{ "cells": [ { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "(prometheus)=\n", "# Prometheus\n", " \n", "Polybius stands as one of the most influential historians of the ancient world, not merely for the survival of his *Histories* but for the depth of his political analysis. Living in the tumultuous period of Rome’s rise to dominance, Polybius sought to provide a universal history that captured the interconnected nature of Mediterranean affairs, detailing the Punic Wars, Macedonian conflicts, and the broader transformation of the ancient geopolitical order. His work was not simply a record of events but a methodological inquiry into how Rome ascended while others faltered. His discussion of the mixed constitution—blending monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy—prefigured later political theories that informed Montesquieu and the framers of the United States Constitution. The idea that a stable government required a balance of competing forces, with checks and balances to prevent tyranny, was an insight that resonated across centuries, embedding itself within the DNA of Western political thought.\n", "\n", "```{raw} html\n", "\n", "\n", "
King Lear. The senile bequest motive at the outset makes it an endearing classic. but the plot gets messy. what do folks thing about it? Perhaps reality is that messy, with orthogonal plots unfolding to determine the outcome?
\n", "Dismiss your vows, your feigned tears, your flatt’ry; For where a heart is hard they make no batt’ry.” Source: Venus & Adonis
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