That’s a lot in one headline! But let’s just start at ‘the beginning’.

Nine-Eleven seems to have been the beginning of the so-called ‘War on Terror’. Planned and perpetrated, perhaps, by certain parties that hoped to win the world? – or perhaps to wreck the world through the ensuing chaos?

If this hypothesis is tentatively accepted, what can we then possibly say abt. how things are running along right now?

Well – in some ways the hypothetical plotters obviously have had at least some degree of success:

1. The economy is now almost perfectly set up for the next Grand Wrecking Party. Trillions of ‘fake’ dollars ‘printed’ and circulated without being backed by a corresponding amount of trillions of dollars of new value created – ofcourse amounts to really stealing the necessary ‘collateral’ from the value of already existing dollars/dollar-accounts. That is, the value of your dollar bills and your saving accounts is correspondingly diminished. Keine Hexerei – nur Behändigkeit!

These trillions of – what virtually amounts to – counterfeit dollars ofcourse tend to insanely inflate the nominal dollar value of the various kinds of hard assets, especially land and housing.

The money printers – the large global banks and private bankers, that also own/control the major central banks – have managed to have their puppet-economists and puppet-politicians obfuscate these rather simple facts mainly by keeping the value of land and housing out of the inflationary indexes. Quite insane, obviously!

In the last decade ‘everybody’ have been borrowing money like mad to buy starkly inflated assets – bonds, shares and housing mostly – at very low if not nearly zero rates.

Made possible by the banks having now for some years been swimming in massive amounts of easy – ‘counterfeit’ – dollars and euros.

The catch, ofcourse, is that all these loans ultimately have to be repaid in full. That is – if you and your progeny are not to be effectively debt-slaves for the rest of yours and their life. And remember most peoples salaries have in fact been stagnating or even diminishing throughout the same decade.

So when the general populace begin to realize that everybody are too deeply indebted to ever being able to repay this debt, then the panic should start? And that, I (and others) believe, is where we may be right now. That is, in these days and hours. Even Goldman-Sachs claim most crash indicators have been flashing a stark red within the last few days (cfm. zerohedge dot com).

2. There is thus seemingly an urgent need for another horrible, massively brutal and reckless terror- or war-happening? And as today is Sunday Sept.9th – wouldn’t it be just hunky-dory if ‘someone’ could please stage a chemical-attack in Syria, or something, on Nine-Eleven-Eighteen?

Personally I’ve cancelled my appointments and travels for tuesday (as a matter of fact had planned to visit Helsingborg, Sweden with relatives that very day), partly because it would certainly have been a well-nigh impossible-to-withstand temptation for certain parties to make a hit/kidnapping in the general chaos if a major war would please start in Syria that very day?

Because – mind you – an US-American assault on Syria in the wake of another false-flag chemical attack could, or should necessarily result in a Russian selfdefense-attack on the US-warships used as platforms for firing cruise-missiles?

If Russia once more wince from returning fire they could easily loose every and all vestige of any credibility left among friends and foes alike. Some observers think this could be the end of Putin’s rule in Russia.

Doubtless the insane global power brokers are – well, yes insane enough to test Mr. Putin. Some observers are ofcourse also clever judges of character so as to have noted, that Putin is not really a warrior. He is obviously a fighter, but seemingly no warrior. Perhaps he might give in?

In that case he – as well as all of Russia – is dead meat. Perhaps Mr. Putin and his friends might hope for a safe haven in f.i. Israel? But Russia in general would be sunk – set up to be raped and robbed once more, like when Mr. Rasputin helped to set it up for 1917?

Because the insane ‘Raubmörder’ – perhaps the bane of our beautiful planet, as the right honourable Mr. Voltaire reportedly thought? – will never let go of their prey and spoils of war until someone draw a line of fire!

But now back to our headline. This really nice early autumn day here in Copenhagen also is the last day of the ongoing dutch book sale in our downtown Heillig-Geist Church-house. The price today is 5 kroner pr item (80 US-cents, 70 Euro-cents). So lets take a look at my booty.

The second part of today’s headline

1. OB EINEM MANNE SEY ZUNEMEN EIN EELICHS WEYB ODER NICHT is the title of a small book by Abrecht von EYB, issued in Nürberg in 1472.

