Dear Dr. Weinstein,
I thought I'd brush up on some classical history, so I quickly read this edition* of Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans and took about 10 pages of notes. I was surprised at how much the oak symbol played out in classical politics. This does not mean any political connection to the Stuarts' usage of the oak, but it may allow me to suggest some cultural consistencies in concepts of classical images in Western statesmanship. Considering that I read a revised edition of Dryden's translation, I am even more attentive to Charles II's classical court revival (Dryden was Charles II's court poet). Before Christmas break I still need to finish Brus, read Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, get Brown's book, and find as much Royalist club sources as I can.
Wesley
*Plutarch. The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. Translated by John Dryden. Revised by Arthur Hugh Clough. New York: The Modern Library.
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