To Journey to the Harz by Heine

"It was as yet very early in the morning when I left Göttingen, and the learned ——, beyond doubt, still lay in bed, dreaming as usual that he wandered in a fair garden, amid the beds of which grew innumerable white papers written over with citations.On these the sun shone cheerily, and he plucked up several here and there and laboriously planted them in new beds, while the sweetest songs of the nightingales rejoiced his old heart."

"One lady was evidently his wife—an altogether extensively constructed dame, gifted with a rubicund square mile of countenance, with dimples in her cheeks which looked like spittoons for cupids. A copious double chin appeared below, like an imperfect continuation of the face, while her high-piled bosom, which was defended by stiff points of lace and a many-cornered collar, as if by turrets and bastions, reminded one of a fortress. Still, it is by no means certain that this fortress would have resisted an ass laden with gold, any more than did that of which Philip of Macedon spoke."

"And, like a great poet, Nature knows how to produce the greatest effects with the most limited means. She has, after all, only a sun, trees, flowers, water, and love to work with. Of course, if the latter be lacking in the heart of the observer, the whole will, in all probability, present but a poor appearance; the sun is then only so many miles in diameter, the trees are good for firewood, the flowers are classified according to their stamens, and the water is wet."

It is all how one perceives it.

""Children," thought I, "are younger than we; they can remember when they were once trees or birds, and are consequently still able to understand them. We of larger growth are, alas, too old for that, and carry about in our heads too many sorrows and bad verses and too much legal lore."

"This little book was very badly printed, so that I greatly feared that the doctrines of faith made thereby but an unpleasant blotting-paper sort of impression upon the children's minds. I was also shocked at observing that the multiplication table—which surely seriously contradicts the Holy Trinity—was printed on the last page of the catechism, as it at once occurred to me that by this means the minds of the children might, even in their earliest years, be led to the most sinful skepticism."

"We Prussians are more intelligent, and, in our zeal for converting those heathen who are familiar with arithmetic, take good care not to print the multiplication table in the back of the catechism."

"Young Dollar, what a destiny awaits thee! What a cause wilt thou be of good and of evil! How thou wilt protect vice and patch up virtue! How thou wilt be beloved and accursed! How thou wilt aid in debauchery, pandering, lying, and murdering! How thou wilt restlessly roll along through clean and dirty hands for centuries, until finally, laden with tresspasses and weary with sin, thou wilt be gathered again unto thine own, in the bosom of an Abraham, who will melt thee down, purify thee, and form thee into a new and better being, perhaps an innocent little tea-spoon, with which my own great-great-grandson will mash his porridge."

I don't know how fitting this may be- but this reminds me of this song that I was introduced to in class.

"Other people may be wittier, more intelligent, and more agreeable, but none is so faithful as the real German race."

"Did I not know that fidelity is as old as the world, I would believe that a German heart had invented it."

"Tranquil even to stagnation as the life of these people may appear, it is, nevertheless, a real and vivid life. That ancient trembling crone who sits behind the stove opposite the great clothes-press may have been there for a quarter of a century, and all her thinking and feeling is, beyond a doubt, intimately blended with every corner of the stove and the carvings of the press. And clothes-press and stove live—for a human being hath breathed into them a portion of her soul."

"Clouds of evil flee before him, And those cobwebs of the brain Which forbade us love and pleasure, Scowling grimly on our pain."

"Thousand startling, wondrous flowers, Leaves of vast and fabled form, Strangely perfumed, wildly quivering, As if thrilled with passion's storm. In a crimson conflagration Roses o'er the tumult rise; Giant lilies, white as crystal, Shoot like columns to the skies. Great as suns, the stars above us Gaze adown with burning glow; Fill the lilies' cups gigantic With their lights' abundant flow."

"The sun poured down a cheerful light on the merry Burschen, in gaily colored garb, as they merrily pressed onward through the wood, disappearing here, coming to light again there, running across marshy places on trunks of trees, climbing over shelving steeps by grasping the projecting tree-roots; while they thrilled all the time in the merriest manner and received as joyous an answer from the twittering wood-birds, the invisibly plashing rivulets, and the resounding echo. When cheerful youth and beautiful nature meet, they mutually rejoice."

"We feel infinite happiness when the outer world blends with the world of our own soul, and green trees, thoughts, the songs of birds, gentle melancholy, the blue of heaven, memory, and the perfume of herbs, run together in sweet arabesques. Women best understand this feeling, and this may be the cause that such a sweet incredulous smile plays around their lips when we, with scholastic pride, boast of our logical deeds—how we have classified everything so nicely into subjective and objective; how our heads are provided, apothecary-like, with a thousand drawers, one of which contains reason, another understanding, the third wit, the fourth bad wit, and the fifth nothing at all—that is to say, the Idea."

"I also did well in mythology, and took a real delight in the mob of gods and goddesses who, so jolly and naked, governed the world."

"There was here, too, many a hard nut to crack; and I can remember as plainly as though it happened but yesterday that I once got into a bad scrape through la religion. I was asked at least six times in succession, "Henry, what is French for 'the faith?'" And six times, with an ever increasing inclination to weep, I replied, "It is called le crédit." And after the seventh question the furious examinator, purple in the face, cried, "It is called la religion"—and there was a rain of blows and a thunder of laughter from all my schoolmates. Madame, since that day I never hear the word religion without having my back turn pale with terror, and my cheeks turn red with shame. And to tell the honest truth, le crédit has during my life stood me in the better stead than la religion. It occurs to me just at this instant that I still owe the landlord of The Lion in Bologna five dollars. And I pledge you my sacred word of honor that I would willingly owe him five dollars more if I could only be certain that I should never again hear that unlucky word, la religion, as long as I live."

