Either This or That - Johannes's Diary

The discovery of this set of manuscripts is a story in itself. In the autumn of 1934, I finished my third year at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen. I couldn't write my thesis, so I spent time in a second-hand bookstore every day. This shop is called "Solon's Box". It is in an alley behind the Notre Dame Church. The shop owner is an eighty-year-old man, deaf but with bright eyes. He never asked me what I was looking for, he just let me browse among the bookshelves. That afternoon, I found a wooden box in a corner. The chest was of oak, and the corners were covered with brass, which had turned green. I asked the old man if he could sell the box. He glanced at me and said, "The box is not for sale. If you can understand the contents, take it.