The more I come to understand about the past, the more I'm convinced that people really weren't all that different in previous centuries. The culture changes, of course, but human nature is much more constant. People struggled with the same kinds of fears, hopes, dreams, and problems, ignoring of course the cultural and technological differences. Crime, greed, and self-serving behavior have always been present. But at the core of it, in every culture there has always been other pressures on one's behavior, to behave in a socially respectable manner that is more honest and true.
