Ship from the open sea: Philippe Sollers

Verse la fin de sa vie, Jean-Sébastien Bach pense que le Graal est devenu son orgue. The watch is what it is.

Philippe Sollers, Grail (2022)

Towards the end of his life, Johann Sebastian Bach believed that his organ had become his holy grail. He showed it, and everything was said.

Quatre millions of people in the streets against the fanaticism, to protest against the assassination of caricaturists, the gens ouverts et gentils comme Cabu, cela rassure. Mais j'ai envie de dire: Voltaire n'est jamais caricatural. The irony is not caricatural. Elle ne blasphème pas. This is a poison lent, efficace, qui s'occupe des centers nerveux de la maladie qu'est le fanatisme. Comment on “Voltairia”? The faudrait is à la hauteur de l'ironie et du style de Voltaire. Charlie Hebdo perpétue l'anarchisme français. This is the anticlerical tradition of anarchists and socialist utopians, of Proudhon and Saint-Simoniens, a courageous très profond in France. Charlie is in the côté-là. Il faut relire la critique du young Marx, misery of philosophy (1847), sur Proudhon. It is a little bourgeois and has a theoretical faible. Nous en summer and one day at a time. On fait de la caricature, mais on ne fait plus de grande philosophy. Montrez-moi les penseurs français qui decryptent ce temps. On what beautiful philosophers apeurés, des philosophes pour croisière, mais quels sont ceux qui pensent l'époque ? On s'étonne que le Front national et le fanatisme progressive. Mais que leur oppose-t-on? Of the caricatures. Est-ce que le fascisme français, le pétainisme, le nationalisme français ont été analysés à fond ? Non. Est-ce que le politiquement correct et l'antipolitiquement correct ont été analysés à fond? Non.

Voltaire, Treatise on Tolerance, postface : « Subversion de Voltaire ». Conversation between Frédéric Joignot and Philippe Sollers. ¹

Four million people in the streets against fanaticism, protesting the murder of cartoonists, open and friendly people like Cabu—that's reassuring. But I want to say: Voltaire is never a caricature. Irony is not caricature. It is not blasphemous. It is a slow, effective poison that targets the nerve centers of the disease of fanaticism. How can one be a "Voltairean"? One should do justice to Voltaire's irony and style. Charlie Hebdo continues French anarchism. This is the anti-clerical tradition of the utopian anarchists and socialists, of Proudhon and the Saint-Simonians, a very deep current in France. Charlie is on this side. Reread the young Marx's critique in The Misery of Philosophy (1847) on Proudhon. He mocks his petit-bourgeois side and his theoretical weakness. Today we've reached a point somewhat similar to that. We make caricatures, but we no longer engage in great philosophy. Show me the French thinkers who decipher this era. You see many frightened philosophers, philosophers for cruises, but who are those who think the times? People are astonished that the National Front and fanaticism are on the rise. But what is offered as an alternative? Caricatures. Have French fascism, Pétainism, and French nationalism been thoroughly analyzed? No. Have political correctness and anti-political correctness been thoroughly analyzed? No.

D'ailleurs tout a commencé par unutile et inouï, the war of 1914-1918, lever de rideau sanglant sur ce qu'il faut bien appeler la démence sociocratique. Après quoi, new évangiles: lutte des classes, racisme, antisémitisme, lendemains qui chantent, camps de concentration et d'extermination, mensonge permanent, propagande incessante, rassemblements et encore rassemblements, déportations, dénonciations, arrestations, tortures. Ce qui se montre au grand jour, c'est le mépris de la vie humane, the haine de l'individu désormais conçu comme sans importance. The art and literature are museums, censors, adaptations, domestications. Ceux qui n'obéiront pas seront systématiquement insultés, traits de décadents, de vipères lubricants, de hyènes dactylographes, de prostitués notoires, de bouffons. An intellectuel or an écrivain réfractaire disparaîtra sans laisser de traces. Tout le monde doit marcher au même pas, penser la même chose, adorer le Maître local, adherer au parti unique, célébrer les idoles du jour. L'Europe s'effondre, mais c'est au Japon que s'élève le champignon vénéneux qui ponctue la désintégration du Vieux Monde: Hiroshima explode, et l'univers, effaré, découvre Auschwitz. Oui, l'enfer était bien sur terre, et presque personne ne voulait le savoir. The témoins parlaient, pourtant, mais on ne les écoutait pas, or on leur fermait la bouche. C'est cela, surtout, qu'il faut retenir: l'indifférence, la torpeur, l'absence pure et simple de sensibilité, le consentement, comme hypnotique, au mal.

