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Journal of World Literature 3 (2018) 417–441 brill.com/jwl A Library of World Literature Hermann Hesse Translated and introduced by B. Venkat Mani University of Wisconsin-Madison [email protected] In1 2017, the German publisher Philipp Reclam jun. GmbH celebrated 150 years of the inception of their book series, Universal-Bibliothek. The series was founded in 1867 by the publisher Anton Philipp Reclam in Leipzig, and by the early twentieth century, its compact paperbacks in monochrome cov- ers – yellow for literature – were the prime source of world literary works in translation for German readers. In 1927, on its sixtieth anniversary, the Universal-Bibliothek commissioned Hermann Hesse—at the time the best- selling German author of novels such as Demian (1919) and Siddhartha (1922)— to write a short essay on book collection for smaller, private libraries. In 1929, an expanded version of the essay, Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur, was published as a slim volume with Reclam’s Universal-Bibliothek. A detailed discussion on the print-cultural history of Universal-Bibliothek and the aesthetic and political significance of Hesse’s essay, in the interwar period in Germany, during the National Socialist period, as well as for contem- porary discussions of world literature can be found in my monograph Recoding 1 There are four available editions of Hesse’s essay: 1) Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur. Leipzig: Verlag von Philipp Reclam jun., 1929 [Reclam Universal-Bibliothek 7003]. 2) Eine Biblio- thek der Weltliteratur. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1931. 3) Eine Bib- liothek der Weltlliteratur. Mit den Aufsätzen Magie des Buches und Lieblingslektüre. Zürich: Werner Classen Verlag, 1946. 4) Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur. Leipzig: Verlag von Philipp Reclam jun., 2003. This translation is based on the 1946 edition. Eine Bibliothek der Weltlit- eratur is available in the following languages: Japanese [Sekai bungaku o dō yomu ka: hoka sanpen. Translator Shizuo Ishimaru. Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 1961]; Italian [Una biblioteca della letteratura universale. Translators Emilio Castellani and Italo Alighiero Chiusano. Milan: Adelphi, 1979]; Korean [Munhak iran muŏt in’ga. Translator Chae-Sang Pak. Seoul: Kŭm- sŏng Ch’ulp’ansa, 1989]; French [Une bibliothèque ideale. Translator Nicolas Waquet. Paris: Ed. Payot & Rivages, 2012]; Chinese [Dou shu sui gan. Translator Ying Jioali. Shanghai: Shanghai san lian shu dian, 2013]. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi:10.1163/24056480-00304003Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 08:45:35AM via free access 418 mani World Literature (2017). Suffice it to say here that compared to the other state- ments on world literature from the German-speaking world – by Goethe (1827), Marx and Engels (1848) and Erich Auerbach (1952) – Hesse’s statement is virtu- ally unknown, especially in Anglophone scholarship. This translation, the first in English, is an attempt to make this essay available to a wider readership, almost a century after its publication. Hesse’s own conceptualization of translation as an “approximation” (Annährung) guides my translation, especially of two words that are at the center of this essay: “Bildung” and “Geist.” Hesse implies Bildung in this essay primarily as the intellectual training of readers through world literature, albeit outside an educational institution such as a school or a university. The word “Bildung” has several meanings: education, learning, erudition, culture, forma- tion, creation, establishment (of something or someone), and self-cultivation. The German language distinguishes between “Bildung” and “Ausbildung” (for- mal education). As the essay develops, all of these meanings of “Bildung” unfold. However, I simply privilege the word “education,” unless Hesse specif- ically uses the verb “lernen” (to learn). Similarly, the dictionary meanings of “Geist” are mind, intellect, wit, spirit, morale etc. Hesse sometimes distinguishes between “geistig” and “seelisch”, to mark the distinction between intellectual (analytical) and emotional (spiritual). It can be translated into English as spirit or intellect. I use the word “intellect” for Geist to distinguish from instances where Hesse uses “Seele/ seelisch” (soul/ spiritual), or from “Ver- stand,” (reason). Hesse’s essay is an author’s conversation with a fellowship of readers who are not necessarily scholars. He addresses the general reader who might be curi- ous, or even enthusiastic about reading literary works from around the world, but too intimidated by the scale and scope of the weighty term “world literature.” Holding the reader by the hand, Hesse provides a wonderful guide to building one’s own library of world literary works. He starts with a brief introduction to the term world literature, gives practical tips on collecting affordable editions, underlines the significance of choosing translations when one does not know the original