Now that's delayed gratification!

The book [i]The Pillars of the Earth[/i] by Ken Follett points out something I never thought about.

Regardless of the moral ramifications, building a cathedral took decades and more.

I wonder if anyone today could even entertain the idea of committing so much money and so many lives for a project they would never see completed.

Now relationships shatter over a text left on "read" for an hour.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Viper · M

Nope, couldn't do it...

Of course, I also couldn't bring myself to force everyone to pay taxes for it, and punish them if they didn't or couldn't as some of them could only do it by abusing others or taking advantage by force, and calling themselves king or lord and abusing those under them.

Mamapolo2016 · F

@Viper Well, yes.

Viper · M

@Mamapolo2016 But in today's world we are a lot more impatient, but the super rich still have their trophies that take time to build like very high end watches, yacht or super duper expensive car, just to show off and a brag to others.... which can take months to order/build if you're buying it from scratch.

Mamapolo2016 · F

@Viper I was talking about real people.

Viper · M

@Mamapolo2016 They're all real people...

I assume you meant commoners/peasants?

How many commoners actually built these mega things? Some sure, but I'm guessing they're seriously in the minority

Mamapolo2016 · F

@Viper They were all built by commoners. Archbishops don't quarry stone or chop down trees.

The very rich and powerful are a different species.

Viper · M

@Mamapolo2016 okay, built by commons, but not commissioned, or paid for (directly) by commoners.

Mamapolo2016 · F

@Viper You're right.