Blood Meridian - He Never Sleeps. He Says That He Will Never Die

From Cormac McCarthy's book Blood Meridian:
"He wafts his hat and the lunar dome of his skull passes palely under the lamps and he swings about and takes possession of one of the fiddles and he pirouettes and makes a pass, two passes, dancing and fiddling at once. His feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die"

[@boondockschop30]

"He never sleeps, the judge. He is twerking, throwin it in a circle. He says he will never die."

[@corning1]

Rooofl

[@corning1]

He’s gotta change with the times. The judge himself is probably just chilling watching the woke culture these days. Like damn, I don’t gotta do anything for a bit “sips bud light”.

[@aryan7767]

imagine reading blood meridan and then unironcially using the word "woke culture" lmaoo@@corning1

[@justasplanned8023]

What did he mean by this?

[@justasplanned8023]

@@aryan7767 He didn’t read it

[@FloraJoannaK]

Dancing and fiddling at once-- so he is dancing to his own tune. Didn't notice that before.

[@ghoulish6125]

Great catch

[@RecordedMercury]

Shows an insane amount of physical capability subtly.

[@FloraJoannaK]

@@RecordedMercury That's actually a good point. Like how lead guitarists take a lot of expertise to sing and play at the same time. Not many can do that.

[@RecordedMercury]

@@FloraJoannaK As someone who plays guitar if you asked me to DANCE while playing to the beat that I'm playing, that's nearly inhuman levels of multitasking

[@toastie8173]

@@RecordedMercury Thats why hes the devil

[@WillShakes423]

The Devil himself. Historical figure. Manifest Destiny made physical. In the end, it doesn't matter who or what Judge Holden is. Whatever message he carries through this novel, he delivers with horrific success.

[@Blodia1990]

Bingo!

[@mhbackman]

Evil never dies. What an immense final scene.

[@anatoldenevers237]

@@mhbackman The Judge is one of the best characters I’ve ever read, and really this entire book is brilliant.

[@Sleepytechnician]

I actually got more of a bored angel vibe from him. He’s only in it for himself, the enjoyment he can derive from any brutal action. Never once was it mentioned that he wished to contain/control the sinners or their tainted souls. It was all about him; as if he had run to earth to experience something instead of being cast down to his domain. Whatever he was meant to represent, it definitely wasn’t the devil, it was far, far worse.

[@whatno3145]

​@@Sleepytechnician"And the Judge, like some ponderous djinn stepped through the fire and the flames delivered him up as if the element recognised his pale flesh as native to them." I think that spells out that he's the Devil pretty clearly

[@boxmad5523]

Judge Holden is the greatest antagonist of any book I’ve read, I will never forget that character.

[@corning1]

Same.

[@Aryan-qv5qk]

Why?

[@samuelzins5089]

I just finished the book today and I'm not sure yet but i think i agree. Recency bias is a thing but i can't recall an antagonist I've liked that much. Liked is the wrong word for that devil but he fascinates me

[@TheGreatWhiteWigger97]

I've enjoyed a mass amount of fictional media throughout the years be it movies, TV, Video Games, Comic Books and books themselves, there is a ton of characters from these fictions I could make a top 10 list off when it comes to thier spine chilling evilness but none comes close quite like Judge Holden. Holden makes a reader feel joy, sorrow, remorse, disgust, anger everytime he speaks or does something, the actual devil himself

[@DoctorKabanov]

I love how at in the beginning it says “He says he never sleeps. He says he’ll never die” but then it’s just “he never sleeps. He says he’ll never die” but we never read the words “he’ll never die” only that he’s says he’ll never die. There is a huge difference actually

[@joaoklein1002]

Rest in Peace Cormac. You will never die.

[@corning1]

Oh damn I didn’t even know… sob. No more books… what a legend.

[@NWolfwood]

Perhaps the most haunting passage ever written in the English language...

[@davidflynn2006]

Sure it remains in a class unmatched, the beauty of McCarthy's craft knows no competitor.

