René Girard Quotes

“Only two possible reactions to the mimetic contagion exist, and they make an enormous difference. Either we surrender and join the persecuting crowd, or we resist and stand alone. The first way is the unanimous self-deception we call mythology.”

“Only two possible reactions to the mimetic contagion exist, and they make an enormous difference. Either we surrender and join the persecuting crowd, or we resist and stand alone. The first way is the unanimous self-deception we call mythology.”

“The world’s myths do not reveal a way to interpret the Gospels, but exactly the reverse: the Gospels reveal to us the way to interpret myth.”

“If the Gospels were mythical themselves, they could not provide the knowledge that demythologizes mythology.”

“The resistance to the mimetic contagion prevents the myth from taking shape. The conclusion in the light of the Gospels is inescapable: myths are the voice of communities that unanimously surrender to the mimetic contagion of victimization.”

“In myth, violent death is always justified.”

“Life on the street is simple. You eat. You don’t eat. You sleep. You don’t sleep. You’re alive. You’re dead. It’s that simple!" - excerpt from: freefalling”

“What’s the use of saying anything, when you’re not even listening?" - excerpt from: freefalling”

“Sometimes you wonder why you’re out here. And the stupid thing about it, is you haven’t got an answer." - excerpt from: freefalling”

“The goal of religious thinking is exactly the same as that of technological research -- namely, practical action. Whenever man is truly concerned with obtaining concrete results, whenever he is hard pressed by reality, he abandons abstract speculation and reverts to a mode of response that becomes increasingly cautious and conservative as the forces he hopes to subdue, or at least to outrun, draw ever nearer.”

“Imitation is human intelligence in its most dynamic aspect.”