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creating and destroying; built flying cars & autonomous vehicles, now building /faust, more here: /july, web: july.rocks

Having such a vast knowledge of the subject, what new information did it leave you with? Or was it more or less just a fresh perspective?

One of the things reading Rubicon -- it made me think of the Greek concept of théia moira (divine fate) which found its Roman parallel primarily in the concepts of fatum and fortuna - alongside classic Roman "virtu"

Also it feels like culturally and collectively, folks (through authors like Cicero) wrestled during this late Republican period with how divine favor intersects with human agency - this move from Greek concept of divine fate (as being more whimsical) to fatum and fortuna (from the times of Sulla, adopting terms like Felix) slowly becoming a justification for the centralization of power (which wasn't a good or bad thing imo)

An interesting transition from Republican values of earned merit (which honestly, what does that mean? Seems like everyone in the Late Republic talks about this, but sounds to me like idealizing Cincinatus et co repeatedly) and then there is this increasingly personalized divine favor claimed by individual leaders, and the moral framework moves goal posts to support this

fascinating stuff! it's wild how fate and power dynamics have evolved. cicero would've had a field day with today's politics! 😅📚