Ponderable Quotes from 'On the Marble Cliffs' by Ernst Jünger

At long last, I finally acquired a pdf copy of Ernst Jünger’s On the Marble Cliffs, translated from the German by Stuart Hood (New Directions, 1947). Sadly, an affordable hardcopy continues to elude me. 

At a mere 120 pages long, the book, under normal circumstances, could be read in a single sitting, however I found the digital pages a bit straining for my waning eyes. Despite the pleasure I had reading the story, it took me thrice as long to finish. 

Described to me as “hauntingly beautiful” before I read it, the work certainly lived up to expectations. Reminiscent of Eumeswil (1977), The Glass Bees (1957) and Jünger’s other fictional vignettes, images of the fanciful Campagna with its sundry fauna, flora, topography and people leapt off the pages and came to life in my imagination.

Below are a handful of passages that I found compelling and made a note of while reading; not necessarily for their literary beauty, but rather for their deeper meanings.

You all know the wild grief that besets us when we remember times of happiness. (P. 7)

They say that if one falls headlong into an abyss one sees things in the minutest detail as though through a crystal-clear lens. (P. 27)

Men who had deemed themselves strong-minded enough to cut the links with the faith of their fathers fell under the yoke and spell of barbarian idols. The sight they offered in their blindness was more loathsome than drunkenness at noon. Thinking to fly and boasting of their powers, they grovelled in the dust. (P. 38)

In base hearts there lies deep-seated a burning hatred of beauty. (P. 44)

But since the right arm is more obedient than the heart, our spirit was with the people who defended their hereditary freedom so gallantly against great odds. (P. 49)

In this respect man-made order is like the universe-from time to time it must plunge into the flames to be born anew. (P. 49-50)

In the word we recognised the gleaming magic blade before which tyrants pale. (P. 59)

Thus the decline of order brings good fortune to none. (P. 67)

Like all who hunger after power and mastery, he was led astray by his wild dreams into the realm of Utopias. (P. 79)

Then a shudder ran through my inmost heart, for I realised that he had been worthy of his forefathers, the tamers of monsters; he had slain the dragon fear in his own breast. Then I was certain of something which I had often doubted-there were still noble beings amongst us in whose hearts lived unshakable knowledge of a lofty ordered life. And since a high example leads us in its train, I took an oath before this head that from that day forth I would rather fall with the free men than go in triumph among the slaves. (P. 105)

Ponderable Quotes from ’The Peace’ by Ernst Jünger

For Veterans Day I unearthed and reread my old copy of The Peace (1943) by Ernst Jünger.* A short book, at a mere 77 pages it can be read in a single sitting. As relevant today as it was when written, the author lays out his lofty ideas for a just peace and Christian imperium following the Second World War. If interested, the essay was recently republished by Rogue Scholar Press in August, 2022.

"Liberty, on the other hand, dominates in diversity—wherever nations and men differ. That applies to their history, their speech and race, to their customs and habits, their art and their religion. Here there cannot be too many colors on the palette.

"Thus the European constitution must skillfully distinguish the cultural plane from that of material civilization, forming them into picture and frame so as to unite their benefits for the human race. It must create territorial and political unity while preserving historical diversity. That implies at the same time distinguishing between the technical and the organic world. The state as supreme symbol of technical achievement takes the nations in its toils, yet they live in freedom under its protection. Then history will take a hand and give new contents to old forms. Europe can become a fatherland, yet many homelands will remain within its territories." (p.61)

* * * 

"Thus each one of us is like a light which as it grows overcomes the surrounding gloom. A little light is greater, has more power than thick darkness.

"That is true also of those who are destined to fall. They pass in goodly fellowship through lofty portals into eternity. The real struggle in which we are involved is more and more clearly that between the powers of destruction and the powers of life. In that fight the fighters for justice stand shoulder to shoulder like the chivalry of old.

"The more fully this finds expression the more enduring will be the peace." (p.77)

* The Peace by Ernst Juenger, translated from the German by Stuart O. Hood, 1984, Henry Regency Company

Ponderable Quotes from ‘Aladdin’s Problem’ by Ernst Jünger

One should not be content with that; statistics are devised for parochial minds. What does, say, the question "What is your favorite color?" mean to someone who feels good in a fog or who is delighted by a palette, an opal, a rainbow, a sunset in Manila? Besides, under every normal stratum, we come upon a more deeply universal stratum, the human one. Man remains the enigma per se. [pp.68-69]

* * *

My nihilism is based on concrete experiences. [p.70]

* * *

I regard it as a mistake to call Dionysus a god; I contest it. He has a place on Mount Olympus as a close relative, also as a guest of honor. Dionysus is more than a god and less—he is earth exposed, nature revealed. He is a demon, a polymorphic Titan. This is not contradicted by one of the myths about him which says he was torn to shreds by the Titans—that is simply the way they are. Dionysus himself is torn, he tears, he is overpowering. His place is not so much on Olympus as in Eleusis, between Persephone and Demeter.

[…]

Rather than expatiating on this, I wish to focus on the present. The fact that we, largely in a passive manner, are participating in a fall of the gods is obvious as far away as India and New Guinea. Titanic forces in mechanical disguise are supplanting the gods. Wherever Zeus no longer rules, crown, scepter, and borders are becoming senseless; with Ares, the heroes are making their farewells; and with Great Pan, nature is dying. Wherever Aphrodite is waning, there is promiscuous interbreeding.

The power of Dionysus testifies to the fact that he alone survives. He is the master of festivities in palaces and among the masses, he is at home with princes and beggars. His light enchants the mayfly, which burns itself on him. [pp.70-71]

* * *

Frederick III, German Emperor, King of Prussia, ruled for ninety days before succumbing to his cancer of the larynx. I can picture Bismarck going to the monarch's bed and submitting documents for him to sign. What are provinces, the Black Eagle, unrest in the Silesian mining districts, compared with the small knot in the throat—the kaiser no longer listens to the chancellor, he pays heed only to clearing his throat, torturously forcing the mucus through the tube. Man is alone. [p.114]

* Reprinted from Aladdin’s Problem by Ernst Jünger, Marsilio Publishers, 1990