Scriptor Ignotus > Recent Status Updates

Book of Jacob finished. Be nice to your Lamanite friends, guys.

Second Book of Nephi finished

First Book of Nephi - Finished

Curiosity has gotten the better of me.

Zizek's first chapter has already repeatedly blown my mind. Can Milbank's positive ontology of divine excess put it back together?

-Harmodius and Aristogeiton, assassins of Hipparchus.

-Pederasty a form of mentorship in 5th c. bc.

-Post-Peloponnesian War, Plato less tolerant, condemning most male-male romances in his Laws.

-Sacred Band of Thebes responsible for Epaminondas's success.

-Romans didn't care about sexual preference, but opposed defiling someone's "property" i.e. slave or daughter.

-Hadrian and Antinous

Job finished.

Judges finished.

Finished with Joshua, starting in on Judges, which I can already tell is going to be crazy.

Leviticus is one of the most notorious books of the bible, both for its tedious details on sacrificial ritual and for its condemnation of homosexual sex. Sequestration in religious ritual harkens back to the divisive theme of creation:God dividing the light and darkness. Text perhaps formed during Babylonian Exile, making its exquisite detail that of a prisoner describing the first meal he'll have when he gets out.

Exodus reads like a folktale, as Alter says, with the repetitive nature of the plagues on Egypt and Pharaoh's repeated refusals to let the Israelites go. But go they do in spectacular fashion. A story of national liberation. Aaron, Moses's desciple and priest messes up by letting the people create and worship the golden calf just as Peter is a flawed character who became the "high priest", so to speak, of church.

Great to revisit some of my old friends from Genesis, and Alter's translation has certainly enriched the experience. Jacob's wrestling with God a psychological phenomenon - nighttime terrors. Younger sibling more favored - Jacob and Esau, Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph & his brothers. Very poignant moment at the end of Genesis, when Jacob gets to meet his grandchildren. proliferation an overarching theme.

"...when they complimented Philip as the most eloquent speaker, the handsomest man and the drinker with the biggest capacity in the company, Demosthenes could not refrain from belittling these tributes and retorting sarcastically that the first of these qualities was excellent for a sophist, the second for a woman, and the third for a sponge, but none of them for a king."

Agesilaus (444-360BC), an unlikely inheritor of the Spartan throne, was for many years the most famous And powerful Greek of his day. He led a successful expedition to liberate the Greek cities of Asia Minor, in a campaign reminiscent of Agamemnon's Trojan adventure. His incessant warfare against the Thebans ultimately broke Spartan supremacy. Epaminondas learned from the Spartans and crushed them at Leuctra.

Jung defends authenticity of the collective unconscious. Discusses some of the archetypes: anima/animus, mother, rebirth. Now discussing the shadow through the story of the Khidr in the eighteenth surrah of the Koran. Fascinating connection between water, aquatic life and the unconscious. We aren't really one person, but a conversation between disparate parts. Out of that conversation comes our great insights.

Spain defeats revolts in Catalonia and Naples, makes peace with Dutch in 1648 recognizing independence. France forced to negotiate. Emperor losing war in Germany, as Swedes plunder Bohemia and Bavaria for booty before peace. Peace finally comes by the end of 1648. This is the end of Wilson's military account of the war. Final 100 pages will be about the Westphalian Peace negotiations and aftermath. Almost done!

Sweden's second victory at Breitenfeld (1642) causes Brandenburg to drift into neutrality, while Hesse remains pro-Swede. Peace settlement becomes inevitable, as sides maneuver for better negotiating positions. Spain undergoes crisis as Dutch retake all former territory and Catalonia and Portugal revolt in 1640, forcing Spain to divert manpower. Oilvares falls, Anne becomes queen of France in 1643. Victory at Rocroi.

France becomes more involved in Germany as Swedes weaken. Ferdinand III becomes emperor in 1637. He favors negotiation, which is exploited by the anti-imperial forces. Neither side is able to field large armies. Fighting is scattered, loyalty of generals questioned. Franco-Swedish victories move fighting east of Rhine, but emp. Still has south and central Germany, fighting moves north as peace prospects are elusive.

Gustavus' death at Lutzen, coupled with imperial victory at nordlingen courtesy of Ferdinand and Fernando turn the tide. German Protestants, esp. Saxony, negotiate w/emperor, while Swedes fight on. Recommissioned Wallenstein raises emp.'s suspicions by lack of decisive action and unilateral negotiations. Stripped of command and murdered in dramatic scene. Open war b/w France and Spain draws in emp. As informal parti.