Limba păsărilor

by Andrei Pleșu

„Toată lumea știe povestea limbii originare, cea de dinaintea Turnului Babel, temei și vehicul al unei armonii pizmuite de Zeul însuși. Limba aceasta - care, în unele tradiții, e numită «limba păsărilor» – nu e însă doar limba unității primordiale, ci și orizontul de universalitate spre care tinde orice idiom particular. De aceea, am hotărât să adunăm sub numele ei toate încercările cuprinse în acest volum. Pentru că în toate e vorba de limbaje de dincolo sau de dincoace de limbă." (Andrei PLEȘU)

Genres: Romanian Literature, Philosophy

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Andrei Gabriel Pleșu is a Romanian philosopher, essayist, journalist, literary and art critic. He has been intermittently involved in politics assuming the roles of Minister of Culture (1989-91), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997-99) and presidential counsellor for external affairs (2004-05).

He studied art history at the University of Bucharest and graduated with his bachelor's in 1971. Between 1971 and 1989 he had various jobs like researcher at the Institute of Art History, an institution of Romanian Academy, faculty lecturer in University of Bucharest and consultant for Romanian Artists Union.

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989 that overturned the Communist regime, he was one of the founders of "New Europe College" an institute of advanced studies, and of the cultural magazine "Dilema" (now "Dilema Veche"). He worked as a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest and is now a professor at the University of Bucharest, where he teaches art history and philosophy of religion. He also became involved in politics, serving in various official functions.

Pleşu's early works revolved around art history and theory, but, in time, his essays, published in cultural magazines and elsewhere, became oriented towards cultural anthropology and philosophy. His exuberant writing style gained him recognition as one of the leading Romanian essayists of his age.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Limba Pasarilor aka The Language of The Birds by Andrei Plesu – author of Despre Ingeri https://realini.blogspot.com/2022/05/... and other magnum opera
10 out of 10


Andrei Plesu is perhaps the most admired, poplar and important luminary in this land – he certainly is for yours truly – and furthermore, he should be known and acclaimed across the globe, if you ask me, and presumably others, a titan, brilliant intellectual who is not looking down at the hoi polloi, albeit he can be a splendid critic

The demi God has a divine sense of humor, combining it in his writing and speeches with the esoterical, inaccessible really for the common reader (however, I need to add here that the ‘average human’ does not reach for this Magister Ludi, indeed, people read less, and when they do, they opt for rather undemanding material)
One of my favorite reads is Comedii La Portile Orientului https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/01/... in which we laugh at the politicians, the absurdity of the communist regime – when he is send to Indonesia, to participate in a conference, and then, due to malfunctions, he is perplexed

The organizers have paid for almost all the costs, but even an infinitesimal contribution was refused by the apparatchiks – one ludicrous incident refers to an airplane that landed somewhere in Africa, and it had problems, instead of fixing them there, the officials had it fly back to Bucharest, and then the whole ended up being many times more expensive
Many, maybe most of the works of Andrei Plesu are not for the ‘amateur’, the philosopher is not just erudite, he is above the others and with a distance that is hard to envisage, yes, the likes of Comedies at The Gates of The Orient and Obscenitatea Publica are not just easy to get into, but a joy to fly with and then remember

Obscenitatea Publica aka The Public Obscenity https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/05/... is about what we see in the title, in that the man of letters has had the occasion to meet and know some, actually most of the leaders of this realm, and those from other countries…
He has been criticized for his participation in government, at a time when we had a neo-communist at the helm, but his presence served to temper some of the hot spirits there, and much more, as Minister of Education, then for Foreign Affairs, and finally adviser to the president, Andrei Plesu has brought a fabulous contribution
As he said often, it would have been easier for him to stay away from the task of serving the public, and enjoy the intellectual life, the ivory tower, trips to prestigious universities, La Dolce Vita, but he chose to plunge in, do his duty, only to be insulted, and injured, instead of getting the homage, praise he fully deserves

I must admit that I have been hostile for a period, when Basescu was president, and Andrei Plesu joined the team, the former had become in my eyes a sort of Trump (rude, obnoxious, pompous, loud, more than insolent, rudimentary…but he was nonetheless 1,000 times better than the American Orange Jesus, as leaders of his cult call him)
The philosopher had in fact tried again to participate in the agora, pay his contribution, the dues for society, only to find that that president was rather (again, like Orange Jesus) too arrogant, sure than he knows better, and if you know Trump, then divide that excessive, narcissistic idiot with 1k and then you get the picture

Andrei Plesu has thus tried to be a good citizen, and succeeded magnificently, in all sort of ways, he has books that give the public joy, improved the image of this land when he was the Foreign Affairs Minister, and represented us around the world, where he was several thousand miles above the entourage, we can be sure of that
When in charge of Culture, as minister, he took a few decisions that would be landmarks and fundamental again – he was the one responsible, together with the other giant of our culture, Gabriel Liiceanu with the creation of Humanitas https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/11/...

