[FM] MAY - Artaud Quote
Apr. 27th, 2007 10:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asinglewordwilldo"Those who live, live off the dead." - Antonin Artaud
We absolutely live off the dead, and in far more than simply a literal sense. Many animals in the wild eat their dead, and we are no better than they...granted, we may not eat the flesh, but as a people we feed on the essence of our dead...the mind, the heart, the soul.
We as human beings are natural emotional scavengers...as a man, and a scholar, I know this to be true. How often are the accomplishments and insight of the elite among us refuted and consigned to obscurity until the innovators have long since died? Why do we give such devoted attention to the words and wishes of the departed, otherwise?
My God...just look at the study of history...that entire field of academic study is the greatest symbol of Man’s existence as nothing more than a pack of vultures plucking meat straight off the bone. You need no other proof that we live in a world fueled by the remains of those who have gone before us. We take from them to ensure our own survival...we avoid the mistakes of our Custers and Lees, and we stand on the laurels of our Lincolns and Washingtons.
We do not feed on dead flesh, but dead souls. This is what sustains us...this is how we survive. Despite whatever grim imagery such a notion might produce, there’s very little wrong with it. All animals do what they must to survive...we are no exception.
Muse: Alva Keel
Fandom: Miracles
Words: 248
We absolutely live off the dead, and in far more than simply a literal sense. Many animals in the wild eat their dead, and we are no better than they...granted, we may not eat the flesh, but as a people we feed on the essence of our dead...the mind, the heart, the soul.
We as human beings are natural emotional scavengers...as a man, and a scholar, I know this to be true. How often are the accomplishments and insight of the elite among us refuted and consigned to obscurity until the innovators have long since died? Why do we give such devoted attention to the words and wishes of the departed, otherwise?
My God...just look at the study of history...that entire field of academic study is the greatest symbol of Man’s existence as nothing more than a pack of vultures plucking meat straight off the bone. You need no other proof that we live in a world fueled by the remains of those who have gone before us. We take from them to ensure our own survival...we avoid the mistakes of our Custers and Lees, and we stand on the laurels of our Lincolns and Washingtons.
We do not feed on dead flesh, but dead souls. This is what sustains us...this is how we survive. Despite whatever grim imagery such a notion might produce, there’s very little wrong with it. All animals do what they must to survive...we are no exception.
Muse: Alva Keel
Fandom: Miracles
Words: 248
