Gaius Octavius

From: http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/shiplaw/imic99.htm "Although not an insurance contract in its own right, the maritime loan, disburdening the uncertainty of events onto the lender, is reported by Trennery[6] as having been embraced by the Venetians, the Greeks and the Romans. Somewhat surprisingly, the Romans did not recognise a contract of insurance which was not coupled to a maritime loan.[7] Yet the notion of the transfer of risk to another for a price was certainly well developed by the time of Justinian, whose Digest contained provisions regulating the rate of premium interest covering the assumption of risk as part of a maritime loan.[8]" This is rather sketchy, but a start.

Did the Celts and Germans train and practice their soldiers as the Romans did? Did they have a 'Table of Organization and Equipment'?

A kiss on the elbow, would be quite existential, But CASH is a god's best friend. Divi G.O., Cos.

This is out of context: "Command of the field armies was normally in the hands of senior officers known as magistri, though minor armies could be commanded by a comes." See: http://members.tripod.com/~S_van_Dorst/lrarmy.html

:wub: Ain't you so nice, after that dastardly cut! I guess that your feathers are out of shape. What about AoS, Cos.? G.O., Cos.

Ruthe, you ought to e-mail the guy.

It is the Heart of America! Not some outback like penciltucky. Don't you pay any attention to the important things on this board? Burn the cash and you still owe me.

Nice work, :mummy: . Wouldn't it be something, if hitherto completely unknown books were found?

That's more like it. Don't forget to send cash. :mummy: The Consul stumble? You jest, surely! Omniscience! C.D., sell the bulls and give me the money. When you make a promise to a god, you'd better keep your word, else :blowup:

You have the brass to accuse THE CONSUL of being a bisexual egomaniac! May you be cursed in waking and sleeping; in walking and talking; in eating and drinking; in dreaming and sewing; and in thinking and writing. G.O., Cos.

I am sure that all y'all are aware of the fact that March 18th will be my First Anniversary here abouts. Note well how the membership has soared. Cause and effect. As Consul; as The Presence; as the god incarnate, I declare the Day a public holiday. No one need go to work or to school; no dishes need be cleaned. Throw 'em out. No cooking. Order in. In lieu of presents, please send cash - lots of cash - don't be miserly, the Consul won't GO for that. Done this 3rd day of March, in the year of the Consuls G.O. and AoS, the MMDCCLIX, at Dusthaven in the province of Brookfordshiresexingham. G.O., Cos.

You :notworthy: and the other P :notworthy: often sound strange to me. (I'm )

I had in mind the 'hollows' prior to the 1950's. The sentence structure; the words; the pronunciation; the nuance; the music.

I recently read or heard that Ivan the Terrible built a secret library within the Kremlin. It was alleged to possibly contain 'Byzantine' manuscripts. Are the Russians doing any work on this?

In my opinion, no one, but no one, ancient or modern, writes without an agenda or a bias. Facts are misinterpreted - even today. The interpretations themselves cannot escape bias. Citing names and theories does not prove one correct and the other a "fool". New 'facts' will soon appear, seemingly making older statements inaccurate. Newer and older histories, along with their adherents, command respect and not denigration.

Any comments about my thought that the original New Year began on our March 21st?

Romans insured buildings? I think that Crassus (in his time) had a fire brigade of his own. When a fire broke out, he would go to it and try to buy the building from the owner at a rock bottom price. If he succeeded in buying, he would attempt to put the fire out; if not - burn baby, burn. What were the vigiles doing?

Re Ides, see: http://www.unrv.com/culture/roman-calendar.php ----------------------------------- Calendar January to June: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1589 July to December: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1590

This site makes it a little more clear: http://www.paullewis.co.uk/ Click on 'Roman Numerals'.

From: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encycl...ancalendar.html "England, Wales, and Ireland (and the British colonies) did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752, in response to legislation introduced by Lord Chesterfield. Previously, the new year had begun on March 25 (the traditional date for the spring equinox) and, by then, was eleven days behind the Gregorian calendar, a discrepancy that was corrected by having September 14 follow September 2 that year." The above confirms, somewhat, my belief that the beginning of the Roman New Year was on the present March 21st.

Some pictures: http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/ro...s_contents.html

Add courage and tenacity. There is nothing like a good B&W photo. You chose well.

From: http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-...ml#Anchor-63546 "January was named after Janus, a sky-god who was ancient even at the time of Rome's founding. Ovid quoted Janus as saying "The ancients called me chaos, for a being from of old am I." After describing the world's creation, he again quoted Janus: "It was then that I, till that time a mere ball, a shapeless lump, assumed the face and members of a god." A Lydian named Joannes identified Janus as a planet when he wrote: "Our own Philadelphia still preserves a trace of the ancient belief. On the first day of the month there goes in procession no less a personage than Janus himself, dressed up in a two-faced mask, and people call him Saturnus, identifying him with Kronos." Early Romans believed that the beginning of each day, month and year were sacred to Janus. They thought he opened the gates of heaven at dawn to let out the morning, and that he closed them at dusk. This eventually led to his worship as the god of all doors, gates, and entrances. Some say Februarius got its name from a goatskin thong called a februa ("means of purification.") On the 15th day of this month Romans observed the festival of Lupercalia. During the festival, a februa was wielded by priests who used it to beat women in the belief that it would make a barren woman fertile. However, there's a Latin verb februare, meaning to "expiate" or "purify." It seems more reasonable to assume the purification people had in mind when naming the month was that of the calendar year's length, not that of women upon whom the thong was applied." February also devoted to the Infernal Gods. The above site also goes into how to read a Roman Calendar and its history. And the Moon will be eclipsed tomorrow - EVIL!

, Cos. Did J.R. strangle :mummy: already? G.O., Cos.

"Homo Adamantis" = "Man of Steel" = Stalin!