10 Comments

I feel the passion in this essay. A strong passion communicated softly. Well done Alex.

Now I will save this post in my head as a companion piece to C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man:

"In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."

Expand full comment

Classic and spot on!

Expand full comment

Great post! Reminds me of the last few lines of the poem:

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Expand full comment

Nice thought from Longfellow. From another American poet:

Lowell called Lincoln "a type of the true elder race,

And one of Plutarch's men talked with us face to face."

Expand full comment

So glad you left academia! Your podcast is the best.

Expand full comment

Great poast. Thanks Alex!

Expand full comment

I’m glad you used the term “on the test.” Modern education has produced a whole class of people whose only question is, “Is this gonna be on the test?” They graduate to ask themselves, “Is this part of the Approved Narrative?”

Expand full comment

I vaguely remember being instructed at some point to eschew the "Great Man" theory of history because they were all flawed (like university professors aren't), but I never could. I studied several obsessively. Many years later, my most recent great man book was a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Several years ago I read a book called "Guns, Germs and Steel," the idea of which is that Western Civilization didn't deliberately accomplish anything, that its growth and development was a series of accidents of history. To this author, random environmental factors made it possible for the West to conquer the Western hemisphere and Australia, displacing the indigenous inhabitants. According to the author, the habits of thought, discipline and actions of the conquerors were not really factors. He ignored the improvements in the standards of living for everyone that the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution brought about. As I was reading it I knew it was a bunch of malarky that was written to appeal to perpetual victims and discourage everyone else from accomplishing anything worthwhile.

Expand full comment

I've enjoyed the John Dryden translation of Plutarch, but are there alternatives that are markedly better?

Expand full comment

Great article. I’m a history teacher. I’ve become very distraught when searching for good history videos for kids because of the extreme criticism directed at historic figures, or the tacking on of current day political agendas. For example, a Ted-Ed (for kids) on Enheduanna delved into her supposed bisexuality, a kid’s book called “What Was the Age of Exploration” contained vitriolic attacks on Magellan, a Time video about the American Civil War warned viewers that one modern day political party are racists hell bent on suppression of black votes. It’s Orwellian, exhausting, and demoralizing.

Expand full comment