The birthdate of the philologist and grammarian Yacub Ibn Al-Sikkit (ابو يوسف يعقوب ابن السكيت) is not known with certainty, but 800 A.D. is a reliable estimate. His father enjoyed notoriety and prestige in court circles, and may have conferred on his son some access to the corridors of power. The sobriquet “Al-Sikkit” was given to him because of his taciturnity, for the Arabic verb sakata (سكت) means “to be silent.” However, as the reader will soon discover, he was evidently not silent enough.
In this podcast, we discuss a reader’s email asking about the differences between courage and recklessness. What are the parameters? And how do we know when we have gone too far?
We then close with more G Manifesto tweet readings.
In the year 1260, Tuscany was engulfed in war. The cities of Florence and Siena were engaged in mutual hostilities. About twenty-five miles from Siena was located the small town of Montalcino, which happened to be a friend and ally of Florence. The Sienese hoped that by staging an attack on Montalcino they might be able to compel the Florentines to send an expedition for its relief–an expedition that, they hoped, they could lure into a trap. To this end, the Sienese government publicly announced their intention to move against Montalcino, and watched to see what the Florentine response would be.
Quintus Curtius 
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