The Flavian Philosophy II

The Golden Slave, XIII.

See The Flavian Philosophy.

Flavius is at it again:

"'There are no free and unfree; we are all whirled on our way like dead leaves, from an unlikely beginning to a ludicrous end. I do not speak to you now; the sounds that come from my mouth are made by chance, flickering within the bounds of causation and natural law. Truly, we are all slaves. The sole difference lies between the noble and the ignoble.'" (p. 175)

We are whirled on our way. We are leaves with wings that can vary their course slightly but chance has decreed that some of us are motivated to change the direction of our flight whereas others are not. Of course he speaks to her. His words are intelligible and therefore are not random noises like the rustling of leaves in the wind.

CS Lewis argued that, if cerebral processes are caused, then mental processes cannot be reasoned. I discuss Lewis' arguments in section (7) here.

Poul Anderson's rich text combines philosophy, mythology and natural scenery.

Phryne swears "'Before Hades...'" (XI, p. 148)

When the freed slaves, now pirates, liberate wine casks from the captured Bona Dea, she thinks:

"This was going to be a night when Circe reigned." (p. 176)

Meanwhile:

"sundown blazed among restless clouds; the mast swayed back and forth in heaven." (ibid.)

Later, the revels are:

"...as though Pan the terrible had put to sea." (p. 178)

"...half a beast is the great god, Pan..." (See here)