Elon Musk and the art of flattery
Flattery will get you everywhere, as the sycophants that surround Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping know.…
The Romans wouldn’t have put up with Thames Water
It is embarrassing to compare Thames Water’s efforts even to the Greeks, let alone the Romans. Most Greek cities got…
The Roman approach to tax
The Sunday Times rich list would have excited the male citizens over the age of 18 who determined state policy…
Pope Leo XIV – lion or a pussycat?
Will Pope Leo turn out to be a lion or a pussycat? That depends on what he has to confront,…
Who could persuade you to fight for Britain today?
This week we celebrated VE Day. When Pericles remembered the dead from the war against Sparta in his famous Funeral…
What would Livy have made of Trump’s treatment of Harvard?
It is not surprising that Donald Trump holds the law in contempt. That is what happens when you have a…
How Roman emperors handled hair loss
Donald Trump’s obsessive ‘awhairness’ makes one wonder: why is it so important to him? The topic was of some interest…
Cicero’s case against astrology
The young in Canada are said to be taking up astrology. But why? Do they think Mark Carney is a…
Trick or treat
A Today programme presenter used the term imperium (cf. ‘emperor’) with reference to Donald Trump’s desire to annex Greenland. To…
How to live morally (according to the Romans)
‘Make America Great Again!’ cries Donald Trump. ‘Do Britain Down Again!’ (DOBRIDA!) screech our academic historical institutions. That was not…
How the Romans handled rival religions
A hadith attributed to Muhammad said that there would be 73 sects of Islam (of which only one would reach…
Does might make right?
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin both believe that might is right. The whole question fascinated the ancient Greeks. In his…
The Roman approach to ending a war
We await the full details of Donald Trump’s ‘take it or leave it’ solution to the Ukraine war, but at…
Aristotle and the leisurely pursuit of education
Nearly six million people are on out-of-work benefits. It is claimed that, for most of those, going back to work…
The ancient art of making friends in high places
‘I get along with him well. I like him a lot,’ Donald Trump has said of Sir Keir Starmer. ‘He’s…
Do Gen Z really want to be ruled by a dictator?
Generation Z(oomer), aged roughly between 13 and 28, have expressed a desire to be ruled by a dictator. That term…
What Bridget Phillipson has in common with Plato
One does not like to disagree with one’s editor, but while the image of Rome salting the earth of its…
The Greeks, not Labour, should be teaching children oracy
The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson wants schools to teach oracy, i.e. the ability to present orally a clear and cogent…
Lessons for Keir Starmer from Cicero
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and his chosen Attorney-General, Baron Hermer, both professional lawyers, seem to take the view…
The curious cures of ancient Greek medicine
Ancient Greek thinkers tried to explain every natural phenomenon in human terms, without reference to magic or gods. That was…
How Aesop’s fables apply to today’s politics
Aesop’s animal fables, as Robin Waterfield points out in his new translation, were certainly not written for children: the animals…
