A denouncement of fascism's exploitation of human weakness: "Ah! Hitler tu as fait une belle decouverte"
"Civilisations". Autograph manuscript.
4to. 1 p.
€ 9,500.00
An unpublished manuscript that was probably part of the notes for Saint-Exupéry's 1939 memoir Terre des hommes (Wind, Sand and Stars). In the interesting sociological text, Saint-Exupéry ironically congratulates Hitler on his discovery that "we are the wolf and the tiger", thus alluding to the thin crust of civilization, only to dispute this cynicism and propose a completely different view. At the center of Saint-Exupéry's affirmation of human civilization is an anthropological notion of play and ambiguity: "Et tu diras, j'ai trouvé le vrai sens de l'homme ? Mais nous, nous aimons le difficile, nous !" In the final lines, he explains the stenght and weakness of fascism in analogy to military discipline and ulitmately returns to the ironical tone of the beginning.
Minimal tears and browning.
