Before we leave the "Ancients" a few recommendations:
read "POMPEII" by Robert Harris, one of the best books ever! I was interested in the engineering, having seen some Roman aquaducts (and bridges) in southern Europe and in the possibility of another eruption of Vesuvius, having seen documentaries about the eruption in A.D. 79. But, what also intrigued me is that the author treats his characters as acquaintances, "warts and all". Some passages were very graphic - the pregnancy of the protagonist's wife - and I found myself skipping over them whenever I reread the book. And, some good books are even better the second/third time.
Also, Petronius, "THE SATYRICON" and Seneca, "ON BENEFITS". If you are feeling particularly frisky, try them in Latin. Both writers as well as hundreds of others can be found at www.gutenberg.org where they can be downloaded or copied. You might want to consider being a proof-reader. It's fun.
And, while you're at it, check out "THE UNWILLING VESTAL", originally published ca. 1919. It was one of my grandmother's favorite books which she read to me at bedtime.
Bedtime was never my favorite time unless I had a book, a flashlight and no adults upstairs. The deal was: she would read 15 minutes and I would put out the light and ditch the flashlight. We both kept our promises because somehow she managed to make each evening like an episode in a "cliff-hanger". I was so anxious to know what would happen next that I was in bed before I had to be. Clever woman, in many ways.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ancient History is......well, ancient history!
And a very good thing, too. My real passion is Medieval History, which is next, but Ancient History has been an enjoyable, and sometimes fun, experience. Of course, it is Middle East and Eurocentric - only a page and a half about the fabulous civilisations in Asia- Siddhartha Gautama was born in India, Chinese civilisations developed along the Hwang-Ho and Yangtze rivers, and that once upon a time there was a fertile river bed of the Tarim River west of the Gobi Desert where civilisations might have developed. But, this book was written in the 30's (1930's not 1830's although it is sometimes difficult to tell) and the focus was Europe.
And what did I learn: epigraphy, a subject, a word I had never heard before -" the study of inscriptions. The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is a collection of all known inscriptions of Imperial Rome. The language of the CIL is, of course, Latin and supposedly parts of the collection, in book form, cost over €28,000 - a nifty bit of change!
One of the 50 examination questions at the end of the chapter used the word "wrought" - "Who wrought or directed the sculptures on the Parthenon at Athens?" Phidias is the answer, but the word "wrought" intrigued me - where did it come from? Middle English "wrogt" meaning altered, the past participle of "weorken" from Old English "wyrcan" meaning "to work". The only usage I know today is wrought iron.
However, that led to the question of why we say, "go, went, gone" and not "go, gune, gone" or something along that line. There were two common verbs - one of them was "wenden/wendan" from which we now have to "wend your way home". The simple past got stuck between the two forms of "go" while the rest, except for "wend" got lost.
I learned about spelt - a hexaploid species of wheat (and don't you forget it!) - now a "relict" crop in Central Europe, according to one encyclopedia. It might be a relict to the writers of the article but it's an upscale product at the local health food store - filling but expensive.
Of special interest was the history of Italy before the dominance of Rome because of the neighborhood in which I grew up. There was a Catholic church at the corner and many of my neighbors were first generation Catholic Europeans. I was fascinated by the sights and sounds, the foods and customs, especially of the family from Liguria, near Genoa. Nonna Juliana wore black, never learned English, rarely left the house except to go to mass at 6 am and apparently cooked constantly, including in her sleep. She made ravioli, linguine, fettucine - musical names for heavenly food. Olive oil, anchovies, and what we called "tomato pie" - pizza! This in the late 1940's to 1963 when I left home.
Of course, the girls in the family who came to play dolls with me swooned over fried chicken, roast beef and gravy and hard-shelled crabs. Go figure! Well, hard-shelled crabs are still something to swoon over, but not chicken, never chicken!
So - , what did I re-learn: about the alphabets (cuneiform and Phoenician), the various forms of government and how they were adapted to suit changing circumstances, that if I wanted a sculpture, I would get a Greek, if I wanted an aqueduct, I would get a Roman and if I wanted a playwright, I would get either or both.
