Art lies in concealing art. –Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (December 8, 65 BC – November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). His career coincided with Rome’s momentous change from a republic to an empire. An…
Open societies, in their pluralism, create an anxiety that brings about a reaction toward a fixed organic state, which, then as now, serves both the interests of an oligarchy and those of a frightened, insecure population looking to arrest change. We live, certainly, in societies that are in many ways inequitable, unfair, capriciously oppressive,…
Diogenes used his simple lifestyle and behavior to criticize the social values and institutions of what he saw as a corrupt or at least confused society. In a highly non-traditional fashion, he had a reputation of sleeping and eating wherever he chose and took to toughening himself against nature. He declared himself a cosmopolitan…
This same will has at its service an apparently opposite drive of the spirit, a suddenly adopted preference of ignorance, of deliberate shutting out, a shutting of one’s windows, an inner No to this or that, a prohibition to approach, a sort of defensive attitude against much that is knowable, a contentment with the…
229. In these later ages, which may be proud of their humanity, there still remains so much fear, so much SUPERSTITION of the fear, of the “cruel wild beast,” the mastering of which constitutes the very pride of these humaner ages–that even obvious truths, as if by the agreement of centuries, have long remained…
In the age of Socrates, among men of fatigued instincts, among the conservatives of ancient Athens who let themselves go—- “toward happiness,” as they said, toward pleasure, as they acted—- and who all the while still mouthed the ancient pompous words to which their lives no longer gave them any right, irony may have…
The stupidity of the average man will permit the oligarch, whether economic or political, to hide his real purposes from the scrutiny of his fellows and to withdraw his activities from effective control. Since it is impossible to count on enough moral goodwill among those who possess irresponsible power to sacrifice it for the…
A reader response to yesterdays post “Bible Study” stimulated my thinking. Those with whom we disagree are in a position to help us the most. That is counter intuitive, and true. Why are many scared, so angry? And what about my state of mind and heart? What emotions are evoked by a cursory reading…
The following was received from a friend, who thinks as do I, that resistance to the agenda of the administration is required if we are to maintain self respect and not be stripped of our humanity. This is from the NY Times and the URL is appended below. I’ll add a comment or two…
Its comforting when the morning sun breaks over the tree tops and streams into the windows here at Starbucks. On a winter morning, one’s spirit shouts, “light, light!” I understand in part how our ancestors worshiped the sun as a god. The Mayans structured their cities around their great pyramids, temples for worship of…
