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Jose Ortega Y Gassett, The Revolt Of The Masses

CHAPTER III: THE HEIGHT OF THE TIMES

        THE rule of the masses, then, presents a favourable aspect, inasmuch as it signifies an all-round rise in the historical level, and reveals that average existence to-day moves on a higher altitude than that of yesterday. This brings home to us the fact that life can have different altitudes, and that there is a deep sense in the phrase that is often senselessly repeated when people speak of the height of our times. It will be well to pause and consider here, because this point offers us a means of establishing one of the most surprising characteristics of our age.  It is said, for example, that this or that matter is not worthy of the height of a certain time. And, in fact, not the abstract time of chronology, of the whole temporal plain, but the vital time, what each generation calls "our time," has always a certain elevation; is higher to-day than yesterday, or keeps on the level, or falls below it. The idea of falling contained in the word decadence has its origin in this intuition...  Read Complete

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