Posts tagged with "studies"
Monday, 30. November 2009, 11:27:32
megalomania, politics, rant, nationalism
...
As requested by the caffeinated kitty.Democracy, in its common modern interpretation and use, builds on two equal notions which both need to be present to warrant the word: personal rights and liberty, and sovereignty of the people over themselves. (In contrast, the democracies of Ancient Greece had only the latter, and a benevolent, skilled dictatorship would usually be credited as maintaining the former at the expense of the latter). Moreover, the modern usage of
democracy, with a handful of notable exceptions, is quite distinctly different from the traditional one in another manner as well - we consider representative systems democratic. (
Republican would be (and used to be) a better term for these systems, but that has taken on an even more narrow meaning in contrast to parliamentary systems, a separation which goes quite beyond the scope of this little post). In other words, members of modern democracies don't vote on actual laws and issues (again, there are a few exceptions, in Norway we for instance had a common vote on whether to be a monarchy or a republic, and we've also used the method to repeatedly attempt to tell the Belgians that we'd like
not to have overlords, please), they vote on people who then represent their voters interests for a given amount of years. This has become the dominant form rather than its more directly democratic predecessors simply due to the size and social/cultural discrepancies of modern nations making a direct system both unfeasible in practice (at least before the coming of the Internet), and highly likely to become mob rule by the biggest socially and culturally homogeneous group in a given country. (One could note that Ancient democracies that practiced this kind of direct governance all had suffrage restricted to educated middle-class males of virtually the same income, cultural background, and interests - this sort of homogeneous group of voters excludes a lot of problems modern democratic ideals keep bumping into).
The democratic ideal in that system, I should mention, is that these elected representatives not only work for the interests of those who voted for them, but for the entire nation through the best judgment
of those who voted for them. For obvious reasons, that's a murky distinction, but as ideals go, a rather nice one. It also ties in with another rather Utopian ideal, concerning the parliamentary notion of consensus through discussion and well-argued points. Ideally, no law should be passed by a majority against a minority, but rather should be passed once everyone involved in governing has discussed the issue to the point of common agreement at some solution or other. Obviously, this latter ideal in particular is more easily realised in small, homogeneous cultures, and has been growing increasingly unrealistic in historical step with democracy becoming increasingly common a form of government. But again - the ideal is a nice one, and I believe that as long as the people governing actually try to aspire to it (or even merely claim to do so), that is of the good.
To sum up, then, modern democracies are a form of governance where the people's interests are reflected through the people they choose as their rulers at regular intervals - their main source of power in actual government being the institutionalised overthrow of said rulers at these regular points in time. This carries the "sovereignty of the people"-part of the equation - if admittedly rather weakly - while the liberal tradition is maintained through a long series of rights of individual, private citizens that the government is not entitled to infringe upon. (This second half of the foundation is largely irrelevant for this post, though).
So, background for my thinking established. This is what I think of as democracy, so if you have any issues with that, you'll likely also have issues with what spurred this post, and I've given this as a foundation to allow any dissenters to address the fundamental disagreements with me more directly.
What this post is actually about, then, is rather easily expressed: the "one individual, one vote"-notion. More or less universally ignored as an absolute (if admittedly even so held as an ideal) in Modern western democracies, it is still highly desired by many citizens in them. I am not one of these, not in any way. Norway is not the Athens of Socrates. Women can vote, men can vote. Billionaires can vote, teachers can vote, carpenters can vote, politicians can vote, soldiers can vote, drug-addicts can vote and nurses can vote. People who were born in Norway can vote, people who were not, if they've acquired full citizenship, can vote. Eighteen-year-olds who haven't finished high school can vote. A 102-year old who remembers the time of both World Wars can vote. Catholics can vote, Muslims can vote, atheists can vote, Hindus can vote. I sure hope agnostics can vote or someone threw my ballot away in September whilst grinning evilly. More or less everyone except those considered children can vote. The idea that we somehow will all agree on what is the best for the nation is flat out ridiculous. And we clearly don't - no political party in Norway gets even close to half the votes at any given election.
