In 1425 died, in Constantinople, a wise king, Manuel II Palaiologos, who left us, among other writings, a mirror of prince, written for his son and heir John. These letters reflect the mind of a ruler who, despite circumstances, tried to uphold the virtues of wisdom and moderation in his ... More
Human language is ordained according to certain rules and principles which “codify” the place of words in a sentence (syntax), the appropriate word usage (semantics), verb tense, and so on. For instance, we acquire, from childhood, the rule that English places the subject at the ... More
Orient-Occident proposes to trace the history of Western art (and of neighboring cultures historically tied to it) in relation to its philosophical/ theological background, beginning with the Egyptian Book of the Dead through Platonism, Christianity, to Islam and the Renaissance. Of particular ... More
“Rome is an empire, so it was built and maintained by force.” Critics of empire, although acknowledging its benefits, also often bring up this point. Such judgement is, however, erroneous because it fails to take into account the reality of history, that people understand a situation ... More
