So wrote the author of Ecclesiastes three thousand years ago.
Oh, yeah? I can think of a few:
Nee York
Nieuw Amsterdam (original name of New York)
New Jersey
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New Orleans, Louisiana
New South Wales, Australia
New Brunswick, Canada
New London, Connecticut
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
New Paltz, New York
New Albany, Indiana
New Bern, North Carolina
New Rochelle, New York
New Braunfels, Texas
New Port Richey, Florida
New Delhi, India
New England (six states in northeastern U.S.)
New Guinea
Newfoundland, Canada
New Zealand
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Newburgh, New York
Newport, Rhode Island
Nova Scotia (New Scotland), Canada
and let us not forget the New Testament and the New Christy Minstrels. There are probably lots of others too, but these are enough to prove my point.
Maybe the writer of Ecclesiastes was just having a bad day.
New is usually good. Not just places but also ideas. Without new we would still be naked, eating only what we could find, and running from predatory animals.
ReplyDeleteNew Coke was not good, the exception that proves the rule, I suppose. Maybe we will take a look at old as well. Thank you, Emma!
DeleteEmbrace the new, butr hold onto the old, for a while, at least. In other words, don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
ReplyDeleteYour comment reminded me of Alexander Pope’s lines, “Be not the first by which the new is tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside”. Thank you, Janice!
DeleteBut just how new are these new things? New South Wales is coming up to 240 years old. Maybe the writer of Ecclesiastes was right?
ReplyDeleteNew is a relative term because time keeps marching on. And For example, the Pont Neuf (New Bridge) on the Seine in Paris is actually the oldest bridge in the city, dating (according to what I have read) from the sixth century A.D. — Compared to that, New South Wales is still new. Thank you, kylie!
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