I and Thou Has Long Been Acclaimed As a Classic

RELIGION/PHILOSOPHY >$10.00 lAND THOU Martin Buber's I and Thou has long been acclaimed as a classic. Many prominent writers have acknowledged its influence on their work; students of intellectual history consider it a landmark; and the generation born since World War II considers Buber as one of its prophets. The need for a new English translation has been felt for many years. The old version was marred by many inaccuracies and misunderstandings, and its re current use of the archaic "thou" was seriously misleading. Now Professor Walter Kaufmann, a distinguished writer and philosopher in his own right who was close to Buber, has retranslated the work at the request of Buber's family. He has added a wealth of informative footnotes to clarify obscurities and bring the reader closer to the original, and he has written a long "Prologue" that opens up new perspectives on the book and on Buber's thought. This volume should pro vide a new basis for all future discussions of Buber. WALTER KAUFMANN WALTER KAUFMANN is Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. Born in Germany in 1921, he graduated from Williams College in 1941, and returned to Europe with U.S. Military Intelligence during World War II. In 1947 he received his Ph.D. from Harvard and joined the Princeton faculty. He has held visiting professorships at many American universities, and Fulbright professorships at Heidelberg and at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His books include Nietzsche, Critique of Religion and Philosophy, Fmm Shake speare to Existentialism, The Faith of a Heretic, Cain and Other Poems, Hegel, and Tragedy and Philosophy. Several of these books have been translated into various foreign languages. Kaufmann's own translations of ten of Nietzsche's works, of Leo Baeck's Judaism and Christianity, and of Twenty German Poets have won wide recognition. Of his verse translation of Goethe's Faust, Stephen Spender said in The New York Times Book Review: "The'best translation of Faust that I have read." And the Virginia Qumterly Review said: "There is little question that this is the translation of Goethe's Faust, both in poetic beauty and in comprehension of the original." MARTIN BUBER (1878-1965) Martin Buber was born in Vienna in 1878, studied philosophy and art at the Universities of Vienna, Zurich and BerHn. In his twenties, he was an active Zionist and worked closely with Theodor Herzl and Chaim Weizmann. However, Buber is best known for his revival of Hasidism, a mystical movement that swept East European Jewry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Out of this interest evolved his dialogical, or ''1-Thou," philosophy. Professor Buber taught philosophy from 1938 to 1951 at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. ISBN 0-684-71725-5 90000> Published by I CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS Macmillan Publishing Company 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022 9 780684 71 7258 I AND TH OU I AND THOU Martin Buber A NEW TRANSLATION WITH A PROLOGUE "I AND YOU" AND NOTES BY WALTER KAUFMANN CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK Translation Copyright el1970 CharlesScribner's Sons Introduction Copyright el1970 Walter Kaufmann All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission of Charles Scribner's Sons. 37 39 41 43 45 F I P 46 44 42 40 38 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 71-123845 SBN 684-10044-4 (trade cloth) SBN 684-71725-5 (trade paper, SL) ISBN 0-684-15575-3 (HRE) CONTENTS Acknowledgments 1 K� 5 I AND YOU: A PROLOGUE by Walter Kaufmann 7 A Plan Martin Buber Abandoned 49 Martin Buber's I AND THOU 51 First Part 53 Second Part 87 Third Part 123 Afterword 169 Glossary 183 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THE PRESENT voLUME owes its existence to Rafael Buber. In June 1969 he phoned me from Boston, explained that he was Martin Buber's son, and asked whether he could come to see me in Princeton. We had never met, and he offeredno explanation; but when he came a few days later, there was an instant rapport, coupled with an intriguing lack of directness. He told me of his desire for a new English translation of lch undDu and asked my counsel. I recalled how his father had told me that he considered Ronald Gregor Smith, who had done I and Thou, by far his best translator. Rafael insisted that those whose advice he valued were agreed that the old version had to be replaced. I myself had attacked the use of "thou" instead of "you" in print, but at this point did not let on that I did not like the old translation. Instead I pointed out how nearly un translatable the book was. Rafael did not protest, but his mind was made up, and he wanted my help. I mentioned names. They would not do: the new version had to be done by someone who had been close to his father; and he had come a long way and did not want to return home to Israel without having accomplished this mission. Now I insisted that the book really was untranslatable, and that all one 2 I AND THOU could do was to add notes, explaining plays on words-and I gave an example. Instant agreement: that was fine-a translation with notes. He wanted me to do it, however I chose to do it, and it was clear that I would have his full cooperation. This I got. That unforgettable day in my study, and later on in the garden, was the fo urth anniversary of Martin Buber's death. I hesit,!ltedfo r a few days, but the challenge proved irresistible. Thus I was led back into another dia logue with Martin Buber, well over thirty years after I had first seen and heard him in Lehnitz (between Berlin and Oranienburg) where he had come with Ernst Simon at his side to teach young people Bibe/ /esen-to read the Bible. In the summer of 1969 I visited the Buber Archive in Jerusalem and had a look at the handwritten manuscript of lch undDu and at Buber's correspondence with Ronald Gregor Smith. I asked for copies of the complete manu script and of all pages on which Buber had commented on points of translation. The material was promptly sent to me and turned out to be of considerable interest. (See the Key, below.) Having noticed some discrepancies between the first edition of the book and the later editions, I asked Rafael Buber whether he had a record of the variants. He did not, but made a list himself, by hand, for my use. Both from him and from Mrs. Margot Cohn, who for decades was Buber's secretary and who now works full time in the Archive, I have encountered not only kindness and cooperation at every point but the spirit of friendship. I have been equally fortunate with my undergraduate research assistant at Princeton, Richard L. Smith '70. He had read the original translation of I and Thou three times before he began to assist me, and he loved the book. There is no accounting for how many times he has read it now, comparing the new version with the old one, raising ques- I AND THOU tions, compiling the glossary, and reading proofs. Working with him has been a delight. Siegwart Lindenberg, assisting me in two courses in 1969-70, very kindly went over the new translation during the semester break and compared it with the German text. His queries and suggestions have been immensely helpful, and it was wonderful to be able to discuss some of the most difficult passages with a friend. KEY IN THE NOTES there are numerous references to "Buber, March 1937," followed by hitherto unpublished informa tion. This material comes from Buber's letters to Ronald Gregor Smith, who made the first translation of Jch und Du. After reading the page proofs of that version, Buber requested well over two hundred corrections. Many in volved serious misunderstandings. As soon as I had com pleted my version, I checked Buber's criticisms to make sure that mistakes pointed out in March 1937 had not been reintroduced unwittingly. It was a strange experience to findmy readings of many difficult passages confirmed by Buber, years after his death. Occasionally he offered glosses that went beyond the German text and explained more fully what had been in his mind. These self-interpretations, not previously avail able in any language, are included in the notes and iden tified: "Buber, March 1937.': "Before 1957" identifies variants between the first and second editions. Many of these changes are too slight to affect the translation or to be worth recording here. Thus Wijrterpaars became Wo rtpaars; Eines was changed to eines; and um dich herum, um dich her. All the more substan tial revisions are indicated in the notes. I AND YOU A PROLOGUE by Walter Kaufmann AND THOU 9 Man's world is manifo ld, and his attitudes are manifold. What is manifold is often frightening because it is not neat and simple. Men prefer to forget how many possibilities are open to them. They like to be told that there are two worlds and two ways. This is comforting because it is so tidy. Almost always one way turns out to be common and the other one is celebrated as superior. Those who tell of two ways and praise one are recog nized as prophets or great teachers. They save men from confusion and hard choices. They offer a single choice that is easy to make because those who do not take the path that is commended to them live a wretched life.

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