david zach's journal

« The Substance of Style | Main | Young Professionals: cool vs. continuity? »

October 11, 2003

In Ruins by Christopher Woodward



Anyone who thinks the future is going to be a success, should also know that it might well be a failure. Like so many others, we too may fall. In Ruins, a collection of essays by Christopher Woodward, explores a diversity of history that does question our popular assumption that our own progress will win out over time. Time will tell. What time has told us so far is that no one and no civilization lives forever.

My favorite anecdote in the book describes the Coliseum. In the centuries after Rome's fall, the Coliseum became refilled with life. One botanist in 1855 cataloged 420 species of plants all living there. People lived in the ruin too, including a famous hermit (how disappointing for him!). For centuries it had inspired artists and lovers. Starting in 1874, they started removing the dirt and the plants and of course, the hermit. After that it was no longer romantic, it was an artifact. It may have still fascinated, but it no longer inspired. What is it about us that wants our ruins to be romantic?

Click on the link above to take you to amazon.com to read other reviews.

Posted by dmzach

View by Category

Recent Entries