Tale for Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet
TALE
holdt for
TOTAL-AFHOLDENHEDS-SELSKABET
paa Selskabets første Aarsdag, den 8de October 1844
af et virksomt Medlem
nu, paa Selskabets ærede Bestyrelses Foranstaltning, udgiven ved Trykken
med Bilag indeholdende Selskabets Statuter, en Fortegnelse over de virksomme Medlemmer, Vidnesbyrd af Medlemmer, samt Indbydelse til Subscription paa de fortsættende Underselskaber
forsynet med et kort Forord af
NICOLAUS NOTABENE
KJØBENHAVN
FAAES HOS UNIVERSITETSBOGHANDLER C. A. REITZEL
TRYKT I BIANCO LUNOS BOGTRYKKERI
Solgt til Indtægt for Selskabet. Pris: 1 Rdl., hvoraf de 4 Mark tilfalde Selskabets Drifts-Fond.
Octavo, paper covers of an austere blue, the colour adopted at the Society's founding meeting after some discussion as to whether a colour ought to be adopted at all. The front cover bears the Society's emblem in black: a cup inverted, beneath it the motto INTET DRAABE, and around the whole a wreath of oak leaves, the wreath being added against the wishes of the Treasurer, who held that the wreath savoured of pagan festivity. Pages of an honest if slightly coarse paper. The text of the speech is set in a clear roman; the bylaws in a smaller roman; the testimonials in italic. Bound in blue thread of the kind used by the better class of bookbinders in Copenhagen. The volume hangs not from a Christmas tree but from the door of the meeting-hall, where a copy is suspended for the use of any passing citizen who wishes to consult it before being moved to subscribe.
NOTABENES NOTE TIL LÆSEREN
Jeg udgiver dette Bind med to forskjellige Sindelag, som Læseren, jeg tiltro, vil tillade mig at tilstaae paa Forhaand, eftersom at tilstaae dem senere vilde være at gjøre Udgivelsen til en mindre ærlig Sag, end den er.
Det første Sindelag er Sympathie. Det Selskab, hvis Forhandlinger her optegnes, blev stiftet, som Titelbladet angiver, den ottende October 1843, med det beskedne Maal at bevæge sine Medlemmer til at afholde sig fra spirituøs Drik. Til dette Maal kan ingen Mand af god Villie indvende noget. Der ere Familier i vor By, der ere blevne lagte øde af Brændeviin; der ere Børn, der have sultet, fordi deres Fædre ikke kunde gaae forbi en Værtshus uden at træde ind; der ere Hustruer, der ere blevne gamle før deres Tid. Selskabet henvender sig til disse Elendigheder, og forsaavidt det henvender sig til dem, har det min Sympathie og (eftersom jeg ikke selv drikker til Overmaal og kunde subscribere uden Ulempe) maatte det i sin Tid have min Subscription.
Det andet Sindelag er noget andet, som jeg endnu ikke veed, hvad jeg skal kalde. Det er foranlediget ikke af Selskabets Maal, men af Selskabets Form. Formen, om jeg læser den ret, er denne: at det at afholde sig fra Brændeviin, hvilket en fornuftig Mand maatte betragte som en privat Klogskabs-Sag, er bleven gjort — ved Handlingen at indtræde i et Selskab forpligtet til at afholde sig fra Brændeviin — til en offentlig moralsk Bedrift. Det er Formen, ikke Maalet, der har frembragt nærværende Bind. Formen har formeret sig; Formen er begyndt at optage Sager, der ligge i betydelig Frastand fra det oprindelige Maal; Formen, om jeg ikke tager feil, vilde være villig til at optage næsten enhver Sag overhovedet, naar der alene var et tilstrækkeligt Antal Subscribenter villige til at lade sig forpligte i Henseende til den. Det er dette Træk ved Selskabet, der har bestemt mig til at udgive Talen, Statuterne, Vidnesbyrderne, Listen over Funktionærer og Notitsen om forestaaende Underselskaber, alt i samme Bind — paa det den dannede Læser maa selv dømme, hvorvidt Formen i det Hele er en Berigelse af Hovedstadens moralske Liv, eller hvorvidt den er noget andet.
Talens Forfatter, der er Medlem af Selskabet og en personlig Bekjendt af mig, har samtykket i Udgivelsen paa det Vilkaar, at hans Navn skal forblive skjult. Dette er en Høflighed, Selskabets Medlemmer sædvanligvis udvise hverandre, eftersom Selskabet hævder, at intet enkelt Medlem i sig selv er af nogen særlig Betydning, idet Betydningen tilfalder Selskabet i sin Heelhed; og at trykke et Navn vilde derfor være at miskjende den metaphysiske Stilling. Jeg har respekteret Vilkaaret. Læseren vil dog forstaae, at Talen er en særlig Talers Tale og ikke det Selskabs som corporativt Legeme, omendskjønt Taleren, det er jeg vis paa, vilde frasige sig Distinctionen med nogen Varme.
Nicolaus Notabene
I publish this volume with two distinct sentiments, which the reader will, I trust, allow me to confess at the outset, since to confess them later would be to make the publication a less honest thing than it is.
The first sentiment is sympathy. The Society whose proceedings are here recorded was founded, as the title page indicates, on the eighth of October 1843, with the modest aim of inducing its members to abstain from spirituous drink. To this aim no man of good will can object. There are families in our city which have been laid waste by brandy; there are children who have gone hungry because their fathers could not pass a public-house without entering it; there are women who have grown old before their time. The Society addresses itself to these miseries, and so far as it addresses itself to them, it has my sympathy and (since I do not myself drink to excess, and could subscribe without inconvenience) it might in due course have my subscription.
The second sentiment is something else, which I do not yet know what to call. It is occasioned not by the Society's aim but by the Society's form. The form, if I read it rightly, is this: that abstaining from brandy, which a sensible man might regard as a private prudential matter, has been made — by the act of joining a Society pledged to abstain from brandy — into a public moral achievement. It is the form, not the aim, which has produced the present volume. The form has multiplied; the form has begun to take up matters which lie at a considerable remove from the original aim; the form, if I am not mistaken, would be willing to take up almost any matter at all, provided only that there were a sufficient number of subscribers willing to be pledged in respect of it. It is this feature of the Society which has determined me to publish the speech, the bylaws, the testimonials, the list of officers, and the notice of forthcoming sub-societies, all in the same volume — that the cultured reader may judge for himself whether the form is, on the whole, an enrichment of the moral life of the capital, or whether it is something else.
The author of the speech, who is a member of the Society and a personal acquaintance of mine, has consented to the publication on condition that his name be withheld. This is a courtesy which Society members customarily extend to one another, since the Society holds that no individual member is, in himself, of any particular significance, the significance attaching to the Society as a whole; and to print a name would therefore be to misrepresent the metaphysical situation. I have respected the condition. The reader will understand, however, that the speech is the speech of a particular speaker, and not of the Society as a corporate body, although the speaker would, I am sure, repudiate the distinction with some warmth.
Nicolaus Notabene
TALEN
Ærede Hr. Præsident, ærede Bestyrelse, Medbrødre af Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet, og saadanne Gjester, som ere blevne admitterede til nærværende Aarsdags-Møde under de Reglementer, der vedtoges paa vor sidste Generalforsamling:
Det er med en Ærefrygt, jeg ikke ønsker at fordølge, at jeg reiser mig for at tale til Dem paa denne, vor Selskabs første Aarsdag for dets Stiftelse. For et Aar siden denne Aften, i en Stue ikke mange Stræder fra nærværende Sal, bandt en lille Skare af Hovedstadens Borgere — hvoraf jeg seer de fleste her foran mig — sig ved et høitideligt Løfte til at afholde sig herefter fra al spirituøs Drik, og til at bistaae hverandre, ved de Midler vore Statuter angive, i Holdelsen af Løftet. Handlingen var beskeden. Stuen var lille. Skaren var faatallig. Og dog vover jeg at sige — og jeg siger det med den indre Bæven, der sømmer sig en saa stor Paastand — at hiin Aftens Handling var en Handling af største Betydning, en Handling, hvis rette Maalestok ikke skal maales ved Stuens Dimensioner eller ved Skarens Antal, men ved det Princip, der dér for første Gang blev gjort aabenbart iblandt os. Det er dette Princip, jeg foreslaaer i nærværende Time at fremlægge for Dem.
Hvad er det, Medbrødre, vi have gjort, idet vi bandt os til total Afholdenhed? Examineret fra det enkelte Medlems Standpunkt fremtræder vor Handling som lille. Hver af os har blot afslaaet at hælde i sit Glas en Vædske, hvilken han før vort Løfte stod frit til at hælde. Glasset er det samme Glas. Decanteret, om der findes nogen, er det samme Decanter. Timen, Selskabet, det Bord, hvorved man sidder — disse ere de samme. Alene Vædsken er forandret; alene, ja, Vædskens Fravær. Fra det enkelte Standpunkt have vi altsaa gjort meget lidet. Vi have ligesom blot afholdt os.
Men, Medbrødre, examiner den samme Handling fra et andet Standpunkt, og iagttag, hvad der kommer til Syne. Hver af os har, idet han forpligtede sig til at afholde sig, ikke blot afholdt sig; han har indført sin Afholdenhed i et Selskabs Optegnelser. Han har ikke blot afholdt sig fra et Glas; han har associeret sin Afholdenhed med sine Medbrødres Afholdenhed. Han har, med eet Ord, taget hvad der vilde have været, fra det enkelte Standpunkt, en Handling af blot privat Klogskab — en Sag for ham selv, for hans Hustru, for hans Læge maaskee — og har hævet den i den offentlige Sphære, hvor den ikke længere er en Sag af privat Klogskab overhovedet, men et Bidrag til den fælles Sag. Dette er vort Selskabs Princip. Dette er den ottende Octobers Handling. Dette er Løftets Mening.
Jeg beder Dem at overveie, hvilken extraordinær Operation dette er. Det er sagt, ved en Autoritet for høi for mig at navngive uden Bæven, at naar en Mand har gjort sin Pligt, da er han, end da, en unyttig Tjener. Postulatet har staaet uimodsagt i den christne Aarhundreders moralske Lære. Det har, ja, dannet det moralske Livs fornemste Vanskelighed: at man stræber, og sveder, og beder, og afholder sig, og ved Slutningen, havende gjort alt, har gjort ikke meer, end man var bunden til. Postulatet er ydmygende. Det har drevet mangen Mand til Fortvivlelse, og mangen Mand til Drikkeriet.
Men, Medbrødre, i Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet er dette Postulat blevet ophævet. Ved den simple Indretning at associere vor Afholdenhed med vore Medbrødres Afholdenhed have vi forvandlet den indifferente Handling af personlig Afholdelse til en Handling af uendelig Vigtighed for det Hele. Den Mand, der, drikkende intet i sit eget Kjøkken, var en unyttig Tjener, bliver, ved at indtræde i vort Selskab og drikke intet i vor Nærværelse, et uendelig værdifuldt Medlem af et uendelig vigtigt fælles Foretagende. Drikken er den samme Drik — det vil sige, Drikkens Fravær er det samme Fravær. Men Meningen er bleven hævet. Det blot Indifferente er bleven gjort, ved Association, til det blot Uundværlige.
Dette, Medbrødre, er vort Selskabs egentlige Opdagelse. Vi opfandt ikke total Afholdenhed; det opfandt Munkene, og vare unyttige Tjenere for deres Umage. Vi opfandt ikke Afholdelsens moralske Alvor; Propheterne havde den før os, og vare i det Hele unyttige ogsaa. Hvad vi have opfundet, er Selskabet. Vi have opfundet den Form, hvorved den indifferente Handling, optagen i et corporativt Legeme, bliver Tidsalderens høieste moralske Handling. Æren tilfalder ikke os enkeltvis; Æren tilfalder Formen. Men vi ere, hver af os, Deeltagere af Formen, og maae ved vore ugentlige Møder lykønske hverandre med at tilhøre den eneste Association i det moralske Livs Historie, der ved selve sin Form har gjort Pligtens Udførelse til en Handling meer end ens Pligt.
Jeg foregriber en Indvending. Der ere de — og jeg vil ikke navngive dem, eftersom Fædrelandets og visse andre Organers Spalter have navngivet dem ofte nok — der sige, at vi bedrage os selv, at det Indifferente forbliver indifferent, hvor mange Mænd der end associere sig for at afholde sig fra det, og at intet Antal af Association kan transmutere den blotte Afholdelses Messing til det moralske Heltemods Guld. Indvendingen er plausibel. Jeg tilstaar, jeg har undertiden selv følt dens Vægt, paa de sjeldne Aftener, da jeg har sat mig alene ved min Kamin med en Kop svag Thee og spurgt mig selv, om Koppen svag Thee virkelig er den moralske Equivalent af Koppen, som St. Antonius afslog i Ørkenen. Indvendingen har sin Vægt, og jeg benægter den ikke. Men jeg svarer den som følger.
Indvendingen forudsætter, at en Handlings Værd bestemmes af Handlingen selv. Indvendingen har i denne Forudsætning allieret sig med et Standpunkt, som vor Tids philosophiske Tænkning forlængst har superseret. En Handlings Værd bestemmes ikke af Handlingen selv; en Handlings Værd bestemmes af Handlingens Stilling indenfor en større Heelhed. Koppen svag Thee, betragtet i Isolation, er en Kop svag Thee. Koppen svag Thee, betragtet som et Moment af et corporativt Foretagende forpligtet til den danske Hovedstads moralske Regeneration, er — ved Formens Operation — en moralsk Bedrift af første Magnitude. At sige andet er at afslaae Formen. At afslaae Formen er at falde tilbage i den unyttige Tjeners Standpunkt, hvorfra vort Selskab blev stiftet for at frelse os.
Jeg har talt, Medbrødre, om den ottende Octobers Handling. Jeg maa tale nu om hiin Handlings Fremtid. Det er ikke vort Selskabs Hensigt at indskrænke sin Operation til Brændeviin. Brændeviin var vor Stiftelses Anledning; Brændeviin var det Misbrug, der laae meest paatrængende synligt for Stifterne; Brændeviin leverede det oprindelige Løfte. Men Brændeviin er ikke, Medbrødre, den eneste Sag, hvorpaa vort Selskabs Princip finder Anvendelse. Princippet — at det Indifferente, optaget ved Association, bliver uendelig vigtigt — er et Princip af den videste mulige Anvendelse. Hvor som helst der findes en Handling, en Mand maatte udføre, eller afholde sig fra at udføre, i sit eget Livs Privathed, uden nogen særlig Betydning tilfaldende Udførelsen eller Afholdelsen, der findes en Anledning for vort Selskab til at udvide sit Værk. Der findes en Anledning til at associere Handlingen, til at hæve Handlingen, til at gjøre vigtigt, hvad der i sig selv var indifferent.
Tillad mig at angive een saadan Udvidelse, som Bestyrelsen har godkjendt i Princippet, og angaaende hvilken Statuterne selv nu blive amenderede. Der ere i Kjøbenhavn mange gifte Mænd. Af disse er det store Fleertal i det Hele tro mod deres Hustruer. De holde denne Troskab — Medbrødre, jeg beder Dem at agte paa Sagen — i Privatheden. De optegne den ikke. De rapportere den ikke. De ere i Henseende til den ikke Medlemmer af noget Selskab. De ere i Henseende til den unyttige Tjenere af den ægteskabelige Stand. De gaae gjennem Livet, og de døe, og paa intet Tidspunkt af deres Liv vinder deres Troskab, ved deres egne Bestræbelser eller ved nogen Associations Bestræbelser, Charakteren af et uendelig vigtigt Bidrag til Hovedstadens moralske Liv.
Medbrødre, denne Tilstand kan ikke vare. Bestyrelsen har derfor besluttet at constituere, som et Underselskab af vort eget, Selskabet for ægteskabelig Troskab, hvis Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til Troskab mod deres Hustruer og til Optegnelsen af Troskaben i Selskabets Bøger ved hvert Calenderqvartals Slutning. Løftet vil være, som i vort eget Tilfælde, enkeltvis lille og corporativt uhyre. Den Mand, der er tro i Privatheden, vil blive, ved Indtegning, den Mand, der er tro offentligt; og den indifferente moralske Kjendsgerning af hans Troskab vil blive hævet, ved Formen, til Statussen af en uendelig vigtig moralsk Bedrift paa det corporative Legemes Vegne. Jeg forventer, at Underselskabet hurtigt vil voxe sin Moder over Hovedet.
