¶ Custom (1)
Index Entry
Custom: Lest One Good Custom Corrupt the World:
"In the time of Tennyson tradition was about as strong as it could be; change was abut at its lowest in social affairs. Technology had not yet taken over. Still, Tennyson was able to conceive of the approaching industry-- even to consider flight. In Morte D’Arthur he said
‘The old order changeth, yielding place to the new As God Fulfills himself in many ways…’
And then he says something that is unfamiliar to most people:
‘Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.’
"He realized that a habit that was once completely satisfactory to man may be maintained after its time. As entropy is always operative and the Universe is altering, change is inexorable. Therefore, holding on to a good custom is equivalent to damming up the Universe and so the flood will only be worse when the dam does break. It is really the most pleasing traditions of yesterday that bring about the greatest social revolutions. At the moment we are finding agreat many seemingly satisfactory kinds of custom from yesterday-- "
¶ Citations
- draft Preface for Francis Warner, 1970