[@manwithnoplan5496]

With the context of the story it certainly is. For me the story gets better and better as it goes on and this, this is the absolute zenith of the story, and it is quite fitting.

[@sirotahaggen]

Something about Cormac McCarthy that I haven't yet noticed aficionados discuss are the heightened chilling effects of the concluding paragraph[s] to his novels. Outer Dark, No Country, Child of God... They're all chilling in their own way EXCEPT The Road and most recently The Passenger. Those two have rare traces of hope not always found in McCarthy's southern gothics.

[@whatno3145]

​@@sirotahaggenNo Country For Old Mens ending passage was haunting? I was about to cry cause I just felt so bad for Ed Tom.

[@leightul]

This video is the first occurrence of any media related to ‘Blood Meridian’ I’ve ever seen or heard. And aside from the obvious terror of this entity being some form of highly dexterous and apparently immortal individual, I am unsure as to what makes it so “haunting”. Could someone here enlighten me as to why NWolfwood would describe it as such?

[@jarnodatema]

0:12 The sob in his voice got me. Evil has prevailed, and the narrator voices it perfectly.

[@matthewmcchesney9828]

Haunting. McCarthy uses this sort of segmented, repetitious style elsewhere in the novel to great effect, but here he is absolutely mesmerizing. The end of this passage is a sublime example of the more tersely worded McCarthy that we actually don't see much in Blood Meridian. It's like he was waiting the whole novel for the right moment to finally break things down. Genius

[@mattmontag3922]

read suttree, a lot of beautiful moments in that one. this one is great however

[@Someone_Unknown90]

He writes this ending as if he wants us to imagine it in our heads vividly, the protagonist not only dying but dying in the worst way. Then the judge literally telling the people, himself, and the reader he will never die. This is a classic and I don’t even really read books

[@colereynolds2587]

“He never sleeps the Judge and he is dancing dancing and he says that he will never die.”

[@danielviegas9331]

The dance of death. Holden is death, the universal judge: "everything that exists without my knowledge exists without my consent", includding "evil", I say. He was waiting everybody and will perpetuate dancing. The book ends as the movie "The Seventh Seal", by Ingmar Bergman, with a dance of deah, making life the childhood of eternity. Haunting and beautifull.

[@horseaphoenix1016]

Then he is God, because in every single religion, God is a personification of Death, the great eternal mystery of infinity that we sometimes give a name and face to better grasp.

[@danielviegas9331]

@@horseaphoenix1016 good point.

[@pizzacheeseman2854]

@@horseaphoenix1016 In my understanding of gnostic stuff, death itself is an archon, so that makes sense, as Holden's obsession with knowing and controlling all things and considering everything outside an affront to him is the sort of thing an archon would do. However, to me, Holden seemed more like the personification of western imperialism, like he is the real god worshipped by the system and people that conquered north america that they (or well, we) have confused with the true god. Which I guess is also kinda gnostic.

[@horseaphoenix1016]

@@pizzacheeseman2854 I absolutely agree on that as well, he is personification of every value that America was built upon and human society deemed desirable, pushed to the absolute max. The conquering of nature, the besting of men, both through knowledge and might, and the pursuit of peace through an everlasting war, he is the peak of exceptionalism combined the characteristics that we glorify of our version of "God", and he is an abomination. We were always taught that the characteristics of God is something that we should always strive towards, but that it is impossible to attain and always out of reach, in Blood Meridian McCarthy showed us how to attain them all and what the result would look like.

[@danielviegas9331]

​@@pizzacheeseman2854cheers

[@wadewilson8011]

"He says, he will NEVER die." And *I will NEVER use an outhouse again.

[@jacobking4504]

Haunting and brutal, yet an undeniably beautiful novel.

[@etguillemette]

That's really what makes it so fascinating, doesn't it? Even though it's technically about a handful of people scraping by in an insignificant conflict of their own making, everything seems so great and terrible, ominous, mysterious and oppressive. It's biblical, but better written.

[@jerryrichardson2799]

@@etguillemette Better written? No. But I agree with the rest.

