SEVEN ROMANS

 

«For the safety of the Emperor, the vow that I,

Lucius Maximus Caetulicus, son of Lucius,

of the tribe Voltinia, from Vienna, made

as a new recruit in Legion XX Valeria Victrix

- to Imperial Victory, All-Divine and Most Reverend -

I have now fulfilled as chief centurion of

Legion I Italica, in the consulship of Marullus

and Aelianus, after 57 years of service.»

 

 

 

Scene no 82: Legionnaires of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix of the Imperial Roman Army (King and Country toy soldiers, Romans 2001) fight in a forest (Elastolin plastic trees) somewhere in Germania Inferior.

The text: Inscription of AD 184 from Novae in Lower Moesia.

DEVILISH CATECHISM

«And what are Gods, that Man may not become

As they, participating godlike food?

The Gods are first, and that advantage use

On our belief, that all from them proceeds.

I question it, for this fair Earth I see,

Warmed by the Sun, producing every kind,

Them nothing.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 81: Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge forbidden (Wilhelm Schweizer pewter piece, hand painted). In front of them, the ordinary snakes (Starlux and Elastolin soft plastic animals) that crawl in the grass (Unknown manufacturer) in the Garden of Eden. Behind them, the Serpent that has both speech and reason (Elastolin composition toys) watches them.

The verses: Satan’s guidance to the first woman. From Paradise Lost (Book IX), by John Milton.

ORBIS NON SUFFICIT

«All the greatest men are maniacs.

They are possessed by a mania which drives them forward towards their goal.

The great scientists, the philosophers, the religious leaders - all maniacs.»

 

 

 

 

 

Scene no 80: James Bond (Corgi toys, Icon collectible figures, hand painted) among eager young women (Topper toys, Dawn dolls) and Mercedes-Benz 300SL sport cars (SSS International toys, TINY GIANT series friction powered & Corgi toys, 50’s Classics series) in a hippie flower meadow (Topper toys, Dawn and her friends Doll Case).  

The statement: From DR. NO, the sixth James Bond novel by Ian Fleming.

THE NEW ERA IN SPACE

 

«I believe that this nation should commit itself

 to achieving the goal,

before this decade is out,

of landing a man on the moon

and returning him safely to the Earth.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 79: John F. Kennedy (Louis Marx and Company toys, plastic figurine, made in Hong Kong) in front of a Satellite launch rocket (Caltex toys, plastic missile, with box, made in Western Germany) and the Gemini space capsule (We Toys, plastic spacecraft, friction drive, detachable nose-cone, opening doors and removable astronauts, with box, made in Hong Kong).  

The statement: From the speech of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 (as he stood before a joint session of Congress).

DIVINE WIND

 

«There is no fear to stop me.

There is no anger to stop me.

There is no love to stop me.

There is no death.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 78: Kamikaze airplane (Oxford diecast 1:72 scale model Kawasaki Hein Ki61 KAI-Hei of HQ Chutai, 224^th Sentai, Chofu, Tokyo, Winter 1944/45) soaring through the clouds in the sky. Surrounded by the spirits of the glorious ancestors (ARGO Toy Soldiers Samurai warriors). Beneath the warlike wings, the cherry blossoms (Gean, Prunus Avium, WILLS’s CIGARETTES collectable cards, Flowering Trees & Shrubs, card no 21 from a series of 50).  

The verses: From World War II Japanese Kamikaze pilots Death Poetry.

EOSTRE

«Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated 

“Paschal month” 

and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named 

Eostre, 

in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 77: The goddess Eostre (MEGO Candi fashion doll made in Hong Kong) surrounded by symbols of fertility like hares and eggs (old plastic squeeze and dime store toys made in Greece from unknown manufacturers).  

The text: From “De temporum ratione” by the English Catholic monk St. Bede.

BALLAD OF BATTLE

 

«Father, I honor thee;

Not for earth’s hoards or honors we here are contending;

All that is holy our swords are defending:

Then falling, and conquering, I honor thee.

God, I repose in thee.

 

God, I repose in thee;

When the thunders of death my soul are greeting,

When the gashed veins bleed, and life is fleeting,

In thee, my God, I repose in thee.

Father, I call on thee.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 76: German soldiers (KOBER SPIELWAREN semi-flat zinnfiguren, Bavarian army Nr.2767 Infanterie im Gefecht, made in Austria) taking positions on a battlefield (LOTT’S BRICKS, solid stone building bricks and trees – British made).  

The lyrics: From the poem “Prayer During Battle” by Korner.