And, the story of Aeneas: a Trojan, the son of a mortal, Anchises and Venus/Aphrodite. The goddess seduced Anchises, for 2 weeks, no less, and Aeneas was the product of this union. With such a powerful and influential mother, it's no wonder he went through hell (Hades) to become the ancestor of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome and of Brutus, first king of Britain. His son, Ascanius, founded AlbaLonga, and a long line of kings. I had 6 years of Latin in school but cannot read the inscriptions o building around me - wait until I finish Chapter 14.
Latin, however, has always helped with English and I never regretted those years of Caesar, Cicero and Virgil.
The story of Aeneas, however, led me to wonder about being the offspring of famous parents. Depending on the parents and the environment in which the children are raised, it can probably be hell on earth.
But, and it's a big "but" - what has become evident is that I love learning, especially systemised, organised learning. And, if a part of that is reading about some egomaniacal Roman general who dragged hundreds of princes behind his chariot at a parade in Rome, OK. It's a small price to pay for the intense pleasure of reading, answering the questions, going to my encyclopedia for more information, and the very interesting experience of eating spelt cake. Once!
And what did I learn: epigraphy, a subject, a word I had never heard before -" the study of inscriptions. The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is a collection of all known inscriptions of Imperial Rome. The language of the CIL is, of course, Latin and supposedly parts of the collection, in book form, cost over €28,000 - a nifty bit of change!
One of the 50 examination questions at the end of the chapter used the word "wrought" - "Who wrought or directed the sculptures on the Parthenon at Athens?" Phidias is the answer, but the word "wrought" intrigued me - where did it come from? Middle English "wrogt" meaning altered, the past participle of "weorken" from Old English "wyrcan" meaning "to work". The only usage I know today is wrought iron.
However, that led to the question of why we say, "go, went, gone" and not "go, gune, gone" or something along that line. There were two common verbs - one of them was "wenden/wendan" from which we now have to "wend your way home". The simple past got stuck between the two forms of "go" while the rest, except for "wend" got lost.
I learned about spelt - a hexaploid species of wheat (and don't you forget it!) - now a "relict" crop in Central Europe, according to one encyclopedia. It might be a relict to the writers of the article but it's an upscale product at the local health food store - filling but expensive.
Of special interest was the history of Italy before the dominance of Rome because of the neighborhood in which I grew up. There was a Catholic church at the corner and many of my neighbors were first generation Catholic Europeans. I was fascinated by the sights and sounds, the foods and customs, especially of the family from Liguria, near Genoa. Nonna Juliana wore black, never learned English, rarely left the house except to go to mass at 6 am and apparently cooked constantly, including in her sleep. She made ravioli, linguine, fettucine - musical names for heavenly food. Olive oil, anchovies, and what we called "tomato pie" - pizza! This in the late 1940's to 1963 when I left home.
Of course, the girls in the family who came to play dolls with me swooned over fried chicken, roast beef and gravy and hard-shelled crabs. Go figure! Well, hard-shelled crabs are still something to swoon over, but not chicken, never chicken!
So - , what did I re-learn: about the alphabets (cuneiform and Phoenician), the various forms of government and how they were adapted to suit changing circumstances, that if I wanted a sculpture, I would get a Greek, if I wanted an aqueduct, I would get a Roman and if I wanted a playwright, I would get either or both.
And, the story of Aeneas: a Trojan, the son of a mortal, Anchises and Venus/Aphrodite. The goddess seduced Anchises, for 2 weeks, no less, and Aeneas was the product of this union. With such a powerful and influential mother, it's no wonder he went through hell (Hades) to become the ancestor of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome and of Brutus, first king of Britain. His son, Ascanius, founded AlbaLonga, and a long line of kings. I had 6 years of Latin in school but cannot read the inscriptions o building around me - wait until I finish Chapter 14.
Latin, however, has always helped with English and I never regretted those years of Caesar, Cicero and Virgil.
The story of Aeneas, however, led me to wonder about being the offspring of famous parents. Depending on the parents and the environment in which the children are raised, it can probably be hell on earth.
