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38. Volney's Ruins of Empires
An historian and revolutionary, Volney begins _The Ruins … of Empires_ by invoking ruins for their meditative and instructive possibilities. He hails them and says, “my heart finds in contemplat[ing them] a thousand delicious sentiments,” and finds them “Pregnant with useful lessons.” They call “upon us to contemplate [an] example of Equality.” So, even though this levelling of the architectural symbols of power typically takes centuries, Volney mobilizes the freshly made ruins of the Revolution as signs of democratization in his present France.
38. Volney's Ruins of Empires
An historian and revolutionary, Volney begins _The Ruins … of Empires_ by invoking ruins for their meditative and instructive possibilities. He hails them and says, “my heart finds in contemplat[ing them] a thousand delicious sentiments,” and finds them “Pregnant with useful lessons.” They call “upon us to contemplate [an] example of Equality.” So, even though this levelling of the architectural symbols of power typically takes centuries, Volney mobilizes the freshly made ruins of the Revolution as signs of democratization in his present France.