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Saturday, January 12, 2013

Thoughts on Timelessness

As I read through these ancient texts, ruminate on them, post them here, and comment on them, I am continually amazed at how similar the basic elements of human life are from one millennium to the next. I find it remarkable that something someone wrote more than 2000 years ago should be of any value at all to modern persons, and yet I continually find the most distilled wisdom in these ancient texts. It reminds me of a quote from Simone Weil: "Only what is eternal can be certain of being contemporary."

There is a timelessness to these great texts and the thoughts of their authors that makes them contemporary for all ages, precisely because they deal with the fundamental elements of human nature. This is one of the ways Adler distinguished a "great work": its staying power, or its ability to speak to us again and again regardless of changing circumstances.

Carry on and have a nice weekend!

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