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 Tripod’s Prophecy And The Death Of The Emperor Valens
On the subject of prophecies, men are accustomed to take differing viewpoints. Some say that the predictions of oracles and diviners mean nothing at all, and should be counted as so much nonsense: any “true” predictions they make are solely the result of blind coincidence. Others say that they have independent value as evidence of…
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The Travels Of William Of Rubruck In Central Asia And Mongolia
Long are the roads walked by the lonely, intrepid traveler. Not for him are the well-worn pathways of the conventional sightseer; for he is a seeker, and seekers by definition prefer the untrod vistas of the globe. He will deliberately chose the unknown road, the trails less walked, the scenes less scrutinized, and the more…
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Ibn Zafar’s Ideas On Revolutions
A careful reading of Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli’s (“The Sicilian”) masterpiece of political philosophy Sulwan al-Muta’ (سلوان المطاع في عدوان الأتباع, or The Consolation of the Ruler in Dealing with the Hostility of His Subjects) shows an emergent theory of political revolutions. In a previous article here we have discussed the fundamentals of the subtle Sicilian’s…
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“Don’t Thank Me, Boy” (Podcast)
A reader has a question about the direction he should take in life. His father died recently, and he is feeling the effects of delayed shock and repressed anger. He feels like he has been denied a positive role model. I offer some thoughts and suggestions, using an anecdote and then some commentary.
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The Combat Of Sonnenberg And Sanseverino
It is right for us to celebrate great deeds of valor of ages past. By doing so we are inspired to achievement in our own affairs, and become connected to that electric current of masculine virtue that winds through the entire landscape of civilized, productive effort on this earth. It is good for us to be…
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Bad Character Will Inevitably Bring Consequences
The historian Ammianus, in describing the brief career of the usurper Procopius (326–366 A.D.), comments on the moral corruption inevitably caused by the abuse of power and privilege. It will have a familiar ring to those accustomed to the practices of contemporary politics:
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The Religion Of Mithras And Its Mysteries
Some months ago The Guardian published an article about the reopening of a reconstructed mithraeum (Temple of Mithras) in London. I had known about the cult of Mithras for some time; the Roman emperor Julian, whom I have written about, was a devoted follower of the religion. Yet it remains almost totally unknown to the…
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The Porfirio Effect (Podcast)
Coconut debris, machetes, game meats, natural oils, custom suits, and the whole 9 yards. This authorized podcast goes into more details about the themes talked about in my last podcast, “The Surrealistic World of Michael Porfirio.” We delve deeper to extract the timeless lessons for the modern man, and explain the nuances. The rest is…
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The Travels Of Constantin De Volney
Every traveler has a different tale, but the travel itself has the same purpose: to push through boundaries, overcome obstacles, and to seek out what is not known. This impulse in man will never change. And it is right that this is so, for without it the progress of the human race might come to…
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The Surrealistic World Of Michael Porfirio (Podcast)
This podcast is a change of pace. I talk about one of my favorite Twitter accounts, the account of @MichaelPorfirio, and I discuss why I think it actually has, in its own distinctive surrealistic way, legitimate artistic merit. Sometimes we need to be thrown curve balls here and there, to keep us all on our…
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Removing The Veils Of False Modesty: The Life-Affirming Philosophy Of Al-Salami
The name Muhammad al-Salami (محمد السلامي) (A.D. 948–1003) is nearly unknown in the West, but occupies a prominent position in medieval Arabic poetry. The genius of his metaphors, the richness of his turns of phrase, and the elegance of his diction can be felt even through the fog of translation; and we will do our…
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Three Questions From Readers (Podcast)
In this podcast I discuss three separate questions sent to me by readers. The questions are:
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The Right Man In The Right Place Can Make All The Difference
There are times in history where the right man in the right place can make all the difference. Accidents of fate, the changing circumstances of fortune, and the randomness of events all conspire to turn predictability into uncertainty; yet a man of learning, vision, and character may, at times, interpose himself in the middle of…
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Adam Olearius: Amazing Travels And Explorations In Russia And Persia
In the early seventeenth century, the steppes of Russia were almost entirely unknown to western Europeans. Forests were thicker than they are now, roads were fewer and more difficult to navigate, and travel required much more money and resources than it does now. One had to be sponsored by a wealthy patron, or be an…
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The Counsel Of Helios To A Noble Youth
There is a fable told in the Roman emperor Julian’s oration To the Cynic Heracleios that is worth relating and discussing. The fable is rather involved, but we will extract its relevant parts here. The god Hermes once appeared before a youth who, though virtuous and good, was having some difficulties in life. Hermes said…
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The Imperative Of Discovery: Charles Sturt’s Australian Explorations (Podcast)
After saying a few words about the great explorers and travelers of the past, and explaining why a study of their exploits is more important for us than ever before, I give a podcast reading of my most recent article, Charles Sturt: A Pioneer Of Australian Exploration.
