Dead people Quote by Eileen Power
““In the first place the process of disintegration was a slow one, for the whole tempo of life was slow and what might take decades in our own time took centuries then. It is only because we can look back from the vantage point of a much later age that we can see the inexorable pattern which events are forming, so that we long to cry to these dead people down the corridor of the ages, warning them to make a stand before it is too late, hearing no answering echo, 'Physician, heal thyself!' They suffered from the fatal myopia of contemporaries. It was the affairs of the moment that occupied them; for them it was the danger of the moment that must be averted and they did not recognize that each compromise and each defeat was a link in the chain dragging them over the abyss.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Rise of the Medieval World, 1998
The quote warns that societies often fail to see long‑term consequences, focusing on immediate crises and thus repeating mistakes across centuries.
In simple terms: People ignore future impact, fixing only present problems.
Key Takeaway
Consider long‑term effects before acting.
Themes
history
myopia
consequences
responsibility
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
historical
When to use this quote
- policy making
- education curricula
- urban planning
- environmental activism
Key Concepts
historical cycles
collective memory
ethical foresight
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we balance urgent action with future planning?
- What mechanisms help societies learn from past errors?
A Different Perspective
It may overstate the uniformity of historical patterns.
