Gelimer lived from about 480 to 550 A.D. and was the ruler of the Vandal kingdom in North Africa for four years from 530 to 534. The emperor Justinian aspired to restore Roman control over the region, and to this end sent his general Belisarius to expel the barbarian trespassers. This he did. Gelimer was also captured for good measure, and transported back to Byzantium as a prize of war.
I grew up in southeastern Massachusetts. I’ve heard now that they have some hifalutin name for the area; they call it the “south coast.” Christ. What a lot of marketing nonsense. In the early 1980s nobody used “south coast” for anything. Anyone trying to would probably gotten smacked on principle alone. But that’s where I’m from, anyway.
Cato the Elder (234-149 B.C.) is one of those legendary figures in early Roman history. Known for his stern, uncompromising vision with regard to personal morality, rules, and social obligations, his treatise On Agriculture (De agri cultura) constitutes the earliest complete Latin prose text that has survived.
A subject not often discussed is the topic of how to repair strained or broken relationships. It is one that comes up in everyone’s life, so it will be useful to make a few suggestions about it here. We will talk about relationships involving friends, family, and lovers.
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In medieval times there was a Syrian poet known for his acrid wisdom in verse, as well as for his distaste for dealing with nonsense. Time and convenience has mercifully shortened his lengthy name (which we will not trouble the reader with here) to Ibn Munir al-Tarabolusi, or more commonly Ibn Munir.
Once again, it’s time to make the donuts. Here’s a view of what’s come across my field of vision this past week.
A reader talks about how he is having issues with keeping his confidence up.
We offer some suggestions that provide practical ways to overcome fears and self-doubt. Time and experience are the keys here.
Readers may be familiar with the Seinfeld television show episode where the George Costanza character resolves to do the opposite of everything he normally does. The idea actually has a legitimate pedigree, at least with regard to ancient medical science.
When we feel something passionately and sincerely, we have an urge to express this emotion to the objects of our affection. If the feeling is reciprocated (or at least acknowledged) by the beloved, we feel pleasure. But if the feelings are not returned, we will initially feel the sting of rejection.
The outlines of the following story appear in Procopius’s Wars (II.12.8).
The Assyrian king Abgar V governed a region that had its capital at the city of Edessa. The exact dates of his birth and death are not known, but he apparently ruled from around 4 B.C. to 7 A.D. and again from about 15 A.D. to 30 A.D. He was an ally and friend of the Roman Empire; the emperor Augustus knew him well and valued his counsel on Near Eastern affairs.
Quintus Curtius 
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