 |
| The diameters of the Moon, the Sun and the Earth using decimal parity all reduce down to 9 (the number of Spirit.) See, work of Scott Onstott; also see, https://blog.world-mysteries.com/ science/unbelievable-cosmic-coincidences/ |
 |
| 13 stars, 13 olive leaves, 13 arrows, etc., ad nauseum; See, http://www.masoncode.com/the-great-seal-america/ |
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| Mark Twain (1835-1910) American par excellence |
"It's easier to fool a man than to convince him that he's been fooled."
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the
majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being
run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean
it."
*********
When I conduct my daily life
I can’t help wondering about others who are doing the same. And then I compare
myself to them in an attempt to understand similarities and differences. Reading through the above quotes, I imagine that Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) did that very thing himself.
As for me, myself, and I — I begin with a mind-body-soul premise, being mindful that we are human beings endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, just as the American Declaration of Independence succinctly states.
It is incumbent upon us, then, to care for ourselves: to keep a clear, logically thinking, inquisitive and reasoning mind; to be vigilant about keeping our bodies fit and healthy; and to properly maintain the everyday faith, hope and charity that feeds our souls. All of the above give us nourishment and stamina.
This state of being should naturally lead one to live by convictions steeped in courage, integrity and backbone, which of course must be tempered by humility. The source of humility is the acknowledgement that, but for the grace of God working in our lives, all is for naught. Yet one wonders, as Mark Twain obviously did, how many among us in our day-to-day lives aspire to lofty ideals or engage in all that much self-reflection, let alone self-correction.
I like to think that grace manifests as wisdom and humor, as one is filled with poetic wonder regarding the natural world and the ever-present mysteries of the supernatural. After all, human beings inhabit both natural and supernatural dimensions simultaneously.
For me, I sense that when we are not apprehending God’s grace working in our lives, our lives are lacking in purpose; they are incomplete. Twain, however, seems as resigned in his opinions as those being observed, whom, we may imagine, are just as resigned to living lives by simply "mucking along."
What I mean is that underlying Twain's acerbic wit concerning the (so-called) "human condition," I detect a certain fatalism; that we are cursed with a sort of collective amnesia and it hinders our ability to analyze with much introspection into our broken condition as Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. Still, what makes Twain's quotations so precious is that we recognize the human jack-ass of which he speaks at the same moment we recognize it is our humanity that allows us to realize such notions about ourselves and others.
Moving to higher ground —
The opportunity of discovering the simple truth (viz., who we are and how we govern ourselves), is found in the priceless adventure of living one’s life. Usually long stretches of time, experienced in an ongoing lifetime, are required for a person ultimately to find real and true life in communion with the Godhead. If that is so, this fact of life is the foundation for holding life itself so very dear, while engaging our liberty and pursuing true happiness.
Following this line of thought, I'd say that honoring God by honoring ourselves and others animates our lives toward truth, goodness and beauty. If we conduct ourselves in accordance with virtue — with love, patience and tenacity — our lives are good. This simple formula is all I seek in my life. Ideally, it enables me to be strong-yet-meek, fortifying me with a willingness to endure any and all trials and tribulations. In short, this path is well-suited to be the basis for the happiness we pursue.
Am I reading too much into these Mark Twain quotes? I probably am. Maybe I'm making them too complicated. And yet I imagine that something deeper must be lurking behind the simple truths in these quotations.
So when I look out upon others — to see what they look like and to observe how they comport themselves — and I compare myself to them, I imagine that they, too, do the same with regard to me. Each of us is a walking, talking laboratory; each of us interacts with others, all of us always wondering as we reflect upon each others' words and deeds. The world around us is a grand smorgasbord of thoughts, feelings, impressions that are processed continually within a constant flow of action/reaction.
Because I believe that all human beings are entitled to live out their lives in order to self-realize what is touched upon herein, I love life and all that promotes it; I hold sacred all that is in harmony with life. While I accept death and the mortality of physical being as an inevitable and inescapable fact, I also keep in mind the immortality of the soul. (Thus it is that the spiritual aspect of my being is what prompts my pro-life stance. Babies, in utero or newly-born, are entitled to their lives, perhaps even more so than us older, less innocent mortals.)
Human beings must be accorded their unalienable rights to be free and to live their lives as they see fit, while according the same dignity to others and to respect all living creatures around them. This is what is known as The Golden Rule. Life is what allows us to develop our physical, mental and spiritual selves in both rudimentary and complex ways. This precious and mysterious time-span, allotted to each of us (to one extent or another), needs to be respected and not unduly interfered with by other people or human institutions.
