Mais Terry Pratchett

Leiam este passo de Maskerade, que ilustra o que eu escrevi noutro post sobre o autor.

[Na cidade de Ankh-Morpork - a maior, mais populosa, mais suja do Discworld, a cidade que nunca dorme, em cujas ruas perigosas se cruzam trolls com anões, zombies com vampiros e lobisomens, humanos com golems, um fabricante de queijos reformado acaba de comprar a Ópera. O diálogo que se segue é entre o novo dono e o director artístico].

'I told you: the show must go on.'

'Why? We never said "the cheese must go on"! What's so special about the show going on?'

Salzella smiled. 'As far as I understand it,' he said, 'the ... power behind the show, the soul of the show, all the effort that has gone into it, call it what you will ... it leaks out and spills everywhere. That's why they burble about "the show must go on". It must go on. But most of the company wouldn't even understand why anyone should ask the question.

Bucket glared at what passed for the Opera House's financial records.

'They certainly don't understand about book-keeping! Who does the accounts?'

'All of us, really,' said Salzella.

'All of you?'

'Money gets put in, money gets taken out ...' said Salzella vaguely. 'Is it important?'

Bucket's jaw dropped. 'Is it important?'

'Because,' Salzella went on, smoothly, 'opera doesn´t make money. Opera never makes money.'

'Good grief, man! Important? What'd I ever have achieved in the cheese business, I'd like to know, if I'd said that money wasn´t important?'

Salzella smiled humourlessly. 'There are people out on the stage right now, sir,' he said, 'who'd say you would probably have made better cheeses.' He sighed, and leaned over the desk. 'You see,' he said, cheese does make money. And opera doesn't. Opera's what you spend money on.'

'But ... what do you get out of it?'

'You get opera.'

Exactamente. Há coisas que não servem para criar riqueza. A educação, o ensino, a saúde, a cultura, a ciência, as artes - a ópera - não podem servir para criar riqueza. São fins em si mesmos. Servem para dar utilidade e sentido à riqueza que criamos noutro lado. Não é a civilização que tem que servir a economia - embora a sirva, e bem; é a economia que tem que servir a civilização.