Grantaire has made absolutely certain his normal corner table did not migrate towards the center and he is happily present at it, having grown progressively cheerful as more people filtered into the room, a bottle of wine open in front of him and a full glass in his hand. As he is accustomed, he is speaking with no regard as to whether or not anyone is actually listening to him, although it's certainly at an audible enough volume. "Friends and passing acquaintances, for I am a fortunate enough man to have no enemies, it is a joy and a delight to see this gathering unfold at last. That is not to say, of course, that we have lacked for gatherings in our wanderings here, and ones full of their own sorts of joy. We all know this and have benefited from it to some degree or another. It seems the greatest sort of event here is the sort that we originate ourselves, so to have another added to that illustrious roster, even if it is of a slightly different character than previous ones, can only be a benefit."
He lifts his glass of wine toward the ceiling. "That is not to malign our mysterious host spirits, of course, for that would be tempting the worst kind of fate, and they were generous enough to me recently that I am favorably inclined, although their taste in beverages can be suspect, not that that dissuades me from continuing to explore them." He gestures with his glass towards the cups on top of the liquor cabinet. "But that's another subject entirely.
"We have something of a symposium here, and although it won't be as famous as some, it is nonetheless an improvement as we are the participants and can avail ourselves of the refreshments and the remarks, and how remarkably refreshing that is. Just look around at our good fortune. Of course we have not discovered perfection, as that is unattainable, but we have good food, good drink, good company, and asking for more would be presumption of the highest order."
He is quiet for only the span of time it takes for him to have a drink. "But all of this is beside the point. This was organized, insofar as it's organized at all, on the foundation of being able to speak on anything and everything we can think of. And although speaking at length on this meeting itself certainly qualifies as 'anything', it also seems as if it doesn't take advantage of the opportunity afforded.
"Now, as many of you know, I am not a man of conviction, and if I make a bold statement, it is entirely possible that I will ultimately end up arguing even myself out of it. However, dissent forms the fertile fields of discussion and I do enjoy watching that flourish."
He grins widely, leaning back in his seat and has another long drink, refilling his glass as he continues. "So to that end, I offer the following assertions. How much I myself agree with them is debatable, as are most things, of course, but I'm certainly willing to argue any and all of them.
"First, despite my very own words earlier, tempting fate is not only not to be avoided, it's hilarious. Second, the fact that the rooms and grounds here are changing all the time is a net positive. Third, hauling elephants across mountain ranges is not only idiotic, it is so idiotic that dubbing someone who did it one of the greatest military minds of history is an extremely dubious proposition." He grins wryly at that one and takes another drink.
"Fourth, trying to find commonalities enough between the residents of this place to explain why we are the fortunate ones to be here is a fool's errand, and liable to fall into error. Fifth, every person has a food, a drink, and an animal that they most resemble. They need not actually like, or even have encountered, that food, drink, or animal. Sixth, progress in all things is like Zeno's story of Achilles and the tortoise. Seventh, existence may or may not be real but it doesn't matter if it is or not anyway, so the entire field of metaphysics is pointless. Eighth, there is no such thing as a god that always actually knows what they're doing. Ninth, avoiding pleasure just by virtue of the fact that it's pleasurable is absolute madness. Tenth and final for now, animals are objectively better than humans are, and I include worms and insects and such things in that count."
He takes another long drink and waves a hand airily. "Discuss."
no subject
He lifts his glass of wine toward the ceiling. "That is not to malign our mysterious host spirits, of course, for that would be tempting the worst kind of fate, and they were generous enough to me recently that I am favorably inclined, although their taste in beverages can be suspect, not that that dissuades me from continuing to explore them." He gestures with his glass towards the cups on top of the liquor cabinet. "But that's another subject entirely.
"We have something of a symposium here, and although it won't be as famous as some, it is nonetheless an improvement as we are the participants and can avail ourselves of the refreshments and the remarks, and how remarkably refreshing that is. Just look around at our good fortune. Of course we have not discovered perfection, as that is unattainable, but we have good food, good drink, good company, and asking for more would be presumption of the highest order."
He is quiet for only the span of time it takes for him to have a drink. "But all of this is beside the point. This was organized, insofar as it's organized at all, on the foundation of being able to speak on anything and everything we can think of. And although speaking at length on this meeting itself certainly qualifies as 'anything', it also seems as if it doesn't take advantage of the opportunity afforded.
"Now, as many of you know, I am not a man of conviction, and if I make a bold statement, it is entirely possible that I will ultimately end up arguing even myself out of it. However, dissent forms the fertile fields of discussion and I do enjoy watching that flourish."
He grins widely, leaning back in his seat and has another long drink, refilling his glass as he continues. "So to that end, I offer the following assertions. How much I myself agree with them is debatable, as are most things, of course, but I'm certainly willing to argue any and all of them.
"First, despite my very own words earlier, tempting fate is not only not to be avoided, it's hilarious. Second, the fact that the rooms and grounds here are changing all the time is a net positive. Third, hauling elephants across mountain ranges is not only idiotic, it is so idiotic that dubbing someone who did it one of the greatest military minds of history is an extremely dubious proposition." He grins wryly at that one and takes another drink.
"Fourth, trying to find commonalities enough between the residents of this place to explain why we are the fortunate ones to be here is a fool's errand, and liable to fall into error. Fifth, every person has a food, a drink, and an animal that they most resemble. They need not actually like, or even have encountered, that food, drink, or animal. Sixth, progress in all things is like Zeno's story of Achilles and the tortoise. Seventh, existence may or may not be real but it doesn't matter if it is or not anyway, so the entire field of metaphysics is pointless. Eighth, there is no such thing as a god that always actually knows what they're doing. Ninth, avoiding pleasure just by virtue of the fact that it's pleasurable is absolute madness. Tenth and final for now, animals are objectively better than humans are, and I include worms and insects and such things in that count."
He takes another long drink and waves a hand airily. "Discuss."