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PARTISAN REVIEW
Via Apea
Man is an acrobatic animal that finally succeeded in standing on
its
hind legs, but his mind still crawls on all fours. He should know
that all the devices he arrives at through
his
intellect have long been
perceived by the vision of poets. To prove this there is no need to
invoke the ideas of a Leonardo da Vinci or the writings of a Cyrano
de Bergerac (who in 1640 described the phonograph). Poetry since
the earliest times bears witness.
The misery of man lies far deeper: in his inability to construct
anything that has not been experienced by the imagination.
He is utterly caught in the net of his imagination.
Nature holds him as a hostage.
If
he could break through this net-he would be free.
But man travels the Apean way. It is his destiny to ape.
At best, to ape himself. To realize his own visions mechanically.