True, the ideal of the people's sovereignty is made compatible with personal liberty through the concept that you only give up the same amount of liberty that you get back by way of governance. One voice, one vote. Nice ideal. But it doesn't work like that. Geographical background, context and everyday life is vital to one's interests, desires, opinions and thoughts as to how the nation is best run. That means that someone living in a small village in the North of Norway is likely to agree a lot more with other people from that same village than they do with, say, a big city in the south. And so on and so forth. That means that voters of an area with a dense population (no pun intended) have an homogeneous basis for their opinions that is not shared by the populations of other areas. The only way in which it is then democratic for the people of these other areas to join into a democracy with these other people is if some balance is made on the voting system to attempt to minimize the risk of the dominance of the homogeneous majority. Does this infringe slightly on the rights of the people in the densely populated area? Absolutely. However, much less so than no such arrangement would on the rights of the people elsewhere. If this price is considered too high to pay - I don't think it is, but I'm open for the possibilities that some might - the solution would seem to me to be not abolishing the current voting system, but rather abolish the democracy itself, and making the areas independent. Because this is one of the many prices one pays for a democratic ideal to limp along on a scale it has never really been suited for. It is a crutch that allows the system to sort of work without destroying its own basic ideal of self-rule. The larger group is never in danger of being systematically ignored by the smaller, but the smaller is given enough of a voice that it can keep the larger group from systematically ignoring it. Which it without such a system could (in my uninformed opinion, would) easily end up doing.
So. You may flay me now.
Sunday, 22. November 2009, 21:45:21
quote of the day, general obnoxiousness, nationalism, studies
One day when George III was insane he heard that the Americans never had afternoon tea. This made him very obstinate and he invited them all to a compulsory tea-party at Boston; the Americans, however, started by pouring the tea into Boston Harbour and went on pouring things into Boston Harbour until they were quite Independent, thus causing the United States. [...]
The War with the Americans is memorable as being the only war in which the English were ever defeated, and it was unfair because the Americans had the Allies on their side. In some ways the war was really a draw, since England remained top nation and had the Allies afterwards, while the Americans, in memory of George III's madness, still refuse to drink tea and go on pouring anything the English send them to drink into Boston Harbour.
After this the Americans made Wittington President and gave up speaking English and became U.S.A. and Columbia and 100%, etc. This was a Good Thing in the end, as it was a cause of the British Empire, but it prevented America from having any more History.
- 1066 And All That, page 126-127.
By W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman.
Wednesday, 18. November 2009, 11:04:38
an enormous quantity of clothing, quote of the day, studies
The Spaniards complained that Captain F. Drake, the memorable bowlsman, had singed the King of Spain's beard (or Spanish Mane, as it was called) one day when it was in Cadiz Harbour. Drake replied that he was in his hammock at the time and a thousand miles away. The King of Spain, however, insisted that the beard had been spoilt and sent the Great Spanish Armadillo to ravish the shores of England.
The crisis was boldly faced in England, especially by Big Bess herself, who instantly put on an enormous quantity of clothing and rode to and fro on a white horse as Tilbury - a courageous act wjocj was warmly applauded by the English sailors.
In this striking and romantic manner the English were once more victorious.
- 1066 And All That, page 88.
By W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman.
Tuesday, 17. November 2009, 16:25:53
quote of the day, studies
Simon de Montfort's Idea was to make the Parliament more Representative by inviting one or two vergers, or vergesses, to come from every parish, thus causing the only Good Parliament in History.
Simon de Montfort, though only a Frenchman, was thus a Good Thing, and is very notable as being the only good Baron in history. The other Barons were, of course, all wicked Barons. They had, however, many important duties under the Banorial system. These were:
1. To be armed to the teeth.
2. To extract from the Villein* Saccage and Soccage, tollage and tallage, pillage and ullage, and, in extreme cases, all other banorial amenities such as umbrage and porrage. (These may be collectively defined as the banorial rites of carnage and wreckage.)
3. To hasten the King's death, deposition, insanity, etc., and make quite sure that there were always at least three false claimants to the throne.
