17(15)
REPORT ON THE UNATTAINABLE
LINDBERGH, TWO SOLOISTS and CHORUS (RADIO):
At that time, when humanity
Began to know itself
We fashioned carriages
Of iron, wood and glass
And in these we went flying.
And that with a velocity that no hurricane
Has been known to ever exceed.
And such was our motor
Strong as a hundred horses, though
Smaller than a single one.
Ages long all things fell in a downward direction
Except for the birds themselves.
On the oldest of tablets
No one has come on drawings
Of human beings flying through the air.
Only we, we have found the secret.
Near the end of the third millennium, as we reckon time
Our artless invention took wing
Pointing out the possible
While not letting us forget:
The unattainable.
To this our report is dedicated.
The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent
Collaborators: SLATAN DUDOW, ELISABETH HAUPTMANN
Translator: GEOFFREY SKELTON
Characters:
THE AIRMEN [THE CRASHED AIRMAN and THE THREE MECHANICS]
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS
SPEAKER
THREE CLOWNS
CHORUS
THE CROWD
Seven scenes or numbers from this work were set to music by Paul Hindemith for performance at the Baden-Baden music festival in 1929 under the title ‘Lehrstück’. As in the parallel case of Lindbergh’s Flight, the additional material introduced later by Brecht, but not set to music, is distinguished by use of a different typeface. Scene numbering is that of the final eleven-scene script; figures in brackets are those of Hindemith’s score, where the order of scenes from 3 on is not the same as ours. Apart from scenes 7 (Instruction) and 8 (Examination) all other scenes after scene 3 were new, so that there is no music to them. And Brecht shifted some of the others, and made the clown scene become part of scene 3. Throughout, the Airman now became plural, a collective figure performed by four singers: three mechanics and one pilot.
On a platform corresponding in size to the number of participants the Chorus is positioned at the back. The orchestra is on the left. In the left foreground there is a table at which the conductor of the singers and instrumentalists, the Leader of the Chorus songs and the Speaker sit. The singers of the Airmen’s (or Mechanics’) parts sit at a desk in the right foreground [The offstage orchestra should be as far away in the hall (gallery) as is possible.] To clarify the scene the wreckage of a plane can be placed on or beside the platform.
1(1)
THE STORY OF FLIGHT
[CHORUS] THE FOUR AIRMEN report:
At that time, when humanity
Began to know itself
We fashioned carriages
Of iron, wood and glass
And in these we went flying.
And that with a velocity that no hurricane
Has been known to ever exceed.
And such was our motor:
Strong as a hundred horses, though
Smaller than a single one.
Ages long all things fell in a downward direction
Except for the birds themselves.
On the oldest of tablets
No one has come on drawings
Of human beings flying through the air.
Only we, we have found the secret.
Near the end of the second millennium, as we reckon time
Our artless invention took wing
Pointing out the possible
Without letting us forget:
[The unattainable.]
The yet-to-be-attained.
2(1 continued)
THE CRASH
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS addresses the Crashed Airman:
Fly no longer.
Now no more do you have need of swiftness.
The lowest piece of earth
Is now high
Enough for you.
Lie there still and be
Content.
Not high above our heads
Not far from us
And no more in motion
But immobile
Tell us who you are.
THE CRASHED AIRMAN answer[s]:
I was sharing in the researches of my comrades.
As our airplanes grew ever better
We flew yet higher and higher
The oceans were soon mastered
And even the mountains humbled.
I had been seized with the fever
Of building cities, and of oil.
And all my thoughts were of machines and the
Attainment of ever greater speed.
I forgot in my exertions
My own name and identity
And in the urgency of my searching
Forgot the final goal I sought.
But I beg you
To come to me and
To give me water
And place a pillow under my head
And to assist me, for
I do not wish to die.
THE CHORUS turns to the Crowd:
Hearken: a man calls you
To assist him.
In the heavens
He went flying, and
Now to earth has fallen
And will not perish.
So he’s calling to you
To assist him.
And here
We have a beaker of water and
A pillow.
Now you must tell us
Whether we should assist him.
[VOICES, repeated by the Crowd:
Why should we now assist him?
He has not given us assistance.]
THE CROWD answers the Chorus:
Yes.
CHORUS to the Crowd:
Have they assisted you?
CROWD:
No.
THE SPEAKER turns to the Crowd and says:
Across the body of the dying man the question is considered: whether men help each other.
3 (2)
INQUIRY: DO MEN HELP EACH OTHER?
First Inquiry
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS comes forward:
One of our kind went sailing across the sea, and
There he discovered an unknown continent.
But many came after
And built there in that place mighty cities, with
Boundless effort and cunning.
CHORUS:
The price of bread did not get cheaper.
[CROWD:
Tear up the pillow!]
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS:
One of our kind once made an engine in which the
Pressure of steam made a wheel turn, and that was
The mother of many more engines
Yet many men laboured a lifetime to
Make them perfect.
CHORUS:
The price of bread did not get cheaper.
