SPEAKING ONES MIND Clive James shakes his head sadly over Thomas Manns 1914 pronouncement that Germanys whole virtue and beauty is unfolded only in war, saying: Later he realised that he should never have said that (Cultural Amnesia, op.cit., lot.cit., p.449). I suppose many more people than Thomas Mann said things in 1914 that they came to regret, but better, in some ways, that they should have said them than not, because the things which we wish had been left unsaid are usually more revealing than the things which we can happily forget. Most people looking at German history, style and culture will recognise that what Mann said in 1914 was arguable, and that while he might come to have wished that he had never made it, the fact that he did make it is more useful than if he had thought, but not said it.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:36:50 +0000
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