What Would Will Durant Write Today?

They tried to sift out the best from the mass of existing manuscripts, and to guide the reading of the people; they made lists of “best books,” the “four heroic poets,” the “nine historians,” the “ten lyric poets” the “ten orators,” etc.

Every time I open Will Durant’s The Life of Greece, a smile yanks at the corners of my lips.

I know he doesn’t bore me to sleep.

I know I’m in love with the way he shares history.

And yet. . .

Every time I open the book, I’m surprised, as if I’ve forgotten what I know.

He gets my brain going faster than a gallon of Red Bull and Carl Lewis sprinting through the 80s.

This morning he got me thinking about how we remember:

Thoughtful men felt that the creative inspiration of Greece was nearing exhaustion, and that the most lasting service they could render was to collect, shelter, edit, and expound the literary achievements of a bolder time. . . .

They wrote biographies of great writers and scientists; they gathered and saved the fragmentary data which are now all that we know concerning these men. They composed outlines of history, literature, drama, science, and philosophy; some of these “short cuts to knowledge” helped to preserve, some replaced and unwittingly obliterated the original works they summarized.

This morning he got me thinking about how we write:

It was above all an age of intellectuals and scholars. Writing became a profession instead of a devotion, and generated cliques and coteries whose appreciation of talent varied inversely as the square of its distance from themselves. Poets began to write for poets, and became artificial; scholars began to write for scholars, and became dull.

This morning he got me thinking about how we try to backtrack and correct:

Saddened by the degeneration of the Attic Greek into Orientalized “pidgin” Greek of their time, Hellenistic scholars compiled dictionaries and grammars, and the Library of Alexandria, in the manner of the French Academy, issued edicts on the correct usage of the ancient tongue. Without their learned and patient “ant industry” the wars, revolutions, and catastrophes of two thousand years would have destroyed even those “precious minims” which have been transmitted to us as the shipwrecked legacy of Greece.

Durant is my connector between the past and present. He talks Greece, I read 2011. In the quotes above, he talks Hellenic and I hear modern. He reminds me of the back and forth, the parallels, and the repeats of history.

This morning, with me head still lost between dreams and reality, he woke me with:

Normally the philosophy of one age is the literature of the next: the ideas and issues that in one generation are fought out on the field of research and speculation provide in the succeeding generation the background of drama, fiction and poetry. But in Greece the literature did not lag behind the philosophy; the poets were themselves philosophers, did their own thinking, and were in the intellectual vanguard of their time. That same conflict between conservatism and radicalism which agitated Greek religion, science, and philosophy found expression also in poetry and drama, even in the writing of history. Since excellence of artistic form was added, in Greek letters, to depth of speculative thought, the literature of the Golden Age reached heights never touched again until the days of Shakespeare and Montaigne.

He left my waking head asking, Where are we today?

More specific: Where are we with our war stories? How are they remembered, written and backtracked? What should be recommended reading? How do we find the gems? Who decides what is a gem?

More to come.

Posted in

DO THE WORK

Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.

do the work book banner 1

THE AUTHENTIC SWING

A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.

The-Authentic-Swing

NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T

Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.

noboybookcover

TURNING PRO

Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"

Turning-Pro

8 Comments

  1. John Arends on December 19, 2011 at 6:28 am

    Thank you, Callie, for asking the good questions.

  2. Jose Palacios on December 19, 2011 at 11:56 am

    Mr. Oettinger,

    Excellent points and questions with a clarity that I have not seen in these modern times.

    Waiting on more to come.

    Jose

  3. Chuck Bagnato on December 20, 2011 at 4:20 am

    Callie,
    Enlightening. I think when this generation of Warriors’ skills develop as story tellers there will be more works like “Matterhorn” and the “Strongest Tribe”. Both written by Warriors who have had the time for their skills to ferment after years of hard work.
    Thank you…
    Chuck

  4. Tricia on December 20, 2011 at 8:38 am

    Very thoughtful contribution. Thanks.

  5. Gene on December 21, 2011 at 12:26 am

    Interesting topic. While the warrior’s weapons and tools have changed, the warrior’s code and way have not. I had the honor to serve with greatest men I will ever know during three tours in Iraq. Through the screams, tears, glories and laughter I felt a connection to the ancient warriors who toiled and bled in the same desert 5,000 years before me. I could hear them complaining about the same things: the heat, the food, the bugs, the leadership, etc.

    There is a generation of warriors now that are finding their voices and many that already have that will take pen to paper (or screen) and write the classics that my grandkids will be talking about.

    As for who will decide what the gems are, as long as these warriors write from the heart and not for the big money contract we will find them. Any warrior that is willing to be honest and sincere and pour his soul out on paper is worthy of a look. But, as Steven says in The War of Art, if no one reads it, who cares. All that matters is that he did the work.

  6. James Jordan on August 4, 2023 at 3:13 am

    I am impressed by your enthusiasm and curiosity for history, literature, and philosophy. You have shared some of the insights and questions that Will Durant’s The Life of Greece has sparked in you.
    Tree Trimming Services in Littleton CO

  7. Mike on August 20, 2023 at 10:23 am

    Walgreen Survey is now available on the official survey page https://www.walgreensreceiptsurvey.com/. If you are from the United States, you can participate in the WalgreensListens Survey to get a $3000 Gift card from Walgreens Pharmacy.

  8. Walgreenslistens.com on December 22, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    A hint of gratitude is what motivates everyone, so if you have a very positive experience with Walgreens and you tell the study about it, you may anticipate shockingly better customer service the next time you visit the store.

    https://wlgreenslistenswin.org/

Leave a Comment





Patronu aradığında sürekli hasta olduğunu söyleyerek iş yerine yalan söylüyor porno hikaye Patronu artık bu kadarının gerçek olamayacağını ve rapor görmek istediğini dile getirip telefonu kapatıyor türbanlı Olgun kadın hemen bilgisayarının başına geçip özel bir doktor buluyor ve onu arayarak evine davet ediyor porno Muayene için eve gelen doktor olgun kadını muayene ediyor ve hiç bir sıkıntı olmadığını söylüyor brazzers porno Sarışın ablamız ise iş yerine rapor götürmesi gerektiğini bu yüzden rapor yazmasını istiyor brazzers porno fakat doktor bunun pek mümkün olmadığını dile getiriyor sex hikayeleri Daha sonra evli olan bu kahpe doktora iş atarak ona yavşıyor ve istediğini alana kadar durmuyor Porno İzle Karılarını takas etmek isteyen elemanlar hep birlikte evde buluşuyor türkçe porno Güzel vakit geçirdikten sonra kızlara isteklerini iletiyorlar ve hatunlarda kocalarının bu isteklerini kabul ediyorlar seks hikayeleri Hemen ellerine telefonları alan elemanlar karılarına video eşliğinde sakso çektiriyorlar porno izle Hiç beklemeden sikişe geçen elemanlar hatunları değiştire değiştire sikmeye başlıyorlar.