Greek Epigram in Reception Quotes

“Paradoxically, however, the past only exists in the present—the one place we can experience it, feel its presence (it is ‘here’ for us by being‘now’), and make it work for us. We might say: the past exists for, and is a function of, the present.”
― Gideon Nisbet, Greek Epigram in Reception: J. A. Symonds, Oscar Wilde, and the Invention of Desire, 1805-1929

“The one thing we can say with certainty about the past is that it is not there any more.”
― Gideon Nisbet, Greek Epigram in Reception: J. A. Symonds, Oscar Wilde, and the Invention of Desire, 1805-1929

“Which is the more effective in keeping the peace: blunt censorship of ‘dangerous’ texts, or safe interpretations of supposedly ‘respectable’ ones?”
― Gideon Nisbet, Greek Epigram in Reception: J. A. Symonds, Oscar Wilde, and the Invention of Desire, 1805-1929