The newest edition of Hyperion: On the future of Aesthetics, including some excerpts from my forthcoming collection of translations of Musil's short prose, is up and available for reading or download at these various sites:
http://contramundum.net/hyperion/
Please enjoy and spread the words!
Has anyone tracked down the "Abdul Hasan Summum" of Sufism who pops up at the end of the posthumous papers (#1770) in MwQ II trans. Pike, B? That the "story of Agathe and Ulrich would have been more impressive told as a story about him" really demands an answer. Likewise the semantically thrice underlined sentence: "Important: the argument with Lao-tsu, which makes Ulrich, but also my task, comprehensible..." found in the same paragraph. What material on Sufism and Lao-tsu would have been available to Musil during the gestation of MwQ? Would sources have been strictly textual, promulgated by enthusiasts, exoticists and professors, or were there communities of practitioners at least in the cognizance of Austrian/ German intelligentsia at this time? Forthcoming information greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWell, one thing to note is that Musil's uncle, Alois Musil, was a famous Arabic explorer. Musil read widely in all branches of comparative religion either in primary texts and/or in secondary volumes. One classic collection that everyone read was Martin Buber's Ecstatic Confessions, which included an excerpt from Attar's Conference of the Birds (Musil took a quote from this as the title of his chapter, "Throw Everything You Have in to The Fire...". Max Müller's translations of the Sacred Books of the East were available by the mid-1800's, but I don't know whether Musil read these directly.Nietzsche, of course, mentions the "assassins"...who may have been related to the Abdu Hasan of Musil's comment. As to practitioners, I can't say, but it would be interesting to find out what Robert got from his uncle,Alois, and if they were even in touch.
ReplyDeleteNope, but am too interested in solving the mystery, as I´m for myself pondering over it for at least two years, but with just no time to sit down and track it back. Thus working on my thesis about Musil in the context of mystical emotionality. Super finding out that there is a forum of devoted ones ... greetings
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Ivana! Looking forward to future conversations.-Genese
DeleteThanks a lot, Genese! Looking forward, too. Best regards
ReplyDelete