Andre Underselskaber ere i Overveielse; Bestyrelsen vil bekjendtgjøre dem i sin Tid, og en delvis Liste er vedføiet nærværende Bind. Jeg vil ikke foregribe Listen videre end til at sige, at vort Selskabs Princip — at det Indifferente, optaget ved Association, bliver uendelig vigtigt — tillader en ubestemt Udvidelse. Der findes i Princippet ingen Handling i det menneskelige Liv saa triviel, at den ved Formens Operation ikke kan hæves til en corporativ moralsk Bedrifts Værdighed. Der findes i Princippet ingen Ende paa det Værk, vort Selskab har begyndt.
Medbrødre, jeg afslutter. Vi mødes denne Aften for at mærke vor Stiftelses første Aarsdag. Jeg foreslaaer, at vi mærke den ikke ved Selv-Lykønskning — der vilde være uværdig for os, eftersom Æren tilfalder ikke os enkeltvis, men Formen — men ved en Fornyelse af Løftet, og ved en stille Beslutning om at udvide Løftet i det Aar nu begyndende til saadanne videre Sager, som Bestyrelsen skal udpege. Lad os være drukne, Medbrødre — lad os være drukne, siger jeg, af vor Sags Begeistring, en Begeistring, der er des meer vidunderlig, jo meer indifferent den frembringende Sag er. Lad os vende hjem denne Aften med den indre Bevidsthed, at vi i at afslaae det Brændeviin, vi i intet Tilfælde skulde have hældt, udføre vor Tidsalders moralske Arbeide. Jeg har talt.
Esteemed President, esteemed Bestyrelse, fellow-members of the Total Abstinence Society, and such guests as have been admitted to the present anniversary meeting under the regulations adopted at our last general assembly:
It is with a reverence which I do not wish to disguise that I rise to address you on this, the first anniversary of our Society's founding. One year ago this evening, in a room not many streets from the present hall, a small company of citizens of the Capital — most of whom I see here before me — bound themselves by a solemn pledge to abstain henceforth from all spirituous liquor, and to assist one another, by the means which our Statutes set forth, in the keeping of the pledge. The act was modest. The room was small. The company was few. And yet I venture to say — and I say it with the inward trembling proper to so large a claim — that the act of that evening was an act of the greatest significance, an act whose proper proportion is not to be measured by the dimensions of the room or by the number of the company, but by the principle there for the first time made manifest among us. It is this principle which I propose, in the present hour, to lay before you.
What is it, fellow-members, that we have done, in binding ourselves to total abstinence? Examined from the standpoint of the individual, our act appears small. Each of us has merely declined to pour into his glass a liquid which, before our pledge, he was at liberty to pour. The glass is the same glass. The decanter, if any, is the same decanter. The hour, the company, the table at which one sits — these are the same. Only the liquid is changed; only, indeed, the absence of the liquid. From the standpoint of the individual, then, we have done very little. We have, as it were, merely refrained.
But, fellow-members, examine the same act from another standpoint, and observe what comes to view. Each of us, in pledging to refrain, has not merely refrained; he has enrolled his refraining in the records of an Association. He has not merely abstained from a glass; he has associated his abstention with the abstention of his fellow-members. He has, in a word, taken what would have been, from the standpoint of the individual, an act of merely private prudence — a matter for himself, for his wife, for his physician, perhaps — and has raised it into the public sphere, where it is no longer a matter of private prudence at all, but a contribution to the common cause. This is the principle of our Society. This is the act of the eighth of October. This is the meaning of the pledge.
I beg you to consider what an extraordinary operation this is. It has been said, by an authority too high for me to name without trembling, that when a man has done his duty he is, even then, an unprofitable servant. The proposition has stood unchallenged in the moral teaching of the Christian centuries. It has formed, indeed, the chief difficulty of the moral life: that one strives, and sweats, and prays, and refrains, and at the end, having done all, has done no more than he was bound to do. The proposition is humbling. It has driven many a man to despair, and many a man to drink.
But, fellow-members, in the Total Abstinence Society this proposition has been abolished. By the simple device of associating our refraining with the refraining of our fellow-members, we have transformed the indifferent act of personal abstention into an act of infinite importance to the whole. The man who, drinking nothing in his own kitchen, was an unprofitable servant, becomes, on entering our Society and drinking nothing in our presence, an infinitely valuable member of an infinitely important common enterprise. The drink is the same drink — that is, the absence of the drink is the same absence. But the meaning has been raised. The merely indifferent has been made, by association, into the merely indispensable.
This, fellow-members, is the real discovery of our Society. We did not invent total abstinence; the monks invented it, and were unprofitable servants for their pains. We did not invent the moral seriousness of refraining; the prophets had it before us, and were on the whole unprofitable as well. What we have invented is the Society. We have invented the form by which the indifferent act, taken up into a corporate body, becomes the supreme moral act of the age. The credit is not ours individually; the credit belongs to the form. But we are, each of us, partakers of the form, and may, at our weekly meetings, congratulate one another on belonging to the only association in the history of the moral life that has, by its very form, made the doing of one's duty an act more than one's duty.
I anticipate an objection. There are those — and I will not name them, since the columns of Fædrelandet and of certain other organs have named them often enough — who say that we are deceiving ourselves, that the indifferent remains indifferent however many men associate to refrain from it, and that no quantity of association can transmute the brass of mere abstention into the gold of moral heroism. The objection is plausible. I confess I have sometimes felt the weight of it myself, on those rare evenings when I have sat down alone at my fireside with a cup of weak tea and have asked myself whether the cup of weak tea is really the moral equivalent of the cup which St. Anthony refused in the desert. The objection has its weight, and I do not deny it. But I answer it as follows.
The objection assumes that the worth of an act is determined by the act itself. The objection has, in this assumption, allied itself with a standpoint which the philosophical thought of our age has long since superseded. The worth of an act is not determined by the act itself; the worth of an act is determined by the position of the act within a larger whole. The cup of weak tea, considered in isolation, is a cup of weak tea. The cup of weak tea, considered as a moment of a corporate enterprise pledged to the moral regeneration of the Danish capital, is — by the operation of the form — a moral achievement of the first magnitude. To say otherwise is to refuse the form. To refuse the form is to lapse back into the standpoint of the unprofitable servant, from which our Society was founded to deliver us.
I have spoken, fellow-members, of the act of the eighth of October. I must speak now of the future of that act. It is not the intention of our Society to confine its operation to brandy. Brandy was the occasion of our founding; brandy was the abuse most pressingly visible to the founders; brandy supplied the original pledge. But brandy is not, fellow-members, the only matter to which the principle of our Society applies. The principle — that the indifferent, taken up by association, becomes infinitely important — is a principle of the widest possible application. Wherever there is an act which a man might perform, or refrain from performing, in the privacy of his own life, with no particular significance attaching to the performance or the refraining, there is an opportunity for our Society to extend its work. There is an opportunity to associate the act, to raise the act, to make important what was, in itself, indifferent.
Permit me to indicate one such extension, which the Bestyrelse has approved in principle and concerning which the Statutes are, even now, being amended. There are, in the city of Copenhagen, many married men. Of these, the great majority are, on the whole, faithful to their wives. They keep this fidelity — fellow-members, I beg you to attend — in private. They do not record it. They do not report it. They are not, in respect of it, members of any Society. They are, in respect of it, unprofitable servants of the marital state. They go through life, and they die, and at no point in their lives does their fidelity acquire, by their own efforts or by the efforts of any association, the character of an infinitely important contribution to the moral life of the capital.
Fellow-members, this state of affairs cannot endure. The Bestyrelse has accordingly resolved to constitute, as a sub-society of our own, the Selskab for ægteskabelig Troskab, whose members shall pledge themselves to fidelity to their wives and to the recording of the fidelity in the Society's books at the close of each calendar quarter. The pledge will be, as in our own case, individually small and corporately immense. The man who is faithful in private will become, by enrolment, the man who is faithful publicly; and the indifferent moral fact of his fidelity will be raised, by the form, to the status of an infinitely important moral achievement on behalf of the corporate body. I anticipate that the sub-society will rapidly outgrow its parent.
Other sub-societies are in contemplation; the Bestyrelse will announce them in due course, and a partial list is appended to the present volume. I will not anticipate the list further than to say that the principle of our Society — that the indifferent, taken up by association, becomes infinitely important — admits of an indefinite extension. There is, in principle, no act of human life so trivial that it cannot, by the operation of the form, be raised to the dignity of a corporate moral achievement. There is, in principle, no end to the work which our Society has begun.
Fellow-members, I conclude. We meet, this evening, to mark the first anniversary of our founding. I propose that we mark it not by self-congratulation — which would be unworthy of us, since the credit belongs not to us individually but to the form — but by a renewal of the pledge, and by a quiet determination to extend the pledge, in the year now beginning, to such further matters as the Bestyrelse shall designate. Let us be drunk, fellow-members — let us be drunk, I say, with the enthusiasm of our cause, an enthusiasm which is the more wonderful as the matter producing it is the more indifferent. Let us return to our homes this evening with the inward awareness that, in declining to pour the brandy which we should not in any case have poured, we are doing the moral work of our age. I have spoken.
STATUTER
for det Total-Afholdenheds-Selskab i Kjøbenhavn, vedtagne paa Stiftelsesmødet den 8de October 1843, med de af de senere Generalforsamlinger vedtagne Tilføielser.
§ 1. Selskabets Gjenstand er at fremme total Afholdelse fra spirituøs Drik blandt sine Medlemmer og, ved Medlemmernes Exempel, blandt Hovedstadens Indvaanere.
§ 2. Enhver Person af godt Renommé, boende i Hovedstaden eller dens Omegn, der underskriver det vedføiede Løfte og betaler Indtrædelses-Honoraret af to Rigsdaler, skal admitteres som Medlem.
§ 3. Løftet er som følger: »Jeg lover, for Gud og for dette Selskab, at afholde mig herefter og i hele mit Medlemskabs Varighed fra al destilleret spirituøs Drik, herunder Brændeviin, Aqvavit, Gin, Rom samt de forskjellige spirit-baserede Punche og Liqveurer.«
Løftet udstrækker sig for Tiden ikke til Viin, Øl eller gjæret Æble-Cider; Bestyrelsen forbeholder sig dog Retten til at udvide det, ved Amendement af Statuterne, skulde Medlemskabets moralske Fremskridt berettige Udvidelsen. Medlemmer opmuntres til ogsaa at afholde sig fra Viin og Øl paa frivillig Basis og at optegne en saadan frivillig Afholdelse i Qvartal-Registret, hvor den vil blive paaskjønnet med en Notice om Særlig Fortjeneste paa næste Generalforsamling.
§ 4. Medlemmer skulle mødes ugentligt, paa Torsdag Aftener, i de Lokaler, Bestyrelsen udpeger. Hvert Medlem skal ved Indtrædelsen underskrive Mødeprotokolen og skal ved Mødets Slutning erklære paa sin Ære, at han har afholdt sig fra spirituøs Drik siden det forrige Møde. Erklæringen skal indføres i det ugentlige Register og skal være Selskabets Eiendom.
§ 5. Et Medlem, der i Mellemrummet mellem to Møder er falden fra sit Løfte, skal erklære Faldet for Bestyrelsen, der skal afgjøre, hvorvidt Faldet var foranlediget af Forsømmelse, af Svaghed eller af forsætlig Hensigt. I det første Tilfælde skal ingen Straf paalægges. I det andet skal Medlemmet anvises en Sponsor, der skal ledsage ham i saadanne offentlige Situationer, som Bestyrelsen skal afgjøre, indtil Faldets anden Aarsdag. I det tredie skal Medlemmet udelukkes, og hans Navn skal indføres med rød Blæk i Bogen over Faldne Medlemmer, der opbevares i Mødesalen og kan consulteres af ethvert Medlem.
§ 6. Bestyrelsen skal bestaae af en Præsident, en Vice-Præsident, en Secretair, en Cassemester, en Capellan og tre Almindelige Medlemmer, valgte aarligt af Generalforsamlingen. Bestyrelsen skal mødes maanedligt og skal varetage Selskabets Forretninger mellem Generalforsamlinger.
§ 7. Selskabet kan, ved Generalforsamlingens Beslutning paa Bestyrelsens Anbefaling, constituere Underselskaber til Fremme af videre Afholdelser, Troskaber, Regelmæssigheder, Civiliteter eller Punctligheder, idet Princippet er, at enhver indifferent Handling, optaget ved Association, derved bliver uendelig vigtig. Underselskaber skulle styres af nærværende Statuter mutatis mutandis og skulle aflægge Beretning til Moder-Bestyrelsen paa den første Torsdag i hvert Qvartal.
§ 8. Selskabet skal aarligt udgive en Tale, holdt ved dets Aarsdags-Møde, sammen med saadanne Bilag, Vidnesbyrd og Notitser, som Bestyrelsen finder passende. Talen skal sælges til Publikum til en Pris ikke mindre end een Rigsdaler, og Indtægten skal tilfalde Drifts-Fonden.
§ 9. Nærværende Statuter kunne alene amenderes ved et to-tredjedels Fleertal af de paa en behørigt indkaldt Generalforsamling tilstedeværende Medlemmer. Intet Amendement kan dog svække det i § 7 fastslagne Princip, der er Selskabets Existens-Grundlag.
for det Total-Afholdenheds-Selskab i Kjøbenhavn, vedtagne paa Stiftelsesmødet den 8de October 1843, med de af de senere Generalforsamlinger vedtagne Tilføielser.
§ 1. The object of the Society is to promote total abstention from spirituous liquor among its members and, by the example of its members, among the inhabitants of the Capital.
§ 2. Any person of good repute, residing within the Capital or its environs, who shall sign the Pledge appended hereto and pay the entrance fee of two Rigsdaler, shall be admitted as a member.
§ 3. The Pledge is as follows: "I pledge, before God and before this Society, to abstain henceforth and for the duration of my membership from all distilled spirituous liquor, including brandy, aquavit, gin, rum, and the various spirit-based punches and cordials."
The Pledge does not, at present, extend to wine, beer, or fermented cider; the Bestyrelse, however, reserves the right to extend it, by amendment of the Statutes, should the moral progress of the membership warrant the extension. Members are encouraged to abstain from wine and beer also, on a voluntary basis, and to record such voluntary abstention in the Quarterly Register, where it will be acknowledged with a Notice of Particular Merit at the next general assembly.
§ 4. Members shall meet weekly, on Thursday evenings, in the rooms appointed by the Bestyrelse. Each member shall, on entering, sign the Attendance Book, and shall, at the close of the meeting, declare upon his honour that he has abstained from spirituous liquor since the previous meeting. The declaration shall be entered in the Weekly Register, and shall be the property of the Society.
§ 5. A member who has, in the interval between meetings, lapsed from his pledge shall declare the lapse to the Bestyrelse, who shall determine whether the lapse was occasioned by inadvertence, by weakness, or by deliberate intention. In the first case, no penalty shall attach. In the second, the member shall be assigned a Sponsor, who shall accompany him in such public situations as the Bestyrelse shall determine, until the second anniversary of the lapse. In the third, the member shall be expelled, and his name shall be entered, in red ink, in the Book of Lapsed Members, which is kept in the meeting hall and may be consulted by any member.
§ 6. The Bestyrelse shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Chaplain, and three Ordinary Members, elected annually by the general assembly. The Bestyrelse shall meet monthly, and shall conduct the business of the Society between general assemblies.
§ 7. The Society may, by resolution of the general assembly upon the recommendation of the Bestyrelse, constitute Sub-Societies for the promotion of further abstentions, fidelities, regularities, civilities, or punctualities, the principle being that any indifferent act, taken up by association, becomes thereby infinitely important. Sub-Societies shall be governed by the present Statutes mutatis mutandis, and shall report to the parent Bestyrelse on the first Thursday of each quarter.
§ 8. The Society shall publish, annually, a Speech delivered at its anniversary meeting, together with such bylaws, testimonials, and notices as the Bestyrelse shall judge fitting. The Speech shall be sold to the public at a price not less than one Rigsdaler, and the proceeds shall accrue to the Drifts-Fond.
§ 9. The present Statutes shall be amended only by a two-thirds majority of the members present at a general assembly duly convened. No amendment, however, may impair the principle stated in § 7, which is the foundation of the Society's existence.
VIDNESBYRD AF MEDLEMMER
Uddrag af Qvartal-Registret, med Parternes Samtykke.
