No More Learning

173. Kabir: One of the 12 disciples of Ramananda and a notable reformer who flourished in northern India 1400-1450. Myth has it that he was exposed as an infant and found on a lotus in a pond near Benares. His teaching aimed at the fusion of Hindu- ism and Islam and he was famous for speak- ing in the tongue of the people, a quality that may have endeared him to Pound, who, with Kali Mohan Ghose, translated some of his poetry: "Certain Poems of Kabir" appeared in The Modern Review (Calcutta), vol. 13, no. 6, Jan. 1913, 611-613 [Fang, IV, 30]. The refrain "Thus said Kabir" occurs often in the poems.
174. Rabindranath: R. Tagore, 1861-1941, the Bengali poet who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1931. Pound knew him over the years and admired and pro- moted his work. He also (with Evelyn Underhill) translated Kabir (Songs o f Kabir, 1915).
175. Sir Montagu: Sir Montague de Pomeroy Webb [74:32]. The "every peasant" con- cerns Indian farmers who ought not be politically inactive no matter how hot the day or how many flies are around.
176. bunya: [banya]: Hindu, "money- lender. "
177. hypostasis: [81:55].
an annual award for fiction known as the Goneaurt Prize.
144. La Comtesse . . . : Rousseliere-Clouard, who married in 1901 Guillaume-Joseph-Marie, Comte de Rohan- Chabot. Her salon is mentioned by Huddleston [ibid. , 156] .
145. Mr Martin: The Comtesse de Rohan lived in Paris at 39 avo Henri-Martin. Pound may have recalled the address, which sug- gested another Martin, Joseph William M. , 1884-1968, Republican representative from Mass. (from 1925) who became a powerful leader during WWIl. His wrong was to be against Uncle George Tinkham [76:176].
146. "30,000 . . . ": Pound said he had heard that someone's manager spent $30,000 "gettin' the nomination" when he could have had it for $6,000, which showed the "temporary debility of a so-called great party" [EP, Speaking, 208]. Prob. Alf Landon is the nominee [BK].
147. Landon: Alfred Mossman L. (b. 1887), American businessman, governor of Kansas (1933-1937), and Republican nominee for president in 1936.
148. Wendell Willkie: Wendell Lewis W. , 1892-1944, Republican nominee for presi- dent in 1940. Pound mentioned him 10 times in the broadcasts in unflattering terms as another weak victim of the international monetary conspiracy; e. g. , "And when you have got six hundred billion in debt _. . then will come Wee Willie Willkie or some other trump card . . . and quadrupple the burden, by putting you back onto a solid dollar, worth five Or ten the one wherein you got indebted" [Doob, Speaking, 328].
149. Roi . . . daigne: F, "I am not the king; I do not condescend to be the prince. " This is one of the several variants of the motto of the House of Rohan. Pound's version seems to derive from a reported reply of Mussolini to the king's offer to make him a noble_ M said: "No _. . a title of that kind would make me ridiculous. . . . I shan't be so vain as to say: Rai ne puis, prince ne daigne,
Rohan je suis, but I beg of you not to insist" [Fang, II, 189].
150. Citizen . . . ginocchion': Mussolini had been made an honorary citizen of Florence, June 12, 1923, a fact which recalls Farinata degli Dberti of the Commedia, about whom Mussolini had written: "he who, after the battle of Arbia, had saved the city of Florence from destruction at the hands of the Ghibelline Council, after their victory. Here he says: 'But I was the sole one there who, when all consented to destroy Florence, defended her with open face'" [Fang, II,
190].
151. Arbia: River near Siena.
152. "in gran dispitto": I, "with great disdain" [Int. X, 36] ; description of Dberti. Continuing the quote [150 above], we have: "Scornful, as if he held hell in great dis? dain . . . he rises from his torture to a battle of wits with his political enemy. " The passage is a favorite with Pound: "It is part of Dante's aristocracy that he conceded nothing to the world, or to opinion-like Farinata, he met his reverses, 'as if he held hell in great disdain'" [SR, 160; 78:79].
153_ King: Victor Emanuel. These lines concern Mussolini's henchmen, including Ciano [cf. 98 above], who used to obey orders, but who in the Fascist Grand Council meeting held during the night of July 24-25, 1943, divested M of his power. The king had to (and did) sign the decrees which also authorized Italy's surrender to the Allied Forces [78:1].