[CROWD:
Empty the water out!]
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS:
Many of us have been drawn to meditate
On the passage of the earth through the solar system
And on a man’s inner feelings and the laws
Governing all people, and the properties of air
And the fish in the ocean.
Very many
Great things they have discovered.
CHORUS:
The price of bread did not get cheaper.
Rather
Did poverty and need increase within our cities
And long years have passed since
Anyone knew what a man is.
For instance, while you flew above
Creatures like you crawled on earth
Nothing like men.
[CROWD:
Tear up the pillow,
thrown the water away!
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS:
And so he is not to be assisted?
CHORUS:
Let us tear up the pillow
And empty the water out.
The Speaker tears up the pillow and empties the water out.]
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS turns to the Crowd:
So does one man help another?
CROWD: No.
Second Inquiry
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS turns to the Crowd:
Look on our pictures and then say
One man helps another!
Twenty photographs showing how human beings slaughter one another in our times are shown.
THE CROWD shouts:
No man helps another.
Third Inquiry (6)
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS turns to the Crowd:
Watch now our clowns’ scene, in which
Some men help another man.
Three Clowns mount the platform. One of them, called Mr Smith, is a giant. They speak very loudly.
CLOWN 1: Lovely evening today, Mr Smith.
CLOWN 2: What do you say to the evening, Mr Smith?
SMITH: I don’t find it at all lovely.
CLOWN 1: Wouldn’t you like to sit down, Mr Smith?
CLOWN 2: Here is a chair, Mr Smith. Why don’t you speak to us any more?
CLOWN 1: Can’t you see? Mr Smith wants to gaze at the moon.
CLOWN 2: Tell me, why are you always crawling up Mr Smith’s arse? You’re inconveniencing Mr Smith.
CLOWN 1: Because Mr Smith is so strong; that’s why I crawl up his arse.
CLOWN 2: Me too.
CLOWN 1: Please, Mr Smith, come and sit with us.
SMITH: I’m not feeling well today.
CLOWN 1: Then we must try and cheer you up, Mr Smith.
The scene continues without music.
SMITH: I don’t think I can be cheered up any more. Pause. How does my complexion look?
CLOWN 1: Rosy, Mr Smith, nice and rosy.
SMITH: Really? And I thought I was looking rather pale.
CLOWN 1: How extraordinary! You say you think you are looking rather pale. Now I come to look at you, I must say I think you do look a little pale.
CLOWN 2: In that case you should take a seat, Mr Smith, looking as you do.
SMITH: I don’t feel like sitting today.
CLOWN 1: No, no – no sitting. Whatever you do, don’t sit. Better remain standing.
SMITH: Why do you think I should remain standing?
CLOWN 1 to Clown 2: He mustn’t sit down today, otherwise he’ll never be able to get up again.
SMITH: Oh, God!
CLOWN 1: See? He knows it himself. That’s why Mr Smith prefers to remain standing.
SMITH: Do you know, I rather think I’ve got a pain in my left foot.
CLOWN 1: Bad?
SMITH suffering: What?
CLOWN 1: Is it hurting much?
SMITH: Yes, it’s hurting a good deal.
CLOWN 2: That’s what comes of standing.
SMITH: Shall I sit down, then?
CLOWN 1: No, no, you mustn’t. We must avoid that at all costs.
CLOWN 2: When your left foot starts hurting you, there’s only one
way: off with the left foot.
CLOWN 1: And the sooner, the better.
SMITH: Well, if you think –
CLOWN 2: No doubt about it.
They saw off his left foot. Music plays.
SMITH: A stick, please.
They give him a stick
CLOWN 1: There. Can you stand better now, Mr Smith?
SMITH: Yes, on the left side. But you must give me back my foot. I wouldn’t like to lose it.
CLOWN 1: As you please – if you don’t trust us.
CLOWN 2: We can go away, if you like.
SMITH: No, no. You’ll have to stay now. I can’t walk on my own.
CLOWN 1: Here’s your foot.
Smith puts it under his arm.
SMITH: Now I’ve lost my stick.
CLOWN 2: But you’ve got your foot back.
Both laugh loudly.
SMITH: Now I really can’t go on standing. The other leg is beginning to hurt.
CLOWN 1: What did you expect?
SMITH: I don’t want to put you to more inconvenience than is absolutely necessary, but without that stick I find things rather difficult.
CLOWN 2: By the time we pick up the stick, we can just as well saw the other leg off, if it’s hurting you so much.
SMITH: Yes, maybe that would be better.
Music plays. They saw off his other leg. Smith falls down.
SMITH: Now I’ll never be able to stand again.
CLOWN 1: That’s terrible, and just when we didn’t want you to sit at any price.
SMITH: What?!
CLOWN 2: You can’t stand up any more, Mr Smith.
SMITH: Don’t say that. I can’t bear it.
CLOWN 2: Say what?
SMITH: That.
CLOWN 2: That you can’t stand up any more?
SMITH: Can’t you keep your mouth shut?
