O(,'!ihli.'1p1;b,'l t<1I/(»; 0,, fQ.~11(/t~ Pn:.s l.W ,, /rto,to/f~.', 19i6 ro the memory of f irst publi$hed by CARCANET PRESS LI MIT ED In 1986 Robert Stolz 208 ·2·12 Corn e)(ch~rige, M.anehmer M4 38 0 , UK 108 Eut 3 1H Streat. New York, NY 10016, USA
All rir,ht$ 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.Verlag GmbH & Co .. Munich
T 1i1Ml atlon & lntrodvct ion Copy 1i1,1hto 1976, 1986 by Han y Zoh n
(J.n't};./1 L,' /)('¥()' Cot,iOglt fn,; (r, Pl11J{}cqlfon Dlilv K<'1111s, Kt1:! H'I Ua( l:s. J. ,t()/liJtllms and ~lhtJrr.~ :. rl i!r $3 !>'.902()2 P7"2621.292,'
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The Pvbli$hcr ;x;kno,,.,lcdgesthe tini!l'lclal assi$tance of th<: Arts Council of Great B1italn.
l'thlr ~d IJ/ SRPLrt1 ., E~t W Half-T ruths & One-and-a-Ha lf Truths kraUS S EL ECTED AP M O R IS MS
~~~w~~~ HAR RY Z OHN
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UNIYfQSlrVOf f LO;,lijAil5RMltS "'~ ~ C ~ '°• C N E ~ 0 N .g " V. " ·~ ~ ~ C .f' g V. "' ~ N 1; -• • .t g 0 ::: • ,•"' ;s- ~ ? - .£ 0 "~ ~ ,, V. ~ ;; C - C. • .£ .""!,: s: e • Q .,, "• •; E 1! ~ -C• ", -" 0 ii5 C > -., ~ >· 0 , ,>•- .. E V. 0 $ .£ ~" t;• -C - ~ 0 ·"' -.,,. " "'-.,-: -" 0 s ·- :!! 0 -•(i ;,! " C - -0 u >< " " 7 ·~ ,lllitude tc ward it at(q~1obl~m_.i~.c...T he man has bee n HaRSbucg.d,e1310ll-i,"l,c.arn a le 1" spar,oed a.!most seventy ye.l's and witnessed th0!itic.1.I. social, an r'K;i h-Kah. , in Ccrma,1>-. 1 count:;· ·Nhich Robe,1 .\.\us:l p,111iculJ.r extremism ,rnd sense o ( the apocalyptic which A. i,,h is r)ovel The Man Wi1hout Q1.1aUOesca lled "Ka· p~~rvades his work·· and {hat Krnus "a ttacked his own ., k,,n ien; · O' "' Kakania .. , l(,aus hets of the Old,, trall•t located cm1>ire as a "prov ing g£ligated the unwor~hines's·e f-tb~ l~ it~ • deSll'UCtion"; his prewat <-Tri1tng:s-eOnstifl!te"~-:!ria~ions to, the trust which Cod had placed in 1hcm.'' ~her 6°1'r1hiSITI:1ior the,rc, cxpo$ing ar.d satirizing man~· o i ( l(',wir.g the JC\Vish fold In 1899 (rnd remaini kon- f ._the uglier features of Austri,m Ii(~ and cu1ture. From ~(jo ralos :religiou sly unaffiliated} for some year's, prison condition s to the (in,rncial r light of civil ser Kraus sccl'~t!y ,o nve,tecl to C 11hglkisro in ·1911,..on ly 1 vants, Kraus held o;.i to ridicule all tbat he foond to lc;:wet l-leea t~ lic,ehurche!eve n 'r'ears later in~ ' noxious, perce iving 1he seeds of Europea'l d1s,nt<:g,.i1io,'l protest against what he ,cgardcd ;is its V'I\Vholesome in wl,ano:o tKe"rsmi ght b.,.,-e ~ee"mcdl Ocal a,lCnncori- · 1>Mlicip.it 10n ir1 p:;_e.11do -artis.t:c.and touristic aspects .o SeGventiaJ pheffome na. ~ · - - the S.\lzburg Fe!tival. \+\/hatmusf aS--o·ie all'he bcrn e in' 1( ,riind ih hafttre -nian ,•.:ho once not~d that acco,dhg I () the census Vienn,1 h,,d 2.030,834 inhabitanls-" that Kraus's first satiric.ii wc rk o( importar.ce, Die e cafC freque nted by .,.,,,l,1t1. ~9)0!, :>, .!3: ;ind 6c-i'iold Vi<;llel.. ' ;t(;ir! K1:iu1,J.in .f ..;i ,11kle1 litc,ali.J1'hc follov.·:ng yeu saw him pr::>dvce the p,1m- ,wl rlie Zeit.'' in Ok!f'11.·1:ge;1 u,1(1· Dol(.:,n:er1re :M,C:ich: !<5~ 1fe1 F.ir.e ,'<.frTth e s~acd: ,1. Fr.n'( ric-'d. Tlic lJ sl O.:yJ oi Mal'lib:d: .~.ll.l 1(111\lSllt"d f.l(s 11>ow.t of <)n assimilatecl 1;~ncs1~JevN',-fn pat.l:e t1c with 1.:;{',.·1.t :i-:e--vY o,k: St. , 1a1t1n·s P1ess; 1,Q.'l(!Qn : ....i.,c mil!.1r & C".o•• the cause of soda lis,n, Kr,1us' s Jewishness and h so wn 1•11;,.,, p 60.