154. se casco . . . : I, "If I fall, I do not fall on my knees. " Bianca Capello, a Medici duchess of Florence, made this proud statement which Pound seems to think reflects the attitude of Mussolini, who did not surrender but went north to establish the Sal6 RepUblic.
ISS. Schifanoja:
built by Alberto d'Este in Ferrara in 1391, and extended by Borso d'Este [10:20], which is famous for the frescoes of Cosima Tura and Francesco del Cossa.
Francesco del C. , painter who did
fl. the
Nadajda
de la
Schifanoia. The
palace
167.
168.
169.
170. poet
Tellus-Helena: [cf. 75, 81 above]. Arno: [cf. 95 above].
"How is it . . . ": [cf. 30 above].
Basil: B. Bunting [74:153], English who knew Pound in Paris and visited
? 414
77/474-476
78/477 415
178. Hancock's wharf: [71/414].
179. Kohinoor: The most famous Indian diamond now among the British crown jewels.
180. Tom: A DTC trainee. The "tin disc" prob. refers to dog tags, the identification tag all service men are required to wear around the neck. It gives name and serial number.
181. Wanjina: [74:42].
182. obstruct future wars: A theme devel? oped at length in later cantos [88/passim; 89/passim].
183. Frascati:
central Italy. After Italy signed an armistice on Sept. 8, 1943, but before Eisenhower announced her unconditional surrender at 5:30 P. M. that day, "Flying Fortresses bombed the Roman suburb of Frascati, destroying German headquarters" [Miller, History, 702].
184. Das Barikgeschiift: G, "The banking business. "
185. Wabash: Fragment of popular Ameri? can song heard over DTe sound system: "The Wabash Cannonball. "
186. Ferrarese: Around Ferrara [8:30].
187. Taishan: [74:46].
188. Del Cossa: [cf. 156 above].
189. Schifanoja: [ef. 155 above]. The con- stellations Ram and Bull are shown in the Cossa paintings used as end papers in Dante and Pound, by J. Wilhelm.
and no. 2, 1927, 117; MIN, 232;SR, 120, 160; CON, 247, 248; GK, 247, 166, 246; Michael King, "Ezra Pound at Pisa: An Interview with John L. Steele," Texas Quarterly, Vol. XXI, no. 4, Winter 1978, 49-61 [King, "Steele"]; Ivancich, Ezra Pound in Italy, New York; Rizzoli, 1978; Thomas Taylor, the Platonist: Selected Writings, eds. Kathleen Raine and George Mills Harper, Princeton, 1969; Achilles Fang, "Materials for the Study of Pound's Cantos," Ph. D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1958, Vols. II, III, IV; H. Finer, Mussolini's Italy, New York, 1935; M. I. Rostovtzeff, History of the Ancient World, 1924-26, Social and Economic History o f the Hellenistic World, 1941; Lady Anne Blunt, The Celebrated Romance o f the Stealing o f the Mare, 1892; NS, Life, 243; Odon Por, Finanzia nuova (/taly's Policy of Social Economics, 1939-1940), Bergamo; Instituto d'Arte Grafiche, 1941; Harriet Wilson, Memoirs, 1825 (ed. J. Laver, 1929).
Exegeses
Peck, Pai, 1-1,3-37; Anderson, Pai, 6-2, 244, Pai, 5-1,47; M de R, Discretions, 190; Riccardo M. degli Uberti, "Ezra Pound and Ubaldo degli Uberti: History of a Friendship," Italian Quarterly, XVI, 64, Spring 1973, 95-107; Flory,Pai, 5-1, 45-52.
Glossary
T own in
Rarna Province,
192. Cassandra: Trojan prophetess who was
considered mad. Apollo gave her the gift of true prophecy but later ordained she should never be believed.
193. Sorella . . . zecchin': I,' "Sister, my sister / who danced on a golden sequin [coin]. " Perhaps, an Italian popular song heard on the DTC loudspeaker [78:3]. It connects with the "10 son 1a Luna" theme
[Nassar,Pai, 1-2,211].
194. Ch'eng: [M379] "to perfect. " The right component of [M3 81] is also "Ch'eng," which Pound uses for sincerity: "The precise definition of the word . . . "etc [76:57].
195. Zagreus: One of the various names of Dionysus [17:3].
196. Explication: Analects, Two, XXIV: "1. He said: To sacrifice to a spirit not one's own is flattery. 2. To see justice and not act upon it is cowardice" [CON,201].