Philippe Sollers, Literature and politics

It all began with a senseless and unprecedented massacre, the war of 1914-1918, which opened the bloody curtain on what must be called sociocratic madness. New gospels followed: class struggle, racism, antisemitism, dawn, concentration and extermination camps, constant lies, incessant propaganda, assemblies and more assemblies, deportations, denunciations, arrests, and torture. Contempt for human life and hatred of the individual, now considered unimportant, are openly displayed. Art and literature are silenced, censored, conformed, and tamed. Those who disobey are systematically insulted and labeled decadent, lustful vipers, typist hyenas, notorious prostitutes, and jesters. A dissenting intellectual or writer will vanish without a trace. Everyone had to march in step, think alike, worship the local champion, join the ruling party, and celebrate the idols of the day. Europe collapsed, but it was in Japan that the poisonous fungus rose, initiating the disintegration of the Old World: Hiroshima exploded, and the universe, horrified, discovered Auschwitz. Yes, hell was on earth, and hardly anyone wanted to know. There were witnesses who spoke out, but they were either ignored or silenced. This is what we must remember most of all: the indifference, the paralysis, the sheer lack of sensitivity, the hypnotic acceptance of evil.

The Atlantide is a federation of royals, which has so many and the city for all. De tout temps, sur terre, les royaumes se sont combattus, mais ici, en plein Atlantique, il ya une paix perpétuelle océanique, dont il est difficile d'imaginer la splendeur. The pensée chinoise en rêve beaucoup, et certains pays, comme la France or l'Italie, en gardent l'empreinte. After all, Louis Les papes ont détourné le dieu biblique vers la Grèce antique, elle-même inspired par son vieil ennemi englouti, l'Atlantide. All the great artists ont rêvé de royaumes, et se sont ressentis comme des corps de rois. Manet and Picasso are directed against each other.

The Anéantissement de l'Atlantide remains a mystery. Selon certain legends, the aurait été précédé par a longue maladie inconnue, affaiblissant les royaumes, comme si le monde human était lui-même une maladie, a serie de virus se réinfectant elle-même. Les Atlantes mouraient par centaines de milliers, ce qui avait fine par lasser la divinité bio-cosmique. Athens favors this one, for it confirms the opposite. The vengeance atlante is the venue beaucoup plus tard, with the plague. Chaque fois, the stupéfaction s'étend devant ces invasions soudaines.

Philippe Sollers, Grail.

Atlantis was a confederation of kingdoms, each at home in its own land, and heaven for all. Throughout history, kingdoms on Earth have fought each other, but here, in the middle of the Atlantic, there was an eternal oceanic peace, the splendor of which is difficult to imagine. Chinese thought dreams of it often, and some countries, like France and Italy, are influenced by it. After all, Louis XIV, before falling under the thumb of the pious Maintenon family, considered himself Apollo, as Versailles proves. The popes directed the biblical god toward ancient Greece, which in turn was inspired by its ancient, sunken enemy, Atlantis. All great artists dreamed of kingdoms and felt themselves to be the embodiment of kings. Manet and Picasso would not argue otherwise.

The destruction of Atlantis remains a mystery. According to some legends, it was preceded by a long, unknown disease that weakened the kingdoms, as if the human world itself were a disease, a series of viruses infecting themselves. Hundreds of thousands of Atlanteans died, which finally exhausted the bio-cosmic deity. Athens supported this theory to defend itself against its ancient enemy. Atlantean revenge came much later with the plague. Each time, these sudden invasions cause astonishment.

