Memorable Quote
December 6, 2006
While reading The Anchoress, we came a post in which she links to Julie, from The Happy Catholic. Julie posted a passage from Terry Pratchett’s Carpe Jugulum, and we left a comment.
In an email exchange, Julie sent us another Pratchett quote, in which two characters discuss the nature of sin. We thought the exchange quite remarkable.
From Carpe Jugulum:
“There is a very interesting debate raging at the moment about the nature of sin, for example,” said Oats.
“And what do they think? Against it, are they?” said Granny Weatherwax.
“It’s not as simple as that. It’s not a black and white issue. There are so many shades of gray.”
“Nope.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no grays, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that –”
“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes –”
“But they starts with thinking about people as things …”
Food for thought, indeed. More on the subject of sin, later.
December 6, 2006 at 3:29 PM
Any time. Granny Weatherwax is very good at dispensing plain common sense.
December 6, 2006 at 6:47 PM
Hmmmmm. Treating people as things. Sounds like the view taken by a great many murderers.
December 7, 2006 at 1:02 AM
Damn. I ordered the book for my son, for Christmas. More and more it looks like I’m going to have to read it. That’s the best definition of sin I have ever read.
December 7, 2006 at 1:17 AM
[...] Apparently, I was not the only one taken with the excerpt posted by Julie. Siggy got inspired by it, too (commentingly eloquently at Happy Catholic) prompting Julie to send him more, which he posted here. [...]
December 7, 2006 at 11:03 AM
[...] Yesterday, we posted a quote about sin, from Terry Pratchett’s Carpe Jugulum, as offered by Julie in an email exchange. Julie is the author of Happy Catholic. [...]
January 21, 2007 at 2:57 PM
[...] Apparently, I was not the only one taken with the excerpt posted by Julie. Siggy got inspired by it, too (commentingly eloquently at Happy Catholic) prompting Julie to send him more, which he posted here. [...]
September 5, 2011 at 2:12 PM
[...] it, too (commenting eloquently at Happy Catholic) prompting Julie to send him more, which he posted here.From Carpe Jugulum:“There is a very interesting debate raging at the moment about the nature of [...]