language, walks the readers through what he considers the most important works of world literature available in translation, but ends on a personal note. He stresses the importance of personalizing a library of world literature according to one’s own preferences, depending on one’s “lively” relationship with books and reading. World literature for Hesse is a dynamic, transformative concept, which changes with time; readers are not recipients of, but participants in the transformation of world literature. Hesse’s essay was written at a time when books were in competition with radio and cinema. As this first English translation enters our world saturated Journal of World LiteratureDownloaded from 3 (2018) Brill.com09/30/2021 417–441 08:45:35AM via free access hesse: a library of world literature 419 with social media—a world in which the book and the library are no longer confined by paper and walls—I hope that readers who prefer digital books will still find Hesse’s suggestions useful to build their own “virtual” library of world literature. ∵ I could not revise this “Library of World Literature,” which once appeared with Reclam, for this new edition animated by Werner Classen; I have only carried out a few small corrections. This attempt at an introduction to the world of books was written at a time when procuring a book was easy and less expensive. Meanwhile terror and war have completely done away with the world of books, especially German books; there is almost nothing left. Much of what has been destroyed will stay destroyed forever, or at least for a long time. When my little book first appeared, anyone who was interested could order the books it recommended at any bookstore. That will not hap- pen for a good while now. But at least in our country, public libraries have stayed intact, and our publishers are rapidly issuing new editions. However, to a large extent they are only first editions. Nonetheless, even today serious searchers will find the books that are most important to them. Montagnola, April 1945. H. H. Real education is not education for a purpose, but it has, like every pursuit towards perfection, meaning in itself. Just as the striving for physical strength, adroitness, and beauty does not have any final purpose, such as to make us rich or famous and powerful, but carries its reward in itself, in that it enhances our experience of life and our self-confidence, in that it makes us more cheerful and happier and gives us a greater feeling of security and health. Similarly, the pursuit of “education,” of intellectual and emotional perfection, is not an ardu- ous path to some limited objectives, but rather a delighting and strengthening expansion of our consciousness, an enrichment of our possibilities for life and happiness. Therefore real education, like real physical culture – simultaneous fulfillment and stimulus – achieves its purposes everywhere and yet does not rest; it is eternal travel in the endless, an implication in the universe, a living within the timeless. Its purpose is not the enhancement of particular capa- bilities and achievements, but rather assistance in giving meaning to our life, in interpreting our past, and in staying open to the future with fearless readi- ness. Journal of World Literature 3 (2018) 417–441 Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 08:45:35AM via free access 420 mani Of the paths that lead to such an education, one of the most important is the study of world literature, the gradual familiarization with the tremendous treasure of thoughts, experiences, symbols, fantasies and ideals, that the past has left for us in the works of authors and thinkers of many peoples. This path is endless, no can ever reach its end, no one could ever fully study or become acquainted with the entire literature of even just one single great culture, let alone that of the entirety of humanity. After all, every time we explore the work of a highly valued thinker or author with understanding, we experience fulfillment and elation – not dead knowledge, but living consciousness and compre- hension. It should not matter to us to have read or known as much as possible, but rather that we undertake a free and personal selection of masterpieces, to which we devote ourselves completely in moments of leisure, to get an idea of the vastness and abundance of that which was thought of and aspired to by humans, and to come into a vivifying and resonant relationship with totality itself, with the life and pulse of humanity. After all, this is the meaning of all life, in so far as it does not simply serve basic needs. By no means should reading “divert” us, but rather focus us; it should not mislead us about a meaningless life nor numb us with false consolation; but help us give our life an always higher, always fuller meaning. Now the selection through which we become acquainted with world literature will be different for every individual; it will depend not only on how much time and money the reader has to devote to this noble pursuit, but also on many other factors.

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