Definitions HQ

Gods (n.) are ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠reached by nothing — not by art, nor nature, nor thought, nor love: they come or they do not come.

Gods (n.) now ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠wander from place to place, with no allotted temples or rituals: ‘here too are gods,’ said Heraclitus — and ‘here’ can now mean nowhere, or anywhere.

Gods (n.) have ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a history and a geography: being has no place, but they can move off, withdraw, spring up or decline — come here or there, now or later.

Gods (n.) went ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠away long ago, said Cercidas of Megalopolis — our history began with their departure, and they cannot return within it, since ‘to return’ makes sense only inside that history.

Gods (n.) are ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠odious: all sacrality oppresses, by terror or by guilt — and worst of all, the gods forbid that man be risked beyond man; they take away his death.