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Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
Author of Atlantis - The Antediluvian World
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1891
28 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
About the author
Ignatius L. Donnelly
50 books37 followersU.S. Congressman, populist writer and science writer.
His most known theories are on Atlantis, Shakespearean authorship and Catastrophism.
Ignatius Loyola Donnelly ran in multiple elections for governor of Minnesota and was Republican congressman from 1863–1868.
In 1892, Donnelly wrote the preamble of the People's Party's Omaha Platform for the presidential campaign of that year. He was nominated for Vice President of the United States in 1900 by the People's Party.
His most known theories are on Atlantis, Shakespearean authorship and Catastrophism.
Ignatius Loyola Donnelly ran in multiple elections for governor of Minnesota and was Republican congressman from 1863–1868.
In 1892, Donnelly wrote the preamble of the People's Party's Omaha Platform for the presidential campaign of that year. He was nominated for Vice President of the United States in 1900 by the People's Party.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 18, 2009
“Cæsar’s Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century” by Ignatius Donnelly is the 10th book in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series. “Cæsar’s Column” was first published in 1890 and though it is far from a great work, it holds a special place in the history of speculative fiction. The novel deals with a dystopian/utopian future (1988) and draws heavily on the author’s own political views. Ignatius Donnelly was a populist politician moving from party to party and switching positions on issues frequently, eventually joining the Republican party and being elected as Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and then to Congress. Donnelly also became known for his writing, as he wrote about such diverse topics as Atlantis, Ragnarok, and the true authorship of Shakespeare’s works. Those were all considered non-fiction works though, and after being discredited he wrote “Cæsar’s Column”, a fictional work, under the pseudonym of Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D., though this was more of a publicity stunt than a real attempt to conceal his identity.
“Cæsar’s Column” is an important work in the history of speculative fiction because it is one of the earliest works which brings the ideas of Jules Verne to an American audience, though certainly not with the same level of quality. This work also looks at social Darwinism, and Donnelly’s impression of where it will lead the society in the next 100 years. As is a general rule with this series, the quality comes not just with the works being presented, as many of them are far from ideal; but rather it is the supporting documentation which makes them well worth reading. In this case, it is the superb introduction and notes provided by Nicholas Ruddick which make this the ideal edition of this work to read.
“Cæsar’s Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century” takes place in the year 1988, mostly in New York City in a society which has decayed and lost its ideals. The narrator for much of the story is Gabriel Welstein, a visitor from the Swiss colony of Uganda, an agricultural utopian society. He has come to the U.S. to bypass the global Wool Ring which has monopolized the commodity, and most of the book is in the form of letters which Gabriel is writing to his brother Heinrich. In the city, Gabriel intervenes to save a beggar, who turns out to be Maximilian Petion, an attorney who is part of a brotherhood (the Brotherhood of Destruction) that is working to overthrow the corrupt ruling class.
Much of the story deals with Donnelly’s views on society and politics and in particular on the concept of social Darwinism. He provides a view of future technology which isn’t too far off the mark with airships, city streets alight, though with power obtained from the Aurora Borealis instead of electrical power plants. One could say that the televised newspapers are a foreshadowing of the internet as well.
There is some examples of anti-Semitism in the work as well, though as Ruddock discusses in his introduction it is probably not as severe as was the norm at the time, and cites evidence that of all the reviews of the book at the time, not one mentioned Jews or anti-Semitism. He goes on to suggest that Donnelly was concerned with the fate of humanity and not smaller groups of individuals, and that his use of some stereotypes to help the readers identify with larger groups. Indeed, he goes on to mention that Norman Pollack considers Donnelly to be offering anti-anti-Semitism as a solution for anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, the reader should be prepared for it and to take it in the context in which it was intended as well as the time in which it was written.
When viewed on its own, “Cæsar’s Column” is not a great book, or even a particularly good one. It is long winded at times, the characters are often two dimensional, and Donnelly’s views on politics and society are rather heavily forced on the reader. When it is taken into account the novel’s historical position as a bridge between Verne and modern speculative fiction, both in terms of time and society, as well as its early examples of dystopia/utopia and social Darwinism, then the book takes on added value. Add to that the excellent treatment it receives from Nicholas Ruddick and it is easily a four-star result, if not a little higher.
“Cæsar’s Column” is an important work in the history of speculative fiction because it is one of the earliest works which brings the ideas of Jules Verne to an American audience, though certainly not with the same level of quality. This work also looks at social Darwinism, and Donnelly’s impression of where it will lead the society in the next 100 years. As is a general rule with this series, the quality comes not just with the works being presented, as many of them are far from ideal; but rather it is the supporting documentation which makes them well worth reading. In this case, it is the superb introduction and notes provided by Nicholas Ruddick which make this the ideal edition of this work to read.
“Cæsar’s Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century” takes place in the year 1988, mostly in New York City in a society which has decayed and lost its ideals. The narrator for much of the story is Gabriel Welstein, a visitor from the Swiss colony of Uganda, an agricultural utopian society. He has come to the U.S. to bypass the global Wool Ring which has monopolized the commodity, and most of the book is in the form of letters which Gabriel is writing to his brother Heinrich. In the city, Gabriel intervenes to save a beggar, who turns out to be Maximilian Petion, an attorney who is part of a brotherhood (the Brotherhood of Destruction) that is working to overthrow the corrupt ruling class.
Much of the story deals with Donnelly’s views on society and politics and in particular on the concept of social Darwinism. He provides a view of future technology which isn’t too far off the mark with airships, city streets alight, though with power obtained from the Aurora Borealis instead of electrical power plants. One could say that the televised newspapers are a foreshadowing of the internet as well.
There is some examples of anti-Semitism in the work as well, though as Ruddock discusses in his introduction it is probably not as severe as was the norm at the time, and cites evidence that of all the reviews of the book at the time, not one mentioned Jews or anti-Semitism. He goes on to suggest that Donnelly was concerned with the fate of humanity and not smaller groups of individuals, and that his use of some stereotypes to help the readers identify with larger groups. Indeed, he goes on to mention that Norman Pollack considers Donnelly to be offering anti-anti-Semitism as a solution for anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, the reader should be prepared for it and to take it in the context in which it was intended as well as the time in which it was written.
