{
  "export": {
    "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/3779",
    "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it.  Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.",
    "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'"
  },
  "archive": "urth",
  "thread": {
    "id": 3779,
    "subject": "Soldier of What?",
    "messages": 1,
    "voices": 1,
    "first": "2003-01-20T21:24:29+00:00",
    "last": "2003-01-20T21:24:29+00:00"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "<urth-v0301-2727@digest.urth.net>",
      "from": {
        "name": "Brett M. Grace",
        "address": "bgrace at mac.com"
      },
      "date": "2003-01-20T21:24:29+00:00",
      "subject": "(urth) Soldier of What?",
      "in_reply_to": null,
      "reply_link": null,
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "    Howdy all.\n\n    I was drawn to a reference to Soldier of Arete in somebody's blog \ntoday.  He mentioned off-handedly that \"[arete]... means 'a \nsharp-crested ridge in rugged mountains'\", the word deriving from the \nLatin for fishspine.\n\n    Having a smattering of Greek, and being ignorant of the perfectly \ncromulent English word, I took it to mean exclusively \"manliness, \nexcellence, virtue\" -- it's similar in usage to Latin's virtus if that \nmakes it clear.  I'm forced to plead, \"it looked Greek to me.\"\n\n    I had always thought that putting 'arete' in the title was a kind of \nsignpost stating \"this is not an accessible book.\"  Doubly so if its \nEnglish doppleganger has quite a different meaning.\n\n    Unless... it's an allusion to the rocky geography of the \nPelopennesus and Attica, where much of the action takes place.  Er, I \nthink.  My recollection of the book grows dim.  I had been bothered by \nthe lack of symmetry between \"Mist\" and \"Arete\" which this \ninterpretation eases.\n\n    Thoughts anyone?\n\nBMG\n\nPS:  Thucydides is also good background for the second book."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}