Fool me once
May. 2nd, 2008 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threemonkeysSome basic life lessons. When sick, stay home until you are recovered, don't struggle back. When you do have a relapse don't do repeat the mistake and struggle back too soon. Why yes I am sick and if I had been sensible the first time I would be recovered by now. Stupid life lessons. How often do I have to keep repeating them before I actually take notice.
Still I do get some reading done. Its about the only thing I can do that does not cause me pain. Earlier in the week I started with Count Belisarius by Robert Graves - the story of one of the greatest military commanders ever. I first read this book many many years ago while doing the great thesis procrastination exercise. I remember loving it. I remember reading my way through a whole bunch of Graves' works and thinking it was the best of them.
Funny thing memory. It was interesting enough but no I Claudius. This time through I found too many boring bits between the fascinating Roman politics There was also the whole - which bits are real and which bits are invented. By real, of course, I mean taken from historical sources. That is what Graves did - followed the historical works where he could and filled in with interpolation. With I Claudius, I have read* quite a few of the source works and I think that helps with the enjoyment of the fiction. But with Count Belisarius it is harder to tell. But in the introduction, Graves insists that the politics of the time is as real as he can make it. Perhaps that is why it interested me the most.
*In translation - duh. The only latin I know is Veni Vidi Visa - I came, I saw, I did a little shopping.
Still I do get some reading done. Its about the only thing I can do that does not cause me pain. Earlier in the week I started with Count Belisarius by Robert Graves - the story of one of the greatest military commanders ever. I first read this book many many years ago while doing the great thesis procrastination exercise. I remember loving it. I remember reading my way through a whole bunch of Graves' works and thinking it was the best of them.
Funny thing memory. It was interesting enough but no I Claudius. This time through I found too many boring bits between the fascinating Roman politics There was also the whole - which bits are real and which bits are invented. By real, of course, I mean taken from historical sources. That is what Graves did - followed the historical works where he could and filled in with interpolation. With I Claudius, I have read* quite a few of the source works and I think that helps with the enjoyment of the fiction. But with Count Belisarius it is harder to tell. But in the introduction, Graves insists that the politics of the time is as real as he can make it. Perhaps that is why it interested me the most.
*In translation - duh. The only latin I know is Veni Vidi Visa - I came, I saw, I did a little shopping.
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Date: 2008-05-02 10:15 am (UTC)"Veni Vidi Visa" -- ha! That's glorious. Thank you for sharing it.
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Date: 2008-05-02 10:13 pm (UTC)I used to work for a credit card company. We used to joke about it as a possible motto.
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Date: 2008-05-02 10:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 11:23 am (UTC)The question of what is real is a bit iffy on that one -- a main source document is, IIRC, the Secret History of Procopius, which is one of the more dubious historical documents ever. It claims the Emperor is a literal demon, and has the most amazing accusations of perversion against the Empress.
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Date: 2008-05-02 10:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 10:09 pm (UTC)Get well soon.
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Date: 2008-05-02 10:11 pm (UTC)