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Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses
"We do not have too much intellect and too little soul, but too little precision in matters of the soul."—Robert Musil
Best known as author of the novel The Man without Qualities, Robert Musil wrote these essays in Vienna and Berlin between 1911 and 1937. Offering a perspective on modern society and intellectual life, they are concerned with the crisis of modern culture as it manifests itself in science and mathematics, capitalism and nationalism, the changing roles of women and writers, and more. Writing to find his way in a world where moral systems everywhere were seemingly in decay, Musil strives to reconcile the ongoing conflict between functional relativism and the passionate search for ethical values.
Robert Musil was born in 1880 and died in 1942. His first novel, Young Törless, is available in English. A new two-volume translation by Burton Pike and Sophie Wilkins of The Man without Qualities is forthcoming from Alfred A. Knopf.
"Now we have these thirty-one invaluable and entertaining pieces, from an article on 'The Obscene and Pathological in Art' to the equally provocative talk 'On Stupidity,' which, with a new translation of The Man without Qualities forthcoming . . . amount to a literary event for the reader of English comparable to Constance Garnett's massive translation of Chekhov's stories."—Joseph Coates, Chicago Tribune
"Musil is one of the few great moderns, one of the handful who ventured to confront the issues that shape and define our time. . . . He has a range and a striking capacity every bit as great as that of Mann, Joyce, or Beckett."— Boston Review
"These essays are crucial in understanding a writer and critic whose lifelong task was an attempt to resolve the dichotomy between the precision of scientific form and the soul—the matter of life and art."— Choice
Best known as author of the novel The Man without Qualities, Robert Musil wrote these essays in Vienna and Berlin between 1911 and 1937. Offering a perspective on modern society and intellectual life, they are concerned with the crisis of modern culture as it manifests itself in science and mathematics, capitalism and nationalism, the changing roles of women and writers, and more. Writing to find his way in a world where moral systems everywhere were seemingly in decay, Musil strives to reconcile the ongoing conflict between functional relativism and the passionate search for ethical values.
Robert Musil was born in 1880 and died in 1942. His first novel, Young Törless, is available in English. A new two-volume translation by Burton Pike and Sophie Wilkins of The Man without Qualities is forthcoming from Alfred A. Knopf.
"Now we have these thirty-one invaluable and entertaining pieces, from an article on 'The Obscene and Pathological in Art' to the equally provocative talk 'On Stupidity,' which, with a new translation of The Man without Qualities forthcoming . . . amount to a literary event for the reader of English comparable to Constance Garnett's massive translation of Chekhov's stories."—Joseph Coates, Chicago Tribune
"Musil is one of the few great moderns, one of the handful who ventured to confront the issues that shape and define our time. . . . He has a range and a striking capacity every bit as great as that of Mann, Joyce, or Beckett."— Boston Review
"These essays are crucial in understanding a writer and critic whose lifelong task was an attempt to resolve the dichotomy between the precision of scientific form and the soul—the matter of life and art."— Choice
329 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
3 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Robert Musil
284 books1,355 followersAustrian writer.
He graduated military boarding school at Eisenstadt (1892-1894) and then Hranice, in that time also known as Mährisch Weißkirchen, (1894-1897). These school experiences are reflected in his first novel, The Confusions of Young Törless.
He served in the army during The First World War. When Austria became a part of the Third Reich in 1938, Musil left for exile in Switzerland, where he died of a stroke on April 15, 1942. Musil collapsed in the middle of his gymnastic exercises and is rumoured to have died with an expression of ironic amusement on his face. He was 61 years old.
He graduated military boarding school at Eisenstadt (1892-1894) and then Hranice, in that time also known as Mährisch Weißkirchen, (1894-1897). These school experiences are reflected in his first novel, The Confusions of Young Törless.
He served in the army during The First World War. When Austria became a part of the Third Reich in 1938, Musil left for exile in Switzerland, where he died of a stroke on April 15, 1942. Musil collapsed in the middle of his gymnastic exercises and is rumoured to have died with an expression of ironic amusement on his face. He was 61 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 29, 2023
"Ako je potrebna oznaka: bio sam konzervativni anarhista." (43)
"Celokupna lepa književnost je nalik na ribnjak citata." (140)
"Tačnost u ispravnost ubijaju; sve što se da definisati, što je pojam, mrtvo je, okoštalo, skelet." (78)
"Umetničko i naučno mišljenje se kod nas još ne dodiruju. Ostaju nerešena pitanja središnje zone između njih.' (39)
"U predstavi da dobra ovozemaljska dela tvore osnovu našeg nadgrobnog života - u toj omiljenoj ideji današnje spiritualističke filozofije, koja se više ne usuđuje da samoj sebi garantuje ličnu besmrtnost - ima nešto od potrebe deteta da svoju igračku uveče uzme sa sobom u krevet i u crnu rupu sna." (34)
Muzil je kao malo ko lucidan, intelektualno provokativan i elegantan u misli. Verovatno se to najbolje može oslikati kroz dva teksta ove knjige: onaj u kome oštro, duhovito, ali sa poštovanjem, polemiše sa Špenglerom, i kroz posmrtno slovo o Rilkeu, koje je ujedno i tekst o književnosti uopšte. Zanimajući se za odnos između nauke i umetnosti, tragajući za povlašćenim prostorima ljudskog duha, Muzil vraća esej kao formu svojim počecima u kojima "ostvarenje neke ideje znači već njeno delimično uništenje" (84). Ipak, ne radi se o proizvoljnosti ili slavljenju lelujavosti, već u nekrutoj misaonoj disciplini, koja otvara vrata životu ideje. Između mašinstva i književnosti, teorije i iskustva, 'preciznosti i duše', pronašao je Muzil 'strasnu meru', koja zaslužuje da bude prepoznatljivija.
