The Europa Barbarorum Quotes Project

[oudysseos]

Greetings Europa Barbarorum fans.




Here are the files for adding the new quotes to EB1.2

Download and extract the .zip-archive from here



Download and extract the .zip-archive.

Quotes goes in your EB/data/text folder.
Descr_quotes_lookup and descr_transition_screen go in your EB/data folder.

Say "yes" if asked to overwrite old files. It is always a good idea to backup your old files first, just in case. I will not of course take any responsibility if it all goes wrong somehow, although I might feel bad about it.

That's it. I have playtested these files on my own version of EB1 and have encountered no problems. If anyone does, PM me or post on this thread and I will do what I can to help.

The new quotes file contains ca. 240 quotes, at least half of which are new (you will have seen some of them on the quotes project thread). Almost all of the remaining old quotes have been redone to include correct citations and often the original language. A few old quotes do remain to be redone in this way.



I would like to invite you all to participate in an ongoing project to codify, correctly reference, and add variety to the loading screen quotes for Europa Barbarorum II. This is a chance for anyone and everyone to have something that they did included in the mod.

There are two parts to this task. The first is to go over the quotes that we have been using in EB1 and to better identify their sources. In many cases this would mean book, chapter and line numbers. This would be desirable even when the authenticity of the quote is not in question, as it would be an aid to anyone wishing to read further in the context of the original source, or if anyone wished to offer an improved translation.

For example, "Alea iacta est", "Let the dice fly high!" or "The die is cast." is I'm sure known by everyone in the RTW community as what Gaius Julius Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon. However, even this simple and well-know quote would benefit from better citation.

And so, when he was come to the river Rubicon, which was the boundary of the province allotted to him, he stood in silence and delayed to cross, reasoning with himself, of course, upon the magnitude of his adventure. Then, like one who casts himself from a precipice into a yawning abyss, he closed the eyes of reason and put a veil between them and his peril,

Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, "Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος," διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.

He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'Let the die be cast' and led the army across.
Plutarch, 'Life of Pompey, 60.2.9'

Caesar was in fact borrowing a phrase from Menander, a Greek writer of comedy, and some sardonic humour or irony may have been intended, and not the usual modern sense of 'things have gone past the point of no return'. According to Lewis and Short, the phrase used was a future active imperative, Iacta alea esto, "Let the die be cast!", or "Let the game be ventured!" This is the meaning of Plutarch's third-person imperative ἀνεῤῥίφθω κύβος.

Another version of the incident is

Cunctanti ostentum tale factum est. quidam eximia magnitudine et forma in proximo sedens repente apparuit harundine canens; ad quem audiendum cum praeter pastores plurimi etiam ex stationibus milites concurrissent interque eos et aeneatores, rapta ab uno tuba prosiliuit ad flumen et ingenti spiritu classicum exorsus pertendit ad alteram ripam. tunc Caesar: 'eatur,' inquit, 'quo deorum ostenta et inimicorum iniquitas uocat. iacta alea est,' inquit.

While he was thus hesitating, the following incident occurred. A person remarkable for his noble mien and graceful aspect, appeared close at hand, sitting and playing upon a pipe. When, not only the shepherds, but a number of soldiers also flocked from their posts to listen to him, and some trumpeters among them, he snatched a trumpet from one of them, ran to the river with it, and sounding the advance with a piercing blast, crossed to the other side. Upon this, Caesar exclaimed, " Let us go where the omens of the Gods and the iniquity of our enemies call us. The die is now cast."

Suetonius, Divus Iulius, paragraph 32/3

So just by correctly citing Plutarch and Suetonius, we open up a whole new world of possible meanings. Did Caesar speak in Greek or Latin? Was he being fatalistic, or was he trying to boost morale by being pithy and witty? There is not enough room on the loading screen for all of this, but a few line numbers make it possible for anyone to dig as deeply into it as they wish.

The second and probably more popular part of this project is to propose new quotes for inclusion into EB II. There are already many Greek and Latin authors, so it would be preferable to broaden our scope as much as possible. However, really good and interesting quotes from Latin or Greek are still worthwhile proposing.

