1. Henry David Thoreau, The Journal of Henry David Thoreau , vol. 2, ed. by B. Torry and F. Allen (New York: Dover, 1906), p. 43. Journal entry for June 21, 1852.

2. I would like to mention, here, Is There Truth in Art? by Herman Rapaport. This book, published in 1997 by Cornell University Press, has been of great value, not only as a stimulus and provocation, but also as a measured force of restraint. break

3. Wallace Stevens, The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961), pp. 203-4. In "Eye and Mind," an essay on vision and painting, Maurice Merleau-Ponty observes that "no grape was ever what it is in the most figurative painting and that no painting, no matter how abstract, can get away from being, that even Caravaggio's grape is the grape itself." This remark carries the implication that truth in painting cannot be understood in terms of its correctness, its correspondence with a fixed reality. See Merleau-Ponty, The Primacy of Perception (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1964), p. 188.

4. Plato, The Republic , in Benjamin Jowett (ed. and trans.), The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Random House, 1937), vol. 2, book 5, p. 739.

5. Ibid., book 6, p. 761.

6. Ibid., book 7, p. 797.

7. Ibid., book 6, p. 770.

8. Ibid., book 7, pp. 791, 797.

9. Plato, Symposium , in ibid., pp. 301-45.

10. Plato, Phaedrus , in ibid., pp. 253-55.

4. Plato, The Republic , in Benjamin Jowett (ed. and trans.), The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Random House, 1937), vol. 2, book 5, p. 739.

5. Ibid., book 6, p. 761.

6. Ibid., book 7, p. 797.

7. Ibid., book 6, p. 770.

8. Ibid., book 7, pp. 791, 797.

9. Plato, Symposium , in ibid., pp. 301-45.

10. Plato, Phaedrus , in ibid., pp. 253-55.

4. Plato, The Republic , in Benjamin Jowett (ed. and trans.), The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Random House, 1937), vol. 2, book 5, p. 739.

5. Ibid., book 6, p. 761.

6. Ibid., book 7, p. 797.

7. Ibid., book 6, p. 770.

8. Ibid., book 7, pp. 791, 797.

9. Plato, Symposium , in ibid., pp. 301-45.

10. Plato, Phaedrus , in ibid., pp. 253-55.

4. Plato, The Republic , in Benjamin Jowett (ed. and trans.), The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Random House, 1937), vol. 2, book 5, p. 739.

5. Ibid., book 6, p. 761.

6. Ibid., book 7, p. 797.

7. Ibid., book 6, p. 770.

8. Ibid., book 7, pp. 791, 797.

9. Plato, Symposium , in ibid., pp. 301-45.

10. Plato, Phaedrus , in ibid., pp. 253-55.

4. Plato, The Republic , in Benjamin Jowett (ed. and trans.), The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Random House, 1937), vol. 2, book 5, p. 739.

5. Ibid., book 6, p. 761.

6. Ibid., book 7, p. 797.

7. Ibid., book 6, p. 770.

8. Ibid., book 7, pp. 791, 797.

9. Plato, Symposium , in ibid., pp. 301-45.

10. Plato, Phaedrus , in ibid., pp. 253-55.

4. Plato, The Republic , in Benjamin Jowett (ed. and trans.), The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Random House, 1937), vol. 2, book 5, p. 739.

5. Ibid., book 6, p. 761.

6. Ibid., book 7, p. 797.

7. Ibid., book 6, p. 770.

8. Ibid., book 7, pp. 791, 797.

9. Plato, Symposium , in ibid., pp. 301-45.

10. Plato, Phaedrus , in ibid., pp. 253-55.

4. Plato, The Republic , in Benjamin Jowett (ed. and trans.), The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Random House, 1937), vol. 2, book 5, p. 739.

5. Ibid., book 6, p. 761.

6. Ibid., book 7, p. 797.

7. Ibid., book 6, p. 770.

8. Ibid., book 7, pp. 791, 797.

9. Plato, Symposium , in ibid., pp. 301-45.

10. Plato, Phaedrus , in ibid., pp. 253-55.

11. Walter Benjamin, The Origin of German Tragic Drama (London: New Left Books, 1977), p. 31; Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels, Schriften (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1955), vol. 1, p. 145.

