The Everlasting Man

Abstract

"One of the curious assumptions commonly made is that only the latest book on a subject is really worth reading. Of course, knowledge is cumulative and fresh discoveries come to light which may modify or enlarge earlier conclusions. But it does not necessarily follow that we advance in wisdom or insight. Indeed, contemporary assumptions largely determine the way in which we assimilate new facts, and those assumptions may be retrograde. As far as theology is concerned, yesterday's insights may be lost in an uncriticized acceptance of the most recent, though ephemeral, fashions of thought. A colleague of mine on the faculty of McMaster University in Canada used to shock undergraduates by telling them that they could not adequately understand the modern world without coming to terms with Plato. Anyone who has seriously studied the "Republic" will appreciate the force of his contention"