菲利普·狄克(1928年12月16日–1982年3月2日)畢生作品包括44部長篇小說、121篇短篇小說以及14冊短篇集。[1]狄克生前名聲僅止於科幻小說界,不少作品甚至早已絕版。[2]事到如今,他全部的44部長篇小說已經翻譯遍及25種語言。[3]狄克從1938年到1982年間所撰寫的私人信函,也在編輯精選後,於1991年到2009間出版成6大冊。
美國圖書館發行過三套狄克的作品選集,第一部出版於2007年六月,收錄有《高堡奇人》《The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch》《銀翼殺手》和《尤比克》,是第一部名列美國圖書館經典集的科幻小說。[4][5]第二部選集出版於2008年七月,收錄有《Martian Time-Slip》《血錢博士》《Now Wait for Last Year》《流吧!我的眼淚》和《心機掃描》。第三部選集出版於2009年七月,收錄有《死亡迷局》以及「VALIS三部曲(《VALIS》《The Divine Invasion》和《The Transmigration of Timothy Archer》)」。至少有9部電影改編自狄克的作品,其中雷利·史考特執導的電影《銀翼殺手》享有「大師傑作」美譽。[6]
Five recurring philosophical themes in Dick's work have been classified by Philip K. Dick scholar Erik Davis: false realities, human vs. machine, entropy, the nature of God, and social control.[7] In Understanding Philip K. Dick, Eric Carl Link discussed eight themes or 'ideas and motifs':[8] Epistemology and the Nature of Reality, Know Thyself, The Android and the Human, Entropy and Pot Healing, The Theodicy Problem, Warfare and Power Politics, The Evolved Human, and 'Technology, Media, Drugs and Madness'.[9]
出版作品
Dates in this bibliography are for completion of first (and usually only) draft. Publication dates follow separately.
- (+) indicates subsequent significant expansion
- (*) indicates subsequent revision or minor expansion
- (LOA#) indicates the volume of the Library of America omnibus (see below)
小說年代序
Year | Title | Published | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1950 | Gather Yourselves Together | 1994 | |
1952 | Voices from the Street | 2007 | |
1953 | Vulcan's Hammer | 1960 | + |
1953 | Dr. Futurity | 1960 | + |
1953 | The Cosmic Puppets | 1957 | * |
1954 | Solar Lottery | 1955 | * |
1954 | Mary and the Giant | 1987 | * |
1954 | The World Jones Made | 1956 | |
1955 | Eye in the Sky | 1957 | |
1955 | The Man Who Japed | 1956 | |
1956 | A Time for George Stavros | 手稿佚失 | |
1956 | Pilgrim on the Hill | 手稿佚失 | |
1956 | The Broken Bubble | 1988 | |
1957 | Puttering About in a Small Land | 1985 | |
1958 | Nicholas and the Higs | 手稿佚失 | |
1958 | Time Out of Joint | 1959 | |
1958 | In Milton Lumky Territory | 1985 | |
1959 | Confessions of a Crap Artist | 1975 | |
1960 | The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike | 1984 | |
1960 | Humpty Dumpty in Oakland | 1986 | |
1961 | 高堡奇人 The Man in the High Castle |
1962 | 1963年雨果獎最佳長篇小說[10] LOA1 |
1962 | We Can Build You | 1972 | First published as A. Lincoln, Simulacrum as a serial in Amazing Stories issues for November 1969 and January 1970. |
1962 | Martian Time-Slip | 1964 | LOA2 |
1963 | Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb | 1965 | 1965年星雲獎入圍[11]
LOA2 |
1963 | The Game-Players of Titan | 1963 | |
1963 | The Simulacra | 1964 | |
1963 | The Crack in Space | 1966 | as Cantata-140 (1966) |
1963 | Now Wait for Last Year | 1966 | LOA2 |
1964 | Clans of the Alphane Moon | 1964 | |
1964 | The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | 1965 | 1965年星雲獎入圍[11]
LOA1 |
1964 | The Zap Gun | 1967 | |
1964 | The Penultimate Truth | 1964 | |
1964 | Deus Irae | 1976 | with Roger Zelazny *+ |
1964 | The Unteleported Man | 1966 | as Lies, Inc. (1984) *+ |
1965 | The Ganymede Takeover | 1967 | with Ray Nelson * |
1965 | Counter-Clock World | 1967 | + |
1966 | 銀翼殺手 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? |
1968 | 1968年星雲獎入圍[12] 台灣:銀翼殺手,洪凌譯,一方出版,2004年5月出版 中國:仿生人會夢見電子羊嗎,許東華譯,譯林出版社,2013年9月出版 LOA1 |