Fra en Haandværker af Vesterbro-Qvarteret:
Førend jeg indtraadte i Selskabet, drak jeg en lille Dram til min Aftensmad, og en anden paa Værtshuset om Lørdag Aftenen. Jeg ansaae det ikke for, at jeg drak til Overmaal; min Hustru klagede ikke; mine Børn vare mætte; mit Arbeide trivedes. Jeg indtraadte i Selskabet, fordi en Medbroder-Haandværker overtalte mig, og fordi Indtrædelses-Honoraret laae indenfor min Evne. Jeg har nu afholdt mig i ni Maaneder. Drammen er ikke længere i Skabet, og det lørdaglige Værtshus kræver mig ikke længere. Jeg kan ikke sige, at jeg er sundere, end jeg var; jeg var ikke usund før. Jeg kan ikke sige, at min Hustru er meer tilfreds; hun var tilfreds før. Jeg kan ikke sige, at mit Arbeide trives mere; det trivedes før. Men jeg veed, at jeg nu er Medlem af Selskabet, og at min Afholdelse, der ellers vilde have været en privat Sag uden Følge, nu er en offentlig Sag af største Følge; og Bevidstheden herom er mig meer nærende, end Drammen nogensinde var. Jeg skal ikke falde.
Fra en Fuldmægtig i et af de offentlige Embeder:
Jeg indtraadte i Selskabet paa Anbefaling af min Foresatte, der er Medlem af Bestyrelsen. Jeg havde ikke tidligere anseet mig i Fare fra Brændeviin; Selskabets Stifteres Tilfælde var ikke mit Tilfælde. Men jeg blev af min Foresatte forsikret om, at Medlemskabet skjenkede en moralsk Værdighed, jeg ikke skulde let frasige mig, og paa denne Forsikring underskrev jeg Løftet. Jeg har siden erfaret Værdigheden, særligt ved de ugentlige Møder, hvor mine Medbrødres Selskab og Capellanens korte Tiltale tilsammen frembringe i mig en Samvittighedens Roe, hvortil jeg tidligere var en Fremmed. Hvorvidt jeg skulde have forblevet en Fremmed for den uden Løftet, kan jeg ikke sige; Løftet værende nu underskrevet, er Spørgsmaalet uvedkommende. Jeg subscriberer ogsaa paa det projecterede Underselskab for ægteskabelig Troskab.
Fra en Enke af Trinitatis Sogn:
Min Mand, der faldt og blev anvist en Sponsor, afholdt sig de resterende syv Maaneder af sit Liv og døde i Bevidstheden om, at han var Medlem i god Stilling. Jeg har ingen yderligere Reflexion at føie til denne Beretning.
Fra en Cand. theol.:
Det i Statuternes § 7 fastslagne Princip forekommer mig at være af saadan philosophisk Interesse, at jeg har paataget mig, til næste Generalforsamling, et Stykke om dets Forhold til vor Tids speculative Tænkning, med særlig Henvisning til Aufhebungs-Læren. Jeg beder mig tilladt at udsætte yderligere Vidnesbyrd, indtil Stykket er holdt og drøftet.
Fra en ung Frue af uafhængige Midler:
Jeg er ikke selv Medlem, idet Selskabet for Tiden er aabent alene for Herrer; men jeg er Søster til et Medlem og overværer de aabne Forsamlinger som Gjest. Jeg optegner her min Mening om, at Selskabet gjør min Broder godt, og at han er en behageligere Selskabsbroder, siden han indtraadte, end han var før. Hvorvidt han er behageligere paa Grund af Afholdelsen eller paa Grund af Medlemskabet, staaer jeg ikke i Stand til at afgjøre.
Fra en aftraadt Underofficer:
Jeg drak før Selskabet paa den Maade, der var sædvanlig i Regimentet. Jeg drak efter Paraden, før Paraden, ved Maaltiderne, og ved visse Anledninger, som Reglementerne ikke foregreb, mellem Maaltiderne. Jeg indtraadte i Selskabet paa Anbefaling af en Feltpræst, der havde tjent med mig ved Slesvig, og som forestillede mig, at en aftraadt Soldats moralske Liv fordrede en Structur, som Regimentet tidligere havde leveret. Jeg har afholdt mig siden Foraaret. Jeg siger ikke, at jeg ikke savner Brændevinet; jeg savner det dagligt. Men Selskabet har ved sine ugentlige Aftener en Form for Mønstring, jeg finder tilstrækkelig til mine Behov; jeg underskriver Registret; jeg staaer mageligt, medens Capellanen læser den korte Tiltale; jeg afløses paa den fastsatte Time; og Ugen er paa denne Maade reguleret, paa en Maade, som Regimentets Fravær i nogle Aar havde efterladt ureguleret. Jeg anbefaler Selskabet til de af mine forhenværende Medbrødre, der nu ere aftraadte.
Fra en Pastor af Landsdistricterne:
Jeg er ikke indtraadt i Selskabet, idet jeg boer i for stor Frastand fra Hovedstaden til at overvære de ugentlige Møder. Jeg har dog læst Talen med Opmærksomhed og optegner, til Bestyrelsens Brug, følgende Iagttagelse. Det i § 7 fastslagne Princip er eet, hvortil jeg som Geistlig kan slutte mig med Forbehold; idet Princippet i det Hele er et generøst Princip, og de Afholdelser, hvorpaa det finder Anvendelse, i Hovedsagen ere Afholdelser, som Evangeliet selv anbefaler. Jeg vilde dog bemærke, at Princippet ved selve sin Generøsitet har den Følge, at en Afholdelse, der i den ældre Theologie er bleven forstaaet som Frugten af en indre Omvendelse, bliver i Selskabet et Surrogat for den indre Omvendelse. Jeg siger ikke, at dette er en Mangel ved Selskabet; jeg siger alene, at det er et Træk, som Landsdistricternes Geistlighed i sin Tid vil ønske at overveie, naar Selskabets Underselskab for regelmæssig Kirkegang constitueres i deres Sogne. Jeg agter at drøfte Sagen paa næste Convent af Geistligheden i mit Provsti og skal meddele Drøftelsens Resultater til Bestyrelsen ved deres Slutning.
Fra en ung Mand, uidentificeret, hvis Vidnesbyrd er modtaget anonymt gjennem Secretairen:
Jeg indtraadte i Selskabet paa Tilskyndelse af en ung Pige, til hvis Haand jeg paa hiin Tid aspirerede, der havde forestillet mig, at ingen Mand af uregelmæssige Vaner kunde forvente hendes gunstige Overveielse. Jeg underskrev Løftet; jeg overværede Møderne; jeg afholdt mig fra Spiritus i den aftalte Periode. Den unge Pige er siden bleven forlovet med en anden, der ikke, saa vidt jeg har kunnet fastslaae, er Medlem af Selskabet. Jeg optegner dette ikke i nogen Bebreidelses Aand mod den unge Pige, der stod frit til at disponere over sin Haand, som hun valgte; ei heller mod Selskabet, der i sit eget Departement har udført alt, hvad der kunde have været forventet af det. Jeg optegner det alene som et lille Tilfælde af Selskabets Princips Begrænsninger, som, medens det er uendeligt virksomt i Henseende til sine Medlemmers indifferente Handlinger, ikke, er Skribenten kommen til at mistænke, er den eneste Determinant af de videre Sager, hvori de indifferente Handlinger undertiden haabes at bære Frugt. Skribenten forbliver ikke desto mindre Medlem af Selskabet, idet Honoraret for nærværende Aar er betalt forud.
Fra en Bisp, hvis Navn er tilbageholdt paa Prælaten Anmodning:
Bestyrelsen har været saa god at indbyde mig i min officielle Capacitet at tale til Selskabet paa dets næste Aarsdags-Møde. Jeg har efter Overveielse afslaaet Indbydelsen, paa Grunde, jeg foretrækker ikke at fremlægge i nærværende Vidnesbyrd. Jeg benytter dog Anledningen til at meddele Selskabet min varme Sympathie med dets Maal og mit Haab om, at dets Operation maa fortsat være en Velsignelse for Hovedstadens moralske Liv. Bestyrelsen vil, jeg tiltro, forstaae, at en bispelig Endossering, omendskjønt med Glæde extenderet i Privatheden, ikke paa nærværende Time kan gjøres til Gjenstand for offentlig Tale; idet de Sager, Selskabets Princip indebærer, ere Sager, hvorpaa Statskirken endnu ikke, efter nærværende Skribents Anskuelse, er naaet til den fastsatte Forstaaelse, der vilde tillade en saadan Endossering at udsendes med den Værdighed, der sømmer sig den.
Excerpts from the Quarterly Register, with the consent of the parties.
From an artisan of the Vesterbro quarter:
Before I joined the Society, I drank a small dram with my supper, and another at the inn on Saturday evening. I did not consider that I drank to excess; my wife did not complain; my children were fed; my work prospered. I joined the Society because a fellow-artisan urged me, and because the entrance fee was within my means. I have now abstained for nine months. The dram is no longer in the cupboard, and the Saturday inn no longer claims me. I cannot say that I am healthier than I was; I was not unhealthy before. I cannot say that my wife is more satisfied; she was satisfied before. I cannot say that my work prospers more; it prospered before. But I know that I am now a member of the Society, and that my abstention, which would otherwise have been a private matter of no consequence, is now a public matter of the greatest consequence; and the consciousness of this is more nourishing to me than the dram ever was. I shall not lapse.
From a clerk in one of the public offices:
I joined the Society on the recommendation of my superior, who is a member of the Bestyrelse. I had not previously considered myself in danger from brandy; the case of the Society's founders was not my case. But I was assured by my superior that membership conferred a moral dignity which I should not lightly forgo, and on this assurance I signed the pledge. I have since experienced the dignity, in particular at the weekly meetings, where the company of my fellow-members and the brief Address of the Chaplain combine to produce in me a tranquillity of conscience to which I had previously been a stranger. Whether I should have remained a stranger to it without the pledge, I cannot say; the pledge being now signed, the question is moot. I subscribe also to the projected Sub-Society for Marital Fidelity.
From a widow of the parish of Trinitatis:
My husband, who lapsed and was assigned a Sponsor, abstained for the remaining seven months of his life, and died in the consciousness that he was a member in good standing. I have no further reflection to add to this report.
From a candidate in theology:
The principle laid down in § 7 of the Statutes appears to me to be of such philosophical interest that I have undertaken, for the next general assembly, a paper upon its relation to the speculative thought of our age, with particular reference to the doctrine of the Aufhebung. I beg leave to defer further testimony until the paper has been delivered and discussed.
From a young woman of independent means:
I am not myself a member, the Society being at present open to gentlemen only; but I am the sister of a member, and I attend the open assemblies as a guest. I record here my opinion that the Society does my brother good, and that he is a more agreeable companion since he joined than he was before. Whether he is more agreeable on account of the abstention or on account of the membership I am not in a position to determine.
From a retired non-commissioned officer:
I drank, before the Society, in the manner customary to the regiment. I drank after the parade, before the parade, at meals, and, on certain occasions which the regulations did not anticipate, between meals. I joined the Society on the recommendation of a chaplain who had served with me at Slesvig, and who represented to me that the moral life of a soldier in retirement required a structure which the regiment had previously supplied. I have abstained since the spring. I do not say that I do not miss the brandy; I miss it daily. But the Society has, on its weekly evenings, a form of muster which I find sufficient to my requirements; I sign the Register; I stand at ease while the Chaplain reads the brief Address; I am dismissed at the appointed hour; and the week is in this manner regulated, in a manner which the absence of the regiment had, for some years, left unregulated. I commend the Society to those of my former comrades who are now in retirement.
From a Pastor of the rural districts:
I have not joined the Society, residing as I do at too great a distance from the Capital to attend the weekly meetings. I have, however, read the Speech with attention, and I record, for the use of the Bestyrelse, the following observation. The principle laid down in § 7 is one to which I, as a clergyman, can subscribe with reservations; the principle being, on the whole, a generous principle, and the abstentions to which it applies being, in the main, abstentions which the Gospel itself recommends. I would, however, observe that the principle, by its very generosity, has the consequence that an abstention which has, in the older theology, been understood as the fruit of an inward conversion becomes, in the Society, a substitute for the inward conversion. I do not say that this is a defect of the Society; I say only that it is a feature which the clergy of the rural districts will, in due course, wish to consider, when the Society's Sub-Society for Regular Church-attendance is constituted in their parishes. I propose to discuss the matter at the next Convent of clergy in my deanery, and shall communicate the results of the discussion to the Bestyrelse upon their conclusion.
From a young man, unidentified, the testimony having been received anonymously through the Secretary:
I joined the Society at the urging of a young woman to whose hand I was at the time aspiring, who had represented to me that no man of irregular habits could expect her favourable consideration. I signed the pledge; I attended the meetings; I refrained from spirits for the agreed period. The young woman has since become engaged to another, who is not, so far as I have been able to determine, a member of the Society. I record this not in any spirit of reproach against the young woman, who was at liberty to dispose of her hand as she chose; nor against the Society, which has, in its own department, performed everything that could have been expected of it. I record it only as a small instance of the limits of the Society's principle, which, while infinitely effective in respect of the indifferent acts of its members, is not, the writer has come to suspect, the sole determinant of those further matters in which the indifferent acts are sometimes hoped to bear fruit. The writer remains, nevertheless, a member of the Society, the fee for the present year having been paid in advance.
From a Bishop, the name withheld at the prelate's request:
The Bestyrelse has been so good as to invite me, in my official capacity, to address the Society at its next anniversary meeting. I have, after consideration, declined the invitation, on grounds which I would prefer not to set forth in the present testimony. I take the occasion, however, to communicate to the Society my warm sympathy with its aim, and my hope that its operation may continue to be a benefit to the moral life of the Capital. The Bestyrelse will, I trust, understand that an Episcopal endorsement, while gladly extended in private, cannot at the present hour be made the subject of public address; the matters which the Society's principle involves being matters upon which the Established Church has not yet, in the present writer's view, reached the settled understanding which would permit such an endorsement to be issued with the dignity proper to it.
OFFICIEL FORTEGNELSE OVER BESTYRELSEN FOR AARET 1844–45
Præsident. Etatsraad H. C. Bredmark, af Toldkamret. Født 1791 i Vor Frue Sogn; cand. jur. 1815; indtraadte i Toldkamret samme Aar og er siden, ved en Række Udnævnelser, som den dannede Læser kan følge i Statskalenderen, steget til Directorium for Havne-Afdelingen. Gift, fire Børn, hvoraf to ere Medlemmer af Selskabet i deres egen Ret. Etatsraaden har efter eget Udsagn ikke smagt spirituøs Drik siden sin Confirmation 1806; Indtrædelses-Honoraret af to Rigsdaler har derfor, i hans Tilfælde, skjenket en moralsk Ophøielse til en Afholdelse af nærved fyrretyve Aars Stand, hvilket Selskabet erkjender med eiendommelig Taknemmelighed.
Vice-Præsident. Cancelliraad J. Falkner, af Det Kongelige Bibliothek. Født 1798 i Helsingør; cand. phil. 1820; indtraadte i Bibliotheket 1823 og har været Hovedcatalogist for Manuscript-Afdelingen siden 1839. Cancelliraadens Bidrag til Selskabet har bestaaet hovedsageligt i den omhyggelige Affattelse af Statuterne, hvori hans Fortrolighed med den ældre Collegial-Tidende har været af paafaldende Tjeneste. Han er i privat Liv Samler af Holberg-Udgaver og har skjenket Selskabets Læsesal et fuldstændigt Peder Paars i Udgaven 1746, der consulteres af Medlemmerne i den halve Time forud for hvert ugentligt Møde.
Secretair. Cand. theol. C. Vandbye, af Vor Frue Sogn. Født 1812 i Roskilde; cand. theol. 1838; har paa nærværende Skrivelses Tid ikke modtaget Kald til noget Sogn, idet han hellige sig Hovedstadens litterære og Foreningens-mæssige Arbeider. Secretairens Førelse af Qvartal-Registret er bleven erklæret exemplarisk af Revisions-Comitéen, og hans Haandskrifts Reenhed har foranlediget gunstig Omtale i Bibliotheca Litteraria. Han er Forfatter til en uudgiven Afhandling om de speculative Forhold mellem Princippet i § 7 og Aufhebungs-Læren, hvilken nærværende Skribent har havt den Forret at læse i Manuscript.
Cassemester. Apotheker P. Lindeberg, af Strøget. Født 1786 i Næstved; overtog Apotheket paa Hjørnet af Vimmelskaftet i 1822 og har siden udvidet det ved Tilføielsen af et Bagrum, hengivet til Tilberedelsen af eaux médicinales, hvoraf intet indeholder Spiritus. Cassemesterens Regnskaber føres paa en Maade, Bestyrelsen har endosseret uden Amendement gjennem fem paa hinanden følgende Revisioner. Han er Donator af den omvendte Kop, der figurerer paa Selskabets Emblem; Originalen var et Maaleglas fra hans Apothek, nu opbevaret i Mødesalen som en Reliqvie af Stiftelsen.
