> the Victorians were maybe the first Western society - maybe anywhere - that devoted itself to relentless self-improvement as a moral imperative
I've been reading up on Metternich era recently, and this element of British society in the post-Napoleonic era--one of security for and peace on the British Isles, education and wealth for its population and a virtual monopoly on the high seas--has fascinated me. Both for its uniqueness, as well as for its elusiveness in modern historical dialect.
I've been reading up on Metternich era recently, and this element of British society in the post-Napoleonic era--one of security for and peace on the British Isles, education and wealth for its population and a virtual monopoly on the high seas--has fascinated me. Both for its uniqueness, as well as for its elusiveness in modern historical dialect.