‘Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case
equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those
cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this
moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us
make the most of it, before it is too late! Let us represent worthily
for once the foul brood to which a cruel fate consigned us! What do you
say? It is true that when with folded arms we weigh the pros and cons
we are no less a credit to our species. The tiger bounds to the help of
his congeners without the least reflection, or else he slinks away into
the depths of the thickets. But that is not the question. What are we
doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we
happen to know the answer. Yes, in this immense confusion one thing
alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come. […]
All I know is that the hours are long, under these conditions, and
constrain us to beguile them with proceedings which –how shall I say–
which may at first sight seem reasonable, until they become a habit.
You may say it is to prevent our reason from foundering. No doubt. But
has it not long been straying in the night without end of the abyssal
depths?’(Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot, Act II.) |