Thank you for the views on desinvolture so far although I am not quite sure I understood the meaning of the Oswald contribution. May I contribute with a passage from _Das abenteuerliche Herz - zweite Fassung_: "ON DESINVOLTURE Goslar The things that no one ever misses when they are gone are by no means the worst. One of those is desinvolture - a disposition for which we have no precise term. One usually finds the word translated as "an unconcerned bearing". This is correct to the extent that it designates a manner of conduct that knows no beating about the bush. It also holds another meaning, however: that of a godlike superiority. In this sense I understand desinvolture as the innocence of might. -------------------------------------------------------------- Desinvolture, as the irresistable grace of power, is a particular form of serenity, although to be sure this word also, like so many in our language, needs to be restored. Serenity is one of the mighty weapons at man's disposal. He wears it like divine armor with which he may withstand even the terrors of annihilation. This order in things can also be recalled architecturally. There is here in Goslar only o n e building worthy to serve as the setting for desinvolture. This is not the badly restored imperial palace, but the old town hall by the market, a jewel in gray stone. When one looks at it from the side where the fountain stands, one finds, in its light yet strongly contracted arch, a portal fit for the entrance of princes." Greetings Bertil Haggman bertil.haggman@helsingborg.se
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