6 7 Karl Kraus: An Introdu ction
• ·'\Vl1cn the age died by its ovm hand, he was t~ l,and.'' 'fhus did 8etloh Hred ,l su-i, up the achie.,,ement oil Ktirl Kr,;1us ('1874-1936:, the vit1iollc Viennese sa.i.i,i~J \ who haull!d the µowe rfu~thepi iffnlalfkcl,ef ore 1h$ !!l.bw!i!Ld.h~t il-Oa. 1,d who gr._::w to be a leg~nd \ ~ 1nh 's ovm life1im.::,~r ed or vilified bV' ;s cor,tem pnr.u ies. II is o·,ly oi l,:itetha 1-~raefs's signi11c:anc:e has c:unu:: to be recognized in the English-spealdng world; •;arious ;i•tid es ar,d books of recent 6at<:h ;,we focused ni lica~ all'i.e d ensi\'e uutp\.H h,1s .;1r peared in t:ngrs·., uanslat·o~ howe\•er, ;rnd this p:imauh· for !WO reaso1u : fost. m1.1ch of his writir.g is so firmly roote d in the passing scene of his J I uro1>e or his Vienna that its lntelr gibil ity fot today's \ re.:ider w ould be sli ghl w itl'o: .11a n abu1}dance of 0 ,•,:pl.rnatory rnaner; secor.d and more importar\l', 1·K,.-.,1sdid nol,'' in frid 1 Mct:er's v.-c.Hds. ''wr ite 'in a l;,nguage,' b ut t!uou g"l ''lim the beauty. profo ndity, and
1 ac<:umul a.(ed mora l expe r:ence o f t he Ce r:nan l,10guage business in f.:wor of a literary caree~ Fra1z Kafka, Stefo·1 ·f' assumed personal shape ar'ld boca,l'le the c.r~1da l Zweig a'.!-d~Fr~ \Vcrfcl , among o the rs, jo ined 'Krnu:, · witness in the case th:s inspired pros-ecu1.or brought •l'l-SClc-c}m,S this J}ath.... ~ ,lgainsthi s timc .'·1 Kr,1us·s timeliness {and, at Ie ng last. ..Ha ....ing .itten-df d the Univers ity of Vienna witho uL.. his reial!w ~ exportab ility and tr;,rn:,lat.1bility) der ive at laking a deg ree, Kt t'H.JSo;, te-d (01 a ca reer o n the stage .· least in pa rt from ce rtain pa r.illels betwee n his era arid I lis sho l'tcomin~s as an ac to·. howeve ·, wme d him - _ ours, and fromlh e ,leed of our age (or his vibraJH irrevoc.:ably to jou tnclllsm .ind liter.a1ure, tho ugh h is ~ pacifism, his kind of defense of the spi1it ag.1inst de· 1alents fo, mimi~ an d _r,arody_wer.e,toJ io.d..M.!.P.1c humanizing tendencies, and his...::!l!!&_1::is:ic•moral <>xr~ i,lla' lc, pub lic ,ca din~ . Indee d, Kraus said -~.Jmper:~i~ ·· whi~b eqtia tes purity of la,~guase with of lmlise lf that ti·e w.ts perhaps the first .iuthor to purity of thought, with a return lo (he sources of ('lq>cdence h is ,,...,ilings as an ac!or; a:'l .?phori$n11IO- "-._ splihuaJ strength. and with steadi.istncss of ,noral d uded in this vohune :eferS to tl' c autho7r l,lcraiy wo rk it. p urpose. lit is the ai,n o( the present volt1me to set as '' writt en ac tin{ .'' before l:nglish rea ders a mosaic of Kati Kraus·s.views, In 1892 Kraus )Cgan to co ntribu te theater criticism, .lttitudes. and ideas as h~ di sclosed them iri Jp hotlstk hoo k reviews and o ther pro se pieces 10 a variety oj form, a manner o ( expn~ssion in wh ich Kraus has (ew news papers and r>eriodica ls. tole late, co nfessed that pc<:ts amo;1g mod~rn autho,s. h ·s youthiul Sto rm-an d-Stress period took the foul', of cv '.tlvating journ alistic and;l"!Jerary ..co nne ctions" with J view to earn ing ~v i1g wif'1in the iran'lowo, k o f Karl Kraus was born the so n o f a wc ll,to •do rnanu ~ libera l jo_urn alismUn his Jtive!y , of his life and wilh wh ich city he- like his co ntem t•rfete, slack and gern(ithch env if'Or)rrent, an d be ing ,(po rary Sigmund F,~ud- had a love -hate re lationsh ip. ;iccor d~d. as he p ut it, "t he ;;c;c;ursed pop ularity wh:Ch HiS'\\l·tfs,1 family situatio n not un1yptcal of the tuir1 of a grinnin g Vienn:i bestows." Because wo rk with in the tho cent u,y, o ne in whic h the so n~ o f Central European (stablislun ent see med t<>be hedged in with mulliforio us , Jew ish businessme n- o ften self-made men who headed taboo s .rnd cons 1dora.ticns oi a per:<.o nal and com patriarcha lly o rga nized families- rejected the iamily mcrd aJ nawr e, Kraus t'-.une d down a job o ffer from the / , ' ,t .l\'eve Freie Pr<·ssc- Vhm na's most pre:-tigious da ily ·1. £rich 11·rl!cr, "K.l.1t K1;i1,1;,"h , T,'ia Dlsiqt,('r,11«J .V.ii1d :,'-'e'" ;ind fouo~.s..o: u'.Qjo u~le £ackcl ('fhe ror ch), Yotk : Flf1111(.S!.-a~1$ & Cu6.tt·1.. '19j7:, p,. 239. - the ffrst Tueof whichjp pearecl on 1 A~I 18.22,
2 3 / .,., I I .• ~ \ ' r \ , .~, ~'", ,. ,·1, "t; ~ f The r:ack.<-,' to me .1ssess the F;;cke,'·s significar.ce anc - '- ~-- nevc:r con:ributeul it betwee n ,1s rriilk-a;,d •wJlcr to Kravs's viui o l: o f the ea: lv
1 qu otation ,ra -tro ~ talicn was t':1eh alln:a rk o f K,aus.'s \.ViUgenstein's equat iOr'I of '·'lang u~ge'' aper ) Kr..-lusb egan 10 wrile whc:1la centu,y top· he,w-; with ,e1>0m. They con tain the bulk of Kraus's lite1<11~'o.it 1>ut; h .•,:o, k:JI ,rnd cuht.Jt,l1 even1s ;ird inr ov.1tions was af)· ~ most o f tbc Sillory .• 1 1un:1in autob iO"f ~ and 1hc H\l.psb urg dyr1,1sl}·,wo·n out after a reigr , of over ~ > an inimit ,,bly persona l h ry 01 vs lrian affa~T he i'( hundred years. was CO(nir'g to ,l close along with sm•~l-for at F-1<:kelh;;1 d an exlraord 1r,~Hysat ifie'al A11Wia.~l·lun s,1,y, the pol h ko'.11c,c nstellalion o f its last ~ ~ od matters tha t might ~,we anra ctc d limited f1v(' dec;1des. The reign o i Emperor F,aoz Jose i, a man ~ nt 1. - sewl,e rc took o:i he1ghte 1;ed' .-ele·.•,:incewh en \",hom Kraus cam~ 10 au a.ck .ind lampoo:i ::is" the they made 1heir appea rance in ils pages, and "litl fe ...! . ~ i iO.'l ' • peo ple" there ac'1ieved "g reatness. " Thus Kraus's \ I ?. Siem, .. <.:.,I K1ai1>'1 V of u.ncu11g-c.''.\l t:Jt/r,:•: .'.~:;· pe riod ical cont inued to have a sood many cont ribulo,s, u "'IW Re•r,'e-."61 (1!16&i: ;J ,
