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.
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The Strange Case Of Dr. Winslow’s Heart
The New England regional author Edward Rowe Snow (1902—1982) related a strange and fascinating piece of Nantucket lore in his 1979 book Tales of Terror and Tragedy. Since the volume is long out of print, I will retell it here.
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Small Twitter Account Gold: Tweet Reading 1
In this podcast, I read some of the recent great tweets I’ve noticed from small accounts on Twitter. Small Twitter accounts are a refreshing break from the contrived foolery of the mainstream blue-check accounts. They are an underappreciated gold mine of honesty, passion, and tortured grapplings with truth. Let’s give some credit where it is…
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The Leadership Principles Of St. Benedict
If we are to understand the mind of early medieval man, we must attempt to place ourselves in his situation and circumstances. It is difficult for us, having been reared in an age of relative peace and prosperity, to grasp the degree to which Western Europe had succumbed to chaos, warfare, and barbarism after Roman…
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Everything Is Fine, Until It Is Not
In 1917 there was published in Germany a book entitled Deductions from the World War (Folgerungen aus dem Weltkriege). It was an analysis of lessons learned from the previous four years of intense fighting, and its author was a man named Baron Hugo Von Freytag-Loringhoven. At the time he was a lieutenant-general, and he was…
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Exploring Small Twitter Accounts (Podcast)
I’ve been exploring small Twitter accounts lately. And when I say “small,” I generally mean accounts that have less than 50 followers. You’d be surprised how much gold can be found hidden away in these accounts: they tend to be raw, honest, and unconcerned with saying the “right” thing. In this podcast, I discuss how…
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Here Be Thy Grave
The Swiss orientalist and explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt crossed the cataracts of the Nile in 1813 and was intending to penetrate into the heart of unknown Nubia. Near a place called Jebel Lamoule, his Arab guide dismounted from his camel and approached the intrepid European; his intention was to practice on him a time-honored extortion…
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Alive Today, Dead Tomorrow, Then Alive Again
The ancient Greek statesman and general Alcibiades once likened his career to the lives of the mythical half-brothers Castor and Pollux.[1] These two figures are together called the Dioscuri, and they are attended by many stories and fables, some of which are contradictory or ambiguous. According to myth, the Dioscuri are alive and dead on…
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On The Tempests Of Misery
The Roman writer Aelian, in his Varia Historia (X.5) credits the following parable to Aesop the Phrygian, although I have never heard it mentioned in collections of his stories. He said that a pig squeals when it is touched by man for a good reason: it does not produce fur or milk for human use,…
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On Why The Best Philosophers Are Men Of Action
The Roman writer Aelian, in his Varia Historia (III.44), conveys the following anecdote. Three young friends, he says, were traveling to Delphi in order to consult the oracle. Along the way, they lucklessly encountered some bandits. In the melee that followed, some of the robbers were killed.
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The Sea-Raiders (Podcast Reading Of A Story By H.G. Wells)
This podcast is a reading of H.G. Wells’s story The Sea-Raiders. It describes the assault of a unknown species of carnivorous squid on the quiet English coastline near Devon.
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The Inescapable Limitations Of Knowledge
As we become older, we are more conscious of the limitations of knowledge. Nothing is so frustratingly difficult as its attainment. It is like trying to look up at a star or planet in the night sky. Every time we look directly at one of these points of light, it seems to disappear; only by…
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Empty Words, Empty Gestures, Empty Actions
There is a scene near the beginning of the film The Departed (2006) in which the character played by Martin Sheen, a police captain, asks Leonardo DiCaprio, a potential recruit for undercover work, a pointed question. The question is this: “Do you want to be cop, or do you just want to appear to be…
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“How Do I Transition From Youth To Middle Age?” (Podcast)
A reader emails me and asks for advice and guidance on how to navigate the passage from youth to middle age. But there are no magic answers, no magic wands. You have to keep moving forward, keep working on yourself, keep focusing on mind, body, and responsibilities. But I also detect some other things in…
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Arousing The Imagination
By what means can the imagination be activated? By what artifice may its secrets be coaxed to the surface of our consciousness, and made capable of articulation, as an enterprising fisherman might lure a rare specimen from deep waters to the surface? Are there tried techniques, or is it simply a matter of random inspiration? …
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“Should I Reopen A Closed Chapter?” (Podcast)
A reader reaches out to ask a question that’s been troubling him. He was recently re-contacted by an ex-girlfriend from several years ago. She appears to want to start over again with him, but he has his doubts and hesitations. Should he re-open this closed chapter of his life, or should he keep his distance? …
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The Anatomy Of The Scam
There has been a big surge in online scammery and con artistry in the past two years. Economic hardship and desperation have been contributing causes, but this kind of activity has been with us since the dawn of time. And con games will always be with us, because they are rooted in the timeless and…
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Betrayal Will Find Its Punishment
We will examine the consequences of treachery and betrayal. Zahir Al-Umar Al-Zaydani (ظاهر العمر الزيداني) was a charismatic regional potentate who managed to carve out a fiefdom for himself in Palestine during the waning centuries of the Ottoman empire. Born around 1690, he achieved ascendancy through the usual mix of piety, maneuvering, and ruthlessness; and…
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On The Right Delivery Of Advice
The best advice in the world will be of meager service if it is not conveyed in a way that enhances the likelihood of its acceptance. Knowledge is one thing, and communication of that knowledge is another. What is hard-won on the battlefield of experience may be dissipated in its conveyance to another. He who…
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If They Had Lived Up To The Responsibilities That Went With The Privileges (Podcast)
The distinguishing feature of our “leaders” today is their near total disregard for putting the mission ahead of themselves. They are unwilling to risk their careers to make the hard calls that would truly benefit society. And because of their moral cowardice, all of us suffer. We see this played out over and over. In…
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A Conversation With SolBrah (Podcast)
I had a fantastic conversation with SolBrah on his podcast show last night. He writes about fitness, health, and society in a very perceptive and up-to-date way. You can find his Twitter account here, and his podcast show here.
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Some Thoughts And Opinions On Investing
I’m certainly not a finance person. At least I don’t consider myself one. I am just a country lawyer. I have no magic formulas for anyone, unless common sense and my own experience can be considered a magic formula. I have no magic wands, no hidden secrets, no rabbits to pull out of a top…
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The Nutriment Of Hippocrates
The Ionian philosopher Heraclitus, who flourished around 500 B.C., was even in ancient times known for his obscurity and elusiveness. His well-deserved nickname was “The Obscure,” due to the fact that his elliptical sayings could be variously interpreted. Yet this was no impediment to his influence; his renown was considerable, and his fame rested on…
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Sometimes You Have To Make Allowances For People (Podcast)
Sometimes you have to accept the flaws and issues that people have, in order to accomplish the greater good. If you are in a leadership position, the priority is mission accomplishment. All else is secondary. Your people will not be flawless: some of them will have issues. If someone is a top performer, sometimes you…
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Interview At “Knowledge Without College” With Patrick Butler
Last week I had a great interview with Patrick Butler, whose fantastic “Knowledge Without College” series has the following mission statement:
Original copy of Cicero’s De Officiis (On Duties) published in Holland in 1642. From the collection of Fortress of the Mind.
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