ARTICLES ARCHIVE

 

You can find a complete listing of all the articles on this site here. They are listed in reverse chronological order, and are all clickable links. Twenty-five articles are displayed per page, with the publication date included. To find older articles, click on the page numbers at the bottom.

To search the site by subject, topic, or name, you can use the “Search” function on the right sidebar.

_______________________________

 

  • The Almond, The Virtues, And Liberty Of Conscience

    The philosopher Philo of Alexandria relates the following anecdote in his short treatise On the Life of Moses (II.23.178).  The prophet Moses, we are told, had appointed his brother to the office of high priest.  His decision had been based on his brother’s merits, but there was inevitably some grumbling by people who believed that…

  • The Strength Of Organized And Cumulative Effort

    When studying the history of the exploration of the African continent, one is struck by the relative recentness of our acquisition of its geographic details.  Ancient man undoubtedly mounted expeditions here and there, but none of them has left a lasting modern mark.  Egyptians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans eventually contented themselves with an awareness of…

  • Thomas Boyle Attacks Four Opponents At Once, And Beats Them All

    Privateers were used extensively by the United States during the War of 1812.  The young American Navy did not have the money, resources, or manpower to conduct naval operations along the entirety of its vast coastline; it found it expedient to commission private parties to carry out some of its objectives. 

  • Tusculan Disputations: What It Is About, And Why It Is Important (Podcast)

    In this podcast I discuss my new translation of Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations. The work deals with five critical problems that face all of us: the fear of death, how to endure pain, how to alleviate mental distress, the various disorders of the mind, and why virtue is important for living a happy life. (A review…

  • Bertha’s Grave

    The following tale appeared in an old volume of forgotten maritime lore.  Its author, the indefatigable historian Edward R. Snow, relates that he first heard in as a young man in Bristol, England.  He frankly notes the difficulty of substantiating its details, but suggests that, like many sea-yarns, it may contain the seeds of actual…

  • “I’m Thinking Of Publishing A Memoir” (Podcast)

    A veteran of Afghanistan has a memoir he is trying to put together. He’s asking for some tips on how to publish it. We offer some suggestions and comments.

  • Charlemagne Instructs On The Moral Requirements Of Leadership

    We do not know the precise location of Charlemagne’s birthplace.  He donned the crown at the ripe age of twenty-nine in 771 A.D. upon the death of Carloman II.  From that moment he became embroiled in an almost ceaseless series of military campaigns designed both to expand his frontiers and safeguard them; in this turbulent…

  • “Tusculan Disputations” Is Now Available

    After nearly two years of preparation, my annotated, illustrated translation of Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations is now available in hardcover , paperback, Kindle , and audiobook.

  • Anecdotes From The Court Of Charlemagne

    The chronicler known to posterity as Notker the Stammerer (“Notker Balbulus”) was born in what is now Switzerland around A.D. 840.  He seems to have come from a family that had the means to provide him with the best education his era could offer.  We find him in adulthood as a monk at the monastery…

  • Coping With The Loss Of A Child (Podcast)

    In this podcast, we discuss a serious subject. A reader explains that his family has just lost a young child, and he is searching for advice on how to deal with this calamity. I offer some suggestions drawn from Plutarch’s letter of consolation to his wife on the death of his two-year-old daughter Timoxena. We…

  • A Heinous And Remorseless Maritime Killer

    I first learned of the following story in a long-forgotten book of maritime lore entitled Unsolved Mysteries of Sea and Shore.  Authored by Edward Snow, it was published in only one edition in 1963.  As it is a difficult volume to procure, it will be useful for me to retell the tale here in abbreviated…

  • Coming August 2021: A New Translation Of “Tusculan Disputations”

    In August 2021, a new and original translation of the full text of Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations will be published by Fortress of the Mind Publications. Nearly two years in the making, this is the first complete translation of Tusculan Disputations to appear in English since the 1920s, and the only one that is fully annotated…

  • Breakout From Britain

    Gunther Plüschow, Germany’s legendary escape artist of the First World War, was born to a  well-traveled family in Munich on February 8, 1886.  He was taken by his family to Rome at an early age, and was fortunate to have grown up amid the Eternal City’s bustle, ruins, and excitement; it was there that he…

  • An Arabic Translation Of “Seven Pillars Of A Noble Youth”

    Honorius, who manages a blog dealing with themes of history, virtue, and philosophy, has just published a beautiful Arabic translation of my essay, Seven Pillars of a Noble Youth. It is very much appreciated.

