We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

The Confidence-Man Allusions & Cultural References

When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.

Myths and Classical References

  • Myth of Manco Capac (1,1)
  • Myth of Endymion (2, 17)
  • Seneca (9, 41)
  • Tacitus (5, 9) (9, 42)
  • Ovid (5, 18)
  • Horace (5, 18)
  • Anacreon (5, 18)
  • Aeschylus (5, 18)
  • Thucydides (5, 18)
  • Juvenal (5, 18)
  • Lucian (5, 18)
  • Medea (16, 11)
  • Virgil, Aeneid (16, 65)
  • Myth of Titan (17, 9)
  • Cassandra (17, 9)
  • Diogenes (24, 55)
  • Alexander the Great (26, 4)
  • Julian in Gaul (26, 4)
  • Thersites (42, 11)
  • Agamemnon (42, 11)

Shakespeare and Other Medieval and Early Modern Literary References

Biblical and Religious References

  • 1 Corinthians 13 (1, throughout) (8, 3; 23)
  • Genesis (6, 49)
  • Exodus (16, 10) (26, 4)
  • Solomon (16, 11)
  • St. Augustine, Confessions (22, 90)
  • Quran (24, 32)
  • St. Paul (29, 48)
  • Noah (30,1)
  • Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, Apocrypha (43, 44) (45, 14)

17-18th Century Scientists and Thinkers References

  • Sir Francis Bacon, invented scientific method (9, 54) (24, 31)
  • Sir Humphry Davy, chemist (13, 1)
  • David Hume (24, 31)