I linked last night to Thomas Babington Macaulay's 1855 description of his Scottish Highlander ancestors as mountain bandits, and that got me thinking about Macaulay's once-famous poem about a hero in Roman Republican history, "Horatius:"
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the gate:
‘To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods
Coincidentally, I saw the new Tom Cruise sci-fi film Oblivion tonight, and (spoiler alert) Macaulay's poem plays a central role in the movie.
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21 comments:
Chechen the new Che Guevara
SPOILER: A subtle theme was that Cruise's character patrolled the region with NY and the eastern seaboard, and thus had more chances to run across books and their influence.
The immigrant aliens here are depicted as murderous and environmentally destructive. Maybe this will filter down for consideration by our policy makers when they are deciding whether to go with the more terrestrial variety of alien immigrant.
Chechens, Highlanders, HBD in action.
I've found myself mumbling those lines to myself a lot in the last few years. Can't think of any particular reason why memory dredges them up. Impending senility, I guess.
Here is a synopsis of Horatius at the bridge http://rome.mrdonn.org/horatius.html
Hah, At first I thought you were referring to The Last Samurai.
He really should have found The Illiad instead of Macaulay. I'd say why but it would spoil the ending.
I won't see any movie with Morgan Freeman in it.... and for an old geezer he gets lots of work. He's Hollywood's go to guy for an authoritative black man. He has played President at least once.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods
Steve,
This is just more evidence against your claims that these men's actions were peculiarly "Checheny."
I won't see any movie with Morgan Freeman in it..
Why not?
Chechens, Highlanders, HBD in action.
If anything, the Boston bombings refute HBD. Most human groups have engaged in violence at one time or another.
Were Freeman & Cruise ever in frame together? Wonder how they handled the height difference
Anonymous Anonymous said...I won't see any movie with Morgan Freeman in it....
Yeah, I've had it with him too. He's like Robert Duvall, formerly an actor, now a guy who always plays the same character in exactly the same way.
Yeah, I've had it with him too. He's like Robert Duvall, formerly an actor, now a guy who always plays the same character in exactly the same way."
Its why one of the few characters I liked was in Dreamcatcher where he played a military guy drunk with power.
Chechens, Highlanders, HBD in action."
And how murderous are the Highlanders these days? In the words of PJ Rourke , tribalism has reduced to the pattern of tartans you wear to golf.
How did the more desirable state of affairs from vendetta prone illiterate clasnmen to inventing the steam engine and HSBC come about?
"How did the more desirable state of affairs from vendetta prone illiterate clasnmen to inventing the steam engine and HSBC come about?"
The lowlanders were never vendetta prone clansmen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances
"This is just more evidence against your claims that these men's actions were peculiarly "Checheny."
Only if you're very, very stupid and think genetics means people are fixed for all time.
People who live in more violent environments will select more for violent traits - environments like Roman Italy or Roman Britain 2000 years ago or Chechnya and Somalia 2000 years ago and *now*.
The lowlanders were never vendetta prone clansmen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances"
So are you saying that pretty all those Scots I spoke of were lowlanders like the pants not kilt wearing Braveheart(Gibson, I love your movies but seriously ease up on the English bashing and Celt mythologizing)
Only if you're very, very stupid and think genetics means people are fixed for all time.
People who live in more violent environments will select more for violent traits - environments like Roman Italy or Roman Britain 2000 years ago or Chechnya and Somalia 2000 years ago and *now*."
THis, thank you. Except the Caucasus(dont know about Chechnya) had more civilization back then due to the Greek presence(Colchians,Jason and the golden fleece) and Somalia was pretty quite too.
It functioned as a subsidiary of Sheba and profited then as now as trade intermediaries or heavy handed toll collectors(pirates)
Chechen the new Che Guevara"
As far the Russians are concerned-Chechens are so last decade. Putin has so thoroughly crushed and humbled them,that they are today not even a nuisance value.
Think about this for a second, Vladimir Putin with the support of the Russian Orthodox Church has destroyed the toughest Muslim people on earth by leveling Grozny and nary a peep from the Saudi,Iranians and the usual suspects.Ditto Chinese and Uyghurs.
Quite a change of attitude from when Russians invaded Afghanistan- another tough but overrated Muslim mountain people.
But Israel and America try to nation build in Palestine and Iraq by throwing billions,weapons,troops and infrastructure and they get skewered for a half hearted defense when attacked by terrorists.
There is a lesson here that Americans are too terrified to learn and isteve readers dont want to learn.
I won't see any movie with Morgan Freeman in it..
Why not?"
Amongst Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, only one of these slept with his grand daughter.Hint-It wasnt the weirdo scientologist
Forgot to mention , Sum of All Fears also features Morgan Freeman(along with Bostonian Ben Affleck and Chechens)
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