The best modern parable of progress was, aptly, ahead of its time. In 1861 Imre Ma-dach published "The Tragedy of Man", a "Paradise Lost" for the industrial age. The verse drama, still a cornerstone of Hungarian literature, describes how Adam is cast out of the Garden with Eve, renounces God and determines to recreate Eden through his own efforts. "My God is me," he boasts, "whatever I regain is mine by right. This is the source of all my strength and pride."
展开▼