[lit-ideas] Three Men on the Bummel (Was: Kant)
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2004 09:25:43 EDT
In a message dated 9/29/2004 8:28:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,
Henninge@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
The Germans, "Respekt!" I would almost say, I believe with Kant,
that it is the most natural thing in the world to acknowledge the talent of
another, but Kant puts in words the source of this feeling of "naturalness":
it is this Achtung, respect, and more specifically, *respect for the law*,
"the consciousness of the immediate subordination of my will to a law and
its determination by it. . . . [This] respect extends not only to the law
itself, but to everything we think in accordance with it, as legal and moral
or as the object of the law of one's duties, for example, dutiful actions;
to rights; to law-abiding or even _talented_ persons (my emphasis), to the
extent that we ascribe the development of their abilities _to the legal use
of their freedom_ (m.e.); to our own (Selbstschätzung [self-esteem]) and to
any other free and reasonable being."
----
There is a fascinating book on this by Jerome K. Jerome, Three men on a
bummell (his presequel to Three men in a boat). Set in Germany, they find a
nice
old lady who won't cross a park because "there is a law forbidding it", even
though there is nobody to _see_ her violating the norm. I don't have the book
with me, but I can always misquote it. In any case, Jerome was working with
that assumption that all Germans are Kantian (and all Kantians are German --
the Henning Convertible Rule).
Cheers,
JL
----
Set ten years later than Three Men in a Boat it tells of a cycling
expedition through the Black Forest. The three fearless friends introduced in
Three
Men in a Boat decide to take a cycling trip through the Black Forest and end
up in a series of misadventures even more hilarious than their previous. 5
cassettes. A "bummel" is a journey without end. Whether we want to or not,
most
of us have to settle with a return to our regular exertions. So do these
heroes of THREE MEN IN A BOAT, only on this occasion, a cycling trip through
the
Black Forest, it seems they may cycle on forever, such are their problems.
Whether it's George attempting to buy a cushion for his aunt or Harris's
harrowing experience with a road-waterer, not to mention the routine problems
with
language and directions, things get very confused indeed! "A delightful
excursion in a world which, alas, exists no longer--and indeed may only have
been
found in the author's lively imagination." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)
Humorous tales of cycling the Black Forest -- I read this book--which I assume
is a fictionalized account of an actual journay--after having spent a year in
Germany and I bemused by the fact that the Germans that Jerome K. Jerome
characterizes in this book (published in 1900) are very similar to those of
the
present day. Added to this, is the fact that the book is mainly set in the
Black Forest region of Germany, which is where I stayed. So not only was this
book humorous and entertaining, it rekindled fond memories as well. The
writing I fear will disillusion the more casual reader, but for those who have
the
inclination, this book is a very worthwhile read.
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