classics digests, reflections and reviews
On June 30, 2023, the last day of the court’s term, the Supreme Court of the United Status issued its ruling in the case of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. The ruling was the same as I had predicted six months ago. The opinions are a little disappointing, however. Both the majority and dissent seem to have difficulties reconciling rights to free speech and rights to equal access. The majority […]
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Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963 When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words […]
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Preface To paraphrase Plato, the price we pay for indifference to reason is to be ruled by unreasonable people. On a personal level, I seek to understand the laws that affect or govern my life. If I cannot understand the laws, but am forced to abide by them, I’m no different from a slave; On a societal level, true democracy depends on reason. A democratic society is healthy only so […]
Read moreSome men think the earth is round, others think it flat. It is a matter capable of question. But if it is flat, will the King’s command make it round? And if it is round, will the King’s command flatten it? No, I will not sign. –Thomas More “A Man for All Seasons” When reading published opinions on the Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case, I’m baffled […]
Read moreTertullian was a prominent Latin Church Father of the second and third century, probably a jurisconsult in Rome, and one of the best legal minds in the history of Western Civilization. Among his writings are the earliest and most coherent formulations of legal principles now commonly known as “freedom of conscience” and “consent of the governed”. In more than one ways, these principles are corollaries of Judeo-Christian morality. First, the […]
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Demosthenes was one of the most popular authors and the most influential orator in the ancient world, if the number of extant manuscripts is any indication, as I noted in a previous post. On the Crown is Demosthenes’ most popular oration, having thirty-two extant manuscripts, by contrast, Cicero’s prosecution speech In Verrem, which launched his remarkable political career, has six extant manuscripts. In his treatises on oratory, Cicero acknowledges Demosthenes […]
Read moreThe villains in Shakespeare’s plays always seem to have the best lines. It’s been more than 20 years since I first heard “The Merchant of Venice” on the radio, and I still remember Shylock’s “do we not bleed” speech. Few can evoke a stronger feeling of the brotherhood of man. The Voice of Reason What stands out to me, reading the play this time around, is the irrational nature of […]
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