Pinnacles and pearls

We think we live in a time of pinnacles:

that the best living athletes are brushing up against the limits of human potential;

that the greatest technological and scientific discoveries have been or are about to be made;

that the quality of our lives is nearing a zenith.

But the greatest achievements of our time are merely pearls in an endless string.

There have been many such breakthroughs before, and there will be even more to come.