JORGE LUIS BORGES, DEUTSCHES REQUIEM
Aunque �l me quitare la Though he slay me, yet
vida, en �l confiar�. will I trust in him.
Job 13:15 Job 13:15
Mi nombre es Otto Dietrich zur Lin- My name is Otto Dietrich zur Linde.
de. Uno de mis antepasados, Chris- One of my ancestors, Christoph zur
toph zur Linde, murió en la carga de Linde, died in the cavalry charge
caballer�a que decidió la victoria de which decided the victory of Zorn-
Zorndorf. Mi bisabuelo materno, Ul- dorf. My maternal great-grandfather,
rich Forkel, fue asesinado en la fores- Ulrich Forkel, was shot in the forest
ta de Marchenoir por francotiradores of Marchenoir by franc-tireurs, late in
franceses, en los śltimos d�as de the year 1870; my father, Captain
1870; el capit�n Dietrich zur Linde, mi Dietrich zur Linde, distinguished him-
padre, se distinguió en el sitio de self in the siege of Namur in 1914,
Namur, en 1914, y, dos ańos despu�s, and, two years later, in the crossing
en la traves�a del Danubio[1]. En of the Danube[1]. As for me, I will be
cuanto a m�, ser� fusilado por tortu- executed as a torturer and murderer.
rador y asesino. El tribunal ha proce- The tribunal acted justly; from the
dido con rectitud; desde el principio, start I declared myself guilty. Tomor-
yo me he declarado culpable. Mańa- row, when the prison clock strikes
na, cuando el reloj de la prisión d� las nine, I will have entered into death s
nueve, yo habr� entrado en la muer- realm; it is natural that I think now of
te; es natural que piense en mis ma- my forebears, since I am so close to
yores, ya que tan cerca estoy de su their shadow, since, after a fashion, I
sombra, ya que de algśn modo soy am already my ancestors.
ellos.
Durante el juicio (que afortunada- I kept silent during the trial, which
mente duró poco) no habl�; justifi- fortunately was brief; to try to justify
carme, entonces, hubiera entorpeci- myself at that time would have ob-
do el dictamen y hubiera parecido structed the verdict and would have
una cobard�a. Ahora las cosas han seemed an act of cowardice. Now
cambiado; en esta noche que prece- things have changed; on the eve of
de a mi ejecución, puedo hablar sin the execution I can speak without
temor. No pretendo ser perdonado, fear. I do not seek pardon, because I
porque no hay culpa en m�, pero feel no guilt; but I would like to be
quiero ser comprendido. Quienes se- understood. Those who care to listen
pan o�rme, comprender�n la historia to me will understand the history of
de Alemania y la futura historia del Germany and the future history of
mundo. Yo s� que casos como el m�o, the world. I know that cases like
excepcionales y asombrosos ahora, mine, which are now exceptional and
ser�n muy en breve triviales. Mańana astonishing, will shortly be common-
morir�, pero soy un s�mbolo de las place. Tomorrow I will die, but I am a
generaciones del porvenir. symbol of future generations.
Nac� en Marienburg, en 1908. Dos I was born in Marienburg in 1908.
pasiones, ahora casi olvidadas, me Two passions, which now are almost
permitieron afrontar con valor y aun forgotten, allowed me to bear with
con felicidad muchos ańos infaustos: valor and even happiness the weight
la mśsica y la metaf�sica. No puedo of many unhappy years: music and
mencionar a todos mis bienhechores, metaphysics. I cannot mention all my
pero hay dos nombres que no me re- benefactors, but there are two
signo a omitir: el de Brahms y el de names which I may not omit, those of
Schopenhauer. Tambi�n frecuent� la Brahms and Schopenhauer. I also
poes�a; a esos nombres quiero juntar studied poetry; to these last I would
otro vasto nombre germ�nico, Wi- add another immense Germanic
lliam Shakespeare. Antes, la teolog�a name, William Shakespeare. Formerly
me interesó, pero de esa fant�stica I was interested in theology, but from
disciplina (y de la fe cristiana) me this fantastic discipline (and from the
desvió para siempre Schopenhauer, Christian faith) I was led away by
con razones directas; Shakespeare y Schopenhauer, with his direct argu-
Brahms, con la infinita variedad de su ments; and by Shakespeare and
mundo. Sepa quien se detiene mara- Brahms, with the infinite variety of
villado, tr�mulo de ternura y de grati- their worlds. He who pauses in won-
tud, ante cualquier lugar de la obra der, moved with tenderness and
de esos felices, que yo tambi�n me gratitude, before any facet of the
detuve ah�, yo el abominable. work of these auspicious creators, let
him know that I also paused there, I,
the abominable.