[@bkr1895]

Its a book I’ve had to put down multiple times not because it was bad(its anything but), but because it was so grotesquely brutal and hard to keep reading but at the same time its so beautifully poetic. Cormac’s prose is so wonderfully verbose it hearkens to works such as Paradise Lost or the Inferno. One of if not my favorite novel ever.

[@daveysaturn7232]

Absolutely breathtaking. The laugh reminds me of war cries, but on the opposite of the shadow of the previous intent of violence.

[@Collateral0]

In the end the Kid tried to run away from his inner evil, his inner demons, the part of human nature that is inhumane. But he returns to the Jakes because that nature is within him no matter what, in the end he lets go of his humanity and fully embraces the Judge. With the Kid embracing the Judge completely he has insured that the Judge will live on, he no longer sleeps, he will never die.

[@corning1]

Ummm I’m not sure I agree with this. However that is the beauty of books.

[@StormDatIsApproaching]

Not a fan of the "Judge isn't human" interpretation. Very reductive of his character, and muddles some of the book's meaning, but it is left vague for a reason

[@JorgeSanchez-sh2nl]

Kid doesn't embrace the judge at all, that a pretty gross interpretation of the ending. Are we really gonna say that because the judge got his way that therefore he's "right"? Whatever words come out of his mouth are his interpretation of why he's evil. Also the author's interpretation of why evil in the world always seems to be winning. If the point of the book was to "embrace evil" then the kid wouldn't have been afraid of the judge at the end.

[@tabkg5802]

???? What kid tried to do is running away from a higher calling blatantly standing at his feet. He already did that once and thought he could do it again, despite trying to be a better person and a "hero" at that. He left everyone in the dance to die instead of confronting the judge (someone responsible for deaths of everyone he knew). He could've went in 2 directions with his life, and instead he choose to stay in place and do nothing

[@Dogtles]

I got chills bruh. Fucking great narrator

[@Jc0i3]

Bro repeats saying the end like 6 times Creepy asf

[@XYouVandal]

After reading this, I wanted to start over just to experience arriving at this passage again

[@mikebud12]

I'm a little weird probably, finished it like a few weeks ago for the first time and immediately went through it again, it was quite an experience. Can never match that first time but it was worth it i will read it many more times too.

[@ayrahn7893]

This is one of the most haunting endings to any story ever.

[@robertohernandezpena324]

Haunting and eerie.

[@danny_decheeto8300]

Probably one of the most subtle and scary depictions of the devil in fiction

[@der4815162342]

RIP Mr McCarthy

[@jerryrichardson2799]

Like something out of a dream or, more likely, nightmare by Nietzsche or Dostoevsky, perhaps a gnostic nightmare. One of the very few novels I've reread.

[@idicula1979]

I think he is saying he is primordial, he will never sleep, he will never die. He is death, he is the dance, to kill him his to take his place death unceasing, and unknowing nature. Dancing in menace dancing in questioning, question all that come of its gaze won't you met with destiny and take par in its madness.

[@billfred9411]

I look at it as is the judge representing war and mankind's terrible nature. Like he said war has always existed even before humanity we just happen to be the ultimate practitioners of it. Evil and war will always exist hence why what the judge represents will never sleep and never die. Doesn't matter if the judge is alive or not there will always be evil like him. I think the whole talk about the "dance" is more of a metaphor for abandoning what the judge looked at as a more true and proper life full of murder and war and when the kid decided he won't dance. To the judge that was the kid confirming what the judge looked at as a betrayal. That was the kid telling him he won't go back to that life and right after that the judge killed him. I think the judge was there to kill him either way but i am pretty sure the dance speech mainly just shows how the judge looks at the world and when he says "dancing" it really means partaking in war which the judge looked at as a pure and proper way of life for humans.

[@marknichols9515]

Genius. McCarthy. The Border Trilogy. No Country for Old Men.

[@geert574]

And the Kid lived happily ever after and became President Grover Cleveland 🤣

[@breeeegs]

Sure, ;let's go with that ending. Why the hell not

[@m1foley]

And that kid's name? Albert Einstein.

