Page:The History of a Lie (1921).djvu/57



[The following are parallel extracts from the imaginary Rabbi's speech vouched for by the author of the novelette as fact a number of years later.]

When we become at last the sole possessors of all the gold to be found on earth, the power will practically be transferred to our hands, and the promises made to Abraham will be fulfilled. Gold—is the greatest power on earth, it is might, reward, the instrument of every authority, it is all man, both fears and desires. The problem before us now is to facilitate even to a greater extent the means of contracting these loans and thus to become the sole managers of all the valuables, after which the exploitation of all their railroads, mines, forests, large factories and industrial plants, as well as of all other real property, including duties and taxes, will fall into our hands, as a security for the capital lent to us by the various states.

Agriculture will forever remain the principal source of a country’s wealth. The possession of large plots of land will pave for us even a broader way to honors and will strengthen our influence over the highest officials of the country. From this follows, that our efforts will be directed towards inducing our brethren in Israel to make large agricultural purchases. We must, therefore, do our utmost to break up large estates into small parcels, in order to be able to purchase them in the easiest and quickest way. Under the pretext of trying to help the working classes, it is necessary to oppress the large landowners with taxation in all its severity. When these possessions will thus gradually be transferred in our hands, the whole labor of the Christian proletariat will become for us a new source of tremendous profits.

Commerce and speculation—these branches, most plentiful in their fruits,—must never be suffered to slip out of the hands of the Israelites,—with this object in view the pros of Israel must direct its ambition towards those high offices of authority which have the power to distribute honors and esteem.

Since the Christian Church is one of our most dangerous enemies, we must work tirelessly to weaken its influence, and in order to accomplish this, it is necessary to use all our efforts to implant in the Christian intellectual class ideas of Atheism, scepticism, dissension and to call forth religious disputes among the newly-formed groups and sects of Christendom.

It is very important for us to pretend to be expounders and protagonists of social questions prevalent at the time in a country, especially of those whose aim it is to better the fate of the workingman; but, in reality, our efforts must gravitate towards possession and rule over the movements of public opinion.

The blindness of the masses and the tendency of their leaders to fall for oratory as empty as it is loud, will make them easy prey for us and a double weapon for our popularity and credit. With the aid of oratery, our speakers will be able to make people believe our artificial enthusiasm which Christians usually attain through genuine sentiment.

Once we become absolute masters of the press, we will easily be able to refashion the ideas of honor, of virtue, of faithfulness—and to deal the first blow to the family-conception which is considered to this day as the most sacred institution and which must be reduced to a state of decay. We shall then be able to uproot the belief in that which our enemies, the Christians, shall have worshipped until that time and instead of that, having brought up the army in a spirit of infatuation with the various passions, we shall openly declare war upon everything which the Gentiles are at present revering and worshipping.