| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | nepōs | nepōtēs |
| Genitive | nepōtis | nepōtum |
| Dative | nepōtī | nepōtibus |
| Accusative | nepōtem | nepōtēs |
| Ablative | nepōte | nepōtibus |
| Vocative | nepōs | nepōtēs |
See also Nepos.
The English adjective, "Martian," is derived from the root of "Mars," which is "Mart-."
"Jovial" is derived from the root of "Jupiter," which is "Jov-."
"Nepotism" is derived from "nepot-."
"League apprenticeships are scarcer than hair on a neutron, and mostly filled by relatives. (That's less nepotism from its own sake than a belief that kin of survivor types are more likely to be the same than chance-met groundhugger kids.)"
-Poul Anderson, "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" IN Anderson, The Van Rijn Method (Riverdale, NY, 2009), pp. 175-197 AT p. 179.
Rubbish. I was not a business type like my father. Aptitude tests can identify survivor types among groundhuggers.
"'...not many League people seem to understand what a cosmos of enemies it's made for itself over the years.'"
-Poul Anderson, Mirkheim IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 1-291 AT VI, p. 96.
Nepotism, together with absurd justifications for it, would indeed antagonize many.
"'The humans and nonhumans are both a motley lot, recruited over a period of years - from the broken, the embittered, the greedy, the outlawed, the amoral, the heedless adventurous.'
"Falkayn nodded. Expanding through space with the speed and blindness of a natural force, Technic civilization had bred many such."
-Mirkheim, XVI, p. 219.
A civilization is not a blind natural force and its leaders are responsible for the effects of their actions.
I mention all this because nepotism, without any justification for it, still operates in Technic civilization centuries later:
"[Christopher Holm] was not astonished at becoming a top officer of the West Coronan home guard, after that took its loose shape - not in a society where nepotism was the norm."
-Poul Anderson, The People Of The Wind, VI, p. 499.
Christopher is the son of Daniel Holm, Second Marchwarden of the Lauran System in the Domain of Ythri.
(As life renormalizes, post frequency decreases.)
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
As dispersed and decentralized as was Technic civilization, it had many, not a few leaders. And those leaders will come in all kinds and conditions, from the wise to the foolish, from the competent to bunglers.
I don't think nepotism can ever be wholly done away with or abolished. I think the best you can do is make sure it's not the ONLY way of rising in any society.
Sean
Paul and Sean:
David Drake's RCN series, which is more or less Patrick O'Brian's "Aubrey and Maturin" series in space, has in the RCN (Republic of Cinnabar Navy) a concept called "interest." The interest an officer has is a measure of his/her connections that will reward a superior who sponsors this officer's career and promotions.
One officer remarks on the irony that Daniel Leary has won renown and wealth (on pure talent and luck) despite having essentially no interest — his father is a powerful politician who's disowned him — whereas she's been stalled despite having "three admirals in my bloodline and a fleet commander as my sponsor."
Leary himself approves of the interest system, despite that it's never benefited him and he's aware of its potential for abuse. He perceives it as making seniors feel they have a stake in the promotion of their subordinates. I feel it's thoroughly corrupt. Though Leary is a very likable character in several respects, here he and I sharply disagree.
Kaor, DAVID!
I agree with you in believing nepotism (or "interest"), by and large, to have more disadvantages than not. That said, I'm not sure if "sponsoring" is always bad, IF the person doing the sponsoring does not have sole control on whether the officer he was advocating be raised to a higher rank is promoted or not. Other officers or review boards should first agree to that promotion.
Sean
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