A.D. 60.
Tacitus described the migration of the Ampsivarii led by their chief, Boiocalus. Everard and Floris watch the migration from a distance with future opticals and identify the chief.
There are thousands of Ampsivarii. Horses, oxen and men pull wagons but most people trudge. Boys herd a few cattle, sheep and pigs. Carts bear chickens, geese, chattels and idols.
The Patrol agents join the migrants and others as they hear the prophetess, Edh.
Anderson concludes this chapter by quoting Tacitus on the eventual fate of the Ampsivarii. After years of wandering:
"...'all their young were killed in a foreign country, and those who could not fight were shared out as booty.'" (p. 557)
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteAll too typical, and unsurprising, of how humans have acted thru out history. What was esp. disgusting was how that provincial Roman governor didn't at least try to resettle loyal allies of Rome in a sparsely populated part of the Empire. The Ampsivarii had a claim on Rome for that much.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: yes, that's bad politics.
ReplyDeleteKaor, Mr. Stirling!
ReplyDeleteVery bad and short sighted.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: the problem with any large state is that some high positions are going to be held by people who are good at internal politics, but are otherwise dimwits.
ReplyDeleteKaor, Mr. Stirling!
ReplyDeleteToo absolutely true! New York City, in the US, seems heck bent on electing an esp. idiotic dimwit as its next mayor.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: Hope springs eternal in politics.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, capitalism has many problems -- socialism has only one.
It doesn't work and never will.
That candidate is evidently intent on turning NYC into a gigantic version of 1980's Detroit.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, the socialist nonsense has never worked, and never will.
I'm hoping that if the idiotic Democratic candidate for mayor wins in NYC, he will rapidly become so entangled in lawsuits, legal challenges, protests, a foot dragging bureaucracy, etc., that he can't do too much harm.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: oh, abundant harm would be an object lesson. The rich people and the able people will shrug, pick up their toys, and go somewhere else, and the city will collapse into a cesspit.
ReplyDeleteKaor, Mr. Stirling!
ReplyDeleteI do see your point, about how the "object lesson" of NYC collapsing into that cesspool would bring a storm of opprobrium on the horrible Democrats. But NYC is the de facto co-capital of the US in many ways--meaning its collapse would be a disaster for the country. The rich and able will flee, but millions of ordinary New Yorkers will be personally harmed by these extreme left policies. And not be so able to leave a ruined city.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
ReplyDeleteI have replied on "socialist nonsense" several times and really do want to avoid repetition. People vote for extremes of left or right because they are dissatisfied. The status quo is unsatisfactory to a lot of people and indeed threatens us with environmental destruction or nuclear war.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteUnconvincing, failed leftist ideas and policies causes a lot of that dissatisfaction. Including socialism.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is completely unconvincing! In Britiain, people are dissatisfied by economic austerity policies that have been imposed for years by both Conservative and Labour governments neither of which is describable as "socialist." (This feels like sniping rather than a proper discussion.)
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteAnd the only ideas I hear from leftists will make the UK's problems worse. Any real reform in both the UK and the US is going to come with pain.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
ReplyDeleteWhat ideas have you heard from leftists about the UK? This is not a discussion. It is just anti-leftist sniping. I stand by what I said about austerity as a cause of dissatisfaction.
"Pain" for whom? Not for the billionaires!
Paul.