When a new leader assumes a position, it is often necessary for him to undertake significant reforms. If he wishes to make lasting changes to the system, he should undertake to do so both quickly and boldly. To wait too long is to risk seeing one’s foes united against you; and when embarking on a course of reform, it must be made clear that the old ways of doing things will no longer do. Bold adjustments are often more effective than half-hearted measures.
The humanist and historian Biondo Flavio (1392–1463) conducted a historical survey of all of Italy, going through the country region by region. The result of his labors was the massive Italia Illustrata, probably the first topographical survey since ancient times. We have recorded elsewhere his description of bird-hunting in Anzio. We will now linger over his description of the rich agricultural regions near Verona and the River Adige.
For those who wish to seek it, precious knowledge can be found in many different places. The secrets of history, warfare, personality, leadership, good, evil, life, love and many other things can usually be located by diligent seekers. But it is one thing to know something: and it is quite another to put that knowledge into practice. Why is this? There are many reasons.
We have previously discussed the career and work of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún. Another major pioneer in the study of early Mexican antiquities was the intense French abbé Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg (1814–1874). He remains another name nearly lost to history, but a good case can be made that without his work, we would know far less than we do about the culture of old Mexico and Guatemala.
In this podcast, we discuss some questions about the role of “Adrastia” or “Nemesis,” the ancient goddess of retribution. We also talk about the redemptive power of struggle as the theme of the compelling 2011 film The Grey, which starred Liam Neeson.
We have observed that one of the themes of ancient literature is the concept of Fate or Fortune. We find it first expressed in the plays and heroic poems of the Greeks; the idea then seeped into the writing of history and biography. Closely associated with this concept is the idea of divine retribution for offending the gods. Those who showed contempt for divine or human law would be humbled by the harsh blows of Fate: no man could expect to thumb his nose at the laws of the universe and get away with it.
Little known today is the courageous Catholic friar, linguist, and ethnographer Fray Bernardino de Sahagún. He was born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499 and drank deeply from the well of Renaissance humanism that had been washing over Europe for several decades. Mastering Latin at an early age, he startled his instructors with the intensity and depth of his observational powers. He arrived in Mexico (New Spain) in 1529 with a group of Church prelates whose job it would be to convert the natives to Catholicism.
What is the motive behind North Korea’s belligerent behavior? Who is pulling the strings in the background? And what is the best way to resolve this situation? We discuss the power realities in East Asia and explore some options for the United States at home and abroad.
There is a steady stream of news these days about North Korean missile launches and nuclear tests. Accompanying this news are debates and discussions about how the United States should handle the situation. I wanted to offer my own assessments and opinion on the matter.
The Italian humanist Ciriaco de’ Pizzicolli lived from 1391 to 1452. He is more commonly known as Cyriac of Ancona. While most humanists of his era were content to labor at their desks, he was unusual in that he sought to observe ancient monuments and inscriptions in person. He was, in fact, one of the very first to undertake a systematic survey of the surviving monuments of Greek antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean; his work is of great value to the modern antiquarian, since many of the inscriptions and temples he sketched now no longer exist, ravaged by the cruelties of time and man.
Quintus Curtius 
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