History Among the Ashes

In 48 BC, during the Siege of Alexandria during the Roman civil war, Julius Caesar ordered sent fire ships into the harbor. The resulting fire reached the city where the greatest bastion of knowledge and culture in the world, the Library of Alexandria, sat defenseless.

Experts estimate that the resulting destruction stunted humanity’s growth philosophically, scientifically, and technologically by centuries.  The steam engine, for example, ground zero for the industrial revolution, had actually been first developed by Greek inventors centuries before Thomas Savery was even born in 1650.

Imagine where we’d be if that knowledge had been preserved? 

Today, another pillar of history, civilization, philosophy and culture is engulfed in flames. The venerable Notre Dame Cathedral, completed in 1345 AD, is reduced to a shadow of its former glory. This is not to assign blame but to mourn another marvel that will be unnecessarily lost to time.

What of our future will burn with it?