Gerrit van Honthorst, Croesus and Solon, 1624
Gerrit van Honthorst, Croesus and Solon, 1624
2,108 words
Spanish translation here
Carl Schmitt’s two essays on “The Tyranny of Values” (1959 and 1967) are typical of his work. They contain simple and illuminating ideas which are nevertheless quite difficult to piece together because Schmitt presents them only through complex conversations with other thinkers and schools of thought. (more…)
1,493 words
The duel to the death over honor is a remarkable phenomenon. Animals duel over dominance, which insures their access to mates. But these duels result in death only by accident, because the whole process is governed by their survival instincts, and their “egos” do not prevent them from surrendering when the fight is hopeless. (more…)
2,810 words
Part 5 of 5
Chapter I
Minor Addenda and Varia
I have never met a gambler with an ounce of intelligence, but the prejudice against lotteries is in the category of superstitions, totemism and taboo. Lotteries can harm only the imbeciles who buy tickets, but these imbeciles appear to be wholly in their own right. (more…)
Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouÿ, "Demosthenes Practicing Oratory," 1870
Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouÿ, "Demosthenes Practicing Oratory," 1870
3,389 words
There is a vast gulf between oratory, on the one hand, and public speaking on the other.
By oratory I mean the art of speaking in the style we associate with great orators of the Western past, not elaborate, formal, public discourses treating important topics in a stiff, formal, or dignified manner.
