B. U. G. S.

– SUB Urban, Chapter 3

The point of this exercise rests on the fact that the best way to humiliate our enemies is to state what they believe in plain English.

They win by forcing YOU to explain why YOUR formula will save the world. A good respectable conservative falls for that, hook, line and sinker. YOU insist, insist, and INSIST on talking about how THEY consider the gray stone Capitol Building to be Sophisticated.

In our last exciting chapter I mercilessly described THEIR World View. Let us continue.

Gibbon and Mommy Professor say there was this Roman Empire which did not change at all from the time it Civilized Europe until its Fall when the capitol moved to Constantinople. This is not stated, but it is implied on a level of subtlety that makes Attila look like a wimp.

As Brown points out, this image of a consistent drawing room Empire has cracks the size of Mount St. Helen’s.

A small contrast: Trajan died in bed, but about the end of the third century began a string of Emperors whose average life span was about two years.

Brown, having discussed the incredible fraud of Classical Sculpture, talks about The DISAPPEARANCE OF THE MONEY ECONOMY in the third century. In the third century coins that had been the normal units of exchange throughout the Classical Age, disappeared. The Roman Army accepted goods as pay, routinely.

The smooth continuity we think of as Roman collapsed completely. In this period we substitute the smooth continuity of the Pure Christian Faith.

During this period there was a fight over who was to be the next Pope. The backers of one claimant trapped the backers of the other in a building and killed them.

Then there is the little matter of Sunday. Sunday derives from Constantine’s religion, Mithraism. In Sol Invictus was the mantra of that faith. “the Sun, Unconquered.” And December 25, the birth date of Mithras became what we call Christmas.

None of this actual history jibes with the smooth continuity on which Asimov based the Foundation Series. Captain Kirk and Spock, both Jews, found Fundamental Christians who were fans of the show disturbing. Those fans were very concerned that both of the actors were going to Hell.

Hence the Star Trek episode that showed how, if it had not been for Christianity, Roman slavery would have continued into the present day. “Ah,” said Kirk, “To see it happen again.”

Everybody went “Goo!” except me.

Having a frontal lobe is a real pain.