From: psperson1@ix.netcom.invalid   
      
   On Sat, 08 Dec 2018 17:52:44 +0000, temujin    
   wrote:   
      
   >Does it take a degree in cultural studies to conclude that an author   
   >is a product of his time?   
      
   You have to keep in mind that Scholarly Careers are based on the   
   princple:   
      
   Publish or Perish   
      
   It is far more important to publish than it is to have anything to   
   say.   
      
   Some fields are /ideal/ for this purpose. Those in them can, for   
   example, spend a few decades debating whethe or not Socrates existed,   
   concluding that he did not, and then, a few years later, start a /new/   
   debate on the issue, concluding that he did. And so on, endlessly.   
      
   There is no way to tell (well, there is one, but it has problems), so   
   there is no way to say which conclusion is correct.   
      
   The one way to tell is a simple two-step process:   
      
   1. Invent time travel.   
   2. Go back and see.   
      
   But the first step is a doozie.   
   --   
   "I begin to envy Petronius."   
   "I have envied him long since."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)