Lies
Terry Pratchett is one of my favourite authors, and over the last few months I've been trying to read all the Discworld books I had not yet read (I have three left including the newest).
Coinciding with this was my discovery of the wonderfully done film adaptation of Hogfather that was made for TV this Christmas.
I just finished reading the book (visualizing all the characters exactly as in the film version the entire time), and decided I would type out one of my favourite parts.
(The caps locks are what the anthropomorphic personification of death, known as Death, is saying. Susan is his grand-daughter by adoption (heredity does not always have to be genetic... she is a lot like him) and the literary character I most want to be like.
'All right,' said Susan. 'I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need ... fantasies to make life bearable.'
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
'Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little--'
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START AT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
'So we can believe the big ones?'
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
'They're not the same at all!'
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY, AND YET-- Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS ... SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
'Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point--'
MY POINT EXACTLY.
Coinciding with this was my discovery of the wonderfully done film adaptation of Hogfather that was made for TV this Christmas.
I just finished reading the book (visualizing all the characters exactly as in the film version the entire time), and decided I would type out one of my favourite parts.
(The caps locks are what the anthropomorphic personification of death, known as Death, is saying. Susan is his grand-daughter by adoption (heredity does not always have to be genetic... she is a lot like him) and the literary character I most want to be like.
'All right,' said Susan. 'I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need ... fantasies to make life bearable.'
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
'Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little--'
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START AT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
'So we can believe the big ones?'
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
'They're not the same at all!'
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY, AND YET-- Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS ... SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
'Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point--'
MY POINT EXACTLY.