4 5 vi
ri~d,,.with a,weth nic, politi..c;alor 5-ocial gr:-oup._ - anroinir ently in 1\oh ic .,.ic tories ov~f nawr e "' a "ld that ii. '·makes pw ses K,aus's li ie ar.d w ritin s, the fi~t, Anni e Kalmar, a out.o f hu ma, ski1' .., yo~:ng ac;tress wl1 ie m 19Q1 of tubcr culos s, had .'I 11..'l h<:O lhe t woman of grea t impo rtanc e to Krau s wa s profoum.l-a ocl{e_os1:-h.1.tf!!Ous: ::fnlluen<:eo n the mora: 1hc 6<1rones .s.S idonic i' tidhemY, a Czec h .al'istocr<1l to (' ist's e,1rlyt houg!JATh e ;·oung wo:nan·s asso<.iation whom Krau> pr opose d 1n a 1ria3c n-, o ,e than once V , with Krau$ occas,oncd :i scu·rilous ;.lll,1ck on her in a hctwc-c11913 and '19'1j a nd by whom he was coosis· ~- · Vicrn e-se p,1per after her dealh, a libel that opened the h·~llly w rne d !!pwn, pal'tl)· oo 1he stre ngth of 1he po et / '1/~ 1irisl's eyes to :he perve,sc .na nda·ds of sexu,ll mo, - IWke's couns.:;,Lll hc rcl.Hionsh ip (lhe so ur <.:eo f much \ ~ ;ility en tc rta ioe d by co nte mpo ra t\' Au:,11:fil Jh_us;.ya} a . 11( Kraus's po e try and man}' oi his apho 1isms on 1he • '- \\ n:i.a,.0.LJ~ f Krau~·$ earlier wo,k/fi,f{ a·1(l! he ..u bjcCl o{ wom en) ,~maird w arm un t I the s.at:rist's '- s.Ccond pericd0 il~7s cre.·u\ •ity nl'lf e ated froM the de.:llh. K•au:s's more than ,11hou sa nd le He rs ancl 1>0Sl· app earance of the essa y "Sillli chke't un d K1;m1nali 1lit" c,l•ds IO the O;m:mess . lon g tho ugh t lost, we re rc dis, ~a l.iJ:i-' nd C,imina1 Ju~t,c~; in 9_(9...T he <:ssay be• cuv ered in '1%9 and rc<:e r tly p ublished in Ge rm any . came the th ¢ 1>1ecc < o -.ep.gt:nco llection issued fhe co llec tio,1 i>o f inte rest fo 1 i1s J h l' unhea lthy respr:c l for,. went through live edition s be twee n '1910 and '1930. •,c icrn::c:a ,,d lec hr.ologv. Kraus's bWern ess 'A-as far fro«~h a\'i'lg run ii.) C¢urse, K,,1u$ e ngai; e d in unl'<:mi:fn g sa tirica l wa , farc aga: nsl howcve·: wri ting on Peary-'s disco .,.e ry o i 1he 'l o11h 1111~ press., a stru ggle motiva~ed by h is v'B 9 , \·Med the foccesoi corn,..1ption, dissolu lion .-ind deca'G ma•H ew;sh poet and essayist io, introduci ng the 1 Recognizing a d:sturbing idc,Hily bet-..,.een Zell and (C'uille1on in Germa,,>' and p:ovid ing an inheritance Z<:l:ung, his age and the-newspapc,s it sp,.wmed,w ,~h on whic;hJE>um~lism has ,drawn to this day: its ~u;)Ction I \·1/-orre {words) •,mirping ar.d destroy ing Werre (valuesi, 11., a dangerous 1rtcnned 1ary berwee" Mt ;:ind life a~d and nev,.s repo rls causing ,lSw ell as desc,ibi:lg .-ic;t:ons ;1H p.u.u iteo r both .. Cfeclt'ng<1d elete1ious. li:1guistic- \ ,m e eve nts, he had visions o f tho d estruction of the 11II,, dece itful mixtu,eo i intellect and inio,mation, 'f, world by the black magic of printer's ir:k {Ulller3,mg it•J)o,tago and lilc,atur~ l ''' '11 ,vze Magie is the tille o f,, co llec O' ' tion issued in ·1922 and made up of material (10:n the 1>rew,1r Fackef;. Kraus once expressed the wish that l he outbreak oi the war in 191.4 marked a 10mins poi'lt eve,ythin g could be printed in the Neve Freie Pr<:sse 'In Ktaus's life and creativity, and the ou1raged convic- 'f. so thil.t he might co,Kenu,lle his fire and. God-like, 1k,ns of the pa,Qfl_lland moialist in spited him to pro · ,est on the SC\1er.th d,1y. (Th;i.t libc,.il pape r, re:'err<:d fludmet 3rget i ~,..,,,t limes . .. .., which ma-,·be :egarded as the ge,m /t o( Kraus·s satire.; Kraus was c:onvinc<:d that the movir1g , <-II of his extensh•c w.i,tirnc output. .¼ra.us set himself fc'm:cs oi his time we1e enw,rnched not in parliaments up as the lone!v, boid, inexor.:able chronicler of what but in editorial offices, controlling capital and the he termed "t he las: day.Soi ,!Tlao~ind" and ''the Oa.·, of g:ovc,nfflent, influencing pubHc opinio n ,;is well a~ 1hc h1d1imcnt'' ior 1h(:"Dene~~I or a posterity th,11 might no-< J.Jft.s Jnd sciences, and ki~ling thought, taste, a.1}d ima.gi longer inhabit th's planet ··v.;haU u.u 1ake in tjle nation. Decodes before Hermann t-less-ecoined the w.ir," w,ote Kraus, ''is th rfteo r dea lh of langu~. '' H phi.1se ··(la:, feuilletonist sche-2eit3:tlc!r" in his utopl<1n ~o,csw11'ho1.1t say ing 10.Ufie WJSSlfi5CSl:ec i-15y ihe enor· 'lOVelTht! Class BeadG ,tme,;Brnus ,ccognizcd his era mrn1s loss of human lives. including those oi several of as ··'t"he.ise of the (euillcw n: "' which newspaper ;:ic h,s l>clovcdand admi~ed ,elatives, fellow v;fiters. and > cour.ts took p,cc~ @hceover evenls, form ed 'psed (.i ends. Kravs s<1w 1he w at as the tragedy of m,,nkind substance, and the style !he atmosphere, the '' pack• c·11,1ctcd by figures with all the stature, sul}jtance a.fld -< age" were all-import<1nt\Thep ress, that "go i1e1 ojJb.e.. 11u1 hf .111ess of charncters i" an operett;.l.' Witho\.1t )I~' wos ::ee'l ns the pollulor (If 1;:i.nguage and \\•,1ilins for !he detachmenl that time miSht have poisoner oi the huma.o s1>irit. In his polemical essay luought him, Kf,lllS.wro te 1hc~2 i._cenes of the 5 ac,li Heine 1.mddie Fo}gen (Heine and t'-'e ConseG,uences, <1fme je~zum Tdge cfer ,•.,fe:m:hhei! (The las t Da~·sof .,,,.,, 1910'.