This is a simple way forward, a simple credo. It is what has prompted me to stay on-guard against all institutions, public (i.e., government) and private (viz., non-profits and large corporate entities in particular). These overarching institutions employ individuals to administer and enforce their institutional objectives. But enforcement of unwarranted interference in people’s lives is evil; it contradicts everything that is good and right about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by alienating the God-given unalienable rights of We the People; it gets in the way of Huck and Jim setting out down the Mississippi River and tends to put a kibosh on Tom Sawyer's motley adventures.
So when I ponder Mark Twain’s words of wit and wisdom I am comforted to know that some other human being has expressed his own suspicions and disaffection for the frailties of humans and their institutions. In fact, there's a Mark Twain built into the American soul. And if you don't think so, then you are probably the butt of the joke, easily discernible in Twain's above quotations!
 |
| I can’t imagine giving up the
rights to my DNA as ransom to get back to a world that will never exist again. |
[Source: https://www.quitefrankly.tv/ ]
Formerly we suffered from crimes — now we suffer from
laws. - Tacitus
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. - Tacitus
A desire to resist oppression is implanted in the nature of man. - Tacitus
Think about it. People give
samples of their DNA to ancestry.com and other genealogy companies. Is that
wise? I mean, we safeguard our social security numbers, right? But when it
comes to the essence of one’s biological self — that’s not as “sacrosanct”?
That is DNA quandary number one.
Next, and more nefarious by far, is receiving these experimental, muta-genetic materials — DNA-altering nanoparticles, et al. — into our bodies that are masquerading as “vaccines.” It is, in fact, genetic engineering. Would you prefer to stay away from food that is genetically modified, viz., GMO “food.” I sure would. So why would you then accept being injected with a GMO serum? I certainly and absolutely wouldn’t.
People send out their DNA to questionable destinations and unthinkingly accept DNA-altering substances into their bodies, and why?
· The first has to do with understanding your family tree, your past, and discovering new family relations, which has the potential for changing and improving your “situatedness” within the present and future;
· The second has to do with a hope to keep you safe (albeit from an easily curable flu strain) while offering “certification” to enable you to “return to normal,’ i.e., to be able to travel and mingle among others without concern, etc. Again, it's an attempt at changing your present and future. [In reality, vaxxers are only really virtue-signaling their desire to retain the (wrongly perceived) safety, security and comfort of their familiar (false) reality. - Author's Komment]
Good luck returning to a world that is no longer there—the world of fiat-money banking based on debt instruments, bankers’ wars, and false institutions. There is a new world beckoning us all, steeped in time-tested values and spiritual faith but activated by a consciousness of truth as never before encountered and only imagined heretofore— a world wherein money is not based upon debt, in which you are not enslaved to debt but are immersed in knowledge, wisdom and free speech, all premised on institutions based firmly upon truth instead of avarice and corrupt political expediency.
The old world of STUPID is quickly drying up and is about to blow away. Trying to “stay safe, with a guarantee of returning to STUPID” is the stupidest thing going right now. Doing that depends upon fear-spawning-ignorance and an absence or degenerated faith in God in order to succeed. So go get “jabbed” and read your ancestry.com reports and stay in STUPID, stupid; enjoy your wish fulfillment to return to the land where God is Dead. I got better things to do and a better world to live-in and to pass-on to those who will inherit the Earth.
When I was a lad, my father
took aim at a pigeon on our roof with his trusty BB gun. He fired and the
pigeon came crashing down. He hit the poor thing right between the eyes. We few
kids standing around, having just witnessed the fowl event, were all speechless. All
my father was trying to do was to scare it away to keep it from shitting and
nesting and doing whatever pigeons do on people’s roofs.
That old BB gun, a rifle really, shot copper BBs. I recall coming across it down in my aunt’s basement a few years back. One particular day I began wondering if it was still down there. It wasn’t. So I sent out a group text to my siblings asking if any of them might have it in their possession. I got the usual snide, mocking comments. No one had any idea where it might have gone. All I hoped was to enjoy using it again for some target practice.
Undeterred, I’m resolved to make a more thorough search of the basement…
In the meantime, my energies are focused on trying to build a shed. Now this project had been in my head for at least ten years. Recently, though, I was able to access four huge, sturdy shipping crates. They were free for the hauling and this find lit a shed-building fire beneath me.