Hacia 1927 entraron en mi vida Nietzsche and Spengler entered my
Nietzsche y Spengler. Observa un es- life about 1927. An eighteenth-
critor del siglo XVIII que nadie quiere century author has observed that no
deber nada a sus contempor�neos; one wants to owe anything to his
yo, para libertarme de una influencia contemporaries. I, in order to free
que present� opresora, escrib� un myself from an influence which I felt
art�culo titulado Abrechnung mit to be oppressive, wrote an article ti-
Spengler, en el que hac�a notar que el tled Abrechnung mit Spengler, in
monumento m�s inequ�voco de los which I noted that the most un-
rasgos que el autor llama f�usticos no equivocal monument to those traits
es el miscel�neo drama de Goethe[2] which the author calls Faust-like is
sino un poema redactado hace veinte not the miscellaneous drama of
siglos, el De rerum natura. Rend� Goethe[2] but a poem written twenty
justicia, empero, a la sinceridad del centuries ago, the De rerum natura. I
filósofo de la historia, a su esp�ritu paid homage, however, to the sincer-
radicalmente alem�n (kerndeutsch), ity of the philosopher of history, to
militar. En 1929 entr� en el Partido. his essentially German (kerndeutsch)
and military spirit. In 1929 I entered
the Party.
Poco dir� de mis ańos de aprendizaje. I will say little of my years of appren-
Fueron m�s duros para m� que para ticeship. They were more difficult for
muchos otros ya que a pesar de no me than for others, since, although I
carecer de valor, me falta toda voca- do not lack courage, I am repelled by
ción de violencia. Comprend�, sin violence. I understood, however, that
embargo, que est�bamos al borde de we were on the verge of a new era,
un tiempo nuevo y que ese tiempo, and that this era, comparable to the
comparable a las �pocas iniciales del initial epochs of Islam and Christian-
Islam o del Cristianismo, exig�a hom- ity, demanded a new kind of man. In-
bres nuevos. Individualmente, mis dividually my comrades were disgust-
camaradas me eran odiosos; en vano ing to me; in vain did I try to reason
procur� razonar que para el alto fin that we had to suppress our individu-
que nos congregaba, no �ramos indi- ality for the lofty purpose which
viduos. brought us together.
Aseveran los teólogos que si la aten- The theologians maintain that if
ción del Seńor se desviara un solo se- God s attention were to wander for a
gundo de mi derecha mano que es- single second from the right hand
cribe, �sta recaer�a en la nada, como which traces these words, that hand
si la fulminara un fuego sin luz. Nadie would plunge into nothingness, as if
puede ser, digo yo, nadie puede pro- fulminated by a lightless fire. No one,
bar una copa de agua o partir un tro- I say, can exist, no one can taste a
zo de pan, sin justificación. Para cada glass of water or break a piece of
hombre, esa justificación es distinta; bread, without justification. For each
yo esperaba la guerra inexorable que man that justification must be differ-
probar�a nuestra fe. Me bastaba sa- ent; I awaited the inexorable war that
ber que yo ser�a un soldado de sus would prove our faith. It was enough
batallas. Alguna vez tem� que nos de- for me to know that I would be a sol-
fraudaran la cobard�a de Inglaterra y dier in its battles. At times I feared
de Rusia. El azar, o el destino, tejió de that English and Russian cowardice
otra manera mi porvenir: el primero would betray us. But chance, or des-
de marzo de 1939, al oscurecer, hubo tiny, decided my future differently.