When viewed on its own, “Cæsar’s Column” is not a great book, or even a particularly good one. It is long winded at times, the characters are often two dimensional, and Donnelly’s views on politics and society are rather heavily forced on the reader. When it is taken into account the novel’s historical position as a bridge between Verne and modern speculative fiction, both in terms of time and society, as well as its early examples of dystopia/utopia and social Darwinism, then the book takes on added value. Add to that the excellent treatment it receives from Nicholas Ruddick and it is easily a four-star result, if not a little higher.
December 3, 2015
Ignatius Donolley was a hack and a charlatan.
Caesar’s Column is little more than a plundering of motifs and haggard tropes from lurid 19th century romance novels (he ransacked George Lippard for everything the man was worth) all done up in prose so florid you need a machete to wade through it.
The novel’s sole redeeming quality is that it is set in the future (actually 1988) and reading Donnelly's conjectures is amusing...right up to the point when he drowns his novel in melodrama like an infant in a bathtub.
Caesar’s Column is little more than a plundering of motifs and haggard tropes from lurid 19th century romance novels (he ransacked George Lippard for everything the man was worth) all done up in prose so florid you need a machete to wade through it.
The novel’s sole redeeming quality is that it is set in the future (actually 1988) and reading Donnelly's conjectures is amusing...right up to the point when he drowns his novel in melodrama like an infant in a bathtub.
March 31, 2017
Sure, it is technologically dated (the technology of military domination in the book is basically zeppelins) and bigoted to boot. But it possesses a primitive brutal vigour that makes it work as a page-turner.
September 3, 2019
This tale made me think of 1984, a similar dystopian future view. You know in tales such as these some of the thoughts projected can actually be occurring just the expressed views are greatly exaggerated... I guess it just makes you really stop and think about today's society...
March 27, 2022
Reading this after his other two works, about Atlantis and Ragnarok respectively, one is in for a surprise. He was intelligent in more than one way.
He could see the writing on the wall about wave of leftist revolutions, although he didn't see it coming so fast. And he foretold aviation, television, and healthy food in an era when smoking was must for males, as was drinking.
Is he as racist here as in his other works? Hope not.
................................................................................................
Donelly reverts to his favourite form of racism, Hindu bashing. He quotes out of context, distorts, always misinterprets - and lies.
""If Nature, with her interminable fecundity, pours forth millions of human beings for whom there is no place on earth, and no means of subsistence, what affair is that of ours, my brethren? We did not make them; we did not ask Nature to make them. And it is Nature's business to feed them, not yours or mine. Are we better than Nature? Are we wiser? Shall we rebuke the Great Mother by caring for those whom she has abandoned? If she intended that all men should be happy, why did she not make them so? She is omnipotent. She permits evil to exist, when with a breath of her mouth she could sweep it away forever. But it is part of her scheme of life. She is indifferent to the cries of distress which rise up to her, in one undying wail, from the face of the universe. With stony eyes the thousand-handed goddess sits, serene and merciless, in the midst of her worshipers, like a Hindoo idol. Her skirts are wet with blood; her creation is based on destruction; her lives live only by murder. The cruel images of the pagan are truer delineations of Nature than the figures which typify the impotent charity of Christendom--an exotic in the midst of an alien world."
Donelly proceeds with further misusing Hinduism, Gods of Hinduism, and general racism.
""Let the abyss groan. Why should we trouble ourselves. Let us close our ears to the cries of distress we are not able to relieve. It was said of old time, 'Many are called, but few chosen.' Our ancestors placed a mythical interpretation on this text; but we know that it means:--many are called to the sorrows of life, but few are chosen to inherit the delights of wealth and happiness. Buddha told us, 'Poverty is the curse of Brahma'; Mahomet declared that 'God smote the wicked with misery'; and Christ said, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Why, then, should we concern ourselves about the poor? They are part of the everlasting economy of human society. Let us leave them in the hands of Nature. She who made them can care for them.
................................................................................................
" ... But even this condescension--to his unbounded astonishment--she declined with thanks. And then the silly little fool grew more desperate than ever, and battered up his poor brains with strong drink, and wept in maudlin fashion to his acquaintances. At last one of these--a fellow of the same kidney, but with more enterprise than himself--said to him: 'Why don't you carry her off?' Nathan opened his eyes very wide, stopped his sniffling and blubbering, and made up his mind to follow this sage advice. To obtain the necessary nerve for such a prodigious undertaking he fired up with still more whisky; and when the night came he was crazy with drink. Obtaining a carriage and another drunken fool to help him, he stationed himself beside the pavement, in the quiet street where Christina lived, and but a few doors distant from her house; and then, as she came along with her mother, he seized upon her, while his companion grasped Mrs. Jansen. He began to drag Christina toward the carriage; but the young girl was stronger than he was, and not only resisted him, but began to shriek, ably seconded by her mother, until the street rang. The door of their house flew open, and Mr. Jansen, who had recognized the voices of his wife and daughter, was hurrying to their rescue; whereupon the little villain cried in a tone of high tragedy, 'Then die!' and stabbed her in the throat with a little dagger he carried. He turned and sprang into the carriage; while the poor girl, who had become suddenly silent, staggered and fell into the arms of her father."
Donelly definitely did not invent this, nor did he write of someone of his own nation and race committing a crime that seems more in character with less civilised. He could have had a character of another race or creed commit this, but didn't.
As shocking as this is when anyone of a third world or islamic society commits it, it's far more so, not only that it could have happened in US, but that an author who was a congressman would publish a book in his own name with a mainstream character of upper middle class commit such a crime.
And even more so that such a book wasn't notorious but is mostly unknown!
................................................................................................
" ... "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her; while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering "the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject.
"And I could not help but think how kindly we should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and maturity upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, lowing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period; through all the conquests and bloody earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of "daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milkmaidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of our race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization."
Donelly is as unashamed of abusing Sanskrit literature after claiming it fraudulently as European culture is unashamed of slaughter of cattle despite truth of what Donelly says above.
No, they aren't Aryan in true sense of the word, even if some migration and intermarriage gave them access to languages derived from Sanskrit.
More likely, it was migration from outskirts of India. Even more likely, it was due to marauders from West capturing people from outskirts of Indian civilisation as slaves, and subsequent cultural contact.
