Hope springs eternal
I almost found a flat today! Almost meaning that someone answered my ad. We e-mailed a bit back and forth, and the flat seemed nice and roomy, and cheap, and the landlady seemed nice and sane, but there's a hitch. She only wants to rent it out until May next year, and since I can't move in before September (I can't afford to pay two rents), I would only be living there for 9 months tops. I can't afford to be moving twice in a year, and I wouldn't want to, anyway. I'll have to e-mail her and say sorry, but no. I'm a bit disappointed that the first offer came to nothing, but that's often the way, so I try not to worry too much. There are bound to be other offers, and I may get a better offer any day now. There's also the possibility of getting a state-subsidized appartment, which is my first choice, because the rent is low and you can be a tenant practically forever, if you don't get evicted, which I don't plan to be... Anyway, although I can't take up the offer, it's cheering to get one. Also, it rained today, so it's not as hot as it was, and my friend is coming over tomorrow, and we're making rhubarb pie:). I had dinner with my parents again, cuddled the cats and played some keyboard. New music for the win!
Since I'll be busy tomorrow, I'm going to write about a virtue today instead. It's been a while, hasn't it?
The virtue for today is PIETAS, which means duty. Piety is a part of it, but it also encompasses a respect for natural and social order, patriotism, and devotion to other people. If you remember from my earlier entries on virtues, the ancient Romans put a great deal of stress on all sorts of public duty. It was important to be a good person for the sake of one's own self, but it was also important to be known as a good and honest person, and to perform one's public duties conscientiously. and to uphold the honour of your family and social class.
I think this virtue, in all its forms, is something that's still around today, although the adherence to a social order is less marked nowadays. People used to think a lot more of keeping things the way they used to be, I think. Of course there's still nostalgia and conservatism today, but we don't expect everything to go to hell if we reform something, or at least talk about reforms. I don't think I've heard of a more conservative society than Ancient Egypt, though. The Romans believed that they were living at a time that wasn't quite the golden age, but a fairly decent one. The Egyptians on the other hand believed that they lived in the best of possible worlds, where the divine and mundane existed in perfect harmony, and that even slight reforms would plunge the world into chaos. It must have been frustrating to be a forward thinker in such a society... I'm somewhat conservative myself, although I would probably be considered a scary socialist by conservatives in more conservative countries), but I do believe in social reforms, and open debate. It must have been nice to be an upper-class person in Ancient Egypt, but I bet the slaves were less than thrilled about the "golden age" they were apparently living in. I don't know if this is true, but I've read that the first documented strike was caused by slaves building the pyramids. They seem to have insisted on more garlic in their diet, because garlic was considered healthy. It's hard to imagine slaves striking anyway, but perhaps it was possible, given enough slaves and reasonable demands.
I'll see what I can do about writing tomorrow, but I'll be back on Monday at the latest, hopefully with a new book to review. Have a continued good weekend, and see you!
Since I'll be busy tomorrow, I'm going to write about a virtue today instead. It's been a while, hasn't it?
The virtue for today is PIETAS, which means duty. Piety is a part of it, but it also encompasses a respect for natural and social order, patriotism, and devotion to other people. If you remember from my earlier entries on virtues, the ancient Romans put a great deal of stress on all sorts of public duty. It was important to be a good person for the sake of one's own self, but it was also important to be known as a good and honest person, and to perform one's public duties conscientiously. and to uphold the honour of your family and social class.
I think this virtue, in all its forms, is something that's still around today, although the adherence to a social order is less marked nowadays. People used to think a lot more of keeping things the way they used to be, I think. Of course there's still nostalgia and conservatism today, but we don't expect everything to go to hell if we reform something, or at least talk about reforms. I don't think I've heard of a more conservative society than Ancient Egypt, though. The Romans believed that they were living at a time that wasn't quite the golden age, but a fairly decent one. The Egyptians on the other hand believed that they lived in the best of possible worlds, where the divine and mundane existed in perfect harmony, and that even slight reforms would plunge the world into chaos. It must have been frustrating to be a forward thinker in such a society... I'm somewhat conservative myself, although I would probably be considered a scary socialist by conservatives in more conservative countries), but I do believe in social reforms, and open debate. It must have been nice to be an upper-class person in Ancient Egypt, but I bet the slaves were less than thrilled about the "golden age" they were apparently living in. I don't know if this is true, but I've read that the first documented strike was caused by slaves building the pyramids. They seem to have insisted on more garlic in their diet, because garlic was considered healthy. It's hard to imagine slaves striking anyway, but perhaps it was possible, given enough slaves and reasonable demands.
I'll see what I can do about writing tomorrow, but I'll be back on Monday at the latest, hopefully with a new book to review. Have a continued good weekend, and see you!