Saturday 5 January 1660/61

Annotations

• N Andrew Hamilton on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 01:54am

  Tully’s Officys.

  Marcus Tullius Cicero, “de Officiis,”
  an ethical treatise addressed to his son. A rich source of gnomic quotes, e.g., “summum jus, summa injuria,” which might be translated as “Extreme law is extreme injustice.” An English translation (Loeb edition) can be found at
  http://www.stoics.com/cicero_book.html
  The Latin text is at:
  http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/cicero/off.shtml

• N dirk on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 02:56am

  Jamaica

  Jamaica had only five years before become English. In 1655 the British had taken Jamaica from the Spanish - with the help of the “bucanneers”. Bristol Admiral Sir William Penn in command of the operation.

  Many slaves took the opportunity to escape to the mountains and establish the socalled “Maroon” settlements. These Maroons - and slave rebellions - would continue to be a problem for the British for the rest of the century.

  Jamaica, by the way, would introduce **rum** to Europe - a “hellish” drink that was originally given to the plantation slaves to ease their misery and keep them tolerably content during their appalling labours.

  In 1660 the voyage to Jamaica was still not exactly without danger…
  

• N vincent on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 03:16am

  “…bespeak Ogilby

• N Wim van der Meij on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 09:26am

  It is peculiar that Sam can always stay for a bite whenever he is visiting people at mealtimes. There was enough to eat for unexpected guests, but that was especially the case in the richer houses, I suppose. In some countries there is (was?) the habit to lay the table for at least one extra person.

• N Kevin Sheerstone on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 10:19am

  Wim van der Meij -extra place at table

  I have personally come across this practice in Eastern Europe (Poland and Hungary), and in North America (Newfoundland in Canada and the New England states of the US). In the case of New England it seemed to be confined to Thanksgiving, and in the other places mentioned, to Christmas.

  I can remember my mother, who was Irish, mentioning it too.

• N Barbara on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 11:27am

  I think the laying of an extra place had more of a charitable religious background, than in case a chance guest turned up. In large households, such as the Sandwich one, there were many children, servants, other employees and there would always be a further cut of a large joint to serve an extra person, or the remains of yesterday’s pie to be hurried from the kitchens.

• N Alan Bedford on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 06:28pm

  Correction to Vincent’s reference: http://www.cf.ac.uk/encap/ceir/scntilla/poison.html

  It’s an interesting history of an adaptation of one of Ogilby’s Aesop translations into a masque for (!) Cromwell.

• N vincent on Tue 6 Jan 2004, 07:36pm

  In my early formative years: an extra mouth never fazed the Lady of the house, rich or poor. But by the 60’s it changed amongst the more affluent. I still find that those who have the least are more generous than those with excess. Just an observation [or my personality or who nose].