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
First published January 1, 1891
Original Title
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
Read
March 27, 2022Reading this after his other two works, about Atlantis and Ragnarok respectively, one is in for a surprise. He was intelligent in more than one way.
He could see the writing on the wall about wave of leftist revolutions, although he didn't see it coming so fast. And he foretold aviation, television, and healthy food in an era when smoking was must for males, as was drinking.
Is he as racist here as in his other works? Hope not.
................................................................................................
Donelly reverts to his favourite form of racism, Hindu bashing. He quotes out of context, distorts, always misinterprets - and lies.
""If Nature, with her interminable fecundity, pours forth millions of human beings for whom there is no place on earth, and no means of subsistence, what affair is that of ours, my brethren? We did not make them; we did not ask Nature to make them. And it is Nature's business to feed them, not yours or mine. Are we better than Nature? Are we wiser? Shall we rebuke the Great Mother by caring for those whom she has abandoned? If she intended that all men should be happy, why did she not make them so? She is omnipotent. She permits evil to exist, when with a breath of her mouth she could sweep it away forever. But it is part of her scheme of life. She is indifferent to the cries of distress which rise up to her, in one undying wail, from the face of the universe. With stony eyes the thousand-handed goddess sits, serene and merciless, in the midst of her worshipers, like a Hindoo idol. Her skirts are wet with blood; her creation is based on destruction; her lives live only by murder. The cruel images of the pagan are truer delineations of Nature than the figures which typify the impotent charity of Christendom--an exotic in the midst of an alien world."
Donelly proceeds with further misusing Hinduism, Gods of Hinduism, and general racism.
""Let the abyss groan. Why should we trouble ourselves. Let us close our ears to the cries of distress we are not able to relieve. It was said of old time, 'Many are called, but few chosen.' Our ancestors placed a mythical interpretation on this text; but we know that it means:--many are called to the sorrows of life, but few are chosen to inherit the delights of wealth and happiness. Buddha told us, 'Poverty is the curse of Brahma'; Mahomet declared that 'God smote the wicked with misery'; and Christ said, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Why, then, should we concern ourselves about the poor? They are part of the everlasting economy of human society. Let us leave them in the hands of Nature. She who made them can care for them.
................................................................................................
" ... But even this condescension--to his unbounded astonishment--she declined with thanks. And then the silly little fool grew more desperate than ever, and battered up his poor brains with strong drink, and wept in maudlin fashion to his acquaintances. At last one of these--a fellow of the same kidney, but with more enterprise than himself--said to him: 'Why don't you carry her off?' Nathan opened his eyes very wide, stopped his sniffling and blubbering, and made up his mind to follow this sage advice. To obtain the necessary nerve for such a prodigious undertaking he fired up with still more whisky; and when the night came he was crazy with drink. Obtaining a carriage and another drunken fool to help him, he stationed himself beside the pavement, in the quiet street where Christina lived, and but a few doors distant from her house; and then, as she came along with her mother, he seized upon her, while his companion grasped Mrs. Jansen. He began to drag Christina toward the carriage; but the young girl was stronger than he was, and not only resisted him, but began to shriek, ably seconded by her mother, until the street rang. The door of their house flew open, and Mr. Jansen, who had recognized the voices of his wife and daughter, was hurrying to their rescue; whereupon the little villain cried in a tone of high tragedy, 'Then die!' and stabbed her in the throat with a little dagger he carried. He turned and sprang into the carriage; while the poor girl, who had become suddenly silent, staggered and fell into the arms of her father."
Donelly definitely did not invent this, nor did he write of someone of his own nation and race committing a crime that seems more in character with less civilised. He could have had a character of another race or creed commit this, but didn't.
As shocking as this is when anyone of a third world or islamic society commits it, it's far more so, not only that it could have happened in US, but that an author who was a congressman would publish a book in his own name with a mainstream character of upper middle class commit such a crime.
And even more so that such a book wasn't notorious but is mostly unknown!
................................................................................................
" ... "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her; while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering "the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject.
"And I could not help but think how kindly we should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and maturity upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, lowing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period; through all the conquests and bloody earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of "daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milkmaidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of our race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization."
Donelly is as unashamed of abusing Sanskrit literature after claiming it fraudulently as European culture is unashamed of slaughter of cattle despite truth of what Donelly says above.
No, they aren't Aryan in true sense of the word, even if some migration and intermarriage gave them access to languages derived from Sanskrit.
More likely, it was migration from outskirts of India. Even more likely, it was due to marauders from West capturing people from outskirts of Indian civilisation as slaves, and subsequent cultural contact.
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1891
Original Title
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
This edition Format 280 pages, Paperback
Published May 29, 2008
by BiblioLife
ISBN:- 9781426412301
(ISBN10: 1426412304)
August 12, 2019
Welp, this book certainly was antisemitic in a particularly blatant way. Don't get me wrong, it was also racist and sexist, but I got the feeling Donnelly was particularly vitriolic towards the Jews. I don't know how old the "globalist" conspiracy theory is, but, well, this book seems to go there.
If one could overlook the Isms this book carries, parts of it did have a pretty well-paced plot - although I thought the final quarter or so dragged. That said, none of the characters were particularly interesting or well-developed. Outsider (white settler from Uganda) Gabriel arrives in New York (I think? I mean, it was the States anyway) to attempt to bypass middlemen and sell fine wool (not that any of this goes anywhere). He rescues an impoverished and elderly man from being run over by a carriage, and in so doing, beats the daylights out of the carriage driver and sees the most beautiful and "pure" young woman every.
The beggar makes him run from the scene, because otherwise, Gabriel would be likely to be arrested, and reveals that he is actually a wealthy dude in a costume, which he dons to help his Brotherhood commit espionage and plan a big revolution.
Anyway, it's pretty racist and sexist and, oh, yeah, antisemitic, I didn't like the characters, and I look forward to not reading again.
If one could overlook the Isms this book carries, parts of it did have a pretty well-paced plot - although I thought the final quarter or so dragged. That said, none of the characters were particularly interesting or well-developed. Outsider (white settler from Uganda) Gabriel arrives in New York (I think? I mean, it was the States anyway) to attempt to bypass middlemen and sell fine wool (not that any of this goes anywhere). He rescues an impoverished and elderly man from being run over by a carriage, and in so doing, beats the daylights out of the carriage driver and sees the most beautiful and "pure" young woman every.
