Almanac: C.S. Lewis on culture in times of crisis
"Plausible reasons have never been lacking for putting off all merely cultural activities until some imminent danger has been averted or some crying injustice put right. But humanity long ago chose to neglect those plausible reasons. They wanted knowledge and beauty now, and would not wait for the suitable moment that never came. Periclean Athens leaves us not only the Parthenon but, significantly, the Funeral Oratio…