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MILOVAN DJILAS
but even he didn't succeed. But his successors, Engels himself and
even Lenin, were excellent dogmatics.
If
Lenin weren't a dogm.atic
he couldn't have succeeded
in
the revolution. He succeeded because
he was an excellent and convinced dogmatic. And a very intelligent
man at the same time. He was also a genius.
INT:
Well, let's get back to this novel,
The Lost Battles.
DJILAS:
The Montenegrins lost only the battle, but not as human
beings. There are some philosophies that say that only lost battles
are good for the regeneration of human beings.
INT:
Why?
DJILAS:
Because lost battles force man to think more about his destiny,
about moral issues, and he comes out more spiritualized.
INT:
Practically, would you say the same about an individual?
If
a man
goes through. . ..
DJILAS:
Yes, it is the same. For example, what would have happened
if Germany had won? Now the Germans are in the process of chang–
' ing-we hope they are. But look what happened to the victors.
INT:
Yes,
I
see. Look at England.
DJILAS:
And in the First World War it was the same.
It
was bad for
all, except for the Russians, who had lost the war. But the Russians
recovered later, through the revolution.
INT:
Wouldn't you say that there are other reasons involved? ...
DJILAS:
I wasn't speaking about this as a law; but in practice, making
an analysis, we could say that this happens.
INT:
But there are other reasons. . . .
D JILAS:
Yes, this is true.
INT:
We could prove the opposite with the Romans, for example. They
won so many battles, and did not disintegrate.
D
JILAs:
They did.
INT:
Finally....
D JILAS :
When they organized the empire. After Augustus, it was really
a decadence.
INT:
But how many battles had they won, by then?
D JILAS :
Yes, but they did not create much after they were victors.
They lived as aristocrats, lived
in
abundance, and they degenerated
increasingly.
INT:
Yes, that is what Vico would say.
DJILAS:
Yes, I know. And Petronius, he gave a good picture then.
An excellent document of the days.
INT:
Of one milieu of a certain age,
I
would say. Because if somebody
of the poor classes or a slave had written his
Satyricon,
the picture
would have been quite different.
