Inventions Reached Their Limit A Long Time Ago
Inventions reached their limit long ago, and I see no hope for further development. (Sextus Julius Frontinus, 100AD)
I love that quote, it turned up on the Famous Quotes application on my Facebook profile some time back, and I have only just been able to find time to research it.
It’s a good thing that I did some research, because it is actually a misquote!
Sextus Julius Frontinus was a Roman who was born between 34 – 40 AD, and died around 104 AD. He was a general, governor of Roman Britain, a writer, an engineer and member of the Roman senate!
He was also a surveyor, and his major achievement in construction was the planning and building of aqueducts to carry water to Rome.
I did some research on Sextus to learn more about him so that I could write a post about the above quote, as many others have.
When I saw his range of interests though, and his success in engineering works, I dug deeper to find out more about him.
My sources included Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Brittanica
His actual quote was: ‘I will ignore all ideas for new works on engines of war, the invention of which has reached its limits and for whose improvements I see no further hope.’
When you read and think about was said here, you may just realize that this gentleman was looking for new technology, because what he had at hand could only be improved by better tactics, something that he also wrote about!
Put in context then, he was actually talking about military technology of his day, something that didn’t change for a very long time!
It would be nice if we could say it today, but unfortunately, mankind has a great talent for coming up with new ways to kill each other.
The context of the quote is very important, because if you do a search online, you will find a number of sites using the misquote as a basis for their own ideas and articles, which in turn may or may not be correct.
It reminds me very much of some Bible teachers who will take a passage or sentance from the Bible, and link it to another, regardless of the context in which either appear.
An extreme example of this may be: ‘…and he went out and hanged himself…’ linked with: ‘…go ye and do the same…’
Many factors can influence a writer, including their upbringing, nationality, education and religion. What they have been taught can include prejudice, fact, or hearsay.
What they write then, could be totally wrong on a number of counts.
It pays to check first. I was on a bloggers forum recently where the question was asked, ‘What research do you do before writing an article…?.
Some of the answers were really scary, and I have been careful since to check my sources of information to make sure that what I am writing is indeed correct.
When I was growing up in a sleepy, Australian country town, the baker and and milkman used to deliver their products in horse drawn carts – the horse would plod along while the vendor ran from house to house.
It was a world that was no where as connected as today’s world, and it seems that the longer I live, the faster the rate of change becomes.
If I try and write from a perspective of those long gone days, my writing may be largely irrelevant, and my facts might be wrong.
One of my New Years Resolutions is to do more research, and to do it more thoroughly!
May 2008 be a great year for you, your family and friends!
Allan Cockerill is a communicator from NSW, Australia! His writings, photography and videos may reflect his culture, beliefs, education and upbringing!
While every effort has been made to check that all facts quoted are true, they may be influenced by the above factors.
While naturally delighted that you may wish to quote what he’s written, Allan prefers that you check the facts before doing so!
This post was first published on December 26, 2007, and was updated on May 31, 2017!
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