Ludwig F. Clauss: Racial Style, Racial Character (Part II)
Continuing from Part I with a translation of parts of the third edition (1943) of Rasse und Seele, by Ludwig F. Clauss.
“To each according to his kind, to each according to his style”
The movement of the body is the expression of the movement of the soul. This can best be seen in the interplay of facial muscles and in the gestures of the arms and hands with which the speaker accompanies his speech. Why is he moving his hands in such a way and why not differently? Because the special way of his spiritual alertness will also determine the way his hands move. The style of spiritual movement determines the style of the bodily movement.
Here is a little example from day to day life that illuminates this matter. Who is more gifted to drive a motor vehicle, the Nordic man or the Mediterranean man? This question is also meaningless. Neither “the” Nordic man is endowed with this or that, nor is “the” Mediterranean man. There are many individuals of both races who are gifted to drive a car. If that’s the case, then the Nordics do that in a Nordic way and it is precisely by this that they are recognizable as Nordics.
The same goes for the Mediterranean who does it in the Mediterranean way. And it is precisely by this that he can be recognized. And this is how these two styles differ. The Mediterranean driver is the master of the moment: he is always there, always in perfect instantaneity. He drives with an abrupt change at lightning speed and at a sharp curve he yields and slams on the brakes with instantaneous effect — the more dangerous the driving, the more impressive is his game. At this stage the Nordic man is not comparable—not because he is a bad driver, but because the laws of his mental and physical movement compel him to a different driving style. Read more