Erbarme dich, mein Gott

 

In Praise of Shadows

 

«A Japanese room might be likened to an inkwash painting, the paper-panelled shoji being the expanse where the ink is thinnest, and the alcove where it is darkest. Whenever I see the alcove of a tastefully built Japanese room, I marvel at our comprehension of the secrets of shadows, our sensitive use of shadow and light. For the beauty of the alcove is not the work of some clever device. An empty space is marked off with plain wood and plain walls, so that the light drawn into it forms dom shadows within emptiness. There is nothing more. And yet, when we gaze into the darkness that gathers behind the crossbeam, around the flower vase, beneath the shelves, though we know perfectly well it is mere shadow, we are overcome with the feeling that this small corner of the atmosphere there reigns complete and utter silence; that here in the darkness immutable tranquillity holds sway. The 'mysterious Orient' of which Westerners speak probably refers to the uncanny silence of this dark places. And even we as children would feel an inexpressible chill as we peered into the depths of an alcove to which the sunlight had never penetrated. Where lies the key to this mystery? Ultimately it is the magic of shadows, Were the shadows to be banished from its corners, the alcove would in that instant revert to mere void.»

«Why should this propensity to seek beauty in darkness be so strong only in Orientals? The West too has known a time when there was no electricity, gas, or petroleum, and yet so far as I know the West has never been disposed to delight in shadows. Japanese ghosts have traditionally had no feet; Western ghosts have feet, but are transparent. As even this trifle suggests, pitch darkness has always occupied our fantasies, while in the West even ghosts are as clear as glass. This is true to of our household implements: we prefer colors compounded of darkness, they prefer colors of sunlight. And of silver and copperware: we love them for the burnish and patina, which they consider unclean, insanitary, and polish to a glittering brilliance. They paint their ceilings and walls in pale colors to drive out as many of the shadows as they can. We fill our gardens with dense plantings, they spread out a flat expanse of grass.

But what produces such differences in taste? In my opinion it is this: we Orientals tend to seek our satisfactions in whatever surroundings we happen to find ourselves, to content ourselves with things as they are; and so darkness causes us no discontent, we resign ourselves to it as inevitable. If light is scarce then light is scarce; we will immerse ourselves in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty. But the progressive Westerner is determined always to better his lot. From candle to oil lamp, oil lamp to gaslight, gaslight to electric light - his quest for a brighter light never ceases, he spares no pins to eradicate even the minutest shadow.» 

Junichiro Tanizaki, "In Praise of Shadows", Thomas J. Harper & Edward G. Seidenstcker (trad.), Penguin Random House, p. 39-40 e 62-64      

Alexis de Tocqueville - Cadernos de viagem

 

«[S]i je vais plus loin encore, et que, parmi ces traits divers, je cherche le principal et celui qui peut résumer presque touts les autres, je découvre que, dans la plupart des opérations de l'esprit, chaque Américain n'en appelle qu'à l'effort individuel de sa raison. L'Amérique est donc l'un des pays du monde où l'on étudie le moins et où l'on suit le mieux les préceptes de Descartes. Cela ne doit pas surprendre.»

«Les passions qui agitent le plus profondément les Américains sont des passions commerciales et non des passions politiques, ou plutôt ils transportent dans la politique des habitudes du négoce. Ils aiment l'ordre, sans lequel les affaires ne sauraient prospérer, et ils prisent particulièrement la regularité des moeurs, qui fonde les bonnes maisons; ils préfèrent le bons sens qui crée les grandes fortunes au génie que souvent les dissipe; les idées générales effraient leurs esprits accoutumés aux calculs positifs, et parmi eux, la pratique est plus en honneurs que la théorie.»

«Ce n'est pas qu'aux États-Unis comme ailleurs il n'y ait des riches; je ne connais même pas de pays où l'amour de l'argent tienne une plus large place dans le coeur de l'homme et où l'on professe um mépris plus profond pour la théorie de l'égalité permanente des biens. Mais la fortune y circule avec une incroyable rapidité, et l'expérience apprend qu'il est rare de voir deux générations en recueillir les faveurs.» 

Nicolas Baverez, "Le Monde selon Tocqueville - Combats pour la liberté", Éditions Tallandier, 2021, p.82-83