1913 Archives - The Libertarian Labyrinth

Francis Vergas, “My Anarchism” (1913)

June 1, 2020 Shawn P. Wilbur

Mon Anarchisme J’aime la liberté, l’indépendance ; je veux agir selon ma fantaisie, à ma guise; m’insoucier du sifflet de l’usine comme des reproches du contremaitre ; me libérer de la crainte de ne pas satisfaire aux exigences d’un patron comme du souci d’être mal servi par des employés; ne connaître ni le ton arrogant du maître ni la mine obséquieuse du valet; ne me courber devant personne, car je suis orgueilleux, fier et ne connait rien qui me soit supérieur. Ni m’associer avec des esclaves en vue de leur exploitation: il me faudrait compter avec leur force, discuter le […]

E. Armand, “Because I Consider You To Be Mine” (1913)

May 8, 2020 Shawn P. Wilbur

Parce que je te considère comme mien. Parce que je te considère comme mien, je m’intéresse à toi. Parce que je sais que je puis compter sur toi dans les heures difficiles, ou sur tes caresses quand parlent mes sens, ou sur ton savoir quand mes propres lumières défaillent, ou sur ton appui matériel quand je me trouve à bout de ressources, ou sur la sympathie quand je m’embarque dans quelque aventure de ton goût. Parce que tu es ma propriété. Parce que tu m’appartiens et que je puis faire fond sur cette possession. Parce que toi aussi tu me […]

E. Armand, “Rêve païen / Pagan Dream” (1913)

May 8, 2020 Shawn P. Wilbur

Rêve païen Aimant la vie, aimant l’amour, aimant Ia chair, Il m’arrive parfois, remontant des années Le cours lointain, de voir, en mon rêve, une mer D’azur comme le ciel, et des rives baignées D’une lumière ardente et limpide. À Vénus, Un temple consacré décore une colline, Tout proche, et dans un bois d’oliviers dansent nus, Lascifs, de Pan des fils et des filles… Divine, La brise douce exhale et sème le désir. La volupté m’entoure et je me sens comme ivre… O coupe qui jamais ne s’épuise… Saisir D’une femme le corps qui palpite et se livre, L’étreindre, l’enserrer, […]

Arturo M. Giovannitti, “Syndicalism—The Creed of Force” (1913)

August 7, 2019 Shawn P. Wilbur

Syndicalism—The Creed of Force BY ARTURO M. GIOVANNITTI “As a revolutionary organization the Industrial Workers of the World, aims to use any and all tactics that will get the results sought with the least expenditure of time and energy. The question of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ does not concern us.” To interpret this statement from Andre Tridon’s “The New Unionism” we asked Mr. Giovanitti, as a leader in the I. W. W., to express his personal views on the ethics of industrial unionism. Born in Campobasso, Italy, he has been a coal miner in Canada, a student at Union Theological […]

Juan Francisco Moncaleano, “Historia del Primer Anarquista” (1913) (ES/EN)

November 1, 2018 Shawn P. Wilbur

[one_half padding=”0 10px 0 0px”] Historia del Primer Anarquista La noche era negra, el viento azotaba furiosamente las puertas y ventanas de los soberbios palacios, las nubes vomitaban agua las explosiones del cielo en tempestad, alumbraban mi camino, las últimas tabernas cerraban su hediondas bocas, y los pordioseros buscaban un refugio seguro contra las inclemencias de la noche. Anheloso de llegar á mi casa apuraba el paso, cuando de un obscuro callejón salio un hombre á mi encuentro,—Salud camarada—dijo acercándose á mi. Salud, le respondí, un tanto inquieto por este inesperado encuentro. Dos explosiones del cielo alumbraron detalladamente al personaje, […]

Ricardo Mella, “The Uselessness of the Laws” (1910, 1913)

September 13, 2018 Shawn P. Wilbur

[one_half padding=”0 10px 0 0px”] INUTILIDAD DE LAS LEYES Quien dice ley, dice limitación; quien dice limitación, dice falta de libertad. Esto es axiomático. Los que fían a la reforma de las leyes el mejoramiento de la vida y pretenden por ese medio un aumento de libertad, carecen de lógica o mienten lo que no creen. Porque una ley nueva destruye otra ley vieja. Destruye, pues, unos límites viejos, pero crea otros límites nuevos. Y así, las leyes son siempre traba al libre desenvolvimiento de las actividades, de las ideas y de los sentimientos humanos. Es, por tanto, un error, […]

Ricardo Mella, “Beyond the Ideal” (1913)

September 10, 2018 Shawn P. Wilbur

Believe, fight and cling to the dead cult—all the believers do the same. It doesn’t matter whether the idol is made of clay, bronze or meat. It doesn’t matter whether it is dissolved in the mental haze or in the whirlwind of passion. For the ideal, first living and then dead, the inhuman law of sacrifice is fulfilled. … Do not strip away their illusion, their precious illusion. They will defend themselves like lions, tear at you like panthers, howl like hyenas. There is no animal more fierce than the believer.

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Jay Fox, “Voltairine de Cleyre” (1923)

July 31, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur

VOLTAIRINE DE CLEYRE. (Report of Speech at Voltairine de Cleyre Memorial Meeting.) Coming to this meeting I rode with a green conductor, a young man who was probably making his lirst trip, and I was struck by his awkwardness in performing apparently so simple a task and by his efforts to conceal the fact of his amateurishness. He fumbled the change, got the transfers mixed, forgot to pull the bell—and all the time he chewed gum and tried to act like a veteran. He tried to deceive us and put on a bold front in spite of all the evidence […]

Voltairine de Cleyre, “A Memorial Oration” (1913)

July 31, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur

A Memorial Oration [November 11, 1901] Let me begin with a confession. I make it sorrowfully and with self-disgust; but in the presence of great sacrifice we learn humility, and if my comrades could give their lives for their belief, why let me give my pride. Yet I would not give it, for personal utterance is of trifling importance, were it not that I think at this particular season, it will encourage those of our sympathizers whom the recent outburst of Savagery may have disheartened, and perhaps lead some who are standing where I once stood to do as I […]

Joseph Kucera , “Voltairine de Cleyre” (1913)

July 31, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur

Voltairine de Cleyre (A Character Sketch) To meet an Intellectual face to face; to shake hands with the individual who champions our unpopular cause in poems, in prose and from the platform; to come in physical contact, through this handshake, with a person whom I admire from the distance; to see her really alive, and to see if she really corresponds with the picture I painted of her in my mind—that was the wish of many an Anarchist in regard to Voltairine de Cleyre. But as a rule he was disappointed when he met her. Disappointed, because in her presence […]