Verbatim quote · from the corpus

“But the destiny of the firstness of the originary sign is to dissolve itself in the collective reciprocity of its exchange, the “moral model” that is the universal, as opposed to the particular, realization of originary humanity. Not everyone can be, or must be, first; but everyone has to participate in reciprocity, everyone must be “moral.” A firstness that fails to lead to this universal exchange is not firstness at all, but an aberration that risks provoking, in Girardian terms, “emissary” violence.”

— Eric Gans, The Moral Model and the Scandal of the Secular Sign · Saturday, April 18th, 2015 · Chronicles of Love & Resentment