The Idle Gazette
The First Figure

Zacharias Lichter

The vagrant philosopher of Bucharest — the first figure of the Idle Pantheon.

Revealed · No. I of XII

I. of XII
Zacharias Lichter, the first figure of the Idle Pantheon

His standing in the five measures

Idleness 10

Never employed, never tempted. His one sustained occupation, begging, is conducted as a sacrament rather than a trade, and he would resign from it if it ever began producing reliable income.

Wisdom 9

A gospel's worth of paradoxes that hold up under weight. Docked one point because he would have refused the score, and we respect that by leaving the summit empty.

Wanderlust 4

One city, lifelong. He haunts Bucharest the way a conviction haunts a sentence: he is everywhere in it, and he never leaves it.

Defiance 10

Total. He refused employment, property, reputation, publication, and cure, in ascending order of difficulty, and was still refusing at the end.

Sociability 7

Surprisingly high for a prophet. Cafés, doorways, disciples, debates with anyone who will stand still, and one friendship deep enough to organize a life around. Hermits withdraw; Lichter attends.