The beggar makes him run from the scene, because otherwise, Gabriel would be likely to be arrested, and reveals that he is actually a wealthy dude in a costume, which he dons to help his Brotherhood commit espionage and plan a big revolution.
Anyway, it's pretty racist and sexist and, oh, yeah, antisemitic, I didn't like the characters, and I look forward to not reading again.
July 25, 2016
This is a speculative fantasy science fiction novel that was a popular genre in 1891, when Ignatius Donnelly wrote it. It is written in an epistolary format between Gabriel Weltstein living in 1988 New York City and his brother Heinrich living in Uganda. New York is now a city of 10 million people that is cooled by giant air shafts reaching thousands of feet into the atmosphere, and is similarly heated by shafts extending thousands of feet into the earth. Man has learned how to harness the power of the earth's magnetic field, and use the aurora borealis for home lighting. Horses have been banned from the main commercial districts, but oddly enough, the horse is still the principle means of personal local travel. For longer distances there are fleets of aluminum clad dirigibles. Air travel to London is now possible in 36 hours. Alcoholic beverages were banned virtually world-wide years ago, though it has since been learned that alcohol occurs naturally in nature and is present in many basic foods. For this reason alcohol is now a processed food additive, as it is an ingredient that humans naturally crave. Life expectancy is now approaching 100 years through better diets, and by controlling the aging process caused by bacteria.
The world does not have a classless society. There are the ragged and the wretched, as well as the opulent oligarchical class. Slavery still exists in the wealthy class. The justice system is merely a tool for the rich. Newspapers are the hired mouthpieces of the powerful. These differences move much of the action in the story, as the two classes struggle in an apocalyptical battle. There are also two sappy love stories running concurrently with the class warfare.
Though much of the novel describes a dystopian society, we also see a utopian society in the end. The author describes a world that has a paper based currency, universal suffrage and education, a free cow for anyone who is poor, abolished compound interest, term limits for elected leaders, and strict limits on accumulated wealth. The ultimate goal is happiness rather that material success. Donnelly very wittily describes it as a world that even the conservatives of the day embrace, especially when offered the alternative.
Read
April 4, 2022Reading this after his other two works, about Atlantis and Ragnarok respectively, one is in for a surprise. He was intelligent in more than one way.
He could see the writing on the wall about wave of leftist revolutions, although he didn't see it coming so fast. And he foretold aviation, television, and healthy food in an era when smoking was must for males, as was drinking.
Is he as racist here as in his other works? Hope not.
................................................................................................
Donelly reverts to his favourite form of racism, Hindu bashing. He quotes out of context, distorts, always misinterprets - and lies.
""If Nature, with her interminable fecundity, pours forth millions of human beings for whom there is no place on earth, and no means of subsistence, what affair is that of ours, my brethren? We did not make them; we did not ask Nature to make them. And it is Nature's business to feed them, not yours or mine. Are we better than Nature? Are we wiser? Shall we rebuke the Great Mother by caring for those whom she has abandoned? If she intended that all men should be happy, why did she not make them so? She is omnipotent. She permits evil to exist, when with a breath of her mouth she could sweep it away forever. But it is part of her scheme of life. She is indifferent to the cries of distress which rise up to her, in one undying wail, from the face of the universe. With stony eyes the thousand-handed goddess sits, serene and merciless, in the midst of her worshipers, like a Hindoo idol. Her skirts are wet with blood; her creation is based on destruction; her lives live only by murder. The cruel images of the pagan are truer delineations of Nature than the figures which typify the impotent charity of Christendom--an exotic in the midst of an alien world."
Donelly proceeds with further misusing Hinduism, Gods of Hinduism, and general racism.
""Let the abyss groan. Why should we trouble ourselves. Let us close our ears to the cries of distress we are not able to relieve. It was said of old time, 'Many are called, but few chosen.' Our ancestors placed a mythical interpretation on this text; but we know that it means:--many are called to the sorrows of life, but few are chosen to inherit the delights of wealth and happiness. Buddha told us, 'Poverty is the curse of Brahma'; Mahomet declared that 'God smote the wicked with misery'; and Christ said, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Why, then, should we concern ourselves about the poor? They are part of the everlasting economy of human society. Let us leave them in the hands of Nature. She who made them can care for them.
................................................................................................
" ... But even this condescension--to his unbounded astonishment--she declined with thanks. And then the silly little fool grew more desperate than ever, and battered up his poor brains with strong drink, and wept in maudlin fashion to his acquaintances. At last one of these--a fellow of the same kidney, but with more enterprise than himself--said to him: 'Why don't you carry her off?' Nathan opened his eyes very wide, stopped his sniffling and blubbering, and made up his mind to follow this sage advice. To obtain the necessary nerve for such a prodigious undertaking he fired up with still more whisky; and when the night came he was crazy with drink. Obtaining a carriage and another drunken fool to help him, he stationed himself beside the pavement, in the quiet street where Christina lived, and but a few doors distant from her house; and then, as she came along with her mother, he seized upon her, while his companion grasped Mrs. Jansen. He began to drag Christina toward the carriage; but the young girl was stronger than he was, and not only resisted him, but began to shriek, ably seconded by her mother, until the street rang. The door of their house flew open, and Mr. Jansen, who had recognized the voices of his wife and daughter, was hurrying to their rescue; whereupon the little villain cried in a tone of high tragedy, 'Then die!' and stabbed her in the throat with a little dagger he carried. He turned and sprang into the carriage; while the poor girl, who had become suddenly silent, staggered and fell into the arms of her father."
Donelly definitely did not invent this, nor did he write of someone of his own nation and race committing a crime that seems more in character with less civilised. He could have had a character of another race or creed commit this, but didn't.
As shocking as this is when anyone of a third world or islamic society commits it, it's far more so, not only that it could have happened in US, but that an author who was a congressman would publish a book in his own name with a mainstream character of upper middle class commit such a crime.
And even more so that such a book wasn't notorious but is mostly unknown!
................................................................................................
