Thursday, January 15, 2009

Fits for all (d)evils

After the great destructions
Everyone will prove that he was innocent.
Günter Eich - "Think of This", 1955

14 comments:

  1. Well Sean, i'm sure you are not everyone?

    Bertus

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  2. Is there anything, anybody left after the Great Destruction?.)
    Kindest
    hans

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  3. So survival is indicitive of, if not evil itself, then collaboration...?

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  4. Nevin,
    well, at least as long as there's someone left. :)

    Bertus,
    example: I am not sure if I had given shelter to a Jew, 70 years ago, or if I had rather refused to do so, in order to save my own 'poor little innocent' life.
    In case I had not had the courage, very probably afterwards I had become an 'everyone'. One never knows ...

    Hans,
    ha, I 'knew' you would ask this question.

    La Craic,
    I understand all words, but don't get the meaning. Will you please be so kind and repeat in other words?
    :) Thanks in advance for your patience.

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  5. Ah I had not heard of Eich before. Perhaps to counter the first quote we should try to be another Eich quote instead:

    "be sand, not oil in the gears of the world"

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  6. Sean, I meant it in a very sarcastic way... I guess It was a little unclear..

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  7. Nevin,
    ah, all those pitfalls, especially when not blogging in one's native language - as you can see by my asking La Craic to repeat his question in other words.

    However, I think I got you right. :)
    Still, thank you. It's always good to ask. Many misunderstanding can be avoided.

    CherryPie,
    (almost) no doubt they will.

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  8. You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
    M.Gandhi
    So we can avoid a disaster..)
    Its pretty reactive, for example to call all politicians unreliable, which is the same calling all scientists idiots...
    Mwah...Nietsche could have say this..))
    Kindest
    hans

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  9. Sorry about that Sean, had a dose of philiosophy there. I was thinking, if the quote intones that the guilty will plead innocence after the great destruction, then in order to have survived the great destruction (assuming there's an emphasis on the 'great') intones guilt. Having played a part in the destruction oneself or having allowed or enabled it to happen by collaboration, or lack of opposition.
    I don't know Eich, or to waht he was refering, I was just taking it a bit generaly.
    Don't worry Sean, even I don't know what I'm on about.

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  10. I think the problem of interpretation here is that 'great destruction' reads like apocalypse to english readers, but I think Eich meant simply a destructive bombing or such like, i.e. a massacre. Perhaps 'great destructions' works better?

    A nice epigram anyway.

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  11. Hans,
    I think Eich had the same intention as Gandhi, as the poem ends with the verses you will find in my reply to ...

    La Craic,
    thank you, again, for your patience with this maltreator of the English language. :)
    You are right with your thoughts. Here the final verses:
    Think about it, you are responsible for every atrocity / committed far away from you—

    Chris,
    and you are right, too. :)
    The missing 's' will immediately be added.

    All,
    thank you very much for your thoughts. A pleasure to 'have' you. :)

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