tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939290855438272306.post1280876487165487774..comments2023-09-19T08:52:46.269-05:00Comments on Alms for Oblivion: 'romantic' and 'cynic'piershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12042745369869839918noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939290855438272306.post-74138258742493526082010-06-24T09:38:35.031-05:002010-06-24T09:38:35.031-05:00Good question, Amir. The short answer to your ques...Good question, Amir. The short answer to your questions is yes. But that is not the only difference; the differences between the modern romantic sensibility and ancient cynicism run so deep that such comparisons are almost meaningless. The ancient world was objective in ways that we can only with difficulty imagine; the subjectivity that we take for granted in poetry and fiction did not exist 2000 years ago. People did not reinvent themselves; the idea of losing oneself in order to find who you really are would not have been understood. It has been suggested, by the way, that Jesus was influenced by the cynics who travelled all over the Empire, teaching.piershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12042745369869839918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939290855438272306.post-33520124896164838622010-06-23T17:58:22.085-05:002010-06-23T17:58:22.085-05:00Thank you for your writing.
I wonder, does an _anc...Thank you for your writing.<br />I wonder, does an _ancient_ cynic and a plain romantic share the same perception of life? They both believe in truth, justice, honesty, integrity and so on, don`t they? <br />Is the only difference between them is that the ancient cynics believe there is no good in wealth, power and fame, wheres romantic still enjoy and appreciate those? ?Amirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939290855438272306.post-43728382864219368132008-08-02T10:29:00.000-05:002008-08-02T10:29:00.000-05:00Was the author of Ecclesiastes a cynic and a roman...Was the author of Ecclesiastes a cynic and a romantic? He said "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" (1:2). He also wrote "And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy ..." (2:10).<BR/><BR/>Was St. Augustine a romantic? His Confessions are quite personal and refer to sex.<BR/><BR/>Is the Song of Solomon romantic? It is about physical desire.<BR/><BR/>Is Montaigne a romantic? His essays are personal explorationsLao Qiaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15295030239306528508noreply@blogger.com