FRÄULEIN WERDENFELS
What gave you the idea for the tetralogy
and when did the idea of the tetralogy first appear
HERR MEISTER
The idea of the tetralogy
indubitably my magnum opus
so far at least
had always been there in my head
The figure of Stieglitz first of all of course
I can't say at this or that particular point
that exciting idea was suddenly there
and from that moment on I pursued it passionately obsessively
The idea is there demanding to be pursued
it towers up before one higher and higher
as if one had an immense mountain range to climb
if one loses heart it will be impossible
to lose heart would bring everything to naught
before one had even started
FRÄULEIN WERDENFELS
Such a large-scale work
a work of two thousand pages
encompassing the whole of cultural history
how is that possible
HERR MEISTER
It is impossible to say
absolutely impossible to say
A philosopher cannot say he is philosophizing
a writer cannot say he is writing
a creator cannot say he is creating
my Professor Stieglitz says in the tetralogy
The endless pains
which one must take with every line
Stieglitz says
It is something one simply cannot imagine
Failure is there in every work of art
but with the grace of God we can succeed
we work our way in as into a mine
dig deeper and deeper bring our finds to the surface
Stieglitz says
© Ariadne Press
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