March 27, 2004

Disappointment

I was reading the New York Times Book Review article on Walter McDougall's Freedom Just Around the Corner this morning, and I came across this excerpt, quoting Samuel Huntington:

America is not a lie; it is a disappointment. But it can be a disappointment only because it is also a hope.
I just think that's a great line.

Posted by richard at 01:05 PM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2003

Gutenberg 10,000

Project Gutenberg is close to releasing it's 10,000 ebook: the Magna Carta. I hadn't read it since middle school, but I found it interesting that it spends so much time talking about debts owed to Jews, only to finish with the fact that other debts should be treated the same:

(10) If anyone who has borrowed a sum of money from Jews dies before the debt has been repaid, his heir shall pay no interest on the debt for so long as he remains under age, irrespective of whom he holds his lands. If such a debt falls into the hands of the Crown, it will take nothing except the principal sum specified in the bond.

(11) If a man dies owing money to Jews, his wife may have her dower and pay nothing towards the debt from it. If he leaves children that are under age, their needs may also be provided for on a scale appropriate to the size of his holding of lands. The debt is to be paid out of the residue, reserving the service due to his feudal lords. Debts owed to persons other than Jews are to be dealt with similarly.

Posted by richard at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)