4. To resent the Attitude of the Church. (The Barons were secretly jealous of the Church, which they accused of encroaching on their rites - see p. 33, Age of Piety.)
5. To keep up the Middle Ages.
* Villein: medieval term for agricultural labourer, usually suffering from scurvy, Black Death, etc.
- 1066 And All That, page 44-45.
By W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman.
Monday, 16. November 2009, 16:57:40
quote of the day, nationalism, studies
By congregating there, armed to the teeth, the Barons compelled John to sign the Magna Charter, which said:
1. That no one was to be put to death, save for some reason - (except the Common People).
2. That everyone should be free - (except the Common People).
3. That everything should be of the same weight and measure throughout the Realm - (except the Common People).
4. That the Courts should be stationary, instead of following a very tiresome medieval official known as King's Person all over the country.
5. That 'no person should be fined to his utter ruin' - (except the King's Person).
6. That the Barons should not be tried except by a special jury of other Barons who would understand.
Magna Charter was therefore the chief cause of Democracy in England, and was thus a Good Thing for everyone (except the Common People).
- 1066 And All That, page 39-40.
By W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman.
Saturday, 14. November 2009, 18:59:44
studies, quote of the day, politics
Ethelread the Unready was the first Weak King of England and was thus the cause of a fresh Wave of Danes.
He was called the Unready because he was never ready when the Danes were. Rather than wait for him the Danes used to fine him large sums called Danegeld, for not being ready. But though they were always ready, the Danes had very bad memories, and often used to forget that they had been paid the Danegeld and come back for it almost before they had sailed away. By that time Ethelread was always unready again.
Finally, Ethelread was taken completely unawares by his own death and was succeeded by Canute.
- 1066 And All That, page 19.
By W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman.
Saturday, 15. August 2009, 14:27:52
religion, quote of the day, studies
Abraham, at God's command, was going to slaughter his own son - the poor child in his ignorance even carried the wood. Abraham should have said to this supposed divine voice: 'that I am not to kill my beloved son is quite certain; that you who appear to me as God, I am not certain, nor can I ever be, even if the voice thunders from the sky.'
- Immanuel Kant in "The Disputes between the Philosophical and Theological Faculties",
as cited in Timothy H. Lim's The Dead Sea Scrolls - A Very Short Introduction, page 51.
Monday, 10. August 2009, 13:37:50
people, religion, quote of the day, nationalism
...
For Romans, treachery was one of the marks of a Carthaginian. Punic 'good faith', Punica Fides, meant the opposite. Also, they were cruel and superstitious. These traits came together in ttheir human sacrifices, above all of their own children. Carthage was feminized. Carthaginian women were dangerous seducers, like the mythical Queen Dido. Carthaginian men were effeminate, wearing loose unbelted clothes, and lacked control of their sexual appetites. Getting others to do their fighting for them showed their cowardice. In Roman eyes, this could be explained by their living in Africa. It was considered that the hot sun meant that Africans had little blood in their bodies, and so, fearing to lose what little they did have, they were scared of wounds, and thus were cowards. A final 'proof' of their barbarity, their otherness, was that they were believed to eat dogs.
The negative ethnographic image of Carthaginians was constructed partly out of reality (they did sacrifice some of their children), and partly out of fantasy (they almost certainly did not eat dogs).
- Harry Sidebottom,
Ancient Warfare - A Very Short Introduction. page 9.
Tuesday, 28. April 2009, 01:01:45
politics, quote of the day, general obnoxiousness, studies
...
For what need that I should vent my spleen upon such brute cattle as Clodius, who had browsed to his own bane upon the fodder and acorns of my enemies? If he has realised the nature of the sin that has enthralled him, I cannot doubt that he is the most wretched of men; but if he is blind to this, he may attempt to defend himself by pleading congenital dulness of wit.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero in De Haruspicum Responsis 3.5-6, his speech to the Senate concerning Publius Clodius Pulcher claiming a recent prodigy was because Cicero's house having been returned to him had angered the gods,
translated by N. H. Watts.