After cleaning up an existing concrete slab I set these tall crates on end, side-by-side, two on each end, about ten feet apart. I set them up on cinder blocks, which made them seven feet tall, and together they were about eight feet wide. I had lots of lumber and plywood around that was scavenged over the years. So a rough plan began taking shape in my mind to cobble together this shed as best I could — and, of course, to do it as cheaply as possible. (Another factor in my mind was avoiding the buying of materials so as to eliminate the stupidity of mask-wearing in order to procure them.)
When I wasn’t trying to do shed calculations, my mind would sort of naturally return to more exotic thoughts, thoughts of sailing away to the South Sea Islands in the Pacific Ocean (the Kingdom-Island of Tonga in particular). Surely the remoteness there would be a welcome refuge from the techno-demonic, socio-political shit-show going on since President Trump made his tactical retreat last January.
And yet such thoughts would predictably come crashing up against counter-thoughts of wife and family and wondering if and how they might figure-in to my get-away plan. In my opinion it is healthy to entertain a desire for peace and quiet, solitude and serenity — however that desire arises and whatever form it takes.
A few weeks ago my old woodworking job came back to me when the apprentice slot opened back up again. This coincided with my determination to embrace Anna von Rietziger’s American National repatriation plan that had recently been streamlined. And so I was back doing some woodworking with my friend, taking care of my elderly aunt a few days a week, and entertaining the usual exotic fantasies…and then some.
I had just sold my '80 MGB and had a few extra bucks to do some projects, like shed-building. And in a whirlwind I also decided to get my teeth in-order. This meant a trek westward to Cumberland, Maryland, to a new dentist, a “biological dentist.” And since I was going that way, I decided to keep going a bit further to Somerset, Pennsylvania. There were maintenance chores to be done up there.
So you see, there are lots of weird tasks percolating; a huge amalgam of thoughts, aspirations, pursuits, dreams and visions, are all coalescing together as Spring begins warming-up the air. Yes, I will be up in Somerset, PA to do some maintenance on the old family house there. And I've kept in touch with a local lass who helped inspire my last book. Part of the impetus of going there is to spend a little time getting to know her. And, lest any readers impute some dark, lustful motive to this seeming bit of deviltry, I will simply say in my defense that I like this woman, she likes me, and we’re up for some friendship, whether it’s an “emotional affair” or otherwise; either is dangerous, but then, I’ve always flirted with danger.
Whatever complications may arise from it, friendship is always worthwhile in my book (especially when some long-time “friends” had recently turned their backs on me for no real reason I was able to figure, other than they just didn’t seem to like me anymore).
So life's good, in spite of welchers, wampum woes, and the witless, jay-walking, mask-wearing Puddleglums all over the place these days.
In a few hours I meet again with my new ozone therapy medical doctor whose intriguing interests have taken him beyond kinesiology. We'll see where his skills may take me. All I know is that I am loving the warmer weather as I emerge from the same ol’-same ol’ winter doldrums.
Yes, everything seems like “crabs and crumpets”, “fricasseed frogs and eel pie” — colorful phrases borrowed from my reading of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, a thick, lovely adventure book.
Consequently, I’ll search for that old BB gun, get that shed built, whip this old body into shape, and engage in fix-up work, while fiddling away within some old and some new dreams, visions, and fantasies, all of which are worthwhile and stimulating. Pioneering and exploring is what I love best, all of which comes under the heading “Weird Task Ministry.”
And this reminds me: interspersed among all of the above was my drafting (this week) of an appeal for my cousin Pat’s latest piece of legal bad luck, wherein he inadvertently passed a standing school bus and was hit by a $450 fine and a proposed, 60-day suspension of his driver’s license. I shot up to Somerset to file that appeal in another blitzkrieg mission of mercy.
So, if the mule don’t die and the crick don’t freeze, maybe a few things will get done around here (and elsewhere), in between slogging along in that same old rut.
I need dreams, don’t I? Don’t we all!
In the final analysis we human beans are creatures of “doing and being,” or as Miss Connie used to say on that old TV show, Romper Room — we should all strive to be good “Do-Bees.” Agreed!
For years, Patriots have been looking for ways to expatriate from the
false and phony System and repatriate ourselves within the constitutional
republic as originally envisioned. That is, (in my own words) we have been trying to find that government-on-Earth
founded upon the gospels of Jesus—that “Biblical America” (without the
Illuminati overlay): one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.
