The Eagle of the Ninth 10

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 10 “Marching Orders”

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Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Happiness, Religion, Truth, Meaning/Purpose, Freedom vs. Bondage, Friendship

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What gave the “whole room a faint air of festival” for Marcus?

2. How long had it been since uncle Aquila and his friend had last sat down to a meal together?

3. What did Claudius say caused Eburacum to feel “ghost-ridden”?

4. What insulting idea did Placidus offer in suggestion as to why no one ever heard from the Ninth Legion again?

5. What rumor had reached Claudius’ ears “quite lately” concerning the missing Legion?

6. What would be possible if the Eagle of the Ninth were found and brought back?

7. What means of disguise did Marcus come up with for traveling among the tribes of the North?

8. Who would be able to furnish Marcus with enough knowledge and supplies to make his disguise successful?

9. What warning did Claudius give to Marcus before giving him his commission to go north?

10. What did Marcus give to Esca prior to starting on his mission?

11. What two things, which are precious to Marcus, did he entrust to Cottia before leaving?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. What did uncle Aquila mean by saying that he and Claudius could “take up the old threads very much where [they] laid them down”.

2. What did Claudius mean by saying, “Sometimes at Eburacum it seems to me that the foundations of that old building lie uneasy beneath the new”?

3. What is “the Eagle” of the Ninth Legion and why is it so important?

4. Why was it so easy for an “oculist” to travel wherever he might please?

5. When trying to convince Claudius to send him on this mission, why would Marcus quote Claudius’ own words back to him? What purpose does this serve?

6. Why did Marcus give Esca his “manumission” papers?

7. Why would Marcus give Cottia his bracelet to hold onto instead of his uncle?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. The story relates the following idea: “‘Eagle lost – honour lost; honour lost – all lost.’” What is honor? What does it mean to have honor or to be a person of honor? Is there a difference between being honorable and seeking after honor? What is the Christian’s responsibility to this concept of honor?

2. Marcus clearly longs to know the truth of what has happened to the lost Ninth Legion. What is truth? Why is it important to know truth? Would you rather know the truth even when the truth may be painful to learn? Why or why not?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read 1 Samuel 4-6. Compare this story to Marcus’ comments about the “Outland Tribes” capturing the Eagle of the Ninth. How do these two passages connect with one another?

2. Read Isaiah 6. What comparisons might we make between Marcus in this chapter and the prophet Isaiah in the given passage?

3. The bracelet which Marcus received as a reward for his service reads “pia fidelis” or “pious and faithful”. How might we connect the meaning of this to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:14-30?