1966 | Nick and the Glimmung | 1988 | 童書 |
1966 | 尤比克 Ubik |
1969 | LOA1 |
1968 | Galactic Pot-Healer | 1969 | |
1968 | A Maze of Death | 1970 | LOA3 |
1969 | Our Friends from Frolix 8 | 1970 | |
1970 | 流吧!我的眼淚 Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said |
1974 | Nebula Award nominee, 1974;[13] John W. Campbell Award winner, 1975;[14] Hugo Award nominee, 1975;[14] Locus Award nominee, 1975;[14] LOA2 * |
1973 | 心機掃描 A Scanner Darkly |
1977 | British Science Fiction Award winner, 1978;[15] John W. Campbell Award nominee, 1978;[15] LOA2 * |
1976 | Radio Free Albemuth | 1985 | |
1978 | VALIS | 1981 | LOA3 |
1980 | The Divine Invasion | 1981 | British Science Fiction Award nominee, 1982;[16] LOA3 |
1981 | The Transmigration of Timothy Archer | 1982 | Nebula Award nominee, 1982;[16] Locus Award nominee, 1983;[17] LOA3 |
1982 | The Owl in Daylight | 作品未完成 |
Library of America
The Library of America has republished 13 of Dick's 44 novels:
- 2007
- Four Novels of the 1960s: The Man in the High Castle/The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?/Ubik ISBN 978-1-59853-009-4
- 2008
- Philip K. Dick: Five Novels of the 1960s and 70s: Martian Time Slip / Dr. Bloodmoney / Now Wait for Last Year / Flow My Tears the Policeman Said / A Scanner Darkly ISBN 978-1-59853-025-4
- 2009
- Philip K. Dick: VALIS and Later Novels: A Maze of Death/VALIS/The Divine Invasion/The Transmigration of Timothy Archer ISBN 978-1-59853-044-5
短篇集作品列表
出版年代 | 作品名稱 | 備註 |
1955 | A Handful of Darkness | |
---|---|---|
1957 | The Variable Man And Other Stories | |
1969 | The Preserving Machine | |
1973 | The Book of Philip K. Dick | 1977年重新出版為《The Turning Wheel and Other Stories》 |
1977 | The Best of Philip K. Dick | |
1980 | 關鍵下一秒 The Golden Man |
台灣:關鍵下一秒,杜可名譯,正中書局,2007年4月出版 |
1984 | Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities | |
1985 | I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon | |
1987 | The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick | |
1988 | Beyond Lies the Wub | |
1989 | Second Variety | 與1991年版的選集同名,但所收錄的短篇大不相同 |
The Father-Thing | ||
1990 | The Days of Perky Pat | |
The Little Black Box | ||
The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford | ||
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale | ||
1991 | 關鍵報告 The Minority Report |
與2002年版的選集同名,但所收錄的短篇大不相同 台灣:關鍵報告,嚴韻譯,一方出版,2002年7月出版(單一短篇節譯) |
Second Variety | 與1989年版的選集同名,但所收錄的短篇大不相同 | |
1992 | The Eye of the Sibyl | |
1997 | The Philip K. Dick Reader | |
2002 | 少數派報告 Minority Report |
與1991年版的選集同名,但所收錄的短篇大不相同 中國:少數派報告,曾鳴譯,江蘇教育出版社,2003年1月出版 中國:少數派報告,周昭蓉譯,譯林出版社,2013年9月出版 |
Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick | ||
2004 | 記憶裂痕 Paycheck |
台灣:記憶裂痕,周慧萍譯,墨文堂文化,2005年10月出版 |
2006 | Vintage PKD | |
2009 | The Early Work of Philip K. Dick, Volume One: The Variable Man & Other Stories | |
The Early Work of Philip K. Dick, Volume Two: Breakfast at Twilight & Other Stories | ||
2013 | The Best of Philip K. Dick |
Comparison of editions
The five volumes of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick were re-published and sold separately by Gollancz and later by Citadel Twilight and by Subterranean Press. For the Citadel Twilight editions the volumes were renamed and two stories were moved from one volume to another. The following table provides a comparison of the corresponding volumes from the various editions.