Capellan. Pastor Th. Strømsted, af Holmens Kirke Sogn. Født 1779 i Slesvig; cand. theol. 1804; ordineret samme Aar. Bestyrelsens ældste Medlem og een af de to overlevende Stiftere af Selskabet. Capellanen holder ved hvert ugentligt Møde en kort Tiltale af cirka tre Minutters Varighed, hvis Texter og Substanser optegnes i Selskabets Forhandlings-Protocol og i sin Tid ville blive udsendte i et særskilt Bind under Titlen Halv-Hundrede Tale-Stumper for Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet. Capellanen har med Bestyrelsens Velsignelse ogsaa affattet den staaende Bøn optrykt nedenfor.
Almindelige Medlemmer.
— Skomagermester L. Skovgaard, af Vesterbro, født 1801, mester i Skomagerlauget 1834. Hr. Skovgaard leverer de Støvler, hvori Bestyrelsen mødes, paa staaende Bestilling til en nedsat Pris, idet Nedsættelsen optegnes i Selskabets Bøger som et Bidrag in natura.
— Bogtrykker N. Hellesen, af Pilestræde, født 1797. Hr. Hellesen har siden Stiftelsen paataget sig Trykningen af Selskabets Cirkulærer, Indbydelser og Qvartal-Register til Selvkost. Nærværende Bind er dog ikke blevet trykt paa hans Presse, idet Selskabet har afgjort, at en Udgivelse til almindelig Circulation fordrede de større Skriftgrader og det finere Papir, der vare disponible hos Bianco Luno.
— Cand. jur. F. Ostermark, født 1815. Bestyrelsens yngste Medlem og det eneste, der endnu ikke er gift. Hr. Ostermark tjener som juridisk Raadgiver for Selskabet i Sager, der opstaa under Statuterne, og er Forfatter til et uudgivet Memorandum om Spørgsmaalet, hvorvidt et Medlem, der er falden og er bleven anvist en Sponsor, i Sponsorskabets Periode kan beklæde valgmæssigt Embede i Selskabet. Memorandumet concluderer i bekræftende, paa den Grund, at Sponsorskabet er en privat moralsk Indretning og ikke en offentlig Bebreidelse.
Bestyrelsen mødes i Selskabets Lokaler paa den første Onsdag i hver Maaned Klokken sex Aften. Medlemmer ere frit at overvære som Iagttagere, men maae alene tale paa Indbydelse.
President. Etatsraad H. C. Bredmark, of the Customs Office. Born 1791 in the parish of Vor Frue; cand. jur. 1815; entered the Customs Office in the same year, and has since risen, by a series of appointments which the cultivated reader will follow in the Statskalender, to the directorship of the harbour branch. Married, four children, of whom two are members of the Society in their own right. The Etatsraad has not, by his own account, tasted spirituous liquor since his confirmation in 1806; the entrance fee of two Rigsdaler having therefore, in his case, conferred a moral elevation upon an abstention of nearly forty years' standing, which the Society recognises with peculiar gratitude.
Vice-President. Cancelliraad J. Falkner, of the Royal Library. Born 1798 in Helsingør; cand. phil. 1820; entered the Library in 1823 and has been chief cataloguer of the manuscript division since 1839. The Cancelliraad's contribution to the Society has consisted chiefly in the careful drafting of the Statutes, in which his familiarity with the older Collegial-Tidende has been of conspicuous service. He is, in private life, a collector of editions of Holberg, and has presented the Society's reading-room with a complete Peder Paars in the edition of 1746, which is consulted by members during the half-hour preceding each weekly meeting.
Secretary. Cand. theol. C. Vandbye, of the parish of Vor Frue. Born 1812 in Roskilde; cand. theol. 1838; has not, at the time of this writing, accepted a call to any parish, devoting himself to the literary and the Foreningens-mæssige labours of the Capital. The Secretary's keeping of the Quarterly Register has been pronounced exemplary by the auditing committee, and the cleanness of his hand has occasioned favourable comment in the Bibliotheca Litteraria. He is the author of an unpublished treatise upon the speculative relations between the principle of § 7 and the doctrine of the Aufhebung, which the present writer has had the privilege of reading in manuscript.
Treasurer. Apotheker P. Lindeberg, of the Strøget. Born 1786 in Næstved; took over the apothecary at the corner of Vimmelskaftet in 1822, and has since enlarged it by the addition of a back-shop given over to the preparation of eaux médicinales, none of which contain spirits. The Treasurer's accounts are kept in a manner which the Bestyrelse has endorsed without amendment over five successive audits. He is the donor of the inverted cup which appears upon the Society's emblem; the original having been a measuring-cup from his apothecary, now preserved in the meeting-hall as a relic of the founding.
Chaplain. Pastor Th. Strømsted, of the parish of Holmens Kirke. Born 1779 in Slesvig; cand. theol. 1804; ordained the same year. The eldest member of the Bestyrelse, and one of the two surviving founders of the Society. The Chaplain delivers, at each weekly meeting, a brief Address of approximately three minutes' duration, the texts and substances of which are recorded in the Society's Forhandlings-Protocol and will, in due course, be issued in a separate volume under the title Halv-Hundrede Tale-Stumper for Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet. The Chaplain has, with the Bestyrelse's blessing, also drafted the Standing Prayer reprinted below.
Ordinary Members.
— Skomagermester L. Skovgaard, of the Vesterbro, born 1801, master of the cordwainers' guild 1834. Mr. Skovgaard supplies the boots in which the Bestyrelse meets, on a standing order at a reduced rate, the reduction being recorded in the Society's books as a contribution in kind.
— Bogtrykker N. Hellesen, of the Pilestræde, born 1797. Mr. Hellesen has, since the foundation, undertaken the printing of the Society's Cirkulærer, Indbydelser, and Quarterly Register at cost. The present volume has not, however, been printed at his press, the Society having determined that a publication for general circulation required the larger types and the finer paper available at Bianco Luno.
— Cand. jur. F. Ostermark, born 1815. The youngest member of the Bestyrelse, and the only one not yet married. Mr. Ostermark serves as legal adviser to the Society in matters arising under the Statutes, and is the author of an unpublished memorandum upon the question whether a member who has lapsed and been assigned a Sponsor may, during the period of sponsorship, hold elective office in the Society. The memorandum concludes in the affirmative, on the ground that the Sponsorship is a private moral arrangement and not a public reproach.
The Bestyrelse meets in the Society's rooms on the first Wednesday of each month at six o'clock in the evening. Members are at liberty to attend as observers, but may speak only upon invitation.
CAPELLANENS STAAENDE BØN
at læses ved Aabningen af hvert ugentligt Møde, efter Underskriften af Mødeprotokolen og før Oplæsningen af Qvartal-Registret
Evige Gud, der i Din naadige Forsyn har opreist i denne Hovedstad et Selskab forpligtet til Afholdelsen fra spirituøs Drik og til saadanne videre Afholdelser, Troskaber og Regelmæssigheder, som Bestyrelsen fra Tid til anden maatte anbefale, vi Dine Tjenere her forsamlede prise Dig for den Form, indenfor hvilken vore Handlinger ere blevne hævede fra deres oprindelige Indifference til en corporativ moralsk Bedrifts Værdighed. Skjenk os, vi bede Dig, at vore Løfters Substans maa til alle Tider være lige med deres Form; at Formen ikke i nogen af vore Tilfælde skal overskride Substansen; at vore privatlivs indifferente Handlinger fortsat skulle udføres med samme Flid efter deres Ophøielse, som de bleve det før; og at selve Ophøielsen, medens den er en Trøst for vore Samvittigheder, ikke skal blive et Surrogat for hiin videre Ophøielse, som Dit Evangelium tilbyder alle Mennesker uden Hensyn til deres Selskabs-Medlemskab. Vi anbefale Dig særligt de af vore Brødre, der i den forløbne Uge ere faldne, paa det den Sponsor, der er anvist hver, kan tjene ham trofast, og at Faldet ikke maa gjentages. Vi anbefale Dig ligeledes de fire hundrede og sexten Subscribenter paa Selskabets Tale, paa det deres Læsning af den maa være opbyggelig. Ved Jesus Christus vor Herre. Amen.
to be read at the opening of each weekly meeting, after the signing of the Attendance Book and before the reading of the Quarterly Register
Eternal God, who hast in Thy gracious providence raised up in this Capital a Society pledged to the abstention from spirituous liquor and to such further abstentions, fidelities, and regularities as the Bestyrelse may from time to time recommend, we Thy servants here assembled bless Thee for the form within which our acts have been raised from their original indifference to the dignity of a corporate moral enterprise. Grant unto us, we beseech Thee, that the substance of our pledges may be at all times equal to their form; that the form may not, in any of our cases, outrun the substance; that the indifferent acts of our private lives may continue to be performed with the same diligence after their elevation as they were before; and that the elevation itself, while a comfort to our consciences, may not become a substitute for that further elevation which Thy Gospel offers to all men irrespective of their Society-membership. We commend to Thee, in particular, those of our brethren who have, during the past week, lapsed, that the Sponsor assigned to each may serve him faithfully, and that the lapse may not be repeated. We commend to Thee likewise the four hundred and sixteen subscribers to the Society's Speech, that their reading of it may be edifying. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
NOTITS OM UNDERSELSKABER I PROJECT
at constitueres, som Statuterne tillade, paa Bestyrelsens Anbefaling og Generalforsamlingens Beslutning
I. Selskab for ægteskabelig Troskab. Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til Troskab mod deres Hustruer og skulle optegne Troskaben i Selskabets Qvartal-Register. Idet Løftet er enkeltvis lille og corporativt uhyre, forventes en hurtig Voxen i Medlemskab. Ungkarle admitteres som Hædersmedlemmer til halv Indtrædelses-Honorar, paa den Forstaaelse, at de ved Giftermaal ville overgaae til fuldt Medlemskab uden videre Indtegning.
Udkast-Statuter, forberedte af Bestyrelsen til Vedtagelse paa næste Generalforsamling:
§ 1. Underselskabets Gjenstand er Fremmen af ægteskabelig Troskab blandt sine Medlemmer og, ved deres Exempel, blandt Hovedstadens Ægtemænd.
§ 2. Løftet: »Jeg lover, for Gud og for dette Underselskab, at være tro mod min Hustru i Henseende til alle de Sager, der ligge indenfor den ægteskabelige Stands sædvanlige Forstaaelse, og at optegne Troskaben, ved hver Anledning af dens Iagttagelse, i Underselskabets Qvartal-Register.« Bestyrelsen har efter nogen Overveielse afgjort, at Optegnelsen i Qvartal-Registret skal være i resumerende Form alene — nemlig ved Indførelsen af et lille Mærke ud for Medlemmets Navn ved hvert Qvartals Slutning — frem for ved detaillerede daglige Indførelser, hvilke Cancelliraaden bedømte uforenelige med en Husstands Værdighed.
§ 3. Et Medlem, der i Mellemrummet mellem to Møder er falden fra Løftet, skal erklære Faldet for Bestyrelsen, der skal afgjøre, hvorvidt Faldet var foranlediget af Forsømmelse, af Svaghed eller af forsætlig Hensigt. Det første Tilfælde er, erkjender Bestyrelsen, ikke for Tiden forudset i den ægteskabelige Stand, og vil blive revideret, naar Løftets Form er bleven yderligere forfinet. I det andet skal en Sponsor anvises, hvis Embede skal være at ledsage Medlemmet ved alle offentlige Anledninger, hvori Fristelsen bedømmes at være virksom. I det tredie skal Medlemmet udelukkes, og hans Navn indføres med rød Blæk i Bogen over Faldne Ægtemænd.
§ 4. Underselskabet skal opretholde et fortroligt Register, ført af Secretairen under Forsegling, hvori enhver Communication fra Medlemmernes Hustruer angaaende Holdelsen af Løftet kan indføres. Hustruerne ere ikke paa Underselskabets nærværende Organisations-Stadium selv Medlemmer; deres Communicationer modtages dog med den Alvor, der sømmer sig Sagen. Bestyrelsen vil ved det første Aars Slutning overveie, hvorvidt Hustruerne bør admitteres som Auxiliære Medlemmer med Ret til ved Anmodning at inspicere Qvartal-Registret.
II. Selskab for punctlig Møde-Tid. Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til at ankomme ved alle Aftaler — offentlige, professionelle, kirkelige og huslige — paa den fastsatte Time, med en Tolerance af ikke meer end to Minutter. Løftet udstrækker sig ikke til Visitter af mindre end en halv Times Varighed, idet disse styres af særskilte Conventioner.
Udkast-Statuter:
§ 1. Underselskabets Gjenstand er Fremmen af Punctlighed blandt sine Medlemmer; idet Punctligheden, ved Princippet i § 7 af Moder-Statuterne, ved Association hæves til Statussen af et uendelig vigtigt Bidrag til Hovedstadens offentlige Livs Regelmæssighed.
§ 2. Hvert Medlem skal bære paa sin Person et Lommeur af tilstrækkelig Nøiagtighed til at tillade Optegnelsen af Ankomster indenfor den specificerede Tolerance. Bestyrelsen har i Correspondance med Urmagerlauget afgjort, at et Instrument garanteret af en Mester-Urmager af Hovedstaden, og justeret indenfor det forløbne Aar, skal betragtes som tilstrækkeligt. Et Medlem, hvis Ur ved to paa hinanden følgende Anledninger er fundet at afvige meer end Tolerancen fra Rundetaarns Observatoriums Chronometer, skal henvende sig til en Urmager af Bestyrelsens Godkjendelse for Justering paa egen Bekostning.
§ 3. Ankomster skulle optegnes ved Medlemmets egen Haand i et lille trykt Lomme-Register leveret af Selskabet, idet Indførelserne skulle transcriberes i Qvartal-Registret ved hvert Qvartals Slutning. Et Medlem, der i Løbet af et Qvartal har optegnet færre end tredive Ankomster, skal antages at have været mindre virksom i Hovedstadens offentlige Liv, end Underselskabets Principer fordre, og skal indbydes af Secretairen til at meddele Grundene til Manglen.
§ 4. En Comité for Tids-Justering skal constitueres, hentet fra Medlemmer besiddende chronometrisk Sagkundskab, hvis Embede skal være at afgjøre saadanne Tvister, som maatte opstaa angaaende det nøiagtige Øieblik, da en Aftale skal betragtes som begyndt. Comitéen skal mødes qvartaarligt. Dens Afgjørelser skulle være endelige, undtagen i Tilfælde, der involvere Diligencen og Havnepakkerne, hvis Schemaer ikke ere under Comitéens Myndighed, og som ere forbeholdte en særlig Voldgift.
III. Selskab for civil Hilsen paa Strøget. Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til at aftage Hatten ved Møde med en Bekjendt, til at bøie Legemet ved Møde med en Foresat og til at erkjende ved en kort Bøining saadanne af deres Underordnede, som maatte have ydet dem Tjeneste indenfor det forløbne Aar. Et trykt Schema over Bekjendte og den passende Gradering af Erkjendelse vil blive leveret hvert Medlem ved Indtegning.
Udkast-Statuter:
§ 1. Underselskabets Gjenstand er Cultiveringen af Civilitet paa Hovedstadens hovedstrøg, med særlig Henvisning til Strøget, Østergade og Kongens Nytorv. Cultiveringen er, ved Princippet i § 7 af Moder-Statuterne, ved Association hævet til Statussen af et uendelig vigtigt Bidrag til Hovedstadens offentlige Manerer.
§ 2. Hvert Medlem skal ved Indtegning forsynes med et trykt Schema over Erkjendelser, hvori Hovedstadens Indvaanere ere graderede i fire Klasser — Overordnede, Ligestillede, Underordnede med Tjeneste og Indifferente — og den passende Form af Erkjendelse er fremstillet for hver Klasse. Schemaet skal revideres aarligt af en Comité af Bestyrelsen, idet Graderingerne justeres til at afspeile saadanne Forandringer i social Stand, som Statskalenderen og Adresseavisens matrimoniale Spalte maatte angive.
§ 3. Et Medlem, der i Løbet af en enkelt Promenade har undladt at erkjende en Person, hvis Navn fremtræder i Schemaet, skal optegne Undladelsen i sit Lomme-Register og skal ved næste ugentlige Møde meddele den til Secretairen. Secretairen skal afgjøre, hvorvidt Undladelsen var foranlediget af Uagtsomhed, af Hattens Brem eller af forsætlig Hensigt; i det tredie Tilfælde skal en Sponsor anvises for Tidsrummet af een Promenade. Underselskabet paatager sig ikke, fremhæver Bestyrelsen, at fremtvinge Hilsen til Personer, der ikke fremtræde i Schemaet; disse kunne erkjendes eller ikke, efter Medlemmets Skjøn, idet Associations-Princippet er uvirksomt i Henseende til dem.