President Trump did more than any other president to lead America (and the world) back in this direction. And he’ll return very soon to keep at it because surely, “the best is yet to come.” But then, that venerable America has already been forming for some time under the guise of varied Patriot dreams and initiatives. This writer does not pretend to know them all. Still, why wait any longer? There is no need to wait for “Trump-the-Savior” to bestow upon you your rightful status — just do it yourself (with a little help from your friends).
Actually, as to Donald Trump, there is a more correct analysis; as President of the corporate USA, does he have the capacity restore the constitutional republic? Can someone who has not corrected his own status help the People to return home to the land and soil jurisdiction of their country? Or, perhaps the question remains: Has PDJT indeed corrected his status? Or better yet, in order to do just that, does one necessarily need to join the American National Assembly movement? Can one do so by simple public declaration, by publishing one's personal "Declaration of Independence? That's a good question deserving it's own essay...
Over the past five or so years I have been aware of one effort in particular by Anna von Rietz (Anna Maria Riezinger) whose prodigious writings have piqued my interest. If you don't feel like slogging on, by dogged trial-and-error, trying to effectively expatriate yourself and not knowing if you are on the right track — well, there is no reason to"re-invent the wheel." Instead, if you are finally ready to take the leap from enslavement to liberty, then I implore you to consider the hard work of Anna Maria Riezinger and the structure she has been putting into place for many years: State Assemblies of Patriots in each of the 50 states.
Her efforts have been gaining momentum, especially since the "Usurper-in-Chief, JoeBama" has interloped into quasi-control. For example, click onto the SGT Report link below. Then scroll down to Sean’s interview with Anna von Rietz. Do so to journey into a brave new world of self-and-other understanding:
https://www.sgtreport.com/2021/03/warning-the-fed-is-absolutely-destroying-your-currency-got-metals/
Anna provides a trail of links.
Follow up on those trails. Specifically, go to The American States
Assembly, found here: https://theamericanstatesassembly.net/ Click
onto “Correct Your Status.” Have a look at the one-page Declaration. Then find
the state coordinator of your particular state and contact him or her.
Actually, before going much
further, go to the two other links offered by Anna in this interview. Both are
educational organizations:
1. https://www.gemstoneuniversity.org/
This is a so-called “Private Contract Association” (PCA). It is in the private sector,
not the public sector (viz., The Federation of States dba The United States of
America, for which Anna and the many state coordinators labor away).
2. https://sedm.org/
Anna notes this is a very informative and helpful private organization (although
they’ve not quite gotten the “jurisdiction issue” quite right). The Sovereign
Education and Defense Ministry (SEDM) is another PCA (and a Christian ministry).
[NOTE:
Bookmark and study these sites, above and below.]
The next step in your “journey of self-and-other understanding” would be to go here: http://annavonreitz.com/ You’ll come across a ton of material here. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, but don’t worry. Begin, as she recommends, by clicking on “Charts.” Here you will find four very helpful explanatory chart outlines. These help to orient you to what can be called The Greatest Fraud Ever, from which any and all thinking persons would hope to extricate themselves.
Very soon you’ll probably want to correct your so-called “strawman status” (i.e., from one of a U.S. territorial and municipal citizen, to that of an American national of a particular state. To effectively do this, go back to The American States Assembly site, find the coordinator for your state, and then follow the protocol for executing and recording your Declaration of the Naturalization Act of 1779. This is the first step to placing yourself under the “land and soil jurisdiction.” From there you can continue on in a more “comprehensive process” of expatriating the old you and repatriating yourself as the American National you.
Get that far along and you’ll be farther along than you’ve likely ever been in your life to realizing real freedom and liberty. The more you learn from the above sites — and from interacting with the patriots found there — the closer you will come to discovering just who you were meant to be: viz., the real flesh-and-blood person and not a slave citizen controlled by interloping fraudsters.
Click on the banner below!
Why do airports and hospitals showcase libtard TV like CNN? As far as I know, it’s a nationwide phenomenon (although I’ve read that sometimes FOX News wins out over CNN down South — still, not sure there’s all that much difference there). Even Veterans Administration Hospitals blare out the treasonous and lamebrain CNN messaging from every corner of their facilities.
Surely you’ve noticed. TVs are placed all over the place, each one blasting out lies and nonsense. And usually you cannot escape. Nor can you change the channel or lower the volume. (For non-TV watchers that’s a new definition of hell.)
Who is in charge of what I call "public domain attack TV"? How do you go about investigating this issue?
