The greatness ofindividuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries.
It is alwayslimited by a person’s view of the world when judging another individual’sachievements or contribution from their perspectives. Through furtherunderstanding of an individual, we may tempt to adore some individuals who werenot praised by their contemporaries, or we may gainsay some individuals’achievements. Thus, contemporaries are not good judge of the greatness ofindividuals, but those who live after them can decide the value of them.
Most brilliantminds exceed their contemporaries’ understanding and tolerance. New andunfamiliar theories contradict to people’s cognition and undermine their senseof safety. Most therefore react to fundamental resistance or outrage,consciously or unconsciously. Galileo challenges the infallibility of the RomeCatholic Church by championing the heliocentrism other than the prevailinggeocentrism. Though everyone agrees that sun is the center of galaxy, peoplethen considered him as a heresy and forced him to spend his rest of life underhouse arrest. This is an example, though extreme, of natural reaction to agreat man’s claim. The importance of scientific achievements waited years, evencenturies, to be validated by scientists after the extensive accumulation ofdata and proof. It is the same with the artistic works. A number of artists donot get recognized until their death. William Blake, once considered mad by contemporariesfor his idiosyncratic views, is held in highly regard by later critics for hisexpressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mysticalundercurrents within his works. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte condemned bycontemporary critics for its portrayal of amoral passion, subsequently becamean English literature classic. Van Gogh suffered from non-recognition of hisart and the subsequent poverty and mental derangement. It is no wander why O.Henry wrote a story about an artist winning fame and fortune by feigning hisdeath to satirize the phenomenon.
Many importantconsequences take years to become lucid, and contemporaries would conclude narrowjudgment of an individual due to their unable to witness the overall impact ofone person. A person’s effect to the society is not static, but dynamic andlong-lasting. Without the full scope of an individual’s impact, contemporariestend to undervalue or overvalue one’s attainment. Their evaluations aretherefore incomplete and provincial. Napoleon Bonaparte, one famous militaryand political leader, though was extensively acknowledged great person, wascontroversial his establishment of the French Empire which restored aspects ofthe deposed ancien regime and invasion in other European countries. People thenwould absolutely condemn the suffering his wars brought about. But later peoplebenefit a lot from the ideals of French Revolution spread by those painful wars.On the other hand, though it is seemed like that his action restored aspects ofthe deposed regime. What he did is actually protected and improved the resultsof the French Revolution, like Napoleon Code.
Only those who liveafter them can draw an integral and rational judgment of the great person,while contemporaries are bad judge due to the limit of their scope of knowledgeand information.作者: shinian1987 时间: 2012-3-23 16:45:31
It is always limited by a person’s view of the world when judging another individual’s achievements or contribution from their perspectives. Through further understanding of an individual, we may tempt to adore some individuals who were not praised by their contemporaries, or we may gain say some individuals ’achievements. Thus, contemporaries are not good judge of the greatness of individuals, but those who live after them can decide the value of them.
Most brilliant minds exceed their contemporaries’ understanding and tolerance. New and unfamiliar theories contradict to people’s cognition and undermine their sense of safety. Most therefore react to fundamental resistance or outrage, consciously or unconsciously. Galileo challenges the infallibility of the Rome Catholic Church by championing the heliocentrism other than the prevailing geocentrism. Though everyone agrees that sun is the center of galaxy, people then considered him as a heresy and forced him to spend his rest of life under house arrest. This is an example, though extreme, of natural reaction to a great man’s claim. The importance of scientific achievements waited years, even centuries, to be validated by scientists after the extensive accumulation of data and proof. It is the same with the artistic works. A number of artists do not get recognized until their death. William Blake, once considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, is held in highly regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his works. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte condemned by contemporary critics for its portrayal of amoral passion subsequently became an English literature classic. Van Gogh suffered from non-recognition of his art and the subsequent poverty and mental derangement. It is no wander why O.Henry wrote a story about an artist winning fame and fortune by feigning his death to satirize the phenomenon.
Many important consequences take years to become lucid, and contemporaries would conclude narrow judgment of an individual due to their unable to witness the overall impact of one person. A person’s effect to the society is not static, but dynamic and long-lasting. Without the full scope of an individual’s impact, contemporaries tend to undervalue or overvalue one’s attainment. Their evaluations are therefore incomplete and provincial. Napoleon Bonaparte, one famous military and political leader, though was extensively acknowledged great person, was controversial his establishment of the French Empire which restored aspects of the deposed ancien regime and invasion in other European countries. People then would absolutely condemn the suffering his wars brought about. But later people benefit a lot from the ideals of French Revolution spread by those painful wars. On the other hand, though it is seemed like that his action restored aspects of the deposed regime. What he did is actually protected and improved the results of the French Revolution, like Napoleon Code.
Only those who live after them can draw an integral and rational judgment of the great person, while contemporaries are bad judge due to the limit of their scope of knowledge and information.