To this self-alienation we have now added
the alienation of our own ideas, and enjoy watching
the destruction of our own past. We no longer record the
evolution of our intellectual creations. To a future
observer, it will appear that our ideas were born fully
developed, like Athena from her father’s brow-except
that, since our historical vocabulary will be forgotten, the
cliche will mean nothing.
The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel
Bewildered Creatures 