disturbios en Tilsit que los diarios no On March first, 1939, at nightfall,
registraron; en la calle detr�s de la there was a disturbance in Tilsit
sinagoga, dos balas me atravesaron la which was not mentioned in the
pierna, que fue necesario ampu- newspapers; in the street behind the
tar[3]. D�as despu�s, entraban en Bo- synagogue, my leg was pierced by
hemia nuestros ej�rcitos; cuando las two bullets and it was necessary to
sirenas lo proclamaron, yo estaba en amputate[3]. A few days later our
el sedentario hospital, tratando de armies entered Bohemia. As the si-
perderme y de olvidarme en los libros rens announced their entry, I was in a
de Schopenhauer. S�mbolo de mi va- quiet hospital, trying to lose and for-
no destino, dorm�a en el reborde de get myself in Schopenhauer. An
la ventana un gato enorme y fofo. enormous and flaccid cat, symbol of
my vain destiny, was sleeping on the
window sill.
En el primer volumen de Parerga und In the first volume of Parerga und
paralipomenarele� que todos los Paralipomena I read again that every-
hechos que pueden ocurrirle a un thing which can happen to a man,
hombre, desde el instante de su na- from the instant of his birth until his
cimiento hasta el de su muerte, han death, has been preordained by him.
sido prefijados por �l. As�, toda negli- Thus, every negligence is deliberate,
gencia es deliberada, todo casual en- every chance encounter an appoint-
cuentro una cita, toda humillación ment, every humiliation a penitence,
una penitencia, todo fracaso una mis- every failure a mysterious victory,
teriosa victoria, toda muerte un sui- every death a suicide. There is no
cidio. No hay consuelo m�s h�bil que more skilful consolation than the idea
el pensamiento de que hemos elegi- that we have chosen our own misfor-
do nuestras desdichas; esa teleolog�a tunes; this individual teleology re-
individual nos revela un orden secre- veals a secret order and prodigiously
to y prodigiosamente nos confunde confounds us with the divinity. What
con la divinidad. żQu� ignorado unknown intention (I questioned
propósito (cavil�) me hizo buscar ese vainly) made me seek, that after-
atardecer, esas balas y esa mutila- noon, those bullets and that mutila-
ción? No el temor de la guerra, yo lo tion Surely not fear of war, I knew;
sab�a; algo m�s profundo. Al fin cre� something more profound. Finally I
entender. Morir por una religión es hit upon it. To die for a religion is eas-
m�s simple que vivirla con plenitud; ier than to live it absolutely; to battle
batallar en �feso contra las fieras es in Ephesus against the wild beasts is
menos duro (miles de m�rtires oscu- not so trying (thousands of obscure
ros lo hicieron) que ser Pablo, siervo martyrs did it) as to be Paul, servant
de Jesucristo; un acto es menos que of Jesus; one act is less than a man s
todas las horas de un hombre. La ba- entire life. War and glory are facili-
talla y la gloria son facilidades, m�s ties; more arduous than the under-
ardua que la empresa de Napoleón taking of Napoleon was that of Ras-
fue la de Raskolnikov. El siete de fe- kolnikov. On the seventh of February,
brero de 1941 fui nombrado subdi- 1941, I was named subdirector of the
rector del campo de concentración concentration camp at Tarnowitz.
de Tarnowitz.
