Posted on 03/14/2005 9:08:52 PM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
Forget Friday the 13th. Ignore ladders, black cats, broken mirrors and spilt salt. Think instead of today, March 15, and beware.
As superstitions go, being wary of the ides of March is certainly more unusual. Yet the day does have a certain resonance.
In the complicated world of the Roman calender, there were 45 public festivals (not bad compared to the UK's eight bank holidays), as well as the ides of each month, days which were sacred to Jupiter.
In March, May, July and October, the ides fell on the 15th.
The Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar, gave us the basis of our system of 365 days a year and 366 in a leap year. But for the most part, the Roman festivals of his time have had their day.
The ides of March, however, is one day that continues to appeal, marked because that was the date that Julius Caesar was assassinated in the senate, in 44BC.
Its modern-day memory is thanks, like so many things, to Shakespeare's way with words.
In act one, scene two of Julius Caesar, Caesar asks a soothsayer what the future holds.
Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music Cry "Caesar!" Speak. Caesar is turn'd to hear. Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March.
Although today the reference will not be understood by everybody, David Ewing Duncan, author of The Calendar, wrote that it was not always so.
A Roman saying "four ides" (meaning four days before the ides) would be just as clear to other Romans as someone saying March 11.
And furthermore, the system lasted 2,000 years, well into the Renaissance, he wrote. This meant Shakespeare could include the line, and expect his audience to know what he meant.
Test of time
However, just four hundred years later, the ides seems set only to survive as a literary and historical reference - in spite of it being the date by which debts (including Caesar's) were usually settled.
Professor Eileen Barker, of the London School of Economics, said it was a shame but the ides probably only had significance for schoolchildren reading Julius Caesar.
"I was thinking about this when I saw what date it was, and I thought no wonder I'm feeling awful," she said.
One significant historical event that fell on the ides of March is, perhaps, worth noting. It was on this day in 1876 that Test cricket was born.
Reason for anyone to beware? Perhaps for the English.
It was against Australia.
Thanks Dolly. And the very same to you.
Good morning. It's a shame that so many are staying away from FR - temporarily or permanently - to avoid the current atmosphere of hysteria, while the Guild remains an island of good taste and calm in a sea of nitwittery.
Nitwitery for sure.
What totally astounds me is the hatred spewed from both sides.
We all have beliefs and opinions. Too bad we can't discuss it without getting mean. I'm staying off those mean threads, too.
The little girl, Jetseta Gage, who was abducted in Cedar Rapids on Thursday night was found about 20 miles from here. So very, very sad.
Iowans missed the chance at reinstating the Death Penalty 10 years ago when they elected Moderate Republicans instead of the Hellfire and Damnation types. Pubbies had control the the Legislative and Executive branches then.
Now, the Democrat Governor Vilsack would never sign such a bill.
The news of the little girl from Iowa was heartbreaking, indeed.
Joy to the world
He is risen
Alleluia, He is risen
I went to one of those threads one day...made the mistake of saying something sensible. Ouch!
____________________________________________________
An Easter story (have I told this before?):
Many years ago when Stewart and his sister were little (he was probably 4) I called them on the day before Easter. Stewart answered the phone.
I told him who it was and asked what he was doing.
Stewart's little voice:
"Killin' eggs."
Me: "What did you say?!"
Stewart: "Killin eggs."
Then I heard his Mom in the background, saying:
"Dying! We're DYING eggs!".
LOL!
My mom has never let me live down the time I came home from school waving a piece of paper and shouting, "Look mom, I got a letter of condemnation!" (commendation:)
A very blessed Easter to all my Guild friends.
Good Morning, and a Happy Easter to all of you.
We'll be off to Pittsburgh after church to spend the afternoon at my mother's. It's probably a good thing - no computer, no chance of getting irritated by the frenzy and insanity here.
Wellllll.
It didn't end so pretty. Let's hope for better in the 4th round!
Sorry I've been AWOL, hope everyone had a nice Easter!
There are no winners in the Schiavo case, nor in the bedlam that's erupted at this site about it! Very sad.
Where have you been?
Why then ole Dowdy would have to admit she was/is wrong. Apparently liberals aren't equipped with that gene.
What a difference a year makes!!Last year, the hottest thread at FR on Easter Sunday was a thread with photos of the Bush twins and what they wore to Church on Easter Sunday....Jenna had a spaghetti strap dress on...course she had a jacket over the dress but even that was not enough modesty for many and it was a lively thread. Barbara wore something in denim, if I recall. Whew! Did that get folks going. (The poster sounded suspiciously like ChrisM and he was eventually banned.),,,
I have missed you guys!
Barbara Bush, a graduate of Yale, steps down from Air Force One, accompanied by college friend Jay Blount, as they return to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, March 28, 2005, following the Easter holiday at the Bush family's Crawford, Texas ranch.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.