Working Translations

Ricardo Mella, “Beyond the Ideal” (1913)

Believe, fight and cling to the dead cult—all the believers do the same. It doesn’t matter whether the idol is made of clay, bronze or meat. It doesn’t matter whether it is dissolved in the mental haze or in the whirlwind of passion. For the ideal, first living and then dead, the inhuman law of sacrifice is fulfilled. … Do not strip away their illusion, their precious illusion. They will defend themselves like lions, tear at you like panthers, howl like hyenas. There is no animal more fierce than the believer. […]