The Sameness of the Same

Wolf Kibel, Interior with bed, oil on canvas, 310 x 670 mm, Sanlam Art Collection, Cape Town

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

—Ecclesiastes 1:9 (KJV)

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose,

A French savant said in 1849, a year of failed revolutions:

"The more it changes, the more it stays the same."

Born in 1939, I could say that, too, Heaven knows!

I lie in bed and sip my coffee gratefully. So it goes.

I was just born lucky, I suppose!

But am I —or aren't I—to blame for the Sameness of the Same?

Saturday, January 10, 2026