Ancient and modern
The dutiful Duke
The reason why Greeks and Romans would have found it difficult to eulogise the Duke of Edinburgh was that he…
Models of obedience
Protests are being staged against the proposed bill to change the laws on protest. But there is a bigger issue…
Split decisions
Divorcing couples are being given vouchers worth £500 to settle their problems by mediation rather than going to court. It…
Roman culture wars
Identity politics empowers people to make all sorts of claims, not because they are true but because it makes them…
Meghan and stoicism
Meghan Markle seems to see herself as a ‘victim’. Had she called herself a victima in Rome, it would have…
Salmond’s revenge
Ancient Greeks were not slow to express their enthusiasm for taking revenge. Observing the recent proceedings in the Scottish parliament,…
Invaluable wrongdoing
Modern historians, excoriating the past evils of e.g. slavery and imperialism are taking the understanding of history back to its…
The enquiring minds of Egypt
The government has plans to fund a new research agency to back ‘cutting-edge science’. Ptolemaios (Ptolemy) I (367-282 bc), the…
Navalny vs the emperors
A Roman emperor would consider the tyrant Putin’s treatment of Alexei Navalny’s supporters as foolish but, looking at Russia as…
Natural successor
When it comes to natural history, Sir David Attenborough rules the airwaves. Pliny the Elder (d. ad 79) who, as…
On liberalism
Certain parts of academia seem to wish to turn the study of classics away from a historical, language- and evidence-based…
Cicero, mutuality and BLM
The Black Lives Matter website (different from the new Black Liberation Movement) mostly presents an image of an organisation of…
Take the hard road
Diversity is ‘about empowering people by respecting and appreciating what makes them different, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, religion,…
Words to that effect
In his 37-book Natural History, Pliny the Elder (d. ad 79) wondered why we wished people ‘Happy new year’ (primum…
Respect vs rigour
Professor Toope, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge university, had proposed a motion ordering all members of the university to ‘respect’ each…
Plato beats the pundit
Today presenter Nick Robinson has been reflecting on the political interview. He contrasts his interviews with scientists about Covid with…
Swear words
Freed from the bonds of the European Union, Britain is now in a position to sign whatever trade deal it…
Classic examples
To what use does one put history? Romans thought it provided ‘lessons’. Modern historians rather sniff at the idea, but…
Trump’s revenge
Donald Trump may be a narcissist, but since he is not mentally ill in the technical sense, he is not…
In it to win it
So Humpty Trumpty has had his great fall. But how democratic or logical was his election in the first place…
Natural order
The ancients knew nothing about global warming, but they still reflected on the relationship between man and nature. In the…
Sovereign value
The term ‘Carthaginian’ is often used of the EU’s attitude to post-Brexit trade negotiations with the UK, i.e. as if…
The madness of crowds
To beat the virus, the government is asking us to keep to simple hands-face-space guidelines. When these are not followed,…
Who speaks for Boris?
A spokeswoman has been appointed ‘to communicate with the nation on behalf of the Prime Minister’. He apparently needs ‘a…
How to be content
The Covid-19 pandemic is apparently causing a large number of mental health problems. On that subject, one could do a…
