“We can’t rely on anything. Except ourselves. Ludicrous responsibility devolves on us, overwhelms us. In every regard, right up the present, people always have relied on each other—or God.”

— Georges Bataille

Source: On Nietzsche (1945), p. 3

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Georges Bataille 68

French intellectual and literary figure 1897–1962

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The origins of the Boxer Uprising, Joseph Esherick, 1988, University of California Press, 289, 0520064593, 2010-6-28 http://books.google.com/books?id=jVESdBSMasMC&pg=PA289&dq=Perhaps+their+magic+is+not+to+be+relied+upon:+but+can+we+not+rely+on+the+hearts+and+minds+of+the+people%3F+Today+China+is+extremely+weak.+We+have+only+the+people's+hearts+and+minds+to+depend+upon.+If+we+cast+them+aside+and+lose+the+people's+hearts,+what+can+we&hl=en&ei=sRa2TOuXDsG88gaL9azjCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Perhaps%20their%20magic%20is%20not%20to%20be%20relied%20upon%3A%20but%20can%20we%20not%20rely%20on%20the%20hearts%20and%20minds%20of%20the%20people%3F%20Today%20China%20is%20extremely%20weak.%20We%20have%20only%20the%20people's%20hearts%20and%20minds%20to%20depend%20upon.%20If%20we%20cast%20them%20aside%20and%20lose%20the%20people's%20hearts%2C%20what%20can%20we&f=false,
[The Last Empress: The She-Dragon of China, Keith Laidler, 2003, John Wiley & Sons, 221, http://books.google.com/books?id=QLPZ7294oSIC&pg=PA221&dq=have+started+the+aggression,+and+the+extinction+of+our+nation+is+imminent++no+face+ancestors+death&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oGsLT5rpEqHu0gGY29nuBQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=rely%20on%20supernatural%20formulas%20heart%20people&f=false, 1-9-2011, 0470864265, Yehonala interrupted from her dominant position on the dais. 'If we cannot rely on the supternatural formulas, can we not rely upon the heart of the people? China is weak: the only thing we can depend upon is the heart of the people. If we lose that, how an we maintain our country?']
[Victor Purcell, The Boxer Uprising: A Background Study, https://books.google.com/books?id=2MeUoD9G9xAC&pg=PA250&dq=cannot+rely+charms+heart+people+lose&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjH5tD7vvjLAhVFGx4KHR_SDiYQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=cannot%20rely%20charms%20heart%20people%20lose&f=false, 3 June 2010, Cambridge University Press, 978-0-521-14812-2, 250–]