"Does it ever give thee pause that men used to have a soul – not by hearsay alone, or as a figure of speech; but as a truth they knew, and acted upon! Verily it was another world then … but yet it is a pity we have lost the tidings of our souls … we shall have to go in search of them again, or worse in all ways shall befall us."
- Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present; cited by Mary Ann Shaffer in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
I totally agree. Benevolence and integrity seem to be archaic qualities. Blame the focus of life, which is now more directed to a social acceptance fuelled by those thoughts that dominate our society most.
ReplyDeleteThough one has to keep in mind that little has changed - whether people act upon the impetus of their individual souls or whether they worship MTV and aspire to Boy Band fame... it's mostly directed by the stimuli that influence us. Humans will, after all, always be human.