The political philosopher Ibn Zafar, in his masterful treatise Consolation for the Ruler During the Hostility of his Subjects, states as follows:
Continue readingVerdicts Vary With Time
Thought
On The Impudence Of Servants
There is an unintentionally amusing passage in a letter Petrarch sent to his brother Gherardo in 1349. In it, the harried scholar pours out his frustration at the antagonistic and insulting behavior of his servants:
Continue readingOn The Collapse Of Friendship
Some of our most painful experiences can be the unexpected dissolution of friendships once thought to be robust and dependable. The memories of shared joys persist, troubling our consciences with conflicting and perplexing emotions. How did the collapse happen? What degree of culpability do I share in this outcome? What, if anything, might have been done differently? These thoughts, and many more like them, haunt and oppress our retrospective inquiries.
Continue readingWith 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:
Continue readingThe 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.
Continue readingLet 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.
Continue readingWhat 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 an assortment of cranks, religious ideologues, demagogues, and rogues; while the left, which once represented the interests of the working classes, has been almost entirely overwhelmed by a venomous and destructive obsession with identity, race, and gender politics, which accomplishes nothing except to corrode the fraternal bonds essential for the maintenance of a healthy social order. The inevitable result of this acute polarity has been a debilitating paralysis. Congress can hardly accomplish anything except token and toothless half-measures, which succeed only in delaying problems, instead of solving them.
Continue readingA 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 furnish himself or herself with the seeds of a solid and enduring education.
Continue readingFourteen 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 tolerant caliph, the following rumination was found among his writings:
Continue readingWhen 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 on dried kindling. And it has precisely the same effect.
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Quintus Curtius 
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