A careful reading of Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli’s (“The Sicilian”) masterpiece of political philosophy Sulwan al-Muta’ (سلوان المطاع في عدوان الأتباع, or The Consolation of the Ruler in Dealing with the Hostility of His Subjects) shows an emergent theory of political revolutions. In a previous article here we have discussed the fundamentals of the subtle Sicilian’s treatise. We will now give the details of his ideas on how revolutions are born and take hold in a nation.
A reader has a question about the direction he should take in life. His father died recently, and he is feeling the effects of delayed shock and repressed anger. He feels like he has been denied a positive role model.
I offer some thoughts and suggestions, using an anecdote and then some commentary.
It is right for us to celebrate great deeds of valor of ages past. By doing so we are inspired to achievement in our own affairs, and become connected to that electric current of masculine virtue that winds through the entire landscape of civilized, productive effort on this earth. It is good for us to be reminded of the feats of our predecessors; for if they fought, struggled, and overcame, then we know we have the ability to do the same. Let us now turn our attention to Italy during the waning days of the Renaissance.
The historian Ammianus, in describing the brief career of the usurper Procopius (326–366 A.D.), comments on the moral corruption inevitably caused by the abuse of power and privilege. It will have a familiar ring to those accustomed to the practices of contemporary politics:
Some months ago The Guardian published an article about the reopening of a reconstructed mithraeum (Temple of Mithras) in London. I had known about the cult of Mithras for some time; the Roman emperor Julian, whom I have written about, was a devoted follower of the religion. Yet it remains almost totally unknown to the public, even to students of classical literature and ancient history. It will be useful to review its origins, doctrines, and the reasons for its extinction.
Coconut debris, machetes, game meats, natural oils, custom suits, and the whole 9 yards. This authorized podcast goes into more details about the themes talked about in my last podcast, “The Surrealistic World of Michael Porfirio.” We delve deeper to extract the timeless lessons for the modern man, and explain the nuances.
The rest is up to you.
Every traveler has a different tale, but the travel itself has the same purpose: to push through boundaries, overcome obstacles, and to seek out what is not known. This impulse in man will never change. And it is right that this is so, for without it the progress of the human race might come to a shuddering halt. In reviewing the lives and careers of great travelers, we feel almost as if they were animated by some unconscious impulse, some unfathomable compulsion, to thrust out the boundaries of their knowledge. Every man must determine for himself his own outer limit. The demarcation is intense, and personal; and it cannot be any other way.
This podcast is a change of pace. I talk about one of my favorite Twitter accounts, the account of @MichaelPorfirio, and I discuss why I think it actually has, in its own distinctive surrealistic way, legitimate artistic merit.
Sometimes we need to be thrown curve balls here and there, to keep us all on our toes.
The name Muhammad al-Salami (محمد السلامي) (A.D. 948–1003) is nearly unknown in the West, but occupies a prominent position in medieval Arabic poetry. The genius of his metaphors, the richness of his turns of phrase, and the elegance of his diction can be felt even through the fog of translation; and we will do our best to pay him homage here. The anthologist Abu Mansur al-Tha’alibi called him:
In this podcast I discuss three separate questions sent to me by readers. The questions are:
Quintus Curtius 
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