Alexander William Kinglake: Eothen. Traces of Travel Brought Home from the East (1844) und Murad Efendi: Türkische Skizzen. Erster Band. Türkische Fahrten (1877)
Kinglake, Alexander William: Eothen: Traces of Travel Brought Home from the East (1844) At Semlin I still was encompassed by the scenes and the sounds of familiar life; the din of a busy world still vexed and cheered me; the unveiled faces of women still shone in the light of day. Yet, whenever I chose to look southward, I saw the Ottoman’s fortress—austere, and darkly impending high over the vale of the Danube—historic Belgrade. I had come, as it were, to the end of this wheel-going Europe, and now my eyes would see the splendor and havoc of the East. [...]
The call of light, of beauty and daring has brought us here today to this Assembly, to bestow upon us the joy of friendship, of inspiration and discovery, to elevate our thoughts and strivings more purely and boldly towards the world of the beautiful. The Universe has been created according to the laws of beauty, and it is according to the laws of beauty that mankind is called upon to live. The imperative of evolution, the inevitability of development, the necessity for perfection keep the fire of life forever burning. It burns up and destroys the old, clears the way for the new, elevates and in ascending the steps towards perfection asserts new forms of life that have more brightly embraced the light and exist in consonance and harmony with the whole – a flaming bird, a Phoenix, which rises from its own ashes again and again, more beautiful and fiery, striving towards the future.