an excerpt: The Baroque period

"On the one hand there was the Renaissance's unremitting optimism -- and on the other hand there were the many who sought the opposite extreme in a life of religious seclusion and self-denial. Both in art and in real life, we meet pompous and flamboyant forms of self-expression, while at the same time there arose a monastic movement, turning away from the world"
"One of the Baroque period's favourite sayings was the Latin expression 'carpe diem' -- 'seize the day'. Another Latin expression that was widely quoted was 'memento mori' which means 'remember that you must die'. In art, a painting could depict an extremely luxurious lifestyle, with a little skull painted in one corner."
"In many senses, the Baroque period was characterized by vanity or affectation. But at the same time a lot of people were concerned with the other side of the coin; they were concerned with the ephemeral nature of things. That is, the fact that all the beauty that surrounds us must one day perish."

it gives much to ponder on... ...