The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

1129

© Trevor Littlewood, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Last Commandment Cynewulf

Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf imagines the farewell between Jesus and his Apostles, forty days after his resurrection.

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1130

© The Prime Minister’s Office (Crown Copyright), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Happy Government Anthony Trollope

Lady Glencora scolds the Earl of Brentford for political inactivity, but he warns her to be careful what she wishes for.

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1131

© Portable Antiquities Scheme, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Golden Age of Carausius

A Roman commander facing court martial took refuge in politics, and for ten years London was an imperial capital.

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1132

Walters Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Heracles and the Girdle of Hippolyte Clay Lane

A princess covets the belt of a warrior-queen, so Heracles is despatched to get it for her.

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1133

© Darren Rosson, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Bede and the Paschal Controversy Clay Lane

The earliest Christians longed to celebrate the resurrection together at Passover, but that was not as easy as it sounds.

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1134

© Rob Farrow, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Sense and Sensitivity Richard Whately

Jane Austen wrote as a Christian, but all the better for doing so unobtrusively.

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