03-13-2008, 06:24 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 10,665
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On martyrdom and men's self delusions
H.L. Mencken:
"As a matter of fact, it seems to me that an idea that happens to be true--or, more exactly, as near to truth as any human idea can be, and yet remain generally intelligible--it seems to me that such an idea carries a special and often fatal handicap. The majority of men prefer delusion to truth. It soothes. It is easy to grasp. Above all, it fits more snugly than the truth into a universe of false appearances--of complex and irrational phenomena, defectively grasped. But though an idea that is true is thus not likely to prevail, an idea that is _attacked_ enjoys a great advantage. The evidence behind it is now supported by sympathy, the sporting instinct, sentimentality--and sentimentality is as powerful as an army with banners. One never hears of a martyr in history whose notions are seriously disputed today. The forgotten ideas are those of the men who put them forward soberly and quietly, hoping fatuously that they would conquer by the force of their truth; these are the ideas that we now struggle to rediscover. Had Nietzsche lived to be burned at the stake by outraged Mississippi Methodists, it would have been a glorious day for his doctrines." I note Waters' allusion a while ago to the possibility, as with all martyrdoms, of a covert, unspoken conspiracy between JS and his martyrers. I think this is a facinating, valid point. In Spain for centuries the primary means of Christian resistance to Muslim occupation was deliberate martyrdom, including mortification of the flesh. During the reconquista these martyrs were well rememberd. Christ, or more precisely the authors of the Gospels, understood this principle. Discuss
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Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster |
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