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Ann Tomoko Rosen's avatar

I love that you put this out there and asked the community that seeks to support you for help. (And I'm completely unsurprised that they came through.) Your substack is a beautiful place. If you ever have any doubt about the importance of your work, look to your readers and the community you've cultivated here. This little microcosm of humanity is such a hopeful spark!

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Celia Farber's avatar

Ann, thank you. I trust the people who come here with my life. I think we have achieved some kind of frequency of trust and good will here, together.

Facing another all nighter but trying to just finish just finish just---

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Ammiel Alcalay's avatar

Celia, start watching at 21:00 with subtitles on—ah, Tarkovsky!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzVkwyJIL88

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Sandy K's avatar

I am continually in awe of the people who read the substacks that I read: brilliant, kind, helpful, and delightful "commentarians" from so many aspects of Life each with a piece of vital info. Thanks for helping Celia, Mrs S. That website may be important for other authors among us, too. 🙏😊.

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Mrs S's avatar

Thank you Sandy. That's such a kind comment.

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Mrs S's avatar

Here you go

"As soon as we make a scientific breakthrough we put it to use in the service of evil.

And as for the standard, some wise man once said that sin is that which is unnecessary."

https://www.scripts.com/script.php?id=the_sacrifice_15113&p=4

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Celia Farber's avatar

Oh wow. I remembered it…wrong. Or…rather different. Goes to show. And thank you.

"Some wise man once said that sin is that which is unnecessary." THAT is it.

Thank you thank you. All.

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Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff's avatar

I like the way you got it wrong "they're both right".

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Celia Farber's avatar

haha! Thank you.

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Wilbur Whately's avatar

Worth expanding a bit:

‘Man has defended himself, always

against other men, against Nature.

He has constantly violated Nature.

The result is a civilisation built

on force, power, fear, dependence.

All our "technical progress"

has only provided us

with comfort, a sort of standard.

And instruments of violence

to keep power. We are like savages!

We use the microscope like a cudgel!

No, that's wrong.

Savages are more spiritual than us!

As soon as we make

a scientific breakthrough

we put it to use

in the service of evil.

And as for the standard,

some wise man once said

that sin

is that which is unnecessary.

If that is so,

then our entire civilisation

is built on sin,

from beginning to end.

We have acquired

a dreadful disharmony

an imbalance, if you will,

between our material

and our spiritual development.

Our culture is defective.

I mean, our civilisation.

Basically defective, my boy!

Perhaps you mean

that we ought to study the problem

and look for a solution together.

Perhaps we could, if it wasn't

so late. Altogether too late.

God, how weary I am of this talk!

"Words, words, words!"

At last, I know what Hamlet meant.

He was fed up with windbags.’

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Susan Liang's avatar

Very helpful. Thanks!

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Hesperado's avatar

Looking at a couple of pages of that script, it seems so remarkably disjointed, I wonder if it's been edited; or is that just the way Tarkovsky wrote his dialogue? At any rate, it smacks of a combination of the sophomoric pesudo-sophistication of "My Dinner With Andre" and a more vaunted voice commanding our artistic respect whether we know enough to assent or not.

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Pirate Studebaker's avatar

"Words, words, words!"

I am fed up with windbags.

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Hesperado's avatar

A more than ironic line, considering it's ensconced within a script of over 7,500 words.

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Steve and Krys Crimi's avatar

Can't help you with the quote but it made me go sideways with my thinking and realized it is describing spiritual practices from the yoga sutras and Christianity alike. In the sutras the practice of 'santosha' is prescribed for 'contentment'. The Upanishads also tell a story of a yogi being offered food, which he accepts. When offered another serving he declines, not being able to accept even one more bean so as not to disturb the delicate balance of santosha/contentment. In Christianity, two of the seven deadly sins are greed and gluttony. Why categorize these as deadly? They ultimately lead to a bad end.

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Pirate Studebaker's avatar

They lead to illness. Physical. Mental. Spiritual. And the death of all three. Agree.

