Word: caesares
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...Roman men for only three wifely misdeeds: adultery, child poisoning, or changing the lock on the bed room door. The Emperor Justinian was seemingly easier. He allowed divorce by mutual consent, but there was a catch-22. The divorcees were expected to take a lifelong vow of chastity. Caesar dallied with Cleopatra on the Nile but could never marry her, presuming he had wanted to, because there was Calpurnia back at home, and she was above suspicion and therefore un-divorceable...
This little charade is just a conversational pleasantry. Or is it? Who can ever be sure with Nabokov? Perhaps he has something more in mind. Devout Nabokov watchers might find clues in those references to Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory. They might see implications of the fall of Rome, the rise of Byzantium, and a consequent gap between East and West that makes comparisons impossible between Anglo-Saxon writers (Shakespeare) and Slavic writers (Nabokov...
...Italy, he learned Greek, published an extensive anthology of ancient Adages, and was appalled at the wars of Pope Julius II against neighboring Christian states. In Bologna, he witnessed Julius' triumphal entry with "a mighty groan," wondering whether the Pope was the successor of Jesus Christ or Julius Caesar...
...Valachi the Cosa Nostra is ruled by a board made up of nine to twelve capi. The group became big business as far back as Prohibition. Though there have been ambitious capi since the time of Salvatore Maranzano, who in the 1920s filled a room with books about Julius Caesar, no single boss has ever really taken over-with the possible exception of Charles ("Lucky") Luciano. The Cosa Nostra now operates through 25 to 30 "families," totaling about 5,000 members. Five families and about one-third of the total troops are based in New York City, where Valachi grew...
...accomplish mankind's salvation." A theological polemicist rather than a biographer, he was thus able to adjust some facts and ignore others without any conscious deceit. As an example of Mark's revisionist writing, Brandon cites the use of one apparently authentic saying of Jesus: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." In the context of Mark's Gospel, it implies an approval of tribute payments to Rome. Brandon suggests that Jesus meant the exact opposite: any Jew worthy of the name knew that...