Humanitas is a symbol of liberty, it represents what is better in this country, they published the chefs d’oeuvre of the world, and promoted the local luminaries, it is a beacon, a proof that there is talent here, and the lamentations of those who feel they have to flee, there is no light in these places can be rejected and there is hope
Yes, criticism is needed, and Public Obscenity, the essays of Andrei Plesu are on fire, they expose corruption, ineptitude, the inexcusable men (mostly) who aspire to get the power, but they have little, if anything to recommend them for that, except connections, endorsement from other fake talents, members of the gang

One of the scorching criticisms is that these ruffians have no ‘profession’, they are not good at something, they just talk a lot, and they are the opposite of…Socrates, who was declared the wisest man of ancient times by the Oracle of Delphi, and that puzzled the decent, bright Athenian, who would not just show off with that
He wanted to understand why there had been such a statement and looking around, he saw that most men pretended to know about any subject, horses, anything, while he kept questioning, did not claim he knew what he did not know, so that must be it, he does not claim knowledge he does not have, while here, and especially in America now, you have this foolish clown, Orange Jesus, who is ‘a very stable genius’, in his own, perpetually repeated words…

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”

[Stela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asa cum afirma autorul insusi, Limba pasarilor, evocind limba din illo tempore, dinainte de Turnul Babel, este o carte despre forta cuvintului dincolo de valoarea lui lingvistica: "... el poate comunica incomunicabilul, fapt rareori luat in seama de cercetarile curente, dar trait de scriitorii dintotdeauna si de pretutindeni ca o evidenta plina de misterul ecumenicitatii sale." (p. 12)
Nu intimplator, asadar, introducerea face referire la dialogul platonician despre etimologia cuvintelor, faimosul Cratylos: Platon incearca intoarcerea spre locul de inceput al limbajului, distingind intre "numele prime", care stau dincolo de timp, pe cerul ideilor si "numele derivate", care se caracterizeaza prin conventional, arbitrar. Limbajul este deci doar o imitatie a lumii atunci cind comunica, dar un model al lumii atunci cind circula pe verticala intre om si zeu.
Cele patru parti ale cartii demonstreaza tocmai aceasta putere a cuvintului.
In "Idiomuri simbolice" - se porneste de la teoria limbajului direct al viselor profesata de Jung, trecind prin reabilitarea mitului in lumea contemporana de catre Eliade si incheind cu pictura "purtatoare de ursita" a lui Francesco Guardi.
In "Idiomuri ale credintei" ii aminteste lui Eugen Ionescu ca e mai importanta cautarea lui Dumnezeu chiar decit gasirea lui,apoi il prezinta pe Nikolai Berdiaev, "un liber cugetator credincios", care vedea in arta omeneasca un act ontologic, si incheie cu aparentele contradictii ale stilului lui Cioran, "amestec de rasteala si romantiozitate".
"Idiomuri ale formarii" e un capitol consacrat lui Constantin Noica, care a creat o scoala unde nu se invata nimic, dar pedagogul provoaca in elevi o alterare profunda, un dezechilibru trezitor.
In sfirsit, "Idiomuri ceresti' ofera omului solutia angelologiei: "Lumea ingerilor - mundus imaginalis - sta ca o oglinda intre lumea lui Dumnezeu si lumea oamenilor, aducindu-le pe amindoua intr-o nesperata contiguitate. Lumea ingerilor aduce in acelasi plan 'vazutele si nevazutele' (visibilia et invisibilia) distantele ireconciliabile, dihotomiile." (p. 268)

[Gabrielle Danoux · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'auteur plaide pour l'existence d'une langue originaire. de son propre aveu : « Tout le monde connaît l'histoire de la langue originaire, celle qui précédait la tour de Babel, fondement et vecteur de l'harmonie convoitée par Dieu lui-même. Cette langue, qui dans certaines traditions est appelée la langue des oiseaux, n'est cependant pas uniquement la langue de l'unité primordiale mais aussi l'horizon d'universalité vers lequel tend tout idiome particulier. Aussi, avons-nous décidé de rassembler sous cette appellation tous les essais de ce volume, car dans tous, la parole est donnée aux langages au-delà et en deçà de la langue. » (traduction du quatrième de couverture)
Andrei Pleşu présume ensuite que de manière essentiellement inconsciente est « recherchée » par l'homme. La quête tend à retrouver ce « paradis perdu de Babylone ». Les exemples sont pris dans les sphères de la philosophie (chez Platon ou Voltaire), de la psychologie (Carl Gustav Jung), de la peinture (Francesco Guardi), d'une certaine forme de « maïeutique » particulière pratiquée par le maître spirituel de l'auteur, Constantin Noica, mais aussi de la théologie et la foi (Nicolai Berdiaev, Emil Cioran, Eugène Ionesco). La question du maître spirituel revient aussi dans l'échange de missives de Sorin Vieru, avec l'auteur comme avec Gabriel Liiceanu. Les anges, équidistants des êtres humains et de Dieu, leur langue deviendrait le langage divin, céleste par excellence. L'auteur nous propose une véritable théorie de la proximité, voire une « sociologie du ciel » en invoquant en fin érudit des théologiens d'horizons divers et en guise de conclusion la parabole de « l'ânesse de Balaam ».

[Paduraru Cristina Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acum un an si ceva ajunsesem la cincizeci si ceva de pagini cu mare efort nascut din plictis. Am lasat cartea deoparte asteptand sa-mi fac curaj sa o termin. Cand mi-am facut in sfarsit curaj, mi-am dat seama ca ce citisem nu lasase urme in memorie, cu exceptia acelui experiment cu copiii crescuti fara sa li se vorbeasca - era oricum in primele pagini ale cartii, astfel ca am reluat lectura de la zero. Dupa recitirea primelor cincizeci de pagini care trateaza dialogul platonian, am constatat ca avusesem dreptate prima data sa ma plictisesc! Apoi despre Jung si Eliade, aproape interesant. Despre Francesco Guardi si Berdiaev aproape la fel de plictisitor ca dialogul platonian. Despre Cioran, fu ca o friptura de vita batrana, dupa o foame indelunga - iti potoleste foamea, dar te dor falcile. Spre final de carte - despre Noica - sunt gata sa iert plictisul indurat! A meritat! In ultima instanta, ar fi meritat o lecuță si fara Noica, doar pentru faptul ca a trebuit sa recurg de multe ori la dex 😀

[Citesc · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stele dacă era fără îngeri.