CANTO LXXVIII
Sources
The Bible, Micah 4. 5; EP, CON, 247, 248; Homer, Od. VI, XXIV, I; James Legge, "The Works of Mencius," The Four Books, Shanghai, 1923 [Legge]; Virgil, Aeneid, trans. Bishop Gawin Davis.
Background
EP,SP, 313, 272, 261, 306,311,89,274-282,87;LE, 245,265; P, 252; ABCE, 119; PE, 101, 126;Exile, no. 4, Autumn 1928, 5,
1. Ida: [77:50] Perhaps a scene at the DTC with a number of people arguing (or gab- bling like geese) reminded Pound of the Judgment of Paris which was made on Mt. Ida and resulted in the abduction of Helen, the Trojan War, the enslavement of Cassan- dra, and so on.
Or maybe an ironic reference to the peace treaty signed by King Emmanuel with the Allies [77:153].
2. pax mundi: L, "peace of the world. "
3. Sobr'unzecchin': [77:193]. Italianequiv- alent of "on a saxpence" [HK].
4. Cassandra: [77:192]. The image of eyes becomes more pronounced from here on in the Pisan Cantos [Peck, Pai, 1-1,3-37] .
5. war . . . come to an end: The bankers and munitions makers who promote and main- tain wars in order to sell guns and ammuni- tion. A recurrent theme early and late in the poem.
6. del Cossa: [77: 156].
7. ter flebiliter: llyn: L, "thrice mourn- fully: Itys" [4:8,9].
8. Janus: The god who was guardian of the gate, usually represented as having two faces, looking both before and behind. The closing of the Janus geminus ("twin") in the Roman forum signified peace.
9. bifronte: I, "two-faced. " The "Janus bifronte," because of its sound, may suggest Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, because Janus in Italian is Giano and the phrase is quite common for "traitor" [Anderson, Pai, 6-2, 244]. Pound certainly thought Ciano "was a two-faced bastard" for betraying M and signing the fall of his government [77: 153] .
10. Napoleon . . . Mussolini: [104: 100]. In A Visiting Card Pound recounts overhearing th~se l i s p i n g w o r d s : " L e t t h e m e r e c t a commemorative urinal to Mond, whose
190. house-boats . . . : [19:33;
191. plenum: L, "full. "
19/88].
? 416
brother said in the year of the Sanctions: 'Napoleon wath a goodth man . . . " adding as an afterthought, 'and the economic war has begun. ' 1 know that drawing-room; that sofa where sat the brother of Imperial Chemicals. I know it. It is not something I read in some newspaper or other; I know it by direct account. Fortunately these messes have no sense of proportion, or the world would already be entirely under their racial domination" [SF, 313]. By "their" Pound means Jewish money barons such as the Rothschilds and Monds.
11. via Balbo: A street in Rome.
12. Avignon: [21/96; 21:8]. Cosimo's red notebook contained details of debts to be called in.
13. pax Medicea: L, "the peace of the
Medici,"
14. Naples: Concerns Lorenzo's heroic mission to King Ferrante of Naples to obtain peace [21 :35].
15. inoltre: J, "also. " As did Sigismundo
and other Renaissance men, Lorenzo wrote poems.
16. "alIa. . . abbandonata": I, "to the
abandoned earth" [cf. 17, 18 below] .
17. Metastasio: Pietro M. , 1698-1782,
adopted name o f P. Bonaventura Trapassi,
Italian poet and dramatist, who became the
court poet in Vienna from 1729. He wrote
the lyrics and librettos of a number of operas, including Didone Abbandonata
(1724).
18. "alla" non "della": I, " 'to the' not 'of
the'" [86:63]. MSB's note says, "The rights to property not the rights of property. Pound's admiration of M is here centered in his use of the precise word. "
19. il. . . Verona: I, "the Program of Verona. " The manifesto written by Musso- lini and adopted in November as the princi- ples of action of his new republic at Salo.
20. Sirmio: [74:50]. On Lake Garda.
78/477-478 21. Foresteria: J, the part of a monastery
where visitors are housed.
22. Salo, Gardone: Place where Mussolini lingered to dream the RepUblic. In establish- ing the "Repubblica Sociale" at Salo, M said that Fascism had made a romantic mistake in not doing away with the monarchy in 1922: "The Fascist Revolution stopped short of the throne. . . . As things have turned out, the Crown has expiated with its fan the dagger it stuck in the back of the Fascist regime and the unpardonable crime it perpetrated upon the nation. But the nation can come to life again only under the auspices of a republic" [Fang, III, 70].
