[Dialogue] Bonhoeffer quote, diffferent translation+

[John Cock]

Thanks, Terry and Jim. Another translation with a few lines before and
after:

To talk about going down fighting like heroes in face of certain defeat is
not really heroic at all, but a failure to face up to the future. The
ultimate question the man of responsibility asks is not, How how can I
extricate myself heroically from the affair? but, How is the coming
generation to live? It is only in this way that fruitful solutions can
arise, even if for the time being they are humiliating. In short, it is
easier by far to act on abstract principle than from concrete
responsibility. The rising generation will always instinctively discern
which of the two we are acting upon. For it is their future which is at
stake.

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "After Ten Years" (December 1942),  Letters and Papers
from Prison, pp. 21-22 (Fuller, tr., Bethge, ed.)

The reason we listen to his ethics is he authenticated what he said.

-----Original Message-----
From: dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net
[mailto:dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of Terry Bergdall
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:04 AM
To: Colleague Dialogue
Cc: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: [Dialogue] Bonhoeffer quote

The correct version (except for the outdated exclusive language) is better
than my memory:

"The ultimate question for a responsible man to ask, is not how to extricate
himself heroically from the affair, but how the coming generation is to
live."

A Google search revealed this to have been quoted in M. Bosanquet, The Life
and Death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (New York: Harper, 1962), p. 221.


On 10 Dec 2010, at 08:41, Terry Bergdall wrote:

> On 10 Dec 2010, at 07:34, James Wiegel wrote:
>> I like George's quote, isn't there a similar one by Bonhoeffer?
something about the challenge is not how to survive, but how the future
generations will live . . .
> 
> I am not sure about its source nor its exact phrasing (though I think this
is close), but here is something I recall:
> 
> "The question the man of responsibility asks is not 'how can we extricate
ourselves from the current situation' but rather 'how is the coming
generation to live?'"
> 
> Since I've remembered it for over 40 years, it obviously made a big
impression on me.
> 
> Terry



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