•, Kr,luS~ :sueb elween July ·19·1S and Jult.:.J.W. Tho first I !tis dramatic lypolotw of man's inhumanity lo man, vers,on of the pk,y jp pc,;11ec! in sever;il srec:ial issues of h 1'11<:(lll )· do<:ument ar~· in character, Is J striki11g amal· ... A the .'J<:!I) '1/i'1C'al andif),.!~ COf'lliCaoa t1<1g iC; C:VCll i1g bee n bot a mino r problem in lhat era. I ·1K,a us·s wlrnt seems to be 'ighthe.irted and pore I}'h w norc us, lifetime only the l:pilogue - " The t.,~t l'\ig:ll"-\v-a s hr>wcvcr. tc1:.ds :<>a cquire a cenain grimn(!SSfr om ilS )( 1>erformcd ir1J speci al s1;i;gev ersion; a her World War 1 or•text ;ind results i1~ s,1llows hu11or. The,e is no II, l'>owever, Heim icli l:jsch<:r, a do se Msoci,He of hui,,or 0 1 plot in the conventional :\ :is:otelian sense . Kra1..sar ,d his onc ti1ne !iteraiy executor, and Leopo ld 1h t• scenes r.inae in lc..-1gth fro,n o,,e -lh e "b lack~outs" l.indtberg prep ared an ab:ic'gcd versio,, of the drama ~u 1he u.;1dil.ion o( l'1e c.1ba'Cl (mo,e often 1ha1' not, (in its entirely it• un:, to almost 80:l p:inted pages) wl1,1l gc:ts bfackBerlin, ofi;c:e!>an d army b;,1rracks, churches and ,·i i-;," one cf the glories of Gc:nnan f)O(:hy; 1hc O:ivar- c.lfes. pl,Kes or .rn1usemen1and military hospitals, rail 1,111!>t orytel!er l.udwig Ganghofer who yode ls.h is ·,11,,y road !>lations a.:1d ar·ny po sts. The plJy's mc hurchmen. iourna lists and 1ht•-,umrn1ni1ion" "MJety who bear the na·n<:s of birds fe$lel'$, e .,tors and empero,s. 1lol.•1e are mar,y actual as , 11p ,cy; and .-\lice Schatek, lhe first woman ;i;ccredited ,,t well as fictitious pel"Sons, and through their authentic lu 1hc Austriondcn1, whose gushy speech pauer15 tl·er_r~ve;ilJ!_'_'ld l ~e~-® · Krnus ,tlfusions in denatured langunge ;i.bo ut the "com:no n 211empts-a s .~\ax Spalfr:1 has poi rued out- to 11<1ke 11111n," the ''liberated human spirit" and the ''forvo, of ;J a')BUil&Clhe •)lOral index qf ,;1d~ '..!!)g,.vtf)' 9f iife; 1ilil n "\ l1f'rienc;ing," a.nd whose see1dltio". "Ii 1,uth e tr,,gedy rushes toward its c<1t3cly.s.- 5. M:i:cs ,,a'1e,, e,echts 11/ld!Ucn· (U-altl'":>u?: Johs Hop'dns 1111<: concll,sion. s.u11ealistk louches are inlr<:duc:ed: i'r,o;s, 112 13 and Gas MJsks, Froze,, Soldiecs, 1200 O,ovmed Horses, Herc in this lind, where Cod is bough t and sold and the Doomed Children of the lu sic,rnia deliver and m,rnhood is pursued with execr,1tio11, chorus-Os,The rhymed ~pilogue is a hanow iog poetic all infam)' is coh,ed to pun.-sl gold satire raised to a superna tv·a t plane in which man•, oi ,md lords it high in honor' s station, the play's l'l)Otifs a:e ·de s1>lse you "l the words ,lltributed to Kaiser Wilhetm M the w;ir's ,rnd either get }'Our purse b)' some chicane beg"nning: "It h habe es nicht gcwollt'' \lhis was no t 1>1 1>al your back 10 show they prize you. lll'r' will;.. ~ere in this 1,,nd, wh.1tever be your bo• ~ you are not m.a5ter of )'Our own decisio,~ The sto,y of K1a\1s's postwar w1ithts ar.cl po lemics is The pest of greed ob trudes by every 1,ost, x.essc n1iallyt.h e hislO,y of l~ _disillusio'lment as his C!ffecth•ely to blighl )'Our \·ision. : ''homeland's loy,,I hater .''l,!!\e best that Kravs cou ld l-lere in this land you beat the emply air ;/ find to say about thu Aust11an Republic, which was ~till would you denouo ce one e\·il or ano ther, bede\·illed by "th e parasites reinaining from the im perial age and ~he blackhea ds of the ,cvcfo tion,' ' was and C\'CI)' grinning r.ucal debona ir l'lh3l it had repla<:ed 1he monarchy and rid Karl Kraus in this land hails )'OU,, s hi$ brothe r. or "tha t burdensome companio n, 1he othe, K.K.'' lrl a poem entitled ·'Herc in Thi~ Lal'ld,"'' Krnu~ described Among 1hos.e with who m Kravs en~agcd in ex.:ended his situat?.on a·1d pinpo intod wh,ll impEaded his full pole,nics over th-0 years ma',' be ,:,entioned the Ccr - effcct ive,,ess. 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 ( Herei n this land no one is deemed ;;i\)surd (,,1,J he two bcirg typical in th.it KtJ\1s's oppo1,~n1s '-1,ut who should s1>e.1kthe truifil And all defenseless h.1d ffeque n~ly been ci~~ r gc_eat..1.dm.it~ _m_J'... he t lands befo re the snec, ing;g'rinning herd, nr<>:1tly admired ,.by h1m.f Another apostle turned ~·•1lch holds a sense of honor sense less. 11posr.rr~ the psychoanalyst Fritz \Vittels who p,e ,.,,nted a.p r.per on '·Toe FJeke l Neurosis'' at a mee ting Ii. T'le 1roMl;,tion ii; that of A'bert R!r>t:h in J'y CO-.":scn:00 t:) iis re1>l'od1-cMn in :his oon:e:14 15 l • ~' - 1 l ·" I • llsh <'l fruitil..11l ine of co mmunic ation w ith the S.i!.tiri sl -Krn--us's publ--ic readin---~::gs of his:::~~ c;:wn works .:t"l;;d lth:~ose"' ~, / t 1f others nlUi t be reg2rdeci as ,rn i-ltegral part oi his ;,I' came 10 naught. \"/iu eh'> p.i.per con stituted something ,'-\"·" o i a countc: :offcn sive against !he pot shot s th.:il Kta'JS c u•,uh,il~'ar.d perha1>sev en .1s the apog~e of his 1 :\•/i!Swon t lo direc t J l the ,ol'actke o i :v i.alysis an d t lfr·ctivencstfo lkMing a iev, ea.dy re,;1dings in 1892. ,._(, , psychoan alysis general:i'· \Vhile he may have had sorne lwtwcc r1· 19·10-ar.d ·19~ 1(1a1.1sp1 esen1earl lo crush 1he hu1na'l spi ti:, la-gely thiOugb 11, l<11uc audiences in spellbinding one-man shows- X 1 , .t their (or,,y> ht o t~<: ,ca lm o i a,1 -criticism, and his wrre ctives lo lhc o-.,ergrown 1heat'i'iar'Spect<1des' of swo rd·crossing with t.he (lM lysts \\·an d 1936 K·aus ,eciled his adaptations fied th c•1y. t he literary :estilt of the S<~lobc,-86kcssy 11( 1hifleen :,e-ts ln l·is tta"lslaticn . wfr1o'iid 1en ff he Unconquer;i.bfes:, which p:emicre'even1cd him ments have become iigures, reports have materi;:1lized IMm .,chievi,1gl iter.ilness. Kr,;1us must h.ive felt that ho as forms. and d ic;hCsswnd e n two legs. ·1 Other plays 11wcanlM, ma.nf oi Offenbach's 1>ro,, :singco nc:ilia:i(ln ,rnd ;e ,Ke. op<.•re:aas,Vo'h ose esprit, enchantin g wit, and tel'ing "