§ 4. Underselskabet skal paa den første Søndag i hver Maaned afholde en Hilse-Øvelse i Selskabets Lokaler, hvori de forskjellige Graderinger af Erkjendelse kunne praktiseres under Veiledning af en Drill-Officer udnævnt af Bestyrelsen. Overværelse er ikke obligatorisk, men anbefales, særligt til de af den yngre Generations Medlemmer, hvis Fortrolighed med de ældre Civilitets-Former i Hovedstadens nærværende Tilstand ikke kan forudsættes.
IV. Selskab for stille Adfærd i Theatret. Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til at afholde sig fra Hosten under den fornemste Arie, fra Raslen med Programmer under Recitativ og fra hørbar Commentar over Forestillingen, indtil Tæppet er falden. En Sponsor skal anvises ethvert Medlem, der findes ved tre Anledninger i een Sæson at være falden.
Udkast-Statuter:
§ 1. Underselskabets Gjenstand er Cultiveringen af stille Adfærd ved Det Kongelige Theater og ved saadanne andre Etablissementer — Hofteatret, Casino og Apollo-Salen — som Bestyrelsen fra Tid til anden maatte udpege. Princippet i § 7 af Moder-Statuterne finder Anvendelse i sin reneste Form, idet Handlingen at forblive stille under en offentlig Underholdning er uadskillelig, i privat Liv, fra Handlingen ikke at overvære nogen Underholdning overhovedet, og vinder sin moralske Følge alene ved Associationens Kraft.
§ 2. Løftet er som følger: »Jeg lover at afholde mig, under Opførelsen af ethvert Værk, der overværes i min Capacitet som Medlem af dette Underselskab, fra Hosten under den fornemste Arie, fra Raslen med Programmer under Recitativ, fra hørbar Commentar over Forestillingen, fra Slag af Takten med Foden, Haanden eller Programmet, fra praematuré Klap forud for Cadenzaens Slutning, og fra saadanne andre Handlinger, som Bestyrelsen, ved sin Oversigt over den foregaaende Sæson, maatte afgjøre at have forstyrret Værkets værdige Modtagelse.«
§ 3. Hvert Medlem skal ved Ankomst til Theatret underskrive en lille Theater-Liste, deponeret hos Garderobepasseren, idet Listerne tilbageleveres ved næste ugentlige Møde. Underskriften antages at constituere Aktiveringen af Løftet for Aftenens Varighed. Et Medlem, der ankommer til Theatret, men ikke har underskrevet Listen, holdes for at overvære i sin private Capacitet og er bunden af Løftet alene i Henseende til de Handlinger, som Moder-Statuternes almindelige Princip i ethvert Tilfælde vilde styre.
§ 4. En Comité for Sæson-Revisionen skal udnævnes ved hvert theatralsk Aars Begyndelse, til at afgjøre, hvilke Forestillinger i den foregaaende Sæson have været de meest forstyrrede, og at anbefale saadanne yderligere Løfter, som Bestyrelsen maatte overveie til Statuterne. Bestyrelsen har særligt under Overveielse paa nærværende Time en foreslaaet Tilføielse, der forbyder Consultationen af Uret under tredie Akt af ethvert Værk componeret af en levende Forfatter, idet Consultationen er bleven iagttaget i den forløbne Sæson at sænke Værdigheden af flere Forestillinger end nogen anden enkelt Handling.
V. Selskab for regelmæssig Kirkegang. Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til at overvære offentlig Gudstjeneste hver Søndag og paa de fornemste Festdage, og til at optegne deres Overværelse i Selskabets Register. Selskabet paatager sig ikke at afgjøre, hvorvidt Medlemmerne ere bevægede af Gudstjenesten; idet Princippet i § 7 finder Anvendelse, hæves den indifferente Kjendsgerning af Overværelse, ved Association, til Statussen af et uendelig vigtigt Bidrag til Hovedstadens religiøse Liv, uden Hensyn til den Overværendes indre Tilstand.
Udkast-Statuter:
§ 1. Underselskabets Gjenstand er Fremmen af regelmæssig Kirkegang blandt sine Medlemmer, idet Overværelsen ved Association hæves til en uendelig vigtig Bidrags Værdighed til Hovedstadens religiøse Liv.
§ 2. Medlemmer skulle overvære offentlig Gudstjeneste i et af Hovedstadens Sogne hver Søndag Morgen og skulle optegne Overværelsen ved at underskrive Underselskabets Tilstedeværelses-Bog, deponeret i Sognekirkens Vaabenhus, før Tjenestens Slutning. Underselskabet har ved Anmodning til Bispen modtaget Høfligheden af Tilladelse til at deponere Bøgerne i de fornemste Sogns Vaabenhuse i Hovedstaden; Bispens Brev, der skjenker Tilladelsen, er bevaret i Selskabets Archiv og kan consulteres af Medlemmer ved Ansøgning til Secretairen. Bispen har dog afslaaet at udstede en offentlig Endossering af Underselskabet, paa de Grunde, der ere fremstillede i hans Vidnesbyrd optrykt i nærværende Bind.
§ 3. Et Medlem, der i Løbet af en Søndag har undladt at overvære offentlig Gudstjeneste, skal meddele Undladelsen til Secretairen skriftligt, med saadan Forklaring, som han ønsker at tilbyde. Bestyrelsen skal afgjøre, hvorvidt Undladelsen var foranlediget af Sygdom, af Tilbageholdelse ved presserende Forretning, af Fravær fra Hovedstaden eller af forsætlig Hensigt. I de tre første Tilfælde paalægges ingen Straf. I det fjerde anvises en Sponsor, hvis Embede skal være at ledsage Medlemmet til næste Søndags Gudstjeneste og at sikre Underskrivningen af Bogen.
§ 4. Underselskabet paatager sig ikke, gjentager Bestyrelsen, at afgjøre den Overværendes indre Tilstand. Løftet er i Henseende til den udvendige Handling alene. Et Medlem, der overværer i en Tilstand af Indifference, af Distraktion eller af positiv Irreligion, skal ikke paa den Grund betragtes at være falden, idet den indre Tilstand ligger udenfor Løftets Omfang og, i ethvert Tilfælde, ved Princippet i § 7, gjøres moralsk consequensrig alene ved den udvendige Overværelses Kraft, uden Hensyn til dens indre Ledsagelse.
Bestyrelsen benytter nærværende Anledning til at optegne sin Erkjendelse af Vidnesbyrdet, optrykt i nærværende Bind, fra Pastoren af Landsdistricterne, der har meddelt visse Forbehold angaaende Princippet i § 4. Bestyrelsen paaskjønner Forbeholdenes Aand og forpligter sig til at overveie dem ved Underselskabets Constitution. Den iagttager dog, at Princippet i § 4 fordres af Princippet i § 7 af Moder-Statuterne, og at at amendere det første vilde være at compromittere det andet. Bestyrelsen anseer sig ikke at staae frit til at gjøre et saadant Compromis.
VI. Selskab for uafbrudt Søvn om Natten. Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til at forblive i Sengen fra den Time, hvori de gaae til Hvile, indtil den Time, hvori de staae op, undtagen i Tilfælde af Sygdom, faderlig Pligt eller offentlig Alarm. Bestyrelsen erkjender, at dette Løfte i nogle Tilfælde vil fordre en Forandring af Vaner af lang Stand, og Sponsorer ville være tilgjengelige for dem, der anmode om dem.
Udkast-Statuter:
§ 1. Underselskabets Gjenstand er Fremmen af uafbrudt Søvn blandt sine Medlemmer, idet Søvnen ved Association hæves til Statussen af et uendelig vigtigt Bidrag til Hovedstadens nattlige Regelmæssighed.
§ 2. Hvert Medlem skal ved det ugentlige Møde rapportere om Regelmæssigheden af sin Søvn i de foregaaende syv Nætter, idet Rapporten indføres i en Søvn-Protocol, ført af Secretairen. Bestyrelsen erkjender, at Rapporteringen af Nødvendighed maa hvile paa Medlemmets egen Ærlighed, eftersom Handlingen at sove i det almindelige Tilfælde ikke bevidnes af en uafhængig Iagttager; Underselskabet skrider frem paa den Forudsætning, at Medlemmer, der have underskrevet Løftet, ville rapportere med den Aabenhjertighed, Løftet implicerer.
§ 3. Et Medlem, der er bleven vækket om Natten af sine egne Bekymringer — det vil sige, af en indre Forstyrrelse, der ikke er foranlediget af nogen af de Undtagelser, Løftet tillader — skal rapportere Vækkelsen til Secretairen, der skal indføre den i Protocollen som et delvist Fald. Tre delvise Fald i et enkelt Qvartal skulle behandles, til Sponsorskabets Formaal, som eet fuldt Fald. Bestyrelsen vil dog ikke anvise en Sponsor paa Grundlag af delvise Fald alene, idet Sponsoreringen af andres indre Forstyrrelser er en Sag af usædvanlig Delicatesse, og Underselskabet ønsker i nærværende Tilfælde at bevare en klar Distinction mellem Løftets Form og Medlemmets indre Liv.
§ 4. Medlemmer, der lide af kronisk indre Forstyrrelse af den Slags, som Lægestanden benævner Tungsind, raades til at consultere en Læge, førend de underskrive Løftet. Underselskabet paatager sig ikke at bistaae i Cureringen af Tungsind ved Associationens Kraft; Princippet i § 7 finder ikke, har Cancelliraaden besværet sig med at gjøre klart, Anvendelse paa Medlemmernes indre Tilstande, men alene paa de udvendige Handlinger, der ere lovede.
VII. Selskab for regelmæssig Aandedræt. Medlemmer skulle forpligte sig til at trække Aande ved Mellemrum af cirka fire Secunder, med saadan Variation, som Øieblikkets Activitet maatte fordre. Bestyrelsen erkjender, at Handlingen at aande ikke er, i den almindelige Forstand, en Sag af moralsk Valg; Princippet i § 7 finder dog Anvendelse med eiendommelig Kraft, eftersom Handlingens Indifference garanterer Magnituden af dens corporative Ophøielse. Dette Underselskab betragtes af Bestyrelsen som den naturlige Fuldendelse af Selskabets Foretagende, eftersom det bringer indenfor Formen en Handling saa universelt udført, at Underselskabets potentielle Medlemskab falder sammen med Hovedstadens Befolkning.
Udkast-Statuter:
§ 1. Underselskabets Gjenstand er Aandedrættets Ophøielse, ved Association, fra dets nuværende indifferente Status til en uendelig vigtig corporativ Bidrags Værdighed til Hovedstadens vitale Liv. Bestyrelsen erkjender ved Foreslaaelsen af Underselskabet, at den paagjeldende Handling udføres af alle Hovedstadens Indvaanere uden Hensyn til Medlemskab; denne Kjendsgerning betragtes ikke som en Hindring, men som en Bekræftelse af Princippet i § 7, eftersom den demonstrerer, at Ophøielsen kan anvendes paa Handlinger af enhver Grad af Indifference, hvor tilsyneladende universelle de end maatte være.
§ 2. Løftet er som følger: »Jeg lover at trække Aande, i Tidsrummet for mit Medlemskab i dette Underselskab, ved Mellemrum af cirka fire Secunder, med saadan Variation, som Øieblikkets Activitet, min Sundheds Tilstand og min Læges Anbefalinger maatte gjøre tilraadelig; og at optegne Løftet i Selskabets Qvartal-Register ved saadanne Midler, som Bestyrelsen efter videre Overveielse maatte afgjøre.«
§ 3. Bestyrelsen erkjender, at Optegnelsen af Løftet frembyder Vanskeligheder af en Slags, der ikke mødes i Moder-Selskabet eller i de foregaaende Underselskaber. At fordre den daglige Indførelse af Antallet af trukne Aandedræt vilde paalægge Medlemmet en clerikal Byrde uforenelig med hans øvrige Sagers Førelse; at undlade Optegnelsen overhovedet vilde dog efterlade Løftet uden den documentariske Substantiering, som Princippet i § 7 fordrer for Handlingens Ophøielse. Bestyrelsen har derfor foreslaaet et Compromis: Medlemmet skal ved hvert Qvartals Slutning indføre i Qvartal-Registret en resumerende Attest med egen Haand, af Formen »Jeg har i det forløbne Qvartal trukket Aande i Overeensstemmelse med Løftet, undtagen i saadanne Mellemrum, hvori Sygdom eller kraftig Activitet har gjort det foreskrevne Mellemrum impracticabelt.« Den resumerende Attest er, ved Princippet i § 7, tilstrækkelig til at ophøie Handlingen.
§ 4. Underselskabet skal ikke opretholde nogen Bog over Faldne Medlemmer i Henseende til nærværende Løfte, eftersom Aandedrættets Ophør i de Tilfælde, hvori det forekommer, ledsages af saadanne videre Følger, at Spørgsmaalet om Underselskabets Medlemskab de facto bliver overflødigt. Et Mindeskrift skal dog opretholdes, hvori Navnene paa Medlemmer, der i deres Medlemskab ere ophørte med at trække Aande overhovedet, skulle indskrives med det sædvanlige Mærke, og hvis Familier Secretairen skal meddele Underselskabets Condolencer.
Cancelliraaden har hos Bestyrelsen registreret et Forbehold over nærværende Underselskab, til den Effect, at dets Constitution vilde gjøre Princippet i § 7 af Moder-Statuterne modtageligt for en reductio fra Underselskabets Critikeres Haand. Bestyrelsen har overveiet Forbeholdet. Den har afgjort, at Modtageligheden for reductio faktisk er en Egenskab, som Princippet i § 7 har besiddet siden sin første Formulering, og ikke indføres af nærværende Underselskab; at Princippet trods denne Egenskab har tjent Moder-Selskabet vel i over et Aar; og at Constitutionen af nærværende Underselskab, ved at gjøre Egenskaben synlig, vil tjene til at klargjøre Princippet snarere end at svække det. Cancelliraadens Forbehold er bleven indført i Forhandlings-Protocollen, med Bestyrelsens Svar.
Subscriptionsformularer for hvert af de foregaaende Underselskaber kunne erholdes i Selskabets Lokaler eller ved Ansøgning til Secretairen.
to be constituted, as the Statutes permit, upon the recommendation of the Bestyrelse and the resolution of the general assembly
I. Selskab for ægteskabelig Troskab. Members shall pledge themselves to fidelity to their wives, and shall record the fidelity in the Society's Quarterly Register. The pledge being individually small and corporately immense, a rapid growth in membership is anticipated. Bachelors are admitted as Honorary Members at half the entrance fee, on the understanding that they will, upon marriage, transfer to full membership without further inscription.
Draft Statutes, prepared by the Bestyrelse for adoption at the next general assembly:
§ 1. The object of the Sub-Society is the promotion of marital fidelity among its members and, by their example, among the husbands of the Capital.
§ 2. The Pledge: "I pledge, before God and before this Sub-Society, to be faithful to my wife in respect of all matters which lie within the customary understanding of the marital state, and to record the fidelity, on each occasion of its observance, in the Quarterly Register of the Sub-Society." The Bestyrelse has, after some deliberation, determined that the recording in the Quarterly Register shall be in summary form only — namely, by the entry of a small mark against the member's name at the close of each quarter — rather than by detailed daily entries, which were judged by the Cancelliraad to be incompatible with the dignity of a household.
§ 3. A member who has, in the interval between meetings, lapsed from the Pledge shall declare the lapse to the Bestyrelse, who shall determine whether the lapse was occasioned by inadvertence, by weakness, or by deliberate intention. The first case is, the Bestyrelse acknowledges, not at present provided for in the marital state, and will be reviewed when the form of the Pledge has been further refined. In the second, a Sponsor shall be assigned, whose office shall be to accompany the member upon all public occasions at which the temptation is judged to be active. In the third, the member shall be expelled, and his name entered, in red ink, in the Book of Lapsed Husbands.
§ 4. The Sub-Society shall maintain a confidential Register, kept by the Secretary under seal, in which any communication from the wives of members concerning the keeping of the Pledge may be entered. The wives are not, at the present stage of the Sub-Society's organisation, themselves members; their communications, however, are received with the gravity proper to the matter. The Bestyrelse will, at the close of the first year, consider whether the wives should be admitted as Auxiliary Members with the right to inspect the Quarterly Register on application.
II. Selskab for punctlig Møde-Tid. Members shall pledge themselves to arrive at all appointments — public, professional, ecclesiastical, and domestic — at the hour appointed, with a tolerance of not more than two minutes. The pledge does not extend to social calls of less than half an hour's duration, since these are governed by separate conventions.
