David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.


20 July 2015

Regarding certain capital questions


Today, the kerfuffle continues over the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop's $5,000 helicopter ride from Melbourne to Geelong at tax payers' expense to attend a Liberal Party fundraiser. Blue blood snouts caught in the trough are popular theatre. 

 Questions are being asked, of course.
- Que pensez vous du capital? 
- Messieurs, j'en suis encore a faire sa connaissance!

 Preface to the French Edition (Marx, 1872) 

 To the citizen Maurice Lachâtre 
Dear Citizen, 
I applaud your idea of publishing the translation of “Das Kapital” as a serial. In this form the book will be more accessible to the working class, a consideration which to me outweighs everything else. 
That is the good side of your suggestion, but here is the reverse of the medal: the method of analysis which I have employed, and which had not previously been applied to economic subjects, makes the reading of the first chapters rather arduous, and it is to be feared that the French public, always impatient to come to a conclusion, eager to know the connexion between general principles and the immediate questions that have aroused their passions, may be disheartened because they will be unable to move on at once. 
That is a disadvantage I am powerless to overcome, unless it be by forewarning and forearming those readers who zealously seek the truth. There is no royal road to science, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of its steep paths have a chance of gaining its luminous summits. 
Believe me, 
dear citizen, 
Your devoted, 
Karl Marx 
London 
March 18, 1872

below : lithograph on offset by CHAM, Le Charivari, Dec. 1869
collection FIAPCE  (Perhaps someone who has acquired the first edition of Das Kapital in German has come to speak? The Paris Commune is formed 15 months later.)
       

         
Today, this headline and report in
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW :
Porsche profits triple in stark contrast to heavy losses at Holden
Porsche Australia has tripled profits and lifted revenues by 37 per cent to $428 million on strong sales of its luxury vehicles at a time when local car makers are reporting heavy losses.
       
Questions are being asked, of course.
- Que pensez vous du capital?
- Messieurs, j'en suis encore a faire sa connaissance!
                  

 Today, there are over 2.5 million Australians living below
The Poverty Line (see below)
(see also: "Taking a Line for a Ride in a Helicopter" by Paul Klee)

____________________________________     
       
Questions are being asked, of course.
- Que pensez vous du capital?
- Messieurs, j'en suis encore a faire sa connaissance!
        


 Questions are being asked, of course.
- Que'est-ce qu c'est un question?
- What is a question?

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