Long Time Gone

I was recently reading a book by Sheldon Cheney on the history of the theatre first published in 1929. It's always interesting to read old books to understand how people had different assumptions. Statements that went unchallenged, even unnoticed, stand out today.

The whole introduction to Greek Tragedy reads that way. Even the title, "Tragedy: The Noble Greeks," is almost unimaginable today. Here are a few lines: "No other state has ever reached the standard set by the Hellenes in those accomplishments esteemed by men to be most high, most desirable, most beautiful." "There is world recognition that for a considerable period the people of Hellas solved better than any other the problem how to live their lives reasonably and finely." "In this present period of reevaluation, at the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century, when sophisticated commentators are taking cynical delight in demolishing old human and racial idols, pointing out the flaws in everything that mankind has esteemed, there is little attempt to pull down Greece." "There is, indeed, no other development in human life to match this one."

I was going to comment on these superlatives--the mindset that made them possible, the mindset today that doesn't--but looking at them, I think I'll just let them speak for themselves.

PS Here's something going in the opposite direction that I'll let speak for itself. I saw this in the IMDb comment section for Across The Universe: "The Beatles' music had a huge effect on me; from the fateful day that my friend accidentally copied the first three tracks of "Revolver" onto my computer, a love affair was born."