— Robert Cobb (@SgtLeoGLambert) November 28, 2024
1:00 Sorcery is forbidden.
2:00 Monasteries
Who kept historical records in Roman times?
In Roman times, historical records were primarily kept by:
Senators and Aristocrats:Many Roman aristocrats and senators wrote their own accounts of events, often with a bias towards their own actions or those of their families. Examples include Julius Caesar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico" and Cicero's letters.
Historians: Professional historians like Livy, Tacitus, and Suetonius wrote extensive histories. These works were often commissioned by the state or by wealthy patrons. Livy's "Ab Urbe Condita" and Tacitus's "Annals" and "Histories" are prime examples.
Annalists: These were official record-keepers who documented the yearly events, often compiled by the pontiffs or other religious officials. These records, called the "Annales Maximi," were more fact-based but less narrative-driven.
Scribes and Bureaucrats: Within the Roman administration, scribes in various offices would keep records of legal proceedings, decrees, and other governmental actions.
Military Personnel: Commanders and officers often kept diaries or wrote reports on campaigns which could later be used by historians or incorporated into official records.
Poets and Writers:While not strictly historians, poets like Virgil or writers like Pliny the Younger contributed to historical documentation through their works, which often included historical or pseudo-historical content.
These records were typically written on materials like papyrus, parchment, or wax tablets, with preservation often being accidental or through copying by later generations. The survival of these texts to modern times is largely due to the efforts of medieval monks who copied classical texts in monasteries. However, much has been lost, providing us with only fragments or summaries of the once vast Roman historical literature.
Are Jews known to keep a more warts and all historical record?
The notion that Jews are known for keeping a "warts and all" historical record can be explored through several lenses:
Biblical and Religious Texts:
- The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh/Old Testament) contains narratives where Jewish leaders and figures are portrayed with their flaws prominently displayed. Examples include:
- King David: Despite being a beloved figure, his sins, like the affair with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of Uriah, are detailed.
- Moses: His reluctance to lead, his temper (striking the rock), and his exclusion from entering the Promised Land are all part of the narrative.
- The Talmud and other Rabbinic literature also engage in critical self-reflection, often debating the moral and ethical implications of historical and religious actions.
- Josephus Flavius:
- In "Antiquities of the Jews," Josephus does not shy away from depicting the internal conflicts, moral failings, and civil strife among Jews, especially during the events leading to the destruction of the Second Temple. However, his works also aim to present Jews favorably to a Roman audience, suggesting a balance between critical history and apologetics.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7750707
- Medieval and Modern Jewish Historiography:
- Jewish communal records, like those kept by rabbis or community leaders, often include accounts of internal disputes, ethical lapses, and the challenges faced by Jewish communities, sometimes with a critical eye towards leadership or prevailing practices.
However, it's important to consider:
- Selective Reporting: Like all historical accounts, Jewish records can exhibit selectivity. For instance, Josephus might omit or alter certain narratives to suit his audience or political situation.
- Purpose and Audience: Much of Jewish historical writing, especially in religious contexts, has a dual purpose: to educate, to uphold tradition, and sometimes to defend against external criticisms or to justify Jewish practices to others. This can lead to both critical self-examination and more sanitized narratives in different contexts.
- Comparison with Gentile Historians:
- While Jewish historians might focus on internal critique, gentile historians of the time, like Tacitus, also wrote with their biases, often focusing on the perceived negative aspects of Jewish culture from a Roman perspective. Both can be seen as "warts and all," but from different angles.
In conclusion, Jews have a tradition of recording history with significant self-criticism and an acknowledgment of human imperfection, especially in religious texts and communal records. However, this does not mean that all Jewish historical records are universally more "warts and all" than those of other cultures, as all historical writing is influenced by the purpose, audience, and context of its creation.
5:00 Athena was the Athenian goddess of War and Wisdom, Mars was the Roman God of War.
7:00 The Spartans and Athenians had no ethical international relations.
Christmas truce in WW1
8:00 Lies have to be told to make men hate the other side.
9:00 White Feather
General Election of 1915
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/general-election-1915
10:00 Asquith had that election in mind when he declared war on Germany believing it would be short and successful.
11:00 "The boys will be home by Christmas."
The British didn't lift a finger to help the French in the Franco-Prussian War.
12:00 If WW1 and WW2 was really just the Second Thirty Years War, then the British lost their empire over a cancelled and forgotten election.
16:00 Islamic principles on warfare
17:00 Declaring war
Just war
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_war_theory
19:00 Conscientious objectors
20:00 To the glory of God
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=fc6c41709a2992ea&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB1058GB1058&sxsrf=ADLYWILf7cDnC8RkYqvAT_Gm1Fm50jEoSg:1732813857455&q=war+memorials+to+the+glory+of+god&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkWd8nbOJfsBGGB5IQQO6L3J7pRxUp2pI1mXV9fBsfh39Jw_Y7pXPv6W9UjIXzt09-Y-RVsUQytO3H9U9unQ4zjSmyc1am7RU9IOaZeZLN-vxqOLRVgtOkNIBInceOOInHD1Vy8A8dMZkK6qsEDDgBo37uamqwPID1ktpoxri6hURFY-RftoYl5J3cAxl4SOYvmGkrX6Q&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi00b3Twv-JAxWMWkEAHbXxFfEQtKgLegQIExAB&biw=1600&bih=773
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/war.shtml
23:00 How history is taught to different generations of schoolchildren
25:00 Learning history in chronological order
26:00 Classroom discipline
29:00 Marks out of 100
35:00 Richard III got a bad press.
36:00 The David Irving Prize of Historical Truth
37:00 The Jonathan Bowden Prize of Oratory
38:00 Jewish history
39:00 Hasmonean Dynasty
41:00 The Romans never bothered to conquer Scandinavia.
46:00 The rule of law
48:00 Penitence
49:00 A J P Taylor
50:00 If Britain were a person would it be male or female and what age would he or she be?
51:00 Not getting over the Holocaust
52:00 Crying out in pain as you strike your enemy
53:00 Fetishising Jews
54:00 Revising our national narratives
Nietzsche
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_dead
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility
56:00 Statute of Merton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Merton
59:00 Private property recognised
1:01:00 Planning permission
1:03:00 Enclosures
1:04:00 Highland Clearances
1:05:00 Royal Parks
1:08:00 Meritocracy v Monarchy
Theocracy
1:09:00 Hierarchy
1:10:00 The elite should mean the best.
1:12:00 Representative democracy
Black Panther
1:13:00 George Washington warned against political parties.
https://www.americanmajority.org/blog-2/why-was-george-washington-opposed-to-political-parties/
1:14:00 Self-esteem is not a zero sum game.
1:15:00 The Belly and the Members
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belly_and_the_Members
1:16:00 Immigrant v welfare claimant
1:17:00 Slavery was never banned in the Bible or the Koran.
1:18:00 Global cooperation needed for space exploration.
1:19:00 An international order that is fair enough.
1:20:00 Marx: "History enacts itself as tragedy and repeats itself as farce."
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