“How fortunate is this generation to live at a time when the sources of our culture—sacred and profane—are illuminated in a brighter light of history than our forefathers imagined possible!”

— Cyrus H. Gordon

Introduction
Adventures in the Nearest East (1957)
Context: While Ugarit is revolutionizing the problem of Old Testament origins, the Dead Sea scrolls are doing the same for the New Testament. How fortunate is this generation to live at a time when the sources of our culture—sacred and profane—are illuminated in a brighter light of history than our forefathers imagined possible!

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Cyrus H. Gordon 73

American linguist 1908–2001

Evan Esar (1899–1995) American writer

Humorous English, p266

“It seems idolatry with some excuse,
When our forefather Druids in their oaks
Imagined sanctity.”

William Cowper (1731–1800) (1731–1800) English poet and hymnodist

Source: The Yardley Oak (1791), Lines 9-11

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

1770s, Declaration of Independence (1776)

“The United Nations will spearhead our efforts to manage the new conflicts (that afflict our world)…. Yes the principles of the United Nations Charter are worth our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

Colin Powell (1937) Former U.S. Secretary of State and retired four-star general

General Colin Powell, 21 April 1993, receiving the UN-USA Global Leadership Award.
1990s

“The imagination is the goal of history. I see culture as an effort to literally realize our collective dreams.”

Terence McKenna (1946–2000) American ethnobotanist

“For generations, we have done the hard work of protecting our own people, as well as millions around the globe. We have done so because we know that our own future is safer, our own future is brighter, if more of mankind can live with the bright light of freedom and dignity.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2011, Address on interventions in Libya (March 2011)
Context: For generations, we have done the hard work of protecting our own people, as well as millions around the globe. We have done so because we know that our own future is safer, our own future is brighter, if more of mankind can live with the bright light of freedom and dignity.
Tonight, let us give thanks for the Americans who are serving through these trying times, and the coalition that is carrying our effort forward. And let us look to the future with confidence and hope not only for our own country, but for all those yearning for freedom around the world.

“We live, after all, in a world where illusions are sacred and truth profane.”

Tariq Ali (1943) British Pakistani writer, journalist, and historian

Commentary essay, "For one day only, I'm a Lib Dem: We must take the politics of the anti-war front into the electoral arena," The Guardian, March 26, 2005 http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1445964,00.html#article_continue.