PRELUDE
After a brief stint abroad I have decided to resume my work on the fabulous Quotidian. While I was away on my travels, many questions presented themselves to me, mostly about the strange and exotic lands and peoples of the European continent. I resolved to answer them here, not only for my own benefit, but so that all may be a little more familiar with the subtle—yet important—distinctions the Europeans make amongst themselves.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone.”
—the Dhammapada

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”
—St. Augustine

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
—Mark Twain

“I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.”
—George Bernard Shaw

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”
—Lao Tzu

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

JULY 27, 1794: Robespierre, architect of the French Revolution’s “Reign of Terror,” is placed under arrest by the National Convention. The following evening, he and 21 followers are guillotined without a trial in the Place de Rývolution. Four years earlier, Robespierre was elected to the Committee of Public Safety, which had been formed to protect France against enemies both foreign and domestic. With Robespierre at its head, the Committee exercised virtual dictatorial control over the French government, and was responsible for the imprisonment of some 300,000 suspected enemies of the Revolution. More than 10,000 died while in prison, and another 17,000 were executed, mostly by guillotine. When the threat of foreign invasion waned, Robespierre’s Reign of Terror was seen as too radical, and he was subsequently removed from power. Source: www.historychannel.com/tdih.