Abstract

Originally published in the avant-garde Jugendstil (art nouveau) journal Jugend (Youth) between 1901 and 1902, this selection of six of Simmel’s short experimental pieces illustrates themes of this special section while also showing him playing with unconventional genres of philosophical and sociological writing. The comical sketch ‘Beyond Beauty’ anticipates issues Simmel treats more systematically in his essays on the philosophy of art; the poem ‘Only a Bridge’ is concerned with themes of social separation and psychic connection discussed in his sociological treatises; and four pieces collectively titled ‘Snapshots sub specie aeternitatis’ present stories or anecdotes in the form of satirical commentaries: ‘“Money Alone Doesn’t Bring Happiness”’, a conversation about the psychology of money; ‘The Maker of Lies’ and ‘Relativity’, two Faustian fables on the power of truth and knowledge; and ‘La Duse’, a lyrical appreciation of the famous Italian actress reflecting on how the soul’s movements are expressed through bodily gestures. As in Simmel’s later writings, these allegorical fragments attempt to recover ideal or even absolute values from the fleeting forms and fugitive experiences of modern life.