"This is freedom. It is a winter thing, unbearable for long. And one must constantly move in it, as we are doing now. In freedom, one must dance, for it is cold and beautiful. But do not fall in love with it, for this will sadden you greatly later, since one is only in the realms of freedom for moments, no more. And we have already passed that point. Look at the magnificent slope we are skiing on, how it is slowly melting away. Now you can see freedom dying, when you open your eyes. In the days to come, this heart-wrenching sight will be your lot many times over." **** * Walzer treats language in this novel with the same reverence one shows a dear and close friend. Hermann Hesse "Jakob von Gunten" contains a kind of parody of the traditional didactic novel. Christopher Middleton