Musings/Träumereien/Devaneios

“It strikes me now that everything that happened later in life was the consequence of that one impulsive adolescent decision to get out of England by the fastest available route and embrace the German muse as a substitute mother.”

Schiller’s “Die Deutsche Muse” epitomizes what I call the German Soul (taken from my own copy of the “Schiller Sämmtliche Werke” :

Kein Augustisch Alter blühte,

Keines Medicäers Güte

Lächelte der deutschen Kunst;

Sie ward nicht gepflegt vom Ruhme,

Sie entfaltete die Blume

Nicht am Strahl der Fürstengunst.

Von dem größten deutschen Sohne,

Von des großen Friedrich Throne

Ging sie schutzlos, ungeehrt.

Rühmend darf's der Deutsche sagen,

Höher darf das Herz ihm schlagen:

Selbst erschuf er sich den Werth.

Darum steigt in höherm Bogen,

Darum strömt in vollern Wogen

Deutscher Barden Hochgesang;

Und in eigner Fülle schwellend

Und aus Herzens Tiefe quellend,

Spottet er der Regeln Zwang

More than 30 years ago I also went into the world of spy fiction. It’s impossible to forget that. It happened in the worst day of my life; I was roaming my city, Lisbon, without rhyme or reason, when I found shelter in cinema Quarteto, one of my favourite movie theatres at the time. There was a spy movie cycle on. What did I watch? A lot of movies based on Le Carré’s movies. I was hooked for life. I went into the theatre and I was Alex Lamas, George Smiley, Karla, etc. for a while. I went into the obscure jungle of the Cold War with my eyes wide shut. It didn’t take long for them to open though. And they stayed open.

If you're into German Language and Literature, Genre Fiction, going into personal stuff, and outstanding literature, read on.