Tag Archives: Big questions

Spread the Wealth

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

Have I ever told you the one about politicians and fiscal responsibility? The joke that is so old it was first recorded in a Pompeian wall inscription? It goes like this (CIL IV 3702 cf. p. 1383 = ILS 6405): … Continue reading →

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Europa, Europe, and the Compelling Imagery of the Latin Inscriptions

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

Memory is treacherous. Yet, I seem to remember rather vividly a time when our politicians talked about a project they called our ‘common European home’ (Mikhail Gorbachev) or envisioned a ‘Europe, Whole and Free’ (George H. W. Bush). I liked … Continue reading →

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The Faint Voices of the Poor of Ancient Rome

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

More often than not, we tend to turn our eyes away from poverty and the poor, the blemish on the conscience of our society in which everything exists in abundance and in which no one would have to suffer from … Continue reading →

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Don’t Mess with Divine Horsepower

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

There are creatures so bizarrely beautiful and so beautifully bizarre, it seems impossible to imagine a world without them. Unicorns. Kangaroos. Highland coos. Hedgehogs. And, of course, the seahorse. (Not to mention the fabled sea-unicorn!) The mesmerizing, almost mythical seahorse … Continue reading →

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Buried Above Ground

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

The idea that the body is a prison-house or, more drastically still, a tomb of the soul – often shortened to the phrase soma sema – is an ancient one. Rooted in Orphic (rather than Pythagorean) thought, it finds its first … Continue reading →

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Meet the gloomiest Romans of all time

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

Last week, I introduced a (very small) choice of inscriptions that presented a variety of ways in which heartbroken parents had begun to come to terms with the loss of their offspring. An inscription that I chose not to include … Continue reading →

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Coping with the Death of a Child

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

A friend of mine had an extraordinary, deeply unsettling experience this week. She had lunch with a co-worker and her daughter, a young lady in her 30s, who was visiting her mother for some quality time. When, the following day, … Continue reading →

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Killing Jokes and Suicide Jests

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

There are two essential rules for anyone who wants to crack a joke: timing, timing, timing – and be mindful of your audience. Aelius Lamia, who had his first wife, Domitia Longina, pinched by Domitian, had to learn that lesson … Continue reading →

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Season’s Greetings

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

There is no denying it: the festive season is upon us. Could I give my readership a more appropriate present than the text and my translation of two Latin verse inscriptions from the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem – … Continue reading →

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Pope Damasus on Torture

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Pope Damasus I (b. 305-ish, d. 385) was keen to promote veneration for the martyrs of the early Christian church. In order to achieve this he, among other things, composed epigrams, e. g. to decorate the burial spots of those … Continue reading →

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