El ejercicio de ese cargo no me fue The carrying out of this task was not
grato; pero no pequ� nunca de negli- pleasant, but I was never negligent.
gencia. El cobarde se prueba entre las The coward proves his mettle under
espadas; el misericordioso, el piado- fire; the merciful, the pious, seeks his
so, busca el examen de las c�rceles y trial in jails and in the suffering of
del dolor ajeno. El nazismo, intr�nse- others. Essentially, Nazism is an act of
camente, es un hecho moral, un des- morality, a purging of corrupted hu-
pojarse del viejo hombre, que est� manity, to dress him anew. This
viciado, para vestir el nuevo. En la ba- transformation is common in battle,
talla esa mutación es comśn, entre el amidst the clamor of the captains and
clamor de los capitanes y el vocer�o; the shouting; such is not the case in a
no as� en un torpe calabozo, donde wretched cell, where insidious deceit-
nos tienta con antiguas ternuras la ful mercy tempts us with ancient
insidiosa piedad. No en vano escribo tenderness. Not in vain do I pen this
esa palabra; la piedad por el hombre word: for the superior man of
superior es el śltimo pecado de Za- Zarathustra, mercy is the greatest of
rathustra. Casi lo comet� (lo confieso) sins. I almost committed it (I confess)
cuando nos remitieron de Breslau al when they sent us the eminent poet
insigne poeta David Jerusalem. David Jerusalem from Breslau.
Era �ste un hombre de cincuenta He was about fifty years old. Poor in
ańos. Pobre de bienes de este mun- the goods of this world, persecuted,
do, perseguido, negado, vituperado, denied, vituperated, he had dedi-
hab�a consagrado su genio a cantar la cated his genius to the praise of Hap-
felicidad. Creo recordar que Albert piness. I recall that Albert Soergel, in
Soergel, en la obra Dichtung der Zeit, his work Dichtung der Zeit, compared
lo equipara con Whitman. La compa- him with Whitman. The comparison
ración no es feliz; Whitman celebra el is not exact. Whitman celebrates the
universo de un modo previo, general, universe in a preliminary, abstract,
casi indiferente; Jerusalem se alegra almost indifferent manner; Jerusalem
de cada cosa, con minucioso amor. takes joy in each thing, with a scrupu-
No comete jam�s enumeraciones, lous and exact love. He never falls
cat�logos. Aśn puedo repetir muchos into the error of enumerations and
hex�metros de aquel hondo poema catalogues. I can still repeat from
que se titula Tse Yang, pintor de ti- memory many hexameters from that
gres, que est� como rayado de tigres, superb poem, Tse Yang, Painter of
que est� como cargado y atravesado Tigers, which is, as it were, streaked
de tigres transversales y silenciosos. with tigers, overburdened and criss-
Tampoco olvidar� el soliloquio Ro- crossed with transversal and silent
sencrantz habla con el �ngel, en el tigers. Nor will I ever forget the so-
que un prestamista londinense del liloquy called Rosencrantz Speaks
siglo XVI vanamente trata, al morir, with the Angel, in which a sixteenth-
de vindicar sus culpas, sin sospechar century London moneylender vainly
que la secreta justificación de su vida tries on his deathbed to vindicate his
es haber inspirado a uno de sus clien- crimes, without suspecting that the
tes (que lo ha visto una sola vez y a secret justification of his life is that of
quien no recuerda) el car�cter de having inspired in one of his clients
Shylock. Hombre de memorables (whom he has seen but once and
ojos, de piel cetrina, de barba casi does not remember) the character of
negra, David Jerusalem era el proto- Shylock. A man of memorable eyes,
tipo del jud�o sefard�, si bien perte- jaundiced complexion, with an al-
nec�a a los depravados y aborrecidos most black beard, David Jerusalem
Ashkenazim. Fui severo con �l; no was the prototype of the Sephardic
permit� que me ablandaran ni la Jew, although, in fact, he belonged to
compasión ni su gloria. Yo hab�a the depraved and hated Ashkenazim.
comprendido hace muchos ańos que I was severe with him; I permitted
no hay cosa en el mundo que no sea neither my compassion nor his glory
germen de un Infierno posible; un to make me relent. I had come to un-
rostro, una palabra, una brśjula, un derstand many years before that
aviso de cigarrillos, podr�an enloque- there is nothing on earth that does
cer a una persona, si �sta no lograra not contain the seed of a possible
olvidarlos. żNo estar�a loco un hom- Hell; a face, a word, a compass, a
bre que continuamente se figurara el cigarette advertisement, are capable
mapa de Hungr�a? Determin� aplicar of driving a person mad if he is un-
ese principio al r�gimen disciplinario able to forget them. Would not a
de nuestra casa y [4]... A fines de man who continually imagined the
1942, Jerusalem perdió la razón; el map of Hungary be mad? I decided to
primero de marzo de 1943, logró dar- apply this principle to the disciplinary
se muerte[5]. regimen of our camp, and& [4] By
the end of 1942, Jerusalem had lost
his reason; on March first, 1943, he
managed to kill himself[5].