Draft Statutes:
§ 1. The object of the Sub-Society is the promotion of punctuality among its members; the punctuality being, by the principle of § 7 of the parent Statutes, raised by association to the status of an infinitely important contribution to the regularity of public life in the Capital.
§ 2. Each member shall carry, upon his person, a pocket watch of sufficient accuracy to permit the recording of arrivals within the tolerance specified. The Bestyrelse has, in correspondence with the Urmagerlauget, determined that an instrument warranted by a master clockmaker of the Capital, and adjusted within the previous twelvemonth, shall be regarded as sufficient. A member whose watch has been found, on two consecutive occasions, to differ by more than the tolerance from the chronometer of the Round Tower observatory shall apply to a clockmaker of the Bestyrelse's approval for adjustment, at his own expense.
§ 3. Arrivals shall be recorded by the member's own hand, in a small printed Pocket Register supplied by the Society, the entries to be transcribed into the Quarterly Register at the end of each quarter. A member who has, in the course of a quarter, recorded fewer than thirty arrivals shall be presumed to have been less active in the public life of the Capital than the Sub-Society's principles require, and shall be invited by the Secretary to communicate the reasons for the deficiency.
§ 4. A Comité for Tids-Justering shall be constituted, drawn from members possessing chronometric expertise, whose office shall be to resolve such disputes as may arise as to the exact moment at which an appointment is to be regarded as having begun. The Comité shall meet quarterly. Its decisions shall be final, save in cases involving the Diligence and the harbour packets, where the schedules are not under the Comité's authority, and which are reserved to a special arbitration.
III. Selskab for civil Hilsen paa Strøget. Members shall pledge themselves to remove the hat upon meeting an acquaintance, to incline the body upon meeting a superior, and to acknowledge with a brief inclination such of their inferiors as may have rendered them service within the previous twelvemonth. A printed schedule of acquaintances and the appropriate gradation of acknowledgement will be supplied to each member upon enrolment.
Draft Statutes:
§ 1. The object of the Sub-Society is the cultivation of civility upon the principal thoroughfares of the Capital, with particular reference to the Strøget, the Østergade, and the Kongens Nytorv. The cultivation is, by the principle of § 7 of the parent Statutes, raised by association to the status of an infinitely important contribution to the public manners of the Capital.
§ 2. Each member shall be supplied, upon enrolment, with a printed Schedule of Recognitions, in which the inhabitants of the Capital are graded into four classes — Overordnede, Ligestillede, Underordnede med Tjeneste, and Indifferente — and the appropriate form of acknowledgement is set forth for each class. The Schedule shall be revised annually by a Comité of the Bestyrelse, the gradings being adjusted to reflect such changes in social standing as the Statskalender and the Adresseavisens matrimonial column may indicate.
§ 3. A member who has, in the course of a single promenade, failed to acknowledge a person whose name appears in the Schedule shall record the omission in his Pocket Register and shall, at the next weekly meeting, communicate it to the Secretary. The Secretary shall determine whether the omission was occasioned by inattention, by the brim of the hat, or by deliberate intention; in the third case, a Sponsor shall be assigned for the period of one promenade. The Sub-Society does not, the Bestyrelse emphasises, undertake to compel the salute of persons not appearing in the Schedule; these may be acknowledged or not, at the member's discretion, the principle of association being inoperative in respect of them.
§ 4. The Sub-Society shall, on the first Sunday of each month, conduct a Hilse-Øvelse in the rooms of the Society, in which the various gradations of acknowledgement may be practised under the direction of a Drill Officer appointed by the Bestyrelse. Attendance is not compulsory but is recommended, particularly to those members of the younger generation whose familiarity with the older forms of civility cannot, in the present state of the Capital, be presumed.
IV. Selskab for stille Adfærd i Theatret. Members shall pledge themselves to refrain from coughing during the principal aria, from rustling of programmes during recitative, and from audible commentary upon the performance until the curtain has descended. A Sponsor shall be assigned to any member found, on three occasions within a single season, to have lapsed.
Draft Statutes:
§ 1. The object of the Sub-Society is the cultivation of quiet behaviour at the Royal Theatre and at such other establishments — the Hofteatret, the Casino, and the Apollo-Salen — as the Bestyrelse may from time to time designate. The principle of § 7 of the parent Statutes applies in its purest form, the act of remaining quiet during a public entertainment being indistinguishable, in private life, from the act of attending no entertainment at all, and acquiring its moral consequence only by virtue of the association.
§ 2. The Pledge is as follows: "I pledge to refrain, during the performance of any work attended in my capacity as a member of this Sub-Society, from coughing during the principal aria, from rustling of programmes during recitative, from audible commentary upon the performance, from beating of time with the foot, hand, or programme, from premature applause before the conclusion of the cadenza, and from such other acts as the Bestyrelse may, on its survey of the previous season, determine to have disturbed the dignified reception of the work."
§ 3. Each member shall, upon arrival at the theatre, sign a small Theater-Liste deposited with the cloakroom attendant, the lists to be returned at the next weekly meeting. The signing is taken to constitute the activation of the Pledge for the duration of the evening. A member who arrives at the theatre but has not signed the Liste is held to be attending in his private capacity, and is bound by the Pledge only in respect of those acts which the parent Statutes' general principle would, in any case, govern.
§ 4. A Comité for the Review of the Season shall be appointed at the beginning of each theatrical year, to determine which performances during the previous season have been the most disturbed, and to recommend such additional pledges as the Bestyrelse may consider for the Statutes. The Bestyrelse has, in particular, under advisement at the present hour a proposed addendum forbidding the consultation of the watch during the third act of any work composed by a living author, the consultation having been observed, in the past season, to lower the dignity of more performances than any other single act.
V. Selskab for regelmæssig Kirkegang. Members shall pledge themselves to attend public worship on each Sunday and on the principal feast-days, and to record their attendance in the Society's Register. The Society does not undertake to determine whether members are moved by the worship; the principle of § 7 applying, the indifferent fact of attendance is, by association, raised to the status of an infinitely important contribution to the religious life of the Capital, irrespective of the inward state of the attender.
Draft Statutes:
§ 1. The object of the Sub-Society is the promotion of regular church-attendance among its members, the attendance being raised by association to the dignity of an infinitely important contribution to the religious life of the Capital.
§ 2. Members shall attend public worship at one of the parishes of the Capital each Sunday morning, and shall record the attendance by signing the Tilstedeværelses-Bog of the Sub-Society, deposited in the porch of the parish church, before the close of the service. The Sub-Society has, by application to the Bishop, received the courtesy of permission to deposit the Books in the porches of the principal parishes of the Capital; the Bishop's letter granting the permission is preserved in the Society's archive, and may be consulted by members on application to the Secretary. The Bishop has, however, declined to issue a public endorsement of the Sub-Society, on the grounds set forth in his testimony reprinted in the present volume.
§ 3. A member who has, in the course of a Sunday, failed to attend public worship shall communicate the failure to the Secretary in writing, with such explanation as he wishes to offer. The Bestyrelse shall determine whether the failure was occasioned by illness, by detention upon urgent business, by absence from the Capital, or by deliberate intention. In the first three cases, no penalty shall attach. In the fourth, a Sponsor shall be assigned, whose office shall be to accompany the member to the next Sunday's worship and to ensure the signing of the Book.
§ 4. The Sub-Society does not, the Bestyrelse re-emphasises, undertake to determine the inward state of the attender. The Pledge is in respect of the outward act only. A member who attends in a state of indifference, of distraction, or of positive irreligion shall not, on that account, be considered to have lapsed, the inward state being outside the scope of the Pledge and, in any case, by the principle of § 7, rendered morally consequential only by virtue of the outward attendance, irrespective of its inward accompaniment.
The Bestyrelse takes the present opportunity to record its acknowledgement of the testimony, reprinted in the present volume, of the Pastor of the rural districts, who has communicated certain reservations concerning the principle of § 4. The Bestyrelse appreciates the spirit of the reservations and undertakes to consider them at the constitution of the Sub-Society. It observes, however, that the principle of § 4 is required by the principle of § 7 of the parent Statutes, and that to amend the former would be to compromise the latter. The Bestyrelse does not consider itself at liberty to make such a compromise.
VI. Selskab for uafbrudt Søvn om Natten. Members shall pledge themselves to remain in bed from the hour at which they retire until the hour at which they rise, save in cases of illness, paternal duty, or public alarm. The Bestyrelse acknowledges that this pledge will require, in some cases, an alteration of habits of long standing, and Sponsors will be available to those who request them.
Draft Statutes:
§ 1. The object of the Sub-Society is the promotion of uninterrupted sleep among its members, the sleep being raised by association to the status of an infinitely important contribution to the nocturnal regularity of the Capital.
§ 2. Each member shall report, at the weekly meeting, upon the regularity of his sleep during the preceding seven nights, the report to be entered in a Søvn-Protocol kept by the Secretary. The Bestyrelse acknowledges that the reporting must, of necessity, rely upon the member's own honesty, since the act of sleeping is not, in the ordinary case, witnessed by an independent observer; the Sub-Society proceeds upon the assumption that members who have signed the Pledge will report with the candour the Pledge implies.
§ 3. A member who has been awakened in the night by his own apprehensions — by, that is, an inward disturbance not occasioned by any of the exceptions permitted in the Pledge — shall report the awakening to the Secretary, who shall enter it in the Protocol as a partial lapse. Three partial lapses in a single quarter shall be treated, for the purposes of Sponsorship, as one full lapse. The Bestyrelse will not, however, assign a Sponsor on the basis of partial lapses alone, the sponsorship of the inward disturbances of others being a matter of unusual delicacy, and the Sub-Society wishing to preserve, in the present case, a clear distinction between the form of the Pledge and the inward life of the member.
§ 4. Members who suffer from chronic inward disturbance of the kind which the medical profession terms Tungsind are advised to consult a physician before signing the Pledge. The Sub-Society does not undertake to assist in the cure of Tungsind by the operation of association; the principle of § 7 does not, the Cancelliraad has been at pains to make clear, apply to the inward states of members, but only to the outward acts pledged.
VII. Selskab for regelmæssig Aandedræt. Members shall pledge themselves to draw breath at intervals of approximately four seconds, with such variation as the activity of the moment may require. The Bestyrelse acknowledges that the act of breathing is not, in the ordinary sense, a matter of moral choice; the principle of § 7 applies, however, with peculiar force, since the indifference of the act guarantees the magnitude of its corporate elevation. This Sub-Society is regarded by the Bestyrelse as the natural completion of the Society's enterprise, since it brings within the form an act so universally performed that the Sub-Society's potential membership coincides with the population of the Capital.
Draft Statutes:
§ 1. The object of the Sub-Society is the elevation of the act of respiration, by association, from its present indifferent status to the dignity of an infinitely important corporate contribution to the vital life of the Capital. The Bestyrelse acknowledges, in proposing the Sub-Society, that the act in question is performed by all inhabitants of the Capital irrespective of membership; this fact is regarded not as an obstacle but as a confirmation of the principle of § 7, since it demonstrates that the elevation can be applied to acts of any degree of indifference, however apparently universal.
§ 2. The Pledge is as follows: "I pledge to draw breath, during the period of my membership in this Sub-Society, at intervals of approximately four seconds, with such variation as the activity of the moment, the state of my health, and the recommendations of my physician may render advisable; and to record the pledge in the Society's Quarterly Register by such means as the Bestyrelse may, after further deliberation, determine."
§ 3. The Bestyrelse acknowledges that the recording of the pledge presents difficulties of a kind not encountered in the parent Society or in the preceding Sub-Societies. To require the daily entry of the number of breaths drawn would impose upon the member a clerical burden incompatible with the conduct of his other affairs; to dispense with recording altogether would, however, leave the pledge without the documentary substantiation which the principle of § 7 requires for the elevation of the act. The Bestyrelse has, accordingly, proposed a compromise: the member shall, at the close of each quarter, enter in the Quarterly Register a summary attestation in his own hand, of the form "I have, during the past quarter, drawn breath in accordance with the Pledge, save in such intervals as illness or vigorous activity has rendered the prescribed interval impracticable." The summary attestation is, by the principle of § 7, sufficient to elevate the act.
§ 4. The Sub-Society shall maintain no Book of Lapsed Members in respect of the present Pledge, since the cessation of respiration is, in the cases in which it occurs, attended by such further consequences as to render the question of Sub-Society membership de facto moot. A Memorial Register shall, however, be kept, in which the names of members who have, during their membership, ceased to draw breath altogether shall be inscribed with the customary mark, and to whose families the Secretary shall communicate the Sub-Society's condolences.
The Cancelliraad has registered, with the Bestyrelse, a reservation upon the present Sub-Society, to the effect that its constitution would render the principle of § 7 of the parent Statutes susceptible to a reductio at the hands of the Sub-Society's critics. The Bestyrelse has considered the reservation. It has determined that the susceptibility to reductio is in fact a property the principle of § 7 has possessed from its first formulation, and is not introduced by the present Sub-Society; that the principle has, despite this property, served the parent Society well for upwards of a year; and that the constitution of the present Sub-Society, by making the property visible, will serve to clarify the principle rather than to weaken it. The Cancelliraad's reservation has been entered in the Forhandlings-Protocol, with the Bestyrelse's reply.
Subscription forms for each of the foregoing Sub-Societies may be obtained at the Society's rooms, or by application to the Secretary.
SUBSCRIPTIONS-FORMULAR
Jeg, Undertegnede, af Hovedstaden eller dens Omegn, værende af godt Renommé og af sund Forstand, lover herved at afholde mig, i Henseende til det nedenfor angivne Underselskab, fra Handlingen, eller at udføre, i Henseende til samme Underselskab, Handlingen, alt efter Tilfældet, i Overeensstemmelse med Statuterne vedtagne af Moder-Selskabet og amenderede mutatis mutandis for det paagjeldende Underselskab.
Jeg forstaaer, at mit Løfte, idet det er enkeltvis lille, er corporativt uhyre; at den indifferente Kjendsgerning af min Afholdelse eller Udførelse hæves, ved Association, til Statussen af et uendelig vigtigt Bidrag til Hovedstadens moralske Liv; og at jeg, ved at indtræde i Underselskabet, ophører, i Medlemskabets Varighed, med i den lovede Sag at være en unyttig Tjener.
Underskrift: _________________ Adresse: _________________ Subscriberet Underselskab: _________________ Indtrædelses-Honorar vedlagt: _________________
Formularer kunne deponeres i Selskabets Lokaler eller sendes pr. Post til Secretairen.
I, the undersigned, of the Capital or its environs, being of good repute and of sound understanding, do hereby pledge to abstain, in respect of the Sub-Society indicated below, from the act, or to perform, in respect of the said Sub-Society, the act, as the case may be, in conformity with the Statutes adopted by the parent Society and amended mutatis mutandis for the Sub-Society in question.
I understand that my pledge, being individually small, is corporately immense; that the indifferent fact of my abstention or performance is raised, by association, to the status of an infinitely important contribution to the moral life of the Capital; and that, in entering the Sub-Society, I cease, for the duration of my membership, to be in the matter pledged an unprofitable servant.
Signed: _________________ Address: _________________ Sub-Society subscribed to: _________________ Entrance fee enclosed: _________________
Forms may be deposited at the Society's rooms or sent by post to the Secretary.
EFTERSKRIFT AF UDGIVEREN
Notabene beder Læseren om Overbærenhed for een afsluttende Reflexion.
Det Bind, han nu har fuldendt, fremlægger et Selskab, en Tale, et Sæt Statuter, en Liste over Funktionærer og en Notits om forestaaende Underselskaber. Det er en usædvanligt fuldstændig Optegnelse af en moralsk Institution paa et særligt Tidspunkt af dens Udvikling. Læseren staaer frit til at subscribere, til at afslaae at subscribere eller til at lægge Bindet til Side og overveie Sagen ikke videre.
Jeg vilde dog henlede Læserens Opmærksomhed paa et enkelt Træk ved, hvad han netop har læst, hvilket jeg ikke har hørt drøftet af Selskabets Funktionærer, og hvilket Talen selv alene berører obliquet. Det er dette. Selskabets Princip — at det Indifferente, optaget ved Association, bliver uendelig vigtigt — har det eiendommelige Træk, at det gjør Handlingens Substans til en Sag af Indifference, medens det gjør Associationens Form til en Sag af Følge. En Mand, der i sin egen Husligheds Privathed er tro mod sin Hustru, ædru ved sit Bord, punctlig ved sine Aftaler, civil paa Gaden, opmærksom i Theatret, regelmæssig i Kirken, sund i sin Søvn og regelmæssig i sin Aandedræt — en saadan Mand er, ved Selskabets Princip, en unyttig Tjener. Den samme Mand, havende underskrevet de passende Løfter og betalt de passende Indtrædelses-Honorarer, er ved samme Princip en moralsk Helt af første Magnitude.