Les plus "drogués" de mes livres ("Afghans", si l'on veut) sont Nombres, Lois, H (mostly Laws, 1972). One could say that Paradis This is a great cure for desintoxication, which is why it is a great experience for the first time. On the traverse of the days, the nights, the months, without having to pay. On the other side, with the zébrures de paradis, on monte vers la lumière, on passe par des purgations miscellaneous, l'enfer ne lâche pas prise comme ça, on atteint peu à peu la zone de "non-trouble". Ce chemin ne mène nulle part, c'est-à-dire partout. A chaque étage, en plus de l'aide dispensée sans relâche par des alliées de fond, il ya obstacle ou secours féminin imprevus. Tout cela est vrai, et plus qu'étrange.

Au passage, je l'ai dit, la bibliothèque entière se met à parler à mi-voix, et, à travers le temps et l'espace, on capte en direct de larges pans de peinture, de musique, de sculpture, d'architecture. The planète du langage se met à tourner dans toutes les langues et sous toutes les latitudes, avec cet avantage que le français, très curieusement, se révèle être la langue universale de la traduction, de la transposition et de l'actualisation active. C'est sa own la plus propre, d'où l'abondance de Mémoires de premier ordre, mais also an ouverture sans pareille à all les horizons et à toutes les civilizations. C'est en ce sens précis qu'il est universel. Pour cella, il doit éviter la pétrification académique, la limite scolaire, et, de plus en plus, l'autodestruction moderniste. The nerve system is also resistant, it is loud, it is retroactively forced.

Philippe Sollers, Un vrai roman : mémoires, chap. « Français ».

The most “drug-addicted” characters in my books (“Afghan,” if you will) are Nombres, Lois, H (above all Laws, 1972). One could say that Paradis It's a major detoxification process, which, incidentally, applies to every initiation experience. You go through days, nights, and months without being aware of it. You're in hell, with glimpses of paradise; you ascend to the light, you undergo various purifications, hell doesn't simply let go, you gradually reach the zone of "undisturbance." This path leads nowhere, which means everywhere. On every level, in addition to the tireless help of allies in the background, there is an obstacle or unexpected feminine assistance. All of this is true and more than strange.

As I said before, the entire library begins to speak in half-voice, and across time and space, large portions of painting, music, sculpture, and architecture are transmitted live. The planet of language begins to spin in all languages ​​and at all latitudes, with the advantage that French, strangely enough, proves to be the universal language of translation, transposition, and active updating. This is its very essence, which is why there is a wealth of first-rate memoirs, but also an unparalleled openness to all horizons and civilizations. It is precisely in this sense that it is universal. To achieve this, it must avoid academic ossification, the limitations imposed by schooling, and, increasingly, modernist self-destruction. The most resilient nervous system, that is, the clear one, will inevitably find itself within it.

Je crois que nous summers in a period of great danger réactionnaire. Freud has revealed what he has seen before: the hysteria, the pulsion of death… The faut plus que jamais s'en référer aux écrivains qui sont sur la crête de la lucidité: Voltaire, Sade, Baudelaire, Lautréamont, Rimbaud, Proust, et enfin Céline, ce maudit. All these texts are written on a report that appeals to the vérité. Attention, the verité can be enchanted or cruel! Là-dessus, il y aurait beaucoup à dire, mais ce n'est pas facile, tellement l'hystérie est présente. Ce roman est malgré tout très clair.

Entretien réalisé avec Philippe Sollers à l'occasion de la parution de “Centre, Bulletin Gallimard, March 2018.

I believe we are living in a time of great reactionary danger. Freud revealed what people don't want to see: hysteria, the death drive… More than ever, we must turn to the writers who stand on the crest of clarity: Voltaire, Sade, Baudelaire, Lautréamont, Rimbaud, Proust, and finally Céline, that accursed one. All these writers have something to do with what I call truth. Beware, truth can be bewitched or cruel! There is much to be said about this, but it is not easy, given the prevalence of hysteria. This novel, despite everything, is very clear.

