Beelzebubs-Tales-to-His-Grandson-by-G-I-Gurdjieff

"Speaking of these French beings, I must also tell you, in order to characterizethem more fully, that the members of the 'ruling class' there invented a verygood means for 'calming' the minds of the ordinary beings of that community,which they employ just as the power-possessing beings of the largecommunity of Russia employ their means of encouraging the use of thefamous 'vodka,' and as do the power-possessing beings of present-dayEngland with their no less famous 'sport. '"However, although the power-possessing beings of the community ofFrance also successfully apply these 'good means' for the attainment of theiregoistic aims, it must be admitted—no offense to the power-possessing beingsof England and Russia—that these means of theirs do scarcely any harm tothe planetary bodies of the ordinary beings."Nor is this all with these means they unconsciously bring a certain benefitto the ordinary beings of their community, by diverting them and giving themtemporary relief from the ill effects of their obsession with 'fashion,' whichwas invented, as I already told you, by the present and future hasnamussesgathered in their capital from various countries, and which now enslave theordinary beings of France even more than the beings of all other communities."These 'good means' are called 'fairs,' and at the present time these fairs areheld in the principal squares of all their towns and villages in turn, in justthose squares where, about two centuries ago, the three-brained beings used tomeet for discussions of what they call 'religious and moral topics.'"In all justice it must be said, my boy, that these French 'fairs' are very,very amusing places ."I confess that even I liked to visit them and pass an hour or two there,thinking about nothing."At these French fairs everything is cheap, everything is marvelous.