[lit-ideas] Re: Comparing Empires
- From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 11:35:05 -0700 (PDT)
An aside to Lawrence, since he was mentioning Lenin's Imperialism as the
Highest Stage of Capitalism: I have read it and I consider it an excellent
essay, does that make me a Marxist ? I don't see myself as one. I do believe
that Lenin was a very intelligent and educated man, whatever his moral and
political faults were. (The same could not be said about Stalin.)
O.K.
On , Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There are several meaning to Byzantine:
ByzantineLine breaks: By¦zan|tine
Pronunciation: /bɪˈzantʌɪn
, bʌɪ-/
ADJECTIVE
* 1Relating to Byzantium, the Byzantine Empire, or the Eastern Orthodox
Church.
* 1.1Of an ornate artistic and architectural style which developed in
the Byzantine Empire and spread to Italy, Russia, and elsewhere. The art is
typified by religious wall paintings and icons and the architecture by
many-domed churches.
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
* 2(also byzantine) (Of a system or situation) excessively complicated,
and typically involving a great deal of administrative detail:
Byzantine insurance regulations
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
* 2.1Characterized by deviousness or underhand procedure:
he has the most Byzantine mind in politics
On Monday, April 14, 2014 7:53 PM, "Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx" <Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx>
wrote:
In a message dated 4/14/2014 8:40:57 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx writes:
James Bryce is an author who definitely compared the Roman and the British
modes of imperial administration, particularly the administration in
India. His essay "The Ancient Roman Empire and
the British Empire in India" is here:
http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/bryce/TwoHistoricalStudies.pdf
This is a good link. For the record, Wikipedia has an entry on Bryce, who
was ambassador to the USA, and a native of Ireland, as I recall. He is best
known, the Wikipedia entry says,
as a Byzantinist, but apparently he hated
the label (* Oddly this reminds me of Grice *) -- but he did write a story
of the later Empire (Oddly, in Italian 'history' and 'story' are NOT
distinguished! -- do not multiply senses beyond necessity).
It would have been good if Bryce just focused on comparing Roman Empire and
Brtish Empire _simpliciter_ rather than "British Empire IN INDIA" as he
does -- which takes away some of the general interest his study might
otherwise have! But apparently the two things were _pretty_ different.
L. Helm was wondering about 'fruitful comparisons', borrowing a phrase from
Historum. In the case of Bryce, I do wonder. The thing, published circa
1914 I think, by the Clarendon Press
(typically) may have been influential --
and perhaps taught a lesson or two to the Oxford-educated Civil Servants
that populated India back
then.
Incidentally, Bryce has a lot of titles.
He is The Right Honourable The Viscount Bryce OM GCVO PC FRS FBA -- if you
mustn't!
The site Omar K. mentions comprises two studies by Bryce: this comparison
and one on Roman Law and British Law.
Cheers,
Speranza
* Once J. L. Austin said to Grice, "Trouble with you is you don't care what
the dictionary says" "I don't. I actually give a hoot what the dictionary
says". "And that's where you make your big mistake". The next day Grice did
follow Austin's advice. He started to browse the Oxford Concise
Dictionary, from A to Z. He was then analysing 'feeling aggravated', ;feeling
amazed', 'feeling angry' but he stopped when he reached 'byzantine' for he
found
he could find an implicature, even, for 'I'm feeling rather byzantine
today." * *
** Seriously, it's a good thing that
Bryce is called a Byzantinist,
although he said he was writing on Roman history simpliciter. He possibly
rejected the idea that the Roman Empire comprised two parts: occidentalis and
orientalis. As history goes, the attempt of Byzantine reconquest was an
interesting thing and left a mark or two if only in ecclesiastical
architecture!
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