Naturally I immediately recognized the quote from Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune, in slightly different form: “When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom because that is according to your principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom because that is according to my principles.”
It turns out Veuillot never said any of the three versions:
According to Pierre Pierrard, this was attributed to Veuillot by Montalambert, and Veuillot protested he did not say it.
A few things he did say:
Newspapers have become such a danger that it is necessary to create many. You cannot contend against the Press, except through its multitude. Add flood to flood, and let them drown one another, forming no more than a swamp, or, if you will, a sea. The swamp has its lagoons, the sea its moments of slumber. We will see whether it is possible to build some Venice within it.
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When I voted, my equality tumbled into the box with my ballot; they disappeared together.
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If I could re-establish a class of nobles, I should do so at once, and I would not belong to it.
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Amongst the amusements of Paris must be counted duels between journalists.
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/06/26/ana-navarro-to-faith-freedom-coalition-your-faith-takes-away-my-freedom/
This Breitbart story tells the USA version: when the leftist atheists are weak, they say that Christian rightists must tolerate atheist freedoms. When the atheists are strong, they say Christians must stop believing in Christ because Christian feelings can magically warp reality and violate atheist freedom.
Longarch, we may ridicule you for your superstitious beliefs but we don’t mandate that you stop believing in anything. At the same time as a non-American atheist I have to say that I am not happy with my American colleagues and prefer to keep a distance, inasmuch as American atheism is close to being a religion with a dogmatic, highly politicized orthodoxy and (the greatest sin of all) (pasta strainers aside) humorless.
“but we don’t mandate that you stop believing in anything.”
YES YOU DO. You are a liar, Sir.
And from the Netherlands, the nation that mandates murdering its own mothers for hospital space?
Our ridiculous beliefs will last longer than your mothers, or your historically and in human terms ridiculous belief in the void as salvation.
I don’t give a damn if you don’t in Holland, as if you’re really a country instead of our colony, in America the ‘atheist’ is just an anti-theist, and in truth only really anti-Christian, although they’ve flowed into antisemitism as well.
Mock? Our mothers pass naturally, yours are murdered to save money, keep your respect, and as for your impotent mandates: get back to us when you defend your mothers, swine.
A one-sided ethic is a suicidal ethic.
Reciprocity or death.
https://deepdark103.wordpress.com/2023/02/20/beyond-trust-part-2-seeding-the-future/
“When I am the weaker, I ask you for my freedom, because that is your principle. But when I am the stronger, I take away your freedom, because that is my principle.”
This was Mohammad’s strategy exactly. The Islamist Muslims still practice this today. Treaties and contracts are considered temporary until the Muslim has the advantage then the agreement is abrogated.
Those are some very excellent quotes.
I, for one, am surprised to learn that the lowest of the low, journalists, ever had manly honor enough to duel.
The past was a remarkable place.