Flandry assesses Cairncross's chances of making a successful coup. Many Hermetians will support him. With a well-organized operation and a surprise strike, he will be able to kill Gerhart, proclaim himself Emperor and claim to be righting wrongs as well as providing able leadership.
"A lot of Navy officers will feel they should go along with him simply to end the strife before it ruins too much, and because he is now the alternative to a throne back up for grabs. Others, as his cause gathers momentum, will deem it prudent to join. Yes, Edwin has a good chance of pulling it off, amply good for a warrior born." (pp. 107)
Our present English monarchy dates not only from a Conquest but also from a "Glorious Revolution," a term applied in The Game Of Empire to Molitor's seizure of power.
- Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And Flandry also mentioned how Duke Edwin's Argolid descent would sway some to supporting him.
And, as we both know, many people were not happy with how William III and Mary II seized the throne in that "Glorious Revolution." Even today there are still occasional Jacobite twitches. To say nothing of the ugly strain of anti Catholic bigotry lurking in its origins.
And I have sometimes wondered where that famous epigram about treason originated. From the works of Seneca, thanks! I did wonder if it came from a 17th century British writer.
Ad astra! Sean
Correction, the treason epigram came from the works of Sir John Harington (d. 1612). Not exactly from Seneca.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
You beat me to it. The epigram was merely compared with Seneca.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That treason epigram has lingered in the back of my mind for many years, without me clearly remembering where I first saw it. I THINK I first saw it in John Dickson Carr's book THE MURDER OF SIR EDMUND GODFREY, the crime which triggered the infamous Popish Plot mania of 1678-81.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I like that cover illustration or painting for A STONE IN HEAVEN. Which I assume was made by Esteban Moreto, the artist credited with illustrating the book. That illustration, along with the cover painting done by Frank Frazetta for THE DANCER FROM ATLANTIS, are among the far too few cover illustrations for Anderson's works which I enjoy looking at.
Another artist named Michael Whelan is credited with the cover art. So he might have been responsible for the cover illustration for A STONE IN HEAVEN.
Ad astra! Sean
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