The Copybook

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

223

© Med, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

A Ransom of Iron Anonymous (‘A. H.’)

When Brennus the Gaul broke through the gates of Rome, Marcus Furius Camillus was far away in exile.

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224

By Francesco de’ Rossi (1510–1563), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

An Execrable Crime Anonymous (‘A. H.’)

Marcus Furius Camillus knew he must make the Falisci submit to Rome, but the method one man proposed was more than he could stomach.

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225

By Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506), via the Royal Collection and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

O, You Hard Hearts! William Shakespeare

Marullus was disgusted at the way that the fickle people of Rome turned so easily from one hero to another.

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226

© Greg Willis, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Lion’s Share Sir Roger L’Estrange

Following a succesful hunting partnership, the Lion explains how the spoils are to be divided.

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227

© ken93110, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

A Coy and Humorous Dame John Trenchard

The English ‘Cato’ cautioned that sabre-rattling sanctions and other forms of coercion are never in the country’s economic interest.

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228

By Heinrich Friedrich Füger (1751-1818), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Tragedy of Coriolanus Anonymous (‘A. H.’)

Roman statesman Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus was thrust out the City for his hardline politics, but he did not stay away for long.

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