Tower

We All Stand on the Shoulders of Our Predecessors

In 1870, Kreutzwald wrote to Jaan Adamson:

“The only hope that still cheers me in the evening of my life is that several young men of the next generation will step forward and strive far beyond us old men. Their path will be easier, because our descendants will stand upon the shoulders of their predecessors, and from that height they will see farther — where familiar footprints have already led the way and where they themselves may continue onward.”

The modern children’s climbing tower reflects Kreutzwald’s ideas.

Dear climber, when you reach the top of the tower, remember that someone tied the ropes together before you so that you could climb safely and see farther across Lake Tamula. In the same way, much has been done before us: someone built the roads, someone founded the towns, and someone created this country for us.

We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and we create new opportunities for future generations to rise even higher. There is little wisdom in destroying what earlier generations have built, for that would ultimately lead to our own downfall.