Comments on: Chaos Patch (#47)

By: Aeroguy

Aeroguy — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 04:07:49 +0000

Nice info. My thought process was that Octavian with his title of Augustus but not being deified until after death was comparable to but still inferior to Jupiter. The practice of linking genealogy to a particular god was alive during the Republic. Octavian who was linked to Venus celebrated it which implies that the Gods were still held in higher esteem. Caligula was the first to declare himself a living god (and defaced the statues of Republic Heroes Octavian had revered as a source of his own status), but since he was assassinated, I didn’t think he should count. Imperial rule did appropriate the glory that used to be shared with the Senate into itself, like how only the Emperor was allowed to have Triumphs, it’s influence was pretty much absolute. So I’m going to revise to the first century AD. Thanks for the detailed response.

By: pseudo-chrysostom

pseudo-chrysostom — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 01:21:29 +0000

gentlemen, behold.

http://www.clickhole.com/about

[quote]What is ClickHole?

ClickHole is the latest and greatest online social experience filled with the most clickable, irresistibly shareable content anywhere on the internet.
What is the goal of ClickHole?

Let’s be honest: Today, the average website carelessly churns out hundreds of pieces of pandering, misleading content, most of which tragically fall short of going viral.

At ClickHole, we refuse to stand for this. We strive to make sure that all of our content panders to and misleads our readers just enough to make it go viral. You see, we don’t think anything on the internet should ever have to settle for mere tens of thousands of pageviews. We believe that each and every article—whether about pop culture, politics, internet trends, or social justice—should be clicked on and shared by hundreds of millions of internet users before they can even comprehend what they just read.

ClickHole has one and only one core belief: All web content deserves to go viral. [/quote]

By: Erebus

Erebus — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:06:25 +0000

2nd century? Far too late, I think. The religion was strongest when the Decemviri Sacris Faciundis was a relatively independent, meaningful institution. Once the Senate overstepped its bounds & the decemviri became the quindecimviri, the religion entered a very slow and subtle period of decline. Once the Republic fell, the religion’s debasement was no longer slow nor subtle.

(Let’s not forget that all religious offices, apart from the decemviri, were traditionally held by the upper echelons of the Roman elite. As soon as the Republic fell, the “upper echelons of the Roman elite” came to mean the Emperor, his family, and a handful of old noble houses who happened to be in the Emperor’s good graces. It may be a bit of a simplification to say that all official religious and moral authority came to rest in the hands of the Emperor — but, by and large, that’s how things seem to have been, in practical terms.)

It’s interesting to note that under the Republic, the worship of Isis was violently and officially suppressed; by 43 BC, the Triumvirs were vowing temples to Isis in Rome.

Also interesting to note that by the second century, half of the new temples being built were dedicated to deified emperors (divi). In 42 BC, Octavian started the trend, with a temple to divus Iulius right in the Roman Forum.

…And so on and so forth. Is it any wonder that Eastern religions and mystery cults flourished under the Empire? By the second century, many Emperors were of provincial origin — so much for a “Roman” religion, then, when the Roman pantheon means nothing to the pontifex maximus! By the third century, the Pantheon and Jupiter were completely degraded; the Syrian-born Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was known as “Elagabalus”, after a Syrian God whose worship he introduced to Rome. Elagabalus-Emperor had Elagabalus-Diety replace Jupiter at the head of the Pantheon. This didn’t last long, but it illustrates how far the religion had fallen by then.

By: an inanimate aluminum tube

an inanimate aluminum tube — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 04:18:27 +0000

Our actual, existing class hierarchy is kind of confusing and demoralizing.

By: Chris B

Chris B — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 04:14:37 +0000

“I think it’s a fair assumption that he’d be here by now.”
the ‘field of dreams’ approach has it’s limitations. Talent hunting is surely a good thing. Intelligence is a rare commodity.

By: Chris B

Chris B — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 04:13:03 +0000

2nd that. I’m deep into kant 3rd critique at moment.

By: SanguineEmpiricist

SanguineEmpiricist — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 04:08:06 +0000

I contacted his owners of his defunct publisher and they said that they didn’t know how to contact him, and a few Less Wrong people sent letters a couple with the same name in Jamaica, so I thought it was a bust.

Can some one in New York go get this guy?

By: Aeroguy

Aeroguy — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 00:16:21 +0000

Moldbug puts it at about the 1920s when the moral leaders became holier than God. How wrong would I be if I suggested that it was about the second century when Rome’s moral leaders became holier than Jupiter?

By: Erebus

Erebus — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 11:56:44 +0000

“In my opinion instead of wasting time with what NRx currently does, it would be fruitful to begin a search for this man.”

Well… It didn’t take five minutes to dig up what seems to be his address.
The age and the initial are a match, and various sources have said that he resides in Hempshead, NY.

But I’ve gotta admit that I don’t know what you expect to achieve by contacting him. If he were interested in any of this, I think it’s a fair assumption that he’d be here by now.
I haven’t read his book yet, so I won’t comment any further on this.

By: soapjackal

soapjackal — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 09:06:20 +0000

@SanguineEmpiricist

you dont have anywhere to contact you privately on your blog.

if you could send an email to soapjackal at gmail dot com I would appreciate it