Monday, 27. April 2009, 11:47:47
politics, rant, quote of the day, self-pity
...
My retirement1 is cast in my teeth; and to this charge I cannot reply without highly exalting my own merits. For what, gentlemen, must I say? That consciousness of misdoing urged me into exile? But the charge that was laid at my door, so far from being a misdoing, was the grandest deed in the history of the human race!2 That I dreaded prosecution before the people? But such a prosecution was never even contemplated, and had it taken place I should have emerged from it with my reputation doubly enhanced. Shall I then say that the patriotic party failed in my protection? It would be false. Or that I feared death? That would be cowardly. I must say, then, what I would not say save under compulsion - for any self-congratulary remarks I have ever uttered have been made rather to repel insinuations than to claim credit for myself - I say, then, and with all the emphasis I can use, that when, under the ledership of a tribune of the plebs and with the support of the consuls, with the senate humiliated, the Roman knighthood cowed, and the whole community agitated and distraught, the carefully stimulated lawnessness of desperadoes and conspirators was launching an asault not so much upon myself as upon all good patriots through me, I saw that, should I prove victorious, some frail vestiges of a republic would yet remain, but, should I be defeated, it would become utterly extinct. Having come to this conclusion, I was heart-broken at the prospect of separation from my unhappy wife, of the destitution of my beloved children, of the blow that would fall upon my excellent and affectionate brother who was far away, and of the unforeseen wreck of a family whose sense of security had been so complete; but all these possibilities came second in my thoughts to the lives of my fellow-citizens, and I thought it better that the state should falter through the retirement of one,3 than that it should fall through the destruction of all. I hoped, and my hopes have been realised, that if brave men yet survived, my humiliation might be retrieved; but if I should perish, and the patriotic party4 with me, I saw no prospect of a resurrection for the republic.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero in De Domo Sua 35.95-36.96, his speech to the Pontiff Collegium of priests concerning his house having been given away to the goddess of Liberty by Publius Clodius Pulcher,
translated by N. H. Watts.1: Fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.
2: He had a half-dozen men executed without trial.
3: Fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.
4: The conservative über-rich ruling elite, to a large group of whom he is currently talking.
Friday, 24. April 2009, 18:36:54
quote of the day, studies, roman-religion
What?! Have you installed at my house her whom you have ousted from the whole city?
- Marcus Tullius Cicero in De Domo Sua 42.110, his speech to the Pontiff Collegium of priests concerning his house having been given away to the goddess of Liberty by Publius Clodius Pulcher,
translated by N. H. Watts.
Friday, 24. April 2009, 17:42:26
always-wanted-to-do-that, quote of the day, studies, roman-religion
You on this day are called upon to decide whether from this time forward you desire that mad and unprincipled magistrates1 should be stripped of the protection afforded them by wicked and dastardly citizens, or actually armed with the awful sanction of the immortal gods.2 For if that plague-spot and devouring flame of the republic3 should succeed in defending by means of divine religion4 his inquitous and ruinous tribunate, which he can defend on no ground of human justice, then we shall have to look around for a new ritual, new mediators between ourselves and the power of heaven, and new interpreters of the divine will.5 But if, on the other hand, your authority and wisdom is applied to the cancelling of what the madness of villains has achieved,6 now in the crushing of constitutional government,7 now in its desertion, and now in its betrayal, then we shall have good reason to give well-deserved approbation to the prudence of our ancestors in electing to the priestly offices the men of highest distinction. But since that madman8 has thought that by pouring abuse upon all political courses recently advocated by me in the senate he could win some access to your ears9 I shall depart in my speech from a natural arrangement; and shall reply, I will not say to the speech of my infuriated opponent, for a speech is beyond his capacity,10 but to his scurrility, his practice in which has been reinforced not only by an intolerable impudence,11 but also by a long-continued impunity.12
- Marcus Tullius Cicero in De Domo Sua 1.2-3, his speech to the Pontiff Collegium of priests concerning his house having been given away to the goddess of Liberty by Publius Clodius Pulcher,
translated by N. H. Watts.1: Clodius, who took his house.
