Writing a dissertation on the Age of Revolution in the Year of our Lord 2020 is such a mindfuck; I’m sitting here like wow, these people really thought reason was gonna liberate mankind. Was the Atlantic World 1750-1850 just the most deliriously optimistic time in human history?
It has stiff competition from the 1990s. And there's always Vergil's gem - 'imperium sine fine' - which sure seems pretty unreasonably optimistic; 'sure every other empire has had an expiration date, but this one is gonna run forever being awesome!'