Rediscovering the Classics

The great thing about having a poor short term memory is that when the things you've bought online turn up... you're surprised... by converse, if they don't turn up you forget you've ordered them! I'm talking specifically about two books I bought before Christmas and with the disruption in my mail being delivered and then the following furore of the holiday merriments I completely forgot. Turns out that Amazon is holding to ransom my bargain copies of La Vita Nuova & Faust - A Tragedy In Two Parts & The Urfaust and I've just remembered that I want to read them!

I've always been captivated by Dante's obsession with Beatrice and the logical part of me suspects that such unwavering lasting love or proclamations of 'she's the one'... just doesn't seem probable particularly these days. But there is a dogged romantic part of my nature that hangs onto the idea of 'what if'....

I heard the tale of Beatrice when I was very young and I think that's where my love of old poems and books comes from. I can't explain the joy of poems such as O Fortuna, made famous by Orff's musical adaptation. I like to think of it as an classical version of the BBC's 'Points of View' programme!

I read this one and others as being full of passion and and given the desperation of most people's lives in those days it's hardly surprising. It's a reflection of living through dramatic or cataclysmic situations which run the gauntlet between life and death. Wanting to squeeze as much out of life is a stark difference from the half hearted desires of our times. To me, walking in departments stores is a reflection of how sick our society has become. More and more pointless 'things' on offer at inflated costs which are designed to enslaves us all to leading lives shackled to our own pointless possessions and the need to work to pay for them.

There's an old cliche that life is not about the number of breaths you take, but the number of times your breath has been taken away (I'm paraphrasing cos I can't remember it exactly).. When I'm reminded of the things I've already discovered and had me spellbound, it feels like I'm rediscovering those feelings and thoughts with the same excitement or sometimes even renewed excitement as the first time around. It's a by-product of the way my brain's wired but it occurs to me that wouldn't it be useful to have that feeling of rediscovery about someone you fell in love with or something you've treasured, instead of the increasingly disposable mind set that appears to be so prevalent today?

Which would you prefer - the long term deep joy of a much loved classic or reliving temporary short term pleasure from the same start point?