The
little girl runs from the box of
the beans where one wins
to the box of the small chickens
where one loses.
Jean Giono - Naissance de
l’Odyssée
The Great
Game is played with a
board of twelve boxes, that have
to be covered, like at hopscotch
(need I say that girls are
welcome?): it is not much more
complex than snakes and ladders
or Monopoly, although, like at
Tarot, several levels of use
coexist.
Before going any
further, I suggest, my dear
ladies, my dear sirs, we ponder
on this thought of Jean de La
Bruyère, who confides here
to us the perplexity that seers
inspire him:
"One
admits in the republic
palm-readers and soothsayers
and these people indeed are
of some use: they predict
that men will make a fortune,
that women will marry their
lovers...in short, they
deceive at a giveaway price
those who wish to be
deceived.
What can
one think of magic and spell?
The theory
of it is obscure, the
principles are vague,
uncertain, and close to
visionary; but there are
embarrassing facts, claimed
by solemn men who have seen
them...
To admit or
to deny them all seems an
equal snag; and I dare
declare that, having said
that, there is an option to
find between credulous souls
and freethinkers."
©
Delemme
2005
|
