First they beat the most noble. Igor Kokhanovsky. "The Law of Dialectics," 1989.
First they beat the most noble.
Igor Kokhanovsky
First they beat the most noble,
Then they shot the hardest workers,
Then the ranks of the senselessly killed
Grew from the thousands of the most vocal.
Among the latter were all intellectuals,
Champions of dignity and honor,
Unfit tools
For the mechanism of universal flattery.
Encouraging mediocrity in its underlings,
Power sought out its own kind. Totalitarianism was in full swing in the Middle Ages,
Creating for itself an empire of the comfortable,
Obedient, unnoticeable, silent,
Ready to honor mediocrity as their leader,
To portray themselves as truly happy,
Who rightfully earned legendary status...
The state, weakened by torture,
Not yet aware of the losses of those who lived,
Not knowing that the number of those killed
Would respond to it with the quality of those who lived.
1989