Ignoro si Jesusalem comprendió que I do not know whether Jerusalem un-
si yo lo destru�, fue para destruir mi derstood that, if I destroyed him, it
piedad. Ante mis ojos, no era un was to destroy my compassion. In my
hombre, ni siquiera un jud�o; se hab�a eyes he was not a man, not even a
transformado en el s�mbolo de una Jew; he had been transformed into a
detestada zona de mi alma. Yo ago- detested zone of my soul. I agonized
nic� con �l, yo mor� con �l, yo de with him, I died with him and some-
algśn modo me he perdido con �l; how I was lost with him; therefore, I
por eso, fui implacable. was implacable.
Mientras tanto, giraban sobre noso- Meanwhile we reveled in the great
tros los grandes d�as y las grandes days and nights of a successful war.
noches de una guerra feliz. Hab�a en In the very air we breathed there was
el aire que respir�bamos un senti- a feeling not unlike love. Our hearts
miento parecido al amor. Como si beat with amazement and exaltation,
bruscamente el mar estuviera cerca, as if we sensed the sea nearby. Eve-
hab�a un asombro y una exaltación rything was new and different then,
en la sangre. Todo, en aquellos ańos, even the flavor of our dreams. (I,
era distinto, hasta el sabor del sueńo. perhaps, was never entirely happy.
(Yo, quiz�, nunca fui plenamente fe- But it is known that misery requires
liz, pero es sabido que la desventura lost paradises.) Every man aspires to
requiere para�sos perdidos.) No hay the fullness of life, that is, to the sum
hombre que no aspire a la plenitud, of experiences which he is capable of
es decir a la suma de experiencias de enjoying; nor is there a man unafraid
que un hombre es capaz; no hay of being cheated out of some part of
hombre que no tema ser defraudado his infinite patrimony. But it can be
de alguna parte de ese patrimonio said that my generation enjoyed the
infinito. Pero todo lo ha tenido mi extremes of experience, because first
generación, porque primero le fue we were granted victory and later de-
deparada la gloria y despu�s la derro- feat.
ta.
En octubre o noviembre de 1942, mi In October or November of 1942 my
hermano Friedrich pereció en la se- brother Friedrich perished in the sec-
gunda batalla de El Alamein, en los ond battle of El Alamein, on the Egyp-
arenales egipcios; un bombardeo a�- tian sands. Months later an aerial
reo, meses despu�s, destrozó nuestra bombardment destroyed our family s
casa natal, otro, a fines de 1943, mi home; another, at the end of 1943,
laboratorio. Acosado por vastos con- destroyed my laboratory. The Third
tinentes, mor�a el Tercer Reich; su Reich was dying, harassed by vast
mano estaba contra todos y las ma- continents; it struggled alone against
nos de todos contra �l. Entonces, al- innumerable enemies. Then a singu-
go singular ocurrió, que ahora creo lar event occurred, which only now
entender. Yo me cre�a capaz de apu- do I believe I understand. I thought I
rar la copa de la cólera, pero en las was emptying the cup of anger, but in
heces me detuvo un sabor no espe- the dregs I encountered an unex-
rado, el misterioso y casi terrible sa- pected flavor, the mysterious and
bor de la felicidad. Ensay� diversas almost terrible flavor of happiness. I
explicaciones; no me bastó ninguna. essayed several explanations, but
Pens�: Me satisface la derrota, por- none seemed adequate. I thought: I
que secretamente me s� culpable y am pleased with defeat, because se-
sólo puede redimirme el castigo. cretly I know I am guilty, and only
Pens�: Me satisface la derrota, por- punishment can redeem me. I
que es un fin y yo estoy muy cansado. thought: I am pleased with the defeat
Pens�: Me satisface la derrota, por- because it is an end and I am very
que ha ocurrido, porque est� innu- tired. I thought: I am pleased with de-
merablemente unida a todos los feat because it has occurred, be-
hechos que son, que fueron, que cause it is irrevocably united to all
ser�n, porque censurar o deplorar un those events which are, which were,
solo hecho real es blasfemar del uni- and which will be, because to censure
verso. Esas razones ensay�, hasta dar or to deplore a single real occurrence
con la verdadera. is to blaspheme the universe. I played
with these explanations, until I found
the true one.
