history – Page 5 – kevinwarstadt.com

Quote of the day 09/06/23

From Benjamin Franklin: “When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.”

Quote of the day 09/05/23

From Benjamin Franklin: “What you seem to be, be really.”

Julian, often called Julien the Apostate for his rejection of Christianity, was Roman emperor from 361 to 363 AD. He was a scholarly youth, educated in the Hellenistic tradition, and would go on to lead a successful campaign against Persia. These were his final words, after being mortally wounded at the Battle of Samarra. “MostContinue reading “Quote of the day 07/24/23”

Quote of the day 07/23/23

From Lucretius: “Trees don’t live in the sky, and clouds don’t swimIn the salt seas, and fish don’t leap in wheatfields,Blood isn’t found in wood, nor sap in rocks.By fixed arrangement, all that live and growsSubmits to limit and restrictions.”

Diogenes and Alexander

I know that everybody has heard this story, but I was thinking about it this morning and wanted to make a post about it. Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher, was lying in the gutter and was approached by Alexander the Great. Alexander, being one of the most powerful men in the world, says to him, “AskContinue reading “Diogenes and Alexander”

Great Work Wednesday – War and Peace

I was speaking to my brother recently about the great works of humanity, and I thought it might be fun to list out some of my favorite works in posts. This week, it’s War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It’s a massive, sweeping story set in Russia during the Napoleonic Wars. It features deeply humanContinue reading “Great Work Wednesday – War and Peace”

The Battle of Tollense Valley

A few weeks ago, I went down a rabbit hole reading about battles in the ancient world. From what I could find, the earliest (reliably) recorded battle in history is the Battle of Megiddo, fought between Pharaoh Thutmose III and the Canaanites in 1457 BC. Based on an archaeological site in Tollense Valley, Germany, theContinue reading “The Battle of Tollense Valley”

Quote of the day 06/28

From Abraham Lincoln: You cannot now believe that you will ever feel better. But this is not true. You are sure to be happy again. Knowing this, truly believing it will make you less miserable now.

On fame

I’ve been reading some Stoic philosophy lately, and I came across a quote from Marcus Aurelius that I found quite interesting. “He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember him will himself also die very soon; then again also they who have succeeded them,Continue reading “On fame”

Rejtan

I recently started listening to A History of Eastern Europe by The Great Courses. In Lecture 4, Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, Ph.D. describes the first partition of Poland by the great powers of Europe. In 1773, Tadeusz Rejtan protested before the Polish parliament, which was set to approve of the partition. According to the story,Continue reading “Rejtan”