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Clocks do indeed produce a culture of “time” where none such had existed before. This was observed very early: The gods confound the man who first found out
by teddyh 5y ago
Clocks do indeed produce a culture of “time” where none such had existed before. This was observed very early:
The gods confound the man who first found out
how to distinguish hours! Confound him, too,
who in this place set up a sundial,
to cut and hack my days so wretchedly
into small portions! When I was a boy,
my belly was my sundial — one surer,
truer, and more exact than any of them.
This dial told me when ’twas proper time
to go to dinner, when I had aught to eat;
But nowadays, why even when I have,
I can’t fall-to unless the sun gives leave.
The town’s so full of these confounded dials
the greatest part of the inhabitants,
shrunk up with hunger, crawl along the street.
— Plautus (c.254-184 BC)
- civilized 5y agoSo much more insightful, concise, entertaining, and relatable than TFA. We hate our 9-5's but we're also annoyed when the plumber gives us an 8 hour window to show up (and misses the window). Like many rules, timetables can be an inconvenience when imposed on ourselves but very convenient when imposed on others.
- ASalazarMX 5y agoNever expected to read someone complaining about those newfangled sundials.