Jeg tilstaar, at jeg finder dette Træk ved Selskabet noget foruroligende. Det forekommer mig — men jeg er ingen lærd Mand, og jeg kan have Uret — at Substansen faktisk er, hvad der betyder, og at Formen faktisk er et Stykke Bogføring, som Substansen udmærket kan undvære. Det forekommer mig fremdeles, at Selskabets Princip, om presset til sin Conclusion, har den Følge, at ingen Handling udført udenfor Selskabet er af nogensomhelst moralsk Følge, medens enhver Handling udført indenfor Selskabet er af uendelig moralsk Følge; saa at Hovedstadens moralske Liv ved Princippets Operation ganske concentreres i Selskabets Bøger, og Befolkningen i det Hele, hvor dydig den end er i Privatheden, efterlades moralsk null. Dette forekommer mig at være en stor Følge at drage af et Løfte angaaende Brændeviin.
Jeg trænger ikke paa Sagen. Selskabet vil fortsætte, Underselskaberne ville blive stiftede, Bindet vil blive subscriberet paa, og i sin Tid vil en anden Aarsdags-Tale blive holdt. Jeg udgiver, hvad der gives mig at udgive; jeg lovgiver ikke for Hovedstadens moralske Liv. Jeg vil tillade mig alene denne ene Bemærkning, som den dannede Læser har Frihed til at afskedige som Sindelaget af en Mand, der, aldrig havende indtraadt i et Selskab, ikke ved Association er bleven hævet til det Standpunkt, hvorfra Bemærkningen vilde fremtræde uforstaaelig: at Evangeliets unyttige Tjener maaskee var en meer brugbar Skikkelse i det moralske Liv, end Selskabet har formodet, og at at afskaffe ham ved den simple Indretning af et Indtrædelses-Honorar maaskee er at tabe meer, end man vinder.
Læseren skal selv dømme. Jeg har gjort mit Embede.
Nicolaus Notabene
Faaes hos Universitetsboghandler C. A. Reitzel. Pris 1 Rdl., hvoraf de 4 Mark tilfalde Selskabets Drifts-Fond.
Subscriptionsformularer paa hvert af Underselskaberne udleveres samtidigt.
Notabene begs the reader's indulgence for one closing reflection.
The volume he has now completed presents a Society, a Speech, a set of Statutes, a roster of officers, and a notice of forthcoming Sub-Societies. It is an unusually complete record of a moral institution at a particular moment of its development. The reader is at liberty to subscribe, to decline to subscribe, or to put the volume aside and consider the matter no further.
I would, however, draw the reader's attention to a single feature of what he has just read, which I have not heard discussed by the Society's officers and which the Speech itself addresses only obliquely. It is this. The Society's principle — that the indifferent, taken up by association, becomes infinitely important — has the curious feature that it makes the substance of the act a matter of indifference, while making the form of the association a matter of consequence. A man who is, in the privacy of his own house, faithful to his wife, sober at his table, punctual at his appointments, civil on the street, attentive at the theatre, regular at church, sound in his sleep, and regular in his breathing — such a man is, by the principle of the Society, an unprofitable servant. The same man, having signed the appropriate pledges and paid the appropriate entrance fees, is by the same principle a moral hero of the first magnitude.
I confess that I find this feature of the Society somewhat disquieting. It seems to me — but I am not a learned man, and I may be wrong — that the substance is in fact what matters, and that the form is in fact a piece of bookkeeping which the substance can perfectly well do without. It seems to me, further, that the Society's principle, if pressed to its conclusion, has the consequence that no act performed outside the Society is of any moral consequence whatever, while every act performed inside the Society is of infinite moral consequence; so that the moral life of the Capital is, by the operation of the principle, entirely concentrated within the Society's books, and the population at large, however virtuous in private, is left morally null. This seems to me a large consequence to draw from a pledge concerning brandy.
I do not press the point. The Society will continue, the Sub-Societies will be founded, the volume will be subscribed for, and in due course a second anniversary speech will be delivered. I publish what is given me to publish; I do not legislate for the moral life of the Capital. I will permit myself only this single observation, which the cultivated reader is at liberty to dismiss as the sentiment of a man who, never having joined a Society, has not been raised by association to the standpoint from which the observation would appear unintelligible: that the unprofitable servant of the Gospel was perhaps a more useful figure in moral life than the Society has supposed, and that to abolish him by the simple device of an entrance fee may be to lose more than one gains.
The reader will judge for himself. I have done my office.
Nicolaus Notabene
Faaes hos Universitetsboghandler C. A. Reitzel. Pris 1 Rdl., hvoraf de 4 Mark tilfalde Selskabets Drifts-Fond.
Subscriptionsformularer paa hvert af Underselskaberne udleveres samtidigt.
Editor’s Introduction
Editor's Introduction
Volume V
Tale holdt for Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet
Address Delivered before the Total Abstinence Society
by MADS FEDDER HENRIKSEN
I. Publication
Tale holdt for Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet paa Selskabets første Aarsdag, den 8de October 1844, af et virksomt Medlem, nu, paa Selskabets ærede Bestyrelses Foranstaltning, udgiven ved Trykken — to give the volume its full title-page — appeared from C. A. Reitzel in April 1845 in an edition of 1,000 copies (Reitzel-arkivet, Kgl. Bibl., NKS 4° 2989-A, fasc. 1844-45, fol. 207v). The volume was priced at one Rigsdaler, of which four Mark accrued to the Society's Drifts-Fond; the price-and-purpose arrangement, unusual for a Reitzel imprint, is documented in a separate sub-folder of the firm's archive (fasc. 1844-45, fol. 207v–209r).
The publication was, by its title page, a corporate undertaking of the Total Abstinence Society of Copenhagen, with Notabene serving only as the supplier of the brief Forord. Modern scholarship has, since Lindhardt (1969), accepted that no such Society existed in the form the volume describes — that the Tale, the Statuter, the Vidnesbyrd, the Bestyrelse, and the Notice of Sub-Societies in Project are all of Notabene's invention — and that the volume is, in the strictest sense, a single-handed literary production presented in the corporate form. The matter is treated at length in Lindhardt (1969, ch. 6) and Holm (2011, ch. 6). The present editor accepts the modern consensus; the apparatus treats the various textual indications by which the corporate fiction was, in 1845, sustained.
The volume's print run was, by the standards of the phantom corpus, modest but well-distributed. The Reitzel records indicate that 624 copies had been disposed of by the close of 1845, of which 312 through the firm's retail channels, 187 through provincial wholesalers, and 125 through a direct arrangement with a Copenhagen temperance-coffee-house on Vesterbro whose proprietor had subscribed to a bulk order. The proprietor's name is given as L. Holmgren; he has not been identified in any other record known to the present editor. The remainder of the print run was sold or distributed in the subsequent decade and the volume was, by 1855, no longer obtainable from the publisher.
II. Reception in Denmark, 1845–1880
The volume received notices in three of the principal organs of the Copenhagen press. The notices, all of them brief, suggest that the volume was understood at the time of publication as a parodic intervention in the contemporary temperance debate rather than as a serious contribution to it. Fædrelandet (no. 1929, 12 May 1845) treats the Tale as "a witty piece of satire upon the Society-fashion of the present hour"; Berlingske Tidende (no. 113, 29 April 1845) commends it as "an entertaining pamphlet in the manner of Holberg's Politiske Kandestøber"; Intelligensbladene (no. 61, 18 April 1845) confines itself to two sentences indicating the volume's existence and price. The temperance press of the period — chiefly Maanedsskrift for Maadehold (1843–47) and Afholdsbladet (1845–49) — does not appear to have noticed the volume at all, a circumstance which Lindhardt (1969, p. 213) reads as a polite refusal to engage.
The volume was reprinted twice in the 1850s — by Reitzel in 1853, and by a small Århus house, F. Storm, in 1858 — and then passed out of print. The 1858 Storm reprint introduces a number of corrections of dialect and orthography (toward the Århusian standard) which are reported in the apparatus but have no further authority.
III. The Linköping reception, 1887–1924
The most remarkable feature of the volume's transmission lies outside Denmark. In 1887, the Linköpings Nykterhetsförening (Linköping Temperance Society), founded 1882 in the Östergötland city of Linköping, Sweden, published a Swedish translation of the Tale under the title Tal hållet vid Total-Afhållsamhets-Sällskapets årsmöte. The translation, attributed in the Linköping printing to Pastor Carl Magnus Ljungberg (1843–1903), the Society's founding chaplain, was prepared from the 1858 Storm reprint (which Ljungberg had acquired during a 1879 study visit to Århus).
The Linköping translation presents a textual situation without parallel in the Notabene corpus. Ljungberg appears to have read the Tale entirely sincerely. His preface to the Linköping printing describes the volume as "ett mästerverk af nykterhetspredikan, som ej kunnat finna sin like i något annat nordiskt språk" ("a masterpiece of temperance preaching, the like of which has not been found in any other Nordic language"); he commends the principle of § 7 — that the indifferent, taken up by association, becomes infinitely important — without irony and presents it as the philosophical foundation of the Linköping Society's own statutes. His translation is, in lexical particulars, careful and substantively accurate; what is missing is the recognition that the Tale is satirical.
The Linköping translation was reprinted six times between 1887 and 1924, in a total run of approximately 4,200 copies; it was distributed throughout the Swedish-speaking temperance movement and was, for some forty years, treated as a Swedish translation of an unjustly neglected Danish classic of the temperance tradition. The Society's archives (Linköpings stadsarkiv, Nykterhetsföreningens akter 1882–1947, vols. III–VII) contain extensive correspondence concerning the volume, in which Ljungberg and his successors discuss its application to Swedish circumstances; the correspondence is uniformly sincere and shows no hint that the satirical character of the text had ever been suspected.
The recognition that the Tale was satirical reached Linköping only with the publication of August Strindberg's Svarta fanor (1907), in which Strindberg — who had read the original Danish during his Copenhagen sojourn — makes a brief reference to "den danske Notabene's totalavhållsamhets-satir" ("the Danish Notabene's total-abstinence satire"). Strindberg's reference led to a small public controversy in the Linköping Society in 1908; the Society's then-chaplain, the elder Ljungberg's son Magnus Carl Ljungberg (1872–1948), defended the translation in a published reply (Linköpings-Tidningen, 14 March 1908), arguing that even if the Danish original had been intended satirically, the Swedish translation — by virtue of having been received sincerely for twenty-one years — had acquired a non-satirical character of its own. The argument is recorded here without further comment.
The Linköping Society ceased publication of the translation in 1924; the controversy by then having subsided.
IV. The third-column apparatus
The present edition reproduces the Linköping translation in a third column on those pages of the present volume where it diverges substantively from the Danish original. The principles of selection are set out in the apparatus introduction. In summary:
- Where the Linköping translation departs from the Danish in a manner that materially alters the sense, the Swedish appears in a third column, with the divergence flagged by a marginal symbol.
- Where the Linköping translation departs from the Danish in matters merely of idiom or stylistic register, the variant is reported in the apparatus footnotes but not in the third column.
- Passages in which the sincerity of Ljungberg's reading is most evident — that is, passages in which the Swedish translation supplies emphases that the Danish original does not authorise — are flagged in the apparatus with the indication cf. Ljungberg ad loc.
The reader will find that the third column is most active in the speech proper (the Tale itself) and least active in the Statuter, where Ljungberg's translation is essentially mechanical. The Vidnesbyrd fall midway; Ljungberg's renderings of the testimonials show some indications that he sympathised particularly with the testimony of the retired non-commissioned officer (Vol. V, Vidnesbyrd, p. 17 of the present edition).
The Linköping translation's full text is given in Appendix B for those readers who wish to consult it in continuous form rather than in the parallel column treatment.
V. The status of the "Sub-Societies"
The Notice of Sub-Societies in Project (pp. 41–57 of the present edition) presents the present editor with a textual problem. The seven Sub-Societies described in the Notice — Selskab for ægteskabelig Troskab, Selskab for punctlig Møde-Tid, Selskab for civil Hilsen paa Strøget, Selskab for stille Adfærd i Theatret, Selskab for regelmæssig Kirkegang, Selskab for uafbrudt Søvn om Natten, Selskab for regelmæssig Aandedræt — are, in the first printing of 1845, presented in summary form only, with the Draft Statutes for each Sub-Society indicated as "to be adopted at the next general assembly."
The full draft statutes of the present edition (pp. 42–57) are not in the 1845 first printing. They appear, for the first time, in the 1853 Reitzel reprint, where they are introduced by an editorial note (signed "the Bestyrelse") indicating that the statutes have been "adopted at the General Assembly of 12 May 1846 and are here printed for the first time in conjunction with the Tale to which they belong." The 1853 statutes are, on internal evidence (lexical, syntactic, and rhythmic), unmistakably from Notabene's own hand; the editorial note is therefore part of the corporate fiction.
The present edition prints the full statutes from the 1853 reprint, with the 1845 summary forms reported in the apparatus as the earlier state. The reader will note that the seventh Sub-Society's statutes (the Selskab for regelmæssig Aandedræt) contain, in their § 4 (Memorial Register clause), an internal reference to the death of a member; the reference's biographical bearing, if any, is treated in the apparatus.
VI. Editorial principles for the present edition
The text is based on the 1845 first printing (witness A; Kgl. Bibl., 17,-203 8°), with substantive matter from the 1853 Reitzel reprint (witness B) incorporated where it represents Notabene's continued authorial activity rather than later editorial intervention; the 1858 Storm reprint (witness C) is reported only where its variants are substantive. The Linköping 1887 translation (witness L) is treated in a parallel column where it materially diverges, per § IV above.
The Danish facing-page text retains the orthography and punctuation of witness A, with the 1853 additions in their 1853 orthography (a small inconsistency the present editor has retained as a textual signal of the layered composition). The English facing-page text is a new translation. Ljungberg's Swedish appears in its 1887 orthography, save for a small number of obvious printing errors silently corrected (a list of which is appended to the apparatus to Appendix B).
— M.F.H. Forskningscentret, December 2024
Textual Apparatus
Textual Apparatus
Volume V — Tale for Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet
Selected Notes
Model spread; the full apparatus is in the electronic edition at `forskningscentret.ku.dk/notabene/v`.
Conventions
Sigla:
— A. Tale holdt for Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet paa Selskabets første Aarsdag, den 8de October 1844, af et virksomt Medlem. Kjøbenhavn: C. A. Reitzel, April 1845. First printing of 1,000 copies. Textual basis: Kgl. Bibl., 17,-203 8°.
— B. Tale...med Tillæg. Kjøbenhavn: C. A. Reitzel, 1853. Reissue containing, in addition to the matter of A, the Draft Statutes for each of the seven Sub-Societies — twenty-eight pages of new material introduced by an editorial note "signed" by the Bestyrelse, but in fact in Notabene's hand. The 1853 statutes are the principal substantive addition to the volume between first publication and Notabene's death; they are accepted by all modern scholarship as authorial. The present edition prints the 1853 statutes integrated into the body of the volume (pp. 42–57); the 1845 summary forms of the sub-society notices, which the 1853 statutes superseded, are reported in the apparatus as the earlier state.
— C. Tale, med Forklaringer ved en Provst. Århus: F. Storm, 1858. Provincial reprint with brief introductory notes by an Århus provost (P. M. Jacobsen, 1801–1872). Storm's reprint takes its body text from A, not B; the 1853 statutes are accordingly absent. C is reported in the apparatus only at points of substantive divergence from A; minor dialect-toward-Århusian-standard adjustments are not reported.
— L (Linköping witness). Tal hållet vid Total-Afhållsamhets-Sällskapets årsmöte. Translated and edited by Pastor Carl Magnus Ljungberg. Linköping: Linköpings Nykterhetsförening, 1887. Six impressions 1887–1924; total run approximately 4,200 copies. Ljungberg's translation is the principal Swedish reception of the volume; it is treated by the present apparatus not as a translation-witness in the ordinary sense but as a sincere-reception witness — that is, a document of the volume's reception as a non-satirical work, which the present edition records in a third column on the body pages where it materially differs from the Danish original. The principles of the third-column treatment are set out in § IV of the General Editor's Introduction to the present volume.
— M. Notabene-arkivet, Kgl. Bibl., NKS 4° 3204, fascicle 9 ("Talen og Underselskaberne"). Fourteen leaves in Notabene's hand, comprising: (1) the Tale in fair copy, 1844; (2) drafts of the Statuter; (3) drafts of the seven Sub-Society statutes, dated 1846–1852, in successive states. M's principal bearing on the 1845 A is in the Tale and Statuter; M's principal bearing on the 1853 B is in the Sub-Society statutes. The relation of M to the printed texts is treated in the apparatus to the relevant sections below.
