Monthly Archives: November 2005

Horace In Rossini

In honor of the 2012th anniversary of the death of Horace, here is the opening of Act I, Scene XIV of Rossini’s delightful Il Turco in Italia, which I saw and heard for the first time today (on DVD). The … Continue reading

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Good Advice?

No debemos utilizar como documento histórico las obras maestras, sino las mediocres.Lo que diferencia a las épocas es su manera de fracasar. For historical evidence, we should not use the masterpieces but the mediocre works.What distinguishes epochs is their style … Continue reading

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Gómez Dávila On Reading

Sólo debemos leer para descubrir lo que debemos releer eternamente. We ought to read only to discover what we ought to reread forever. (Nicolás Gómez Dávila, Escolios a un Texto Implícito, 1.214) Lector auténtico es el que lee por placer … Continue reading

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Pedantic Leg Footnote

If I’m not mistaken, the “gloriously accoutred warrior”* Chloreus who inadvertently lures Camilla to her death in Book XI is the first character in the Aeneid who is wearing any pants: of his many colorful garments, the last mentioned is … Continue reading

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Gómez Dávila on Caesar

La prosa de César es la voz misma del patriciado: dura, sencilla, lúcida. La aristocracia no es un montón de oropeles, sino una voz tajante. Caesar’s prose is the very voice of the patriciate: hard, simple, transparent. The aristocracy is … Continue reading

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More Books

I’ve added a dozen or so titles (all in Classics) to my list of Books for Sale (link in the left margin). Several seem to be rarities — at least no one else is offering copies on ABE. Please take … Continue reading

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Aphorism Of The Day

Hoy para ser puritano basta tener gusto. To be a puritan today, it is enough to have taste. (Nicolás Gómez Dávila, Escolios a un Texto Implícito, 1.379)

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Words I’d Like To See In A Dedication

I would like to thank my colleagues in the Department of X at the University of Y for helping me complete this book. But they didn’t, so I can’t. Please note: when I call these “words I’d like to see”, … Continue reading

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Ancient Shock Therapy?

Laudator Temporis Acti joins Rogue Classicism in wondering “whether there is any truth to the claim that the ancient Romans treated brain disorders or headaches with electric eels”. LTA also asks whether the electric ray or electric catfish (pictured below) … Continue reading

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Reading Notes: Trollope

From Chapter I of Anthony Trollope’s Dr. Wortle’s School, I learn that British schools provided their pupils (aged 11-17) with beer every day, and with wine and even champagne when they were ill. In Chapter III, a boy who falls … Continue reading

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