Author: Quintus Curtius

If You’re Not Losing, You’re Not Learning

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If you encounter someone who claims to have a perfect record, and says he has never lost in some field of endeavor, take the claim with a grain of salt. Statements like this can be misleading, and often do not tell the whole story. If you want to learn and grow, you need to know that you’re going to lose. And you will lose a lot! Someone with a perfect record may not have taken sufficient risks. If you cherry-pick all your battles, and never challenge yourself, you’re not going to learn and grow.

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As I Found Him, So Did I Leave Him

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There is an anecdote told about the Athenian commander Iphicrates during the time his forces were defending the city of Corinth from 393 to 391 B.C. 

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On Prepared And Extemporaneous Speeches

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We will discuss the preparation and delivery of the prepared and the extemporaneous speech.  I find that, in reviewing the vast corpus of writing about this subject, most authors have devoted their attentions to abstract theories and didactic classifications, instead of practical and effective advice.  My comments here are not intended to be an exhaustive study of the art of speech-making; they are meant only to suggest what methods have worked well for me in twenty-five years of trial work before the bar.   

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The Three Branches Of Government And Their Responsibilities (Podcast)

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In this podcast we describe the three branches of the United States government, their responsibilities, and some related details. I had been asked some questions about this subject, and thought it might be useful to discuss it. A related topic is this: what happens if one branch of government exceeds its authority?

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The Ovation Givers

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The lawyer and epistolarian Pliny the Younger, in his correspondence with a friend, vented his anger on the sycophantic atmosphere surrounding certain courts of his era.  The centumviral courts—so called because they were composed of pools of one hundred men (centum viri)—were courts of equity dealing primarily with civil matters.  Offended by the insolence and effrontery of the practitioners and advocates before the bar who had no respect for tradition and decency, Pliny writes:

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Courage And Cacozelia

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Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin was a Soviet intelligence officer who first began work for his country’s security services in the late 1940s.  During the 1950s, he was sent on various overseas missions; but he was apparently ill-suited to field work, and was reassigned to a desk job as an archivist. 

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Four Factors Affecting The Credibility Of An Argument

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The rhetorician Quintilian, in his study of the orator’s education (IV.2.52), stated that there were four factors affecting the credibility of a forensic argument.  By forensic argument, we mean a speech or writing that examines past events and evidence in order to evaluate culpability.

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Certainty And Reasonable Probability Are Totally Different Things

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The Stoic philosopher Ariston of Chios was said to have believed strongly that the wise man should avoid making absolute judgments.  Certitude, he felt, was neither possible nor desirable. 

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On The Punishment Of False Prophets

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De poena prophetarum falsarum.  If a leader cannot base his decisions on verifiable truth, or on the closest approximation of what he believes to be the truth, he will not escape calamity.  He must surround himself with advisors who have his, and not their own, interests at heart; and he must seek independent confirmation of advice provided, especially during times of war or crisis. 

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The Times Must Be Right For Extraordinary Characters (Podcast)

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For a great personality to flourish and find expression, the historical times must be favorable. History is filled with examples of great men who withered in obscurity simply because the periods in which they lived were unable to hear their voices. Greatness can only accomplish so much; it must be nurtured by propitious circumstances.

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