Classical music is a special taste like Greek language or pre-Columbian archeology, not a common culture of reciprocal communication and psychological shorthand.
Allan BloomRead
We are like ignorant shepherds living on a site where great civilizations once flourished. The shepherds play with the fragments that pop up to the surface, having no notion of the beautiful structures of which they were once a part.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that humanity often lacks awareness of its own history and the greatness of past civilizations.
Allan Bloom's quote highlights the disconnection between modern individuals and the rich historical achievements of previous societies. By comparing people to ignorant shepherds who only play with remnants of great civilizations, Bloom emphasizes that we tend to overlook the depth and beauty of the past, engaging only with superficial fragments rather than understanding the grandeur of what came before us. This reflection invites a deeper appreciation for history and the lessons it holds.
Themes
HistoryCivilizationAwarenessLegacyIgnorance
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of learning from history, this quote can illustrate how we must pay attention to our past.
More from Allan Bloom
All quotes →The humanities are like the great old Paris Flea Market where, amidst masses of junk, people with a good eye found cast away treasures...They are like a refugee camp where all the geniuses driven out of their jobs and countries by unfriendly regimes are idling.
Allan BloomRead
Our Nation, a great stage for the acting out of great thoughts, presents the classic confrontation between Locke's views of the state of nature and Rousseau's criticism of them... Nature is raw material, worthless without the mixture of human labor; yet nature is also the highest and most sacred thing. The same people who struggle to save the snail-darter bless the pill, worry about hunting deer and defend abortion. Reverence for nature, mastery of nature- whichever is convenient.
Allan BloomRead
Reason transformed into prejudice is the worst form of prejudice, because reason is the only instrument for liberation from prejudice.
Allan BloomRead
There is no real education that does not respond to felt need; anything else acquired is trifling display.
Allan BloomRead
Students now arrive at the university ignorant and cynical about our political heritage, lacking the wherewithal to be either inspired by it or seriously critical of it.
Allan BloomRead
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