16 17 social satire he 3-ppreciatcd ii) 1>~ogr3-mmatic cor Hast t 111.1juri1•; positioo in postwar A.uslria-grcw increas- ") ~}· to the Vien nese ope, et:a of his rm e (that oi f 1Jn,: lrtHlv:i, nl)oyed by wha t ii took to be l(raus's deficient l eh.ir and Emmeri<;h Kil.lmfii\. amo ng others) w''liCh 11f'de1s1anding of eco,,om ics, his b li ndness to the y Kraus regarded as inane, meret··ciou s, false, and v:i~ 11 h1cvcinents and promises of modc,.o tedrno logy. who lesom<:. 1111<1 his carpir g criticism, But in ·1933 Kraus sadly !f'11ll1eri the incommen surn.bility of the hum a,, spiri! ~ w!lh 1hc vnspea kabl~, b rutal and mindles.s pow c:1 ( Mi, fallt zu Hitler nichts cin"- Concerni.'lg Hitler I ,tw t lure across the Germ a,, border. ''ls ~hat which has cannot think of an'fthing lo sa.v.°SThi~ is ,he strildns l,r('1ld o ne lo the sp:rit s1ill a con cern of the spirit?" .-ils1se rnence of Kraus's work 1'.ifoD riae ···Valpurgimacht w,,~h is .1ns11ished question. And the equa lly anguish ed (The Thi•d \Nalpurgi~ Nigh!- lhe title reiers to both n 11ly he himself furnished was: ''Force is no objec t of ~ parts of Goe! he' s F.wst ,1s well as to the Third Reich:,, 1~olcrnics, madness no object of satire.'' wrinen in the late sp,ing and sum--ner of 1933 bul not Once ,,gain fa!lguagc ,.,..as i'l morta l dmge, (Kraus's x ,tpubl ished in its entire ty during Kraus·s liietime. That 11•rn.irks on this subjeicting the hu m an ope rclla.As K1aus Jtternp ts 10 dea l wit h the \':, · witches' sabbath of the time . The re had been no f :,cke( 1+.lif'ly c-x<:csses of 1he Nazi regime- which led him to .-~· for ten mo nths w'1er no. 088 appea red ill OOlitk,11 man w H in ,\u Wia's con~cr. Paradoxically, this led him to 'l 1 with an ad hoc attitud e 1ow;nd po li1 cs based 0,1 1>er ,1tl1•w ilh the de rico.ta sc;isl regime of Chancellor Doll S.Of"J1i:ies rather than parties. ''I a""l a member of no '"" '·· whose assassinalion in 1934 ca-ne as a sevc,cs patty," h~ had ,,·,!Hen in 1931, "bu i view them all with ~hcH"k and blow to Kraus. Many of the satirist's erstwhile ~disdain.'' And though he sup1>0'led the Social Demo· '"" " ' ;idhe1e11ts, some of th18 19 '\. stn.1gs le .-igJinst Hitle fism, but IIH!~' were d isapp o :nte d ,n,Hked that in the Yom Kippur \.Var o i ·1973 ''t here \Vas by what they regarded a$ his cquivccMlo n. 1\<-• sho rtage of the s.on o f re po rting which has bec ome {!lle f,l<:ke( lost man}~ ~.1ders, and Kraus was content , modem fe<1ture -an d a roauer of d i>f:rust-sincc l'-le ,( to reduc e h is 1eaders hie,ilo those who 1lO~ o,,iy hea·d 111<:tWor ld War, Md to w hich Karl Kra us has set a "the trumpets of t ·1~ day'' but who were ;ilso interesied 11,o numen1."s It is no t diifit uh lC imagine what Kiau s in Shakespeare . Nes troy, Offen ba ch, and Gcnm1n style, would ha .,.e had to say .-.boutt he ··Newspeak '' or our inclu d ing K,.,us·s uni c.uc '·commJ problem s." Kraus 1lav. a':Jout the cle11awred la:iJ~uagc of co nte mpora ry } p1ep;1red to "live in the safe sen :ence suuct ure," as he j)(>liticking, a language de signed to concea l, cot ,eve-al, ,t put ii , and t.( ed- pathe ticall~·a 1ld futilely- to pit the l111m.in 1houg h;, or abov t lhe "O ()ub lcthink'' in O rwell's 'J(' I f , wo ,d against the sword. His death o f heart fail ure on 1•1114.Sur e ly :here is a para llc' be twee n ,\ lice Scha lek's "" •\ ,f l 2 Jiine 1936 followh1Ga long period of physical .ind u~eo f the wo rd irit ual c>thaustion me·cifully s<1ved him fro m w itness with enemy trenc hes, or thc Viennese ...u lgarism iog the Nn i take-over of Austria 10 the ch"c,s oi most o!ud,·,1'1(fo r a sim:la1 a.Cl. .ind c -ur so lclic,y's ''was te" of ils po pula tion, and -a moog o the , ho u ors-t he ur "o ff" as c uph e mis.ms for "ki ll.., 5', cl ou: lingu istica lly , l~C., ,tlest ruClio,, o f his b<:-longings ,,-id lhe deaths of dose pN n'issive age. an e ra which, ;J;SMar sha:t McLuhan friend > in co nce nt ra:io n camps . " lo the tv;elveyear s ,,uts il, lends lo "byp..'tSS l,·rngua~c in fovor of a genc;a l 1hat followe d ~ht acc<:-ssron of Hille r to power in t o~ol' c CO'l~ ious,iess;· is as " la;1a11age- forsaken" as Germany," wrile s Fr,rnk Field, "th r gs wer e lO hap 1>en K,,,us's time. Rob<'rt l i!ienfe l;r:-'finiilly, has dra'wn ou , lh.:it surp asse d the most p<:ssiinisl·c ins:glHs of lhe ,11en 1ion lo 1, e inc.:ontroverlibic fa.ct that the vnco n- ~atiri:H: the bui lding or the co ncen trat io n ca mp al 11ue rables are bac k and th;,ll Kr.u,s w ould not fail to ~ Buchenwal d arcund Goet l-e's. beec h tree. (l-id the 1<-coxniz<:l hein . '' In his. time ," LilieMe ld wr ites, "ho procession s that took place into the e>:terminalior , 1 ,mid trade the m d own and unccwe r :he ir lies, for they chambers of 1-\uscl•wilz while e lsev,hQ1(i in the c,.;mp hu.'llM ~re? Reflection~ >,satire to o ur age is rea d ily a1>P¥ent. So .'ISlvte an ob · ,., , :he Y:iom Kipp 11-· W,:r ." AJR1t1fo11'!l ~l)()(I :1.011(!0-:,)23 , r.Q, 11 se,vcr oi the ls,ae li sce -ie as Rohe rt We itsd1 has ,c , , 1.