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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 3382402" data-attributes="member: 4937">Pretty much, that's what I think too.  They were different than us, in ways that I think we'd find hard to understand.  But they were no more different to us than many an extent culture, some of which they'd find far less strange than they'd find us.But down at the heart of it, they were still people and people haven't changed any just because a thousand measly years have gone past.  A man once accounted as wise said, "There is nothing new under the sun.", and for all of our marvels, it still rings true to me. We think we've gotten better or gotten smarter.  We think our morals to be superior.  We think ourselves more mature.  But for every step we've taken foward, we've probably taken another step backwards somewhere else and one thing is certain to me.  We are going to look just as backwards, immoral, and stupid to our great-great-great-grandchildren as the medievals look to us - and we are both going to be ignorant for thinking that.  Anyone that has actually read Classical literature knows that we haven't gotten any smarter.  I think maybe that's the best advantage one obtains by reading the Classics - humility.  You realize that just maybe you and your generation aren't nearly as bright or as special as you think you are. A particular revelation for me was reading St. Augustine's confessions about his life as a juvenile deliquent, chasing girls, getting in fights, making mischief, skipping school, rebelling against his guardians, and so forth.  Our social expectations may have changed.  Some of our curse words have changed, and we unquestionly consider to be common sense has changed somewhat ('Is anyone surprised...'), but basically its all just a different flavor of the same soup.</blockquote>

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