December 30, 2004
Merovingian's Speech
I love the character of the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) and his speech from The Matrix: Reloaded. Here it is in its entirety. He, like me, does not believe in choice...
Merovingian: Ah ha, here he is at last... Neo, the One himself. Right? And the legendary Morpheus... And Trinity, of course, si belle qu'elle me fait souffrir. I have heard so much of you. Honor me, please, sit, join us. This is my wife, Persephone. Something to eat? Drink? Of course, those things are contrivances, like so much here... For the sake of appearances.
Neo: No, thank you.
Merovingian: Yes, of course. Who has time? Who has time...But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time? Chateau Haut-Brion mille neuf cinquante neuf, magnificent wine, I love French wine. In fact, I love the French language. I have sampled every language; I find French is my favorite; fantastic language...Especially to curse with; Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperies de connards d'encule de ta mere... It's like wiping your arse with silk, I love it.
Morpheus: You know why we are here.
Merovingian: I am a trafficker of information; I know everything I can. The question is...Do you know why you are here?
Morpheus: We are looking for the Keymaker.
Merovingian: Oh yes, 'tis true. The Keymaker, of course. But this is not a reason; this is not a why. The Keymaker himself, his very nature is a means, it is not an end. So, to be looking for him is to be looking for a means...to do...what?
Neo: You know the answer to that question.
Merovingian: But do you? You think you do, but you do not. You are here because you were sent here; you were told to come here, and you obeyed. It is of course, the way of all things. You see there is only one constant, one universal; it is the only real truth: causality... action... reaction; cause and effect.
Morpheus: Everything begins with choice.
Merovingian: No. Wrong. Choice is an illusion, created between those with power...and those without. Look there, at that woman. My God, just look at her. Affecting everyone around her, so obvious, so bourgeois,so boring. Watch, you see, I have sent her a dessert... A very special dessert. I wrote it myself. It starts so simply... Each line of the program creating a new fate, just like poetry. First, a rush; heat. Her heart flutters. You can see it, Neo, yes? She does not understand why; Is it, the wine? No. What is it, then, what is the reason? And soon it does not matter. Soon the why and the reason are gone; and all that matters is the feeling itself.
And this is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it; we fight to deny it, but it is, of course, pretense; it is a lie. Beneath our poised appearance, the truth is: we are completely... out of control.
Causality. There is no escape from it. We are forever slaves to it. Our only hope, our only peace is to understand it; to understand the why. Why is what separates us from them...You from me. Why is the only source of power; without it, you are powerless. And this is how you come to me; without why...without power. Another link in the chain.
But fear not. For I have seen how good you are at following orders, I will tell you what to do next... Run back, and give the fortune teller this message: Her time is almost up. Now, I have some real business to do, so I will say adieu and goodbye.
Neo: This isn't over.
Merovingian: Oh, yes it is. The Keymaker is mine and I see no reason why I should give him up...No reason at all.
Persephone: Where are you going?
Merovingian: Please, ma cherie, I have told you: we are all victims of causality. I drank too much wine... I must take a piss. Cause, and effect. Au revoir.
