wo~' t bore him. An artist finds things borirl8, but is never bored.

Nestroy's words o ught to app ly to an a1tist and an idea: ···1 have made a p risoner, and he won't let go of me.''

Why should one artist grasp another? Does Mo unt Vesuvius app reciate ,\Aou,"lt Etna? At most, a femioihe relationship o f jea lous comparisorl might deve lop: \Vho spits betterl

,-\r tists have a right to be modest and a dvty to be vain.

S2

An art ist sho uld make co ncessions to the listener . That is why Bruckner ded icated one o f his ~ympho nies to the Good Lord.

Today's litera ture: presc riptions writte n by pi!tients.

In the beginn ing w.1s the review copy . and a man received it from the pub lisher. Then he wrote a revie'\v. 'fhen he wro te a boo k which the pub lisher accepte d ,rnd sent o n to someo ne else as a review copy . The man who receh·ed It did likewise. This is how modern literatu re came into being.

Most crit ics wri te critiques which Ml by the au thors they wri te cril iques abo ut. That would not be so bad, but then most authots writ~ works which are by the critics who write critiques abo u t them.

A poem is good until one knows by whom it is.

S3

I eat grcc-dily out o f s,eed fo r non-eating.

When I have my haif cut, I wor !'y that tho barbe r migh t cut o" e of my thoug hts.

I would have stage-fright if I had to speak w ith every one of the peop le befo re w hom I speak.

I like to hold a .-nonolog ue w ith wom en. 13ut a dialogue wilh myself is more st imul.'lting.

Many gentlt'.:men to whom I ha-.·e gi,..en walking pa.per$ have felt ofier1ded in their most femini ne fe-eling$.

Since thc-1;:iw p roh ibi ts ihe keepi ng of wild animals and I get no enjo yment from pels, I pre(er to remain

unmarried ,

''

If I were sure 1hat 1 should ha ... e to share immortali ty with certain people, I wo uld prefer a separate cb li\·ion .

Mil ny thing s that I am experiencing I already 1cmember.

X s;iid disparagingly that no th ir)g wou ld remain of me but a few good jokes. That, ;:it least. wo uld be some­thing, but unio rtunatcl~· not C\'Orl that will femal n. for the few good jo kes were stolen long ago-b y X.

To those who have doub ts about m~· health I will admit that I suHcr from gout . But I won't let a..,wone deny 1hat I can also feel a thunde,sto rm com ing.

\!\'hen the end o f the worl d comes, I want to be livl ns in ,ct itemcn1.

45

I dreamt th;it I h.id d ied for my co t in try. And right aw.iy a coffi n-l id opcocr was there, hold ing oul his hand fo, a tip.

"You a,e Herr Karl Kraus, aren't you t' asked a young man w ho w.is sharin g m't' compartmen t on a train and w ho had ove(cstima{ed my defenselessness. '''.'Jo,' ' I said, w hich meant that I .idmi ttcd ii. Because if I had been someone else, I wo uld have started a conversation w ith th.it id iot.

Sorrento, August. For two v ... eeks now I haven't heard a German word o r understood an I tali an one. This way one can manage to li ve with peop le; evCr)•thil)g goes like clodwo ,k and no irksome misunderstanding can arise.

Nationa li sm is the love which t ies me to the blockheads of my coun try, to the insultors of my wa-.· of llfo, and to the dcsocr3lors of my language.

,o

Nothii)g is rrio re nanow -minded than chauvini sm or race hatted . To me ,1II men a,e equal : th-0,c arc jad­asscs cvCr)•w here, and I have 1he sJme contempt fot all. No pet ty prcj udicc sr

Oh no, I'm not a bellyacher. My hatred of V ienna is no t love gone astray. It's just that I've discovered a com­pletely new way o f finding it unbeJrable.

I must be w ith people agaill . For this summer-a mo ng bees and dandeli ons-my m isanthropy reall y got ou t o ( hand .

He who gladly does w itho ut the praise o f the cro\vd will not miss the oppo rtu1)ity o ( becoming his own (an.

I lake the i ibert;· of <onferri,,g on mf self all the b less­mgs of a coterie.

,.,

Of ten I pr i.ck my h,rnd wilh my pc·, ~vid know onl~· then that I have experienced wh<'lt i:; written .

lr;;. <:n I read, it is not acted literature; b ul wh at I writ e

is wr itlen ac ting.

'- · \'\'h.)t could be even more iascinating than the s1.1spense as 10 wh at the place whi ch I ho.-.,e so o ften imagi1H-:d will look like? The suspense of how I res 1ore 01}' ima· sinatio n aile , I have seen 1he place .

\.Vord and sub:.ta.nce--1hat is the cn ly conn ection 1 ha ve ever striven for in my li fe.

When someone is about to accos t me. I hope till the last moment that the fe3r o( be ing comp ro mised will kee1> him fro m do ing so . Out people are in trep id .

36

If I re turn some peo ple 's ,greetings, I do so only 10 give them their greet ing back.

I divide the peo ple who m I don·t g,eet into four groups . There are thos e ·Nhom I don' t gree t in o rder not to co mp,omi se myself. This is the simp les t grou p . Nc>:t, there ;:ire those wh om I do n' t greet ir, order not to com;>rom·se :riem. This requir es a certain amount of attent ion. Bot then there are those wh.om Ldon't g!eet in order ~0~"'!0J.lO~~dfQ otcs. They are l even 1-arder to deal with. And finaUy there a ,e those } whom I don·t s reel in orde r not to ge t into my bt'd . books. lhi s takes a particul a , amo unt of c;oncen tration , But I've had quit e a bit of p ractice, and by my manne r or no t greet h g peo,ole I mana ge 10 ~xp(css each of , I.hose nuances in such a wa-.· lhat no inju stice is don e to __ ) .,,~ .

