Spring comes and Rufinus returns with military intelligence from Eriu. Gratillonius organizes militarily in order not to resist incorporation into the Empire but to defend Armorica when the Empire cannot. His organization has to be secret because it is illegal.
Verania:
"...loved the springtime... After the Black Months, she broke free into joy with the dogwood and the larks." (p. 264)
Gratillonius' friends, including Verania and her father, Apuleius, are among those who must not know of his secret preparations. Life is changing, no one knows into what.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And Gratillonius regretted that illegality, because the laws he was breaking at one time did make sense. But when times get bad it's often the case that laws no longer fits the needs of changing times.
Ad astra! Sean
Note that 'government', or the State as we use the term, is pretty much -defined- by claiming a monopoly of politically significant violence, of force.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Absolutely! And when that "monopoly of politically significant violence, of force" breaks down we get anarchy, chaos, or civil wars. Either the current State restores that monopoly of force or it's replaced by a new regime monopolizing force. And there is no guarantee the new State will be better than its predecessor.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: true. The real problem arises in situations like Gratillonius', where the State is failing in its first duty, to prevent attacks by outsiders (the second is maintaining internal order).
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