But, and it's a big "but" - what has become evident is that I love learning, especially systemised, organised learning. And, if a part of that is reading about some egomaniacal Roman general who dragged hundreds of princes behind his chariot at a parade in Rome, OK. It's a small price to pay for the intense pleasure of reading, answering the questions, going to my encyclopedia for more information, and the very interesting experience of eating spelt cake. Once!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
"Tell'em you love'em"
Today has been an amazing "28hs" day. I had extra time at work and looked up the Lydians which led me to Croesus and the first coins, stamped with a picture of a ruler, used as money, which led me to Cyrus (both of them) which led me to the Massagetae and their queen, Tomyris, who defeated Cyrus III and supposedly used his skull to drink from, which led me to the Female Worthies which led me to Semiramis whom I remember from a Rossini opera which led me to the Nine Worthies, nine men who epitomized the ideal of chivalry (Hector, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeus, King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon) as popularized by Jacques de Longuyon in 1312 when he wrote the Voeux du Paon - all that in 45 minutes, thanks to the Internet and the incredible wealth of information so quickly available.
The process described above reminded me of a song, "Dem Bones" or "Dry Bones" - " the toe bone's connected to the foot bone, the foot bone's connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone's connected to the leg bone........" - a song best sung around a campfire by 12-year-old girls.
Now, this book and the intellectual quest I have undertaken are both much more fun. And to make it even more "authentic", I am using a typical composition book, with the marble covers (now made in Asia, but otherwise the same), and a fountain pen!
But, the title of today's post stems from a letter I received today. When I thought about working my way through this book, I naturally thought about all the wonderful teachers I had had and that many of them never knew how grateful I was for their efforts.
So, I decided to write to the man I most admire, a man whose erudition and compassion had a profound effect on me, and more importantly, on my sons. He read my letter and answered it, thanking me for my comments.
If there is someone you admire, do take the time to write and tell them. Take the time to write in long-hand. When he, she or they have touched your life, they deserve to know it.
Tomorrow, the Dorians - I think!
The process described above reminded me of a song, "Dem Bones" or "Dry Bones" - " the toe bone's connected to the foot bone, the foot bone's connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone's connected to the leg bone........" - a song best sung around a campfire by 12-year-old girls.
Now, this book and the intellectual quest I have undertaken are both much more fun. And to make it even more "authentic", I am using a typical composition book, with the marble covers (now made in Asia, but otherwise the same), and a fountain pen!
But, the title of today's post stems from a letter I received today. When I thought about working my way through this book, I naturally thought about all the wonderful teachers I had had and that many of them never knew how grateful I was for their efforts.
So, I decided to write to the man I most admire, a man whose erudition and compassion had a profound effect on me, and more importantly, on my sons. He read my letter and answered it, thanking me for my comments.
If there is someone you admire, do take the time to write and tell them. Take the time to write in long-hand. When he, she or they have touched your life, they deserve to know it.
Tomorrow, the Dorians - I think!
Monday, November 2, 2009
"History" is a novel, lived by real people.
I had the great good fortune to be raised by educated, informed and very loving grandparents who recognized the fact that parents and those who function as parents have the obligation to educate and foster education whenever possible.
Thus, I could read when I was about 3 and started school just before my 5th birthday. At school my greatest joy was a picture dictionary with drawings, rather crude by today's air-brushed standards, but fascinating to me. I asked Mrs Spangler if Icould take it home - not allowed - but when she discovered that I could read many of the entries and was interested in all the pictures of all the exotic people and places, I was allowed to read it whenever my regular class work was finished.
There was a public library about 5 blocks away and once I was in the 2nd grade, I was able to get my own library card. That, added to my grandfather's extensive private library, which included Bulwer-Lytton of "It was a dark and stormy night...." fame or infamy, provided me with years of enjoyment.
And then, I discovered Richard Halliburton. My mother had been given 2 of his books which I practically memorized. He made history, geography, cultural anthropology (probably he would not have agreed with the latter) living, breathing entities for me.
