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December 29, 2007
Frankfurt in the cold ...
Yesterday was one of those cold grey days here in Germany. Low hanging clouds, dank clinging fog and mist and crowded Autobahn make for tricky travel. But the planned trip to Frankfurt am Main was worth it. The plan was to visit the Archaeological Museum which is located in the former Carmelite Monastic Church in Karmeliter Gasse. The collection ranges from the Neolithic, through the Ancient Greek and Persian to the Roman and late Medieval.
Looking at the beauty of the Grecian decoration on the pottery, in particular the delicacy of the painted figures and the exquisite detail in them, one does wonder at how much we lose each time a society goes into decline. This is certainly reinforced when looking at the furnishings and decoration of Roman colonial homes and the construction of these. The sophistication of their heating systems and their skill in engineering is astonishing. You are forced to ask yourself what would our society look like today if we had not "lost" these skills and abilities for several centuries. You cannot escape the feeling that our societies today might have been much further advanced than we are.
Almost as interesting is the thought that in their latter days the Roman's also thought, as we do, that the Barbarian Hordes could be absorbed and would adopt their ways. That it failed to happen is evidenced by the loss of the technology, the loss of ability to repair or maintain or even to continue to operate a commercial system. Perhaps our current crop of leaders and bureaucrats should take some lessons from the fall of the Roman civilisation. It might prove instructive to them.
Posted by The Gray Monk at December 29, 2007 10:38 AM
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Comments
Deja vu. How interesting to read one's own thoughts in another's handwriting. Wasn't it a Brit who opined that all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing? The dual evils of foolishness over global warming and rampant immigration to Europe and the US will combine to destroy our cultures and economies. Many people not in the government see this, but few authorities do. Why do we continue to elect such people?
Posted by: Don S. at December 29, 2007 04:59 PM
I suspect because the voters everywhere have no real choice. It seems to me that the "political classes" have now got themselves so well entrenched that we have no choice but to vote for them whatever we think. Unfortunately their cohorts, the Civil Servants, would simply perpetuate this decline even if we could throw all the current politicians out of office. Exactly what happened to Rome.
Posted by: The Gray Monk at December 30, 2007 12:58 PM