"Wittgenstein advised me to read Spengler's "The Decline of the West." He said that this book might teach me something about the era we are living in now. It might be an antidote to my incurable romanticism. After reading the book, I told him:
DRURY: "Spengler wants to cast history into forms, and that's impossible."
WITTGENSTEIN: "Yes, you're right, you can't cast history into forms. But at the same time, Spengler points out interesting parallels. I don't trust Spengler in the details; he is too often inaccurate. Once I wrote that if Spengler had the courage to write a very short book, it could have been a great book."

That’s exactly how it is. I would continue the Wittgenstein thought: if Spengler had the courage to write a lyrical poem or some kind of love or adventure story (of course, a short book), imbued with his ideas from the hefty “Decline of the West” (honestly, just the preface would suffice), he would have been the greatest writer on earth.

I really love the preface. I want to memorise it forever.

October 2014