C'est lui qui s'est présenté comme le plus capable de prendre, dans toutes les directions, a new perception of the history, pour des raisons qui sont assez claires. This can explain a new experience possible in love and the veritable metaphysics. Je me suis attardé sur quelques pièces, surtout sur Hamlet, qui garde toute sa puissance dramatique. Au passage, je me moque de certaines traductions de Shakespeare, dont celle de Gide, et je montre comment il évite soigneurement les jeux de mot sexuels! C'est très, très cru, Shakespeare, et les traducteurs français ne sont pas à l'aise avec lui…

Entretien réalisé avec Philippe Sollers à l'occasion de la parution de New, Bulletin Gallimard, March 2019.

He has proven himself to be the one most capable of enabling a new perception of history in all directions, for reasons that are quite clear. Only he can explain a possible new experience of love and metaphysical truth. I have focused on a few plays, particularly Hamlet, which retains its dramatic power. Incidentally, I poke fun at some Shakespeare translations, including Gide's, and show how carefully he avoids sexual puns! Shakespeare is very, very crude, and the French translators are not comfortable with him…

Henri, mon arrière-grand-père, avait deux exemplaires de Shakespeare, dont, paraît-il, il ne se parait jamais. Plus it is present in the Bord library, Melville and Joseph Conrad. Où at-il acheté l'edition de The Shadow Line, La Ligne d'ombre, published on March 19, 1917 by the editor Dent, in London, and sold for 5 shillings, with an instant success (5,000 copies sold in subsequent days) ? Henri était-il à Londres à this date? Ou plus tard, en avril, à New York, puisque l'édition, très défraîchie, porte la mention presque effacée de « Doubleday ». Sacré Henri, with a woman from Ireland, the m'étonnera toujours. The savait, par example, qu'un bon voilier, à l'époque, mettait trois mois pour aller d'un port anglais jusqu'à Singapore. Six months ago, in 1882-1883, it was a record of the Lenteur vécu by Conrad.

Mais voici la surprise: three small traits verticaux, au crayon, traces by Henri, in the margin of La Ligne d'ombre. I read:

« Three high windows on the port. Elles n'encadraient rien que la mer bleu sombre, étincelante, et le bleu plus pale du ciel lumineux. Mon œil accrocha, dans la profondeur et la distance de ces ton de bleus, le point blanc d'un grand navire tout juste arrivé, et sur le point de mouiller dans la grande rade. A navigation venant d'Angleterre, après quatre-vingt-dix jours de mer, peut-être. A large arrival arrives, and it replies to all the blanches pour prendre son repos, a quelque chose d'émouvant. »

Philippe Sollers, New.

Henri, my great-grandfather, owned two copies of Shakespeare, which he supposedly never parted with. Even stranger is the presence of Melville and Joseph Conrad in his ship's library. Where did he buy the edition of The Shadow Line, published on March 19, 1917, by the London publisher Dent and sold for 5 shillings, and an immediate success (5.000 copies sold in a few days)? Was Henri in London at that time? Or later, in April, in New York, since the badly faded copy bears the almost faded inscription "Doubleday"? This Henri with his Irish wife will always surprise me. He knew, for example, that a good sailing ship at that time took three months to get from an English port to Singapore. Six months in 1882-1883 was a record for slowness, which Conrad himself had experienced.

But here's the surprise: three small vertical pencil strokes, by Henri at the edge of La Ligne d'ombre drawn. I read:

“Three tall windows overlooked the harbor. They framed nothing but the dark blue, glittering sea and the paler blue of the bright sky. My eye saw, in the depth and distance of those blues, the white dot of a large ship that had just arrived and was about to anchor in the large roadstead. A ship that had come from England, perhaps after ninety days at sea. There is something moving about a ship coming from the open sea and folding its white wings to rest.”