" ... "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her; while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering "the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject.
"And I could not help but think how kindly we should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and maturity upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, lowing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period; through all the conquests and bloody earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of "daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milkmaidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of our race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization."
Donelly is as unashamed of abusing Sanskrit literature after claiming it fraudulently as European culture is unashamed of slaughter of cattle despite truth of what Donelly says above.
No, they aren't Aryan in true sense of the word, even if some migration and intermarriage gave them access to languages derived from Sanskrit.
More likely, it was migration from outskirts of India. Even more likely, it was due to marauders from West capturing people from outskirts of Indian civilisation as slaves, and subsequent cultural contact.
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
First published January 1, 1891
Original Title
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
Format 248 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2021
by Ragnar Redbeard
ISBN:- 9789198593358
(ISBN10: 9198593358)
He could see the writing on the wall about wave of leftist revolutions, although he didn't see it coming so fast. And he foretold aviation, television, and healthy food in an era when smoking was must for males, as was drinking.
Is he as racist here as in his other works? Hope not.
................................................................................................
Donelly reverts to his favourite form of racism, Hindu bashing. He quotes out of context, distorts, always misinterprets - and lies.
""If Nature, with her interminable fecundity, pours forth millions of human beings for whom there is no place on earth, and no means of subsistence, what affair is that of ours, my brethren? We did not make them; we did not ask Nature to make them. And it is Nature's business to feed them, not yours or mine. Are we better than Nature? Are we wiser? Shall we rebuke the Great Mother by caring for those whom she has abandoned? If she intended that all men should be happy, why did she not make them so? She is omnipotent. She permits evil to exist, when with a breath of her mouth she could sweep it away forever. But it is part of her scheme of life. She is indifferent to the cries of distress which rise up to her, in one undying wail, from the face of the universe. With stony eyes the thousand-handed goddess sits, serene and merciless, in the midst of her worshipers, like a Hindoo idol. Her skirts are wet with blood; her creation is based on destruction; her lives live only by murder. The cruel images of the pagan are truer delineations of Nature than the figures which typify the impotent charity of Christendom--an exotic in the midst of an alien world."
Donelly proceeds with further misusing Hinduism, Gods of Hinduism, and general racism.
""Let the abyss groan. Why should we trouble ourselves. Let us close our ears to the cries of distress we are not able to relieve. It was said of old time, 'Many are called, but few chosen.' Our ancestors placed a mythical interpretation on this text; but we know that it means:--many are called to the sorrows of life, but few are chosen to inherit the delights of wealth and happiness. Buddha told us, 'Poverty is the curse of Brahma'; Mahomet declared that 'God smote the wicked with misery'; and Christ said, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Why, then, should we concern ourselves about the poor? They are part of the everlasting economy of human society. Let us leave them in the hands of Nature. She who made them can care for them.
................................................................................................
" ... But even this condescension--to his unbounded astonishment--she declined with thanks. And then the silly little fool grew more desperate than ever, and battered up his poor brains with strong drink, and wept in maudlin fashion to his acquaintances. At last one of these--a fellow of the same kidney, but with more enterprise than himself--said to him: 'Why don't you carry her off?' Nathan opened his eyes very wide, stopped his sniffling and blubbering, and made up his mind to follow this sage advice. To obtain the necessary nerve for such a prodigious undertaking he fired up with still more whisky; and when the night came he was crazy with drink. Obtaining a carriage and another drunken fool to help him, he stationed himself beside the pavement, in the quiet street where Christina lived, and but a few doors distant from her house; and then, as she came along with her mother, he seized upon her, while his companion grasped Mrs. Jansen. He began to drag Christina toward the carriage; but the young girl was stronger than he was, and not only resisted him, but began to shriek, ably seconded by her mother, until the street rang. The door of their house flew open, and Mr. Jansen, who had recognized the voices of his wife and daughter, was hurrying to their rescue; whereupon the little villain cried in a tone of high tragedy, 'Then die!' and stabbed her in the throat with a little dagger he carried. He turned and sprang into the carriage; while the poor girl, who had become suddenly silent, staggered and fell into the arms of her father."
Donelly definitely did not invent this, nor did he write of someone of his own nation and race committing a crime that seems more in character with less civilised. He could have had a character of another race or creed commit this, but didn't.
As shocking as this is when anyone of a third world or islamic society commits it, it's far more so, not only that it could have happened in US, but that an author who was a congressman would publish a book in his own name with a mainstream character of upper middle class commit such a crime.
And even more so that such a book wasn't notorious but is mostly unknown!
................................................................................................
" ... "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her; while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering "the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject.
"And I could not help but think how kindly we should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and maturity upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, lowing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period; through all the conquests and bloody earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of "daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milkmaidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of our race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization."
Donelly is as unashamed of abusing Sanskrit literature after claiming it fraudulently as European culture is unashamed of slaughter of cattle despite truth of what Donelly says above.
No, they aren't Aryan in true sense of the word, even if some migration and intermarriage gave them access to languages derived from Sanskrit.
More likely, it was migration from outskirts of India. Even more likely, it was due to marauders from West capturing people from outskirts of Indian civilisation as slaves, and subsequent cultural contact.
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
First published January 1, 1891
Original Title
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
Format 248 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2021
by Ragnar Redbeard
ISBN:- 9789198593358
(ISBN10: 9198593358)
April 4, 2022
Reading this after his other two works, about Atlantis and Ragnarok respectively, one is in for a surprise. He was intelligent in more than one way.
He could see the writing on the wall about wave of leftist revolutions, although he didn't see it coming so fast. And he foretold aviation, television, and healthy food in an era when smoking was must for males, as was drinking.
Is he as racist here as in his other works? Hope not.
................................................................................................
Donelly reverts to his favourite form of racism, Hindu bashing. He quotes out of context, distorts, always misinterprets - and lies.