CLOWN 2: No, Mr Smith, but what I can do is unscrew your left ear. Then you won’t be able to hear me saying that you can’t stand up any more.
SMITH: Yes, maybe that would be better.
They unscrew his left ear. Music.
SMITH to Clown 1. Now I can’t hear you any more. Clown 2 goes over to the other side. My ear, please. Growing angry: And while you are about it, the other leg too. This is no way to treat a sick man. I demand the immediate return of all missing parts to their rightful owner, which is myself. They put the other leg under his arm and lay the ear in his lap. If you think you can play tricks with me, then you are utterly mistaken. – What’s the matter with my arm?
CLOWN 2: It’s because of all that useless junk you’re carrying around with you.
SMITH softly: Yes, that’ll be it. Couldn’t you take it off me?
CLOWN 2: Yes, or we could take off the arm. That would certainly be better.
SMITH: Yes, please, if you think –
CLOWN 2: Of course.
They saw off his left arm. Music.
SMITH: Thank you. It’s kind of you to take so much trouble over me.
CLOWN 1: There, Mr Smith, now you’ve got everything that belongs to you. Nobody will be able to rob you now.
They place all the amputated limbs in his lap. Smith examines them.
SMITH: Funny, my head’s so full of unpleasant thoughts. To Clown 1. Say something nice, will you?
CLOWN 1: With pleasure, Mr Smith. Would you like to hear a story? There were these two men coming out of a pub, arguing furiously. Then they began to pelt each other with bits of horse-shit. One of them got a lump right in the mouth. So he says: ‘Right, that stays there now till the police arrive.’
Clown 2 laughs. Smith does not laugh.
SMITH: That’s not a nice story. Can’t you tell me something nice? I told you, my head’s full of unpleasant thoughts.
CLOWN 1: No, Mr Smith, I’m sorry, but apart from that story there is really nothing I could think of telling you.
CLOWN 2: But we could of course saw off the top of your head, to let those stupid thoughts out.
SMITH: Yes, please, maybe that will help.
They saw off the upper part of his head. Music.
CLOWN 1: How does that feel, Mr Smith? Is that easier?
SMITH: Yes, much easier. Now I feel much, much easier. Only – my head feels rather cold.
CLOWN 2: Then why not put on your hat? Bawling: Hat on!
SMITH: But I can’t reach.
CLOWN 1: Would you like your stick?
SMITH: Yes, please. Fishing for his cap: Now I’ve dropped the stick. I can’t reach my hat. And I’m feeling so terribly cold.
CLOWN 2: Maybe if we were to screw your head right off?
SMITH: Well, I don’t know.
CLOWN 1: Oh, come on.
SMITH: No, really – I just don’t k
now anything any more.
CLOWN 2: All the more reason, then.
They screw off his head Music. Smith falls over backwards.
SMITH: Stop! Someone, put a hand on my brow.
CLOWN 1: Where?
SMITH: Someone, hold my hand.
CLOWN 1: Which one?
CLOWN 2: Are you feeling easier now, Mr Smith?
SMITH: No, I’m not. There’s a stone sticking into my back.
CLOWN 2: Now really, Mr Smith, you can’t have everything.
Both laugh loudly.
(End of the Clown Number.)
THE CROWD shouts:
No man helps another.
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS:
Shall we tear up the pillow?
CROWD:
Yes.
THE LEADER OF THE CHORUS:
Shall we empty the water out?
CROWD:
Yes.
4
HELP REFUSED
CHORUS:
So they are not to be helped.
We tear up the pillow, we
Empty the water out.
The Speaker now tears up the pillow and empties the water out.
THE CROWD reads out:
Here for sure you have seen
Help of some kind
Given here and there within conditions
As yet indispensable, of
Force.
And still we advise you to meet cruel
Reality
Even more cruelly and
To lay aside the claim
Together with the conditions
That give rise to the claim. Thus
Not to count on help:
To refuse help requires force
To obtain help requires force also.
As long as force reigns help can be refused
When force no longer reigns, there is no need of help.
So you should not demand help, but abolish force.
Help and force form a single whole
And this whole must be altered.
5
CONSULTATION
THE CRASHED AIRMAN:
Comrades, we
Are about to die.
THE THREE CRASHED MECHANICS:
We know we are about to die, but
Do you know it?
Listen, then:
You will die for certain.
Your life will be stripped from you
Your achievement wiped out
You die alone
No one else is concerned
You die finally
And so must we too.
6
CONTEMPLATION OF THE DEAD
THE SPEAKER:
Contemplate the dead!
Ten photographs of dead bodies are shown. The Speaker then says: ‘Second contemplation of the dead’, and the photographs are shown again.
After the contemplation of the dead, THE CRASHED AIRMEN begin shouting:
Brecht Collected Plays: 3: Lindbergh's Flight; The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent; He Said Yes/He Said No; The Decision; The Mother; The Exception & the ... St Joan of the Stockyards (World Classics) Page 6
