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 Travels Of Benjamin Of Tudela
The motivations of intrepid travelers are not difficult to discern. The desire to get out, to get away from everything that reeks of contemptible familiarity, to smash through obstacles and barriers both mental and physical, to be confronted with stimuli both terrifying and strange: these would be primary impulses. Following close behind them would be…
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The Travels And Philosophy Of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
She was born in 1689 in Thoresby in Nottinghamshire, the eldest daughter of Evelyn, Duke of Kingston, and Lady Mary Fielding. When she was only four years old, her mother died, and this event became a defining one in her life; for she was raised in a decidedly male environment, a fact that imparted her…
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Plato’s Five Components Of Happiness (Podcast)
In this podcast I answer an email from a reader. He enjoyed a great job as a bartender before the Covid crisis hit, and now has to go back to work with greatly reduced hours and uncertain prospects. He isn’t sure whether to go back, or to try something new. We discuss. We also talk…
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The World Provides Our Necessities (Podcast)
The world is a provider of necessities. Just when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, things have a way of turning around if you keep fighting and stay in the game. The only way to lose is to be a quitter. Have faith in the world’s fructifying ability to provide for our needs.
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The Horns Of Dilemmas
There are times to act decisively, times to observe events and await opportunities, and times to discuss. There are also times to say nothing at all. Aesop tells a story to make this point. A monkey, he says, was once taken as a shipboard pet by a Grecian sailor. When the sailor’s vessel approached Attica’s…
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The Insanity Of The Daughters Of Proetus
Pliny’s Natural History (XXV.47) contains a passage that discusses hellebore, a medicinal plant that in ancient times was used to treat insanity. One variety of hellebore, he says, is called melampodion, a name acquired from a shepherd named Melampus, who noticed that the plant had a purgative effect on his female goats (capras purgari pasto…
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The Ring Of Thoth: A Tale Of The Supernatural By Arthur Conan Doyle (Podcast)
This podcast is a reading of A. Conan Doyle’s tale of the supernatural, “The Ring Of Thoth.” First published in 1890, it recounts the horrific consequences of an ancient Egyptian priest’s discovery of the secret to eternal life.
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Before Acquiring The Horse, One Must Build The Stable
In the year 357 A.D., twenty-seven years after the empire’s capital had been moved to Constantinople, the emperor Constantius II visited Rome. He was awed by its architectural splendor, which at that time was still substantially preserved. He visited the center of the city and the extensive suburbs; the sanctuaries of Tarpeian Jove, “transcendent to…
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You Have To Make The Call (Podcast)
When you are leading, you have to make the big decisions. You have to make the call, not sit back, judge the prevailing winds, and cover your ass. If you are unwilling to put yourself on the line, you are a worthless leader and have no business being there. In this podcast, we discuss:
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The Wisdom Of Ibn Al-Muzarra
The writer and scholar Yamut Ibn Al-Muzarra’ (يموت ابن المزرع) was a native of Basra, Iraq. In the words of his biographer Ibn Khallikan, he was known as “an accomplished literary scholar, and well-versed in history.” His name (Yamut) was a source of some consternation for him as a young man, for it is the…
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On The Death Of Seneca
There is a preparatory plaster statue, very finely executed by Eduardo Barrón, on display at the Museo Nacional del Prado Museum in Madrid. It is called Nero and Seneca, and it was completed in 1904. Barrón never produced a final version in marble or bronze; and although it remains a preliminary study, it is a…
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Two Poems: “Sailing To Byzantium” And “The Lake Isle At Innisfree”
In this podcast, I read two short poems by William Butler Yeats: “Sailing to Byzantium” and “The Lake Isle at Innisfree.” Listen, relax, and let your mind roam to some other place.
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Sentinels Of The River Of Life
One of the myths associated with the foundation of Rome was that of the reconciliation between the Romans and the Sabines. This took place through the mediation of the Sabine women, who, after having been abducted by the Romans, grew tired of conflict and longed for peace. The kings of the two tribes—Romulus for the…
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The Brazilian Cat. A Tale Of Terror By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Podcast)
This podcast is a reading of A. Conan Doyle’s terrifying tale “The Brazilian Cat.” First published in 1898, the story describes the ordeal of a young heir to a fortune who is deliberately locked in a cage with a ferocious jungle cat by a sinister relative determined to murder him.
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The Roman Gestures Of The Clenched Thumb, And The Turned Down Thumb
The meaning of hand gestures may vary widely from culture to culture. In the modern West, approval is popularly expressed by the “thumbs up” sign, and disapproval by the downward turn of the thumb. These hand gestures even seem to be universal, at least in the modern era. But perhaps it was not always so. …
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The Flowering Of The Strange Orchid (Podcast)
In this podcast, I read H.G. Wells’s short story The Flowering of the Strange Orchid. It relates the weird tale of a mild-mannered orchid enthusiast who buys an unknown species of jungle orchid. As he cultivates it, he finds out that he got more than he bargained for. This story was first published in Pearson’s…
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The Meaning Of The Augury Of Safety
The Renaissance humanist Angelo Poliziano (1454—1494) composed a work called Miscellanies (Miscellaneorum Centuria Prima) that discussed various issues in classical literature, philology, and linguistics. Now while this sort of work may not suitable for every taste, it is certainly congenial to mine. What may be trifles to some, turn out to be treasure to others;…
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A Sudden Punch To Shatter Glacial Rigmarole (Podcast)
When things have reached a state of paralysis or gridlock, it is often necessary to shatter the paralysis by taking decisive, muscular action. Real leaders do not sit on their hands and wait to test the prevailing winds of opinion. Have the moral courage to act. Many today who call themselves “leaders” ignore or have…
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A Dog’s Heroism During The Wreck Of HMS “Harpooner”
Whether our canine friends risk themselves out of a conscious sense of duty, or whether they act out of blind instinct, is a question that dog lovers and animal behaviorists will endlessly debate. It is not an unimportant question. For if it is true that dogs may, under some circumstances, feel the pull of obligation,…
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“How To Drink” (Book Review)
It is often forgotten that Latin was a primary European language of education and literature until the late eighteenth century. University lectures were conducted in Latin; textbooks, treatises, doctoral dissertations, legal work, and government publications were composed in Latin; and scientific and religious tracts were written in Latin. There was a thriving vernacular literature in…
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The Diamond Maker (Podcast)
In this podcast, I read H.G. Wells’s short story The Diamond Maker. The tale raises questions about the price that creative people have to pay for their efforts. Have a listen, and see what you think.
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Some Observations On Responses To Disease Epidemics In The United States In The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries
Disease epidemics are not new to the American scene. In fact, of all the historic threats to national and local security, they are the type with which we probably have the most experience. During the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, the United States faced and dealt with outbreaks of scarlet fever, yellow fever, cholera,…
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G Manifesto Tweet Reading: Lockdown Edition
You asked for it, and you got it. This is the latest installment in the G Manifesto tweet reading podcasts, and it’s called “Lockdown Edition.” Tune in, laugh, and catch the positive vibes.
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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