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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  • When To Wait, And When To Strike

    There are times in a leader’s experience when it will be prudent to watch and await developments.  Sometimes more is to be gained by figuratively taking off one’s pack, sitting down on the side of the road, and monitoring the flow of events, than by leaping into the fray.  On the other hand, there are…

  • Dixon Denham: Pioneering British Explorer Of Central Africa

    We have previously described in these pages the exploits of Heinrich Barth, one of the titans of African exploration.  Before him was Dixon Denham, a British explorer whose name is also hardly known today.  He covered some of the same ground as did Barth, but he had a different style; where Barth was a scientist…

  • Edward King: Sacrificing Fortune And Life For Scholarship

    Of some scholars, or patrons of the arts, it can be said that they sacrificed everything for their work.  Of others, this cannot be said.  Edward King, Viscount of Kingsborough, belongs to the former category.  His name is almost entirely unknown today, but he occupies a significant place in the pantheon of heroes who helped…

  • Six Points About Balancing Passion And Practicality In Educational Choices (Podcast)

    A reader has some questions about giving his son advice on educational and career choices. He is torn between emphasizing what is “practical” and what he feels “passionate” about. Which one is more important? And if given the option, which one should be emphasized? I offer six points that might help him in coming to…

  • Portents And Divination: Themis, Iris, And The Goddesses Of Fate

    The belief in portents and auguries was common before the modern era.  We moderns, comfortably ensconced in our towers of science and “rationalism,” are likely to view with extreme skepticism the notion that future events can be foretold.  Such a view would appear to some as a superstitious relic from a less enlightened era.  Or…

  • Rise Of The Ironclads: A Revolution In Naval Warfare

    One of the most famous naval engagements in American history was the duel fought at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on March 9, 1862 between the ironclad warships USS Monitor and CSS Merrimack (more precisely named the CSS Virginia).  I have recently been learning much more about the details of the battle, in Richard Snow’s wonderfully entertaining…

  • A Portuguese Translation Of My Essay “The Engrossed”

    I was informed today that an excellent Portuguese translation of my essay The Engrossed appeared on the site Nuvem de Giz.  I very much appreciate the efforts of translator Sr. Daniel Castro, and am grateful that he found the essay to have been worthy of his efforts.  The translation can be found here.

  • A Phone Call With Stalin

    Stalin biographer Steven Kotkin relates this ominous anecdote in the second volume of his monumental three-volume study of the Soviet dictator’s life and times.  It shows–perhaps more clearly than any other anecdote–just how a man’s fate can hinge on a few critical moments in his life.

  • Movie Roundup (11/15/2017)

    In this podcast we discuss three movies: “Good People” (2014), “Smoke and Mirrors” (El Hombre de las Mil Caras)(2016), and the truly unsettling “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” (2017).

  • Heinrich Barth: An Incredible Explorer And Ethnographer

    The name Heinrich Barth is almost unknown today.  But he is without doubt the greatest explorer that Germany produced in the nineteenth century, and probably even in the twentieth.  Not only did he penetrate completely unknown regions of Africa, but he kept a meticulous record of his travels, to such an extent that his published…

  • Great Deeds Of Valor From The Fourth Crusade

    Geoffrey of Villehardouin (1160–1212?) is known as one of the first important names in French historiography.  Unlike his predecessors, he was not a dry chronicler; he was a historian who participated directly in the events he described, and was reasonably objective by the standards of his day.  His book, The Conquest of Constantinople, is a…

  • The Remarkable Memoirs Of Madame Roland

    When a writer composes his or her memoirs while in prison awaiting execution, we owe it to ourselves to consider what they have to say.  It may be a cliché that the prospect of death focuses the memory and concentration, but it is a cliché that is powerfully true.  In Chapter 5 of Thirty-Seven, I…