This new edition is a photographic reprint from 1993. 157 pages, bound in dark blue cloth, with original dust cover. From the back cover:

‘Zum erstenmal in der frühen Eheliteratur Deutschlands wird hier auch die Frau als Wesen geistiger Individualität gesehen. Zahlreiche den Ausführungen beigefügte Beispiele aus der Novellen- und Legendenliteratur sorgen für eine lehrreiche, differenzierte und – zumal für heutige Leser – erbaulich-vergnügliche Auseinandersetzung mit einem Thema von zeitloser Aktualität, das über die Jahrhunderte hinweg nach wie vor die Gemüter beiderlei Geschlechts bewegt und beschäftigt.

‘Die in der vorliegenden Ausgabe im Anhang untergebrachte Einführung von Helmut Weinacht bietet u.a. einen kurzen biographischen Abriss zu Albrecht von Eyb sowie eine Rezeptions- und Forschungsgeschichte. Dem reprographischen Nachdruck neu hinzugefügt sind 16 Holzschnittillustrationen aus dem 15. Jahrhundert, die den Text anschaulich ergänzen.’

It’s curious, though not necessarily easy, to read this german text from the late middle ages. But it would certainly have been helpful if the typeface had been just a trifle larger.

2.PROFILER. With drawings by Otto C. Carit Andersens Forlag, Copenhagen, 1944. 128p.

This small volume (in paperback) is an (anonymously edited) anthology of 11 essays by then living, well known danish authors, in which each on abt. a dozen pages tell about their life and work-day.

The authors are: Kjeld Abell, Knuth Becker, H.C.Branner, Aage Dons, Leck Fischer, Mogens Klitgaard, Jacob Paludan, Nis Petersen, Soya, Knud Sønderby, Johs. Wolff.

That is, pretty much the danish parnassus in the late war years. I’m sure it augurs for interesting reading.

3. FRANKRIGS LITERATURHISTORIE – I DET ATTENDE AARHUNDREDE. By Hermann Hettner. På dansk v. H.Schwanenflügel. Kjøbenhavn, Høst & Søn, 1875 (inside it says 1876).

From the short foreword I quote:

‘Det er ingen glimrende, men højst mærkværdig og vigtig Litteraturepoke, som jeg her skildrer. Man kan hverken skjænke Karaktererne eller Ideerne sin fulde Sympathi og Beundring; men dens indflydelse er så vidtomfattende og mægtig, at dens virkninger spores endnu den dag i dag.

‘Enhver har lov til at rose sig af sin flid. Jeg har redelig arbejdet efter kilderne. Man fører ofte disse forfattere paa tale; men man kjender kun lidt til dem. De fleste ville synes, at jeg har brugt for lyse, en eller anden, at jeg har anvendt for mørke farver. Jeg malte, hvad jeg saa.

‘Bibliografisk fuldstændighed har jeg paa intet punkt havt til hensigt at give. Litteraturhistorien er ikke historien om bøgerne, men ideernes og deres videnskabelige og kunstneriske formers historie’.

I’m quite sure I already own a sample of this book. But I don’t remember if it’s perhaps in a later edition or another language (originally issued in Germany). In any case this volume has all the charms of it’s time – nice paper that’s not too white, beautifully printed and bound – whence I may opt for discarding the other.

By the way I noticed this very specimen also in the previous sale. It’s both strange and also telling that nobody but myself in all of Copenhagen have felt compelled to pay 80 cents for this magnaficent volume on french literature in the ages of Louis XIV and XV. (Note 1)

4. DEN UNGE BRANDES. Miljø – Venner – Rejser – Kriser. By Henning Fenger. Gyldendal 1957, 273 p. Illustrated.

This volume is the second in a series by the author. It covers the years 1859-72 approx., i.e. the young years of Brandes (b.1842).

This softcover volume is in a somewhat shabby condition. But it shines by its many old and hard to find photographs (or Daguerreotypes) of Mr. Brandes and his family and friends.

Opposite page 224 is reproduced a photograph from 1870 of Hippolyte Taine, the french writer who was a friend of Mr. Brandes.

As an aside: I own many – or even most? – of Mr. Taine’s work in more or less contemporaty french editions. Only the work reportedly most used by Brandes (Taine’s book on contemporary french philosophers) eloped me like this:

I had found the book in a certain dutch book-sale and paid for it. But as the very nice shop assistant would help me bag my books, this very book slipped, fell to the floor and ‘broke it’s back’. Which wexed me so much I instantly discarded it. I shouldn’t have done that, ofcourse, and have come to ‘regret it ever since’. Especially ofcourse after learning this title was one of Mr. Brandes favourites, read and reread by him.

Perhaps I’m not supposed to have a keen interest in Mr. Brandes and his work, being as I am a distant relative of the redoutable editor (C.Ploug) of the main conservative paper in 19th century Copenhagen (Fædrelandet). But I have come to respect Mr. Brandes for his mature view, especially in his late years, and I look forward to skimming this volume.