2: And then built a temple on it.
3: Clodius, again. He took his house, you know.
4: And then he built a temple on it.
5: Someone who doesn't think the gods want his house.
6: The stealing of his house.
7: If it isn't unconstitutional to go about stealing people's houses, it should be.
8: Still Clodius. Guy took his house.
9: People were starving, so Cicero had suggested they got some food. Clodius claimed this was horribly populistic of him, and figured the Senate and the Collegium of Pontiffs would agree that populists shouldn't get their houses back.
10: He sure can steal them houses, though!
11: The man is reported to go about simply taking people's houses...
12: ...and then he just gets away with it!
Friday, 17. April 2009, 15:28:46
quote of the day, studies, roman-religion
In victory was the empire founded and through victory was it perpetuated.
- J. Rufus Fears, "The Theology of Victory at Rome"
in Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, 1981.
Wednesday, 8. April 2009, 16:22:54
always-wanted-to-do-that, quote of the day, studies, Obdormio
Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
- A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.
Saturday, 14. March 2009, 01:09:03
quote of the day, studies, roman-religion
He [Cæsar] attempted to return to Brundisium in a fishing boat to supervise the transport of the second half of his troops personally. The sea was stormy and the fisherman frightened. Cæsar exhorted him:
'do not be afraid, you carry Cæsar and the fortune of Cæsar's.'
- Divus Julius, page 117,
by Stefan Weinstock, 1971.
Tuesday, 17. February 2009, 17:23:01
always-wanted-to-do-that, religion, conspiracy-theories, studies
...
When the Roman Emperor Trajan in 101 AD set out for Dacia to kick some Ancient Eastern European butt, he prayed to the closest the Romans came to a top three divinities to aid him; the Triad of Gods on the Capitol hill – Minerva, goddess of warriors and wisdom, Juno, queen god and protector of the Roman state, and Jupiter, god king, god of the skies, and patron deity of Rome itself. To the prayer, he added a second, to Jupiter Victor - the god king in his specific function as a god of victory. He then called upon Mars Victor - the god of war in the same victory-inducing function - and Victoria, the goddess personifying victory.
You have to hand it to him - the man clearly knew the advantages of a polytheistic system of religion. It worked, too, the Dacians' collective asses were indeed suitably kicked, and Trajan's follow-up campaign further east went equally well. He took a break, then, and some years later set out for a second campaign eastwards, successfully expanding far into the Parthian empire and thus putting Rome's total at its biggest geographical size ever.
I can only assume he offered the gods a similar prayer of aid this second time - and I can equally assume that Apollo or some other god of healing must have gone utterly sick of being overlooked in Trajan's highly efficient communications with the celestial realm, becaue the campaign ended when the emperor, after almost two decades' worth of continous military victory, suddenly got sick and died.
Monday, 8. December 2008, 13:51:57
studies, quote of the day, politics
However, you and he [Caesar] are not in any way comparable! His character was an amalgamation of genius, method, memory, culture, thoroughness, intellect, and industry. His achievements in war, though disastrous for our country, were none the less mighty. After working for many years to become king and autocrat, he surmounted tremendous efforts and perils and achieved his purpose. By entertainments, public works, food-distributions, and banquets, he seduced the ignorant populace; his friends he bound to his allegiance by rewarding them, his enemies by what looked like mercy. By a mixture of intimidation and indulgence, he included in a free community the habit of servitude.
Your ambition to reign, Antony, certainly deserves to be compared with Caesar's. But in not a single other respect are you entitled to the same comparison.
[...]
When men could not endure Caesar, will they endure you? Mark my words, this time there will be crowds competing to do the deed.
When I was a young man I defended our state: in my old age I shall not abandon it. Having scorned the swords of Cataline, I shall not be intimidated by yours. On the contrary, I would gladly offer my own body, if my death could redeem the freedom of our nation - if it could cause the long-suffering people of Rome to find final relief from its labours. For if, nearly twenty years ago, I declared in this very temple that death could not come prematurely to a man who had been consul, how much greater will be m reason to say this again now that I am old. After the honours that I have been awarded, Senators, after the deeds that I have done, death actually seems to be desirable. Two things only I pray for. One, that in dying I may leave the Roman people free - the immortal gods could grant me no greater gift. My other prayer is this: that no man's fortunes may fail to correspond with his services to our country!
