Also ironic is van Rijn's suggestion that the name of his ship should have been a warning to the Borthudians because Mercury was a Roman god of thieves. Borthudians can no more know Roman mythology than van Rijn would know the myths about the six-armed Borthudian idol.
Continuing the summary of the Technic History:
Volume III
the team and van Rijn in space
Falkayn's grandson on an Avalonian island
Jack Birnam and Ivar Holm on an Avalonian continent
Manuel Argos proclaiming the Terran Empire
the early Empire
Daniel Holm, Christopher Holm and Tabitha Falkayn on Avalon attacked by the Empire
Volumes IV-VII
Dominic Flandry defending the Empire
other events in the Empire during Flandry's lifetime
Flandry's daughter
Roan Tom surviving after the Empire
the Allied Planets rebuilding later
humanity spreading through several spiral arms
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
"Salubrications" is obviously a malapropism for "salutations." And the captive Rentharik might not have been offered a drink because nothing was available that Borthudians would like.
And educated Borthudians, however resentful they might be of Earthmen, could have known about the Roman gods and myths.
Sean
Paul and Sean:
In "The Warriors from Nowhere," the girl working for Dominic Flandry was surprised when an alien who introduced himself as from outside the Empire nonetheless knew enough to quote "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" quite appropriately. Learning the culture of your enemies, not just their physical equipment and weaponry, may well be vital to overcoming them, if you don't have the brute-force capability.
Sun Tzu said: "Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril."
Kaor, DAVID!
A good example, and one I should have thought of myself. And the alien working for Duke Alfred was not the only one, recall how Aycharaych knew Latin and even quoted one of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poems.
And I agree with Sun Tzu! And, I have read his ART OF WAR. Knowing and UNDERSTANDING your enemy (and yourself) will help you to more effectively defeat him.
Sean
@ David, @Sean re: Sun Tzu: Indeed....
"I don’t know who you are, I don’t even know who I’m talking to,”
"If that’s true, if you don’t know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.”
-Breaking Bad, 5X09 "Blood Money"
================================
It is with quotes like these that you learn that I have a mind like a saucer-
broad, shallow, and easily upset.
;)
-kh
Kaor, Keith!
And the line you quoted from "Breaking Bad," reminded me of Heinlein's aphorism about the armed society being a polite society!
Sean
Thanks, Sean.
-kh
Post a Comment