-te:n•':c, 1973) : 1 '> ~obc•l L lienfe l,o 21 ry: / ''Mcioc Sprache ist die Alle,we ltshurc, die ich zu, 11,•nds, WeJl.ir.schauung cl'l, ., he wrc t.e i'l ·192 1, "what f:. J:rngfrau machc'' (My lansi..•age is the common pros 1i n.auc·s iirst or · , h~:;Qn~<::ncc. . , . .t,11rn "{:"'ITel If' \ tut~ that I tuul into .1_v irgin:. This.apho,i s1n1 llur1in.1tes ~;w(' c.u e a 0 111n o~hing but sentences, 1rustin8 th,ll ,J,bo th Kraus's mission and his rne thod " •/hile m.rn y lht" truth about manki'ld, lts w.us and 1C):plu1ions, ils 11 poets have s1rivc1 to res:ore pri~tine pu rity lO a lan lt•w:. and Ch ris:ia n; w ill o ccur to them.'1.!:.a,from seek · \ , -· •'> guage and make of ii o nte ,uon:: .a se,vi<:eab le veh icle In~ lmu uist:c exp ress ion (or an idea , Kraus makes a \,-)') .\t for poe tic t);,;J1cssion, Kr.1us·s.o bsession_with laoguage 1lmu~~htcome 10 him beca use he takes it by the wo i~ ',\ ·· ' w,•<:IH conside:ably befon d such a pur'Suh. As Heinrich (or ,1t its wo rd, ano~her 1>ossible mea nin g or ''be im \ Flsche · has po inled out , Kravs 'A'~l> '·'one'-ef the most '"°'ort''L ''A,~ ap hori-sm need not be true, bu\ it shou ld y. ma ,ked ego<:cntdcs of art, filled with a met aphys ical ovct tak:c tr uth,'' he o nce w rote. ''It mu st set beyo nd it \. co mpu lsion to trace in him self the div ine and intell ec: ,11, .., c.. n Sa:z. ., l he las: p.ut of this apho rism defies -.iual center o{ language .rnd ,e-1>1es.ent it through him 1r,1nslatio n; :;he Ge, ma'l ph rase means both "in one f seli.''' '!!fc saw an ;:ib;olute congruity bet wee,, word 1,en:enc;e'' a'l d " with o ne lea p,., and Krnus was fond oi r· · J nd w orld, language and life: th<.'unw o1thin ess of '!2 pl,,ying w:th - and even physica lly ill.1s1ra1ing- shis age was ror him de fined by i:s lrea tment of lang u."I~ linguistic (o·u ,itousness. • -,Kravs never t•:e rl oi emphas izir~g the con nect ion be - Desp ite the fact tha t K·aus 1Jised language to a:'I • tween language .'Ind mo ral i1y/1n h is eyes language was •l111os1apoc.:ilyp tic sis nificance. howe ver, he reve, ~ th ~mora l cr iterion and accre diTation for a wr iter or dev,..io;:ied ;i theory or ph i:osophy of language. bcir 1g _ spe ,, ke~ . P, Stet.!1,l<) b e sure, suspec ts that wha1 ho ('1scntia lly an un s.ys:errwtic ,rnd r.n !i-phi losopl-iic.il A . at· ha.s ca l@ kr,lUs"s "mo ral-lingu istic impe rati\'-e,'' his 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.,( e<1u,ltiO,'l of lingu ·stic ob tuseness or dishonesty with 1 ,·. moral lorpo, or d cgc ,'leri\c~·, may be an indica lioo th . ' the satirist w,1s ''Sl•ccumbing to th(}c urse oi Vienna 11nd 1he ide as o i Ludwig \ViHger1s1e·n, tl--e forctnost j ~..-·J / the ci t•; in w hich the <:x1>erime nt of rep lacing mora lity 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 betw.,een, or even ,,,..j , and po litics by the life o f the irnagir,atio n was carr ied to the ~n t of moia l par alysis and po litical disin :egra· idco;Hic atlon of, et hic; 11nd esthe tics.,t~ ·ingens tcin \ • tio n.'' ' 'i,Qid'ltl.. mg - litcr,Hure- mean l to Kraus cxclu~ ,,,,11ned ( •om Kraus how to th ink in .:t'l(rt hr:,ugh lan- 1 sivcly SprJchgesu ,'~~J.'lg- linguistic ior~' 'Op inions, ,l~•·1gc. y~t he lhou gh t ~gni;;s: language -w hich ro., ...J..,. lum. wJs .in -0bs:.,cle lo tho ugh t thal had to be p a,ns·• \ .!t, 10, Hcin,i<,;-ifi s(hc1, A'H:rworC to Kail Kt, .•, s, o:c s,,.-.icl:.e 1.,kingl•1su•mo i1'lled- w here;;.s Kraus fough l iQ! lall · ;-~ :Mudc h: KOsel, 19541, p. <14 1. ituilSe, mystica lly u .'lccvc ring thought thro t•sh )JJ Thu s linih Krnus and 'Ni agenste in s' , 1'1. St.em. p, 8:l. , r. : ... ·' 22 n from his own vis.ion of languilse. a fortreu cap,;1ble oi ";1:SiM1Uing inviolate against the com :p1ior. o f language t\eeds be lhe case with Karl J(raus, a selection ca .mot be fully rep rere ntativ e of tho write r's wo rk as a who le. In and mora ls tl"at they heheld all a,o uncf them. th,s particular Instance , it·s hovld be no ted th.'lt rnany It is next 10 im,oossib!c. on a large SQ le, to conv&-~· in Enslish an idea o i K:au$'s :Hyle, the most b1illi.mt i:1 o( lhe mo~t brilliant and cha racteristic o r J· tho se dea lins w ith its ait entio n to ve: bal asso ciatio ns. and ih-art fol p l,ws 1,msuagc, imagin3tion , the mis tic pfoce s.s, and verba l C'rcat ivit~·. have had to be e>·· rn many case s the aphor ist onr.,. (lre\ v his insp iration rrom the inexh,;1ustibfe reserv oir o f pu r.n!ng. with a d eep se riou snesstrmlef lymg his verbal w it, but ,1ls emp lo~·e cxtens i\•elV,IMany of Ms aph orislic say,r,gs 1hrust o f Kr.:ius's ideas woo kl havo been blunted o r ·~• y,,e re d istilled f,om .rlong.e r text t1a t had origi.'l,;1lly to mpfetely des troyed . As a result, wha t can be offered ~~ appe.:irec in p rose or verse; ;n .rn ap horism n•rnains in many insta nces the Meinungen (op inions ) car.1e, in ti,ne, to be 1~·:ica11t expan ded into ,rn epigra m, that Kraus abho rred rat her than the Ccdanken {id eas) •of wa s made to serv e as the nt1de1.1so f a prose p iece. that he w ished to co nvey . Yet a sufficient ly ro un ded The apho risms that make up the p re-sen t selec tion are tJiclure of Kr,luS the peMn arid the artist may eme rge drawr ) from the oo lleClion 8eim Vlor( gc ,~omm er.