Thursday, November 03, 2005

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

"Being ill, Raskolinkoff dreamt that the whole world was doomed to a peculiar but dreadful, unknown plague, sweeping from the depths of Asia towards Europe. Everybody had to perish with the exception of several, very few chosen. There appeared some kine of new germs, microscopical creatures which penetrated into human bodies...

Men who were affected by them immediately became possessed with a devil, falling into madness. But never, indeed never, did men feel themselves more clever and more firm in their beliefs than those affected by the disease. Never did men consider their judgments, their scientific conclusions, their moral convictions and faith more steady and firm.

Entire communities and cities, whole peoples, became affected by this disease and acted as insane. Everybody was alarmed and nobody understood, each being convinced tht the truth was in him alone, and everybody suffered, looking at others, beating their chests and wringing their hands in despair. It was not known who would be persecuted, nor how, nor what should be considered as being evil or good. Neither was it known who should be accued, who should be defended. People slew each other in a state of irrational fury. Armies were raised against each other; but while on their march they suddenly began to tear themselves to pieces, their ranks became destroyed, and soldiers attacked each other, killing, biting and devouring one another. In the cities alarm bells were rung all day long. People were calling together but nobody knew who was making the appeal nor for what purpose and everybody was alarmed.

The usual trade was discontinued because everybody insisted upon his own thoughts, presenting his own amendments, and no agreement could possibly be rached. Agriculture was suspended. In some places men gathered in groups, agreed upon something and took oath not to part, but immediately after that they began to do something quite different from what they themselves had anticipated and then they began to accuse and to slay each other. Fires broke out and famine started."
(Crime and Punishment, Epilogue, Translation from the Russian, Raskolinkoff Dostojevsky; The World At The Cross Roads, Boris Brasol, pp. 37-38).

SOURCE: RADIO ISLAM website

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