the western way of mawr

i thought dennis would appreciate the fact that a.e. housman is quoted at the beginning of chapter 2 of victor davis hanson's 'the western way of war':

Therefore, though the best is bad,
Stand and do the best, my lad;
Stand and fight and see your slain,
And take the bullet in your brain.

do YOU know what time it is?

well, neither do i. but do you know who manlius theodorus was? well, he was the dedicatee of augustine's dialogue 'de beata vita', written in 386 during a bit of otium liberale. manlius had set a precedent for such a retirement, according to peter brown in 'augustine of hippo', in 383, when he withdrew from public life for a time to write books on philosophy and a treatise on classical meter. he was an admirer of plotinus and a catholic. moreover, the discussions on which the 'de beata vita' is based may have taken place in his house!

what's that you say, han solon?

and now for today's bit of pithy solonic wisdom (as quoted by plato): 'happy the man who has loving sons, horses with uncloven hoof, hunting dogs and a guest from abroad' (fr. 23, as translated in the cambridge history of classical literature).

A.E., I.O.U.

This is the first installment of our newest effort: the not so random A.E. Housman quote.

I'd trade three Nisbets and an M.L. West for his rookie card ...

"Stand on a barrel in the streets of Bagdad, and say in a loud voice, ”Twice two is four, and ginger is hot in the mouth, therefore Mohammed is the prophet of God,” and your logic will probably escape criticism; or, if anyone by chance should criticise it, you could easily silence him by calling him a Christian dog."