[@crimsondynamo615]

Grover Cleveland’s ass could never fully heal

[@thewolfmanhulk2927]

“He says that he will never die”

[@truth9427]

He never Rizz he says that he will Never Mog

[@Lolm3ist3r]

Truly haunting.

[@soulknight5330]

The thing about Judge Holden is that he’s certainly not a person, he isn’t even Satan because Satan fell, he’s just *Evil* the concept itself. And the reason why he has so many friends is because he is in all of us, and I’ve lived my life refusing to accept that until now. But what makes us *Good* is to accept the Judge inside of us, move on and most importantly keep him inside and never let him out. We all have dark thoughts, just don’t act on them.

[@davidanspach1624]

Undoubtedly the greatest metaphor for war and violence ever written.

[@luisenrique7240]

RIP CORMAC MCCARTHY 🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️

[@josebatistaneto3301]

Rip mccarthy

[@What_is_your_current_location]

"He wafts his hat and the lunar dome of his skull passes palely under the lamps and he swings about and takes possession of one of the fiddles and he pirouettes and makes a pass, two passes, dancing and fiddling at once. His feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die"

[@jd35711]

i haven't read this yet, but that is some gorgeous and profoundly unsettling writing

[@corning1]

I don’t know why this passage has always stayed with me. Even before I truly read into it and never realized he was satan. Hated the book, no paragraphs and punctuation… that’s another story. But the judge… whew this man was on another level.

[@JimmyGreen1996]

The way Richard Poe says "Judge" at 0:12 always gives me goosebumps.

[@labrynianrebel]

Being in a book is a form of immortality. "He will never die" because we will keep reading and making copies of this book all because we were fascinated with his twisted mind. "He is a great favorite" to us, the reader.

[@georgeofhamilton]

He’s naked during all of this, and nobody bats an eye?

[@Jeffreydefinitelynotdahmer]

He was getting too sturdy for anyone to notice that he's naked

[@-YokoOno]

In the book fort griffin is described as wicked as sodom and gomorrah, so the company had seen acts like it all before.

[@brandonshort9045]

No one is going to tell the invincible giant hairless albino killing machine with a genius intellect and +10 charisma to put on a pair of pants.

[@postpunk6947]

Danse Macabre

[@fantasticnisopta]

The hairless judge couldn’t bear to see the hair on the dancing bear.

[@robsop9512]

whatever exists, he says, whatever exists in creation without my knowledge - exists without my consent.

[@pspsmallz]

I know everybody immediately assumes hes the devil and its implied heavily to most likely be the case but I still feel hes actually war incarnate. Either the war horseman of the apocalypse or literally just war itself personified in a somewhat human shell.

[@pbaborman722]

He never goons, he says that he does it the ocky way, he mews, both in Skibidi and in Ohio, and his a great mogger. The judge never goons, he edges and edges and says that he will never goon.

[@tylerscott2116]

Bro this description of The Judge makes me think that not only Anton Chigurh but this character influenced The Dark Knights Joker

[@hahafunnyclown]

“Whatever In creation exists without my knowledge. Exists without my consent” He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light, and shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing, he says he will never die, the judge..

[@rehannnj2892]

Menari dan bermain biola sekaligus sehingga ia menarikan iramanya sendiri yang tadi

[@themountainking3378]

The Judge is not Evil nor is he the Devil, he is a caricature of the God Man, the Uber Mensch.

[@gibranhaekal5399]

He's God himself

[@jerryrichardson2799]

Possibly, voted up.

[@Galvatronover]

No he is evil

[@corning1]

@@gibranhaekal5399you think he’s God… ok dude.

[@StormDatIsApproaching]

​@@Galvatronover he meant that Holden isn't a spiritual personification of evil itself, as some interpret it. He's human

[@SloZao]

Cormac Mccarthy died today...

[@XYouVandal]

Why are his feet small? He is a giant figure. Any significance to that detail?

[@namelessking4146]

Could be because he is like a giant infant, small hands, feet, and a child like face.

[@killedbytheguardians5545]

They say his hands are small too, I think he's supposed to really look like baby like in a weird way.

