Nov 5– From The Life of Sir Thomas More by William Roper (1626)
Summary: Thomas More's son in law really really really likes him.
Commentary: This was a rough one to follow. Literal page longs paragraphs, written by More's hero worshipping son in law. I can't imagine it's a terribly accurate account, since Roper seems to (as More would surely call blasphemy) worship him. Seems to be political/religious bickering. Also, a weird chunk to pick. There's not clean break at the end.
Book 13
Summary: Oddy makes it to Ithaca, meets Athena, and she disguises him.
Let me start by saying how confused I was that Odysseus made it back to Ithaca half way through the book. What else was he going to do? I wondered. I knew he had to meet Argos, shoot the axes, and kill the suitors, but that didn't seem like it could take another 200+ pages (especially when the whole story so far was about that long).
Truthfully, this is a shortish chapter and I didn't take many notes.
Book 14
Summary: Oddy meets his pig farmer and tells a truish account without revealing himself.
Fitzgerald's translation has a kind of old-timey, charming slightly goofy way sometimes and it really comes out in this chapter. After Eumaeus saves Odysseus from the guard dogs he says, "You might have got a ripping, man!" A page later, the narrator says they eat "two young porkers." I don't think I could eat a pig if someone called it a porker. That's too adorable.
Eumaeus doesn't get enough attention in culture. Most of the human side characters don't, but it's particularly noticeable with him. He's in a full half the book (unlike the crew members who are lucky to show up on five pages) and he's very helpful and loyal to Odysseus.
After Eumaeus asks Odysseus how he came to Ithaca ("I don't suppose you walked here on the see") we get the great epithet "the master of improvisation"
He tells a story of his missing time, which is mostly true in the broad strokes, but changes specific names, locations, etc. (also, less goddess/sorceress fucking). He tells a story about being cold when he had to wear a kilt, which is interesting. I assume the original is "skirt" or something.
Tomorrow, Telemachus makes it home!
Nov 4– From Polyeucte by Cornielle (1643) Translated by Thomas Constable
FABIAN.Yes,—you may—see her—see her—this you may—SEV.Thy speech is halting—odious thy delay!She loves no more? I grope! O give me light!
I'm amused both by the em-dashes/halting speech, and by the groping when she loves no more. You shouldn't do that.
SEV.
To wed a queen—an empress—were only loss and shame;
One heart for me—Pauline's! One boast—that dearest name!
Her love was virgin gold! O ne'er shall baser metal ring
From mine, who live her name to bless! her peerless praise to sing!
O, words are naught, till that I see her face,
Then doubly naught till I my love embrace.
In every war my hope was placed in death,
Her name upon my lips at every breath:
My rank, my fame, now hers and hers alone,
What is not hers, hers only—I disown!
FABIAN.
Yes, Polyeucte is her lord.
He came, he saw, he conquered thine adored.
I would like to know if this reference is in the original French or a translation addition. (My relatively half assed Google provided no answers.) "To thine own self be true" is in there later, which leads me to believe the translator just wanted to put in a bunch of famous quotes.
Book 12
My Summary: Oddy is dumb and a bunch of men die. Syrens, Charybdis, Scylla, and Helios' Cattle.
I think this is the first time I call him Oddy.
I really thought there was some Christian burning in History of The World: Part I, but I was wrong.
Nov 3– Pliny’s letter to Emperor Trajan and Trajan’s response
Summary: Some people might be Christians! Hard to tell. They don't really do anything. Better torture some slaves just to be safe. Also, don't trust anonymous informants.
Commentary: I like how Pliny just sounds totally clueless here. "I know I'm supposed to punish Christians, and I wouldn't want to not punish someone... But I don't really know how to find them. Or what they do. Or what to do with them after I find them... I tortured some slaves just in case. Also, anyone obstinate. Please advise."
And then Emperor Trajan writes back (not in the selection, despite the fact that it's only another paragraph added to an already very short reading) and is like, "Don't worry about it too much. You can punish them if you find any, but if they repent don't bother." The best part is: "Anonymous informations ought not to be received in any sort of prosecution. It is introducing a very dangerous precedent, and is quite foreign to the spirit of our age." Unlike, evidently, torturing slaves just to be safe.
This whole thing read like a satire.
Book 11
My summary: Odysseus meets famous dead people.
Hey, this section came up in 15MAD was at the beginning of the year.
Odysseus is starting to come out of his asshole phase: "One shade came first--Elepenor, of our company,/ who laid unburied still on the wide earth/ as we had left him dead in Kirke's hall,/ untouched, unmourned, when other cares compelled us." (He fell off a roof he was drunkenly sleeping on.)
The shade asks for a proper burial, and he agrees.
Many of the shades want to drink blood, which is not a thing we really spirits today.
There is a heartbreaking segment where he tries to hug his mother, Penelope: "with longing to embrace her,/ and tried three times, putting my arms around her,/ but she went sifting through my hands[...] this embittered all the pain I bore,/ and I cried in the darkness:"
Agamemnon shit talks women a bunch, they're all deceivers, never trust them, etc. After Odysseus willingly spent the last year with Circe, it doesn't hit very strongly.
A bunch of other Iliad characters show up and talk about the Trojan war.
Hebe has "ravishing pale ankles."
This is an interesting book, but I feel like it gets a bit more attention than it deserves. It's much more popular to talk about than, for example, and of the Telemachus books.
Nov 2– From The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1321) translated by Rev. H. F. Cary
Summary: Dante meets everyone getting punished for not believing in God because they didn't know he exists. And meets all his classical Greek heroes.
Commentary: “All hope abandon ye who enter here.” Again, fun to get a quote origin (although this translation is a little different.) I think the DC bits are some of the hardest to follow out of order. Probably because it's very much a literal progression, and also because it's three books. Did I read Canto 3 of Inferno or of Paradiso, etc.? I think I've whined enough about how God is monstrous for punishing people for not believing in him correctly, even if they died before Christ or as unbaptized infants. Infinite punishment for something you didn't even realize you were doing (technically for something one of your ancestors did) and had no reason not to=bad. I'm going to go visual today and look at the art a bit.
