tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2882700598288467622.post6263672591416004237..comments2023-03-29T22:13:49.276-04:00Comments on The Pond Seeker: Philip II and Victor von DoomHugh Yemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668946016239602558noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2882700598288467622.post-20465042943954771562009-11-22T19:47:12.100-05:002009-11-22T19:47:12.100-05:00Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium? ...Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium? <br />Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2882700598288467622.post-92076583408983481262008-03-08T12:01:00.000-05:002008-03-08T12:01:00.000-05:00Yet more good stuff, Hugh. Keep it up! (that incl...Yet more good stuff, Hugh. Keep it up! (that includes listening to Grace...)<BR/><BR/>Gibbon eyed me balefully for many many years until my possessions purge in the year two. I kept all the original roman writings though and never have trouble finding the will to read from them. <BR/> <BR/>The inconsistencies of great men and women can often seem more jarring than the usual inconsistencies of us smaller folks. Speculating though, if Phillip thought he was God's hand in the world he might legitmately be concerned that someone else's hand might also be acting. Was that other hand acting for God, if so why hadn't God let him (Phillip) know somehow? A great faith shaker to someone so self-centered and outwardly certain of his purpose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2882700598288467622.post-56399262144507650702008-03-05T09:45:00.000-05:002008-03-05T09:45:00.000-05:00Late Roman, huh? That's a period I've been meanin...Late Roman, huh? That's a period I've been meaning to delve into. The problem is, any period you could name aside from the sixteenth century and the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776 are periods I need to delve into. And those other two? I still need to delve into them *more*. So, SO much on Mt. ToBeRead, and so little concentration span.<BR/><BR/>Have you read Gibbon? That one has been eyeing me balefully.Hugh Yemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13668946016239602558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2882700598288467622.post-30902920253581898342008-03-05T09:38:00.000-05:002008-03-05T09:38:00.000-05:00Fair enough. I will concede your point.Of late, I ...Fair enough. I will concede your point.<BR/><BR/>Of late, I have been reading a lot of history about the late Roman Republic. And there, religion was so cynically used as a tool of power that I forget that many historical leaders were genuinely obsessed with religious purpose.Cartophiliachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15474715424129283330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2882700598288467622.post-27673384397670907722008-03-05T09:24:00.000-05:002008-03-05T09:24:00.000-05:00Thanks for your comment!Regarding your statement a...Thanks for your comment!<BR/><BR/>Regarding your statement about the ulterior motives behind wars ostensibly fought over religion, I think that for Philip II there was no such dichotomy. To me, the truly scary thing about him was that he conflated his religion and his power: God's interests were his own, so of course his hand was the only one that could enact God's purpose. Howarth gives a wonderful five-page account of Philip's character, which ends with the words "appallingly sincere". I typed it up last night and then decided that sticking five pages of text from another author into a single blog entry was a Bad Idea. If you'd like to read it, though, I'd be happy to send it along.<BR/><BR/>That ability to conflate one's own interests with God's seems to have been a pretty useful madness for a monarch. If Garrett Mattingly's take on Henry VIII in _Catherine of Aragon_ is correct, he was another one of those appallingly sincere kings. It worked out pretty well for him. The people around him... not so much.Hugh Yemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13668946016239602558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2882700598288467622.post-13380458598854087062008-03-05T08:44:00.000-05:002008-03-05T08:44:00.000-05:00I'm shocked! Shocked to learn that a world leader ...I'm shocked! Shocked to learn that a world leader would compromise his religious principles in his quest for power. Shocked!<BR/><BR/>Seriously, throughout history, religion has rarely been the true reason for conflict. It has usually been about how nations can use religion as a means to an end... more power, more land, more money, more woemen, more resources, more bragging rights.<BR/><BR/>Still, I loved your article. I've never seen a Spanish monarch compared to Reed Richards. I enjoyed the fresh perspective.Cartophiliachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15474715424129283330noreply@blogger.com