THE ORIGIN OF THE WORK OF ART
source of one's own being. In the struggle, each opponent carries the other beyond itself. As a consequence, the strife becomes ever more intense as striving, and ever more authentically what it is. The more intransigently the strife outdoes itself on its own part, the more uncompromisingly do the opponents admit themselves into the intimacy of their simple belonging to one another. The earth cannot do without the openness of world if it is to appear in the liberating surge of its self-closedness. World, on the other hand, cannot float away from the earth if, as the prevailing breadth and path of all essential destiny, it is to ground itself on something decisive.
In setting up world and setting forth earth the work instigates this strife. But this does not happen so that the work can simultaneously terminate and settle the conflict in an insipid agreement, but rather so that the strife remains a strife. By setting up a world and setting forth the earth, the work accomplishes this strife. The work-being of the work consists in fighting the fight between world and earth. It is because the strife reaches its peak in the simplicity of intimacy that the unity of the work happens in the fighting of the fight. The fighting of the fight is the continually self-surpassing gathering of the agitation of the work. The repose of the work that rests in itself thus has its essence in the intimacy of the struggle.
It is from out of this repose of the work that we are first able to see what is at work in the work. Until now the assertion that truth is set to work in the artwork has remained a merely provisional one. In what way does truth happen in the artwork, i.e., now, in what way docs truth happen in the fighting of the fight between world and earth? What is truth? How meager and truncated is our knowledge of the essence of truth is shown by the thoughtlessness with which we use this fundamental word. Mostly, we use "truth" to mean this or that particular truth. It means, in other words, something that is true. A piece of knowledge, articulated in a statement is an example of this kind of thing. It is not merely statements, however, but also things that we call "true" — true as opposed to fake gold. "True," here, is equivalent to "genuine" or "real" gold. What docs this talk of "reality" mean? To us it means that which, in truth, is. That which is true is what corresponds to reality, and reality is that which, in truth, is. Once again the circle has closed. [37]
What docs "in truth" mean? "Truth is the essence of what is true. What is it we are thinking of in speaking of "essence"? Usually, it is that common thing in which everything that is true agrees. An essence is discovered in generic and universal concepts which represent the one that holds indifferently for
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