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Friday, 5. December 2008, 13:11:22
studies, quote of the day, politics
Those seven hundred million sesterces, recorded in the account-books of the Temple of Ops - where are they now? The origins of that treasure store were tragic enough. Nevertheless, if the money was not going to be returned to its rightful owners, it could be used to save us from property-tax. But how do you account for the fact, Antony, that whereas on the fifteenth of March you owed four million sesterces, you had ceased to owe this sum by the first of April?
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Thursday, 4. December 2008, 12:55:46
politics, quote of the day, studies
For never, anywhere in the world, have there been stories of such depraved and discreditable misconduct. He traveled about in a lady's carriage, did this tribune of the people. In front of him marched attendants crowned with laurel-wreaths. Among them, carried in an open litter, went an actress. The respectable citizens of the country towns, compelled to come and meet him, greeted her, not by her well-known stage name, but as Volumnia. Next followed a repulsive collection of his friends: a four-wheeler full of procurers. Only then came his neglected mother, following, like a mother-in-law, her debauched son's mistress. Poor woman! Her capacity for child-bearing has indeed been catastrophic.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Wednesday, 3. December 2008, 12:48:12
quote of the day, politics, studies
Just as seeds are the origins of trees and plants, so, with equal certainty, you were the seed of that most grievous war.[*] Senators, you are mourning three armies of Roman soldiers slain in battle: Antony killed them. The authority of your Order has been destroyed: Antony destroyed it. For every evil which we have seen since that time - and what evils have we not seen? - he is responsible. There can be no other conclusion. He has been our Helen of Troy! He has brought upon our country war, and pestilence, and annihilation.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.[* The Civil War between Pompey and Caesar, for which Antony gave the pretext through his tribune's veto]
Tuesday, 2. December 2008, 22:00:26
comments, general obnoxiousness, quote of the day, politics
...
At first you were just a public prostitute, with a fixed price: quite a high one, too. But very soon Curio intervened and took you off the streets, promoting you, one might say, to wifely status, and making a sound, steady, married woman out of you.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Tuesday, 2. December 2008, 12:59:42
studies, quote of the day, politics
I've said enough in answer to his charges. Now some attention must be given to our moralist and reformer himself. However, I do not propose to tell the whole story at once: so that if I have to return to the fray, I shall not need to repeat myself. In view of the extraordinary quantity of his crimes and vices, that presents no difficulty.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Monday, 1. December 2008, 13:11:34
studies, general obnoxiousness, quote of the day, politics
Note the contrast between yourself and your grandfather. He, with deliberation, produced arguments relevant to his case; you just pour out irrelevancies. And yet what a salary your teacher or rhetoric has drawn from you. Listen to this, Senators: take note of the wounds inflicted upon our nation. To this elocution trainer - Sextus Clodius - he handed over 1,250 acres of land, tax-free. You made the people of Rome defray this enormous charge, Antony, with no other result than to make you learn to be the idiot that you are. You unprincipled rogue! Was this one of the directions you found in Caesar's notebooks?
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Friday, 28. November 2008, 13:07:12
quote of the day, politics, studies
If it is a crime to have wanted Caesar to be put to death, consider your own situation, Antony. Everyone knows that at Narbo you formed a similar plan with Gaius Trebonius: it was because of this plot, while Caesar was being killed, that we saw Trebonius taking you aside. You see - my intentions to you are friendly. I am praising you for the good intention you once had! For not having reported the plot, I thank you; for not having carried it out, I excuse you. That task needed a man.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Thursday, 27. November 2008, 12:55:02
politics, awesomity, always-wanted-to-do-that, quote of the day
...
