We do not. All we know is what we once thought, and any earlier view of a work, if tested, might be hugely different from what we would think now. The end result of artificial intelligence will be to show that intelligence is impossible, and that the reports of it have been due to experimental error. An indulgent and understanding father, something of a weakling as well. For he could not pretend to himself that he had acted in the best interests of his daughters.
Love dies, revolutionary ardor fades, the bitter pressure of the world remains.
But the expectation of gratitude is a very lively one. E.B. White, Introduction to Onward and Upward in the Garden by Katharine White.