Tangled Legacies: Oracular Nostalgia and Vatic Abstractions

Tangled Legacies Ernst J nger sOn the Marble Cliffs Translated by Tess Lewis

ToneOracular Nostalgia Ihr alle kennt die wilde Schwermut, die uns bei der Erinnerung an Zeiten des Gl ckes ergreift. Wie unwiderruflich sind sie doch dahin, und unbarmherziger sind wir von ihnen getrennt als durch alle Entfernungen. Auch treten im Nachglanz die Bilder lockender hervor; wir denken an sie wie an den K rper einer toten Geliebten zur ck, der tief in der Erde ruht, und der uns nun gleich einer W sten-Spiegelung in einer h heren und geistigeren Pracht erschauern l t. (Opening lines) Hood You all know the wild grief that besets us when we remember times of happiness. How far beyond recall they are, and we are severed from them by something more pitiless than leagues and miles. In the afterlight, too, the images stand out more enticing than before; we think of them as we do of the body of a dead loved one who rests deep in the earth, and who now in his enhanced and spiritual splendour is like a mirage of the desert before which we must tremble. Mine You all know the fierce melancholy that overcomes us at the memory of happy times. How irrevocably these have fled, and we find ourselves separated from them by something even more pitiless than vast distances. In the afterglow, too, these images appear even more enticing; we think of them as we do of a dead lover s body, buried deep in the ground, now appearing before us like a mirage, and we tremble at its greater, more spiritual splendor.

Jnger 34 Wenn wir vom hohen Sitze auf die St tten schauten, wie sie der Mensch zum Schutz, zur Lust, zur Nahrung und Verehrung sich errichtet, dann schmolzen die Zeiten vor unserm Auge innig ineinander ein. Und wie aus offenen Schreinen traten die Toten unsichtbar hervor. Sie sind uns immer nah, wo unser Blick voll Liebe auf altbebautem Lande ruht, und wie in Stein und Ackerfurchen ihr Erbe lebt, so waltet ihr treuer Ahnen-Geist in Feld und Flur. Hood When from our lofty perch we looked down on the structures man had raised for his protection and his pleasure, to store his food or to contain his gods, the centuries fused before our eyes into a single span. And, as if the graves had opened, the dead rose up invisibly. They are always near to us when we look upon a land we love, in which an ancient culture has its roots; and just as their heritage live on in stone and tillage, their ancient spirit rules over meadow and field. Mine 27 When we contemplated from our lofty seat the abodes man had built for his protection, his pleasures, his provisions and devotions, then all the eras dissolved completely into one. And the dead seemed to emerge unseen from open coffins. They are always near if we but gaze lovingly at long cultivated lands, and just as their heritage lives on in stone and furrow, so their loyal ancestral spirits preside over field and meadow.

Balancing vatic abstractions with vivid imagery So war das Reich, das um die Marmor-Klippen dem Blick sich rundete. Wir sahen von ihrer H he das Leben, das auf altem Grunde wohl gezogen und gebunden wie die Rebe sich entfaltete und Fr chte trug. Und wir sahen auch seine Grenzen: die Gebirge, in denen hohe Freiheit, doch ohne F lle bei Barbaren- V lkern wohnte, und gegen Mitternacht die S mpfe und dunklen Gr nde, aus denen blutige Tyrannis droht. (end of chapter 8) Hood Such was the kingdom which offered itself to the view, and by which the Marble Cliffs were encircled. From their heights we saw life developing on ancient ground like the vines, orderly and well trained, and bearing fruit. And we saw its frontiers too: the mountains where lofty freedom but not plenty found its home among the barbarian peoples, and towards the north the swamps and dark recesses where bloody tyranny lurked. My version This was the realm encircling the Marble Cliffs our gaze took in. From the heights we saw life itself, well cultivated and carefully trained like the vines, unfolding on ancient lands and bearing fruit. We also saw its borders: the mountain range where barbarian tribes lived in lofty freedom, though without material abundance, and toward the north the marshes and gloomy lowlands where bloody tyranny lay in wait.

Oben, wo der Rmerstein im Weinland steht, fing ich die Erschpfte ein, und zitternd prete ich sie in den Arm, die feuerrote Maske ber ihr Gesicht gebeugt. Als ich sie wie tr umend und durch Zaubermacht gebannt so in meinem Griffe ruhend in meinem Griffe ruhend f f hlte streifte ich die Vogel-Larve auf die Stirn empor. Da begann auch sie zu l cheln, und leise legte sie die Hand auf meinen Mund leise, da ich nur den Atem, der durch ihre Finger wehte, in der Stille noch vernahm. (end of chapter 2) hlte, fa te mich das Mitleid an, und l chelnd Hood Up where the Roman stone stands in the wine lands I caught her, exhausted and trembling, pressed her in my arms and bent the fire-red mask over her face. When I felt her resting thus dreaming and spell-bewitched, compassion seized me, and with a smile I pushed the bird mask up on to my brow. I felt her resting thus in my clutch, Mine On the hillside above, where the Roman stone stands in the vineyards, I caught the exhausted woman and pressed her, trembling, tightly in my arms, my fire-red mask bent over her face. When I felt her limp in my grasp limp in my grasp, as if dreaming and spellbound by some enchantment, I took pity on her and with a smile raised the bird mask to my forehead. I felt her

In his Paris journals he wrote about his French translator Henri Thomas : I have the impression that he was being a little bit devious as he translated, for he knows how to walk like a hunter or trapper along the fault lines of language. Translation demands passion. Ich habe den Eindruck, da er bei der bertragung eine gewisse List hat walten lasen und wie ein J ger oder Fallensteller auf den Wechseln der Sprache zu wandeln wei . Zum bersetzen geh rt Passion.