Every nation is a lie…
“Every nation is a lie for which time and history have gradually fashioned an appearance of truth – as they did for ancient myths and classical legends. No nation ever arose naturally. The coherence and fraternity that a few still display conceal alarming realities beneath fine literary, historical and artistic fictions that underpin their identity. In these nations too those “contradictions and differences” – creeds, races, customs, languages, and not always minority languages – were demolished, for just like Albert Camus’s Caligula, the Nation needs to eliminate these things in order to feel secure, safe from the risk of fragmentation.”
—Mario Vargas Llosa
Ranjbar-Daemi: Clericals and Seminaries in Modern Iran
Siavush Randjbar-Daemi’s speech at “Clericals and Seminaries in Modern Iran” Conference, SOAS, 9 April 2011.
A Source of Quotes
Quotevadis is a Tumblr blog that has nothing but an endless list of quotes.