  • On The Forgetting Of Offenses And Insults

    It is a good thing for us to cultivate our aggressive spirit.  Life requires participation, and participation demands endurance and adrenaline; and he who enters battle with a spirit of meek submissiveness is likely to get precisely what he asks for.  All this is true.  Yet the patient endurance of the pack-mule may be just…

  • Movie Roundup (11/4/2017)

    In this podcast we provide short reviews of five movies I’ve seen recently: Hell or High Water (2016) Life (2017) Son of a Gun (2014) Black Snow (Nieve Negra) (2017) Michael Clayton (2007)

  • The Fragility Of Historical Knowledge: The Case Of Lorenzo Boturini In Mexico

    In the modern era we like to think of knowledge as something indelibly fixed and permanent.  We take it for granted that it will always be here, like the Great Pyramid, and are apt to overlook the bitter struggles that our ancestors may have endured to acquire such knowledge.  Information has not always been as…

  • Paulus Catena: The Psychology Of An Accuser And The Anatomy Of A Witch-Hunt

    Witch-hunts and persecutions thrive in environments where certain conditions are met.  There must be some driving motivation, such as greed, envy, ideology, or hate; there must be willing accomplices who spread accusations and create new ones; and there must exist some tolerance of the persecution, whether from the leadership at the top or from the…

  • The Brutal Siege Of Amida

    The Persian king Shapur II (A.D. 309–379) decided early in his reign to recover by force several of the Roman Empire’s eastern provinces, especially the rich lands of Mesopotamia and Armenia.  In the year 359 he focused his attention on capturing the city of Amida; the city was located in the spot currently occupied by…

  • Film Roundup (10/25/2017)

    L’Argent (1983) (Money) Director:  Robert Bresson

  • Trust In Fate, Rely On Your Abilities, And Keep Moving

    There are times in life when we need to have blind faith in forward momentum.  We need cease the deliberations, the doubts, the equivocations, and the rationalizations.  We should, instead, resolve to maintain a steady forward pace, trusting to our own abilities and the favorable intercession of Fortune.  We may not have contingency plans for…

  • The Man Of Action Should Not Expect Gratitude From Others

    We have recently discussed ways of handling a lack of appreciation.  A certain independence of spirit–a soaring greatness of soul–is one of the main ways we can limit our expectations of appreciation from others.  Consider again, if you need to, the verses of Ibn Munir on this subject, which capture perfectly this spiritual independence.  As…

  • How To Deal With Feeling Underappreciated (Podcast)

    A reader who is doing volunteer work says he’s feeling underappreciated and taken advantage of in his work. He wants to know to maintain his focus and positivity, and at the same protect himself from being used. We discuss some strategies and insights.

  • At What Point Can A Man Be Called Happy?

    The historian Herodotus (I.30) relates an anecdote involving a conversation between the Lydian king Croesus and the Athenian statesman Solon.  Solon once found himself as a guest at Croesus’s court.  The king knew that Solon was renowned for his wise judgment and careful consideration of life’s important questions.  So he could not resist asking the…

  • John Ireland: Captured By Cannibals In The South Seas

    We have here related incredible tales of suffering, adventure, and endurance.  The little-known account of the adventures of John Ireland ranks high on the list of harrowing stories of nineteenth century explorations.  The world was a larger place then, vastly less explored than now, and some places in the remoter regions of the globe were…

  • Dealing With Treachery And Treason

    Betrayal, treachery, and treason are among the most hated of crimes.  From antiquity until our own time, commanders have devised numerous ways to prevent or limit them.  Some examples are presented here.  The reader will discover that all of them involve either incentives or punishments; sometimes a mixture of the two is employed.  The Roman commander…

  • Why You Should See “Blade Runner 2049” (Podcast)

    In this podcast we talk about Denis Villenueve’s new film, the visually dazzling Blade Runner 2049.  In conception and execution, this film accomplishes the rare feat of being a sequel that is entirely worthy of its predecessor.  We’ll give a few reasons why this movie is worth a careful viewing, and why I think it…

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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.