"It almost seems that the primary civilizations of the Greeks and the Chinese had an instinct of restraint and avoidance of extremes that was never quite shared by the derived civilizations of the Romans and the Japanese."

[greg lee]

It almost seems that the primary civilizations of the Greeks and the
Chinese had an instinct of restraint and avoidance of extremes that
was never quite shared by the derived civilizations of the Romans and
the Japanese.

http://books.google.com/books?id=1o1eFxruf-0C&q=%22It+almost+seems+that+the+primary+civilizations+of+the+Greeks+and+the+Chinese%22&dq=%22It+almost+seems+that+the+primary+civilizations+of+the+Greeks+and+the+Chinese%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=a-xkUZa4M6HgiwK4o4CoBg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ

[John W Kennedy]

Roman civilization wasn't exactly "derived" from the Greek. Its roots
in are a fusion of Old Indo-European and Etruscan, with a Greek veneer
applied rather late.

--
John W Kennedy
"But now is a new thing which is very old--
that the rich make themselves richer and not poorer,
which is the true Gospel, for the poor's sake."
-- Charles Williams. "Judgement at Chelmsford"

[Ed Cryer]

John W Kennedy wrote:
> On 2013-04-10 04:38:51 +0000, greg lee said:
>
>> It almost seems that the primary civilizations of the Greeks and the
>> Chinese had an instinct of restraint and avoidance of extremes that
>> was never quite shared by the derived civilizations of the Romans and
>> the Japanese.
>>
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=1o1eFxruf-0C&q=%22It+almost+seems+that+the+primary+civilizations+of+the+Greeks+and+the+Chinese%22&dq=%22It+almost+seems+that+the+primary+civilizations+of+the+Greeks+and+the+Chinese%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=a-xkUZa4M6HgiwK4o4CoBg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ
>>
>
> Roman civilization wasn't exactly "derived" from the Greek. Its roots in
> are a fusion of Old Indo-European and Etruscan, with a Greek veneer
> applied rather late.
>

That "Greek veneer" never went deep. "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes".
The Romans were highly pragmatic, no doubt like their Etruscan roots.
The vast majority of Romans didn't like Greeks; shifty little beggars
with little trimmed beards, sly ways and toffee-nosed attitudes.

Ed