“There's one other thing I'd like to remind you of, my dear. There've been many times when you've sworn to me that after all that life has dealt you, it was no longer possible for you to believe in anything. I replied that both life and my studies had led me to the same conclusion. I asked you, 'What is a person permitted, once he's realized that truth is unattainable and consequently doesn't exist for him?' Do you remember your answer?" "I do, ibn Sabbah. I said something like this: 'If a person realized that everything people call happiness, love and joy was just a miscalculation based on a false premise, he'd feel a horrible emptiness inside. The only thing that could rouse him from his paralysis would be to gamble with his own face and the face of others. The person capable of that would be permitted anything.”
Quote by Vladimir Bartol
Work
Author
Vladimir Bartol (February 24, 1903 – September 12, 1967) was a Slovenian writer, playwright, and essayist, best known for his dystopian novel Alamut. Born in Ljubljana, he studied biology and philosophy at the University of Ljubljana and later in Paris. His works explore themes of power, faith, and individual freedom, influenced by Nietzsche and Freud. Alamut, published in 1938, is set in an 11th-century Persian fortress and tells the story of a leader who manipulates followers through drugs and fear, often seen as an allegory of totalitarianism. Bartol also wrote plays and short stories but gained little recognition during his lifetime. After WWII, he focused on scientific writing. Today, he is celebrated as a key figure in Slovenian literature, with Alamut translated into many languages. more
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