Well, regarding airports there’s more info on the web. Good old Reader’s Digest (of all publications) offers some clarity:
Waiting for a flight requires equal parts patience and distraction. Airports provide some of the latter with their TVs—and many specifically show CNN.
So, why do so many airports
play CNN? First, it’s technically not the same exact CNN program people watch
at home. Instead, the CNN Airport Network offers unique programming. The
content is similar; however, the network caters directly to people in waiting
rooms and—you guessed it—airports. People can even connect to Wi-Fi to watch
specific programs from CNN on their phones, too. Use this map to find
your airport Wi-Fi password.
According to the network, 59 airports across the United States run the CNN Airport
Network. They show a mix of lifestyle, entertainment, sports, and
business headlines, as well as live CNN. There’s a dedicated staff for the
airport network that programs everything. You won’t find any news about commercial
aviation crashes or stories inappropriate for a family-friendly airport
environment. No matter what airport you fly to or from, remember these 16 airport mistakes to stop making
before your next flight.
Although many airports show
CNN, they have their own individual relationships with the network. Airports
request proposals from news outlets to show their content and often can’t air other competitors. CNN Airport Network happens to be
a popular choice. It might be because the network reportedly pays airports for exclusive access to display
their content and provides funds for TV equipment. Airports can even include
free, personal, original programming and local advertisements specific to the
area as part of the deal.
CNN might be the popular
choice, but other networks are still trying to break into airports,
too. CBS and ReachMe.TV have an upcoming in-airport mobile entertainment
network, Deadline reports. It might be worth skipping the screen
time altogether and checking out these fun free things you can do when
you’re stuck at the airport.
Source: Why Do Airports Always Play CNN? Emily DiNuzzo Updated:
May 28, 2019, https://www.rd.com/article/why-do-airports-play-cnn/
So there’s a back room contract
process going on with airports. Under long-term contracts CNN pays the biggest bucks to provide TVs
and even offers a special, airport news service for travelers. Surprise,
surprise!
You might think that hospitals and doctors’ offices would be more discerning about allowing their patients to be bombarded with invasive, mind-rotting programming. But in hospitals and doctors’ waiting rooms, libtard TV also prevails. (If you search the issue online there is much less info as to why regarding this domain.) But I’m going to assume that there is a similar back room contracting process going on there too — with Big Money standing by to make it happen. Gee, I wonder where the money comes from(?) (Get on it, Mr. Investigative Journalist!)
Does this mean that Big Medicine (incl. Big Pharma) and Big Media all want the same thing: big idiots watching TVs that spew useless, mis-directing, mind-controlling information? I guess so. They mostly all follow suit, just as Big Airlines likely influence the airports, getting inside the brains and souls of captive audiences everywhere. Sick stuff!
I gave up TV long ago. But it’s everywhere now, force-feeding willing screen gazers. (Forgive them, they know not what they do.) But when will someone or some group come along and challenge Big TV and its ubiquitous presence? Beats me. But a revamp and a take-back of our public domain ecology is long, long overdue.
Recently I went ballistic on
two family members for maintaining the fiction known as the sham/plan-demic. I
told them they are “shaming our family.” Those are strong words and I meant
what I said!
My daughter works in a laboratory and her daughter (my granddaughter) is 8-years old. She’s in the second grade and is required to wear a mask, etc., while being indoctrinated by lamebrain libtards who work for the public school system in SOCIALIST MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND. (The last I heard kids were not in danger from the virus. I thought the mortality rate for young people was .004%?) They recently opened back up for classes, but for only four days per week; they are closed on Wednesdays for "cleaning."
Then there is my daughter-in-law. She is a new internal medicine doctor doing an extended, seemingly endless residency. Of course I understand that she doesn’t wish to upset the apple cart in her chosen profession before she even gets a foothold, and yet I can’t help asking: how can she adopt the conventional stance on this hysterical nonsense that is not evidenced-based in science and medicine?
Both are completely brainwashed about masks and all the rest (“social distancing,” hand sanitizer, et al., ad nauseum). Mostly I worry about the effect this whole phony pandemic is having on my granddaughter. But having someone new to our family who is mindlessly beguiled in Rockefeller pill medicine fantasy-land bothers me.
Neither are capable of using their specialized scientific and medical knowledge to critically think through this whole pantomime, which outrages and sickens me no end.