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Charles Sturt: A Pioneer Of Australian Exploration
The student of the history of exploration and discovery cannot fail to notice certain recurring patterns in the lives of great explorers. Many of them come from modest or poor backgrounds; many have military experience; many are driven by an inner conviction that they are destined for great achievements; many have a high tolerance for…
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Ibn Zafar’s Principles Of Power And Success In Leadership
We have previously mentioned the political philosopher Ibn Zafar Al-Siqilli (“The Sicilian”), who lived from 1104 to about 1171. Very little is known of his early life; his entry in Ibn Khallikan’s Biographical Dictionary reveals little more than a few sad anecdotes. We do know that he was born under the Norman rule of Sicily,…
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Michael Crichton Sobre As Virtudes Masculinas De Sean Connery
[The article I published yesterday on Sean Connery was translated into Portuguese by Mr. Daniel Castro]. Tradução por Daniel Castro. Em suas memórias de 1988 Travels, o autor Michael Crichton lembra-se da época que ele passou com o ator Sean Connery durante as filmagens de The Great Train Robbery na Irlanda em 1978. Crichton, o famoso autor…
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Michael Crichton On The Masculine Virtues Of Sean Connery
In his 1988 memoir Travels, author Michael Crichton recalls the time he spent with actor Sean Connery during the shooting of the film The Great Train Robbery in Ireland in 1978. Crichton, the famed author of Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, Disclosure, and a number of other popular novels, was also once a film director. Connery…
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How Benito Mussolini Took Power
Originally posted on Quintus Curtius: Stalin biographer Stephen Kotkin spends several pages of his book discussing the lessons to be learned from Mussolini’s seizure of power in Italy in the early 1920s. It was something that happened gradually, in stages, when institutions that should have been able to bring him to heel did nothing, either…
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Carsten Niebuhr: Sole Survivor Of The Danish-Arabian Expedition
Of the German explorers of the eighteenth century, the only man whose accomplishments rival those of Alexander von Humboldt is Carsten Niebuhr. His extensive travels and surveys in the Near East and India resulted in specific geographical data, surveying information, and historical insights. This was no dreamy wanderer; this was a trained professional, a man…
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Why We Must Seek The Divine Within Us
Upon his accession to the throne of Augustus in A.D. 364, the emperor Valentinian gave a short address to his troops. The speech is related in Ammianus Marcellinus’s history (XXVI.1). The historian tells us that Valentinian appeared on an open expanse of ground and mounted a platform that had been arranged for this purpose; he…
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Why We Should Not Rely On First Impressions
It is often said that a man should rely on his first impressions of things when trying to form a final judgment. There is some merit to instinct; but it seems to me that reasoned deliberation will always provide more accurate results than the shifting sands of sense-perception. We cannot know all things, or even…
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Carl Friedrich Philip Von Martius’s Daring Explorations In Brazil
Men undertake explorations and great journeys for many reasons. Some expeditions–such as those undertaken by Denham, Burton, Burckhardt, and others like them–are primarily focused on expanding geographical knowledge, commercial information, and ethnographic data. Others, such as those of Humboldt, Rondon, Lewis and Clark, and von Barth, are more interested in the collection of scientific information…
Original copy of Cicero’s De Officiis (On Duties) published in Holland in 1642. From the collection of Fortress of the Mind.
Quintus Curtius 
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