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Thoughts On Friedrich Nietzsche (Podcast)
Nietzsche is one of the most popular and discussed of the modern philosophers. He tends to be highly polarizing: some see him as a kind of secular saint, while others see him as a laughable poseur. I wanted to give my own thoughts on his life, ideas, and place in the history of thought.
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“How To Get Over A Breakup”: An Ancient Guide To Moving On (Literary Review)
How To Get Over A Breakup: An Ancient Guide To Moving On, by Ovid. Translated and introduced by Michael Fontaine. Princeton University Press, 2024. Available in hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook. Ovid is the most famous of the amorous poets of Rome’s literary Golden Age. What distinguishes him from his approximate contemporaries Tibullus and Propertius is…
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With Useless Delays, Threats Succeed
According to the biographer Ibn Khallikan, the poet Ibrahim Al-Suli (?—857 A.D.) was once employed by a caliph to compose a threatening letter to some rebellious subjects. The letter contained the following words:
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You Can’t Separate The Message From The Messenger (Podcast)
Some people think the only thing that matters is what a teacher or instructor says, not what their character is. I don’t agree with this. In choosing a teacher or instructor, we have to remember that character and integrity are all-important. Nothing good can ever come from moral corruption, as Cicero has said. You have…
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How Do You Define Success? (Podcast)
In this podcast, we discuss a very revealing video that appeared on YouTube a few weeks back. Someone who prioritizes materialism and appearances is confronted by another man who has a very different value system. The resulting clash between the two of them is highly revealing.
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The Tale Of The Rat And The Gerbil
The following tale is found in Ibn Zafar’s political treatise, The Consolation For The Ruler During The Hostility Of His Subjects. Because it is likely to unfamiliar to most readers, I will paraphrase it here.
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Two Letters Of Consolation From Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln’s literary powers were a product of his life experiences and his innate abilities. From a young age, his exposure to tragedy had been personal and continuous. The death of his mother, the death of Ann Rutledge, and various other hardships had given him an acute sensitivity to the meaning of loss. In the…
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Let Us Never Despair (Podcast)
This is a podcast reading of my essay Let Us Never Despair, which was published here on May 18, 2024. What is the origin of despair? And how may it be confronted? We provide some answers to these questions, and related ones, in this podcast. The man of virtue and fortitude will never abandon himself…
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Let Us Never Despair
There is an inscription in the Bayeux Tapestry which reads Isti mirant stella, or “these men wonder at the star.” The scene in which it appears depicts a group of men pointing to a highly stylized image of Halley’s Comet, which made an appearance around the time of the Norman conquest of England.
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A Conversation With “Lance’s Legion”
I had a great conversation yesterday with Lance, the proprietor of DVX Publishing, a publisher dealing with books in the areas of political science, history, leadership, and military affairs. It was a free-flowing discussion that covered a lot of ground in moral philosophy, ethics, and current events. I also encourage you to follow him on…
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What Happened To The Progressive Right?
It has been clear for some time that neither the American political right, nor its counterpart on the left, has capably embraced the leadership challenges of twenty-first century modernity. Even a cursory survey of the political landscape reveals a dismal picture. On the right, we find the mouthpieces of corporatist and plutocratic reaction, mixed with…
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A Program Of Education
A reader has asked me to provide my thoughts on what topics would be suitable for the homeschooling of his precocious eight-year-old daughter. I thought I would take the opportunity to expound at some length on what would be a suitable course of study for any student of any age, male or female, seeking to…
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Fourteen Days Of Happiness
The historian Edward Gibbon, in Chapter LII of his history, offers an instructive quotation alleged to have been spoken by the first emir of Cordoba, Abd Al Rahman III. This prince ruled a considerable part of Spain for a period of thirty-two years, from A.D. 929 to 961. Upon the death of this laborious and…
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Seconds Away From Armageddon: The Story Of Soviet Submarine K-129 (Podcast)
Kenneth Sewell’s cogent, well-argued, and deeply unsettling book Red Star Rogue claims that on March 7, 1968, a rogue Soviet submarine destroyed itself while attempting to launch its ballistic missiles at Honolulu. How could this submarine have penetrated US waters undetected? What actually happened aboard the K-129? Why has the incident been kept secret for…
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When Courage Is Needed, Someone Always Has To Go First
It has been said that both courage and cowardice are contagious. This is certainly true, as anyone who has spent time with a group engaged in some kind of enterprise knows well. Courageous or cowardly actions always begin with one man; his example, witnessed by the rest of the group, is like a firebrand thrown…
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How To Destroy Your Business (Podcast)
Why do some businesses do inexplicable things that harm their brands? How is it that they do not appreciate the need to stay loyal to their customers or clients? What are the consequences of these failures? We take a look at how Colt Firearms, an iconic American brand, made a series of decisions in the…
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James Madison And Abraham Lincoln: Contrasts In Wartime Leadership
It will be useful to compare the leadership styles of two wartime American presidents of the nineteenth century. James Madison was president during the War of 1812, while Abraham Lincoln occupied the office of chief executive during the American Civil War. The first of these must be counted a failure as a wartime commander-in-chief, while…
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The Importance Of Direct Experience (Podcast)
There are people who feel starved for direct, real experience. They see themselves as living a lie, and are desperate to fill the void. So they channel their energies into avenues that offer little in terms of real value: “life coaches,” counselors, “nutrition experts,” etc. What they are really lacking is the inner satisfaction that…
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Webinar Discussion Of Cicero’s “On The Nature Of The Gods”
In September 2023, I was fortunate enough to participate in a webinar to discuss some aspects of Cicero’s On the Nature of the Gods. It really was a great discussion. The participants were Dr. Michael Fontaine of Cornell University, Anya Leonard of classicalwisdom.com, and myself. You can view the entire webinar here:
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“How Should I Pray?” (Podcast)
A reader asks a question I’ve never heard before: “How should I pray?” Although it’s not an easy question to answer, I offer some thoughts and suggestions that relate to these points:
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The Vase Of Hormuzan
In Gibbon’s history (Ch. 51), there is an anecdote related to the Arab military campaigns in Persia in A.D. 639 to 640. It concerns a nobleman named Hormuzan, who was, we are told, “a prince or satrap of Ahwaz and Susa.” Modern historians have identified him as the governor of Khuzestan, and one of the…
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Soft Sentiments And External Warnings Are The Opponents Of Great Plans
In a letter to Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1361, the scholar Petrarch included the following lines of advice:
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There Is No Place Which Armed Ambition And Avarice Cannot Reach
The Italian scholar Petrarch spent a significant period of time in southeastern France as a boy and a young man. In 1311, when he was seven years old, he moved to Avignon with his family; in 1312, he moved to the small town of Carpentras and remained there until 1316. During other periods of his…
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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