""If Nature, with her interminable fecundity, pours forth millions of human beings for whom there is no place on earth, and no means of subsistence, what affair is that of ours, my brethren? We did not make them; we did not ask Nature to make them. And it is Nature's business to feed them, not yours or mine. Are we better than Nature? Are we wiser? Shall we rebuke the Great Mother by caring for those whom she has abandoned? If she intended that all men should be happy, why did she not make them so? She is omnipotent. She permits evil to exist, when with a breath of her mouth she could sweep it away forever. But it is part of her scheme of life. She is indifferent to the cries of distress which rise up to her, in one undying wail, from the face of the universe. With stony eyes the thousand-handed goddess sits, serene and merciless, in the midst of her worshipers, like a Hindoo idol. Her skirts are wet with blood; her creation is based on destruction; her lives live only by murder. The cruel images of the pagan are truer delineations of Nature than the figures which typify the impotent charity of Christendom--an exotic in the midst of an alien world."
Donelly proceeds with further misusing Hinduism, Gods of Hinduism, and general racism.
""Let the abyss groan. Why should we trouble ourselves. Let us close our ears to the cries of distress we are not able to relieve. It was said of old time, 'Many are called, but few chosen.' Our ancestors placed a mythical interpretation on this text; but we know that it means:--many are called to the sorrows of life, but few are chosen to inherit the delights of wealth and happiness. Buddha told us, 'Poverty is the curse of Brahma'; Mahomet declared that 'God smote the wicked with misery'; and Christ said, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Why, then, should we concern ourselves about the poor? They are part of the everlasting economy of human society. Let us leave them in the hands of Nature. She who made them can care for them.
................................................................................................
" ... But even this condescension--to his unbounded astonishment--she declined with thanks. And then the silly little fool grew more desperate than ever, and battered up his poor brains with strong drink, and wept in maudlin fashion to his acquaintances. At last one of these--a fellow of the same kidney, but with more enterprise than himself--said to him: 'Why don't you carry her off?' Nathan opened his eyes very wide, stopped his sniffling and blubbering, and made up his mind to follow this sage advice. To obtain the necessary nerve for such a prodigious undertaking he fired up with still more whisky; and when the night came he was crazy with drink. Obtaining a carriage and another drunken fool to help him, he stationed himself beside the pavement, in the quiet street where Christina lived, and but a few doors distant from her house; and then, as she came along with her mother, he seized upon her, while his companion grasped Mrs. Jansen. He began to drag Christina toward the carriage; but the young girl was stronger than he was, and not only resisted him, but began to shriek, ably seconded by her mother, until the street rang. The door of their house flew open, and Mr. Jansen, who had recognized the voices of his wife and daughter, was hurrying to their rescue; whereupon the little villain cried in a tone of high tragedy, 'Then die!' and stabbed her in the throat with a little dagger he carried. He turned and sprang into the carriage; while the poor girl, who had become suddenly silent, staggered and fell into the arms of her father."
Donelly definitely did not invent this, nor did he write of someone of his own nation and race committing a crime that seems more in character with less civilised. He could have had a character of another race or creed commit this, but didn't.
As shocking as this is when anyone of a third world or islamic society commits it, it's far more so, not only that it could have happened in US, but that an author who was a congressman would publish a book in his own name with a mainstream character of upper middle class commit such a crime.
And even more so that such a book wasn't notorious but is mostly unknown!
................................................................................................
" ... "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her; while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering "the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject.
"And I could not help but think how kindly we should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and maturity upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, lowing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period; through all the conquests and bloody earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of "daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milkmaidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of our race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization."
Donelly is as unashamed of abusing Sanskrit literature after claiming it fraudulently as European culture is unashamed of slaughter of cattle despite truth of what Donelly says above.
No, they aren't Aryan in true sense of the word, even if some migration and intermarriage gave them access to languages derived from Sanskrit.
More likely, it was migration from outskirts of India. Even more likely, it was due to marauders from West capturing people from outskirts of Indian civilisation as slaves, and subsequent cultural contact.
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
Kindle Edition
Published October 4th 2009
ASIN B002RKT3OK
First published January 1, 1891
Original Title
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
He could see the writing on the wall about wave of leftist revolutions, although he didn't see it coming so fast. And he foretold aviation, television, and healthy food in an era when smoking was must for males, as was drinking.
Is he as racist here as in his other works? Hope not.
................................................................................................
Donelly reverts to his favourite form of racism, Hindu bashing. He quotes out of context, distorts, always misinterprets - and lies.
""If Nature, with her interminable fecundity, pours forth millions of human beings for whom there is no place on earth, and no means of subsistence, what affair is that of ours, my brethren? We did not make them; we did not ask Nature to make them. And it is Nature's business to feed them, not yours or mine. Are we better than Nature? Are we wiser? Shall we rebuke the Great Mother by caring for those whom she has abandoned? If she intended that all men should be happy, why did she not make them so? She is omnipotent. She permits evil to exist, when with a breath of her mouth she could sweep it away forever. But it is part of her scheme of life. She is indifferent to the cries of distress which rise up to her, in one undying wail, from the face of the universe. With stony eyes the thousand-handed goddess sits, serene and merciless, in the midst of her worshipers, like a Hindoo idol. Her skirts are wet with blood; her creation is based on destruction; her lives live only by murder. The cruel images of the pagan are truer delineations of Nature than the figures which typify the impotent charity of Christendom--an exotic in the midst of an alien world."
Donelly proceeds with further misusing Hinduism, Gods of Hinduism, and general racism.
""Let the abyss groan. Why should we trouble ourselves. Let us close our ears to the cries of distress we are not able to relieve. It was said of old time, 'Many are called, but few chosen.' Our ancestors placed a mythical interpretation on this text; but we know that it means:--many are called to the sorrows of life, but few are chosen to inherit the delights of wealth and happiness. Buddha told us, 'Poverty is the curse of Brahma'; Mahomet declared that 'God smote the wicked with misery'; and Christ said, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Why, then, should we concern ourselves about the poor? They are part of the everlasting economy of human society. Let us leave them in the hands of Nature. She who made them can care for them.
................................................................................................
