Don Juan and Philosophy?

The second half of Canto 1 is full of just as many witty one liners, disdainful comments on the foolishness of other poets, and disparaging observations about the whole of mankind, but the part of this poem I would like to focus on falls between stanzas 122 and 133. Within these lines Byron seems to reveal what may be the key to a possible philosophical standpoint of this poem. Like many of Byron's side comments this too is a social commentary, but is unlike the conversational silliness of his other remarks. These lines seem much more restrained and poetically organized, for example: Tis sweet to hear/At midnight on the blue and moonlit deep/ the song and oar of Adria's gondalier/ by distance mellowed, o'er the waters sweep". The first half of these stanzas (122 through 127)is a recollection of all the things that bring one pleasure in life. They range from the pleasure of a boat trip at midnight to the ultimate pleasure of sex, and in between Byron runs through with uncommon sensitivity other simple wonders of pleasure. Of course Byron marks sex as the greatest manifestation of pleasure, but he seems bothered by the fact that our greatest pleasure is veiwed as a great sin.

He goes on in the second half of these stanzas to make remarks about the progress of the city. He notices how highly society seems to value new discoveries. At first these lines don't make sense and seem quite disconjunct with the previous lines about pleasure. That is until one reads these lines:
"Timbuctoo travels, voyages to poles/ are always to benifit mankind, as true/ Perhaps as shooting them at Waterloo"
With these three lines Byron reveles that he has a disdain for the idea of progress and invention, expecially if it's done under the guise of benifiting mankind. He thinks you might as well kill somebody for all the good progress does them. And doesn't this hold true with our modern day thoughts on technology? Don't many people think that progress has ruined the simple pleasures of an older less complicated time. That is why Byron so dislikes these new discoveries. Not because he thinks they are bad in and of themselves, but because they ruin the joy and pleasure of life that he so revels in, and that makes life worth living.