Short stories
- 1952
- "Beyond Lies the Wub"
- "The Gun"
- "The Little Movement"
- "The Skull"
- 1953
- "The Builder"
- "Colony"
- "The Commuter"
- "The Cookie Lady"
- "The Cosmic Poachers"
- "The Defenders"
- "Expendable"
- "The Eyes Have It"
- "The Great C" (adapted into the novel Deus Irae)
- "The Hanging Stranger"
- "The Impossible Planet"
- "Impostor"
- "The Indefatigable Frog"
- "The Infinites"
- "The King of the Elves"
- "Martians Come in Clouds"
- "Mr. Spaceship"
- "Out in the Garden"
- "Paycheck"
- "Piper in the Woods"
- "Planet for Transients"
- "The Preserving Machine"
- "Project: Earth"
- "Roog"
- "Second Variety"
- "Some Kinds of Life"
- "Tony and the Beetles"
- "The Trouble with Bubbles"
- "The Variable Man"
- "The World She Wanted"
- 1954
- "Adjustment Team"
- "Beyond the Door"
- "Breakfast at Twilight"
- "The Crawlers"
- "The Crystal Crypt"
- "Exhibit Piece"
- "The Father-thing"
- "The Golden Man"
- "James P. Crow"
- "Jon's World"
- "The Last of the Masters" (aka "Protection Agency")
- "Meddler"
- "Of Withered Apples"
- "A Present for Pat"
- "Prize Ship"
- "Progeny"
- "Prominent Author"
- "Sales Pitch"
- "Shell Game"
- "The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford"
- "Small Town"
- "Souvenir"
- "Strange Eden"
- "Survey Team"
- "Time Pawn"
- "The Turning Wheel"
- "Upon the Dull Earth"
- "A World of Talent"
- 1955
- 1957
- "Misadjustment"
- "The Unreconstructed M"
- 1958
- "Null-O"
- 1959
- "Explorers We"
- "Fair Game"
- "Recall Mechanism"
- "War Game"
- 1963
- "The Days of Perky Pat"
- "If There Were No Benny Cemoli"
- "Stand-by"
- "What'll We Do with Ragland Park?"
- 1964
- 1965
- "Retreat Syndrome"
- 1966
- "Holy Quarrel"
- "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale"
- "Your Appointment Will Be Yesterday"
- 1967
- "Faith of Our Fathers"
- "Return Match"
- 1968
- "Not by Its Cover"
- "The Story to End All Stories for Harlan Ellison’s Anthology ''Dangerous Visions''"
- 1969
- "The Electric Ant"
- 1979
- "The Exit Door Leads In"
- 1980
- "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon" (Originally titled "Frozen Journey".)
- "Rautavaara's Case"
- "Chains of Air, Web of Aether"
- 1981
- "The Alien Mind"
- 1984
- "Strange Memories of Death"
- 1987
- "Cadbury, the Beaver Who Lacked"
- "The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree"
- "The Eye of the Sibyl"
- "Stability"
- "A Terran Odyssey"
- 1988
- "Goodbye, Vincent"
Other short works
- 1987
- "Fawn, Look Back" (novel outline)
- 1992
- "The Different Stages of Love" (previously unpublished passage from Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said)
- 2010
- "Menace React" (fragment)
Collected non-fiction
- 1988: The Dark Haired Girl[18]
- 1995: The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected Literary and Philosophical Writings[19]
- 2011: The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, Jonathan Lethem and Pamela Jackson, eds. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publisher[20]
Correspondence
- The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1938–1971. Grass Valley, California : Underwood Books, 1996 (Trade edition) ISBN 1-887424-20-2 (Slipcased edition) ISBN 1-887424-21-0[21]
- The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1972–1973. Novato, California : Underwood-Miller, 1994 ISBN 0-88733-161-0
- The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1974. Novato, California : Underwood-Miller, 1991 ISBN 0-88733-104-1
- The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1975–1976. Novato, California : Underwood-Miller, 1993 ISBN 0-88733-111-4
- The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1977–1979. Novato, California : Underwood-Miller, 1993 ISBN 0-88733-120-3
- The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1980–1982. Grass Valley, California : Underwood Books, 2010 (Trade edition) ISBN 1-887424-26-1 (Slipcased edition) ISBN 1-887424-27-X
Film adaptations
Further reading
Primary bibliographies
- PRECIOUS ARTIFACTS: A Philip K. Dick Bibliography, United States of America and United Kingdom Editions, 1955 - 2012. Compiled by Henri Wintz and David Hyde. (Wide Books 2012). ISBN 9781478101949 www.wide-books.com Full color, 142 pages
