Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexBell
That I certainly agree with. I wouldn't dream of bowdlerising the text, but can think of half a dozen people I know who would be very offended if they stumbled on the text as is. It just seemed courteous to let them know of the possibility that they may be offended. It's their choice of course whether they read the text, but at least they know what to expect.
On the other hand I have read some people who would be very offended that I have given the warning. If I understand them correctly they see such a warning as the beginning of censorship.
As you say I can't please everybody.
|
I agree, and I am not saying that you can't/shouldn't put up such a warning if you wish to. Like you said though some will even find fault with you having done so as they will be offended by the idea that any such warning is needed. On the other hand some will be offended if you don't put up a warning and they come across the book. There is no way to win in such a situation. Of course I wonder how they can expect an author who wrote something several thousand years ago to have the same viewpoint as them as to what is proper for people to read or hear. The moral structure of Ancient Greece was a lot different in some ways to what later societies thought was proper. And even later on not every text was written with a "christian" viewpoint in mind. Just look at the Canterbury Tales as an example. Plenty of "immoral" activities going on there in an age where pilgrimages to shrines was something that everyone was supposed to try to do at least once in their lifetime. And the Decameron is another example. Those who think our ancestors were more pious than modern man delude themselves (I think). Man hasn't changed much since the time of the Ancient Greeks.