Natural Freedom http://naturalfreedom.info/ |
|
strange rival http://naturalfreedom.info/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4126 |
Page 1 of 1 |
Author: | Midas [ Mon Dec 01, 2014 5:56 pm ] | |
Post subject: | strange rival | |
“On my journey to Russia I stayed at the estate of Herr von G—, a Lithuanian nobleman, whose sons were
Heinrich von Kleist - On the Marionette Theater (12.–15. December 1810)
at that time intense in their practice of fencing. The older one, just back from the university, styled himself a virtuoso and one morning offered me a rapier. We fenced, and it happened that I was victorious. His passion had added to his confusion; and almost every thrust that I made was a hit until finally his rapier was knocked from his hand. “As he picked it up, half in joke, half in irritation, he said that he had found his master, indeed that everyone in the world eventually found his master and that he would show me mine. The brother laughed heartily and shouted: ‘Let’s go to the woodshed.’ And with that they took me by the arm and led me to a bear which their father had had raised in the yard. “As I approached, the bear stood erect with his back against the pole to which he was chained. He looked me in the eye, his right paw raised; he was in fencing position. For a moment, confronted by this strange rival, I thought I was dreaming. ‘Foil, foil,’ said Herr von G—, ‘see if you can strike him.’ When I had recovered from my astonishment, I thrust at him with the rapier; the bear flipped his paw; the thrust was parried. I tried to seduce him with a feint; the bear did not budge. With a sudden lunge I thrust again; I would absolutely have hit a human opponent; the bear flipped his paw, parried the thrust. I was in the same spot that young Herr von G— had been. The bear’s concentration added to my loss of composure. I alternated thrusts and feints; I sweated, in vain! Like the finest fencer in the world, the bear met and parried each thrust, but he did not respond to feints; (no fencer in the world could have matched him in that). Eye to eye, as if he read my soul, he stood with his paw lifted, ready to fight; and if I did not intend my thrust, he remained immobile. “Do you believe this story?” “Absolutely!” I exclaimed, applauding him. “I would believe it of anyone and how much more of you.” |
Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC+01:00 |
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited https://www.phpbb.com/ |