War Begins; This Way to the Stars

Caesar did nothing wrong

In case you don’t hear from me after this post for a while, we’re expecting a baby in this household imminently…

Debate Course + Tournament

I’m organizing a 6-week online debate course + contest with my team at The Rostra. We’ll teach you some principles of formal debate that apply widely, and then do a ton of practice.

The prize will be a partial scholarship to a Cost of Glory event of your choosing (such as our Greece Retreat). Date coming very shortly, late June or early July.

Civil War I - Breakdown

I’m doing Caesar’s biography in an idiosyncratic way. First there were parts 1 & 2 of his bio, and now I’m doing a 3-part series on the Civil War, following his commentaries and his campaigns in detail. My feeling is, you’ve got to appreciate Caesar the writer (and general) if you want to appreciate Caesar the man.

Let me know what you think.

Applied Platonism

I’m joining my friend Teodor Bille over at the Walking with Gods Substack for a course on applied Platonism. Few people I’ve met really try to see how Plato’s theory of the forms could be a guide to practical life. Teo is doing just that. (He integrates modern physics, and calls it Quantum Platonism).

Very excited for this. Here’s an article of his distinguishing true knowledge of the Good vs. the kind that leads noble men to delusion, even destruction.

Link to the course is here - no fee, just a voluntary donation this round.

This Way to the Stars

Everyone wants to go to space these days. And the Latin motto “Sic itur ad astra” is often quoted.

But the context is usually forgotten. It comes from a moment when Apollo congratulates Aeneas’ son Ascanius for killing his first enemy in battle (with an arrow through the head).

“Sic Itur ad Astra” is thus about a violent rite of passage requiring courage and personal transformation.

Here’s a recent thread where I go into more detail.

Stay Ancient,

-Alex