''Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World'' is a 1986 book by
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...
, titled after an observation by
St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
in ''
City of God'', proposing that what governments coin as "terrorism" in the small simply reflects what governments utilize as "warfare" in the large. Yet, governments coerce their populations to denounce the former while embracing the latter. In the ''City of God'', St. Augustine tells the story
Indeed, that was an apt and true reply which was given to Alexander the Great by a pirate who had been seized. For when that king had asked the man what he meant by keeping hostile possession of the sea, he answered with bold pride, "What do you mean by seizing the whole earth; because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, while you who does it with a great fleet are styled emperor".
This story also appears in
John Gower
John Gower (; c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and the Pearl Poet, and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the '' Mirour de l'Omme'', '' Vo ...
's ''
Confessio Amantis
''Confessio Amantis'' ("The Lover's Confession") is a 33,000-line Middle English poem by John Gower, which uses the confession made by an ageing lover to the chaplain of Venus as a frame story for a collection of shorter narrative poems. Acco ...
'' III.2363–2438 and in a poem by
François Villon
François Villon ( Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...
.
References
External links
*
Pirates and Emperors: International Terrorism and the Real World'
*
Pirates and Emperors: International Terrorism and the Real World'
*
Turning the Tide: U.S. intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace'
*
On Power and Ideology: The Managua Lectures'
*
'
* ''
ttps://libcom.org/files/rogue-states.pdf Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs'
*
Letters from Lexington: Reflections on Propaganda'
Political books
Books by Noam Chomsky
Books about terrorism
Books about foreign relations of the United States
Books about politics of the United States
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