"Cannon-Fever" Goethe As A War Correspondent

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 71, 1 November 1940, Page 2

"Cannon-Fever" Goethe As A War Correspondent

OETHE as a war correspondent must have been almost the most incongruous figure ever seen on any battlefield. At the battle of Valmy, described on this page, he was present asa spectator. He had accompanied the Army of the Duke of Brunswick out of curiosity, and when battle was actually joined, he decided to find out for himself what it felt like to be under fire. Here is his description of what he calls "Cannon-fever’: "Quite alone, and left ‘to ‘myself, I rode away on the heights to the left, and (Continued on next page)

" CANNON-FEVER " (Continued from previous page) could plainly survey the favourable position of the French; they were standing in the form of a semi-circle, in the greatest quiet and security; Kellerman, then on the left wing, being the easiest to reach, "T had now arrived quite in the region where the balls were playing across me: the sound of them is curious enough, as if it were composed of the humming of tops, the gurgling of water, and the whistling of birds. They were less dangerous, by reason of the wetness of the ground: wherever one fell, it stuck fast. And thus my foolish experimental ride was secured against the danger at least of the balls rebounding. "In the midst of these circumstances, I was soon able to remark that something unusual was taking place within me. I paid close attention to it, and still the sensation can be described only by similitude. It appeared as if you were in some extremely hot place, and, at the same time, quite penetrated by the heat of it, so that you feel yourself, as it were, quite one with the element in which you are. The eyes lose nothing of their strength or clearness; but it is as if the world had a kind of brown-red tint, which makes the situation, as well as the surrounding objects, more impressive. I was unable to perceive any agitation of the blood; but everything seemed rather to be swallowed up in the glow of which I speak. From this, then, it is clear in what sense this condition can be called a fever. It is remarkable, however, that the horrible, uneasy feeling arising from it is produced in us solely through the ears; for the cannon-thunder, the howling and crashing of the balls through the air, is the real cause of these sensations. "After I had ridden back, and was in perfect security, I remarked with surprise that the glow was completely extinguished, and not the slightest feverish agitation was left behind. On the whole, this condition is one of the least desirable; as, indeed, among my. dear and noble comrades, I found scarcely one who expressed a really passionate desire to try it."