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Constantine & Naissus

A couple of centuries after Christ, Constantine was a very popular name. Especially among soldiers in the Roman and Byzantine empires, along with Greeks during their Macedonian age. Within Latin, Cōnstantīnus, and Greek, Κωνσταντῖνος (Kōnstantînos), the name literally means the one who's constant and steadfast, especially within military properties related to strength and stamina. In those times the land of my current location was called Moesia Superior , with the city of Naissus in the role of its main trade center and biggest military outpost for the Roman army. Today's name of the city is "Niš", the largest city of southern Serbia and also the city where I was born and where I have lived ever since. The Serbian usage of the name is "Konstantin", and even though it is not related to the the military anymore, the name is fairly popular nowadays among young Serbians. It was third on my list when my son was born simply because I really like names with strong ...
Constantine & Naissus

Dave Allen

There is a debate about the origin of the famous "heaven and hell" quote dating way back to the 19th century, and after little research, maybe Republican Benjamin Wade formulated it best: "I think, from all I can learn, that heaven has the better climate, but hell has the better company." There are similar sayings by others like Mark Twain and Peter Pan's father, James M. Barrie, but if you research it deeper, all the credits actually belong to Niccoló Machiavelli, who said on the topic exactly this: "I desire to go to Hell, not to Heaven. In Hell I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings, and princes, but in Heaven are only beggars, monks, hermits, and apostles". Maybe to understand better the Roman Catholic Church and its influence in the Dark Ages, when both Niccoló Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci shared one of the best places to live for free thinkers in the 15th-century Republic of Florence, the best thing to do is to start watching the great T...
Dave Allen