To freshen the colors of the picture.

The above is a quotation from The Roots of American Order taken from Cicero's The Republic. Cindy is doing a book study, and I thought I would join in, anonymously. I'm not sure my thoughts would be on target enough to be of much use in the discussion.

Having gone to the American schools of the 60's and 70's, I grew up with the belief that one ought to be suspicious of order. I was taught in a disorderly fashion in school, and, despite homeschooling remedying much of it, I think I still suffer somewhat from the effects of that. I learned to think of order as a type of control. I'm happy now to know that I was wrong; I actually love order - even if I have trouble maintaining it in my own life. Order isn't a control; it is a strength.

I love the quotation of Cicero: "Long before our time, the customs of our ancestors molded admirable men, and in turn those eminent men upheld the ways and institutions of their forbears. Our age, however, inherited the Republic as if it were some beautiful painting of bygone ages, its colors already fading through great antiquity; and not only has our time neglected to freshen the colors of the picture, but we have failed to preserve its form and outlines."

I just loved that. Admirable men, eminent men. *Upholding* the ways and institutions of their forbears. Not forging new trails. Upholding.

As I read this chapter one of the things my thoughts kept wandering to was church life and the order that is Divine Liturgy. I kept thinking of the Orthodox Church and its assertion that they have preserved the faith for 2,000 years handed down from the Apostles.

Cindy mentioned that she likes the four cities: Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, and London. I do too. I especially love London, and my love for it is different from the others. I love the others because of what they gave us. I love London because I think of it as my city, having been there many times, and gotten to know it personally.

Kirk: "...we need to renew our understanding of the beliefs and the laws which give form to American society."

Kirk mentions fifth century Greece and first century Rome before Christ. What popped into my mind was that both of those times were pre-Christian. It seems this has to make a difference somehow. But we definitely "grope for order" in our day.