There is Merzavka, the god of absolute truths, a kind of Cossack standing on heaps of corpses, the cow in his hand, with his fur cap on his eye and his hilarious rictus. This one is our oldest lord and master. It has been so long since he presided over our destiny. He becomes rich and honored whenever he kills, tortures, and oppresses in the name of absolute truths—religious, political, or moral. Half of humanity licks his boots with tenderness. It amuses him enormously because he knows well that absolute truths do not exist, and they are only a way to reduce us to servitude.
From “The Promise of the Dawn,” by Romain Gary / translated from French by Louis Villalba.
What a wonderful novel by a talented French writer! His prose is as beautiful as the French language. This paragraph warns us about absolute truths, “Half of humanity licks his boots with tenderness. It amuses him enormously because he knows well that absolute truths do not exist, and they are only a way to reduce us to servitude.” We should heed these words in a world where many claim to be in possession of the absolute truth.
Original text:
Il y a Merzavka, le dieu des vérités absolues, une espèce de cosaque debout sur des monceaux de cadavres, la cravache à la main, avec son bonnet de fourrure sur l’œil et son rictus hilare ; celui-là est notre plus vieux seigneur et maître ; il y a si longtemps qu’il préside à notre destin, qu’il est devenu riche et honoré ; chaque fois qu’il tue, torture et opprime au nom des vérités absolues, religieuses, politiques ou morales, la moitié de l’humanité lui lèche les bottes avec attendrissement ; cela l’amuse énormément, car il sait bien que les vérités absolues n’existent pas, qu’elles ne sont qu’un moyen de nous réduire à la servitude …
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