There are times in history where the right man in the right place can make all the difference. Accidents of fate, the changing circumstances of fortune, and the randomness of events all conspire to turn predictability into uncertainty; yet a man of learning, vision, and character may, at times, interpose himself in the middle of these whirlwinds and by his actions change the course of history. It happens all the time.
In the early seventeenth century, the steppes of Russia were almost entirely unknown to western Europeans. Forests were thicker than they are now, roads were fewer and more difficult to navigate, and travel required much more money and resources than it does now. One had to be sponsored by a wealthy patron, or be an official representative of a government. It is to this latter category that the German explorer Adam Olearius (1599–1671) belonged; he was one of the first westerners to penetrate deeply into Russia and Persia, and the account he left behind is one of the more fascinating works of travel literature that I have seen in recent years.
There is a fable told in the Roman emperor Julian’s oration To the Cynic Heracleios that is worth relating and discussing. The fable is rather involved, but we will extract its relevant parts here. The god Hermes once appeared before a youth who, though virtuous and good, was having some difficulties in life. Hermes said to the young man:
After saying a few words about the great explorers and travelers of the past, and explaining why a study of their exploits is more important for us than ever before, I give a podcast reading of my most recent article, Charles Sturt: A Pioneer Of Australian Exploration.
The student of the history of exploration and discovery cannot fail to notice certain recurring patterns in the lives of great explorers. Many of them come from modest or poor backgrounds; many have military experience; many are driven by an inner conviction that they are destined for great achievements; many have a high tolerance for pain and hardship; and some of them have combative or disputatious natures that make them difficult to get along with. Not all of these generalizations are found in every explorer, of course. But it cannot be denied that a certain personality type is well-suited to a life of exploration.
We have previously mentioned the political philosopher Ibn Zafar Al-Siqilli (“The Sicilian”), who lived from 1104 to about 1171. Very little is known of his early life; his entry in Ibn Khallikan’s Biographical Dictionary reveals little more than a few sad anecdotes. We do know that he was born under the Norman rule of Sicily, and received a good education in Mecca in Arabia. A period of wandering followed, which ended around 1150 when he secured a teaching position in Aleppo, Syria. When war broke out in Syria, Ibn Zafar moved back to Sicily; some years later he moved back to Syria, ultimately residing in Hama, where he died around 1172.
[The article I published yesterday on Sean Connery was translated into Portuguese by Mr. Daniel Castro].
Tradução por Daniel Castro.
Em suas memórias de 1988 Travels, o autor Michael Crichton lembra-se da época que ele passou com o ator Sean Connery durante as filmagens de The Great Train Robbery na Irlanda em 1978. Crichton, o famoso autor de Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, Disclosure, e algumas outras histórias populares, também era um diretor de filmes. Connery era a estrela de The Great Train Robbery, e Crichton claramente estava impressionado com o escocês vulcânico. As anedotas que ele relaciona ao carisma masculino de Connery deixam claro que os homens hoje em dia podem aprender muito com ele.
In his 1988 memoir Travels, author Michael Crichton recalls the time he spent with actor Sean Connery during the shooting of the film The Great Train Robbery in Ireland in 1978. Crichton, the famed author of Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, Disclosure, and a number of other popular novels, was also once a film director. Connery was the star of The Great Train Robbery, and Crichton clearly was in awe of the volcanic Scotsman. The anecdotes he relates of Connery’s masculine charisma make it clear that men today can learn a great deal from him.
Stalin biographer Stephen Kotkin spends several pages of his book discussing the lessons to be learned from Mussolini’s seizure of power in Italy in the early 1920s. It was something that happened gradually, in stages, when institutions that should have been able to bring him to heel did nothing, either due to their own lack of resolution or tacit support of his power grab.
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Of the German explorers of the eighteenth century, the only man whose accomplishments rival those of Alexander von Humboldt is Carsten Niebuhr. His extensive travels and surveys in the Near East and India resulted in specific geographical data, surveying information, and historical insights. This was no dreamy wanderer; this was a trained professional, a man who was tough, hard-bitten, and practical, with the astuteness to process what was going on around him and commit his observations faithfully to paper.
Quintus Curtius 
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