definition

epoch - n. \ˈe-pək, ˈe-ˌpäk, US also & British usually ˈē-ˌpäk\; from Medieval Latin epocha, from Greek epochē cessation, fixed point, from epechein to pause, hold back, from epi- + echein to hold (1614); an event or a time marked by an event that begins a new period or development, a memorable event or date; an extended period of time usually characterized by a distinctive development or by a memorable series of events, a division of geologic time less than a period and greater than an age; an instant of time or a date selected as a point of reference (as in astronomy).

ellipse - n. \i-ˈlips, e-\; from Greek elleipsis (1753); oval; a closed plane curve generated by a point moving in such a way that the sums of its distances from two fixed points is a constant : a plane section of a right circular cone that is a closed curve; ellipsis.


the passing of a era.  an orbit defined by two focal points which shall shift and decay.  a constant-sum game where time is running out.


since the dawn of the Anglo-America era, from the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 that began England's accession as a world power, to the modern day hegemony of American military and economic power, there have been two foci in Anglo-American society.  those are law and commerce.  these were the tools that Elizabeth, William III and the Hanoverians used to build the British Empire through the 19th century.  these were the tools that Lincoln, Wilson and FDR used to build the American Empire through the 20th century.

at least, that's one way to look at it.

why?