"It is all somewhat relative, of course. The world I was born into is nothing like the world I lived in two hundred years later, but at the time we were all convinced we had reached the pinnacle of achievement."

Foolish, really. There was always more to learn and discover. Like how well he's keeping to his feet just now. With an audience, he's even more determined not to show that he's all that badly effected by the after-effects of death.