  • The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair And Its Tragic Aftermath

    To understand the incident that has come to be called the Chesapeake—Leopard Affair, we must first understand the political and diplomatic circumstances that existed between the young United States and the European superpowers at the outset of the nineteenth century. 

  • The Terrifying Wreck Of The “São João”

    By the close of the fifteenth century, the maritime enterprise of Portugal had established a reliable network of trading routes from the Iberian peninsula to the Indian Ocean.  These routes were won at great cost; we note the results of the budding Age of Exploration, but forget the fearsome human toll that this Age exacted. …

  • Escape From Fort Warren

    Fort Warren is a pentagonal fortress located on Georges Island in Boston Harbor.  Older reference works call the island “George’s Island,” while modern texts have removed the apostrophe; readers can decide for themselves which spelling is more authentic.  The island’s fortress was one of the most solidly constructed and intimidating military installations of nineteenth century…

  • Illusions Of Fitness, Delusions Of Preparedness (Podcast)

    In this podcast we talk about the need for true, well-rounded fitness. Some think that getting bulked up in the gym makes them “fit” and ready to take on the world. While this may produce the appearance of fitness, it remains an illusion.

  • The Mysterious Disappearance Of Captain Blakely And The “Wasp”

    The premise of John Carpenter’s 1980 horror film The Fog is an intriguing one.  In the 1800s, we are told, a Captain Blake and his crew were lured to their deaths by townspeople who had set up a false beacon near some coastal rocks.  The ship was dashed against the rocks at night; Blake and…

  • The Incredible Survival Of Augustine Le Bourdais

    The ability to survive is dependent on both a strong physical constitution and an unshakeable determination.  While both of these ingredients are necessary, experience has shown that the will to live easily surpasses physical robustness in relative importance.  He whose actions are in accordance with his nature, truly lives.  Sir Thomas Browne was entirely correct…

  • The Astor Place Riot Of 1849: The Consequences Of Incitement

    One of the strangest and deadliest riots in New York history took place on May 10, 1849 outside an opera house in Manhattan.  Although its proximate cause—a jingoistic dispute between the egos of two actors—no longer commands our attention, the riot has many lessons to teach us today.  For it was a combustible mixture of…

  • Jumping Ship In The South Pacific

    In January of 1841 the twenty-two-year-old Herman Melville shipped aboard the whaler Acushnet for a multi-year cruise.  He had many motivations for doing this.  There was, in the first place, a desire to see the world and test himself against its challenges; then there was a need to escape the stultifying confines and restrictions of…

  • “The Black Russian”: Lessons Learned From A Fascinating Life (Podcast)

    In this podcast we discuss Vladimir Alexandrov’s book The Black Russian, and what lessons we may conclude from it. Frederick Bruce Thomas was a black American businessman who made a fortune in czarist Russia in the early 1900s. His life is a fascinating one, and one that has much to teach us today.

  • Mind, Body, And Estate

    The historian Edward Gibbon’s autobiography, entitled Memoirs of my Life and Writings (1796), contains the following passage:

  • The Attack On Firebase Mary Ann

    Max Hastings’s excellent history, Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, discusses one revealing engagement that took place between American and North Vietnamese forces in late March of 1971.  This action—a ferocious assault on a remote firebase named Mary Ann—merits further reflection, I think, and we will give it its due here.

20160812_162948

Original copy of Cicero’s De Officiis (On Duties) published in Holland in 1642.  From the collection of Fortress of the Mind.