"That's true, but I meant more like pivotal moments in history, like battle scenes from the old wars. So much actual history has been lost through the ages, and sometimes people get wrong ideas of how it really was because they think the painting's supposed to be literally what happened. Like Washington crossing the Delaware. If he'd really stood up in that boat like that, he would've been a great target."

Jim enjoys this kind of debate, a friendly sort of give-and-take with no dire circumstances at stake. It's purely intellectual, theory only, and he's not stubbornly fixed in one opinion or the other. "I can see both sides of the argument," he adds with a smile. "Dull, boring history leaves nothing to the imagination. Like this vase... were there really monsters, back then? Probably not just like this. But there could've been. And if there weren't, was there really a battle, and if so, who were they really fighting? Or is it metaphorical?"