And so, once again, I am posting the quick and dirty facts on this nonsense. (Take note and go research it for yourself — there is even more evidence against all of this nonsense since the original post I put up on January 4th of this year!):
1. Did you know COVID isn't the name of the virus?
2. Did
you know Masks don't work?
3. Did
you know Lockdowns don't work?
4. Did
you know the CDC lumped the Flu with COVID statistics?
5. Did
you know the PCR tests are fraudulent?
6. Did
you know the COVID "Cases" numbers are a lie?
7. Did
you know you will need a Vaccine Passport to travel?
8. Do
you know what's in COVID Vaccines?
9. Do
you know the outcome of COVID Vaccine trials?
Don't let the architects of
the Plandemic determine the fate of your health and well-being.
More importantly, don’t be a minion, a stooge, a useful idiot who helps to spread fear and ignorance by supporting the false narrative of these architects of the Plandemic!
When the human mind conceives notions of law, what we conjure up is more complex than first realized. In a kind of chronological order there is God’s law, natural law, common law, scientific law, nation-state law, and international law; there is also tradition, practice, and custom (originary and acculturated) all of which carry their own innate sense of “law” as rightful forms of conduct.
There are even “laws” in the magic and mythical realms of number and geometry that relate to our metaphysical and occult sensibilities, and supernatural or transcendent spiritual laws bring us back to God in a kind of full circle. (Anti-law, e.g., the black magic of Luciferian evil-doers, is excluded from our notional purview of law in its proper sense.)
Humans make these categories and distinctions in order to organize them into practical, usable purposes; through our mental faculties we separate them out so that they might be fitted into an overall logical form comprising an over-arching reality within which we dwell. We operate, we conduct ourselves in this sphere of law, dubbing it the rule of law, which defines rational, just behavior designed for the benefit of all and the detriment of none.
However, humans have been plagued by law breakers from time immemorial, or at least since the time of Babylon. (Christians trace our woes back further to the Garden of Eden.) This state of affairs has complicated the rule of law because it had to deal with the recognition that not all who benefit are worthy, so that some should suffer its detriments for the breaking of laws.
And so the rule of law has been contending with lawlessness since its inception. Disrespect of the rule of law, and disputations as to the lawfulness of the law under various stewards of the rule of law at any one time — these epitomize the never-ending struggle in the history of humanity ever since law has been with us.
As a student of the Western law tradition who has researched its odyssey, my mind is often drawn to the formulations of the Roman jurisconsult, Gaius. He seemed to have organized certain guiding principles that can be seen as foundational for a strong country and a stable family (with God's handiwork shining through its fine moral underpinning and commitment to individual liberty). These have come to exemplify the ideal for the rule of law as embraced by our original American constitutional republic. Here is an overview:
ROME (c. 170 A.D.)
Gaius is most responsible for a systematization of the civil law into ‘scientific form,’ supporting a sense of nomos, as ‘the ruler of all things divine and human’.
The Gaian formulation is:
1) an
historical approach drawn from Roman social experience and legal wisdom;
2) the
dialectical method with divisions, distinctions and methods of interpretation;
and, most importantly,
3) the
classical ‘juridical trinity’ (or ‘trichotomy’ that all law pertains to persons,
to things or to actions)
This third formulation entails not only moral priorities and a means of ordering reality, but also a characteristic mode of perceiving, of construing, and potentially of controlling the social field.
There is an analogy between the ‘juridical trinity’ and the structure of language (to Latin or perhaps Indo-European grammar itself), i.e., the relationship between subject and predicate, including object and verb.
For Gaius, Roman jurisprudence is anthropocentric or perhaps anthropomorphic: the conscious ‘personality’ (coming not from cosmos, but the psyche) as the essential focus for perceiving the world of ‘reality,’ with an emphasis on individual ‘liberty’ (derived from ‘free will’, in effect, the defining characteristic of ‘personality’, or perhaps, considering the overt recognition of social ranking in Roman law, ‘liberty’ is better interpreted as ‘status’) — as an extended self, ‘property’ and the law of possession are now seen to be natural extensions of liberty and personality.
‘Prescription,’ acquisition through continued use or possession, introduces the factor of time into the legitimization of possession or property; public and private law begin in ‘action’ that provide legal remedies and legal norms (and counter-actions that create legal ‘exceptions’); an ‘action’ corresponds to a particular ‘obligation’ by which individuals, as agents, exercise not only their liberties but their wills, so long as they have legal ‘cause’ and good faith.
