#hogfather

[illustoryart]

I can't believe we have been living in this world without Sir Terry for 10 years already 💔

“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”

― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

GNU Terry Pratchett

[swordofwit]

"And there's the sign, Ridcully," said the Dean. "You have read it, I assume. You know? The sign which says 'Do not, under any circumstances, open this door'?" "Of course I've read it," said Ridcully. "Why d'yer think I want it opened?" "Er... why?" said the Lecturer in Recent Runes. "To see why they wanted it shut, of course."* * This exchange contains almost all you need to know about human civilization. At least, those bits of it that are now under the sea, fenced off or still smoking.

— Hogfather (Discworld series) by Terry Pratchett

[applescandraw]

Happy Hogswatch!!!!

[thestuffedalligator]

There’s a recurring theme of education in Hogfather. The book is repeatedly critical of institutional education - Susan notes the difference between an education and “learning things,” and that her own education had only made her suitable to work as an educator. At the end of the book, Death says that the bedrock of a child’s education should be myth and fantasy, to believe in Hogfathers and tooth fairies so they can believe in abstract concepts that do not demonstrably exist in reality, like truth and mercy.

Which is all fantastic, but I will say that once you learn that Pratchett dropped out of school, bits from this book such as, “Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on” become really really funny

[leona-florianova]

[fourdiagnosesinatrenchcoat]

[internet-goblin]

[adverbian]

HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

“Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—”

YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

“So we can believe the big ones?”

YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

“They’re not the same at all!”

YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME . . . SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.

“Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point—”

MY POINT EXACTLY.

— Terry Pratchett, Hogfather