History

Two Immortal Speeches Delivered By The Emperor Julian

Quintus Curtius History, Thought , ,

The Roman emperor Julian, wary of the encroaching borders of the Persians, undertook a military campaign against the Persian Empire in March of A.D. 363.  Despite some initial successes, the operation resulted in a defeat for Roman arms and Julian’s own death in battle.  Yet the field of conflict yielded more than just a litany of forgotten sieges and dusty marches.  The emperor had occasion to deliver two masterpieces of rhetoric, expressive of some of the noblest, and most memorable, sentiments ever uttered by a wearer of the imperial purple.  We will review both of them here. 

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The Horses Of Sybaris

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Sybaris was an ancient city of Magna Graecia in southern Italy.  Its ruins are located in the modern Italian province of Calabria.  The historians tell us that it was founded around the year 720 B.C., and that it persisted as a community until around 440 B.C. 

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Gold Mountain

Quintus Curtius History, Travel & Exploration , , , ,

The outline of the story that follows appeared in Edward R. Snow’s volume The Fury of the Seas, which was published in 1964.  Snow relates that he first became aware of its details in 1934.  His book is now long out of print, so it will be a pleasure for us to retell it here.

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Roosevelt In Cuba

Quintus Curtius Biography, History ,

Theodore Roosevelt was going to Cuba when war with Spain broke out, and no power on earth was going to stop him.  As Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he had fought, schemed, and maneuvered to get an officer’s commission, and he had prevailed. 

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The Discovery Of Andrea Palladio’s Lost Literary Masterpiece

Quintus Curtius History, Literature , ,

Andrea Palladio is considered one of the most distinguished names in the history of architecture.  His designs of villas, churches, theaters, and palaces have for centuries been held as exemplars of the High Renaissance genius for adapting classical styles and themes to modern purposes. 

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Ancient Greek Athleticism And The Idea Of Virtue

Quintus Curtius History, Thought , ,

This morning my friend Dr. Michael Fontaine sent me an email that contained the following quote by the French Enlightenment thinker Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle.  When Fontenelle, at the age of 85, met Rousseau in 1742, he counseled him, “You must courageously offer your brow to laurel wreaths, and your nose to blows.” 

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What You Vote For, You Must Also Commit To

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The Athenian statesman and general Phocion lived from about 402 to 318 B.C.  He was famous for his frugal and unassuming personal habits; and he always put the interests of his country first, in stark opposition to his careerist, opportunistic contemporaries. 

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The Betrayal Of Günther Müller

Quintus Curtius History

The following story is taken from John Koehler’s masterfully researched Stasi:  The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police (1999).  It is just one of countless tales of tragedy, suffering, and betrayal that took place in East Germany between the years 1945 and 1989.  As the memory of communist oppression continues to recede in time, it becomes increasingly important to document, for the benefit of future generations, its fearsome scope and unrelenting cruelty. 

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General Jacob Bayley, Patriot And Man Of Character

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General Jacob Bayley remains one of the most obscure figures of American Revolutionary War leadership.  Yet in our present age of debilitated moral strength, feeble character, and flexuous purposes, the details of his life and deeds are both instructive and edifying.

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The Patriotic Wisdom Of General John Stark

Quintus Curtius History, Thought

One of the most impressive names in the annals of American Revolutionary War leadership is that of General John Stark of New Hampshire.  Few of his peers equaled him in fighting prowess, tenacity, and strength of character; and while his name may be unfamiliar today, this is only because he was an apolitical animal who scrupulously refused to seek the garlands of notoriety and fame.

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