What we're looking for are quotes contemporary to the 3rd century BCE and up to the 1st or 2nd century CE. Do not feel restricted to the 'Factions': quotes from or about any people on the map will be welcomed, from Lusitania to the Punjab and everywhere in between.

Sources from much later than our time period will probably not be considered. Beowulf, the Tain, the Hildebrandslied; these won't do. But it's better to try and find something good than not, so if in doubt post it.

Texts are the obvious place to look, but numismatic (coins) and epigraphic (inscriptions on stone) sources are also good. Someone could look into the Edicts of Ashoka, for example, or the Res Gestae.

The Perseus Project is a good place to start for texts, and my own Periplus thread has a lot of good links and some primary texts. There's lots out there, people. Go get 'em.





The Rules

1. No Spam will be tolerated. Spurious, "funny", or obscene posts will be deleted and the poster reported to global moderators if necessary. If the Team's time is wasted on policing juvenile spam, the project will be abandoned and the thread locked and/or deleted.

2. Read the Quotes already in EB or already proposed. Posting something that is already there just wastes everyone's time. A search of the thread will help determine if your author has already been posted.

3. Follow the Format, please.

Desired Format

Quote in original if possible
Quote translated
Author, Work, Chapter or Line if possible, other reference if not

4. The Team will decide which quotes will be included. There may be an upper limit to how many quotes are possible, and overall balance will also be a consideration. Ultimately, we'll decide which quotes go in the release, although anyone can modify their own version if they wish.







These Quotes Still Need Proper Citation (Updated June 12- I might have missed one or two)

{Author_102}	Aeschylus
{Quote_102}	In war, truth is the first casualty

{Author_114}	Dionysius of Halicarnassus
{Quote_114}	Only the brave enjoy noble and glorious deaths.

{Author_121}	Euripides
{Quote_121}	Danger gleams like sunshine to a brave man's eyes.

{Author_132}	Thucydides
{Quote_132}	Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.

{Author_138}	Hannibal, asked by Antiochus if his richly ornamented army was enough to defeat the Romans at Magnesia, ca. 189BC
{Quote_138}	Indeed they will be more than enough, even though the Romans are the greediest nation on earth!

{Author_141}	Athenogoras of Syracuse
{Quote_141}	If a man does not strike first, he will be the first struck.

{Author_144}	Polybius, The Histories, On the Mercenaries War
{Quote_144}	This war had lasted for three years and four months, and it far excelled all wars we know of in cruelty and defiance of principle.

{Author_28}	Thucydides
{Quote_28}	A collision at sea can ruin your entire day.

{Author_45}	Lucius Annaeus Seneca
{Quote_45}	In war there is no prize for runner-up.

{Author_51}	Hieronymus of Cardia
{Quote_51}	The Celts rushed on their enemy with the fury of a wild beast. Hacked with swords and axes, and pierced with missles, their rage died only with life itself. Some even plucked out the weapons that struck them and hurled them back at the Greeks.

{Author_57}	Polybius
{Quote_57}	A good general not only sees the way to victory, he also knows when victory is impossible.

{Author_58}	Polybius
{Quote_58}	In war we must always leave room for strokes of fortune, and accidents that cannot be foreseen.

{Author_62}	Lucius Annaeus Seneca
{Quote_62}	Quemadmoeum gladis nemeinum occidit, occidentis telum est                                                   A sword is never a killer, it's a tool in the killer's hands.

{Author_67}	Socrates
{Quote_67}	A disorderly mob is no more an army than a heap of building materials is a house.

{Author_68}	Sophacles
{Quote_68}	Quick decisions are unsafe decisions.

{Author_75}	Thucydides
{Quote_75}	War is not so much a matter of weapons as of money.

{Author_77}	Hannibal Barca, addressing Phormio's lecture on leadership
{Quote_77}	I have seen during my life many an old fool; but this one beats them all.

{Author_82}	Xenophon
{Quote_82}	When one side goes against the enemy with the gods' gift of stronger morale, then their adversaries, as a rule, cannot withstand them.

{Author_87}	Aeschylus
{Quote_87}	...now in place of the young men urns and ashes are carried home to houses of the fighters.

{Author_88}	Demosthenes
{Quote_88}	Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.

{Author_97}	Euripides
{Quote_97}	Courage may be taught as a child is taught to speak.