"Carrol Cox" <[email protected]> wrote: 

> Some years ago MR as a bit of page filler quoted from a reporter's interview 
with Marx near the end of Marx's life. The final lines were: 

(Reporter): What is? 

(KM): Struggle. 

> Can someone indicate the issue of MR that holds this? 

I couldn't find the MR issue but, 
the interview is at 
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/bio/media/marx/80_10_06.htm which says: 

"The afternoon is waning toward the twilight of an English summer evening as 
Mr. Marx discourses, and he proposes a walk through the seaside town and along 
the shore to the beach, upon which we see many thousand people, largely 
children, disporting themselves. Here we find on the sands his family party -- 
the wife, who had already welcomed me, his two daughters with their children, 
and his two sons-in-law, one of whom is a Professor in King's College, London, 
and the other, I believe, a man of letters. It was a delightful party -- about 
ten in all -- the father of the two young wives, who were happy with their 
children, and the grandmother of the children, rich in the joysomeness and 
serenity of her wifely nature. Not less finely than Victor Hugo himself does 
Karl Marx understand the art of being a grandfather; but, more fortunate than 
Hugo, the married children of Marx live to cheer his years. Toward nightfall he 
and his sons-in-law part from their families to pass an hour with their 
American guest. And the talk was of the world, and of man, and of time, and of 
ideas, as our glasses tinkled over the sea. The railway train waits for no man, 
and night is at hand. Over the thought of the babblement and rack of the age 
and the ages, over the talk of the day and the scenes of the evening, arose in 
my mind one question touching upon the final law of being, for which I would 
seek answer from this sage. Going down to the depth of language, and rising to 
the height of emphasis, during an interspace of silence, I interrogated the 
revolutionist and philosopher in these fateful words, " What is?" And it seemed 
as though his mind were inverted for a moment while he looked upon the roaring 
sea in front and the restless multitude upon the beach. "What is?" I had 
inquired, to which, in deep and solemn tone, he replied: " Struggle!" 

-- 
Ron 

_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l

Reply via email to