There are some who take a relaxed view of human intervention in the events of Fate. They believe that nascent crises can be placed on the “back burner,” so to speak, and left to stew in their own juices until a reasonable solution presents itself. They say that one should monitor developments, stay informed of the shifting winds, and act when one can be reasonably certain of a favorable outcome.
One of the characteristics of the fool is his inability to comprehend the idea of boundaries. He has failed to learn what rules of conduct can, and cannot, be broken. He flaunts his whims and desires without any care as to their consequences; he rates his own judgment above that of all others, and scorns the normative guidelines of social interaction. He believes that what he wishes to be done, in fact ought to be done, and reverse-engineers whatever rationalizations are needed to vindicate his behavior.
A reader is worried about his persistent feelings of lethargy and aimlessness. He’s in a rut in his life, and his routine is becoming more and more oppressive. He’s not sure what the problem is, and wants to know the best way to deal with the situation.
Historical opinion is often divided on the subject of famous military commanders. The good favor of historians may be divided with regard to their abilities, their judgments, and their battlefield results; and this favor can shift with time as readily as sand drifts aggregate and dissipate in the desert. Douglas MacArthur is one example. Some see him as a brilliant strategist and tactician, using sophisticated combinations to outflank and out-maneuver his opponents; others see only a vain egoist whose achievements were obscured by his personal flaws.
First published in 2014, Thirty-Seven defied conventional categorization and quickly achieved classic status. This seminal work—both supremely relevant to the modern era yet fervently evocative of the glories of ages past—contained the elements of a worldview that would be expanded and elaborated in the author’s later works Pantheon, Pathways, and in other writings.
Al-Mu’tamid ibn Abbad (المعتمد بن عباد) lived from 1040 to 1095 and was the last ruler of the Abbadid kingdom of Seville. He was raised under the fold of royalty, and enjoyed the pleasures and good fortunes that come to young princes. In 1069, upon the death of his father Abbad al-Mu’tadid, he inherited the dominion of Seville; his domain included a large part of southern Spain.
Travelers and explorers march on; and I march on with my retellings of their adventures and philosophies. I suspect that few readers will have heard of the great English traveler and philanthropist Jonas Hanway; yet his career and worldview embodies many of the values we have extolled here, as we will understand later in this article. Hanway’s journeys in Russia and Persia alone make him worthy of inclusion among any list of great itinerants; but, when these experiences are combined with his expansive moral and ethical philosophy, we have the ingredients of true greatness. The world needs more men like him now.
Corruption is like a virus, or a noxious weed. If you turn your back on it for even an instant, you will find it has found creative ways to grow and spread. Like any human activity, it can never be completely eradicated; but it can certainly be tamed and curbed, and prevented from interfering with the purposes of government. But it takes leadership and determination, and a willingness to take certain risks. And if anyone thinks that one man can make no difference in such matters, he need only study the example of Antonio Tron.
On the subject of prophecies, men are accustomed to take differing viewpoints. Some say that the predictions of oracles and diviners mean nothing at all, and should be counted as so much nonsense: any “true” predictions they make are solely the result of blind coincidence. Others say that they have independent value as evidence of our imaginative capacity; and that prophecies are, more or less, records of our psychological projections and subconscious desires. Still others believe that they should be seen more as predictions of what might happen, rather than statements of what will happen. As in so many other things, it will be the responsibility of each reader to decide for himself. But it seems to me that we should at least acknowledge that such practices have been around for millennia, and that they are found across the globe within nearly every society and culture.
Long are the roads walked by the lonely, intrepid traveler. Not for him are the well-worn pathways of the conventional sightseer; for he is a seeker, and seekers by definition prefer the untrod vistas of the globe. He will deliberately chose the unknown road, the trails less walked, the scenes less scrutinized, and the more risky propositions: and he does this because he must, because some devilish inner compulsion drives him forward, like a demon nipping at his heels.
Quintus Curtius 
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