Nephele

Interesting article, Viggen! Not that this has much to do with the actual life of Maurice, but for a bit of trivia, the medieval Catholic Church assigned the boletus tree as an emblem of St. Maurice in their Calendar of Flowers (September 22nd). I have no idea what the significance of the boletus tree might be, or why it was chosen for St. Maurice. -- Nephele

What would the 20 non-combatants be doing? Keeping count of the casualties on the battlefield, in true Civil Service style? -- Nephele

Okay, the "librarian" in that pic was actually a model, and perhaps a bit over the top. But you could have found some smokin' hawt librarians (with genuine geek appeal!) at the Library Bar in Manhattan's East Village, like the pair pictured below: -- Nephele

Many librarians DO look like that. That's why we have no trouble signing up Literacy Volunteers in the library. And Friends of the Library members. And adult volunteer shelving pages. Etc., etc. -- Nephele

Nuh-uh. SHE has "librarian written all over her": -- Nephele

Mary Bailey was not a librarian. (She was a relic from a mawkish holiday mainstay. ) MPC, that website rocks hard (and so do you). -- Nephele

Perhaps I could appreciate it more if it didn't portray librarians as losers... GEORGE: Clarence... CLARENCE: Yes, George? GEORGE: Where's Mary? CLARENCE: Oh, well, I can't... GEORGE: I don't know how you know these things, but tell me - where is she?! CLARENCE: I... GEORGE: If you know where she is, tell me where my wife is! CLARENCE: I'm not supposed to tell. GEORGE: Please, Clarence, tell me where she is!! CLARENCE: You're not going to like it, George. GEORGE: WHERE IS SHE?!! CLARENCE: She's an old maid! She never married! GEORGE: WHERE'S MARY?!!! WHERE IS SHE??!!! CLARENCE She's... GEORGE: WHERE IS SHE??!!!! CLARENCE: She's just about to close up the library! Aaaaaaaarrrrrgh! (I really do despise that movie.) -- Nephele

And, of course, there's the famous lost ending: "The fully realized vision of an authentic American genius." The Lost Ending -- Nephele

Not even if you lasso the moon. -- Nephele

Sadly, the vital message never reaches George, as Uncle Billy's raven swoops down and snatches the telegram from the hand of the distracted delivery boy. Because Sam never receives a grateful acknowledgement from George, he spitefully changes his mind about sending the cash. Bailey Building & Loan Association goes belly up. Clarence never gets his wings. It's a not-so-wonderful life. -- Nephele

You're welcome, and I especially had you in mind when I quoted that bit from the book, as I remember you had given somewhere on the board a similar quote about a Roman citizen being greater than a king. What was that quote, exactly? I thought it brilliantly captured the Roman spirit. -- Nephele

OK, I'm missing something...how does a god, mating with a snake haired gorgon, produce a winged horse? I know that genetics have little bearing on the reproduction of gods...but I'm missing the connection. Pegasus was not the only winged horse of Greek myth. Some gods, such as Helios and Zeus, were said to drive chariots drawn by winged horses. Plato wrote: "Now the winged horses and the charioteers of the gods are all of them noble and of noble descent ..." (from Phaedrus translated by Benjamin Jowett). Supernatural DNA obviously differs from mortal DNA. After all, the race of Centaurs was said to have been born of the cloud nymph Nephele and the mortal King Ixion. -- Nephele

What a fun topic! I think I'd like to go back to 506 BCE, as a Roman child who joins Cloelia in her exciting "Great Escape" from the Etruscans. I've just now briefly reviewed over in the Libri subforum a children's book based on the legend of Cloelia, so that's why I'm thinking I'd not only like to have witnessed that event -- but also to have been a part of it! -- Nephele

I've recently come across a charming children's picture book titled Brave Cloelia that I thought I'd bring to the attention of any Romanophile parents here looking for a great "read-aloud" for their children -- especially daughters. Written by Jane Louise Curry and illustrated by Jeff Crosby, the events of this story are taken from Livy's history of Rome and retold in a way which also introduces children to interesting little details of ancient Roman life -- such as the football game of harpastum played by young boys, and the contrast between Roman and Etruscan aesthetics. The message of Roman honor comes through loud and clear in this story, for after Cloelia has escaped as a hostage of the Etruscans, resourcefully leading forty other young girls, the Romans do the honorable thing and agree to return her. However... The story ends happily for Cloelia, who so thoroughly amuses the Etruscan king and his queen with her sassiness, that the king decides not only to reward Cloelia with her freedom, but also allows her to choose from among the remaining captives those to return home with her. The inside covers of the book consist of a map of Italy circa 506 BCE, with the Etruscan cities to the north of Rome depicted and named. Opposite this map is another, close-up map of Rome showing where the Etruscan camps lay in relation to the Tiber River and hills of Rome. I highly recommend this book for your own smallest of Romans, who is, no doubt, equal to if not greater than kings. -- Nephele