- PRECIOUS ARTIFACTS 2: A Philip K. Dick Bibliography, The Short Stories, United States, United Kingdom and Oceania, 1952 - 2014. Compiled by Henri Wintz and David Hyde (Wide Books 2014). ISBN 9781502725684 www.wide-books.com Full color, 216 pages
Biographies
- Arnold, Kyle (2016), The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199743258
- Capanna, Pablo (1995). Philip K. Dick - Idios Kosmos. Almagesto (Spanish Language) ISBN 950-751-112-1
- Carrère, Emmanuel. Bent, Timothy. (translator) (2005). I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey into the Mind of Philip K. Dick. Picador. ISBN 0-312-42451-5
- Dick, Ann R. (Former Wife). (1995). Search for Philip K. Dick, 1928-1982: A Memoir and Biography of the Science Fiction Writer. Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-9137-6
- Mason, Darryl. (In Progress [23]). The Biography of Philip K. Dick. Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-07280-6
- Mini, Anne. A Family Darkly : Love, Loss, and the Final Passions of Philip K. Dick. Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1638-X (Unpublished [24][25][26] )
- Peake, Anthony. (2013). A Life of Philip K. Dick - A Man Who Remembered the Future. Arcturus Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-78212-242-5
- Rickman, Gregg. (1989). To the High Castle: Philip K. Dick: A Life 1928-1962. Fragments West. ISBN 978-0-916063-24-5
- Sutin, Lawrence (Official biographer). (1989). Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick. Citadel Press; Rep edition. ISBN 0-8065-1228-8
- Williams, Paul. (1986). Only Apparently Real - The Worlds of Philip K. Dick. Entwhistle Books. ISBN 0-934558-31-0
- Wilson, Colin. "Was Philip K. Dick Possessed by an Angel?" (1992) in Unsolved Mysteries Past and Present. Contemporary Books. ISBN 0-8092-4091-2
Interviews
- Apel, D. Scott. (1999). Philip K. Dick : The Dream Connection. The Impermanent Press. ISBN 1-886404-03-8
- Lee, Gwen (ed). (2000) What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations Of Philip K. Dick. Overlook Press. ISBN 1-58567-378-1
- Rickman, Gregg. (1984). Philip K. Dick: In His Own Words. Fragments West.
- Rickman, Gregg. (1985). Philip K. Dick: The Last Testament. Fragments West.
Book-length critical studies
- Arnold, Kyle. (2016). The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick. Oxford University Press.
- Barlow, Aaron. (2005). How Much Does Chaos Scare You?: Politics, Religion, And Philosophy in the Fiction of Philip K. Dick. Lulu Press. ISBN 1-4116-3349-0
- Butler, Andrew M. (2000). Philip K. Dick. Pocket Essentials. ISBN 1-903047-29-3
- Butler, Andrew M. (2007). Philip K. Dick. [Enlarged edition] Pocket Essentials. ISBN 978-1-904048-92-3
- De Angelis, Valerio Massimo and Umberto Rossi (eds.) (2006). Trasmigrazioni: I mondi di Philip K. Dick. Le Monnier. ISBN 978-88-00-20475-0
- Frasca, Gabriele (2007). L'oscuro scrutare di Philip K. Dick. Meltemi. ISBN 978-88-8353-538-3
- Caronia, Antonio and Domenico Gallo (eds.) (2006). La macchina della paranoia: Enciclopedia dickiana. X Book. ISBN 978-88-95029-09-2
- Kerman, Judith B. (ed.). Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1991). Rpt. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press (1995). ISBN 978-0-87972-510-5
- Kucukalic, Lejla (2008). Philip K. Dick: Canonical Writer of the Digital Age. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96242-1
- Lemant, Aurélien (2012). TRAUM : Philip K. Dick, le martyr onirique. Editions Le Feu Sacré. ISBN 978-2-9541294-1-9
- Link, Eric Carl (2010). Understanding Philip K. Dick. Columbia: The University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-855-6
- Lampe, Evan (2015). Philip K. Dick and the World We Live In Wide Books. ISBN 9781508741497
- Lord R.C. (2007) PINK BEAM: A Philip K. Dick Companion Lulu Publishers. Trade paperback, 322pp. ISBN 978-1-4303-2437-9
- Mackey, Douglas A. (1988). Philip K. Dick. Twayne. ISBN 0-8057-7515-3
- McKee, Gabriel. (2004). Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter : The Science-Fictional Religion of Philip K. Dick. University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-2673-4
- Mullen, R.D. (editor). (1992). On Philip K. Dick: 40 Articles from Science-Fiction Studies. SF-TH. ISBN 0-9633169-1-5
- Olander, Joseph D. and Martin Harry Greenberg (eds.) (1983). Philip K. Dick. New York: Taplinger.
