Fluidity of unwavering determination keeps it’s alive and applicable
«What do the priests do about this?”
“Not a lot, sir. I think they quietly ignore some of the more, er, extreme Abominations.”
“You mean Nuggan objects to the dwarfs, cats, and color blue and there’re more insane commandments?”
Chinny coughed politely.
“All right, then,” growled Vimes. “More extreme commandments?”
“Oysters, sir. He doesn’t like them. But that’s not a problem because no one there has ever seen an oyster. Oh, and babies. He Abominated them, too.”
“I take it people still make them here?”
“Oh, yes, Your Gr—I’m sorry. Yes, sir. But they feel guilty about it. Barking dogs, that was another one. Shirts with six buttons, too. And cheese. Er…people just sort of, er, avoid the trickier ones. Even the priests seem to have given up trying to explain them.”
“Yes, I think I can see why. So what we have here is a country that tries to run itself on the commandments of a god who, the people feel, may be wearing his underpants on his head. Has he Abominated underpants?”
“No, sir,” Chinny sighed. “But it’s probably only a matter of time.”
“So how do they manage?”
“These days, people mostly pray to the Duchess Annagovia.»