Raj Whitehall adapts Shakespeare but also echoes Nelson, Horatius and a Poul Anderson title.
"'And I say I'm proud right now, to call you fellow-soldiers, who I trust to do their duty.'" (p. 259)
"England expects..."
(A man speaking from the foot of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, (see image) pointed up and asked, "What would Nelson say?" Another man speaking from the steps of the General Post Office in O'Connell St., Dublin, cited the occupation of the Post Office by armed rebels during the Easter Rising in 1916.)
"'You are the descendants of the lords of the stars...'" (ibid.)
See "Lord Of A Thousand Suns."
"...you fight for your homes, your families, the graves of your ancestors, the temples of the Spirit. To battle! Winner takes all!'" (ibid.)
See previous references to Horatius. (Scroll down.)
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I can see how Raj's "...lords of the stars" reminded you of Anderson's "Lord Of A Thousand Suns," but it seems a bit remote given both the "history" of the Civil Government of Holy Federation and the religion of the Spirit of the Man of the Stars. It would be natural enough for Raj to say something like "...descendants of the lords of the stars."
Sean
Sean,
It would indeed. I do not think that this is really a reference to Anderson, just a parallel phrase.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I agree! And something similar might have happened on some of the worlds of the fallen Terran Empire during the Long Night. That is, a "fragment" of the Empire might have lingered on them as it did on Bellevue with the Civil Government. We even see mention of the planet Nike having an "Emperor" in "A Tragedy of Errors."
Sean
Besides Horatius, that's also from the oration ascribed to the Greek commander at Salamis.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And I had been wondering who were "the sons of the Griks."
Sean
The Greek original translates literally as "Sons of Hellen" -- Hellenes, Greeks.
Incidentally, Greeks stopped calling themselves Hellenes in the late Roman period -- it came to mean "Pagan". Greek-speakers from then until the 18th century called themselves Rhomaioi, Romans.
Incidentally, by about 400 nearly everyone in the Roman Empire except a few groups like Jews would, if asked what their nationality was, have replied "Roman" -- even if they didn't speak Latin.
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