- Palmer, Christopher. (2003). Philip K. Dick : Exhilaration and Terror of the Postmodern. Liverpool Univ. Press. ISBN 0-85323-628-3
- Pierce, Hazel. (1982). Philip K. Dick. Borgo Press. ISBN 0-916732-33-9
- Rickels, Laurence A. (2010). I Think I Am: Philip K. Dick, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-6666-9
- Rispoli, Francesca (2001). Universi che cadono a pezzi: La fantascienza di Philip K. Dick. Milano: Bruno Mondadori.
- Robb, Brian J. (2006). Counterfeit Worlds: Philip K. Dick On Film. Titan Books (UK). ISBN 1-84023-968-9
- Robinson, Kim Stanley (1989). The Novels of Philip K. Dick. Umi Research Press. ISBN 0-8357-2014-4
- Rossi, Umberto (2011). The Twisted Worlds of Philip K. Dick: A Reading of Twenty Ontologically Uncertain Novels, Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4883-8
- Umland, Stanley J. (1995). Philip K. Dick: Contemporary Critical Interpretations. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29295-7
- Vest, Jason P. (2009). The Postmodern Humanism of Philip K. Dick. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-810-86212-8
- Viviani, Gianfranco and Carlo Pagetti (eds.) (1989). Philip K. Dick: Il sogno dei simulacri. Nord. ISBN n.a.
- Warrick, Patricia S. (1987). Mind in Motion: The Fiction of Philip K. Dick. Southern Illinois Univ. Press. ISBN 0-8093-1326-X
- Warrick, Patricia S. (1986). Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities: The Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick. Southern Illinois Univ. Press. ISBN 0-8093-1178-X
Notes
- ^ Williams, Paul. Introduction to the Collections. Collections Bibliography. The Philip K Dick Estate. 2008 [2008-04-19].
- ^ Staples, Brent. Philip K. Dick: A Sage of the Future Whose Time Has Finally Come. Editorial Observer (The New York Times). June 8, 2007 [2008-04-19].
- ^ Williams, Paul. Introduction to the Novels Page. Novels and Collections Bibliography. The Philip K. Dick Estate. 2008 [2008-04-19].
- ^ McGrath, Charles. A Prince of Pulp, Legit at Last. Books (The New York Times). May 6, 2007 [2008-04-19].
- ^ Stoffman, Judy. A milestone in literary heritage. Toronto Star. February 10, 2007 [2008-04-19].
- ^ Edelstein, David. Philip K. Dick's Mind-Bending, Film-Inspiring Journeys. Arts (The New York Times). June 16, 2002 [2008-04-19].
- ^ Davis, Erik. The Metaphysics of Philip K. Dick. Issue 11.12 (Wired). December 2003 [2008-04-19].
- ^ Link, Eric Carl. Understanding Philip K. Dick. University of South Carolina Press. 2010: 48. ISBN 978-1-57003-855-6.
- ^ Link, Eric Carl (2010). pp. 48–101.
- ^ 1963 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ 11.0 11.1 1965 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ 1968 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ 1974 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ 14.0 14.1 14.2 1975 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ 15.0 15.1 1978 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ 16.0 16.1 1982 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ 1983 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End. [2009-09-27].
- ^ Dick, Philip K. The dark haired girl. Ziesing. 1 January 1988 –透過Open WorldCat.
- ^ Dick, Philip K; Sutin, Lawrence. The shifting realities of Philip K. Dick: selected literary and philosophical writings. Pantheon Books. 1 January 1995 –透過Open WorldCat.
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave. Philip K. Dick's 'Exegesis' Will Receive Two-Volume Release.
- ^ The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1938-1971. Grass Valley, California : Underwood Books, 1996 (Trade edition) ISBN 1-887424-20-2
- ^ 22.0 22.1 Total Recall 2070 is loosely based on both Total Recall/"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" and Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? See Total Recall 2070 article for more information.
- ^ Mason, Darryl. Darryl Mason.
- ^ http://www.annemini.com/?page_id=785
- ^ Interview Anne Mini.
- ^ A Family Darkly: Love, Loss And The Final Passions Of Philip K Dick - SciFi UK Review.
External links
- WiDE/temp/8在網際網路電影資料庫(IMDb)上的資料(英文)
- 網路推理小說資料庫上的WiDE/temp/8
- Philip K. Dick at the Internet Book List
- 開放目錄專案中的「WiDE/temp/8」
- Philip K. Dick的作品 - 古騰堡計劃
- 來自WiDE/temp/8的LibriVox公共領域有聲讀物
- Philip K. Dick OCLC WorldCat Identity
- A complete pictorial bibliography of Philip K. Dick
- How To Build A Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later (Essay by PKD on his "discovery" that we are living in the Roman Empire)