This fantastic state of mind, of a humanity that has outrun its ideas, is matched by a political scene in the grotesque style, with Salvation Army me… - Thomas Mann
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This fantastic state of mind, of a humanity that has outrun its ideas, is matched by a political scene in the grotesque style, with Salvation Army methods, hallelujahs and bell-ringing and dervishlike repetition of monotonous catchwords, until everybody foams at the mouth. Fanaticism turns into a means of salvation, enthusiasm into epileptic ecstasy, politics becomes an opiate for the masses, a proletarian eschatology; and reason veils her face.
Paul Thomas Mann (6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and mid-length stories, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual.
Biography information from
Wikiquote·
Portrait adapted from
Wikimedia Commons, Nobel Foundation (Public domain / CC0)
I believe that the revolutionary opportunism and the glow of false dawn in these tendencies — it is obvious that I mean the fascist tendencies — are tainted magic. Not only in this respect, but particularly in this respect, fascism is so thoroughly false that honorable youth throughout the world should be ashamed to have anything to do with it.
With astonishment Aschenbach noticed that the boy was entirely beautiful. His countenance, pale and gracefully reserved, was surrounded by ringlets of honey-colored hair, and with its straight nose, its enchanting mouth, its expression of sweet and divine gravity, it recalled Greek sculpture of the noblest period.
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Das war ein seltsamer Raum, hergerichtet in einem einzigen Stile: bizarre Künstlerlaune. Etrurische und japanische Vasen, spanische Fächer und Dolche, chinesische Schirme und italienische Mandolinen, afrikanische Muschelhörner und kleine antike Statuen, bunte Rokkoko-Nippes und wächserne Madonnen, alte Kupferstiche und Arbeiten aus Meysenberg eigenem Pinsel, - das alles war im ganzen Raum auf Tischen, Etagèren, Konsolen und an den Wänden, welche überdies gleich dem Fußboden mit dicken orientalischen Teppichen und verblichenen gestickten Seidenstoffen bedeckt waren, in schreienden Zusammenstellungen arrangiert, welche gleichsam auf sich selbst mit Fingern wiesen.