The Institutes of the Civil Law was an elementary student’s textbook written by Gaius in the second century A.D. The Institutes distinguishes the ius civile (civil law), peculiar to a particular state, from the ius gentium (law of nations), or law that is common to all states.
The ius gentium, in the sense meant by Gaius, is a body of Roman rules, considered to be in approximate conformity with the common sense and practice of neighboring peoples, which is suitable for application to foreigners on Roman territory, e.g., the transference of most movable property by the act of merely handing it over, the loan of money and creating contracts of sale, hire, mandate, and partnership by simple, formless agreement, etc.
In other words, ‘Lex is what the Populus orders and determines.’ For Gaius it is psyche, human consciousness as will, giving rise to rights, that forms the center of a sort of rudimentary sociology of knowledge. By establishing that field of vision, horizons can be expanded to encompass other individuals and natural objects, potentially property, and finally, the social field can be completed by observing and judging human actions and interactions.
The Gaian system is aimed not just at causal explanations but also at human problems: the rendering of practical and normative judgments and the determination of remedies and larger principles. As such, Roman social thought can be organized in concentric circles:
·
the person
occupies the center
·
the family or
household occupies the first circumference
·
the next is the
interfamilial link to a more public space
·
and the outermost
circle of personality is citizenship, embedded in Roman society
Yet, by making larger claims for the role of legal science, the private is subordinated to the public sphere. Roman jurisprudence is centrally concerned with strengthening the governing class, the community of paterfamilias, symbolized, if not represented by, the Senate. At the same time, the foundations of Roman law continue to be grounded in the practical force of acculturated custom (consuetudo, ‘second nature’) and this too is interpreted in terms of the individual person, his force of will, and his responsible actions.
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Gaius was heir to a thousand years of Greek learning and its synthesis of law. But writing in the late second century A.D., Gaius was very likely influenced by the early Christians as well. That is, Gaius was a Roman indebted to the past whose thinking (we might speculate) was also drawing on a consciousness of the new logos being spread about in the noosphere by Christ’s apostles and disciples.
Before going any further forward, perhaps a look back to highlights from the Greek legal heritage would be contributive and grounding. Here is a synopsis:
THE GREEKS (c. 900 B.C. TO 100 B.C.)
Hesiod
Acculturated custom or the
‘unwritten, proto-legal elements in Greek theogony (the ‘divine character of
law’) are the earliest connotations of “nomos” (definitions of terms are fleshed out below).
The Lawgivers: Dracon/ Solon/ Gorton (incl. the perhaps mythical): Lycurgus (Sparta); Charondas (Catana); Zaleucus (Locri); Minos (Crete)
Thesmoi (specific
legislation and practical procedure of the sovereign, memorialized in written
codes publicly displayed on tablets) give institutional expression to the public
will, while insisting on the primacy of public authority. Nomos as
‘positive’ (posited) or ‘statute law,’ transcending, though still including,
vestiges of acculturated custom: first stirrings of a ‘(proto)state’ (as
opposed to traditional blood feuds) having the exclusive role in punishing
persons accused of crimes and meting out harsh corporal punishments.
Heraclitus
‘Social thought’ emerges:
‘soul’ included in a cosmological program; the primordial ‘self’ defined in
relation to ‘other,’ i.e., society or culture; nomos serves to designate
particular rites, human rules, solutions, and, eventually, ‘positive law’
(convention)
Pythagoras
The ‘soul’ is morally
significant.
Lysias/ Isocrates/ Isaeus/ Xenophon/ Thucydides/ Pericles
Oration and democratic
legislation; citizens perceive objectified laws to which they have internalized
an owed obedience; dawning of ‘the rule of law,’ with a predisposition toward
the stability and permanence (as opposed to any alteration) of enacted laws;
law as command and prohibition by political authority; laws declare ‘what must
be done’ — and yet a multiplicity of laws is identified with bad government;
‘intent’ of wrongdoer recognized as being relevant
Aeschylus/ Sophocles/ Euripides/ Aristophanes
Dramatic portrayals, e.g.,
eternal laws of supernatural origin are ‘fundamental rights’ (like ‘natural
rights’ emanating from family relationships) which trump man-made laws conflicting
with them; law as a progressive achievement, tending to equalize the ground of
rich and poor; an emphasis on the importance of hearing both sides of an
argument, more as a precept of wisdom, rather than of justice; demoralization
and lack of respect for the laws also portrayed
The Sophists
The first ‘humanists,’ language
experts, and practitioners of civil science, using logos, or a
convergence of rhetoric and law, wherein nomos (positive law) is
characterized as relative and physis (the natural physical universe and
the instinctual nature of its human inhabitants) as immutable; typically argue
both sides of an issue with verbal dexterity and persuasion; for Sophists,
human judgment replaces myth and anthropology, though anthropology (finding its
ultimate meaning in the political act) transcends metaphysics; for Sophists,
‘custom’ is nominally ‘unwritten law’
Protagoras
‘Logos’ (as some dubbed
him) is perhaps the first rhetorician of ‘linguistic philosophy’; reportedly
credited with the principal modes of speech (narration, question, answer,
command, report, entreaty, and invitation); considered to be the first to
maintain that in every experience there are two logoi opposed to each
other; committed to the defense of convention (nomos) over nature (physis)
Socrates/ Plato
Through logos, as philosophical
analysis embedded in dialogue, the sophistic position is challenged. Laws are
imagined as personified and citizens have a duty to obey the laws, resting on a
deep and weighty ‘convention,’ implied as a binding contract; laws are for the
benefit of all and there should be a deliberate training of society in the law.