Outstanding! It this were a colorful Rorschach Test, I'd say those were the antlers of Cernunnos that I see in there! Sorry about your grandmother. Hoping you have a good holiday with her and the rest of your folks. -- Nephele

Boo-Hoo-Hoo. Yes, G.O. lives in the wilds of Brooklyn. Huh. Who counts that as New York? -- Nephele

I generally like Christopher Hitchens, although as a self-styled "anti-theist" (as opposed to mere "atheist") he can get a bit over-the-top. All I have to say to him about Chanukah is, chill baby. Get a yourself nice chocolate high on some Chanukah gelt: -- Nephele

"I'm not even going to give the location, short of the fact that it's east of the Mississippi..." New York? New York! New York! New York! We can bop 'round the city together!! I'll treat you to lunch at Brendan's! We'll shop! Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! Okay, so maybe I'm just hopeful. Good luck on your interview, DoL, wherever it is! -- Nephele

Bill, you are a member of the Mallia Gens, a humble plebeian gens which had but one consul to claim as its own -- Cn. Mallius Maximus (105 BCE). It is the expectation of the Mallii that you rise to fame someday, and do the family proud. Your cognomen is "Cinna," indicating that curly hair runs in your family. Your praenomen of "Decimus" is abbreviated as "D." Your full Roman name is: D. Mallius Cinna = MdcialiLwnuan -w +s Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

Hey, Moonlapse... Hieronymus Bosch? Niiiice. -- Nephele

May you have a cool day! -- Nephele

You're welcome. You probably need to visit your public library for these. If your public library doesn't have Harvard's Loeb Classical Library translations in the collection, they should be able to interloan these for you from another library. Print up the pages I've linked below and give these to the librarian, so he/she will know what you're looking for: Velleius Paterculus Florus Cicero, Divinatio in Caecilium 67 ("Against Caecilius") and Actio in Verrem ("Against Verres") 2.2.118 Sorry I don't have a link for this one -- you'll have to copy it down: Commentaries on Speeches of Cicero, by Quintus Asconius Pedianus; R.G. Lewis; Jill Harries; Albert Curtis Clark (Oxford University Press, 2006). Here's a link to an online version of Livy's Periochae for you, at Livius.org. It's not much more than a passing reference to Silanus, though: Livy, Periochae 65 "Consul Marcus Junius Silanus unsuccessfully fought against the Cimbrians. The Senate ignored the envoys of the Cimbrians who demanded land and a place to settle." I think it's a safe bet that Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus was an enemy of Silanus, considering that Ahenobarbus prosecuted Silanus over the Cimbri incident when Ahenobarbus was Tribune of the Plebs in 104 BCE. Other than that, I would suggest digging up whatever you can from the sources provided -- or perhaps others here might have a bit more insight into who Silanus' friends and enemies may have been. -- Nephele

Aren't sulfides and sulfites two different things? As far as I know, sulfites are found in wine in small quantities, but are also sometimes added as a preservative. Wine with a lot of sulfites gives me headaches. Ow. -- Nephele

A small error - on 8 it's American Medical Association, not again the the sharks. Thank you -- correction made. Heheh, "the sharks." -- Nephele

joyfulpuck, you were a slave from Britannia, originally named "Matugenus," in the service of a Roman citizen named Aelius Annaeus. Upon becoming the freedman of Annaeus, you took his praenomen ("Aelius," abbreviated "AEL") and his nomen gentilicium ("Annaeus") for your own. You then added an adaptation of your slave name ("Matutio") as your cognomen. (According to Kajanto, the Celtic cognomen of "Matutio" is found in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (XIII, 570), and is comparable to Matugenus.) Your full Roman name is: AEL Annaeus Matutio = Eeelanum Mtoatanas -em +iu Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele