Monday, 27 July 2015

Nothing New There, Then

When a despot is killed or a dynasty destroyed less is achieved than some expect. After the initial transports of newly won liberation men look around and discover that the system abides - and most of the people.

Ronald Syme "Tacitus" (1958) vol 1 p3

Bit unfair of me maybe to spring "Tacitus" (2 vols) on my readers but if you haven't read "The Roman Revolution" you have missed one of the great historical works. This is about the Republic, the civil war following Caesar's assassination and the establishment of Augustus. Politics, war and more.

His prose style is superb: precise, condensed, expressive.

Deletions made to make it clear that I am not delusional: I am well aware that I have no readers.

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4 comments:

x said...

Me neither.

PS You are imagining this post.
PPS WE will never change anything until we change human nature. Inject babies with DNA from slugs maybe.

27 July 2015 at 22:29
Anonymous said...

What what? Some sort of noise from the room upstairs?
Must be that cat knocking over a vase.
Only I don't have a cat. Or a vase. Or, for that matter, an upstairs.
Strange.

28 July 2015 at 22:56
x said...

Yes you do. Your lack of cat/vase/upstairs is figment of your imagination. Lay off the vodka. Or whatever it is you like.

31 July 2015 at 20:58
Chertiozhnik said...

I must be in denial, then. If there were an upstairs I would have to climb stairs to get to bed, and I can't go doing that full of the old Famous Grouse. As there is no upstairs, it is perfectly rational to sleep in a puddle of vomit on the living room carpet: ergo I am not continually drunk.

5 August 2015 at 01:43

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