'.Vh-.·, he's the one who thoug ht I've forgotten that~ don' t know hiinl

37

,,

All the t.ilk o.nd act ions oi t!le ~o.ca!Jed respo ,,slble m~,, of toda ~· wo\1ld no t h.ive bee n r>ossible in :he nurseries of ear lier centur ies. In to da~·'s nurse ries, <ll

lea~l, the Mgume nt of the rod Cl.115 some i<e. But hum:in righ:s are the destructible toy oi the g :own·up s \Vhlch the)' wan t to step o n .ind thercfo, e won' t gh'e up. If whipp ing w~rc .-ii lowed, peo 1>le wo uld whip iar less often than the~· now k:el incl ined lO clo. What does prog.-ess consist in? Hils 1_he desire for whip-ping bee n abol ished r No, on ly :he whip itself. In the day~ o f se ,f· dom the fear of bei1l8 wh ipped was the couo1e,po ise 10 the pf ea sure of \Vhipping. Today :he ,e is no $uch ,o unterpo lse, but whi1>pins do es ha\'e a spur in the prog,ess ive p ride wilh wh ich the stupid proclaim their human rights.. That's some freedo m. lhe freedom f 10m

being whip j)P.d!

\Vhen someone has be h;i.\'ed like an an imal, he says : '' I'm onl~· hum.in !'' 6ut whe n he is 11e.-ited like .:in anima l, he s.:i.ys: " I'm h1,.1m<10, too !''

A gourme t o nce t-0ld me that he preferred the scurn oi the earth to the crea fr. of societ~·.

106

The time is coml ns when the Co lden Fleece will be fun :ished by the Colde n Cali.

' 'A cigar,'' safd the .-ilt1vis1, "a dga r, my good man, I can'lo t give you. But any t ime you need a lig l>l, jus t come round; mine Is alw3.}'i lit."

Ii the eart h had any idea of how .lfta id the come t is ot' co ntac t wilh itl

The devil is an op timist if he thinks h..: c.in make people meaner.

The wo dd is a prjson in wh ich so lilMy cot 1finement is preferable.

The, ·e is no doubt that a dos Is loyal. Out does that mean we should emu l.-ite himl After _,.11, he is IOfal to poop le, not to o ther dogs.

'109

A w•om::in whose $C>:valit)· is unending and a mal\ who constantly h3s ideas: lwo tdeo.1s of humanity whic'n ma1\kind regards as pa1hological.

,.\t $Oine tim e in the \Vorld there must ha\'8 been an im ~ macvlate conception of volupwousness!

To love, to be dece ived, to be jealous- that's easy eno ugh. The other way is less co mfo 1tablc : To be jealous, 10 be deceived. and to love~

·106

lord, forgive them ...

Humanity and bestiality: when will the fonm.H fina11~· be uttcrc<l w ith the flavor of hate ,;md 1hc latter w ith the flavor o i lo\'e ? Does a lion tea r his fellow lio1, to pieces?

With most people 1 don't get as fa, as the soul, bu t I already have my do ubts o n the ma tte r o f the intestine s. For I cannot beli eve that this wo nderful mechan ism W<'IS creatt"d to put a counci llor of commerce together : and only an auto1>sy c::an co nvince me lh<lt a usurer hos a s1>leen.

The supe rman is a premalu ,e ideal, on~ th3t presup • poses mao.

When there were no human rights, lhe exceptio n a\ individual hod then'). l hat was ioh uman. Then equality was c1e3led by taking the human rights away frorr, the exceptional kidividual.

107

Ii '' I

11

I 'I Ji

wo men are demanding the hanc hise, both the active and the passJve kind.'" Does this mean that they are to have the right to choose arl}' man and shou ld no tonger be blamed for letti ng themselvos be chosen by any ,nan? Heaven forb id, They meJn it po lilica lly . Men have pu t such desperate thought$ int o their heads. Now men w il1 have no o ther cho ice but to demand of the go,..eul­ment !hat they be allowed to menstruate at last.

As long as there is a women's fights move:nent, men should at least ,~sard the,nselves as du ty-bo ur,d to d is­cont inu e chivalry. Nowaday!> 01,e can't even take .a chance and offer a woman a seat on the stre~tcar, fo r one can never be sure that one won't be irlsu\t in,g her and ab ridging her ri ght to an cq ut1I share of the inoon ­veniences of life. On the other hand, one o•Jght to get into the habit of beinS chivalr ous and accomm oda tins toward 1he feminists in eve,y way.

•K,aus plt'l'i'S with t1T4l wc,-d Wal)!rcd: t, ....-hlch can 11'1&1'1 the right to choos.e ,1.·1d the ,ight 10 \'Ole , o, altemt'l:e!y 1he 11gh: 1a vote encl the right to run (0 1 offlc8.- Cd.

104

' ·V•/ometl'S riehts' ' are men's dut ios.

/\ beggar was handed a j ail sente1lce because he had sat on a bench '·look i,,g sad.11 In lhe prese-nt o rder o(

thln ss, rnen are suspect who looks.ad as arc women who loo k cheerf ul. Anp v,ly, socie ty p refers begsar-s to ladies o( the evening, because the latte, are d ishonest crip p les who derive profi t r,om the ph>·sical dcfoc:t o f be.iuty .

Society needs wom en o( bad charact<?r. t hose who have no character a,e a dub ious element.

\1/omcn at least have olegant dresses. But wha t can men use to coYer theit emp tinessr

105