Plague Journal, Good Coffee
A good discussion last night on the writings of Martin Buber. Here are some samples from Buber’s book, Ich und Du. The German renders the title better than the English title of I and Thou. Thou in English is sonorous, off putting, with religious connotations from the King James Bible. In German, Du connotes intimacy, used by a friend addressing friend. Thus the German is more faithful to the intention of Buber’s words. This insight is gathered from the prologue written by Walter Kaufmann, the translator.
Basic words do not state something that might exist outside them; by being spoken they establish a mode of existence.
Whoever says You does not have something for his object. For wherever there is something there is also another something; every It borders on other Its; It is only by bordering on others. But where You is said, there is no something. You has no borders.
Whoever says You does not have something; he has nothing. But he stands in relation.
In every sphere, through everything that becomes present to us, we gaze toward the trail of the eternal You; in each we perceive a breath of it; in every You we address the eternal You, in every sphere according to its manner.
Three passages from Buber’s classic work. The first quotation establishes that language constructs and populates a world. Or in the words of Hannah Arendt, “Unless it is said, it is so to speak, non-existent.”
The second quotation points to the difference between what is meant by You, and meant by It. An It is defined by the borders which impinge upon other borders, the boundary lines of all Its. Things are objects with boundaries.
I lost my pocket knife for several days. In the habit of carrying it, I missed the utility of having something sharp at hand to quarter an apple. I overlooked the knife where I last used it. It lay, blade open, concealed from view as the shape and color blended with the surface of the box on which it lay. Boundaries define things which we have, — visually, tactile, and pragmatically.
By contrast You are a being-of-no-borders, a life to which we can only stand in relation. A life cannot be had, be possessed.
Standing in relation to a You I am present, as are he/she to me. Moreover we intuit the presence of the eternal You. This is according to the manner of each presence that we encounter. Buber does not easily use the word God, as a kind of shorthand, a throwaway circumlocution for what everyone already “knows.”
The coffee is especially good this morning. And what about a tune to hold onto for a Wednesday? Who’s Cryin’ Now by Journey extends the bittersweet of today’s theme. Can’t you see yourself seated front and center at this Budokan concert!?
Who’s Cryin’ Now
It’s been a mystery
And still they try to see
Why somethin’ good can hurt so bad
Caught on a one-way streets
The taste of bittersweet
Love will survive somehow, some way
One love feeds the fire
One heart burns desire
Wonder who’s cryin’ now
Two hearts born to run
Who’ll be the lonely one
Wonder who’s cryin’ now
So many stormy nights
So many wrongs or rights
Neither could change
Their headstrong ways
And in a lover’s rage
They tore another page
The fightin’ is worth
The love they save
One love feeds the fire
One heart burns desire
Wonder who’s cryin’ now
Two hearts born to run
Who’ll be the lonely one
Wonder who’s cryin’ now
Only so many tears you can cry
‘Til the heartache is over
And now you can say your love
Will never die
Whoooooa-oh-whoa
Whoooa-oh
Ooooooh-whoa, ooh-whooa
One love feeds the fire
One heart burns desire
Wonder who’s cryin’ now
Two hearts born to run
Who’ll be the lonely one
Wonder who’s cryin’ now
