René Girard (1923-2015) French philosopher, creator of the original comprehensive theory of the origin of religion and culture He was famous for the book “Violence and the Sacred” (1972), but only in the book “The scapegoat” (1982) did Girard’s theory appear in its entirety. Using the example of texts about the medieval persecution of Jews, the philosopher introduces the concept of “texts of persecution” texts compiled by the persecutors themselves, but against their will revealing the truth about the innocence of the victim and shows that such texts are all the mythology of the world. The main thesis of Girard, which first caused a wave of indignation in the intellectual world, and then gained many supporters, is that people learned to decipher these texts only thanks to the Gospel Revelation. According to Girard, the liberating and at the same time destructive effect of this revelation continues today and this book serves as one of his tools. Grigory Dashevsky's translation awarded Maurice Waxmacher Prize (2010). PDF A4 format saved publishing layout.