Small Gods

the Small Gods is the thirteenth book of Annals of the Disc-world of the writer English Terry Pratchett and published in France in 1999, Traduction of Patrick Couton.

Original work was published in 1992 under the title Small Gods .

Summary

Frangin, an apprentice Priest, has as an occupation of biner melons in the garden of the Citadel of Kom, with the country of Omnia, close to Ephèbe on the Circular Sea. He believes in Om, the large god of Omnia. Whereas he works in the garden, he hears a voice: he believes himself insane. But he realizes soon that the voice comes from small a one-eyed tortoise, which claims to be the Om god.

The Diacre Vorbis holds the country of Omnia under its cut, imposing the precepts of the Prophète S of Om thanks to the Torture. Frangin leaves towards Ephèbe (parody of the ancient Greece), in company of the Vorbis deacon who hopes to invade it. There, Frangin discovers philosophy, as well as the truth on the world.

Topics

the Religion, the existence of the gods: it is enough that somebody on the Disc-world believes in a god so that this god exists, and conversely when nobody any more believes in it, this god disappears. On this subject, to also see American Gods of Neil Gaiman;
the Philosophy: Parody of the Greek philosophers;
the Obscurantism religious which condemns those which think (rightly) that the world flat and is carried by four elephants on the back of a tortoise;
the Tolerance with regard to the other religions: the intolerance of Omniens directed by pleasing Vorbis with the destruction of the second larger library of the disc-world (after that of the invisible University of Ankh-Morpork). Indeed, for him the Connaissance is essentially dangerous, all that one must know is contained in the books of the “Prophète S”;
the freedom of belief: Omnia has a very effective practice to convert all the fixed people, the inquisiteurs and exquisiteurs (see Inquisition) know more overtime than of layoffs… That makes in addition completely useless a real belief: to lower the head, to keep silent themselves and obey the Commands is the best proof than one can give his faith.

Characters

Frangin, beginner;
Om, tortoise and god of Omnia;
Vorbis, malicious Deacon;
Honorbrachios, philosophizes (see Diogène de Sinope);
Tefervoir, nephew of Honorbrachios;
Simony, soldier;
Fissa Benj, primitive.

Remarks

The name of the Vorbis deacon was taken again to name the format of compression Vorbis.

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