Shawn L. Bird

“My own age has always repelled me, so that, had it not been for the love of those dear to me, I should have preferred to have been born in any other period than our own.”

~Petrarch in “Letter to Posterity”

I came across this quote in a junior high text book.  It seemed rather profound in the context of his appearance in Grace Awakening, not to mention the development of Grace Beguiling.

I am so looking forward to wandering around Avignon and the Vauclus region, exploring the places where Francesco Petrarca and Laure de Noves de Sade walked 700 years ago.  He first saw her at the church across from our hotel  684 years ago!  

Because Petrarch was such a prolific writer, his words remain with us today.  His thoughts, emotions, and battles are just like those we must sort out in our own lives today.  His words are timeless.  He didn’t just belong to his time, and it’s wonderful how he shared himself so generously with the future.

Imagine how much fun Petrarch would have had in our world.  His blog would have been fascinating to read.  He would have loved being able to travel around the whole world with little effort, and I know he would have loved the internet: entire libraries of thought at his disposal in an instant!  Best of all- there is no black plague to steal his beloved muse in our time.  He could follow all her doings on Facebook and sigh at her profile photo.

I am thankful to live when I do, with all our modern benefits and health care.  If I long for the beauty of a previous age, I am not so foolish so as to imagine that I’d have been among the nobility who would have been able to enjoy it!  I’m glad Petrarch felt enough out of touch with his time, as he looked back to Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers and forward to posterity.

How about you?  What time would you like to have been born in?