At the end of the Spring ’22 semester students had the opportunity to pick quotes to save in a “western civilization” time capsule. Students chose on the basis of which quotes were most representative of the western civilization themes we had studied and/or how useful the quote might be to a future generation of humans/aliens/other.
The texts to choose from were: Book of Genesis, Book of Job, Sophocles’ Antigone, Gospel According to Mark, Dante’s Inferno, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Newton’s Principia Mathematica, Queen Elizabeth I’s “Speech to the Spanish Armada,” Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, Marx’s Communist Manifesto, and Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents.
The most popular authors picked for the time capsule were (3-way tie):
Plato, Locke and Newton.
The runners-up were:
Dante, Shakespeare, and Marx.
Here are the quotes as selected by students and their explanations of why they chose these quotes.
Plato’s Apology
“…for the unexamined life is not worth living for man, you will believe me even less.”
This quote is a significant representation of western civilization because many of these authors have made an impact through their words and literature. Without their literature and them speaking their truth, we would not have a western civilization class to move forward with. It has an important message because he did not think going through life without being able to express one’s knowledge was worth living. It would be important for the aliens to understand this because there would be no history to learn from if people were not able to express their opinions. Aliens would like this quote, since this was a man that only wanted to spread the new knowledge he learned with his peers. He did not believe life was worth living without spreading knowledge. The message it gives is that standing by your word has value, especially to people who have put doubt in you. (Rini Bhattacharya)
“I found that those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those who were thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable.”
I chose this quote because this is still relevant to now. Many people see people in power or in high positions as smart and trustworthy but, that isn’t always the case. I think this quote means that just because a person may not have great opportunities or they are seen as a “nobody” doesn’t mean they aren’t smart. People only seem to trust those in power when most of the time those people are the ones that (sometimes) aren’t the most knowledgeable. They use their status to pass off as being the most wise. (Karin Butler)
Locke’s Second Treatise of Government
“It is also a state of equality, in which no one has more power and authority than anyone else…”
Locke explains that people should not be treated differently because we all come from the same species. This quote is significant in western civilization because there have been many texts in the class that did not give women a role. Women were not seen at the same level as a man, with their thought process and their lives. It would be an important message for the aliens, due to them getting an understanding of why people should be treated equally. Throughout western civilization, whether it was gender or class systems, which looked at people differently and as less, it is not how one should be treated. The message it gives, is to accept others regardless of class or any other social conflicts. The quote represents the evolution of western civilization and how people learn to think in different ways and accept others with the knowledge they have presented or learned. (Rini Bhattacharya)
“The purpose of government is the good of mankind. Which is better for mankind: that the people be always exposed to the limitless will of tyranny, or that the rulers be sometimes liable to meet with opposition when they grow exorbitant in the use of their power and use it for the destruction and not the preservation of the properties of their people?”
John Locke believed in human rights. Many of his beliefs are the principles in which we follow today. Locke believed that a civil society was one with people who had freedom and rights. Everyone was born with natural rights and that the government’s only job was to help society protect their three rights which were life, liberty and property. In his text he suggests that anyone that does not allow this is violating basic human rights and should be punished. This is important for future generations to know and understand for their society. (Maliha Chowdhury)
Newton’s Principia Mathematica
“This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful human being.”
This quote is a significantly important message for humanity / Aliens because the author itself in the text believes that God made the solar systems, and he is enjoying its beauty and whatever that was made before him on this earth. This quote will be not only an important message for them but also they will enjoy every single thing on the earth because everything is connected to God and they will also learn how important God is and his creation is. (Bismi Joseph)
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or, the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary part”
Newton’s axioms and rules have been used in physical sciences for centuries. His intention was to be used for social sciences, like philosophy. Despite his intention, Newton’s Principia Mathematica spurred the Scientific Revolution, which helped open a new pathway to modern science. It would be helpful for the aliens to know where the ideas for the multiple types of sciences stemmed from. Newton’s axioms created what we know now as physics essentially. The axiom in the quote is the most commonly known law of motion, so I feel like in order to have a glimpse of humanity, this would be necessary information for the aliens. (Daisha Suggs)
Dante’s Inferno
“there is no greater pain than to remember, in our present grief, past happiness”
This is a strong quote due to the fact that so many people dwell on what they want (happiness) but can’t or don’t leave the situation that they’re currently in that’s causing them (grief). Or maybe they are too deep into a situation where they have no choice but to stick it out and have to endure the (grief) period. This quote may not be totally intriguing to humanity or aliens but I believe it is important because it is like a veil that weighs on an individual’s conscience. (Chiann Matos)
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
“A woman well-reputed, Cato’s daughter. Think you I am no stronger than my sex, Being so father’d and so husbanded?”
This quote feels that it’d be the most representative of the evolution of humanity. Even in 1599, Shakespeare made the commentary that women’s only value is the man who she’s connected to. Since that time, a woman does not have to worry about being connected to a man because she can be successful in her own right. Even though there are problems in our society right now in relation to bodily autonomy, it shows that we have changed over time. (Daisha Suggs)
Marx’s Communist Manifesto
“The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of the class struggle.”
I feel this quote is a significant important message for humanity / Aliens because it tells us the pattern of every single stage. No matter if it is christian, middle age or romans there was always struggle. It is important for them to look at this quote because even in today’s world, people are still seen in different groups like the poor class, middle class and rich class. People of any class from these groups are still struggling in some sort of way and people are treating others based on their classes. For example, a person from a poor family is experiencing low income and is treated unfairly. Therefore, it would be a good quote for the aliens to learn about this on how people treat each other based on their hierarchy. (Bismi Joseph)
