The Autodidact, New Series I: Why Latin Matters, Part A
Anyone interested in the study of the ancient Greeks and Romans–the languages, the literature, history, philosophy, etc–may wish to visit the Autodidact on Fleming.Foundation.
Author: Thomas Fleming
Humpty Dumpty on Idiots
I continue to learn the most amazing things on Facebook–generally the things I thought I knew in grammar school and had to spend a lifetime unlearning. Today, someone recirculated a meme with the old wheeze that “idiot” comes from a Greek word meaning private citizen who did not take an interest in public affairs, to which a libertarian–very reliable people, libertarians, one knows what they are going to respond before a question is posed–that the polis was everything.
Humpty Dumpty: The New Blasphemy
In a previous light-hearted exercise in “revenge fantasy,” we touched upon the secular/blasphemous misuse of words with strong religious or cultural roots.
The Prince: How to Gain and Keep a Kingdom
In Chapters 5-8, Machiavelli surveys, without a trace of moral indignation, the various ways by which a prince may gain power and, perhaps more importantly, how his long-term success is at least partly conditioned by the means he used to establish his rule.
Question of the Day: If we had a country, what would it be like?
For example, would we allow people from Third World Islamic nations that hate Christ and despise the West to immigrate, become citizens, vote, and hold office?
Matter Matter Matter, Part I
I am frequently asked, sometimes more than once a day, what I think of an article in a conservative magazine or some oracular pronouncement from the guru of the moment, whether the guru of the moment be Jordan Peterson or Bernard-Henri Lévy, Greg Mortenson (co-author of Three Cups of Tea) or Tucker Carlson, Bill Maher or Noam Chomsky. When I have something better to do, I dismiss the question by saying I have not read enough of the writer or guru to form an opinion.
A Brief Account of Siena, Part II
In Tuscany, as in ancient Greece, neighborhoods and religious associations played a major part in the organization of everyday life. In Tuscany the church Parishes and the neighborhoods that grew around them, whether known as quartieri (quarters), sesti (sixths), or (in Rome and elsewhere) rioni were the locus of many activities, including the repair of roads and walls.
The Government We Deserve: Postscript
If we can trust a recent Rasmussen poll, nearly half the eligible voters in the United States believe the republic established by the mythical founding fathers has crumbled. Predictably, Republicans are more inclined to this gloomy opinion than Democrats, and perhaps surprisingly, women more than men.
Siena: A Brief Account, I
If access to the sea determined the future of Pisa as a race of sailors and adventurers, Siena’s location in the arid mountains was equally significant. Despite the great beauty of the landscape, the fact is that Siena lacked water and was subject to serious droughts.
Pisa: Decline and Fall
Seeing an opportunity in the Pisan disaster, Florence and its Guelf allies struck, but after the fall of Ugolino, Pisan patriotism revived, and–short of men–in 1292 they secured a famous condottiere, Guido da Montefeltro, who trained the Pisan militia to use crossbows and recovered the city’s lost fortresses from both Lucca and Florence.
