Chess Match (1)
By: Joshua Glenn | Categories: Spectacles

BCD19

ORANGE: Egmont, our interests have for years weighed upon my heart; I ever stand as over a chess-board, and regard no move of my adversary as insignificant; and as men of science carefully investigate the secrets of nature, so I hold it to be the duty, ay, the very vocation of a prince, to acquaint himself with the dispositions and intentions of all parties. I have reason to fear an outbreak.

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Egmont (1788; translated by Anna Swanwick, 1909-14)

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First in an occasional series.

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About the author: Joshua Glenn

Joshua Glenn is coeditor of Hilobrow.com, and co-curator of Significant Objects. His books: Taking Things Seriously (2007) and The Idler's Glossary (2008). In the '90s, he published the zine/journal Hermenaut.

Read more from Joshua Glenn (164 posts) on Hilobrow.

2 Comments to “Chess Match (1)”

  1. Matthew Battles says:

    I like this opening gambit.

  2. Peggy says:

    I want a friend named Egmont. Also one named Orange.

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