From 'Markings' by Dag Hammarskjold, foreword by W.H.Auden. His personal diary, which reveals a totally different side to the former Secretary-General of the United Nations.
"Not to encumber the earth - No pathetic Excelsior, but just this: not to encumber the earth" *
"You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy does not reserve a plot for weeds."
"There is a pride of faith, more unforgivable and dangerous than the pride of the intellect. It reveals a split personality in which faith is "observed" and appraised, thus negating that unity born of a dying-unto-self, which is the definition of faith."
"Even in the most intense activity, this feeling of unreality - in you who have never come "close" to another. The old fairy-tale: the one who has been made invisible or transformed into a beast can only regain his human shape through somebody else's love."
"If only I may grow: firmer, simpler - quieter, warmer."
............................................................................................
*"The thought is taken from the posthumously published papers of Bertil Ekman (1894-1920) who died on a mountain-climbing expedition. His idealism and rigorist Kierkegaardian ethics exerted a powerful influence on H as a young man. W.H.A"
"Not to encumber the earth - No pathetic Excelsior, but just this: not to encumber the earth" *
"You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy does not reserve a plot for weeds."
"There is a pride of faith, more unforgivable and dangerous than the pride of the intellect. It reveals a split personality in which faith is "observed" and appraised, thus negating that unity born of a dying-unto-self, which is the definition of faith."
"Even in the most intense activity, this feeling of unreality - in you who have never come "close" to another. The old fairy-tale: the one who has been made invisible or transformed into a beast can only regain his human shape through somebody else's love."
"If only I may grow: firmer, simpler - quieter, warmer."
............................................................................................
*"The thought is taken from the posthumously published papers of Bertil Ekman (1894-1920) who died on a mountain-climbing expedition. His idealism and rigorist Kierkegaardian ethics exerted a powerful influence on H as a young man. W.H.A"
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