My 3 star review of
The Age of Reason Begins: The Story of Civilization, Volume VII, by Will Durant:-
Spoiler:
I have always wondered how I keep coming to try these books after DNFing them so regularly and so discouragingly. With this book, I got my answer finally. I have realised that the highs in this series are really high, while the lows are mere grey, and quite insipid. I have taken away jewels of knowledge from this huge nonfiction book. But there was no chance in hell of it getting 5 stars.
The standout conflict, to put it mildly, was the tussle between Phillip II and the entire Dutch Civilisation. People say that Mauritians are not patriotic because they haven't shed blood for the cause of their independence. While this has a kernel of truth in it, it does not tell the entire story. True enough, the most inhuman and most drawn out war, the 80 Year war was mostly about getting rid of foreign and religious oppression. As a result of the peace, the Netherlands were the most emancipated country in Europe. The first free press came from them. For about a century they were the masters in the very crucial science of mapmaking. The Dutch were the first inhabitants of my country's history, Mauritius. To cut to the chase, I would say that the level of savagery achieved in this war was more than what they showed in Game of Thrones. The variety of inflicting defeat and pain was second to most none.
The development of technology and the proliferation of inventions were heartwarming when read about them in the book. The fountain pen, the thermometer and barometer, the invention of the printing press, all changed the game of civilisation. The Bible remained the most published and most read book ever. But the ideas of mortals came to wobble it from its throne. I now fully understand the quote of Isaac Newton:- “If I have seen further,” Isaac Newton wrote in a 1675 letter to fellow scientist Robert Hooke, “it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Now I know the names of those giants. I also know why people don't place any scientist, including Newton, above John von Neumann in terms of raw cerebral power.
Throughout Europe there was the dismantling of feudal power. The 16th and 17th centuries had the kings being under the influence and yoke of the Popes. I hated Henry III more than I liked Henry IV, who sounds like Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark mixed together. This, is neither an exaggeration, nor a joke. Along with the Dutch history, I loved reading about the English and French courts. Shakespeare's chapters gained me new glimpses into the plays I am yet to read of his. I have forgotten a lot already of Spenser, Marlowe, and Sidney. All these writers merged together in one entity in my mind.
The European artists were something! I read avidly about Rembrandt and Rubens, who is my favourite. I began to understand the subtleties of paintings. The play on shadows, colours and light was something I could not get without education. So much that is quotable worthy has been written in this book. The essayist Montaigne was a tough nut to crack. I read about him with excitement. He influenced so many writers. I suspect his effect on future generations was telling. I am almost sure that he influenced Poe, who himself, though a god of literature, is too recent to appear in a volume of Will Durant's. The latter has already been dead by the 80s. I wish he could continue his chronicles indefinitely. I enjoyed his magnum opus a lot and recommend it to people of all ages and abilities.