While I get what you mean, there&#x27;s absolutely no (soft or hard) limit in 1850 or any date in the past for that matter.<p>People have always been people, and most of their concerns and theories were more or less similar. Even the most alien ones can still be relatable (in fact that&#x27;s already an ancient, roman, idea: &quot;Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto&quot;, by Terence).<p>Until very recently (up until the seventies or so) when humanities still reigned supreme in universities and schools, being able to read, enjoy and understand anything from Homer and Plato to Shakespeare and Kant was nothing special for higher education people.<p>That said, often being able to parse those things is question of being accustomed not to an era, but to a way of thinking. (E.g. Anglo-saxon vs continental philosophy).