Page 1 of 1

Xenophon

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:36 pm
by Paralus
Hi all,

Just a note to say that regular contributor and poster Paul McDonnell-Staff - "Xenophon" as members would know him - died on March 12th. Paul suffered from an illness, which I won't go into here, for the last five years of his life. Though it did not always look like it here, Paul and I were strong friends over a couple of decades. There's nothing better than pointing out the foibles of your mate! The "Old Man" (as I called him) and I ("Bertie Old thing" as he'd address me) had an ongoing relationship for some two decades. I recall us downing three bottles of red (after a beer or two over dinner) in "Brisvegas" going over the Second Diadoch War, the nature of the hypaspists and the foibles of "certainty" in a hotel in Brisbane some thirteen years ago. What others in the bar made of the hard copies of Diodoros, the Tacticians and Plutarch is anyone's guess. As ever, we parted in disagreement on whatever sticking point(s) we'd arrived at by bottle three.

One of the effects of the Old Man's serious and restrictive illness was that it attacked his phalanges. Given this, I was constantly surprised at the amount he could type - the email trees, on many subjects, were no bonsai - more like giant redwoods. Though one had to be patient. That back and forth will be missed.

Paul had been writing on ancient military history for decades going back to John Warry's Warfare in The Classical World. From it's inception, we both wrote for Ancient Warfare. The articles we prepared were the source of much private and occasional Pothosian debate. I recall calling him, at the editor's suggestion, to see if he was still corporeal as he'd he'd missed a deadline by a couple of days (something he never did). He suggested that were he not "the whole world would...". I suggested Demades' acid quip was a little beyond the pale. He continued writing for Ancient Warfare under the nom de plume "Tacticus". The journal will miss him and so will I.

Vale "Old Man"

Michael Park.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:24 pm
by Alexias
Hi Michael,

Thanks for letting us know. That is very sad and he will be missed. I was aware he wasn't well last year but I'm very sorry to hear things didn't improve. All we can say is that in Alexander terms, he will leave a large reputation behind him. May he rest in peace.


I've moved this to the main forum so that hopefully more people may see it.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 11:10 pm
by sean_m
Cross-posted to my site. Are there plans to write a brief obituary and publish it in print somewhere?

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:22 am
by Paralus
Hi Sean,

Not that I'm aware of. Jasper has written a quite nice notice on the Ancient Warfare Blog though.

That's Karl and Paul in relatively short order. The Rolls Royce Merlin engine of Pothos is beginning to loose too many cylinders...

Michael.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:39 am
by sean_m
I'm just thinking that a notice on the Internet is like a grave marker on wood, the half-life is in years. If we want someone to be able to put the facts of Paul's life together in 10 years, we need to do it in on paper.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:56 pm
by sean_m
Image

This is from Rhaetia, and Rhaetians are barbarians, and I drunk it unmixed, so be prepared for some crashing of weddings and/or funerals.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 11:42 am
by hiphys
Very sad news, indeed. I read a lot of interesting comments by him, here. Rest in peace, Paul.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 1:35 pm
by Paralus
Alexias wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:24 pm Hi Michael,

Thanks for letting us know. That is very sad and he will be missed. I was aware he wasn't well last year but I'm very sorry to hear things didn't improve. All we can say is that in Alexander terms, he will leave a large reputation behind him. May he rest in peace.


I've moved this to the main forum so that hopefully more people may see it.
Had thought to put in the main forum but was unsure.

Makes one wonder. He was quite a fit man - much fond of Dragon Boat racing. Hence I was taken rather aback when he told me of his illness some years back. But then, these things are blind to such. We none of us are getting any younger. Paul had a handful of years on me. Paullus Scipio has left the building...

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:28 pm
by system1988
I am so sorry for the loss,he will be missed by his family and his pen will leave an entire world of readers wanting
He will also be dearly missed in this forum

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2020 2:08 am
by sikander
Greetings,

Thank you for letting us know of this loss to Pothos.
While the loss to the Forum is great, I can imagine your personal loss will be felt most keenly, and for that, I am sorry.
Looking back at some of his posts, I can see his will be large shoes to fill - may he bring inspiration to members...

The libation is poured,
the earth receives.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 9:33 am
by Jeanne Reames
I'm very sad to hear this. I've been only intermittently on Pothos in the last decade or more, but I do remember him. having just lost, in April, a very old friend of mine, I can empathize with a known and valued voice going silent.

My best wishes to his family and friends.

Re: Xenophon

Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 10:12 am
by Paralus
A man of the sources Jeanne, though I disagreed with his reading of those sources often enough. That is par for any historical course as we know.

I'm engaged elsewhere on the detail of Gaugamela and it is here that I miss Paul's real world or practical view of an army's physical constraints in battlefield evolutions.

The email is nowhere near as busy.