Also today I fetched five more volumes of the French series of volumes that I talked about last

5. PARIS OU LE LIVRE DES CENT-ET-UN. Paris, Chez Ladvocat, 1832-34. Each volume abt. 400 pages. Bound in contemporary half calf. Passably preserved outside as well as inside. Volumes 4, 6, 9, 10 and 15 (vol.15 being the last in the series).

I have now learned this series was written and issued by a group of writers (101 in all?) in order to help a friendly but recently bankrupted publisher. The essays are thus supposed to be original items and not just reprints.

Among the content of the 9th volume you find (please excuse the missing diacritical signs, they are simply too much trouble to hunt down on my danish keyboard):

– Napoleon au Conseil-D’Etat. par M. Cormenin

– La Sorbonne. par M. Antoine Delatour

– Le Bois de Boulogne. par M. Amedee Gratiot

– La Force. par un Prevenu.

– Le Boulevart (sic) Du Temple. par M.N.Brazier.

– Une Visite a Saint-Germain. par M. Henry Martin

– La Vie De Cafe. par M. Merville.

– Une Seance Dans Un Cabinet De Lecture. par m. A.Fontaney

– Une Agence Dramatique. par m. Leon Halevy

– La Libraire a Paris. par M. Frederic Loulie

– Dix Heures Au Chateau de Ham. par L’Editeur du Livre des Cent-Et-Un.

6. GODE KLERKE. Litterære Essays. Af K.F.Plesner. København, Samleren, 1944. 185 pages.

Among the essays you find:

– Kardinal de Bernis

– Gamle Sibbern

– P.O.Brøndsted som kulturpersonlighed

– Poul Chievitz

– Valdemar Vedel

– Niels Møller

– Kai Friis Møller, skolar og poet

– Nis Petersen. Minder og dokumentation.

I’m quite sure I already own this title, must be somewhere in a stack or a book case. But for 80 cents I guess you can afford both ‘a user and a keeper’ of this slim volume.

On page 156 mr. Plesner writes in his essay on Kai Friis Møller, the leading critic:

‘Selv har han aldrig givet pardon eller taget personlige hensyn. “Hvor megen pris man end sætter på en forfatter, er det dog altid ærgerligt at måtte give ham ret i et og alt”, skriver han i en anmeldelse af Paul V. Rubow, den eneste fagfælle, for hvis lærdom og stil han viser tydelig respekt.’

7. DIE GÖTTLICHE KOMÖDIE. Von Karl Vossler. 2nd ed. 2 volumes. Heidelberg, Carl Winther, 1925, in all 835p. Very nicely bound in contemporary cloth

I had noticed these two beautifully bound volumes several times throughout this sale. But only today I learned they were dealing exclusively with Mr. Dantes famous comedy.

I dare to wager there must be some part(s) of these impressive volumes that’s of general interest also to the layman. From the foreword I quote:

‘Einem weiteren Kreise gebildeter Leser will dieses Werk das Verständnis von Dantes Göttlicher Komödie erschliessen. Zuerst sollen die bildungsgeschichtlichen Grundlagen betrachtet werden, auf denen die Dichtung sich erhebt, sodann diese selbst in ihrer poetischen Ursprünglichkeit und eigenart.

‘Im ersten Teil haben die Quellen des Dichters, im zweiten hat nur sein Werk das Wort; daher man den zweiten unabhängig vom ersten geniessen kann und vielleicht gut tut, zuerst den zweiten zu lesen, denne der erste setzt eine grosse Vertrautheit mit dem Gedichte voraus.’

All right – that’s it for today. Be safe – and look sharp for nine-eleven!

Note 1.
My massive, one volume ‘Oxford Companion To German Literature’ (by Henry and mary Garland, 1976, 977 pages) squanders fully eleven-and-a-half short (useless) lines on mr. Hettner!

But my Swedish encyclopaedia (Svensk Uppslagsbok, vol.12, 1935) uses almost a half page, and says a.o.: ‘En bestämd rationalistisk uppfattning, ej fri från moraliserande inslag, dominerar det friskt skrivna och populära arbetet, vars omdömen ännu för t.ex. 1920-talets Schück äre i stort sett auktoritativa.’

(Henrik Schück (1855-1947) was a swedish university professor and for many years a leading literature critic and -historian)

(9./12.Sep.2018)

Crossposted on www.gamleboeger.dk and http://blocnotesimma.wordpress.com

Tweets on www.twitter.com/gamleboeger