In the following pages I lay before the reader a few thoughts that are taken from a larger work on which I have been engaged for years. It had been my intention to use the same method which in The Decline of the West I had limited to the group of the higher Cultures, for the investigation of their historical pre-requisite — namely, the history of Man from his origins. But experience with the earlier work showed that the majority of readers are not in a position to maintain a general view over the mass of ideas as a whole, and so lose themselves in the detail of this or that domain which is familiar to them, seeing the rest either obliquely or not at all. In consequence they obtain an incorrect picture, both of what I have written and of the subject-matter about which I wrote. Now, as then, it is my conviction that the destiny of Man can only be understood by dealing with all the provinces of his activity simultaneously and comparatively, and avoiding the mistake of trying to elucidate some problem, say, of his politics or his religion or his art, solely in terms of particular sides of his being, in the belief that, this done, there is no more to be said. Nevertheless, in this book I venture to put forward some of the questions. They are a few among many. But they are interconnected, and for that reason may serve, for the time being, to help the reader to a provisional glimpse into the great secret of Man’s destiny.
| | In the following pages I lay before the reader a few thoughts that are taken from a larger work on which I have been engaged for years. It had been my intention to use the same method which in The Decline of the West I had limited to the group of the higher Cultures, for the investigation of their historical pre-requisite — namely, the history of Man from his origins. But experience with the earlier work showed that the majority of readers are not in a position to maintain a general view over the mass of ideas as a whole, and so lose themselves in the detail of this or that domain which is familiar to them, seeing the rest either obliquely or not at all. In consequence they obtain an incorrect picture, both of what I have written and of the subject-matter about which I wrote. Now, as then, it is my conviction that the destiny of Man can only be understood by dealing with all the provinces of his activity simultaneously and comparatively, and avoiding the mistake of trying to elucidate some problem, say, of his politics or his religion or his art, solely in terms of particular sides of his being, in the belief that, this done, there is no more to be said. Nevertheless, in this book I venture to put forward some of the questions. They are a few among many. But they are interconnected, and for that reason may serve, for the time being, to help the reader to a provisional glimpse into the great secret of Man’s destiny.
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| secret: A secret is something that you do not tell other people.among: If you are among certain things, they are all around you.ever: Ever means at any time.view: To view is to look at something.avoid: To avoid something is to stay away from it.experience: An experience is something you have seen or done.follow: To follow means to go behind someone and go where they go.lay: To lay means to put or place in a horizontal or flat position.familiar: If someone or something is familiar to you, you know them well.rest: To rest is to stop being active while the body gets back its strength.site: A site is a place.tail: A tail is a part of an animal’s body, sticking out from its rear or back.either: Either is used with or to say there are two or more possibilities.method: A method is the way to do something.correct: To be correct is to be right.hole: A hole is an opening in something.owe: To owe is to have to pay or give back something received from another.position: A position is the way something is placed.whole: Whole means all of something.limit: A limit is the largest or smallest amount of something that you allow.mistake: A mistake is something you do wrong.forward: If you move forward, you move in the direction in front of you.lie: To lie is to say or write something untrue to deceive someone.serve: To serve someone is to give them food or drinks.war: A war is a big fight between two groups of people.though: Though is used when the second idea makes the first seem surprising.term: A term is a word for something.maintain: To maintain means to make something stay the same.deal: A deal is an agreement that you have with another person.major: If something is major, it is big or important.belief: A belief is a strong feeling that something is correct or true. | |
secret: A secret is something that you do not tell other people.among: If you are among certain things, they are all around you.ever: Ever means at any time.view: To view is to look at something.avoid: To avoid something is to stay away from it.experience: An experience is something you have seen or done.follow: To follow means to go behind someone and go where they go.lay: To lay means to put or place in a horizontal or flat position.familiar: If someone or something is familiar to you, you know them well.rest: To rest is to stop being active while the body gets back its strength.site: A site is a place.tail: A tail is a part of an animal’s body, sticking out from its rear or back.either: Either is used with or to say there are two or more possibilities.method: A method is the way to do something.correct: To be correct is to be right.hole: A hole is an opening in something.owe: To owe is to have to pay or give back something received from another.position: A position is the way something is placed.whole: Whole means all of something.limit: A limit is the largest or smallest amount of something that you allow.mistake: A mistake is something you do wrong.forward: If you move forward, you move in the direction in front of you.lie: To lie is to say or write something untrue to deceive someone.serve: To serve someone is to give them food or drinks.war: A war is a big fight between two groups of people.though: Though is used when the second idea makes the first seem surprising.term: A term is a word for something.maintain: To maintain means to make something stay the same.deal: A deal is an agreement that you have with another person.major: If something is major, it is big or important.belief: A belief is a strong feeling that something is correct or true.
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