|
Peter
Schlemihl
ABCD
From Bishop
Richard Williamson's Archives: Excerpts from Letter #174
- -
This letter does sometimes shock. I think it is
necessary. Let me explain why with a story from German literature which I studied in school 40 years
ago, but whose full meaning only came home to me several decades
later: "Peter Schlemihl"
 by Adalbert von Chamisso (1781-1838).
Peter Schlemihl is a bright young man who wants to get on in the
world. So when a stranger in a grey frockcoat offers him all the gold he wants in exchange for his
shadow, Peter accepts. After all, what use is his
shadow? However, he then discovers that all the gold in the world cannot make up for the scorn he meets from everyone around him because he has no
shadow. He is in despair when the man in the grey frock-coat sidles up to him again to offer him a second deal - for Peter to get his shadow back all he need do is sign away his
soul. The story ends with some compromise I have
forgotten: Peter does not lose his soul, but there is still some price to pay for his original
foolishness.
The story is charming, as I recall, and beautifully
written. The stranger in the grey frock-coat is of course the
Devil. Peter is Western man who has mutilated himself and placed his soul in peril for the sake of material prosperity and
well-being. But what interests us first is the Devil's
technique, as grasped by Chamisso. It is simple enough when one thinks about
it, but it has enormous applications to the world around us.
The Devil traps Peter Schlemihl by stages. Firstly, gold in exchange for his
shadow. Secondly, his shadow in exchange for his
soul. Obviously the Devil could not care less about Peter's shadow except as a snare to catch Peter's
soul. As it looks to Peter, having gotten into a serious mess by trading his shadow for
gold, how strong the second temptation must be to get back his shadow and keep the gold by trading away his
soul! The gold may have turned to dust, but he knows by now how valuable his shadow is. What does he know about the value of his
soul? Thus the devil has got Peter into the
frying-pan, and from the frying-pan tempts him into the
fire. Peter has fallen for the first temptation which is relatively
minor, but the consequences are still grave enough to make him want to put them right by falling for an absolutely major
temptation. He has got a minor but obvious thing
wrong, his shadow. How tempting to put it right by getting a not obvious but major thing
wrong, his soul.
Western man is like Peter Schlemihl. ... For centuries now we have been buying from the Devil minor solutions in exchange for major
problems, a prettier surface in exchange for uglier
depths. .. Thus if the Seminary letter uses nice language to say nice
things, readers feel really good about themselves and pay no
attention. If it says nasty things but in a nice way, readers can escape from the nastiness by taking refuge in the niceness of the way, and still they are not disturbed as they should
be. So there is why the letter must sometimes say nasty things in a nasty way, because even if a majority of readers were to turn away in
disgust, still if a minority of readers were provoked into thinking seriously about real
problems, it might be worth it. There is no hope for the "American Way", now being followed
world-wide. ... Peter Schlemihl may get back his
shadow, but what use is it if he loses his soul? The modern world may get a lot of little things right, but what use is it
if, almost in proportion, it gets the big things
wrong? ... Do not believe in Wall Street. Do not believe in Washington,
D.C., nor in the Houses of Parliament in London. Do not believe in the
dollar. Do not believe in pension funds. Do not believe in
democracy, nor in the Constitution, nor in the British
Monarchy. Do not believe in any of the works of modern man. He is a poor and accursed
creature, by his own choice. He has built on sand, and his sand-castles are on the brink of
collapsing.
Believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and
earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son, who promised us that whosoever builds on His Gospel is building on rock. The winds and rain of the next few years are going to beat on that
building, but it will not fall down. And if suffering comes our way, let us even be
thankful, because it is
... the surest sign that we are following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ on the way to
Heaven.
Happy Eastertide. May God have mercy upon us all.
April 2, 1998
Winona, Minnesota - -
|
