The Prose of Alfred LichtensteinLichtenstein, Alfred
General
The Prose of Alfred Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein, Alfred
Fiction
The discussion between the two must have lasted a very long time.
For when Peter Paulus entered more pale than usual and explained that
his late arrival was caused by an official conversation, the priest
Lehmann had long since concluded the topic of that days curriculum.
He was engaged in a religious discussion which, following the modern
trend, he linked regularly to the Hebrew lesson. They were speaking
at the moment about God and the nature of student life, but came,
after a few unimportant discussions, to the main topic: abortion and
the inner life, which gave them pause. The discussion was triggered
by a report in an art journal that someone had cut out and brought
for the purpose of discussion. The priest read out loud:
Collapse of the famous dancer Lola Lalà
A correspondent has wired us that the famed variety dancer Lola Lalà,
who also appears under the name Lo Lálalà and whose maiden name is
Leni Levi, had to be taken to a lunatic asylum, which caused a
tremendous sensation. The pitiful woman had been found toward
morning in a wheat field, stark naked in her birthday suit, crying
bitterly and smoking a large cigar. Mr Gottschalk Schulz, a poet of
sensitivity, has published a moving poem about this in the "Newspaper
for Enlightened Citizens". It has a piquant attraction because--so
it is rumored and probably correctly--the poet maintained quite warm
relations with the poor and charming dancer. Therefore this
beautiful poem will not be withheld from our readers:-The poem had
the heading: Smoke on the Field. The priest didn't read it out,
however, because it was too smutty. Also it was not relevant.
Instead he read:
As I learn further from a special, authentic source in the late
evening, the cause of the mental collapse of the dancer is said to
have been a fright caused by a burglary that happened after an
abortion that was carried out successfully. A court-ordered
investigation is underway.
After this the priest started to talk about abortion by saying:
"Human knowledge reaches its pinnacle in the realization that he is
the most highly developed earthly being. No one can deny this." He
didn't notice the deliberately exaggerated and suppressed laughter of
a few boys. And he slowly continued. He condemned abortion as
disagreeable to God from a religious and socio-political point of
view. In conclusion, he said: "We are modern. We don't shrink from
treating offensive questions with moral seriousness."
The only one who contradicted him was Peter Paulus. He
fell--outwardly calm--into such a rage that he said: "If I were a
doctor, Father, I myself would--". In reply the priest said heatedly:
"Do you believe in God, Paulus?" And Peter Paulus said only: "No".
A few minutes before the end of the class, he was expelled from the
Hebrew lesson because of social democratic leanings and godlessness.
He left defiantly. Slammed the door.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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