-(ed. 10 con vince the rea der that Krclus·s ap horism about a Heinrich Fische r, 19.;5;w hich inco rpo r,;1tes th,ce linguistic wo,k tran slate d into an othe r lclnguage beins smallc, co Cection s p ub lished by K,.-.usin his lifetun e: , ,1m1>arab1e to crossing a bord er wit hout on e's skin Sr,,Oche und Wide1sprii d1c,.;1 909), Pro domo c: mundo 11ml p utting on 1he local garb o n the othe , side is itself n912). and .-..·a.chi s (19 18t. ii "h alf-truth ." Bo th the choice ano' the transl.-.:ion o i these ap hcr ~ O ne or two examp les may serve to clarify both isms po x:d ce-rtain prob lems. Any select ioo from the K,.,us's imag inative respon s~ to language .-.nd the d if· ,,,ultics inherent hl trans ferrins th is , espon se to wo rk of an~·wfl tt:r is bouiid to be sub ject:ve <'Ind neces sMily ie flec ts the taste and the ju dgmen t o f one 11110 1her lang uage . The ;;ipho, ism ",\.tan l~bt n icht einma l cdi!or o r an tholog iH. Wh en tran >latabilit~· beco mes. the 1•inmal" is rend e,~d ·'Yo u don't even live once"; the prime criter ion for il'clus lon or non -inclusion. as mu s.t 111te Ger man saying '' .\~an le bt nu r einm al," wh ich has 111•l !ngfish eq uivalent in the (equalJyH ite) hedonist ic
24 25 '' Yo1.1only live once,'' has been turned around by of Kraus'sint erminable paragraphs, the satirist's de· Kraus. The English translation offered here seems to uactors might w reOcct a pessimistic 'NelcaMch,;1uung, a mere opinio n. ·rosum 1.1p: the reader sho·,1ld not, on the basis of an Yet Kraus has utilized the possibi lities of the German l1i-olated statement, attempt to pigeonhole Kr,ms in this languase to give \·erbal play to an icfe.ad irectly derived or 1h,,1ca !egory. Kraus was the most mercutial o( from this language: elnmaf, .stre~scd on the first syll.ablc thinkers: aI)J)arent ir·C01lsister.c·e.s an d contradicli ons and meaning "onc;e,'' is preceded by e!nma(, s1r-0ssecl 111hi s writ ings had for him no signiiiCJnc;e. 'vVroto the *' oo the sec;ond syllable and meaning- in se into the work~ !hat would re,1d s.omething !eke this: "One 's cha1\CCSo f lngso f a fascinating mind, it w'illcoun t itsQU a success. living a h.appyl ife tHe not even even." Yet such ii rendi · lion would have no place i1~t he I>resen1vo lume; it H.Z. would be a NachdJchtung, a free and somcr.vhat labored Ult ,\NO f.l s U 1' ,v eRSllY re·creation, r<'lther than an Obersetzung, a translation. W.'lh .h,;ro,, t..•lc1).u1cr,u.~e11.s Another case in point whecc an English rend iii on al Nov..-mbe, '1975 best results in a coni1>romise that. howe\•C1i"ge niOIJ$, c;annot do full jus~ice 10 a devaSl<'lt!t,gly wi uy·id ea is Kra us's aphorism ''Je grosserd er Stiefel, dest o 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.safzis ·•: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 27 My helplessness srows w·ilh the completion of whM I Mo· who cxprosses opjnio,, s must not let himself be have wrluen . The closer I co me to a word, the more it causht in .i co ntrad iction. He who has ideas 1hinks bleeSound opinions are value less. \.Vhat matters is who holds them. Opinions are contaslo us; the idea is a miasma.
S6 59 Most writers have no other quality than the reader: Wanted: a .suitabl-0de-sort for a Fata Morgtlna. tilste. But the t,11tterhas the better taste. becaose he does not write-a nd the best if ho do es.no t read.
My writings must be read lwice if one is to get close 10 them . But I don't object to their being read three Scholarship cou ld make itself usefol. A write r needs times. Howevef, I prefe, their not being read al all to all its subjects to supply the raw malerial for his.i mages, (heir being re;;ido nly once. I would not want to be and often he lacks a term which he surmises.but docs rcs1>onsible fo1 the conge; tions of a blockhea d who has no t know·. Looking it up is bo1hersome, bo ring, and no time . . . , O ne l'rlUSI r~ad all writers twice- the ove rl~· informative . Therefore, while a writer is worldos, 80od as well as the bad . The on-0 kind will be ,ec og· 1>eople ought to be sitling in the o~hcr rooms and come ,,ized; the other, unmasked . running on ;;i signal when tlfe writer has something to ask the m. One ,iog for 1hc histor ian, two for 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 I.et rny style cap ture all the sound s of my time. This also mas1ers the jargon of philoso phy. Out none of should mak-0it an anno)•ance to my co nlemporaries . them should be permi.tled to say more than what they llut later generatio ns should hold ir to their e.1rs like a are asl54 55 I Sa'I\'a 1>oet chase a butteril>·in a meadow. He put his An artist should make co ncessions to the listener. That r,et on a bench whe re a boy sat read ing a book. It's a is why Bruckner ded icated one of his ~ymphonies to misfortuoe tha t it is usually the othe( -.v;1yrou nd. the Good Lord.
A philistine is hab itually bored and looks for things Today's literature: presc riptions writte n by pi!tients. that wo~' t bore him. An artist finds things borirl8, but is never bored. In the beginn ing w.1s the review copy. and a man received it from the publisher. Then he wrote a revie'\v. Nestroy's words ought to app ly to an a1tist and an 'fhen he wrote a boo k which the pub lisher accepte d idea: ···1 have made a prisoner, and he won't let go of ,rnd sent on to someo ne else as a review copy. The me.'' man who receh·ed It did likewise. This is how modern literatu re came into being.
