“The predominant themes of their songs are destruction and death. That is characteristic of all their art. You find it in their songs, in their dress, in the whole of their existence. It is a characteristic common to all Balkan peoples of course; but it is even more pronounced in the Albanians than anywhere else. Look at their national flag: simply a symbol of blood and mourning.”
“You speak with great passion on the subject,” the general observed.
“I have given a great deal of thought to these matters,” the priest answered. “Oscar Wilde said that people of the lower classes feel a need to commit crimes in order to experience the strong emotions that we can derive from art. His epigram might well be applied to the Albanians, if one were to substitute the words “war” or “vengeance” for “crime.” For if we are to be objective we must admit that the Albanians are not criminals in the common law sense. The murders they commit are always done in conformity with rules laid down by age-old customs. Their vendetta is like a play composed in accordance with all the laws of tragedy, with a prologue, continually growing dramatic tension, and an epilogue that inevitably entails a death. The vendetta could be likened to a raging bull let loose in the hills and laying waste everything in its path. And yet they have hung around the beast’s neck a quantity of ornaments and decorations that correspond to their conception of beauty, so that when the beast is loosed, and even while it is spreading death on every side, they can derive aesthetic satisfactions from those events at the same time.”
The general listened attentively.
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