Chapter · Brazil · Legends
By what right do we judge
A chapter on Europe's cruelties, in the middle of an account of Brazil
A Frenchman spends nearly a year among the Tupinamba, then, fifteen years later, sees a small French town sacked by his own people. His book appears after both, and he puts a whole chapter on European cruelties inside it. This path reads both halves by the same rule, as he tried to.
Context first
A lesson to read before the others, to set the scene.
- The place
- The era
- The people
The lessons in this chapter
- 1Vengeance, and not hungerThe source never speaks of hunger: it speaks of vengeance, and likens it to Rome's. A mother there would rather know her son eaten than turned into an avenger for the enemy side.10 min
- 2The mirror turned roundHaving described the Tupinamba war rites, the author gives a chapter to European cruelties and tells of a massacre by his own side whose dead were almost all civilians.10 min
- 3What he calls religionLéry concludes that the Tupinamba live without God, having just described their officiants, their ritual objects, their ceremonies and their promises. His description contains what his conclusion denies.9 min
How these lessons are written
Each lesson starts from first-hand sources: Wikisource, Gallica, Persée, archives, museums and institutes. A fact without a source does not get written, and every lesson lists its own as direct links.
The rhythm
A lesson is five minutes of cards and four questions. Those questions then come back the next day, then at 3, 7, 21 and 60 days, and that return is what makes it stick. One a day is enough, and you can do several in a row.