Answers to Diana’s Quiz – February 9, 2019

by Diana Filer

1. St. Valentine – of Rome, to distinguish him from other saints Valentine – was canonized because as a priest during the 3^rd century Roman reign of Claudius Gothicus, he was caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding them.  He is also the patron saint of bees and epileptics as well as engaged couples and happy marriages.
2. Also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus, The Book of Sirach is a work of ethical teachings by the Jewish scribe Ben Sira.   It is the largest book of wisdom from antiquity to have survived.
3. Mauritania was the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1981.
4. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai is the current president of Afghanistan since 2014, succeeding Hamid Karzai.
5. Pytha, the Delphic Oracle used laurel to inspire her prophecies.  Other plants have been suggested, and oleander seems to be the best of these.