If you think of Athens as an idea, not a place, then Athens never died, even when the highest and best expression of Athenian ideals were people who spoke Latin, or English.
If you think of Rome as an idea, not just a place, then Rome never died, not even when the Holy "Roman" Empire was populated by Germanics with blond hair and blue eyes, not even when "Latin" Americans became people with bronze skin, hawk noses, jet black hair and eyes, not even when the shining city on the hill was Washington, DC.
Memes survive, even when gene pools die.
If you focus on gene pools, then you're stuck mourning the passing of the Thracians and the Illyrians and the Etruscans, and rooting for the Basques. |
