I'm wagering you've read the 48 Laws of Power and/or the Art of Seduction by the same authors. Am I right?

I have never heard of those books. Though I have read "Art of Love" by Ovid, the ancient Latin poet...

I think I read that one too. Er, or, parts of it. In Latin class. I could be wrong, but the one thing that sticks out in my memory about it was that it had a character called "Lesbia." (Yes, I know, I have grown up =/) Unless that was some completely different Latin poem.

Don't worry about feeling like a highschooler, from what I remember that is actually where the word "lesbian" came from.

No, you're correct Shiri. How many of your kisses Lesbia, will ever be enough? And so on and so forth...

Badly remembered translation, but that's more or less how it goes.

That's the one. The odd thing was, I don't think Lesbia was a lesbian. So it'd be pretty weird if that WAS where the word came from...no one dared laugh though, ever. We had a Welsh latin teacher, and man was he ever fierce. He was like 60, but he played rugby so he was majorly tanky (OMG, I used that in a non-RPG context, someone kick me), and he had this sort of commanding aura like no one else ever had

And Neale, I AM the British equivalent of a highschooler I'm in sixth form, 16 years old now. I think that's 12th grade over in America. Could be wrong though. So I'll feel like a highschooler if I want *hum*

Actually - and I might be wrong on this - but from what I remember, the word lesbian has always had its origins in the Isle of Lesbos which is located in Greece.

Correct. Supposedly (according to classical myth) it was an island inhabited only by women. And not just any women; they were supposed to be the most beautiful ones in the world.

Ooh... That's news to me. I was under the impression that the word came from the Lesbian lesbian Sappho, who wrote a number of quite beautiful love poems to women.

That would be where the word "sapphic" comes from.

ok back to the book question... I think he just read Ayn Rand if your refering to what I think your refering to.

"48 Laws of Power" and "The Art of Seduction" are not Ayn Rand books...

Yeah, my mistake, I just remembered my Latin teacher mentioning it and what we did that year was mostly Ovid, so 2+2=5 and a half...

I didn't think they were. I ment if the reason he asked the question was because of something you said, it sounded more Ayn Randish to me.

never heard of those two books though. Though I have read how to make friends and influence others...

I have no idea why I was asked about those books. Looking them up, they sound more like Nicolò Machiavelli or Friedrich Nietzsche than Ayn Rand. I have read Machiavelli and Nietzsche. Though appalling authors, they are worth reading and have a good sense of humour at times.

I don't think Ayn Rand is really about gaining power, as the connotation of these titles would indicate. In "Return of the Primitive" I hear she attacks Nietzsche for advocating power mongering and having rule by the elite strongest few. (Though I have not yet read that book.) I think Rand's association with power is more in line with destroying it in relation to others and strengthening it in relation to yourself. IE-Complete power over one's self, but no right to power over others.

Huh. Reading Your tome in the fulcrux, I would've thought Roark was influenced by Nietzsche. Though perhaps Roark-the-IC-Divine is Nietzsche-esque even though Roark-the-mortal-OOC finds him appalling. -shrug-

Or maybe I was just distracted by the use of "Uber" in the tome. On a side note, I deplore, abhor, and just hate how "Uber" has become so prevalent, particularly on the internet. Whenever I see it, -especially- when used as a standalone word rather than a prefix, but even when it's used as some sort of cross-language mishmash word, I froth just a little bit. Perhaps not as much as I'd froth when I see the wrong "too", "your" or "its", but I froth.

Ahem. That turned into a rant. Terribly sorry.

I find also "uber" silly, but "ubermenche" is the word that Nietzsche uses and for some reason I think that form is an exception to the silliness, especially since translating it to "superman" is far sillier.

I don't particularly abhor Nietzche IRL. He can be appalling, but in other passages he can be funny and agreeable. Frequently he is all of that in the same breath, making him a truly unique writer. And even when he is appalling, sometimes his offensive observations are nonetheless true, not in terms of what ought to be but in terms of how things actually are.

One of the fun tasks with reading Nietzche is trying to get into his mindset to really understand his intent. For example, he believed conflict was the natural order of things and to be smiled upon, particularly between the genders. So when he says awful things like women are backstabbers and so forth, in his twisted mind that was probably a compliment, an act of praise!

Nietzsche and Machiavelli *daydream as he pats the copy of 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'* They are, as stated very bland writers but with Nietzsche in particular, it is fun to see someone with such an unusual and different take on everyday aspects of life. Another question, "The Art of War," ever read that one?

I did not find Nietzche all that bland. Anyone who says, regarding the media, "They vomit their bile and call it a newspaper" ("Thus Spake Zarathustra") has a rich way with words. Machiavelli is bland, but I think it works well for him. The casual matter-of-fact way he describes opressing your people and putting down your enemies makes the book amusing.

Ecce Homo is a good read, I struggled with Zarathustra and I always found his views a little hard to digest sometimes, although some of his concepts are incredible.

Neitzsche spanked his monkey more than was good for him apparently, to the point where his doctor prescribed something for it. I can't remember where I read that but it's one fact that has stuck in my memory. Or maybe I dreamed it. No, I couldn't have dreamed it, that's just too wierd.

err, I'll get my coat....