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Gilberto's avatar

What is evil? It’s not the opposite of Good as many believe. An action with no goodness , say the genocide of a people or the ritual abuse of a child , is about as evil as it gets. It marks the end of like preceded by horrific torture. On the Good side there is no limit to the expression of actions deemed good.

Analogy

Is cold the opposite of hot? No, not really. Cold and hot are expressions of the motion of molecules. Absolute cold is attained by stopping molecular motion . Warmth on the other hand is not limited . The motion of molecules has no limit as it can always become greater. Same with light and darkness. No limii to light , while absolute darkness easily attained .

Happy light and love filled holidays!

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The Jesuit Cat's avatar

Anthony Fauci; "what is evil?.

Christine Grady; "all that is unnecessary".

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Michael Framson's avatar

Anthony Fauci; "what is evil?.

Christine Grady; "all that is unnecessary".

Anthony Fauci; "are you implying I am unnecessary?"

Christine Grady; "yes"

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Daniel Geery's avatar

Well, not necessary for what? Not familiar with the movie, BUT, I can see/sense/know that the Universe is necessary. Iyis a beautiful miracle that I think our task and joy here is to learn to appreciate it. Read the short story by Rachel Carson.

"A sense of Wonder." Poke around and find it for free, ponder your own life while reading/contemplating it.

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Sharon the Lion-Hearted's avatar

Just started watching it double time on YouTube and then noticed you posted the request this morning and am here checking if someone came thru. And so very glad several someone's did....

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Celia Farber's avatar

aw, how sweet!

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Hesperado's avatar

Speaking of evil and sin, "Tarkovsky studied film at Moscow's VGIK under filmmaker Mikhail Romm, and subsequently directed his first five features in the Soviet Union: Ivan's Childhood (1962), Andrei Rublev (1966), Solaris (1972), Mirror (1975), and Stalker (1979). A number of his films from this period are ranked among the best films ever made. After years of creative conflict with state film authorities, Tarkovsky left the country in 1979 and made his final two films abroad; Nostalghia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986) ..."

So he only left the Evil Empire belatedly over a "creative conflict", eh?

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peter de schouwer's avatar

Wonderful, thanks to your question, to be able to focus once again in detail the monologue of Alexander.

Tarkovsky must have added it in the process of finalizing the script since it is not there in the original version of 1984 which I verified in the "collected screenplays" published by Faber and Faber in 1999.

Every single movie of him is a present to humanity and more than ever they are treasures of wisdom for generations to come.

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Lucilightning's avatar

great movie. all of them are. the house burn sequence at the end is epic

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Susan Liang's avatar

Some people think other people or people groups are unnecessary. Are the groups evil, or the person thinking that thought? (the Shema in my view is the plumbline).

BTW I think the word I would choose for working hard on a project may be "perserverance."

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Dec 19, 2023
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Susan Liang's avatar

The two commandments that sum up the ten. First commandment -- love your God with all your soul, mind and spirit (I may be wrong), and second command -- love your neighbor as yourself.

Can't reliably do the second without dedication to the first.

The second refers to the innate value/inalienable rights of all humans as human beings.

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Daniel Geery's avatar

Celis, I posted a comment that vanished. Van you finf it? D Geery

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Celia Farber's avatar

wha? Definitely not me! I don't know why that happened. Disturbing.

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Kristin Glover's avatar

Am a huge Tarkovsky fan as well. What “new” Tarkovsky film? You must mean a film about him?

With all due respect for how hard you work, I don’t understand your not being able to figure out how to find that quote.

🤷‍♀️

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Celia Farber's avatar

I am "on deadline" with the book about James Thorp and could not take time to search so asked if anybody just knew it. Old fashioned way of going about it.

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Eileen Schrader's avatar

So glad you got the quote here. Praying for you Celia.....

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Charles Clemens's avatar

According to BING, The film “The Sacrifice” by Andrei Tarkovsky opens with the aria “Erbarme dich, mein Gott” (“Have mercy, my God”) from Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion.

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