" ... But even this condescension--to his unbounded astonishment--she declined with thanks. And then the silly little fool grew more desperate than ever, and battered up his poor brains with strong drink, and wept in maudlin fashion to his acquaintances. At last one of these--a fellow of the same kidney, but with more enterprise than himself--said to him: 'Why don't you carry her off?' Nathan opened his eyes very wide, stopped his sniffling and blubbering, and made up his mind to follow this sage advice. To obtain the necessary nerve for such a prodigious undertaking he fired up with still more whisky; and when the night came he was crazy with drink. Obtaining a carriage and another drunken fool to help him, he stationed himself beside the pavement, in the quiet street where Christina lived, and but a few doors distant from her house; and then, as she came along with her mother, he seized upon her, while his companion grasped Mrs. Jansen. He began to drag Christina toward the carriage; but the young girl was stronger than he was, and not only resisted him, but began to shriek, ably seconded by her mother, until the street rang. The door of their house flew open, and Mr. Jansen, who had recognized the voices of his wife and daughter, was hurrying to their rescue; whereupon the little villain cried in a tone of high tragedy, 'Then die!' and stabbed her in the throat with a little dagger he carried. He turned and sprang into the carriage; while the poor girl, who had become suddenly silent, staggered and fell into the arms of her father."
Donelly definitely did not invent this, nor did he write of someone of his own nation and race committing a crime that seems more in character with less civilised. He could have had a character of another race or creed commit this, but didn't.
As shocking as this is when anyone of a third world or islamic society commits it, it's far more so, not only that it could have happened in US, but that an author who was a congressman would publish a book in his own name with a mainstream character of upper middle class commit such a crime.
And even more so that such a book wasn't notorious but is mostly unknown!
................................................................................................
" ... "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her; while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering "the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject.
"And I could not help but think how kindly we should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and maturity upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, lowing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period; through all the conquests and bloody earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of "daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milkmaidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of our race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization."
Donelly is as unashamed of abusing Sanskrit literature after claiming it fraudulently as European culture is unashamed of slaughter of cattle despite truth of what Donelly says above.
No, they aren't Aryan in true sense of the word, even if some migration and intermarriage gave them access to languages derived from Sanskrit.
More likely, it was migration from outskirts of India. Even more likely, it was due to marauders from West capturing people from outskirts of Indian civilisation as slaves, and subsequent cultural contact.
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
Kindle Edition
Published October 4th 2009
ASIN B002RKT3OK
First published January 1, 1891
Original Title
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
Read
March 27, 2022Reading this after his other two works, about Atlantis and Ragnarok respectively, one is in for a surprise. He was intelligent in more than one way.
He could see the writing on the wall about wave of leftist revolutions, although he didn't see it coming so fast. And he foretold aviation, television, and healthy food in an era when smoking was must for males, as was drinking.
Is he as racist here as in his other works? Hope not.
................................................................................................
Donelly reverts to his favourite form of racism, Hindu bashing. He quotes out of context, distorts, always misinterprets - and lies.
""If Nature, with her interminable fecundity, pours forth millions of human beings for whom there is no place on earth, and no means of subsistence, what affair is that of ours, my brethren? We did not make them; we did not ask Nature to make them. And it is Nature's business to feed them, not yours or mine. Are we better than Nature? Are we wiser? Shall we rebuke the Great Mother by caring for those whom she has abandoned? If she intended that all men should be happy, why did she not make them so? She is omnipotent. She permits evil to exist, when with a breath of her mouth she could sweep it away forever. But it is part of her scheme of life. She is indifferent to the cries of distress which rise up to her, in one undying wail, from the face of the universe. With stony eyes the thousand-handed goddess sits, serene and merciless, in the midst of her worshipers, like a Hindoo idol. Her skirts are wet with blood; her creation is based on destruction; her lives live only by murder. The cruel images of the pagan are truer delineations of Nature than the figures which typify the impotent charity of Christendom--an exotic in the midst of an alien world."
Donelly proceeds with further misusing Hinduism, Gods of Hinduism, and general racism.
""Let the abyss groan. Why should we trouble ourselves. Let us close our ears to the cries of distress we are not able to relieve. It was said of old time, 'Many are called, but few chosen.' Our ancestors placed a mythical interpretation on this text; but we know that it means:--many are called to the sorrows of life, but few are chosen to inherit the delights of wealth and happiness. Buddha told us, 'Poverty is the curse of Brahma'; Mahomet declared that 'God smote the wicked with misery'; and Christ said, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Why, then, should we concern ourselves about the poor? They are part of the everlasting economy of human society. Let us leave them in the hands of Nature. She who made them can care for them.
................................................................................................
" ... But even this condescension--to his unbounded astonishment--she declined with thanks. And then the silly little fool grew more desperate than ever, and battered up his poor brains with strong drink, and wept in maudlin fashion to his acquaintances. At last one of these--a fellow of the same kidney, but with more enterprise than himself--said to him: 'Why don't you carry her off?' Nathan opened his eyes very wide, stopped his sniffling and blubbering, and made up his mind to follow this sage advice. To obtain the necessary nerve for such a prodigious undertaking he fired up with still more whisky; and when the night came he was crazy with drink. Obtaining a carriage and another drunken fool to help him, he stationed himself beside the pavement, in the quiet street where Christina lived, and but a few doors distant from her house; and then, as she came along with her mother, he seized upon her, while his companion grasped Mrs. Jansen. He began to drag Christina toward the carriage; but the young girl was stronger than he was, and not only resisted him, but began to shriek, ably seconded by her mother, until the street rang. The door of their house flew open, and Mr. Jansen, who had recognized the voices of his wife and daughter, was hurrying to their rescue; whereupon the little villain cried in a tone of high tragedy, 'Then die!' and stabbed her in the throat with a little dagger he carried. He turned and sprang into the carriage; while the poor girl, who had become suddenly silent, staggered and fell into the arms of her father."
Donelly definitely did not invent this, nor did he write of someone of his own nation and race committing a crime that seems more in character with less civilised. He could have had a character of another race or creed commit this, but didn't.
As shocking as this is when anyone of a third world or islamic society commits it, it's far more so, not only that it could have happened in US, but that an author who was a congressman would publish a book in his own name with a mainstream character of upper middle class commit such a crime.
And even more so that such a book wasn't notorious but is mostly unknown!
................................................................................................
" ... "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her; while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering "the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject.
"And I could not help but think how kindly we should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and maturity upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, lowing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period; through all the conquests and bloody earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of "daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milkmaidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of our race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization."
Donelly is as unashamed of abusing Sanskrit literature after claiming it fraudulently as European culture is unashamed of slaughter of cattle despite truth of what Donelly says above.
