There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things…. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it. - Edward Hyams (U6)
Hey folks! I found this weeks’ textbook readings to be pretty interesting with its inclusion of writing tips; Especially the one suggesting that a solution to writers’ block is as simple as writing a whiny letter to your mom and ranting about the topic….and then just deleting the dear mom parts. I also really enjoyed the notion that the process of writing hasn’t even begin unless it’s been made physical, cause then you could keep working on it -including and especially- subconsciously, until you think its truly done.
Anyways! Let’s get to this quote up here, which asks us to consider why we appreciate the things we do in a historical context.
While things that have been around for many years are often fascinating and have the ability to teach us a new perspective or concept from the past, the author suggests that the old age of something does not grant it inherent value. True value comes from the things or ideas that have not only been around for generations, but also maintained and passed on throughout them. It is indisputable that for the majority of history, storytelling was the main form of keeping track or remembering something and so being held in the minds of people for years to come may be the ultimate display of gratitude- with humans generally being grateful for what made us who we are and the processes it took to get us here. As an example, generations of a family may have lived, hunted, and foraged within a particular forest, passing on the knowledge of their land to their children such as how to find the best growing spots, track animals, navigate, etc. With times having changed (as they unavoidably do), perhaps a child from this village/tribe/nomadic group no longer decides to live in the forest and moves into a city or town such as the ones you or I am more familiar with (Like Guelph). Not having to depend their life on the forest anymore, they might go on to teach their kin less practical survival strategies and instead lessons on things like balance and respect in the forest, since it once was integral to their ancestors survival. (Now continue this chain a few more times-or the entire length of human history-and realize that many of the things we value today are because our lives depended on it!)
David McCullough once wrote that “we need the past for our sense of who we are…and what it is our duty to protect.” and I think this intertwines beautifully with Hyams idea. We cherish what those before us protected, and to some extent that is our origin story. What we choose to spend time around or tell stories about may seem random, but like everything, there's always a purpose.
