Notes from the Basement

Random 27 Feb 2006 11:45 am

Passion

3 responses to “Passion”

1. on 27 Feb 2006 12:23 pm at 12:23 pm # WorldWideWeber

   An academic footnote: my attempt to find a “canonical” version of this quote in German on the web did not prove satisfying. It can be found in the following form here and here (for instance):

   Leidenschaften gehören nicht zum Menschen als etwas Natürliches. Sie sind immer Ausnahme oder Auswüchse. Bei wem sie das Maß überschreiten, der muss sich als Kranken betrachten und durch Arznei für sein Leben und seine Gesundheit sorgen. (…) Leidenschaften müssen bald vergehen, oder man muss sie vertreiben.

   Which could be rendered:

   Passions are not natural to mankind; they are always exceptions or excrescences. The man in whom they overstep the limits should regard himself as an invalid and seek a medicine for his life and for his health. … Passions must quickly pass or else they must be driven out.

   Another snippet seems to provide at least part of the ellipsis in the version above (although it throws in an extra bald in the second sentence):

   Ruhig in der Freude und ruhig im Schmerz ist der wahrhafte Mensch. Leidenschaften müssen bald vergehen, oder man muss sie bald vertreiben.

   Note that it leaves out schöne (“beautiful”—why did someone render it “ideal”?). This is the only one I’ve found that adds Kummer (sorrow) for good measure:

   Wozu hat denn der Mensch das himmlische Geschenk, die Hoffnung empfangen? (…) Ruhig in Freude und ruhig im Schmerz und Kummer ist der schöne, wahrhafte Mensch.

   What a mess!

2. on 4 Mar 2006 8:46 pm at 8:46 pm # Chaplconnie

   Sounds like stoicism, doesn’t it? Maybe it comes from fear of feeling too much, perhaps also from observations of people with mental illnesses. Such observations alone could make one fear passion, especially in the days before effective medications!

   Scary that the quote is from Brahms…. Not exactly an unpassionate or dispassionate dude, in my opinion!

3. on 6 Mar 2006 1:03 pm at 1:03 pm # WorldWideWeber

   The inclination to seek the middle and avoid the edges sounds more German than Greek to me (surprise!). Especially north German. His music does seem to belie the sentiment, but then again, some critics found him a bit of a stuffed shirt—an old fogey too concerned with form (for them, Wagner was the wave of the future). Maybe his music expresses the idea: Moderation in everything, including moderation.

   I agree: Schumann (or the Schumanns) may have had something to do with it.

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