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Honoring One’s Word, And The Power Of Fate
The minister Al Rabi’ Ibn Yunus (الربيع بن يونس) lived from about A.D. 730 to 785 and served the Abbasid caliphs Al Mansur and his successor Al Mahdi. Amusing and instructive anecdotes have come down to us from the medieval Arabic historians about the interactions of the minister with his sovereigns. We will relate two…
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An Epitaph For Fidel Castro: The Failure Of Self-Mastery
He was from youth a strong-willed and charismatic man, certain of the correctness of his ideas and the importance of his mission. It is probably true that in the beginning he genuinely wanted the best for his country, and he was possessed of a burning desire to right the wrongs he saw all around him. Cuba…
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Homesickness And “Saudade” (Podcast)
We deal with two related subjects in this podcast. One is the topic of homesickness. What is it? How can it be dealt with? We also discuss the elusive concept of saudade, and how it can be a powerful emotional force.
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An Unexpected Consequence Of The Crusades
On the subject of the results of the Crusades, much has been written. The effects were profound and stimulating, practically too numerous to be mentioned here. At that time, Europe was behind the East in arts, knowledge, and refinement. Edward Gibbon tells us:
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The Three Things That Deflect Us From Love
Several days ago I received a warm email from a young guy in Brooklyn who had read one of my recent articles here. The story, told in the form of a fable, underscored the importance of taking the initiative in matters of love. His questions were these: How do I know when to take the…
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The Fate Of A Collaborator
At one point in the Gothic War during the reign of Justinian, the Romans (or as we would now call them, “Byzantines”) under Belisarius were besieging a Gothic garrison at the town of Osimo in Italy. The blockade of the town was very effective, and the inhabitants had been reduced to eating almost anything to…
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A Bit Of Bedroom Wisdom
The biographer Ibn Khallikan tells the following amusing anecdote about the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu’tadid (المعتضد بالله). He lived from about 860 to 902 A.D. The story makes the point that one must be decisive in matters of love and seduction. To hesitate with a beautiful woman can be ruinous.
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Herman Melville’s “The Confidence Man: His Masquerade”
The Confidence-Man was Herman Melville’s last novel. By some weird cosmic joke it was (perhaps suitably) published on April Fools’ Day in 1857. It is a difficult and in some ways ambiguous work, but yields up rich rewards for those willing to stay in the race to the end.
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Unusual Battle Injuries In Ancient Combat
The historian Procopius relates some unusual combat injuries of the Gothic War, which took place from 535 to 554 A.D. as part of the emperor Justinian’s attempt to bring back the Italic peninsula and its environs back into the Roman fold. A few incidents stand out as worth of relation here. In our modern age…
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Sunday Movie Roundup (11/13/2016)
I didn’t post any reviews last week because I didn’t have any time to watch movies. I did have some time this week. Here are the results.
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We Don’t Know The Struggles That Other People Have (Podcast)
A recent experience reminded me that we often don’t appreciate the struggles that others have gone through, or the burdens that they may be carrying. Perspective is one of the first lessons of philosophy, and we should make an effort to get outside our own skin and see things from the perspectives of others. Being…
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Any City Can Be Taken
Any fortress can be stormed, and any city can be taken. It is a matter of using the correct tactics, combined with daring and imaginative leadership. Some citadels fall to guile, and others to brute force; still others yield to a combination of the two. We will consider the fall of Naples, an event that…
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Essential Clam Chowder
There are two foundational chowder recipes to be familiar with: fish chowder and clam chowder. We have already dealt with fish chowder in an earlier article, and will now talk about its sibling relation. The clam chowder I know best is the classic New England clam (or quahog) chowder; this recipe was adapted from one…
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How To Foil A Psychic
Abu Ma’ashar al-Balkhi (A.D. 787-886) was a Persian philosopher and astrologer who flourished during the time of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. Educated in the usual manner of his day with logic, jurisprudence, rhetoric, and the religious sciences, he turned to astrology late in life at the age of 47. We cannot quite call him…
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“Vanity Of Vanities, All Is Vanity”
Gelimer lived from about 480 to 550 A.D. and was the ruler of the Vandal kingdom in North Africa for four years from 530 to 534. The emperor Justinian aspired to restore Roman control over the region, and to this end sent his general Belisarius to expel the barbarian trespassers. This he did. Gelimer was…
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On Chowder
I grew up in southeastern Massachusetts. I’ve heard now that they have some hifalutin name for the area; they call it the “south coast.” Christ. What a lot of marketing nonsense. In the early 1980s nobody used “south coast” for anything. Anyone trying to would probably gotten smacked on principle alone. But that’s where I’m…
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Cato’s Advice On Purchasing A Farm
Cato the Elder (234-149 B.C.) is one of those legendary figures in early Roman history. Known for his stern, uncompromising vision with regard to personal morality, rules, and social obligations, his treatise On Agriculture (De agri cultura) constitutes the earliest complete Latin prose text that has survived.
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Repairing Strained Or Broken Relationships
A subject not often discussed is the topic of how to repair strained or broken relationships. It is one that comes up in everyone’s life, so it will be useful to make a few suggestions about it here. We will talk about relationships involving friends, family, and lovers. [To read the rest of the article,…
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Be The Phantom Of A Vision: The Wisdom Of Ibn Munir
In medieval times there was a Syrian poet known for his acrid wisdom in verse, as well as for his distaste for dealing with nonsense. Time and convenience has mercifully shortened his lengthy name (which we will not trouble the reader with here) to Ibn Munir al-Tarabolusi, or more commonly Ibn Munir.
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Sunday Film Roundup (10/30/2016)
Once again, it’s time to make the donuts. Here’s a view of what’s come across my field of vision this past week.
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Gaining And Maintaining Confidence (Podcast)
A reader talks about how he is having issues with keeping his confidence up. We offer some suggestions that provide practical ways to overcome fears and self-doubt. Time and experience are the keys here.
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Opposites Are The Cures Of Opposites
Readers may be familiar with the Seinfeld television show episode where the George Costanza character resolves to do the opposite of everything he normally does. The idea actually has a legitimate pedigree, at least with regard to ancient medical science.
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A Homeland Is Precious
The outlines of the following story appear in Procopius’s Wars (II.12.8). The Assyrian king Abgar V governed a region that had its capital at the city of Edessa. The exact dates of his birth and death are not known, but he apparently ruled from around 4 B.C. to 7 A.D. and again from about 15…
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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