Sunday, November 13, 2005
Ancient History
Christopher Morley, Walt Whitman Miniatures, II, from Mince Pie (1919):
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It is a weakness of mine--not a sinful one, I hope--that whenever I see any one reading a book in public I am agog to find out what it is. Crossing over to Camden this morning a young woman on the ferry was absorbed in a volume, and I couldn't resist peeping over her shoulder. It was "Hans Brinker." On the same boat were several schoolboys carrying copies of Myers' "History of Greece." Quaint, isn't it, how our schools keep up the same old bunk! What earthly use will a smattering of Greek history be to those boys? Surely to our citizens of the coming generation the battles of the Marne will be more important than the scuffle at Salamis.The battles of the Marne and the scuffle at Salamis are all ancient history to our citizens of the coming generation A.D. 2005.