— No Anglophone or German translation of Vol. V exists before the present edition. The principal modern reception in English has been through citation in the broader Kierkegaardian literature; no full translation has been attempted.
Notabene's Note to the Reader
General note. The opening Note to the Reader of Vol. V is one of two places in the corpus (the other is Vol. II's Forord) where Notabene presents himself as publisher only — that is, as the editor of a volume whose principal text he has not composed. The fictional posture has been the subject of considerable scholarly attention; the modern consensus, established with Lindhardt (1969) and confirmed throughout the subsequent literature, is that the entire Vol. V — including the Tale itself, the Statuter, the Vidnesbyrd, the officers' bios, and the projected Sub-Society notices — is of Notabene's own composition. The Total Abstinence Society of Vol. V's framing fiction did not, as a historical institution, exist; the corporate apparatus is wholly invented.
The textual situation of the Note to the Reader is simple: A, B, C agree; M (fol. 1r–2v) preserves a draft in close agreement with A. The Linköping translation (L) renders the Note into Swedish faithfully but its title-page treats Ljungberg, the translator, as if he were the original editor; the Note's description of Notabene as the volume's editor is silently replaced in L by reference to "den lärde redaktören" (the learned editor) without naming Notabene at all. The substitution is reported in the third-column apparatus.
Note 4. the two sentiments ] A: de to Følelser. — Notabene's declared division of his own response into "sympathy" (for the Society's aim) and "something else" (for the Society's form) is the principal rhetorical move of the Note and the place at which the volume's satirical strategy is set out at greatest clarity. The "something else" Notabene declines to name is the satirical posture itself; the declination has been read by Pattison (2014, p. 134) as the volume's most explicit acknowledgement of its own form. — The same two-fold division appears, with minor variation, in M (fol. 1v, lines 5–8) and is therefore not a late addition; Notabene appears to have planned the rhetorical structure of the Note from the earliest drafts.
Note 11. that the form, if I am not mistaken, would be willing to take up almost any matter at all ] A: at Formen, hvis jeg ikke tager Feil, vilde være villig til at tage næsten enhver Sag op. — The phrase introduces the principal critical claim of Vol. V: that the Society-form of the contemporary Danish public life has, by its operational tendency, no determinate moral object but is rather a mechanism for elevating the indifferent into the corporate. The claim is developed at length in the Tale itself (cf. § Tale.7 and following) and is the conceptual nerve of the projected Sub-Societies (§§ I–VII of the Notice). The Linköping translation (L) renders the passage faithfully but, by virtue of L's sincere-reception posture, reads it as a positive claim — that is, as Ljungberg understood the principle, the Society's form is indeed "able to take up any matter at all" in the constructive sense of moral expansion, not in the satirical sense Notabene intended. The divergence is the first major instance of the third-column situation that will recur throughout L.
Note 17. the author has consented to the publication on condition that his name be withheld ] A: Forfatteren har givet sit Samtykke til Udgivelsen paa Betingelse af at hans Navn tilbageholdes. — The fictional anonymity of the Tale's author within Notabene's framing is one of the principal fictional layerings of Vol. V: the Tale is by an unnamed "active member" of an unnamed Society; Notabene is the editor of this anonymous text; the entire apparatus is of Notabene's own composition. The fiction has, in M, an interesting earlier state: M (fol. 2r, lines 14–17) supplies a draft naming the author as "Hr. Justitsraad N. L. Westergaard," who in the M draft has consented to publication only on condition of anonymity. The Justitsraad-Westergaard name is in A omitted entirely; the anonymity is unqualified. — Justitsraad Westergaard was the historical Niels Ludvig Westergaard (1815–1878), Orientalist and from 1845 professor at the University of Copenhagen, who in 1844–45 had become a public figure in connection with his Indian researches; the M's attribution of the Tale to Westergaard appears to be a piece of Notabenian fictional play that A removed, presumably to avoid even the appearance of identifying a real person as the author.
Talen — The Address
General note. The Tale proper, in A printed on pp. 7–25 of the present edition, is the volume's principal literary text and the place at which the satirical critique of the Society-form is developed at greatest length. The textual situation of the Tale is straightforward: A, B, C agree throughout; M (fols. 3r–8v) preserves a fair copy with substantive minor variants reported below. L follows A's text closely; the third-column apparatus is most active in the Tale (more so than in the Note or the Statuter), with substantive divergences at thirty-seven points.
Tale.3. Esteemed President, esteemed Bestyrelse, fellow-members of the Total Abstinence Society ] A: Høistærede Hr. Præsident, ærede Bestyrelse, Medlemmer af Total-Afholdenheds-Selskabet. L: Aktade herr ordförande, ärade styrelse, medlemmar av Total-Afhållsamhets-Sällskapet. — L's rendering is, throughout the Tale's formulaic addresses, faithful to A; the Swedish appears as a faithful transposition of the Danish formal register into the Swedish equivalent. The third-column apparatus reports L only where it materially diverges from the literal sense of A; the formulaic addresses, where L is faithful, are not reported.
Tale.7. the proposition that a man who does his duty is an unprofitable servant ] A: Sætningen at en Mand der gjør sin Pligt er en unyttig Tjener. L: identical (translated en onyttig tjänare). — The biblical reference is to Luke 17:10 ("når I have gjort alt det, som eder var befalet, da siger: Vi ere unyttige Tjenere"). Notabene's citation is one of two direct biblical citations in the entire phantom corpus (the other is the Hebrews 4:15 citation in Smaastykker § 10); the citation is critical to the Tale's argument. — Ljungberg's Linköping translation renders the citation faithfully and, in his preface to L, draws attention to it as "denna djupa skrift, som vilar på den evangeliska grunden" ("this profound writing, which rests on the evangelical foundation"). The Ljungberg gloss is the most direct evidence of Ljungberg's sincere reception of the Tale: he reads Luke 17:10 as Notabene's foundational text rather than as the target of Notabene's polemic. — Holm (2011, pp. 142–43) treats Ljungberg's reception of Tale.7 as "the single most decisive piece of evidence for the depth of his misreading."
Tale.11. the merely indifferent has been made, by association, into the merely indispensable ] A: det blot Ligegyldige er, ved Association, blevet til det blot Uundværlige. M (fol. 5r, lines 9–11) reads: det blot Ligegyldige er, ved Association, blevet til det Uundværlige (the blot before Uundværlige absent). — The A addition of the second blot (merely) heightens the rhetorical inversion: M's "indifferent become indispensable" is a categorical reversal, while A's "merely indifferent become merely indispensable" is a more pointed parallelism. The addition is consistent with Notabene's broader practice of polishing toward greater rhetorical precision between draft and print; see the parallel at Vol. I, Anhang B 4 (where a similar polishing-addition is noted).
Tale.18. the Selskab for ægteskabelig Troskab ] A: Selskabet for ægteskabelig Troskab. L: Sällskapet för äktenskaplig trohet (faithful). — The first introduction in the Tale of the seven Sub-Societies. The Sub-Society for Marital Fidelity is, on present scholarly opinion (Lindhardt 1969, p. 217; Holm 2011, p. 144), the most clearly Notabene-biographical of the seven — that is, the Sub-Society whose constituent fiction has the closest relation to Notabene's own marital situation. The biographical relation is treated at length in Holm 2011 and in Vibskov 1958; the present apparatus reports it without proposing a settlement of the question whether the Sub-Society's particular fiction was prompted by Notabene's marriage or whether the marriage prompted the volume more broadly. — Ljungberg's rendering at L is faithful; the Linköping Sub-Society for Marital Fidelity was, in the event, the second of the Linköping reading-society's projected sub-organisations, established in 1894 on Ljungberg's recommendation and surviving in operation until 1923 (Linköpings stadsarkiv, Nykterhetsföreningens akter*, vol. VIII, fols. 67r–82v).
Tale.24. Let us be drunk, fellow-members — let us be drunk, I say, with the enthusiasm of our cause ] A: Lader os være drukne, Medlemmer — lader os være drukne, siger jeg, af vor Sags Begeistring. — The closing rhetorical flourish of the Tale deploys the language of drunkenness (the very vice against which the Society is constituted) for the corporate enthusiasm the Society generates; the figure is the Tale's most pointed satirical move. — L renders the figure faithfully (Låt oss vara berusade...av vår saks entusiasm). Ljungberg's preface, however, glosses the figure as a "helig berusning" ("holy drunkenness") in the Pauline sense (cf. Eph. 5:18) and treats it as the Tale's "mest ödmjuka och rörande passage" ("most humble and moving passage"). The Pauline gloss has no warrant in the Danish text and is one of the principal evidences of Ljungberg's mode of reading.
Statuter — The Statutes of the Society
General note. The Statuter (pp. 26–41 of the present edition) are, in their A form, nine paragraphs of formal society-statutes setting out membership, pledge, lapse procedures, officers, and operational rules. The textual situation is straightforward: A, B, C agree throughout; M (fols. 9r–11v) preserves drafts in close agreement with A. L renders the Statutes faithfully and without third-column divergence; the Statuter's formal-legal register translates between Danish and Swedish without semantic loss.
The principal scholarly interest of the Statuter is § 7, which sets out the principle of Sub-Society constitution and is the conceptual nerve of the entire volume. § 7's textual situation merits the entry below.
Statuter § 7. the indifferent, taken up by association, becomes infinitely important ] A: det Ligegyldige, optaget i Association, bliver uendeligt vigtigt. M (fol. 10v, lines 7–8) reads: det Ligegyldige, optaget i Foreningens Form, bliver uendeligt vigtigt ("the indifferent, taken up in the form of the association, becomes infinitely important"). — The substitution between M and A removes the explicit reference to "the form" of association; A's version simplifies to "association" alone. The substitution has been read by Holm (2011, p. 147) as a deliberate generalisation: M restricts the principle to Foreningens Form (the specific form of associations); A extends it to association simpliciter. The extension permits the broader application that the seven Sub-Society notices will subsequently make — extending the principle from temperance associations to marital fidelity, punctuality, theatre-attendance, breathing, etc. — that the M restriction would not have permitted.
Statuter § 7, fine print. No amendment may impair the principle stated in § 7 ] A: Ingen Ændring maa svække den i § 7 udtalte Grundsætning. — The statutory protection of § 7 against amendment makes the principle, by the volume's own statute, unrevisable by the Society's own democratic procedure. The unrevisability has been read variously: as the volume's deepest joke (Lindhardt 1969, p. 220 — the Society cannot, by its own statute, give up the principle that grounds its existence); as a quiet acknowledgement of the principle's questionable foundation (Holm 2011, p. 148 — Notabene knew the principle could not survive serious scrutiny and so protected it against amendment); as a structural anticipation of the closed-up-ness doctrine that Vol. VII § 12 will develop (Pattison 2014, p. 138 — § 7 is the corporate form's Indesluttethed). The present editor reports the readings and notes that the three are not mutually exclusive.
Vidnesbyrd af Medlemmer — Testimonials
General note. The eleven testimonials of the Vidnesbyrd (pp. 45–59 of the present edition; A printed six in 1845 and five further were added in B's 1853 reissue) are the most personal documents in Vol. V and the place at which the volume's satirical machinery comes into closest contact with non-satirical material. The textual situation is mixed: of the eleven, six (the artisan, the clerk, the widow, the candidate, the young woman, the retired non-commissioned officer) are present in A and were drafted in M (fols. 12r–13v); the further five (the Pastor of the rural districts, the young man unidentified, the Bishop, and two others) appear only in B 1853 and were drafted in M's late additions (fols. 14r–14v, dated by Notabene at the head of the leaves: "Foraaret 1852").
The principal interpretive question of the Vidnesbyrd concerns the Bishop's testimony (Vidn. 10 of the present edition; Tale-Tilskudd nr. 5 in B): the testimony's declined invitation to address the Society "on grounds which I would prefer not to set forth in the present testimony" has been variously read.
Vidn. 4 (the testimony of the candidate in theology). The principle laid down in § 7 of the Statutes appears to me to be of such philosophical interest that I have undertaken, for the next general assembly, a paper upon its relation to the speculative thought of our age ] A: identical. M (fol. 12v): identical. — The candidate's testimony has been read by Lindhardt (1969, p. 221) as a self-reference: Notabene himself, in writing the testimony, is the candidate whose paper on the principle "will be deferred until the paper has been delivered"; the paper is, of course, the present Tale. The reading is consistent with the broader recursive structure of Vol. V (the volume is the corporate publication of a Society which exists only in the volume; the volume's testimonials are by members of the Society who exist only in the volume).
Vidn. 10 (the Bishop's testimony). I have, after consideration, declined the invitation, on grounds which I would prefer not to set forth in the present testimony ] B: Jeg har, efter Overvejelse, afslaaet Indbydelsen, paa Grunde som jeg foretrækker ikke at fremsætte i nærværende Vidnesbyrd. M (fol. 14r, lines 6–9): identical. — The Bishop's testimony, added in B 1853, has been the subject of more scholarly attention than any other passage in Vol. V outside § 7 of the Statutes. The principal reading, established with Vibskov (1958, p. 197) and accepted by all subsequent scholarship, is that the grounds the Bishop declines to specify are the recognition that the Society is satirically constituted: a Bishop who recognised the satire would, of course, decline to lend his episcopal endorsement, but could not, in 1853, publicly identify the volume as satirical without giving offence to the (real or imagined) members of the (real or imagined) Society. The Bishop's declination is therefore the positive counterpart of Ljungberg's sincere reception: where Ljungberg reads the volume as earnest and acts accordingly, the Bishop reads it as satirical and acts accordingly, and the Statuter's § 7 is thereby — by exactly the structure the Statuter's own principle would predict — preserved against either acceptance or refutation.
The Sub-Society Statutes (1853 addition, B)
General note. The seven Sub-Society statutes, added in B 1853, are the principal substantive addition between A and B and the volume's most extensive elaboration of § 7's principle. M (fol. 11r–13v, datable to 1846–1852 by internal references) preserves drafts of all seven in successive states. The B 1853 printed forms agree, in the main, with the latest M drafts; substantive variants are reported in the apparatus.
The seven sub-societies represent a deliberate sequence of escalating absurdity: marital fidelity → punctuality → civil greeting → theatre quiet → church attendance → uninterrupted sleep → regular breathing. The escalation has been read as Notabene's reductio of § 7's principle: as the principle is extended to indifferent acts of decreasing salience (from the moral marital fidelity to the biological respiration), the principle's structural absurdity is exposed by the extension itself. — The B 1853 editorial note "signed" by the Bestyrelse acknowledges the sequence: "det maa indrømmes, at den syvende Underforening i sin Idee næsten ophæver Selskabets Princip" ("it must be acknowledged that the seventh Sub-Society, in its idea, almost dissolves the Society's principle"). The acknowledgement is, of course, in Notabene's hand; the Bestyrelse's self-acknowledgement of the reductio is the volume's most pointed irony.
*§ VII (the Selskab for regelmæssig Aandedræt) § 1. the act in question is performed by all inhabitants of the Capital irrespective of membership; this fact is regarded not as an obstacle but as a confirmation of the principle of § 7 ] B: identical. M (fol. 13v, lines 14–17): identical. — The seventh Sub-Society's statutes are the volume's structural climax. The principle § 7 of the parent Statutes, applied to respiration, becomes a principle "infinitely extending to acts performed by all inhabitants of the Capital irrespective of membership" — that is, to acts in which membership in the Society is irrelevant to the act, and the act is therefore in no meaningful sense an act of the Society. The Cancelliraad's recorded reservation* (B p. 56) — that the Sub-Society "renders the principle of § 7 of the parent Statutes susceptible to a reductio at the hands of the Sub-Society's critics" — is the volume's most explicit acknowledgement of the principle's underlying instability. The Bestyrelse's reply that "the susceptibility to reductio is in fact a property the principle of § 7 has possessed from its first formulation" is the volume's last word on the matter.
The complete apparatus to Vol. V addresses all sections in comparable detail, with particular attention to the Bestyrelse bios (where the historical-fictional question — whether any of the named officers were real Copenhagen citizens of 1844-45 — is treated at length) and the Standing Prayer of the Chaplain (which preserves the volume's only direct liturgical pastiche). The Ljungberg third-column apparatus is most active in the Tale and in the Vidnesbyrd; the Statuter and the Sub-Society statutes translate between Danish and Swedish with minimal substantive divergence. The full electronic apparatus supplies the secondary apparatus of typographical and minor variants which the printed edition does not report.
— M. F. H. Forskningscentret, December 2024