A note from another time:

11

This is from Edward Gibbon's lil 5-tome treat "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" - Book 1, Chapter 3 -- and really, he is so eloquent throughout I cannot but recommend him to the doughty reader! -- and note the date of publication --

The obvious definition of a monarchy seems to be that of· a state, in which a single person, by whatsoever name he may be distinguished, is intrusted with the execution of the laws, the management of the revenue, and the command of the army. But, unless public liberty is protected by intrepid and vigilant guard­ians, the authority of so formidable a magistrate will soon degen­erate into despotism. The influence of the clergy, in an age of superstition, might be usefully employed to assert the rights of mankind; but so intimate is the connection between the throne and the altar, that the banner of the church has very seldom been seen on the side of the people. A martial nobility and stubborn commons, possessed of arms, tenacious of property, and collected ·into constitutional assemblies, form the only balance capable of preserving a free constitution against enterprises of an aspiring prince.

--Edward Gibbon

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

copyright 1776

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oldernow:
@ferkixlll  point.  that quote of JFK's (dark irony that) is really out of date! my point is that holding a positive attitude which is patient and poised for the moment when an action can be quite powerful--not 'it's all good" (it's not), or "it will all work out" --maybe maybe not-- but there will be a moment.. it may come at too high a cost, or it may be rejected by the other person... -- i recall the moment my first wife chose to reject my forgiveness of her cheating--that was really what ended not only our marriage but any connection with her thereafter-- i saw that she could have acknowledged her own darkness and we might have at least ended on a civil note...  ... i ramble... enough on this for now
ferkixlll:
Being able to forgive is one action, being able to accept being forgiven a different action and sometimes they don't happen at the same moment of Space/Time: to the sorrow of all. **Entropy wins, the game is to postpone it winning for as long as possible. Finding a clear vision that doesn't vear into utter nihilism or Pollyannaist denial is the tightrope. "I am but an egg".

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