Se ha dicho que todos los hombres It has been said that every man is
nacen aristot�licos o platónicos. Ello born an Aristotelian or a Platonist.
equivale a declarar que no hay deba- This is the same as saying that every
te de car�cter abstracto que no sea abstract contention has its counter-
un momento de la pol�mica de part in the polemics of Aristotle or
Aristóteles y Platón; a trav�s de los Plato; across the centuries and lati-
siglos y latitudes, cambian los nom- tudes, the names, faces and dialects
bres, los dialectos, las caras, pero no change but not the eternal antago-
los eternos antagonistas. Tambi�n la nists. The history of nations also reg-
historia de los pueblos registra una isters a secret continuity. Arminius,
continuidad secreta. Armińo, cuando when he cut down the legions of Va-
degolló en una ci�naga las legiones rus in a marsh, did not realize that he
de Varo, no se sab�a precursor de un was a precursor of the German Em-
Imperio Alem�n; Lutero, traductor de pire; Luther, translator of the Bible,
la Biblia, no sospechaba que su fin could not suspect that his goal was to
era forjar un pueblo que destruyera forge a people destined to destroy
para siempre la Biblia; Christoph zur the Bible for all time; Christoph zur
Linde, a quien mató una bala mosco- Linde, killed by a Russian bullet in
vita en 1758, preparó de algśn modo 1758, was in some way preparing the
las victorias de 1914; Hitler creyó lu- victories of 1914; Hitler believed he
char por un pa�s, pero luchó por to- was fighting for a nation but he
dos, aun por aquellos que agredió y fought for all, even for those which
detestó. No importa que su yo lo ig- he detested and attacked. It matters
norara; lo sab�an su sangre, su volun- not that his I was ignorant of this
tad. El mundo se mor�a de juda�smo y fact; his blood and his will were
de esa enfermedad del juda�smo, que aware of it. The world was dying of
es la fe de Jesśs; nosotros le ense- Judaism and from that sickness of Ju-
ńamos la violencia y la fe de la espa- daism, the faith of Jesus; we taught it
da. Esa espada nos mata y somos violence and the faith of the sword.
comparables al hechicero que teje un That sword is slaying us, and we are
laberinto y que se ve forzado a errar comparable to the wizard who fash-
en �l hasta el fin de sus d�as o a David ioned a labyrinth and was then
que juzga a un desconocido y lo con- doomed to wander in it to the end of
dena a muerte y oye despu�s la re- his days; or to David, who, judging an
velación: Tś eres aquel hombre. Mu- unknown man, condemns him to
chas cosas hay que destruir para edi- death, only to hear the revelation:
ficar el nuevo orden; ahora sabemos You are that man. Many things will
que Alemania era una de esas cosas. have to be destroyed in order to con-
Hemos dado algo m�s que nuestra struct the New Order; now we know
vida, hemos dado la suerte de nues- that Germany also was one of those
tro querido pa�s. Que otros maldigan things. We have given more than our
y otros lloren; a m� me regocija que lives, we have sacrificed the destiny
nuestro don sea orbicular y perfecto. of our beloved Fatherland. Let others
curse and weep; I rejoice in the fact
that our destiny completes its circle
and is perfect.