Magistrates are seen as ‘servants’ of the law; hermeneutics (figurative,
allegorical, grammatical, historical, and dialectical criticism) is applied to
find reality behind the letter of a text. According such distinctions helped
effect a severing of the instincts from the polis — a more complex
‘state’ is inaugurated. Philosophers are seen as the true and sovereign
‘law-givers’ of society and so superior to the orators (rhetoricians). Law as
mutual agreement and the notion of private property begin to be recognized.
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There is much more to the Greek contribution of course. But the above gives an adequate baseline. In fact, one can almost see the entire odyssey of law and jurisprudence within the evolution of Greek society and culture. Indeed, law and jurisprudence are creatures of mental consciousness and written language. (We’re speaking here of a perception of reality stressing the bivalent nature of an undifferentiated, psychically-stressed unity (familiar to the early Greeks, as evidenced by the meanings of some of their primal words) — and that of the mental structure, typified by the dualism of antonyms or conceptual opposites (strengthened by the less ambiguous, more directive language of Latin, and which is fully fostered and further developed in modern language)).
It was left to the civilization of Rome to further systematize law beyond philosophic rhetoric and oratory; with the Roman Empire came its imperial administration, and law would be administered by a corps of legal specialists the likes of which were unknown in ancient Greece. Roman law had to manage cases and controversies among its own citizens as well as those among the foreigners within its vast territory.
And, among other places, the Roman Empire stretched into Judea, where it had to contend with controlling Jews whose allegiance was to their rabbis, first and foremost. And as Pharisaic Talmudism pitted its letter of the law against the spirit of the law as taught by Jesus of Nazareth, the Roman authorities were caught in the middle of this bitter controversy.
Those who accepted Jesus as the Christ, the promised Messiah, managed to establish their Church across the Middle East and beyond. In fact, Rome itself was being colonized by these early Christians. At the time of Gaius (mid- to late second century, A.D.), Rome was persecuting Christians. Yet, just over a hundred years later, Rome would adopt Christianity as its state religion.
Therefore, it is not too much of a leap to suppose that Christian precepts were already “flavoring” the Western legal tradition by 170 A.D. What was always driving law and jurisprudence was mental consciousness as embodied in written language (grants, decrees, edicts and sanctions). As Christianity spread and found favor, the state found that the religion could also be useful, in its most banal sense, as a tool of control and manipulation.
But in this interval between non-acceptance and acceptance of Christianity by the Roman authorities, the formulations of Gaius in his Institutes can be seen as an early and pure florescence of law just coming into a more focused mental articulation though yet to become all that sullied by over-zealous, self-aggrandizing state accretions.
As someone who regards himself as a generalist-doing-big-picturism I could, of course, be all wrong about this. But then, the ideas and thinking of Gaius struck me this way when I first came upon them. Surely his thesis can be further developed and embellished with more of a theo-cosmological sensibility. But it is precisely his simplicity that attracts me. His Ptolemaic propensity, in contrast to a future Copernican order-of-things, is just as satisfying as the primal act of watching the sun “set”— and I am as unconcerned about the Earth rotating on its axis and revolving around the sun as I could ever be, while simply finding solace in God’s creational beauty.
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The
Author is indebted to the following in preparing my synopses herein:
Kelley,
D. L. (1990). The human measure: Social
thought in the Western legal tradition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Kelly, J.M. (1992). A short history of Western legal theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
