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.

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  • Hercules On Oeta: Immortality Through Virtue

    As I have gotten older I find that reading plays brings more enjoyment than it did in earlier years.  Tragedies especially:  the unformed mind has not yet been sufficiently battered by the winds and waves of fortune against the rocks, and is equipped with a merciful immunity to the pathos of existence.  And yet, as…

  • Al-Minara: The Pharos Lighthouse Of Alexandria

    One of the more fascinating of the seven wonders of the ancient world was the Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt.  I have lately been reading the history of the Arab conquest of Egypt in the seventh century, and have become more acquainted with some of the monument’s unique characteristics, and the legends that have surrounded…

  • You Don’t Need Anyone’s Permission To Succeed (Podcast)

    In this podcast we discuss the subject of having the faith and confidence to follow your creative muse, without looking for the approval or endorsement of others. The herd is always going to try to enforce conformity. Do your homework, do your research, and learn your subject: but at the critical jumping-off moment, you need…

  • Coming In Late 2019: “Digest”

    In late 2019, several months after the release of Lives of the Great Commanders, Fortress of the Mind Publications will release Digest, the definitive collection of the most important essays of Quintus Curtius covering the period 2016 to 2019.

  • The Life, Travels, And Literary Works Of Yakut Al-Hamawi

    In some recent researches I have discovered one of the more interesting travelers and scholars of the medieval Islamic world.  I have been encouraged to review what sources are available; and the more we learn, the more impressive his story becomes.  His name is Yakut Al-Hamawi, and his career and achievements tell us much about…

  • A Very Good Chicken Dish

    Before one can philosophize, one must eat.  And so we turn now to the subject of eating.  I wanted to share this recipe because I think it is inexpensive, flavorful, and simple to prepare.  It requires no further justification.

  • How Pompey Cleared The Mediterranean Of Pirates

    The Mediterranean became infested with pirates as a direct consequence of Rome’s Mithridatic Wars.  Around 88 B.C. Mithridates VI of Pontus went to war against the Romans and moved into the province of Asia Minor.  He took what plunder he could, and apparently decided that an effective way to wage irregular warfare against the Romans…

  • The Measurements Of Eratosthenes

    Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 276 B.C.–c. 195 B.C.) is justly famous for his ingenious method of calculating the circumference of the earth.  What is less widely known is the fact that he made other contributions to the history of mathematics, some of which we will discuss here.

  • A Relationship Question, And More G Manifesto Tweet Readings (Podcast)

    This podcast is in two parts. The first part deals with a good question I received today from a girl who emailed me about a relationship question.  She wants to know the best way to break up with a guy.  The second part is a reading of some G Manifesto tweets, just to have a…

  • The Cultivation Of A Sense Of Humor

    To be lacking in a sense of humor is a true misfortune.  I would not go so far as to call it an offense against others; but it certainly is a detriment to oneself.  Social media seems to magnify our sense of self-importance; and when self-importance escalates, so does our sense of grim momentousness.  There…

  • Al-Farra And The Three Obligations Of Respect

    Abu Zakariyya Yahya Ibn Ziyad is one of the more famous of the early Arabic grammarians.  Known to history by his moniker Al-Farra, he was born in the city of Kufa around A.D. 761 and received an intensive education there in rhetoric, law, and theology.  His biographer Ibn Khallikan calls him “the most eminent of…

  • A Reading From Jean de Joinville’s “Life Of Saint Louis” (Podcast)

    Today was a difficult one to bear. We grieve, and feel dismay. I wanted to honor the spirit that created Notre Dame by reading some selections from Joinville’s Life of Saint Louis. He was the king of France known to history as Louis IX, and he lived from 1214 to 1270. The pious and selfless…

  • The Alexandrian Library: Dissipation Through Neglect And Apathy

    Nearly every scholar of classical antiquity seems to have an opinion about the destruction of the Great Library of the Ptolemies at Alexandria in Egypt.  It has become something of a symbol of the triumph of ignorance and superstition over knowledge.  There is much merit to this view; but the picture is a complex one,…

  • Rehabilitation Or Retribution?

    Investigative journalist Raphael Rowe’s new Netflix documentary series “Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons” provides a harrowing look at incarceration in different countries.  Mr. Rowe has gone into the belly of the beast to learn the truth behind the prison systems of the world.  It also prompts a larger, deeper question. What philosophy is better: rehabilitation,…

  • What Did A Roman Triumph Actually Look Like?

    Like the ceremony of deification, the Roman triumph (triumphus) is one of those rituals about which few readers may have a clear picture.  This is unfortunate, for the ceremonial triumph provides a very revealing window on certain aspects of Roman society.  Ancient writers mention it frequently, but almost always in passing; we are seldom offered…

  • Generosity Should Be Bestowed With Care

    There is a scene in the movie The Wild Bunch (1969) where Ernest Borgnine and William Holden are discussing the making of promises.  Holden says, “We gave our word.”  Borgnine angrily responds, “That ain’t what counts.  It’s who you give it to!”

  • Some Life Advice From Ibn Zafar Al-Siqilli (“The Sicilian”)

    In this podcast we discuss some life advice offered by the medieval Arabic political theorist and philosopher Ibn Zafar in his treatise, Consolation of the Ruler Amid the Hostility of His Subjects.  I’ve written several articles before about him that can be found on this site (use the search box in the upper right corner),…

  • The Travels Of Dr. Thomas Shaw

    He remains one of the most impressive of the forgotten European explorers of the Middle East.  He was born in Westmoreland in 1692, and entered Queen’s College at Oxford in 1711.  Graduating in 1716, he accepted a position with a British commercial post in Algiers; this gave him the opportunity for a meandering journey through…

  • Scipio Puts Down A Mutiny In His Army

    There are times in life for calm reflection, and there are also times for ruthless and decisive action.  When a man is faced with external danger and is being pressed by a crisis, he must act with speed and decision.  The following anecdote, described in Appian’s Spanish Wars (VI.7), demonstrates why Scipio Africanus is eminently…

  • Vanity Brings Waste And Ruin

    According to his biographer Ibn Khallikan, a Christian physician of Baghdad named Ibn al-Talmid who practiced there around the year 1100 spoke the following words of advice:

  • The Five Protecting Companions

    Our trusted friend Ibn Muqaffa provides us with the following advice which I have committed to memory:

  • The Reality Of The G Manifesto

    In this podcast we answer some of the most common questions I’ve received about the G Manifesto. “Who is he?” “What does he do?” “Is he really doing the things he says he’s doing?” We discuss some of the take-away lessons, and then go into some recent tweet readings.

  • Coming In 2019: A New Translation Of Cornelius Nepos’s “Lives Of The Great Commanders”

    Fortress of the Mind Publications is pleased to announce that 2019 will see the release of the first  illustrated, annotated translation of Cornelius Nepos’s Lives of the Great Commanders to appear in modern English.

  • Victory On Ice: The US vs. The USSR In The 1980 Winter Olympics

    If you’re feeling down and have two hours to spare watching an old sporting event, here is something guaranteed to lift your spirits.  It is the hockey game played between the United States and the Soviet Union at the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York.  I wanted to post this game for several…

  • On Living Near The Ocean

    Although I do not live near the ocean now, I grew up in a small town that was close to it.  The spirit of place enters imperceptibly into one’s bloodstream; and one gets used to the tang of rotting seaweed, the early morning salt mist, the relentlessly shifting dunes, and the omnipresent screams of the…

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