Brother and Sister His twin sister Scholastica, who was consecrated to God from her very childhood, used to come once a year to see him; unto whom the man of God was wont to go with his brethren to a house not far from the gate, within the possession of the Monastery. On one occasion, his sister, entreated him saying: “I beseech you, leave me not this night, that we […]
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“The Wars of the Jews” by Flavius Josephus
The Religious Sects Among the Jews The first are the Pharisees; the second, the Sadducees; and the third sect, which pretends to a severer discipline, are called Essenes. The Pharisees are those who are esteemed most skillful in the exact explication of their laws. These ascribe all to fate, and to God, and yet allow, that to act what is right, or the contrary, is principally in the power of […]
Read moreC. S. Lewis: God is Very Unscrupulous
A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere – ‘Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,’ as Herbert says, ‘fine nets and stratagems.’ God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous. –C. S. Lewis “Surprised by Joy” All the books were beginning to turn against me. Indeed, I must have been blind as a bat not to […]
Read more“The Rise of the Roman Empire” by Polybius
The Roman Constitution The Roman Constitution has three interdependent elements: monarchy (The Consuls), aristocracy (The Senate) and democracy (The Tribunes of the People). Their respective share of power in the whole state are regulated with a scrupulous regard to equality and equilibrium. This, according to Aristotle, is the golden mean of the form of government. Polybius attributes the original conception of this type of constitution to Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver, […]
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Plutarch: Life of Pericles
Pericles was a pupil of Zeno the Eleatic, and perfected a species of refutative catch which was sure to bring an opponent to grief. But the man who most consorted with Pericles and did most to exalt the dignity of his character, was Anaxagoras the Clazomenian, whom men of that day used to call ‘Nous,’ either because they admired that comprehension of his; or because he was the first to […]
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Plutarch: Life of Lycurgus
The Laws of Lycurgus Long before Adam Smith developed the idea that commerce was necessary for the accumulation of wealth, Lycurgus, the legendary Spartan lawgiver, had used this principle to curb the avarice of his countrymen, and laid down a constitution for one of the most eminent commonwealths in the ancient world. The Spartan Constitution, according to Plutarch, was also the model for Plato’s Republic. After creating the senate to […]
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“The Civil War” by Julius Caesar
Two of the greatest generals of Rome, Caesar and Pompey, war against each other for life, glory, honor, dominance and, above all, the fate of the Roman Republic. The Gallic War lasted 8 years (58 BC – 51 BC), but the Civil War, from the very beginning till the decisive Battle of Pharsalus and death of Pompey, a year and a half (49 BC – 48 BC), a rather short […]
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