Thousands of years, and yet how little has changed.

Another post from my "Commonplace Book," of things people have written recently or long ago, that I see fit to preserve.

To fit in with the change of events, words, too, had to change their usual meanings. What used to be described as a thoughtless act of aggression was now regarded as the courage one would expect to find in a party member; to think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one’s unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action. Fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man, and to plot against an enemy behind his back was perfectly legitimate self-defense . . . and indeed most people are more ready to call villainy cleverness than simple-mindedness honesty. They are proud of the first quality and ashamed of the second.

Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, Vol. III

Prudence and caution, it seems, along with modesty and humility, is no longer respected in much of the public sphere. Careful analysis and evenhanded judgment is likewise cast aside. These are indeed the times that try men's souls. And women's.