The safe contemplation of adventure, of domestic
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 7:57 am
Exotisism, luxuries of every kind. In the latter days of empire, the power of the eunoch or the woman increases over the statesman and the soldier. It would be interesting to learn to what extent the pioneers and leaders of empires in their early days, the frontiermen and explorers, were of a sexuality strongly inimical to normal heterosexual monogomous relationships: one suspects a very high percentage indeed. The man who will conquer the world by flame and sword is fleeing from the rule of the distaff at home.
The early days of empire are the histories of job function email list heroic, half mythological men, figures who rose from the ranks like Napoleon or who came out of the desert like Mohammed. Clive was a clerk, Mohammed was a shepherd and camel driver, Hitler was a soldier among millions and a small time police spy, Khengis Khan was a nomad who worshiped the sky, Christ came literally out of the desert to found his empire, even Alexander the Great, a prince by birth, was born the prince of a relatively small state, hardly known in the lands.
Asia Minor which he was to conquer. Empire builders like to mark the world with their name: Alexandria, Constantinople. Imperial place names are designations which reflect their worth to the conqueror and they are not demotic names, for they are not taken from the desgnation which is given by the people. Gold Coast, Ivory Coast, Ceylon, the Spice Islands: the names of colonies often indicate their original commercial attraction, or they are names after the men who discovered them or "filled them in" on the map: Rhodesia, Bermudas, Cook Islands, or after a local tribe or people: Togoland, Bechuanaland.
The early days of empire are the histories of job function email list heroic, half mythological men, figures who rose from the ranks like Napoleon or who came out of the desert like Mohammed. Clive was a clerk, Mohammed was a shepherd and camel driver, Hitler was a soldier among millions and a small time police spy, Khengis Khan was a nomad who worshiped the sky, Christ came literally out of the desert to found his empire, even Alexander the Great, a prince by birth, was born the prince of a relatively small state, hardly known in the lands.
Asia Minor which he was to conquer. Empire builders like to mark the world with their name: Alexandria, Constantinople. Imperial place names are designations which reflect their worth to the conqueror and they are not demotic names, for they are not taken from the desgnation which is given by the people. Gold Coast, Ivory Coast, Ceylon, the Spice Islands: the names of colonies often indicate their original commercial attraction, or they are names after the men who discovered them or "filled them in" on the map: Rhodesia, Bermudas, Cook Islands, or after a local tribe or people: Togoland, Bechuanaland.