Year: 2013

I love banking bail outs, and so should you.  What would life be like without them?  Without bail outs bankers would have to behave like the rest of us, and where is the fun in that?  Of course, banking could be a pretty straight forward job.  You look after people’s savings by investing them in profitable enterprises.  The savers get a return on their money, the enterprises thrive and a little way down the road society as a whole is richer.  It is not very different to laying bricks or running a shop really.  A bit of common sense and some hard work; you make a nice living and do your bit to improve life for everyone else.

But be honest, wouldn’t that just be so dull!  It is a lot more fun to lend out more money than you actually have to lots of very risky projects which pay a good return. 

Ancient Greek Medicine doesn't have enough humour.

Divine delight of men, Mother of Aeneas, Beneath the gliding signs of heaven, Holy Venus
Who fills the fruitful lands and navigable seas
With all the types of creatures that your conceptions please
For you from now, and still forever
They  welcome the rising Sun together

 

Lucretius opens the epic latin poem On The Nature of Things praising Venus for creating the multitude of life on Earth.  He goes on to recount how she conquered the warlike Mars with the overwhelming power of love.  It is beautiful.   I love the rich symbolism of ancient paganism, and this is a superb example from the First Century BC.  Praising a deity is a cliche ridden business, and not something that many writers can do without embarrassing both themselves and the reader.  Lucretius in contrast handles the task superbly.  But the opening lines of the Nature of Things  belie what it is about and give no clue as to what is coming next.