[Corylea]

Someone who's doing a Rhetoric paper wanted a copy of Zoltan's "herd of pigs" speech as an example.  She sent me a PM asking for it, since all of the conversations in the game are easily extracted from Djinni.  I sent it to her, then thought perhaps I'd post it, too.  People often mention this speech of Zoltan's, so here it is, for reference:

G:  Got a minute?

Z:  What's eating you?

G:  I warn you, some philosophy's involved…

Z:  The meaning of life, eh?

G:  The Evil that witchers fight stems from chaos, from actions aimed at disturbing order. For where Evil spreads, Order cannot be established. Instead of the light of wisdom, the glimmer of hope and the glow of warmth, darkness ensues. And in darkness you find nothing but blood, fangs and claws... like in the outskirts.

Z:  Nicely put, but as young Cerro said to King Vridank on their first date: "Does it have any practical uses?"

G:  The right of witchers to live and function in this world has fallen out of balance, because the struggle between Good and Evil now plays out on a different battlefield with different rules. Evil has ceased being chaotic. No longer a blind, elemental power, Evil follows rules according to the rights it's been granted. It functions in line with treaties...

Z:  That's progress. With more of us living longer, we can slaughter one another in the thousands.
Z:  Progress is like a herd of pigs. The herd brings many benefits, but no one should wonder at the all the sh*t.

G:  Sh*t or no sh*t, witchers exist to slay monsters. How can I when the real monsters hide behind ideals, faith or the law...?

Z:  The biggest Evil is moral relativity, which kills more than the Catriona plague and dragons combined.
Z:  Witchers will always be needed, no matter where that pig herd leads us.

G:  [has a choice here]
G1:  Thanks, Zoltan.
G2:  I'm not so sure.

If G1, the conversation ends.

If G2,

Z:  Let me tell you something, witcher. Once we lead a group of women and children through a war-torn land. They slowed us down. We had to feed them, protect them, and we had to hide in the woods to pee instead of pissing by the road. In short, they were a burden, and ungrateful at that. Know why we helped them?
Z:  It was the right thing to do.

G: [has another choice here]
G1:  I understand.  Thanks.
G2:  That means nothing.

If G2,

Z:  Don't make me angry, 'cause I smack hard when I'm riled. It's the Good you spoke of.
Z:  If you want a scholar's word read Vysogota of Corvo.

[swordsandroses]

It is a good speech :)

[damascus57]

I wish we had more moments like this in The Witcher 2.

[Corylea]

damascus57 said:

I wish we had more moments like this in The Witcher 2. ›››

Me, too! The characters' interactions with one another provided some of my fondest moments in TW1; I'm sorry things are so down-to-business in TW2.