Why should one artist grasp another? Does Mount Vesuvius app reciate ,\Aou,"lt Etna? At most, a femioihe Most critics write critiques which Ml by the au thors relationship of jea lous comparisorl might deve lop: they write criliques abo ut. That would not be so bad, \Vho spits betterl but then most authots writ~ works which are by the critics who write critiques abo ut them.
,-\rtists have a right to be modest and a dvty to be vain. A poem is good until one knows by whom it is.
S2 S3 I eat grcc-dily out of s,eed fo r non-eating. 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 .
When I have my haif cut, I wor !'y that tho barbe r might cut o" e of my thoug hts. Mil ny thing s that I am experi encing I already 1cmember.
I would have stage-fright if I had to speak w ith every one of the people befo re w hom I speak. X s;iid disparagingly that no thir)g wou ld remain of me but a few good jokes. That, ;:it least. wo uld be some thing, but unio rtunatcl~·not C\'Orl that will femal n. for the few good jo kes were stolen long ago-b y X. I like to hol d a .-nonolog ue w ith wom en. 13ut a dialogue wilh myself is more stimul.'lting.
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 Many gentlt'.:men to whom I ha-.·eg i,..en walking pa.per$ 1hat I can also feel a thunde,storm com ing. have felt ofier1ded in their most femini ne fe-eling$.
\!\'hen the end of the worl d comes, I want to be livl ns Since thc-1;:iw proh ibits ihe keepi ng of wild animals in ,ctitemcn1. and I get no enjo yment from pels, I pre(er to remain unmarried,
'' 45 I dreamt th;it I h.id died for my co tin try. And right aw.iy Nothii)g is rrio re nanow -min ded than chauvini sm or a coffi n-lid opcocr was there, holding oul his hand fo, race hatted . To me ,1II men a,e equal : th-0,c arc jad a tip. asscs cvCr)•w here, and I have 1he sJme contempt fot all. No petty prcj udicc sr
"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 Oh no, I'm not a bellyacher. My hatred of Vienna is not w ho had ove(cstima{ed my defenselessness. '''.'Jo,'' I love gone astray. It's just that I've discovered a com said, w hich meant that I .idmittcd ii. Because if I had pletely new way of finding it unbeJrable. been someone else, I wo uld have started a conversation w ith th.it idiot.
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 Sorrento, August. For two v ...eeks now I haven't heard o ( hand . a German word or understood an Itali 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. He who gladly does w itho ut the praise of the cro\vd will not miss the oppo rtu1)ity o( becoming his own (an.
Nationa li sm is the love which ties me to the blockheads of my coun try, to the insultors of my wa-.·of llfo, and I lake the i ibert;· of ,o ,., Of ten I pri.ck my h,rnd wilh my pc·, ~vid know onl~·th en If I return some peo ple's ,greetings, I do so only 10 give that I have experienced wh<'lti :; written . them their greeting b ack.
r;;. <:n I read, it is not acted literature; b ul wh at I writ e I divide the peo ple who m I d on·t g,eet into four is writlen acting. groups. There are thos e ·Nhom I don' t gree t in o rder l 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 \'\'h.)t could be even more iascinating than the s1.1spense of attent ion. Bot then there are those wh.om Ldon't as 10 wh at the place whi ch I ho.-.,e so o ften im agi1H-:d g!eet in order~0~"'!0J.lO~~dfQ otcs. They are l will look like?T he suspense of how I res 1ore 01}'im a· even 1-arder to deal with. And finaUy there a,e those } sinatio n aile , I have seen 1he place . whom I do n·t sreel 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 , \.Vord and sub:.ta.nce--1hat is the cn ly connection 1 I.hose nuances in such a wa-.·lh at no inju stice is don e to __) ha ve ever striven for in my life. .,,~ .
When someone is about to accos t me. I hope till the '.Vh-.·, he's the one who thoug ht I've forgotten that~ last moment that the fe3r o( be ing comp ro mised will don' t know hiinl kee1>h im fro m do ing so. Out people are in trep id .
36 37
,, All the t.ilk o.nd actions oi t!le ~o.ca!Jed respo ,,slble The time is coml ns when the Co lden Fleece will be m~,, of toda ~· wo\1ld no t h.ive bee n r>ossible in :he fun :ished by the Colde n Cali. nurseries of ear lier centur ies. In toda~·'snurse ries, le wo uld whip iar less can'lo t give you. But any time you need a lig l>l, just come round; mine Is alw3.}'i lit." often than the~· now k:el inclined 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 Ii the eart h had any idea of how .lfta id the come t is ot' 10 the pfea sure of \Vhipping. Today :he ,e is no $uch co ntact wilh itl ,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! The devil is an op timist if he thinks h..:c.in make people meaner.
\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 The wo dd is a prjson in wh ich so lilMy cot 1finement is anima l, he s.:i.ys: " I'm h1,.1m<10,too !'' preferable.
A gourme t o nce t-0ld me that he preferred the scurn The,·e is no doubt that a dos Is loyal. Out does that oi the earth to the crea fr. of societ~·. mean we should emu l.-ite himl After _,.11, he is IOfal to poop le, not to o ther dogs.
106 '109 Ii'' I
A w•om::inwh ose $C>:valit)· is unending and a mal\ who constantly h3s ideas: lwo tdeo.1s of humanity whic'n lord, forgive them ... ma1\kind regards as pa1hological.
,.\t $Oine tim e in the \Vorld there must ha\'8 b een an im ~ Humanity and bestiality: when will the fonm.Hfi na11~· macvlate conception of volupwousness! be uttcrcsyc::an co nvince me lhleen. I 'I
The supe rman is a premalu ,e ideal, on~ th3t presup • Ji poses mao.
When there were no human rights, lhe exceptio n a\ individual hod then'). l hat was ioh uman. Then equality was c1e3led by taking the human rights away frorr, the exceptional kidividual.
·106 107 wo men are d emanding the hanc hise, both the active '·V•/o metl'S riehts'' are men's dutios. and the passJvek ind.'" Does this mean that they are to have the right to choose arl}' man and shou ld no to nger be blamed for letti ng themselvos be chosen by any ,nan? Heaven forb id, They meJn it po lilica lly . Men have /\ beggar was handed a j ail sente1lce because he had sat 11 pu t such desperate tho ught$ int o their heads. Now men o n a bench '·look i,,g sad. In lhe prese-nt o rder o( w il1 have no o ther cho ice but to demand of the go,..eul thln ss, rnen are suspect who looks.ad as arc wo men men t !hat they be allowed to menstruate at last. who loo k cheerf ul. Anp v,ly, socie ty p refers begsar-sto 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 . As lo ng as there is a women's fig hts move:nent, men should at least ,~sard the,nselves as du ty-bo ur,d to d is cont inu e chivalry. Nowaday!> 01,e can't even take .a chance and offer a woman a seat on the stre~tcar, fo r Society needs wom en o( bad charact
•K,aus plt'l'i'Swit h t1T4lwc ,-d Wal)!rcd: t, ....-hlch can 11'1&1'1t he 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.
104 105
