You know what the fellow said – in Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.
That observation is brilliant!
The cuckoo clock.
And probably just about anything else that was possible with the clockwork technology of the time? Only till the electronic age was that capacity surpassed.
Anyhow, the brawling of the Renaissance is a candid portrait of the fallenness of men. That is what the story of redemption on earth looks like. Honest eyes would be aghast, but there is another, pure element that bubbles up among the chaos.
The bells and whistles may have changed but the behavior and personality types are the same today and throughout recorded history in all cultures.
Only till => not until
Orson Welles has some memorable, readily recognized quotes, three of which are just three words or less:
Has the author taken a look at the art produced in modern America?
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
Guy didn’t know much about the history of the Swiss.
They fought several civil wars, some of them religious.
They also provided most of the best mercenaries of Europe for several centuries, and had a rep for giving no quarter.
Bookmark
So this guy made a name for himself by wading through the Renaissance’s sewers?
I guess the pen follows the mind.
America has had more than 30 years of Democrapic rule in Big Sh*ties. All of the bad behavior of Italian City States has been diligently, even assiduously practiced in places like ChiCongo, Detoilet, and the LA basin. Most exemplary is Neu Yuk Sh*ty - seemingly, only modern art daubers have thrived.
Perhaps if we shut off power, running water, and plugged the sewers - might the level of art might improve?
I used to tend bar at a nice Italian restaurant many years ago. There was a couple who came in 2-3 times a week, always reserved the same table and were very demanding. And cheap, tipping 5% on a good day. They always asked for Jeanne to serve them, and she hated it but hid it well.
The woman in particular (the waitstaff called her “the queen”) always wanted things her way. If they were present when it was time to dim the lights in the dining room for the evening she’d complain that it was too dark, or not dark enough. Same with the heat/AC with the thermostat located behind the bar in their line of sight.
It got to where we would pretend to make a heat/AC change to get her to complain, then reset it to where we needed it.
HA HA, I never heard that before. Pretty amusing.
The Late William Manchester wrote a small book a few years back that covers this subject quite well. “A World Lite Only By Fire”
An eye opening read.