But to the extent that I can
understand my own motives ..
I want to keep the history of
our generation fresh in my
mind so that I don't let my-
self slip - it is so comfor-
table sometimes, so enter-
taining - into easy cynicism.
I want the anger that comes
with its harsh ironies and
absurdities, to keep my own
sense of location from dying
while I am still capable of
passion.
The text is a diary entry
by a character in a novel
by a classicist and teach-
er of distinct stature in
my experience. Out of con-
text, it is merely a frag-
ment of characterisation,
not the summation it can-
not be, of external or in-
ternal conditions. It ad-
dresses remembrance as if
conservation were still a
respectable, and not just
a nostalgic undertaking.
Edmund Keeley
A Wilderness Called Peace
[Tacitus, Agricola, 98 A.D.]
Simon & Schuster, 1985©
Jack Rans
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