For Christmas, when I was 9, I was given "The Secret Garden" which read in about 3 days - we had a tv but "Howdy Doody" was the only program I watched which left plenty of time to play outside with my neighbors (double-dutch), got to dancing class and read.
Add to that the fact that 98% of my teachers were excellent: they arrived early, stayed late, spent their holidays planning for the next lessons, knew all of the children in school by name, could tell if we had family problems and never sent a note home, they called the parents themselves.
My grandfather always said that "history is a novel, lived by real people" - made sense to me!
So, when I later heard people say that history is boring, stupid, unnecessary, I never understood that attitude. Now, I do.
Of necessity, this book is like condensed milk. "Just the facts, ma'm." And, thus, it is a litany, like the "begats" in the Bible, of names and dates, fac ts and figures, skeleton with very little "meat" on the bones. As a refresher, it's wonderful. As a memory trainer, it's excellent. But,......after a while, I have difficulty separating the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Sumarians, Medes, Babylonians, Persians and who did what to whom when.
What stands out: the word "paper" comes from the word "papyrus", the Great Pyramid of Cheops was one of the wonders of the Ancient World and is the only one still around, and
Tiglath-Pileser has to be the coolest possible name for a person!
What also stands out is how I, and others I have begun to observe, spend/waste our time. It takes a concerted effort to read, re-read, digest and/or absorb the import of what I have read, and anything which takes a concerted effort, takes time.
The life-sustaining duties get done: work, grocery shopping (yuck!), floor-mopping, shower- scrubbing. Also, 30 minutes practice on the keyboard or guitar, and some sort of exercise, usually dancing along with youtube, every day. Notice that I didn't mention dusting?
Thus, I could read when I was about 3 and started school just before my 5th birthday. At school my greatest joy was a picture dictionary with drawings, rather crude by today's air-brushed standards, but fascinating to me. I asked Mrs Spangler if Icould take it home - not allowed - but when she discovered that I could read many of the entries and was interested in all the pictures of all the exotic people and places, I was allowed to read it whenever my regular class work was finished.
There was a public library about 5 blocks away and once I was in the 2nd grade, I was able to get my own library card. That, added to my grandfather's extensive private library, which included Bulwer-Lytton of "It was a dark and stormy night...." fame or infamy, provided me with years of enjoyment.
And then, I discovered Richard Halliburton. My mother had been given 2 of his books which I practically memorized. He made history, geography, cultural anthropology (probably he would not have agreed with the latter) living, breathing entities for me.
For Christmas, when I was 9, I was given "The Secret Garden" which read in about 3 days - we had a tv but "Howdy Doody" was the only program I watched which left plenty of time to play outside with my neighbors (double-dutch), got to dancing class and read.
Add to that the fact that 98% of my teachers were excellent: they arrived early, stayed late, spent their holidays planning for the next lessons, knew all of the children in school by name, could tell if we had family problems and never sent a note home, they called the parents themselves.
My grandfather always said that "history is a novel, lived by real people" - made sense to me!
So, when I later heard people say that history is boring, stupid, unnecessary, I never understood that attitude. Now, I do.
Of necessity, this book is like condensed milk. "Just the facts, ma'm." And, thus, it is a litany, like the "begats" in the Bible, of names and dates, fac ts and figures, skeleton with very little "meat" on the bones. As a refresher, it's wonderful. As a memory trainer, it's excellent. But,......after a while, I have difficulty separating the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Sumarians, Medes, Babylonians, Persians and who did what to whom when.
What stands out: the word "paper" comes from the word "papyrus", the Great Pyramid of Cheops was one of the wonders of the Ancient World and is the only one still around, and
Tiglath-Pileser has to be the coolest possible name for a person!
What also stands out is how I, and others I have begun to observe, spend/waste our time. It takes a concerted effort to read, re-read, digest and/or absorb the import of what I have read, and anything which takes a concerted effort, takes time.
The life-sustaining duties get done: work, grocery shopping (yuck!), floor-mopping, shower- scrubbing. Also, 30 minutes practice on the keyboard or guitar, and some sort of exercise, usually dancing along with youtube, every day. Notice that I didn't mention dusting?
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