(Transcript by Tob Hawk)
What we have always tried to do is to bring the wisdom and common sense of other ages and other places to bear upon the problems of our own living and thinking, not because we want to assume that the past was wiser than we are, but because we rather recognize that as long as we are not solving our own problems completely, there is always room for improvement. An improvement may come to us through the quiet contemplation of the ways in which other human beings have faced and solved the issues that perturb us today. Actually all times and places have had the same basic problems and these basic problems still haunt us, still concern us, and still take away from our peace of mind.
One of the notable differences between our way of life and that of other peoples, even in some cases contemporary peoples, is the disappearance among us of most of the so-called religious festivals. The ancient world divided its time by its festivals and there were only a few days in succession without some religious or spiritual reminder of man's participation in a divine plan of things. The key note of ancient festivals was mostly joyous and if for any reason part of the festival was devoted to some melancholy theme, as the death of Attis or Adonis, it was followed by a magnificent outburst of gladness in the resurrection of these deities and in the final restoration of their spiritual authority. Thus the over concept throughout the classical world was one of joy and gratitude.
