Ancient and modern
Hyperides vs Jack Straw
In responding as they did to the Daily Telegraph ‘sting’, Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind may well have done…
Today’s TV debates are pointless – here’s the real thing
Ancients would have been astonished that parties never debate against each other in open, public forum except on the telly…
Julius Caesar could teach Isis a thing or two
Isis disseminates videos of beheaded captives to spread simple terror. Julius Caesar knew all about it. In his diaries of…
What Cicero knew that David Davis doesn't
The MP David Davis has lamented that the British seem to prefer laws that protect their security rather than guard…
The Magna Carta was hopelessly behind the times
Important as the Magna Carta (ad 1215) has been as a founding myth for everything we hold dear about law…
Syriza could have learned from Aristophanes. Instead it's headed for Greek tragedy
The German chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her desire for Greece to remain part of the European ‘story’. Since Greeks…
Socrates, Aristophanes and Charlie Hebdo
What would the ancients have made of Charlie Hebdo? The First Amendment tolerates the expression of opinions, however offensive, but…
Ched Evans: law vs people power
‘This was the rule for men that Zeus established: whereas fish, beasts and birds eat each other, since there is…
What MPs need is an oath with consequences
Before taking their seats in Parliament, all MPs must swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen. Mark Durkan, MP…
An ancient Olympic tradition that Fifa would love
Those nice people at Fifa seem to be having a terrible time from the British press, which never stops accusing…
How the Romans taught Latin (N.M. Gwynne would not approve)
Barely a week passes without someone complaining about the teaching of English or foreign languages, usually because it involves too…
Aristotle had David Mellor’s number (Andrew Mitchell’s, too)
Andrew Mitchell and his ‘effing pleb’ of a policeman, David Mellor and his ‘stupid sweaty little shit of a taxi…
Nicky Morgan vs Socrates
After the Philae space-lab’s triumph, one can see why Education Secretary Nicky Morgan should have hymned the ‘Stem’ subjects (science, technology, engineering…
Aristophanes on Mazher Mahmood
Undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood, otherwise known as the Fake Sheikh, has been accused of dodgy dealing in luring the innocent…
The lesson of Athens: to make people care about politics, give them real power
Voters explain their apathy about politics on the grounds that the politicians do not understand them. No surprise there, an…
No, Richard Branson, our greatest achievements don’t come from our greatest pain
Explaining the death of a pilot testing a Virgin Galactic rocket-ship, Sir Richard Branson intoned: ‘I truly believe that humanity’s…
Forget Ukip – what we need is some ostracisms
For all Nigel Farage’s appealing bluster, he is never going to be in a position to get us out of…
Why the Ancient Greeks thought adultery was worse than rape
A footballer serves his sentence for rape, insisting on his innocence. Debate rages whether he should play again. To us,…
Hannibal (and Alexander the Great) vs the Islamic State
Whatever the Islamic State hopes ultimately to achieve by its current onslaught on all and sundry in the Middle East,…
The ancient roots of Alex’s Salmond’s demagoguery
Alex Salmond spent two years campaigning for independence for Scotland on the grounds of ‘social justice’. Now, claiming that the…
What Romans would have made of Obama's Syria strategy
President Obama was assailed for saying that the USA had no strategy on combating Isis. Vegetius (late 4th century AD), the…
The Boris Island of ancient Athens
During his lecture on Athens at the Legatum Institute (see p. 22), Boris Johnson placed great emphasis on Athens’ development…
Would Alex Salmond give up his job to a heckler? It happened in Athens
Alex Salmond claims to be thrilled that so many people in Scotland are suddenly gripped by politics. The importance of…
Horace still understands happiness better than the LSE
So here comes another book about how to be happy, written by Professor Dolan, an ‘internationally renowned expert’ at the…
Why the Ancient Greeks didn’t have middle-aged spread
A drug has been invented to halt what is known as middle-aged spread. But it would be so much better…