Just listen to the fatuity of this man - this sheep, rather. Here were his words: 'Brutus, whose name I mention with all respect, called out Cicero's name while he was holding the bloodstained dagger: from which you must understand that Cicero was an accomplice.' So, just because you suspect that I suspected something you call me a criminal, yet the man who brandished a dripping dagger is mentioned by you 'with all respect'! Very well, use this imbecile language if you must; and your actions and options are even more brainless. In the end, Consul, you will have to make up your mind! You must pronounce your final judgement on the cause of the Brutuses, Cassius, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Gaius Trebonius, and the rest. Sleep off you hangover - breathe it out. Perhaps a torch might be administered, to sting you out of your snoring over this far from unimportant matter. Will you never understand that you must decide which description to apply to the men who did that deed: are they murderers or are they the restorers of national freedom?
Concentrate, please - just for a little. Try to make your brain work for a moment as if you were sober. I confess I am their friend - you prefer to call me their associate. And yet even I refuse to see any compromise solution. If these men are not liberators of the Roman people and saviours of the state, then even I assert that they are worse than assassins, worse than murderers. Indeed, on the assumption that the murder of one's own father is less horrible than to kill the father of one's country, even parricides are better than they are.
Well, then, you wise and thoughtful man, what to you say to this: if they are parricides, why, in the Senate and Assembly, do you refer to them with respect? You will also have to explain why you yourself proposed Marucs Brutus's exemption from the laws when he remained outside the city for more than ten days [in spite of being a city-praetor]; why, at the Games of Apollo, he received such a complimentary reception; and why he and Cassius were given provincial commands, and supernumerary questors and legates were assigned to them for the purpose. This was all your doing! So evidently you do not regard them as murderers. It follows - since no compromise is possible - that you must regard them as liberators. What is the matter? I am not embarrassing you, am I? For I doubt if you are quite competent to grasp the sort of dilemma in which this places you. Anyway, what my conclusion amounts to is this: by not regarding Brutus and the rest as criminals, you have automatically proclaimed that they deserve the most glorious rewards.
So I must re-design my speech. I shall write to these men and say that, if anyone asks whether your charge against me is true, they must offer no denials. For, if I was their accomplice and they conceal the fact, I am afraid this may discredit them; whereas if I was invited to join them and refused, this will reflect the gravest discredit on me. For heaven will bear witness that Rome - that any nation throughout the whole world - has never seen a greater act than theirs! There has never been an achievement more glorious - more greatly deserving of renown for all eternity. So if you pen me in a Trojan horse of complicity with the chief partners in that deed, I do not protest. Thank you, I say - whatever your motives. For where so outstanding an action is concerned, I account the unpopularity, which you hope to unload upon me, as nothing beside the glory.
You have driven these men away and expelled them, you boast. Yet they are blessed beyond measure. There is no place in the world too deserted and too barbarous to welcome them and delight in their presence. All people on earth, however uncivilized, are capable of understanding that life could offer no more outstanding happiness than a sight of these men. Writers will continue, for generation after generation throughout time everlasting, to immortalize the glory of their achievement.
Enrol me among such heroes, I beg of you! Though I am afraid that one thing may not be to your liking. If I had been among their number I should have freed our country not only from the autocrat but from the autocracy. For if, as you assert, I had been the author of the work, believe me, I should not have been satisfied to finish only one act. I should have completed the play!
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Wednesday, 26. November 2008, 12:50:37
always-wanted-to-do-that, politics, general obnoxiousness, studies
At one point you tried to be witty. Heaven knows this did not suit you.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Tuesday, 25. November 2008, 13:58:09
politics, always-wanted-to-do-that, quote of the day, studies
...
For what was left of Rome, Antony, owed its final annihilation to yourself. In your home everything had a price: and a truly sordid series of deals it was. Laws you passed, laws you caused to be put through in your interests, had never even been formally proposed. You admitted this yourself. You were an augur, yet you never took the auspices. You were a consul, yet you blocked the legal right of other officials to exercise the veto. Your armed escort was shocking. You are a drink-sodden, sex-ridden wreck. Never a day passes in that ill-reputed house of yours without orgies of the most repulsive kind.
In spite of all that, I restricted myself in my speech to solemn complaints concerning the state of our nation.
