To Read History

 

I’ve come up with a new epigram:

 

HISTORIAM LEGERE EST TRISTE ESSE

 

In my native tongue, that translates to: “To read history is to be sad.”

And that’s my conclusion.

 

In the second third of my life I focused the majority of my reading in the field of history. Whereas it used to be science and math and philosophy and entertainment, since 2012 I’ve spent most of my nonfiction perusal in the Dewey Decimal 900s. “History.”

 

It began with the Civil War, then sidestepped to World War II (with a brief foray to the “Great War”). The Space Race, ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, the Crusades, the Catholic Church, nations such as China and India, Napoleonic France and all the continental conflicts involving the little emperor, just to mention the more significant phases. Even the history of Baseball. I’m sure there were a couple other “History of …” books I’m forgetting.

 

I’m writing this not so much to brag as to lay a foundation for why I believe HISTORIAM LEGER EST TRISTE ESSE.

 

Consider:

 

We live in a fallen world. This is my view based on the teachings of Catholicism. Other religious beliefs offer comparable starting points.

 

Strife and striving are the constant companions of men in specific and Man in general. Depending on who you consult as an authority, out of 5,000 years of recorded human history, there have only been around 300 years entirely free from major warfare. Thus, the history of Man is the history of War.

 

War necessitates suffering, and the more “civilized” we become, the more “innocents” suffer in conflict.

 

Since the Endarkenment, we have seen a receding of the influence of the teachings of Christ, Who offers the only true solution to Man’s fallen state of being. And that recession arguably has increased more and more, almost exponentially so, as the Western world actively seeks detachment from Christ and a return to a greater state of fallenness. A progression toward regression.

 

Thus any serious volume of history will necessarily document suffering.

 

Hence, to an inquirer with a heart, even a heart of stone, “to read history is to be sad.”

 

Quod Erat Demonstrandum. (Q.E.D.)

 

Now, I’m not certain that biography falls into this category. Strictly speaking I assume it does, but since it addresses the struggles of a specific individual, there could be a few drops of wisdom one can squeeze out to lessen one’s own battles. Perhaps I’m looking for a loophole, but for now biography sits in acceptable position for me, i.e., “to read the personal history of an individual does not necessarily necessitate sadness, but can provide personal enlightenment.”

 

I recognize such a loophole can be applied to my main argument. Hey, I’m just an armchair philosopher who may have too big an opinion of himself. (May?)

 

Anyway, the bottom line is I think it is time to switch my interest out of the Dewey Decimal 900s. I have some ideas where to channel my downtime so that it’s not depressing me. Perhaps in the near future I will elaborate. Now I’m going to exercise that loophole and read about Sinatra, a conflicted and often troubled man who attained highs and lows the average person could only dream about. (Or nightmare about, I suppose). After that, the dissertation on Tolkien. And after that …