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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Long time, no see. Yours truly has been busy with work and fatherhood but I have often been here at AWAD in spirit. During my lengthy commute I have been enjoying many audiobooks, the latest of which, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, is something that I think many AWAD users would appreciate, not so much for the appearance of rare and unusual words but simply for the pleasure of Gibbon's precise style and his droll humor: "The Praetorians, at length, gave way, oppressed with numbers; and the tide of popular fury returned with redoubled violence against the gates of the palace, where Commodus lay, dissolved in luxury, and alone unconscious of the civil war. It was death to approach his person with the unwelcome news. He would have perished in this supine security, had not two women, his eldest sister Fadilla, and Marcia, the most favored of his concubines, ventured to break into his presence. Bathed in tears, and with dishevelled hair, they threw themselves at his feet; and with all the pressing eloquence of fear, discovered to the affrighted emperor the crimes of the minister, the rage of the people, and the impending ruin, which, in a few minutes, would burst over his palace and person. Commodus started from his dream of pleasure, and commanded that the head of Cleander should be thrown out to the people. The desired spectacle instantly appeased the tumult; and the son of Marcus might even yet have regained the affection and confidence of his subjects." "Twenty-two acknowledged concubines, and a library of sixty-two thousand volumes, attested the variety of his inclinations; and from the productions which he left behind him, it appears that the former as well as the latter were designed for use rather than for ostentation."
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
LTNS! Welcome back! I need to see if I can d/l that to the Kindle!
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2 |
The actual book was a fabulous read. Decades ago, and I still
enjoy remembering it.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
I need to see if I can d/l that to the Kindle! yep; it's available as a free download, but in multiple volumes - at least six!
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724 |
I have suddenly decided I need to/ want to read this now, here, immediately. Thank you for mentioning it. Will scout round for a dead tree version though.
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,075
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,075 |
Great to see you back here, Alex!
I'm with Avy on this - it has been on my "to read" list for years: now I'm retired, I really have no excuse to delay. Thanks for bringing it back to mind.
I'm immortal until proven otherwise
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2 |
I have suddenly decided I need to/ want to read this now, here, immediately. Thank you for mentioning it. Will scout round for a dead tree version though. If I could send my 'dead tree' issue to you I would.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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