I am surprised that so many people find history lessons boring.
I was a history nerd since childhood. Maybe because I never saw history as something to be “studied”, but I saw the stories of artifacts and people who once walked the Earth only to dissolve into an oblivion, leaving behind invaluable lessons for others. I love visiting museums in a new city because that is where I can touch the soul of the city.
But for the first time, I had an opportunity of touching the soul of a city without going to the museum. The moment I stepped into the Trinity College Dublin I had the same familiar goosebumps that I have come to relish whenever I have set my foot in any museum around the world. The college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. It houses the biggest library in Ireland and houses the Book of Kells since 1661!
While the architecture was magnificent, what was surreal for me was that the likes of Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift had once walked its beautiful campus. To be walking in its campus well over a hundred odd years after these imminent personalities was truly humbling.
It is true that the architecture and landscapes can take our breath away, but learning the actions of people in the past is the truest light that paves the way for the future of humanity.
And why should we care about the people of the bygone eras? As C.S. Lewis puts it “Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them atleast have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.”
And to all those who still think that history is boring, always remember.
“History is nothing and does nothing, it is Man who is…and does.”
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