[...]
Antony's action proves he is totally uncivilized. But just see how unbelievably stupid he is as well.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Monday, 24. November 2008, 16:10:17
politics, always-wanted-to-do-that, quote of the day, studies
I should not have thought that my life, and my reputation, and my qualities - such as they are - provide suitable material for Antony's contempt. Nor can he have believed, surely, that he could successfully disparage me before the Senate. Accustomed thought it is to complimenting distinguished Romans for good service to the state, the Senate has praised only one man for actually rescuing it from annihilation: and that is myself. But perhaps Antony's ambition was to compete with me as a speaker? If so, how extremely generous of him to present me with such a subject - justification of myself, criticism of him, the richest and most promising theme imaginable!
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
The Second Philippic Against Mark Antony,
translated by Michael Grant for Penguin Books.
Wednesday, 12. November 2008, 00:22:34
religion, quote of the day, studies, roman-religion
...whereas men derived the other elements in their make-up from their mortal nature - elements which are fragile and transitory - their mind was implanted by God. Hence we have what can truly be called a lineage, origin, or stock in common with the gods. That is why, out of so many species, no creature apart from man has any conception of God; and why, within mankind itself, there is no tribe so civilized or so savage as not to know that it should believe in a god, even if it is mistaken about the kind of god it should believe in.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero,
in his Des Legibus I:24.
Sunday, 2. November 2008, 20:09:18
politics, roman-religion, studies, quote of the day
...
They (slaves) ought to respect you rather than fear you... Some may say "This is what he plainly means: slaves are to pay respect as if they were clients or early-morning callers!" Anyone who holds this opinion forgets that what is good enough for a god cannot be too little for a master.
Seneca, in Letters to Lucilius, 47.18, as rendered in John Scheid's An Introduction to Roman Religion.
Tuesday, 14. October 2008, 23:36:41
megalomania, thoughts, general obnoxiousness, culture in free fall
...
The invention and implementation of the train took all of the adventure out of human culture.
Discuss.
Tuesday, 30. September 2008, 19:54:49
always-wanted-to-do-that, religion, quote of the day, studies
...
Priests prayed to Jupiter the Most Good and Most Great, adding 'unless you prefer some other name'. The formalism therefore had its share of indecision (...).
- Robert Turcan, The Gods of Ancient Rome, page 4
Tuesday, 2. September 2008, 18:12:55
this-blog, studies, self-pity, I implore you
...
I've never been one for sharing personal information online, and I'm not about to start now. However, I've been asked quite strongly today to post something or other in my weblog here, and as I'm not feeling like reviewing anything on my rather long list of stuff to get around to writing posts on, that means it has to be on some whim of my own instead. As I additionally don't have any specific thought, idea, objection or opinion about anything in particular going on these days that would make for a post on its own, that kind of means I just have to give an update of who I am and what I am doing these days. Those of you who could not be less interested, and I'm sure that within the modest confines of this weblog's readership there's a lot of you, well, just don't read behind the cut. Thanks.
Read more...
Friday, 13. June 2008, 11:24:04
doomed optimism, rant, expectations, general obnoxiousness
...
So, I did really well on the exam that mattered and I thought I did mediocre at. And then I did mediocre at the exam that didn't matter and I was sure I did very well at.
And somehow, I'm thoroughly unhappy about that. Sigh.
Monday, 19. May 2008, 18:00:18
MSN, general obnoxiousness, studies, Obdormio
1775:
"Spain! Come help us throw out Britain, you'll get Florida!"
"Dude, sweet! Okay!"
1819:
"Spain! We won't take Texas from you if you'll give us Florida."
"Er. Okay?"
1845:
"Spain! We-"
"Don't bother, Mexico threw us out."
"Mexico!"
"Yeah?"
"We're annexing Texas."
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT."
"Sure we can. They're independent and all."
"That's a vicious lie, we just don't have any tax-collectors who dare go there is all. Also, you've renounced all claims to it."
"To SPAIN. You're not Spain."
"...! BASTARDS!"
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