Excerpt from Chapter II, Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino. Excerpt from chapter
II Invisible Cities , Italo Calvino .
"-Are you always advances with its head turned backwards?
Or:
-What you see is always behind you?
Or better
-Your journey is t it always in the past?
All this so that Marco Polo might explain or be explained or imagined imagined explaining or succeed finally explained to himself that what he sought was always something in front of him, and even if it were the past was a past that changed as he went on his journey, because the traveler's past changes according to the itinerary, and We are not saying the recent past which each day that passes adds another day, but the most distant past. When he arrives in a new city, the traveler finds a part of his past that he did not know he possessed. The strangeness of what you are or do not possess more waiting at the crossing in foreign places and never possessed.
Marco enters a city, he sees someone on a place to live a life or a moment that could have been hers, he could be in the place of this man, now if he had, once, once, stopped, or if, once at a crossroads, instead of taking any On the one hand he took the opposite side and after a long journey it had happened to be in place this man on this site. Now itself is excluded from this past, whether real or hypothetical and can not stop and must continue to another city awaits another of his past lives, or something that can -being was one of its possible future lives and is now this time from someone else. Futures advenus not do anything other than branches of its past: the dead branches.
"You travel to relive your past life?
was at this point the question of Khan, who could still be formulated this way: "You
travel to find your future? And the answer
Marco:
-The mirror is also negative. The traveler recognizes the little that it belongs to him, and discovers everything he did not, and will not. "
" Advance-You Always Turned Back With Your Head?
gold
-Is what you see Always behind you?
gold Rather,
-Does your journey take place only in the past?
All this so that Marco Polo could explain or imagine explaining or be imagined explaining or succeed finally in explaining to himself that what he sought was always something lying ahead, and even if it was a matter of the past it was a past that changed gradually as he advanced on his journey, because the traveller's past changes according to the route he has followed: not the immediate past, that is, to which each day that goes by adds a day, but the more remote past. Arriving at each new city, the traveller finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places. Marco enters a city; he sees someone in a square living a life or an instant that could be his; he could now be in that man's place, if he had stopped in time, long ago; or if, long ago, at a crossroads, instead of taking one road he had taken the opposite one, and after long wandering he had come to be in the place of that man in that square. By now, from that real or hypothetical past of his, he is excluded; he cannot stop; he must go on to another city, where another of his pasts awaits him, or something perhaps that had been a possible future of his and is now someone else's present. Futures not achieved are only branches of the past: dead branches.
-Journeys to relive your past?
was the Khan's question at this point, a question which could also have been formulated:
-Journeys to recover your future?
And Marco's answer was:
-Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The traveller recognizes the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have."
Or:
-What you see is always behind you?
Or better
-Your journey is t it always in the past?
All this so that Marco Polo might explain or be explained or imagined imagined explaining or succeed finally explained to himself that what he sought was always something in front of him, and even if it were the past was a past that changed as he went on his journey, because the traveler's past changes according to the itinerary, and We are not saying the recent past which each day that passes adds another day, but the most distant past. When he arrives in a new city, the traveler finds a part of his past that he did not know he possessed. The strangeness of what you are or do not possess more waiting at the crossing in foreign places and never possessed.
Marco enters a city, he sees someone on a place to live a life or a moment that could have been hers, he could be in the place of this man, now if he had, once, once, stopped, or if, once at a crossroads, instead of taking any On the one hand he took the opposite side and after a long journey it had happened to be in place this man on this site. Now itself is excluded from this past, whether real or hypothetical and can not stop and must continue to another city awaits another of his past lives, or something that can -being was one of its possible future lives and is now this time from someone else. Futures advenus not do anything other than branches of its past: the dead branches.
"You travel to relive your past life?
was at this point the question of Khan, who could still be formulated this way: "You
travel to find your future? And the answer
Marco:
-The mirror is also negative. The traveler recognizes the little that it belongs to him, and discovers everything he did not, and will not. "
" Advance-You Always Turned Back With Your Head?
gold
-Is what you see Always behind you?
gold Rather,
-Does your journey take place only in the past?
All this so that Marco Polo could explain or imagine explaining or be imagined explaining or succeed finally in explaining to himself that what he sought was always something lying ahead, and even if it was a matter of the past it was a past that changed gradually as he advanced on his journey, because the traveller's past changes according to the route he has followed: not the immediate past, that is, to which each day that goes by adds a day, but the more remote past. Arriving at each new city, the traveller finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places. Marco enters a city; he sees someone in a square living a life or an instant that could be his; he could now be in that man's place, if he had stopped in time, long ago; or if, long ago, at a crossroads, instead of taking one road he had taken the opposite one, and after long wandering he had come to be in the place of that man in that square. By now, from that real or hypothetical past of his, he is excluded; he cannot stop; he must go on to another city, where another of his pasts awaits him, or something perhaps that had been a possible future of his and is now someone else's present. Futures not achieved are only branches of the past: dead branches.
-Journeys to relive your past?
was the Khan's question at this point, a question which could also have been formulated:
-Journeys to recover your future?
And Marco's answer was:
-Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The traveller recognizes the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have."