[@hongodongo9053]

Mccarthy also says his hands are small which is a bit interesting, because in chamberlains confessions it is specifically stated that the judge has huge hands and thusly is the only possible culprit of a certain crime

[@toonami1338]

@@hongodongo9053 maybe he's so big that his hands in comparison are still small for someone that would be his size, but are still huge to regular hands

[@kristofclaus7460]

@@hongodongo9053 this made me think, because in the beginning of the book it says the kid has big wrists and big hands and i wonder if that means something

[@Palentir]

Lucifer

[@samuelzins5089]

Richard Poe was perfect for this book. Mccarthy is menacing

[@sadsackkvisling9694]

Recalls Shiva-Nataraj or Odin.

[@jerryrichardson2799]

Or Kali.

[@tanzimbinfarid5939]

The Devil in the flesh.

[@GnarlyBroMr]

Just finished the book. What’s this mean

[@breeeegs]

It means The Judge always wins

[@mmartinisgreat]

It's up to you

[@IwantShawn]

The judge is timeless and eternal, he is war and encompasses all that is contained in war, as long as man is, war will be, so will be the judge

[@breeeegs]

@@IwantShawn He's basically Satan.

[@IwantShawn]

@@breeeegs When the kid (the man) says "you're nothin" and the judge replies "you are more right than you know"

[@DanielJCosta]

Feels to me that the Judge always had his eyes on the kid. That's obvious, I know. But I mean like... maybe the kid was his main goal all this time? The kid might be the first person from the company to be "chosen" by the Judge ( in the beginning of the book when he's 15 years old ). Maybe all of this was made thinking about the kid. Maybe that's why the book refers him as "the kid" even after he reach his adulthood. Cause he's only a kid in the eyes of the Judge and he'll always be a kid. And well... we know too damn well that the Judge LOVE kids right? '-' Maybe the kid's "taste for violence" refered in the first page of the book is what caught Holden's attention? Something like that? The kid's fate is not confirmed, BUT we have some previous victims of the Judge that might give us a hint of what specifically happened to the kid in that outhouse. He was probably raped and murdered, like other kids throughout the book. Specifically that Mexican kid wich had it's neck broken after getting raped by the Judge. Why do I feel like this? Well, if I remember correctly, the only part we see the Judge acting so sterically, laughing his ass out in such frenzy and so proud of himself was at the end of the book, after he finally "beat" the kid. He killed and raped and did lots of horrendous stuff to a bunch of people ( including kids ) but we never saw him celebrating like that ( He was always so calm and calculative ). At least not that I remember...

[@dumbidea1007]

If I recall peoples say he was laughing after killing the Mexican kid

[@DanielJCosta]

@@dumbidea1007 yeah he's always smiling and laughing but not in that way I think. He was more like... celebrating?

[@Imlilrinoimsoarrogant]

Who else came from that one peggle video

[@MrJoycie1]

Is this Willem Defoe reading?

[@excaliburknives3572]

It’s Richard Poe. The names rhyme which I just now noticed.

[@mintyfanta9238]

Who even is judge holden

[@Baloo-tw4wc]

Satan

[@stellris]

He Dances in light and shadow meaning even as a demon he still isn’t afraid of light but he needs a hat to cover himself from light ?

[@D-class9341]

He dances in light because he commits horrible crimes and doesn’t hide them

[@stellris]

@@D-class9341 I’m saying only a demon would be afraid of the light like he needs a hat to cover himself from light

[@D-class9341]

@@stellris he takes off his hat at multiple points in fact for the majority of his appearances it isn't stated he has a hat

[@stellris]

@@D-class9341 he has pale skin of course he would were a hat from the sun

[@D-class9341]

@@stellris i don't think you understand who the judge is

[@vgmaster9]

If Thanos was an albino.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

Hypnos • The God Of Sleep Thanatos • The God Of Death

[@thomas-ud1fs]

Thanks anarcho brah

[@mihaillermanto7799]

В русской озвучке нпсного лучше передади атмосферу по моим ощущениям