Эрнст Юнгер - A German Officer in Occupied Paris - The War Journals, 1941-1945

Lamech is one of the Titans, a superman of Cainite culture, which we must imagine as possessing primeval fecundity as well as a dark splendor. Human sacrifice is part of their rituals. Their corruption (Genesis 6:2) reaches an extreme.

Cainite culture is the antediluvian model of pure power. In this regard, places like Sodom, Gomorrah, Babylon, and Dahomey are its later offshoots. The great fratricidal ritual sites on this earth are Cainite, like the Mexican teocallis , [32] Teocalli : the Aztec pyramid, on top of which is the temple where human sacrifice was performed. the Roman Circus, the barbaric dungeons of machine civilizations. Cainite are also red flags, whatever symbols they may display; Cainite are the death’s head units of Kniébolo; Cainite is a battleship that flaunts the name Marat, [33] Marat: The Russian battleship Petropavlovsk was renamed Marat in 1921 by the Soviets after the radical journalist and politician of the French revolutionary. who was one of the greatest butchers of humanity.

Cainite women are described as extraordinarily beautiful. “ Dans l’état de chute, la beauté est un monstre ” [In its fallen state, beauty is a monster] (Léon Bloy).

Dreams are froth—from eternity. [34] E. J. glosses a German proverb about the nature of dreams: “ Träume sind Schäume [Dreams are foam, froth].

Continued reading in Genesis. I am reading Delitzsch’s Commentar über die Genesis (1860) [ A New Commentary on Genesis (1888)] and Goldberg’s Maimonides. Kritik der jüdischen Glaubenslehre [ Maimonides: Critique of Jewish Doctrine , 1935] at the same time. Goldberg touches on themes that have engaged me for a long time, such as the relationship of Judaism to the twentieth century. In this context, Weininger’s suicide is like the loss of a military leader in a skirmish at a far-flung outpost. The Jew is eternal—this means he has an answer for every century. I am beginning to change my view that the twentieth century has been so unfavorable toward him. I believe the second half will bring surprises in this connection. It is precisely this terrible victimization that suggests this.

Shared human attributes are becoming more nationalized and differentiated as written culture evolves. Adam is the father of the human race. Abraham, the father of the Semitic peoples; Isaac, the father of Jews and Edomites; Jacob, the father of Israel.

Jacob may not be the greatest, but he is the most remarkable of the patriarchs. His person embodies a series of important decisions. His deception in gaining the blessing of the firstborn from his father finds its analogue in the preference of the Chosen People versus all others. His time spent in the house of Laban is the first Jewish exile, and Esau, the first anti-Semite.

The ancient gods still stand before us with their magical presence, perhaps even in competition. The abduction of Laban’s idols represents a robbery of the nomos . They are stolen by Rachel and concealed from the pursuing Laban by a taboo act. Rachel conceals them under her and makes herself untouchable by claiming that she is menstruating. Later they are buried at the foot of an oak tree near Sichem, along with the women’s brooches. Perhaps this is the same oak under which Abimelech is later exalted as king (Judges 9:6).

Jacob’s nocturnal wrestling with the Lord. Two general thoughts on this:

Man must not let himself be vanquished cheaply: God must force it upon him. Man will be tempted to let himself be thrown down before he is thoroughly subdued, completely subjugated by the High Power. This is a particular danger of our time, when human beings are threatened en masse and dragged innocent to execution.

Furthermore, the struggle takes place at night because, ever since his fall, man cannot endure looking upon the face of God. It is not until morning that he recognizes Him and receives a blessing from Him. Here night is human life, during which the arm of the invisible God often makes itself violently felt; dawn, when His face appears, represents death.

We must allow our rationalist nature to be overcome. This wrestling match is taking place today. God is prosecuting our case.

Pure activity rises only to the level of anecdote, but not to historical reality. In this connection, it is correct that Columbus is seen as the discoverer of America and not the Icelanders, who made landfall there long before him. In order to produce historical reality and productivity, we need to hit the target intentionally, not by accident. There must be a spiritual dimension here. This is the only way to transcend hazard and blind chance.

The powerful echo of lovemaking—a trembling answer from the innermost marrow of life.

There is frost on the garden, but we have beautiful sunshine. When I look at the bare beech tree streaming with light, I get a feeling of secret joy: “Summer is resting in the cupboard.”

I’ve begun to read about the quite topical subject of shipwrecks, starting with Raynal Les Naufragés (1870) [ Wrecked on a Reef (1874) ]. The book describes the Robinsinade of the author and his four companions after a shipwreck in the Auckland Islands south of New Zealand. The stranded survivors lived on the flesh of the plentiful sea lions there, as well as fish, mussels, albatross eggs, and wild berries. This gives the author the opportunity to mention a tree covered by tasty flaming-red berries, which might lend itself to planting and grafting in our gardens. The climate is raw; for weeks, storms howl around the rugged cliffs where the Pacific Ocean surf breaks. A woods stunted by the winds grows on a patch of turf. Colorful birds swoop through this thicket. Among them is a little gray parrot with a bright red breast that breeds in caves.

The little community is active, at first building a tent from the sails they have salvaged. This is soon followed by a hut and a workshop with a forge and carpentry shop, where they build a seaworthy boat over the course of twenty months. They are able to accomplish a crossing to Stewart Island on the southern tip of New Zealand with this craft in July 1865. The author is straightforward, clear, filled with common sense. He mentions Bible reading and group prayer as beneficial to communal life. On the other hand, he also mentions fermented drink and card playing as dangers. Consequently, they burn their cards and destroy their still after a fight.

A translation of this book would be worthwhile. I made a few excerpts for the book on islands that my brother Wolfgang, the geographer, is planning.

In the morning I received a visit from a reader named Rosenkranz. Penchant for botany, combined with knowledge of modern pharmacology and toxicology. We sat near the stove, talking about mescaline. He told me of a blind man, whose appetite for color had driven him to write to him, hoping for a visual hallucination. We then discussed the different ways of preparing opium cakes in China, India, Persia, and Turkey. The poppy capsules have to be scored on sunny days, for only in the presence of light does the bitter milk coagulate and develop the narcotic power that forms its inner luminescence. We also talked about an obsolete drug, lactuacarium , that derives from the thickened sap of wild lettuce. Fields of this plant were supposedly cultivated in Zell on the Moselle River. In former times, doctors equated its effect to opium.

The last day of the year. In the morning went to church, which was not just falling apart on the outside but also losing its charisma within. Nonetheless, it is still the best place to honor the dead and those who have been taken from us by fire, as well as our own fate.