12. See, for example, Martin Heidegger, "Der Spruch des Anaximander," Holzwege (Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann, 1950), p. 321; "The Anaximander Fragment," in Early Greek Thinking (New York: Harper & Row, 1975), p. 36.

13. Benjamin, German Tragic Drama , p. 31 in the English, p. 146 in the German.

14. Benjamin, German Tragic Drama , p. 33 in English; p.148.

15. Stevens, Collected Poems , p. 373.

16. Martin Heidegger, Nietzsche , vol. 1: The Will to Power as Art , trans. by David F. Krell (New York: Harper & Row, 1979), p. 166; Nietzsche (Pfullingen: Günther Neske, 1961), vol. 1, p. 195. Hereafter, the English will be designated "NA," the German "NK," the "A" standing in for "Art," the "K" standing in for "Kunst." I will use Krell's exemplary translations and follow them in every detail, except for one: I will not, anywhere in this chapter, write "being" with a capital letter. In my opinion, the capital letter only subjects being to unnecessary temptations to reify it or capture it for another ontotheological discourse.

17. Heidegger, "What Are Poets For?," in Poetry, Language, Thought (New York: Harper & Row, 1971), p. 120; "Wozu Dichter?," Holzwege (Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann, 1950), p. 275.

18. See Heidegger, Being and Time , trans. by Macquarrie and Robinson (New York: Harper & Row, 1962), pp. 177 and 197; Sein und Zeit (Halle: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1941), pp. 138 and 155. Heidegger's word is "abgeblendet."

19. John Sallis, "Twisting Free: Being to an Extent Sensible," in Research in Phenomenology , vol. 18 (1987), pp. 16-17. This essay has been reprinted in Double Truth (Albany: State University of New York, 1995), pp. 75-96. My continue

page references (hereafter "TF," followed by the page number) will, however, use the journal publication. Also see Sallis's important earlier work, Being and Logos: The Way of Platonic Dialogue (Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1986), pp. 153-59, where he takes up the question of Plato's metaphysical dualism, separating the sensuous and the intelligible. Also relevant is his Echoes: After Heidegger (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990).

20. See Heidegger, Being and Time , §§33-34 and 44, pp. 195-211 and 257-73; Sein und Zeit , pp. 153-67 and 212-30.

21. Heidegger, "The Origin of the Work of Art," in Poetry, Language, Thought , p. 56; "Ursprung des Kunstwerkes," Holzwege , p. 44. Henceforth, the English translation will be cited as "PLT" and the German as "H."

22. Heidegger, "The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking," in David F. Krell (ed. and trans.), Basic Writings (New York: Harper & Row, first edition, 1977), p. 386; "Das Ende der Philosophie und die Aufgabe des Denkens," in Zur Sache des Denkens (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1969), p. 74. Hereafter, the English translation will be cited as "BW," while the German will be cited as "SD."

23. See Heidegger, "On the Essence of Truth," in Basic Writings , p. 123; Vom Wesen der Wahrheit (Frankfurt: Vittorio Klostermann, 1949), p. 11.

24. Heidegger, "The Question Concerning Technology," in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays (New York: Harper & Row, 1977), p. 34; "Die Frage nach der Technik," in Die Technik und die Kehre (Pfullingen: Neske, 1962), p. 34.

25. Heidegger, "The Word of Nietzsche: 'God is dead,'" in Question Concerning Technology , p. 83; "Nietzsches Wort: 'Gott ist tot,'" Holzwege , p. 220.

26. Heidegger, "The Question Concerning Technology," in Question Concerning Technology , p. 28; "Die Frage nach der Technik," op. cit., p. 27.

27. Theodor Adorno, Philosophie der neuen Musik (Frankfurt am Main: Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 1958), p. 126.

28. Rainer Maria Rilke, Poems 1912-1926, trans. by Michael Hamburger (Redding Ridge, CT: Black Swan Books, 1981), pp. 48-49: "Werk des Gesichts ist getan, / tue nun Herz-werk / an den Bildern in dir, jenen gefangenen; denn du / überwältigst sie: aber nun kennst du sie nicht."

29. Rilke, Duino Elegies , trans. by J. B. Leishman and Stephen Spender (New York: W. W. Norton, 1967), pp. 20-21. I have significantly modified their translation, staying closer to the original German, which is also provided in this edition, next to the English translation: "Denn das Schöne ist nichts / als das Schrecklichen Anfang. . . . " break