No, they aren't Aryan in true sense of the word, even if some migration and intermarriage gave them access to languages derived from Sanskrit.
More likely, it was migration from outskirts of India. Even more likely, it was due to marauders from West capturing people from outskirts of Indian civilisation as slaves, and subsequent cultural contact.
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
First published January 1, 1891
Original Title
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
June 21, 2019
***3.5 stars***
A political essay dressed up as a novel. It succeeds as often as it doesn't. It starts with an oppressive aristocracy and a secret worldwide network bent on bringing them down. It meanders sometimes into political soliloquies before bringing us to the inevitable triumph of the rebellion. The scenes of vengeance are brutal and of course, their overthrow of the established regime do not bring promised relief but rather degenerates into animalistic anarchy. It ends with our protagonists escaping and closing themselves off from the rest of the world by establishing a utopian government. Not sure I agree with the end because in my view no matter what safeguards you put to prevent the abuse of power human nature will find a way to abuse it (though perhaps that's just my cynicism). Preachy at times and certain events happen way too rapidly (the Column in question is proposed and that very same day hundreds of thousands have mobilized to build it?) but I did enjoy the cautionary tale.
A political essay dressed up as a novel. It succeeds as often as it doesn't. It starts with an oppressive aristocracy and a secret worldwide network bent on bringing them down. It meanders sometimes into political soliloquies before bringing us to the inevitable triumph of the rebellion. The scenes of vengeance are brutal and of course, their overthrow of the established regime do not bring promised relief but rather degenerates into animalistic anarchy. It ends with our protagonists escaping and closing themselves off from the rest of the world by establishing a utopian government. Not sure I agree with the end because in my view no matter what safeguards you put to prevent the abuse of power human nature will find a way to abuse it (though perhaps that's just my cynicism). Preachy at times and certain events happen way too rapidly (the Column in question is proposed and that very same day hundreds of thousands have mobilized to build it?) but I did enjoy the cautionary tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2024
This is a dystopian story written in 1890 and set in 1988. The author has our "1988 world" still traveling by horse and buggy and the ultimate weapon of the time is an airship. It is a social commentary on a world that is ruled by a rich, powerful aristocracy that cares only for its enrichment and survival. The author sees the masses rising up and destroying this oppressive government, only to discover once loosed the masses destroy nearly all of civilization.
It is a very timely novel and has a lot of food for thought for the 21st century world that is being ruled by a very wealthy elite that continues to get richer and the poor continue to get poorer.
You can get a free copy of this book for your Kindle.
It is a very timely novel and has a lot of food for thought for the 21st century world that is being ruled by a very wealthy elite that continues to get richer and the poor continue to get poorer.
You can get a free copy of this book for your Kindle.
October 26, 2019
Caesar’s Column is not what you think it is. It tells a story about a man venturing to New York City by an airship and got into trouble with a member of the elite society that rules the city. The man, Gabriel Weltstein, helped a beggar who apparently is a part of a rebel group led by Caesar Lomellini. The book got a boost of popularity because it has a romantic essence in it, and the ending was okay-ish.
February 6, 2020
A solid 2.5 until the end, which is wonderfully every wannabe anarchist's wet dream.
June 13, 2023
I have read the trilogy now. This was a bit slower than Pillars of The Earth and World Without End but still a fantastically written book.
I recommend all of his books for reading. So I am biased.
I recommend all of his books for reading. So I am biased.
October 23, 2025
Influential but badly-written constitutional essay.
May 13, 2023
I had such high hopes for this book; as a concept, modern-day dystopian science fiction written from the perspective of someone living the 1800s seemed like such a cool idea.
In practice, this book had no idea what the hell it wanted to be. It’s as if the author just tried to cram every theme imaginable into it.
As a pure work of science-fiction, it’s a pretty cool read. In particular, the conjectures Donnelly makes about how 1980’s NYC will look are very interesting, particularly with how much he got right about how the world would be 100 years later. As a romance, the book is a contrived disaster, and the language is so incredibly overwrought that it is difficult to read at best, and downright ridiculous at worst. On top of all of that, the author frequently uses the book as a means to project his own political thesis, but does so in a way that nearly completely fails to advance the plot.
Enter at your own risk, this book was a SLOG.
In practice, this book had no idea what the hell it wanted to be. It’s as if the author just tried to cram every theme imaginable into it.
As a pure work of science-fiction, it’s a pretty cool read. In particular, the conjectures Donnelly makes about how 1980’s NYC will look are very interesting, particularly with how much he got right about how the world would be 100 years later. As a romance, the book is a contrived disaster, and the language is so incredibly overwrought that it is difficult to read at best, and downright ridiculous at worst. On top of all of that, the author frequently uses the book as a means to project his own political thesis, but does so in a way that nearly completely fails to advance the plot.
Enter at your own risk, this book was a SLOG.
February 6, 2013
It's tough to give this book much of a recommendation, even as some of the scenes towards the end were emotionally provocative and occasionally thought-provoking. Just like The Time Machine, this late 19th century dystopian vision has a pretty basic message of social injustice... and clobbers you over the head with it again and again.
November 20, 2014
This is a heavy handed dystopian/utopian novel. It borrows heavily from from the futurist writers of the time including Jules Verne. Mostly written in the form of letters, it can be hard to follow at times. Its main claim to fame is that it was set in 1988. If you want to read it, read it as a piece of history, and not looking for a very deep meaning.
December 18, 2009
This was alright. Pretty typical 19th century dystopian fiction/satire. I liked the beginning, when it read more like an ethnography than the love story and subsequent political rant it became. Some of the prose(and Donnelly's predictions for the fucture!) amazed me though.
July 23, 2008
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July 15, 2011
This novel gets off to a good start and then runs off on a wild tangent. This book reminded me very much of V for Vendetta, and the beginning has a very cool Steampunk feel to it.
October 22, 2011
A sensationalist novel with a plot that eerily resembles the current Occupy Wall Street phenomena... Some interesting ideas but gets a bit rambly.
November 7, 2011
I really didn't like this novel. It's interesting enough as a primary text for studying the period, but as literature it's quite lacking.
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August 22, 2008Caesar's Column by Ignatius Donnelly (2004)
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