sentinel166

Thanks for your interest. The "they" refers to Romans in general: why Romans do this or that, from the perspective of a Greek. Yo can find here. So it's in Greek... But about Roman history so I suppose I'm still entitled to ask here 😅 I see what you mean... Yeah I didn't think of "natural rights" that way. How stupid honestly. I'm used to dubious translations of Plato but it appears everyone got that treatment equally. But not everyone warranted modern retranslations. ... Unless Greeks themselves used this phrasing ? So you're right, Plutarch is not justifying the ban but instead saying close-kin marriages should logically be seen advantageous for Romans? Complete quote:

Hi, One of my "special interests" is the issue of incest, the definition and ban of it or lack thereof in all societies. I usually work mostly with secondary sources (expert books compiling quotes) but whenever possible I go back to the primary source. Could you explain this ? First off my knowledge of Roman culture is on a need-to-know basis (or rather it grows organically as I find bits that interest me), and secondly English is not my mother tongue so sometimes I don't get the logic of some sentences, what it's supposed to convey. Could you paraphrase these sentences so that It makes sense to me ? > Or do they fear the disagreements which arise in marriages of near kin, on the ground that these tend to destroy natural rights? Or, since they observe that women by reason of their weakness need many protectors, were they not willing to take as partners in their household women closely akin to them, so that if their husbands wronged them, their kinsmen might bring them succour? Plutarch has something specific in mind with "destroy natural rights" but I don't get it. Jealousy male relatives about who gets to marry and s∃x a hot daughter ? And in the second sentence, am I right that Plutarch finds strange that Romans, knowing the vulnerability of women and their eternal dependency on their family, did not reach the logical conclusion that they would be safer not leaving it at all ? Thanks

Hi, My name is Mehdi Saada, with a degree in history (licence, 3 years in France, dunno how that translates in anglo countries !), and I am a huge admirer of Rome, but more in the sense that I it relates more to the Western world of today in many ways than other civilizations until, say, the late Middle Age, yet staying distant enough to wonder about ourselves. A sort of distorted mirror. And the fact it extends for a good millennium with significant historical records (much more than we have for any other place over such duration...) regarding economy and culture/ethics. What I appreciate the most of issues of (sexual/matrimonial) morality, economics, religion and politics. See ya 😄