Comments on: Summer Reading Notes: Turnbull http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2005/07/summer-reading-notes-turnbull/ The Japan History Group Blog Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:45:05 -0800 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: K. M. Lawson http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2005/07/summer-reading-notes-turnbull/comment-page-1/#comment-1913 K. M. Lawson Thu, 14 Jul 2005 09:49:16 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/japan/?p=96#comment-1913 Jonathan, what you said about the tough act of both trying to find the factual origins of a myth and debunk it reminds me of a beautiful passage in a book I have been reading of late by Timothy Snyder (The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999 - highly recommended). Here is what he says about the dangerous game that is played when refuting myths: <blockquote>"Refuting a myth is dancing with a skeleton: one finds it hard to disengage from the deceptively lithe embrace once the music has begun, and one soon realizes that one's own steps are what is keeping the old bones in motion." (10)</blockquote> Jonathan, what you said about the tough act of both trying to find the factual origins of a myth and debunk it reminds me of a beautiful passage in a book I have been reading of late by Timothy Snyder (The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999 – highly recommended). Here is what he says about the dangerous game that is played when refuting myths:

“Refuting a myth is dancing with a skeleton: one finds it hard to disengage from the deceptively lithe embrace once the music has begun, and one soon realizes that one’s own steps are what is keeping the old bones in motion.” (10)

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