And surely, he that hath taken the true Altitude of…
“And surely, he that hath taken the true Altitude of Things, and rightly calculated the degenerate state of this Age, is not like to envy those that shall live in the next, much less three or four hundred Years hence, when no Man can comfortably imagine what Face this World will carry.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The future will be unimaginable; current generations cannot foresee distant epochs.
In simple terms: Future societies will be beyond our current imagination.
Accept uncertainty about long‑term outcomes.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- technology forecasting
- long‑term planning
- philosophical debate
- cultural evolution
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What assumptions limit our view of the future?
- How can we prepare for unknown possibilities?
Predicting distant futures often fails due to unforeseen breakthroughs.