The Banners Of The King Of Hell Go Forth

Quintus Curtius Thought , , ,

In the thirty-fourth canto of Dante’s Inferno, our intrepid tourists Dante and Virgil find themselves at the very bottom of Hell’s ninth circle, known as Judecca, a name derived from Judas Iscariot.  With his enthusiasm for classification and categories, Dante has given us names for the different parts of the ninth circle, in which are housed particular types of traitors:  Caina (for traitors to family), Antenora (for traitors to country), Ptolomaea (for betrayers of guests), and Judecca (for traitors to benefactors).

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Herman Melville’s “Battle-Pieces And Aspects Of The War”

Quintus Curtius Literature , , ,

The two greatest artistic productions to come out of the American Civil War were Alexander Gardner’s Photographic Sketch-Book of the War, and Herman Melville’s poetic masterpiece, Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.

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The Zero Sum Game

Quintus Curtius Thought , ,

I read recently a fascinating tale of nautical survival. In 1965, six teenage Tongan boys were shipwrecked on the uninhabited island of Ata in the Tongan Archipelago of Polynesia.  After stealing a boat, they had encountered a storm which deposited them on the island without any means of communication with the outside world. 

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Ne Plus Ultra

Quintus Curtius Thought , , , ,

Canto XXVI of Dante’s Inferno takes place in the eighth bolgia (ditch) of the Eighth Circle of Hell.  Here reside those guilty of providing fraudulent or deceitful counsel.  In life, these souls used their persuasive abilities to harm or destroy others; and, in keeping with Dante’s attention to the principle of contrapasso, their punishment in Hell fits their crimes during life.  As they once used their tongues for malicious speech, so in the afterlife are their souls “tongued” forever with flame. 

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Give It Time (Podcast)

Quintus Curtius Podcast , , , ,

We begin with a few recommendations on books and resources to use in understanding Dante’s Divine Comedy. Then we switch gears, and get into the meat of the podcast. It seems we become substantially different people every seven to ten years, more or less. We may feel self-conscious or uncomfortable about the things we said, wrote, or believed when we were younger. Is it normal to feel this way? And is it better to preserve a record of one’s thought, or to renounce beliefs one no longer holds? We discuss both sides of the question.

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The New York City Draft Riots Of 1863

Quintus Curtius History ,

New York City, like all large cities, has experienced a number of riots in its long history.  But the Draft Riots of 1863 surpassed every other upheaval, before or since, in unadulterated ferocity. 

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Heroism During The Loss Of The “Stella”

Quintus Curtius History , ,

It is at moments of unremitting extremity that we discover our true natures.  The tragic loss of the British ship Stella in 1899 provides an illustration of this principle.  The story appears in a 1962 volume of nautical lore entitled Women of the Sea by the maritime writer Edward R. Snow; but since the book has long been out of print, it will be retold here in abbreviated form, with Mr. Snow’s account as my primary source.

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Rights That Have Been Won, Do Not Automatically Remain Won (Podcast)

Quintus Curtius Podcast , , ,

Rights and liberties that have been won by past generations will not remain won without active and forceful advocacy by successive generations. Why? Systems of power and control will inevitably regroup and counterattack, and seek to roll back the clock. This is happening all around us now. Those who are unwilling to assert their rights, and unwilling to protect what past generations earned, will find themselves stripped of their patrimony.

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Deep Memories Yield No Epitaphs

Quintus Curtius Literature, Thought , , ,

Chapter 23 of Moby-Dick is entitled “The Lee Shore.”  It offers some philosophical commentary on the need for travel and direct experience.  Melville reflects on the restless, roaming nature of a sailor named Bulkington: 

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