Iako autor nije hteo za života da objavi ovakvu knjigu, dobro je što je to ipak urađeno, čak imajući u vidu sve ono što Srđan Bogosavljević, prevodilac knjige, prigovara samom Muzilu. Ali zamerke koje mu se mogu uputiti pre bi se mogle gledati kao žurba slike ili specifični stilski manir, nego kao bilo kakav skup pogreški. U kontaktu sa vrhovima neke književnosti, čak i ono što se može (o)sporiti nosi drukčije veličine. A ko u esejima uživa, nipošto ne treba zaobići ovu knjigu.
"Celokupna lepa književnost je nalik na ribnjak citata." (140)
"Tačnost u ispravnost ubijaju; sve što se da definisati, što je pojam, mrtvo je, okoštalo, skelet." (78)
"Umetničko i naučno mišljenje se kod nas još ne dodiruju. Ostaju nerešena pitanja središnje zone između njih.' (39)
"U predstavi da dobra ovozemaljska dela tvore osnovu našeg nadgrobnog života - u toj omiljenoj ideji današnje spiritualističke filozofije, koja se više ne usuđuje da samoj sebi garantuje ličnu besmrtnost - ima nešto od potrebe deteta da svoju igračku uveče uzme sa sobom u krevet i u crnu rupu sna." (34)
Muzil je kao malo ko lucidan, intelektualno provokativan i elegantan u misli. Verovatno se to najbolje može oslikati kroz dva teksta ove knjige: onaj u kome oštro, duhovito, ali sa poštovanjem, polemiše sa Špenglerom, i kroz posmrtno slovo o Rilkeu, koje je ujedno i tekst o književnosti uopšte. Zanimajući se za odnos između nauke i umetnosti, tragajući za povlašćenim prostorima ljudskog duha, Muzil vraća esej kao formu svojim počecima u kojima "ostvarenje neke ideje znači već njeno delimično uništenje" (84). Ipak, ne radi se o proizvoljnosti ili slavljenju lelujavosti, već u nekrutoj misaonoj disciplini, koja otvara vrata životu ideje. Između mašinstva i književnosti, teorije i iskustva, 'preciznosti i duše', pronašao je Muzil 'strasnu meru', koja zaslužuje da bude prepoznatljivija.
Iako autor nije hteo za života da objavi ovakvu knjigu, dobro je što je to ipak urađeno, čak imajući u vidu sve ono što Srđan Bogosavljević, prevodilac knjige, prigovara samom Muzilu. Ali zamerke koje mu se mogu uputiti pre bi se mogle gledati kao žurba slike ili specifični stilski manir, nego kao bilo kakav skup pogreški. U kontaktu sa vrhovima neke književnosti, čak i ono što se može (o)sporiti nosi drukčije veličine. A ko u esejima uživa, nipošto ne treba zaobići ovu knjigu.
May 8, 2017
I found it because I was on the trail of Rilke's eulogy which it contains and because I thought it could help to understand the point of view behind "The Man Without Qualities". I've found it difficult at times because Musil was an inordinatelhy intellectual fellow who lived with a different set of assumptions than I have and who leaves much unstated as "obvious". Even so, I learned quite a bit about his point of view. It is primarily a rational approach to the irrational nature of the mind, similar to Sigmund Freud and Thomas Metzinger. He was a deep and original thinker and I would like to quote him to give the flavour of it but the complexity of his thought process makes it impossible to find anything of a reasonable length to quote. Think of trying to quote Henry James and you'll get the idea. The last third of the book is made up of talks and essays from 1930 to 1937 discussing the implications of Nazism and more broadly totalitarianism. It's strange reading today because the horrors that are central to our view of the movement had not yet manifested themselves. If you're interested in the development of German thought in the modern era, or the development of the modern era itself, you might be interested.
June 22, 2021
Essays on literature, art, philosophy, and modern culture from the pen of the modernist author, Robert Musil. He wrote these essays between 1911 and 1937 combining his perspectives on modern society and intellectual life. Bringing to bear the perspective of a scientist and artist, he has created incisive commentaries on modernism and the conflict between relativism and the search for lasting values.
June 28, 2013
The delicacy and finesse with which he writes would be enjoyable even if the commentary on his era (roughly the 1920's) wasn't as riveting as it is. He is a lost genius. I didn't read this edition, but they're not showing the hardcover I read, University of Chicago Press, 1990.
March 13, 2013
wonderful!!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews