The Greeks, in a way of life in which great perils and upheavals were always present, sought in knowledge and reflection a kind of security and ultimate refuge. We, in an incomparably more secure condition, have transferred this perilousness into knowledge and reflection, and calm ourselves down with our way of life.
– Nietzsche

Winifred Gallagher:

The history of curiosity testifies to society’s strong influence in determining whether neophilia is a virtue or a vice. Even the philosophical Greeks and Romans were wary of inquiring too deeply into the way things are. Christianity only intensified this wariness…Like individual rights, the concept of curiosity as a laudable urge is an innovation from the Age of Reason.

The wild beasts that lurk in the shadows of life in the developed world have morphed and become insubstantial; we’ve banished lions, wolves and dragons, only to fall prey to depression, angst and ennui as our passion for exploration became more interiorized.