Antiquity & Absurdity Literary Society
PREAMBLE
Considering that the universe is inherently meaningless, but that the ancient Greeks and Romans spent centuries trying to give it geometric order through tragic myths and marble columns, the Antiquity & Absurdity Literary Society (hereinafter referred to as “The Society”) is formed to celebrate the glorious and ridiculous toil of the human intellect. Our patron saint is Sisyphus, the hero who pushes the boulder knowing that it will roll back downhill, and who we imagine to be happy.
ARTICLE 1: Name, Location and Duration
- 1.1 Name: The official name of the club is Antiquity & Absurdity Literary Society.
- 1.2 Headquarters: The Society’s headquarters are wherever there is an open book and a deep existential crisis. For legal (and purely fictional) purposes, they are deemed to occupy the non-Euclidean wing of the Library of Alexandria.
- 1.3 Duration: The Society shall exist in perpetuity, or until the end of the world, whichever comes first.
ARTICLE 2: Aims and Objectives
The Society does not operate for profit, since money is a capitalist illusion that does nothing to resolve the silence of the universe. Its official aims are:
- Analyze classical texts of antiquity through the lens of existential doubt.
- Read masterpieces of the theater of the absurd in the hope that, one day, Godot will actually turn up to sign the minutes of the meeting.
- Practice the art of circular debate, in which the conclusions must ideally coincide with the initial premises, without producing any logical progress.
ARTICLE 3: Member Admission Requirements
Admission to the Society is open to all sentient beings, provided they accept the following conditions:
- The registration fee: No money is required. The membership fee consists of bringing a logical paradox written on a piece of paper or a crumpled copy of a text by Camus or Kafka.
- The Sisyphean Oath: Each new member must solemnly declare: “I accept that this month’s reading will not change the destiny of humanity and nevertheless I will read it with senseless enthusiasm.”
- Member status: Once admitted, members acquire the title of Honorary Rock Pushers.
ARTICLE 4: The code of conduct during debates (internal rules)
To ensure the perfect balance between the formal rigor of antiquity and the chaos of the absurd, the meetings will adhere to the following rules:
- Beckett’s Rule of Silence: The use of dramatic pauses and prolonged silences during discussion is strongly encouraged. If a member loses the thread of the conversation, the others must stare at him intently, waiting for an event that will not happen.
- The moderator’s paradox: The president of the assembly has the task of moderating the debate, but his decisions can be canceled if a member demonstrates that time is running out and reality itself could be a dream of a giant turtle.
- No solutions allowed: It is strictly forbidden to find a definitive moral or a “unique meaning” in the texts read. Anyone who exclaims “So the author meant that…” will be condemned to summarize the entire Odyssey using only dactylic hexameters or, alternatively, binary code.
ARTICLE 5: Structure and Election of Officers
- 5.1 The great council of waiting: Made up of three members chosen by lot. Chance is the only democratic mechanism that the Olympians and Kafka’s bureaucrats would approve of.
- 5.2 The boulder keeper (treasurer): Does not handle money, but is responsible for physically carrying books to meetings and bringing them home. If a book is lost, it is presumed to have entered a Kafkaesque dimension and will no longer be searched for.
ARTICLE 6: Dissolution of the Society
The Society is considered dissolved only if all members unanimously admit that they have perfectly understood the meaning of life. In this case, the last remaining member is required to turn off the light and leave a copy of Metamorphosis on the table.