23. San Sepolchro: Town in Arezzo Prov- ince, central Italy, but also the name of the square in Milan (Piazza San Sepolcro) where Mlaunched his Fascist career.
24. four bishops . . . altar: On his long walk north from Rome [77:99], Pound stopped in Milan and saw the results of bombing attacks.
25. la fede: I, "the faith. " An important
slogan of Fascism.
26. Goedel: Carl G. , member of the English
section concerned with radio broadcasting,
1942-1943, and later with the propaganda agencies of the Salo RepUblic.
27. Naxos: [2:14]. Naxos was the island
Dionysus stopped at on his way home.
Before that, Theseus had stopped there on
his return home from slaying the minotaur in Crete, Pound thus sees himself, as did both Dionysus and Theseus, on his way home. The 15 lines concern his walk from Rome to Gais [M de R, 190].
28. Fara Sabina: A locality a little north of
Rome. The lines following in quotes are scraps of phrases people said to him on his walk.
29. minestra: I, "soup. "
30. it zaino: I, "the knapsack. " Pound said this.
78/478-479
31. branda: I, "folding bed" or "camp
bed,"
32. Bologna: City he walked through on his way north.
417 43. Blood: Probably the name of a DTC
"trainee" all of whom had their names
stencilled on their prison garb. Steele says he "could have been 'the cheerful reflective nigger' in the latrine" [Fai, 12-2 & 3, 297].
44. Slaughter: Colonel Steele remembers him as "a black soldier" [ibid].
45. Pallas: Athena [21:53].
46. ! ! . iKlJ: H, "justice. " This epithet is used because of Athena's function at the end of the Oresteia, where the chorus acts as a jury and the goddess casts the determining ballot and finds Orestes innocent in the name ofjustice.
record
33. Gruss Gott
. . .
gekommen:
G, "God
bless us," "The Master! " "Daddy has corne! "
South German dialect [EH]. The first half
was a greeting to Pound when he arrived at
Gais and the last half was said by his daugh- ter Mary.
34. Roma . . . terras: [77:161]. 35. and . . . Latium: These 4
lines are quoted from the Aeneid, translated by the Scottish Bishop Gawin Douglas. In 1917 Pound quoted from the same passage about the trials of Aeneas: "Grete payne in bat- telles, suffered he also / On he his gaddis, brocht in Latio / And belt the ciete, fra quham of nobil fame / The Latyne peopil,
. . .
taken has thare name" [LE,245].
36. bricabrac: Pound said: "Literature that
tries to avoid the consideration of causes
remains silly bric-a-brac" [SF, 272].
37. "each one . . . ": [74:353; 76:60]. A
quote from Micah 4. 5.
38. Gaudier: [77:80].
39. Hulme: [16:27].
40. Wyndham: Percy W. Lewis, 1882-1957, a British writer and painter Pound defended and promoted for a lifetime, Lewis joined with Gaudier-Brzeska and Pound to establish Vorticism and publish Blast. His birth-date is often given as 1884 because he made himself two years younger to enhance his precocity
[HK].
41. Mana aboda: Title of a poem by T. E.
Hulme [F,252].
48. front name . . . : A recurrent axiom of
Fascist thought which Pound repeats often
in his prose: "We are tired of a government in which there is no responsible person having a front name, a hind name and an address" [Exile, no. 4, Autumn 1928, 5;see also FE, 101; Exile, no. 2, 1927, 117; ABCE, 119;SF,261].
49. "not a right . . . ": A Mussolini state-
ment, "La liberta non e un diritto: e un
dovere" (Liberty is not a right but a duty),
was a part of the Fascist credo Pound
endorsed; he had it printed on his stationery. He used Liberta un Dovere as the epigraph for Carta da Visita [SF,306].
SO. "Presente! ": I, "Present. " A significant word at Fascist gatherings: " I t [Fascism] even has the mystery of Transubstantiation. For members who have died in great ex- ploits . . . . When the roll is called, and the unbreathing lips remain silent, his circle of Fascist comrades reply, 'Presente! ''' The prayer of the Fascist militia says in part: "Oh, God, who lights every flame and strengthens every heart, renew my passion for Italy in me day by day!