"The Emperor is dead. On a waste island in the Indian Sea lies his lonely grave, and he for whom the world was too narrow lies silently under a little hillock, where five weeping willows shake out their green hair, and a gentle little brook, murmuring sorrowfully, ripples by. There is no inscription on his tomb; but Clio, with unerring style, has written thereon invisible words, which will resound, like ghostly tones, through the centuries."

"As for the Germans, they need neither freedom nor equality. They are a speculative race, ideologists, prophets, and sages, dreamers who live only in the past and in the future, and who have no present."

"Should Freedom ever vanish from the entire world—which God forbid!—a German dreamer would discover her again in his dreams."

Wonderful description of the English. Capitalism

"Every age is a sphinx, which casts itself into the abyss when man has guessed its riddle."

"Truly Rome, the Hercules among races, was so thoroughly devoured by Jewish poison that helm and harness fell from its withered limbs, and its imperial war-voice died away into the wailing cadences of monkish prayer and the soft trilling of castrated boys."

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I enjoyed this narrative so much. I actually enjoyed his narrative as much as I did his poems. He is so witty in describing cultural differences, and viewpoints. The way he described the Germans is absolutely genius! He says, "The German loves liberty as though she were his old grandmother." And as though that would be a negative thing, he further supports it, "Dear sir, do not scold the Germans! If they are dreamers, still many of them have conceived such beautiful dreams that I would hardly incline to change them for the waking realities of our neighbors. Since we all sleep and dream, we can perhaps dispense with freedom; for our tyrants also sleep, and only dream their tyranny. We awoke only once—when the Catholic Romans robbed us of our dream-freedom; then we acted and conquered, and laid us down again and dreamed. O sir! do not mock our dreamers, for now and then they speak, like somnambulists, wondrous things in sleep, and their words become the seeds of freedom."
Heine expresses this devout love for his people in his narratives. The way he describes the German- in a sympathetic and tender way, clearly portrays the extent of his love for Germany. I mean, you get this really adorable description of this confused dreamer that in the end does stand up for what he believes in- no matter what happens. That is what makes the dreamer special- he may not be all "there" and yet when he is called up to protect his "ideals" he would fight until the death. What is more admirable than that?

Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Molière

I can see why Molière is so appreciated. This play was extremely entertaining. In reading the introduction of this book "Great farces", one starts to wonder what makes a good farce. "For true farces must have serious purpose." Is it really just humor or is there something behind it all? This play automatically answers that question. Molière is hilarious but at the same time criticizes society so strategically. Who ever said good humor cannot be extremely intelligent, and even get to the point where it becomes serious? That is the beauty behind this play. Because at the same time as we laugh at these comical characters one realizes that there ARE people STILL like that. In every stage of society. People that try to become something they never were. One cannot simply mimic good breeding. Good breeding is learned. Take fashion for example. Since the middle ages, fashion is used as a way of representing status. When the higher class came up with a new "trend", suddenly everyone was trying to mimic it. Everyone, including, and especially, the lower classes. One can see the corset worn by the higher classes, where it stifled and deformed bodies, to the lower ones where it was a slight version of that but at the same time giving flexibility for working in the fields. Isn't that fascinating? They brought down something from the higher classes into the lower ones...evolving, or even devolving it, to fit their needs. No matter what stage, one can pick up on the motive. The motive being the hope of reaching something they can never have. They tried to mimic good breeding in their own way, always hoping that they could someday be the real thing.

That is more of an "apparent" hope. But what can one say of the mentality? Sure, one always wants to look nice, no matter how poor one is. This can be seen in the way everyone else was in on the joke. and in the end profited from it. one doesn't need to set these people straight because more fun will come out of it. showing that there is no limit it is all about the idea of something. for instance if i tell you that a tea-kettle is fashionable to be worn on the head and that everyone is doing it. well then that puts you in a very interesting position. you have two choices. one would be to do what normal people do and condemn me as an imbecile. And declare that even if people do wear it they are stupid for doing so. A simple person would not hesitate to laugh into my face. The other choice would be to take me seriously. And that inside of you would ever believe such a lie? Your insecurities will. The insecurity that you aren't good enough for society. As in, "Oh really? Oh well that sounds odd... (here is the point where it separates) no matter, if everyone is doing it, well they know better than I. I need to conform. Come to think of it, wearing a teakettle wouldn't be at all bad. It actually strikes me as extremely fashionable, even genius." The power of rationality!!

I love the energy and fast-pace of this piece- a true farce.

Goodness, so apparently someone went and put kettles in random pictures? I don't know why I had to go and google it... anyways! They look rather fashionable don't they! I find the rust especially appealing.




And of course, as this is the first time that I have ever read Molière, I have to talk about the movie. I have never really heard of Molière in my daily life. Well...that is not surprising, since I am living in an extremely uncultured society. But as it is, I am not drawn to plays as much as I am to prose, and even the french authors I have read- they are the most "common" classics. Therefore, I came to read this book with a sort of "idea" in mind, about who Molière really was. And this farce so rightfully stands up for that. In the movie, everything was so fast-paced, and yet extremely sophisticated. The way all the facial features were so dramatic, and everything seemed to be so light and unimportant. While true daily emotions and thoughts were being exchanged. Yes, I know this is extremely vague...but from what I remember... I know that I was left with such an energy. The character portrayed such life and humor. Just as this play does.