This phrase has been taken from the famous opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities. The novel opens with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, …”
This phrase points out a major conflict between family and love, hatred and oppression, good and evil, light and darkness, and wisdom and folly. Dickens begins this tale with a vision that human prosperity cannot be matched with human despair. He, in fact, tells about a class war between the rich and the poor. He also tells of a time of despair and suffering on one hand, and joy and hope on the other.
This is an apt phrase to be used in the context of today’s world when, on the one hand, the rich are enjoying luxurious lives; while on the other hand, the poor are struggling under the yoke of economic decline. However, its best context is only in literary writings where one country or situation is compared with another, in order to predict some revolution or sudden transformation. That is why in the context of the transformation in times, wealth, inequality, and accumulation of wealth have become modern themes which the author dilates upon in the opening of his novel. A political leader might use it in a speech, or a retiring school teacher might use it to remind his students the golden old times.
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