Se cierne ahora sobre el mundo una An inexorable epoch is spreading
�poca implacable. Nosotros la forja- over the world. We forged it, we who
mos, nosotros que ya somos su are already its victim. What matters if
v�ctima. żQu� importa que Inglaterra England is the hammer and we the
sea el martillo y nosotros el yunque? anvil, so long as violence reigns and
Lo importante es que rija la violencia, not servile Christian timidity? If vic-
no las serviles timideces cristianas. Si tory and injustice and happiness are
la victoria y la injusticia y la felicidad not for Germany, let them be for
no son para Alemania, que sean para other nations. Let Heaven exist, even
otras naciones. Que el cielo exista, though our dwelling place is Hell.
aunque nuestro lugar sea el infierno.
Miro mi cara en el espejo para saber I look at myself in the mirror to dis-
qui�n soy, para saber cómo me por- cover who I am, to discern how I will
tar� dentro de unas horas, cuando act in a few hours, when I am face to
me enfrente con el fin. Mi carne face with death. My flesh may be
puede tener miedo; yo, no. afraid; I am not.
(Translated by Julian Palley)
[1] Es significativa la omisión del an- [1] lt is significant that the narrator
tepasado m�s ilustre del narrador, el has omitted the name of his most il-
teólogo y hebra�sta Johannes Forkel lustrious ancestor, the theologian
(1799-1846), que aplicó la dial�ctica and Hebraist Johannes Forkel (1799-
de Hegel a la cristolog�a y cuya ver- 1846), who applied the Hegelian dia-
sión literal de algunos de los Libros lectic to Christology, and whose lit-
Apócrifos mereció la censura de eral version of several books of the
Hengstenberg y la aprobación de Thi- Apocrypha merited the censure of
lo y Geseminus. (Nota del editor.) Hengstenberg and the approval of
Thilo and Gesenius. (Editor s note.)
[2] Otras naciones viven con inocen- [2] Other nations live innocently, in
cia, en s� y para s� como los minerales themselves and for themselves, like
o los meteoros; Alemania es el espejo minerals or meteors; Germany is the
universal que a todas recibe, la con- universal mirror which receives all,
ciencia del mundo (das Weltbewusst- the consciousness of the world (das
sein). Goethe es el prototipo de esa Weltbewusstsein). Goethe is the pro-
comprensión ecum�nica. No lo cen- totype of that ecumenic comprehen-
suro, pero no veo en �l al hombre sion. I do not censure him, but I do
f�ustico de la tesis de Spengler. not see in him the Faust-like man of
Spengler s thesis.
[3] Se murmulla que las consecuen- [3]
cias de esa herida fueron muy graves.
(Nota del editor.)
[4] Ha sido inevitable, aqu�, omitir al- [4] It has been necessary to omit a
gunas l�neas. (Nota del editor.) few lines here. (Editor s note.)
[5] Ni en los archivos ni en la obra de [5] We have been unable to find any
Soergel figura el nombre de Jerusa- reference to the name of Jerusalem,
lem. Tampoco lo registran las histo- even in Soergel s work. Nor is he
rias de la literatura alemana. No creo, mentioned in the histories of German
sin embargo, que se trate de un per- literature. Nevertheless, I do not be-
sonaje falso. Por orden de Otto Die- lieve that he is fictitious. Many Jewish
trich zur Linde fueron torturados en intellectuals were tortured at Tar-
Tarnowitz muchos intelectuales jud- nowitz under orders of Otto Dietrich
�os, entre ellos la pianista Emma Ro- zur Linde; among them, the pianist
senzweig.  David Jerusalem es tal Emma Rosenzweig.  David Jerusa-
vez un s�mbolo de varios indiv�duos. lem is perhaps a symbol of several
Nos dicen que murió al primero de individuals. It is said that he died
marzo de 1943; el primero de marzo March first, 1943; on March first,
de 1939, el narrador fue herido en 1939, the narrator was wounded in
Tilsit. (Nota del editor.) Tilsit. (Editor s note.)
Jorge Luis Borges, autor del cuento