You can always learn something new on the road. Here are a few travel lessons I learned last week that might be useful for your own trips.
Author: Quintus Curtius
Coming In December 2018: A New Annotated And Illustrated Translation Of Cicero’s “On Moral Ends”
In December, Fortress of the Mind Publications will be releasing my new annotated and illustrated translation of Cicero’s work On Moral Ends (De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum). This announcement will provide some details about the book and what it contains.
Case Studies In Conflict: Richard Overy’s “War: A History In 100 Battles”
We hear a lot of talk about “new generations” of warfare. Everything is supposed to be new, different, and immutably changed from previous eras of conflict. Some people have even taken to numbering what they see as historical phases of warfare. First generation, second generation, third generation, etc. While there is some merit to this classification system, I think its disadvantages outweigh its advantages. Such neat categorizations tempt us into believing that things are somehow different now than they have been in the past.
The Ghosts Of Cumae
The ancient town of Cumae was the oldest Greek colony in the west. It was founded in the last quarter of the 8th century B.C. From the town’s acropolis one can see the island of Procida and its smaller islet of Vivara; farther away is the island of Ischia. Mycenaean artifacts have been found on these islands, proving the presence of Greek colonists in the area in the 8th century. We are told that Ischia was called Pithekoussai in Greek, which means “island of the monkeys.”
Driving On The Amalfi Coast
This was one of the best drives of my life. If you ever have the chance to see the Amalfi Coast, see it. This is not some ride through the same sea-side villages you’ve seen in other places: it is something very different. It’s a community that is literally built into the cliffs and rocks that overlook the sea, and this gives it a feel of something like a human bat colony, or an ancient hive. Photos can never really do it justice, but I hope they can give the reader an idea of what to expect.
The Road To Tusculum
Today I visited the site of the old Roman town of Tusculum. It is located in the Alban Hills outside Rome, near the modern town of Frascati. It is close to Barco Borghese, Monte Porzio Catone, and Montecompatri. In Cicero’s day, Tusculum was known as a fashionable spot for the elite to have summer villas. Cicero himself owned a villa in Tusculum, and although its precise location has not yet been identified, he and his friends walked the ground there many times.
On The Banquets Of Montezuma
There must be many times when the participants in great historical events can scarcely believe their good fortune in being present to witness the momentous events in question. Chance has its role in history; and whether Fortune or virtue plays the deciding role in human events is a question that we must leave to the philosophers. Cicero tells us (On Moral Ends V.5) that Theophrastus’s treatise On the Happy Life placed too much weight on the role of Fortune, and not enough emphasis on virtue.
Sometimes You Have To Be Wrong (Podcast)
Our society places too much emphasis on the individualistic need to win every argument, to be right in all things, and to impose our will on others. Sometimes, you need to swallow your pride and let things go for the sake of preserving harmony. Stop trying to be “right” all the time. You will find yourself feeling better, less stressed out, and more at peace. Sometimes, being good is more important than being “right.”
Johan Nieuhof’s Pioneering Travels In China
Johan Nieuhof was one of the most accomplished Dutch travelers of the seventeenth century. Although he made separate and independently valuable explorations in Brazil, India, and China, it was his experience in China that has made his name known to history. No serious student of Asian history and economic affairs can afford to overlook him or the implicit lessons of his travels.
The Limits Of Predictive Power: Graham Allison’s “Destined For War”
The central thesis of Dr. Graham Allison’s Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? is relatively straightforward to state. When a rising power (China) is confronted by a relatively declining power (the United States), the declining one often resorts to making war on its enemy. Allison’s term for this phenomenon is “Thucydides’s Trap,” a phrase taken from the following observation by the great Greek historian: Continue reading
Quintus Curtius 
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