tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post1812530381220891258..comments2024-03-28T11:33:16.271-05:00Comments on Adventus: Turning on the light in the kitchenUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-13770139801660023782012-08-15T11:08:18.549-05:002012-08-15T11:08:18.549-05:00Rick--
The only difference here is, they no longe...Rick--<br /><br />The only difference here is, they no longer want to make a virtue of it.<br /><br />The House passed this budget. Ryan is lionized inside D.C. for it.<br /><br />Suddenly he's on the national stage, and everyone seems to have learned to hate what they loved before, right down to Ryan's well-documented (from his own mouth, on videotape) love for the ideas of Ayn Rand.<br /><br />To that extent, democracy works; because they all seem to understand Ryan's plan doesn't work for the majority of the voters.<br /><br />Of course, they'll go back to openly looking up to the rich man, come January. When no one is paying attention, again.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-70847399201956494002012-08-15T10:38:34.367-05:002012-08-15T10:38:34.367-05:00Old news: from today’s “reading” of the Republic,...Old news: from today’s “reading” of the Republic, from Book VIII:<br /><br />οὐκοῦν ὡς μεταβαίνει πρῶτον ἐκ τῆς τιμαρχίας εἰς τὴν ὀλιγαρχίαν, ῥητέον;<br />Ought I not to begin by describing how the change from timocracy to oligarchy arises? <br /><br />ναί.<br /><br />Yes.<br /><br />καὶ μήν, ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ, καὶ τυφλῷ γε δῆλον ὡς μεταβαίνει.<br /><br />Well, I said, no eyes are required in order to see how the one passes into the other.<br /><br />πῶς;<br /><br />How?<br /><br />τὸ ταμιεῖον, ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ, ἐκεῖνο ἑκάστῳ χρυσίου πληρούμενον ἀπόλλυσι τὴν τοιαύτην πολιτείαν. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ δαπάνας αὑτοῖς ἐξευρίσκουσιν, καὶ τοὺς νόμους ἐπὶ τοῦτο παράγουσιν, ἀπειθοῦντες αὐτοί τε καὶ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν.<br /><br />The accumulation of gold in the treasury of private individuals is ruin the of timocracy; they invent illegal modes of expenditure; for what do they or their wives care about the law?<br /><br />εἰκός, ἔφη.<br /> <br />Yes, indeed.<br /><br />ἔπειτά γε οἶμαι ἄλλος ἄλλον ὁρῶν καὶ εἰς ζῆλον ἰὼν τὸ πλῆθος τοιοῦτον αὑτῶν ἀπηργάσαντο.<br /><br />And then one, seeing another grow rich, seeks to rival him, and thus the great mass of the citizens become lovers of money.<br /><br />εἰκός.<br /><br />Likely enough.<br /><br />τοὐντεῦθεν τοίνυν, εἶπον, προϊόντες εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν τοῦ χρηματίζεσθαι, ὅσῳ ἂν τοῦτο τιμιώτερον ἡγῶνται, τοσούτῳ ἀρετὴν ἀτιμοτέραν. ἢ οὐχ οὕτω πλούτου ἀρετὴ διέστηκεν, ὥσπερ ἐν πλάστιγγι ζυγοῦ κειμένου ἑκατέρου, ἀεὶ τοὐναντίον ῥέποντε;<br /><br />And so they grow richer and richer, and the more they think of making a fortune the less they think of virtue; for when riches and virtue are placed together in the scales of the balance, the one always rises as the other falls.<br /><br />καὶ μάλ᾽, ἔφη.<br /> <br />True.<br /><br />τιμωμένου δὴ πλούτου ἐν πόλει καὶ τῶν πλουσίων ἀτιμοτέρα ἀρετή τε καὶ οἱ ἀγαθοί.<br /><br />And in proportion as riches and rich men are honoured in the State, virtue and the virtuous are dishonoured.<br /><br />δῆλον.<br /><br />Clearly.<br /><br />ἀσκεῖται δὴ τὸ ἀεὶ τιμώμενον, ἀμελεῖται δὲ τὸ ἀτιμαζόμενον.<br /><br />And what is honoured is cultivated, and that which has no honour is neglected.<br /><br />οὕτω.<br /><br />That is obvious.<br /><br />ἀντὶ δὴ φιλονίκων καὶ φιλοτίμων ἀνδρῶν φιλοχρηματισταὶ καὶ φιλοχρήματοι τελευτῶντες ἐγένοντο, καὶ τὸν μὲν πλούσιον ἐπαινοῦσίν τε καὶ θαυμάζουσι καὶ εἰς τὰς ἀρχὰς ἄγουσι, τὸν δὲ πένητα ἀτιμάζουσι.<br /><br />And so at last, instead of loving contention and glory, men become lovers of trade and money; they honour and look up to the rich man, and make a ruler of him, and dishonour the poor man.<br /><br />πάνυ γε.<br /><br />They do so. <br />rick allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612435616018593956noreply@blogger.com