(urth) Short Story 61*: Civus Laputus Sum

Mo Holkar lists at ukg.co.uk
Tue Apr 29 14:47:18 PDT 2014


At 19:33 29/04/2014, you wrote:
>There is an odd statement Jeremy makes, saying 
>his murder will be "the first time in five 
>thousand years one of us has taken the life of 
>one of them." If taken literally, this really 
>complicates the time line. More likely he is 
>just exaggerating the importance of their 
>animosity. Is he talking about Biblical creation?


In the Ussherian Biblical chronology, five 
thousand years prior to the 1990s (ie. 3000 BC) 
is some time prior to the Flood, among the 
uneventful list of patriarchs in Genesis 5. I had 
wondered if Jeremy was referring loosely to Cain 
and Abel: but that would be more like six 
thousand years. Also, hard to make that story 
match the theme of scholars vs athletes.

(Of course, it may be a reference to a non-Christian myth.)


On another note, I'd be interested if any 
Latinist can explain why it's 'Laputus' rather 
than 'Laputanus' in the title. It seems an unlikely slip, for Wolfe.

best,

Mo


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