The Barbarian Invasions Page #7

or the worst cretin in the West."

The latter hypothesis wins out.

So much for the lotus and dragon.

For two years she'd cleaned pigsties

on a re-education farm.

Father murdered,

mother committed suicide.

And some dumb French-Canadian

who's seen the films

of Jean-Luc Godard

and read Philippe Sollers

says that

the Chinese Cultural Revolution

is wonderful!

Cretinism doesn't sink any lower.

Ta-da! Voluntary simplicity.

Scrambled eggs with Ossetra caviar

and fresh truffles.

From Tuscany.

And to stay in ltaly,

Castello Banfi Excelsus,

a modest vintage.

Why were we so dumb?

- Are we to infer congenital stupidity?

- Not at all.

lntelligence isn't an individual trait.

lt's collective, national, intermittent.

Oh, a new theory!

Athens, 41 6 BC.

Euripides premieres his Electra.

Two rivals attend,

Sophocles and Aristophanes.

And two friends, Socrates and Plato.

lntelligence was there.

l can top that.

Firenze, 1 504, Palazzo Vecchio,

on facing walls, two painters:

Leonardo da Vinci

and Michelangelo.

An apprentice:
Raffaello.

A manager:
Niccol Machiavelli.

Philadelphia, USA, 1 776-1 787.

Declaration of lndependence

and the Constitution.

Adams, Franklin, Jefferson,

Washington, Hamilton and Madison.

No other country has been so blessed.

l was born in Chicoutimi,

Canada, in 1 950.

lt's a miracle you're not dumber.

ln 1 950, everyone was dumb,

in Athens and Chicoutimi.

ln ltaly you'd have supported

the Red Brigades.

Now it's Berlusconi.

Philadelphia voted George Bush.

You see, you're not that dumb.

lntelligence has disappeared,

and it can take eons to come back.

From Tacitus to Dante was what,

- The Arabs kept intelligence alive.

- True.

You're not hungry?

lt won't go down.

- And you?

- No, thanks.

l never thought l'd see the day

you'd turn down fresh truffles.

Alas, that day is here.

A sip of wine?

Drink to my health

and tell me how good it is.

l'd like to bow out

just like Flix Faure.

Why am l not surprised?

l can dream.

Who was he? Why?

Oh blessed Flix Faure,

the President of the French Republic.

His heart stopped beating

while his mistress,

the admirable Ms. Steinheil,

kneeling before him,

bestowed on him the most glorious

blowj*b of all time.

My God!

His enemies gloated,

"She seized him, the would-be Caesar,

and he had a seizure!"

Henceforth Ms. Steinheil

was known as the kiss of death.

l should be so lucky!

lt's not our fault

if your heart is unstoppable.

l'd like to remind you

that at a certain time,

l and several others here

blew you most heartily,

with enough force

to capsize a schooner.

What do you know

about blowing buoys?

Well, sir, our efforts

earned gushing praise.

Heavens, that's hard to swallow.

l'm beat.

Go to bed.

Aren't you coming?

Not tonight.

The Middle Ages,

the manuscripts...

The barbarians, everywhere,

tomorrow...

Their prince approaches.

Hello.

l'm scared.

We'll do what you want.

lt's your decision.

Know what l want for you?

To have as fine a son as you.

Heard from Sylvaine?

No.

Tell her l thought of her.

l love you.

Not so long ago

l'd have jumped you without asking.

l might have let you.

l suspected as much.

- l wasn't here. You didn't see me.

- Of course.

This just came in.

On a ship,

you call it the evil eye...

Striking a growler, an iceberg,

at night,

or a fire from an oil leak...

lf that happens,

you know you may not make it back.

lt's been too long

since l've seen you.

My daddy, my papuschka,

l'll have missed you all my life.

Tell yourself l'm a happy woman,

l've found my place.

l don't know how you did it, but...

you managed to pass on

your lust for life.

You and mom raised

incredibly strong children.

lt's a miracle really.

You know...

the first man in a woman's life...

is her father.

You'll always be with me.

Friends, sharing this modest life

with you has been a delight.

l take your smiles with me.

Oh, Rmy, Rmy.

Rmy.

The man of my life.

My guardian angel.

lt's a privilege to know you.

The privilege was all mine, Miss.

The paramedics aren't here yet,

they've been detained.

Let's go for a walk on the beach.

Mom doesn't want to live here.

l don't need to sell it.

You can move in for now.

lF THlS BE A MAN

HlSTORY AND UTOPlA

Will you never be back?

Since my mother died,

l have no one here.

Except for you two.

Why don't you come for Christmas?

- Yes. Come spend two weeks with us.

All right.

Listen, it depends somewhat

on my daughter, but why not.

We have to go now.

Goodbye, Sbastien.

Take care of yourself.

- You, too.

- Have a good trip.

Call us.

- Take care of yourself.

- Thank you.

Here you go.

Thank you.

l love you.

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