“I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by 'arisch'. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects. … But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people. … I have been accustomed, nonetheless, to regard my German name with pride, and continued to do so throughout the period of the late regrettable war, in which I served in the English army. I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride.”

One of two draft letters (25 July, 1938) written for Stanley Unwin to select as a response to his German publishers inquiry about his ancestry. The other letter refused to answer altogether on his ancestry; since the quoted letter persists, it seems that the other letter was sent.
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by 'arisch'. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as …" by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien?
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien photo
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien 78
British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy … 1892–1973

Related quotes

Santiago Martínez Delgado photo

“I am not my self, I am the result of all my ancestors.”

Santiago Martínez Delgado (1906–1954) Colombian Muralist, Painter and Illstrator

"Leonor Concha SMD Collection" Santiago Martínez Delgado Papers, Periódico la Patria de Cartagena p. 3 - Palabras de Martínez

Albert Einstein photo

“I am neither a German citizen, nor do I believe in anything that can be described as a "Jewish faith." But I am a Jew and glad to belong to the Jewish people, though I do not regard it in any way as chosen.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Letter to Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, 3 [5] April 1920, as quoted in Alice Calaprice, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein (2010), p. 195; citing Israelitisches Wochenblatt, 42 September 1920, The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 7, Doc. 37, and Vol. 9, Doc 368.<!-- obviously, parts of this can be taken out of context -->
1920s

Jerry Herman photo

“I am what I am
I am my own special creation
So come take a look
Give me the hook or the ovation
It's my world that I want to have a little pride in
My world and it's not a place I have to hide in
Life's not worth a damn till you can say
Hey world I am what I am.”

Jerry Herman (1931–2019) American composer and lyricist

"I Am What I Am," from La Cage aux Folles (1983) http://www.bassey.co.uk/blog/shirley_bassey/2006_08_07_peggyblog.html

Jorge Luis Borges photo

“I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities that I have visited, all my ancestors.”

Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, and a key figure in Spanish language literature

No estoy seguro de que yo exista, en realidad. Soy todos los autores que he leído, toda la gente que he conocido, todas las mujeres que he amado. Todas las ciudades que he visitado, todos mis antepasados...
Source: El Pais, 1981 http://elpais.com/diario/1981/09/26/ultima/370303206_850215.html; translation: The Guardian, 2008 http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/10/jorgeluisborges

“I am no What! I am only I …
In relation to you!”

Frederick Franck (1909–2006) Dutch painter

Source: Echoes from the Bottomless Well (1985), p. 40
Context: "What are you?"
— I am no What! I am only I …
In relation to you!

Alan Cumming photo
Mark Twain photo

“I am only human, although I regret it.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist
Jean-Andoche Junot photo

“Translated: Ah, my faith! I know nothing about it; I am my own ancestor.”

Jean-Andoche Junot (1771–1813) French general

Ah, ma foi! Je n'en sais rien. Moi je suis mon ancêtre.
When needled about his lack of noble ancestry, recounted in Sydney Smith, Saba Holland, A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith (1855), p. 245. Compare: "Curtius Rufus seems to me to be descended from himself", Tacitus recounting a saying of Tiberius, Annals, book xi. c. xxi. 16.; "To Harmodius, descended from the ancient Harmodius, when he reviled Iphicrates [a shoemaker’s son] for his mean birth, 'My nobility,' said he, 'begins in me, but yours ends in you'", Plutarch Apophthegms of Kings and Great Commanders, Iphicrates (rejected by some critics as not a genuine work of Plutarch).

“I have made it absolutely clear throughout my political career that as a Christian I am not a racist in any shape or form.”

David Rowlands (1947–2014) British civil servant

Source: New Brexit Party AM calls Tommy Robinson 'courageous' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-48295617 BBC News (16 May 2019)

Related topics