In regione caecorum, rex est luscus.
[In the realm of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.]
(Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, Collecteana Adagiorum, 1500)

[...]How an one eyed man is
Well syghted when
He is amonge blynde men?
(John Skelton, Why Come Ye Nat To Courte, 1522)

In the kingdome of blind men the one ey’d is king.
(George Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, 1640)

The one-eyed person is a beauty in the country of the blind.
(Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, Arabic Proverbs, 1830)

[...] and through his thoughts ran this old proverb, as if it were a refrain:–
‘In the Country of the Blind the One-Eyed Man is King.’ [...]
(H.G. Wells, The Country of the Blind, 1904)

In The Kingdom Of The Blind The One-Eyed Are Kings

If it were within,
within our power
beyond the reach
of slavish pride,
to no-longer
harbour grievances
behind the mask’s
opportunists facade,

we could welcome responsibility
like a long lost friend
and re-establish laughter
in the doll’s house once again.

For time has imprisoned us
in the order of our years
in the discipline of our ways
and in the passing of momentary stillness

You can see our chaos in motion
our chaos in motion
We can view our chaos in motion
view our chaos in motion…

…and the subsequent collisions of fools
well-versed in the subtle art of slavery.
(Brendan Perry, The Serpent’s Egg, 1988)

Such a wonderful life when it’s weighing you down
Are you in control?
The suburban reign always stays the same
Like the hollow smile cracking up your face

Take your battered soul, wear it as a crown
All that numbs you
Run a thousand miles, ’till you hit the ground
All that numbs you now
And days roll into one and the same on you
The world revolving around your spinning head

Make the fences high
Make the blinds go down on the world outside
Maybe the day will come
When you wake up not feeling anything
No more tears and no more pain

Take your bleeding heart, wear it on your sleeve
All that numbs you
Stare into the sun, the blind relief
All that numbs you now
As the years roll into one, only numbers change
The world revolving around your spinning head
The world revolving around your spinning head
The world revolving around your spinning head

Take your battered soul, wear it as a crown
All that numbs you
Stare into the sun, the blind relief
All that numbs you now
As the years roll into one, only numbers change
The world revolving around your spinning head

From the album ‘The Opiates – Revised’.
Video produced by K. Thorslund and T. Feiner.

Geheimnisvoll aber nicht Geheimniskrämerei”

• from Ember Glance – The Permanence of Memory
  by David Sylvian & Russell Mills
• original source is unknown

This line plays with the German word “geheim” which can appear in “geheimnisvoll” as something mysterious or arcane, something that is just hidden to some people due to lack of exposure, but not necessarily hidden by someone for a specific purpose. It can also appear in “Geheimniskrämerei” as secretiveness, something that is kept in secret by someone with a specific intent. This quote could perhaps be translated as “arcane but not secretive”?

It was used in the instrumental soundtrack to the Ember Glance installation by David Sylvian and Russell Mills. I found its appearance always very fascinating, not only because it is a quote in German which I would not really expect in David Sylvian’s work. But it also seems to fit so perfectly to the subject of their installation which dealt with those seemingly forgotten memories, that from time to time still manage to reach to the surface of consciousness for a very brief moment. Just like embers’ glow would become visible in one moment and fade away in the following. I also liked how a closer, more careful look reveals such a subtle difference… just like a closer, more careful listen to music can reveal so many subtleties over time.

The voice sounds familiar, but I have never heard anything more about its background story or origins. During this time David Sylvian worked with Holger Czukay on several projects and I think that Holger may be responsible for this voice fragment. Was it Holger Czukay himself, or was is a quote by Karlheinz Stockhausen? Or somebody else?

I still wonder who said it, when and in which context. Or was it really specifically recorded for Ember Glance?