“It was as though in those last minutes he was summing up the lessons that this long course in human wickedness had taught us - the lesson of the fearsome, word-and-thought-defying banality of evil. ”

Hannah Arendt

Hannah Arendt - “It was as though in those last minutes...” 1

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“Adolf Eichmann went to the gallows with great dignity. He had asked for a bottle of red wine and had drunk half of it. He refused the help of the Protestant minister the Reverend William Hull who offered to read the Bible with him: he had only two more hours to live and therefore no “time to waste.” He walked the fifty yards from his cell to the execution chamber calm and erect with his hands bound behind him. When the guards tied his ankles and knees he asked them to loosen the bonds so that he could stand straight. “I don’t need that ” he said when the black hood was offered him. He was in complete command of himself nay he was more: he was completely himself. Nothing could have demonstrated this more convincingly than the grotesque silliness of his last words. He began by stating emphatically that he was a Gottgläubiger to express in common Nazi fashion that he was no Christian and did not believe in life after death. He then proceeded: “After a short while gentlemen we shall all meet again. Such is the fate of all men. Long live Germany long live Argentina long live Austria. I shall not forget them.” In the face of death he had found the cliché used in funeral oratory. Under the gallows his memory played him the last trick he was “elated” and he forgot that this was his own funeral. It was as though in those last minutes he was summing up the lesson that this long course in human wickedness had taught us-the lesson of the fearsome word-and-thought-defying banality of evil.”

Hannah Arendt
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“In university, we are given a taught a lesson then given a test. Whereas in life, we are given a test that teaches us a lesson. #UniversityOfLife”

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“It was a lesson that I would learn in time though it wasn't Hegbert who taught me.”

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“Those accustomed to failure fear the novelty of success. Those taught the lessons of subordination are oft timid in the school of self-service.”

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“You’ve learned the lesson,' Kellhus had said on one of those rare mornings when he shared her breakfast.'What lesson might that be?''That the lessons never end.' He laughed, gingerly sipped his steaming tea. 'That ignorance is infinite.”

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