Category Archives: Antiquity

How Western Civilization Triumphed Over Every Civilization

Posted on October 28, 2012 by William Holland

Teaching Aristotle or Plato is often hard if not downright difficult, especially when you try to cover the “epoch” between his time and ours.  I mean something very specific. What underwrites Western Civilization is a Judeo-Christian ethic.  Prior to this … Continue reading →

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The Swerve: Modernity & The Creation Of Contemporary Life

Posted on March 27, 2012 by William Holland

Just as contemporary historians and philosophers are finally beginning to ride astride the findings of Catholic theologians on distinguishing variable modes of the Enlightenment (Hans Urs von Balthasar, John Courtney Murray, Henri De Lubac and Gertrud Himmelfarb) all come to … Continue reading →

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Identity & Personhood In Ancient Rome: The Specificity Of Christian Ethics vs. The Eros Of Selfish Property

Posted on November 28, 2011 by William Holland

This blog has dealt sufficiently with the concept of ‘The Specificity of Christian Ethics’ at great length, it cannot be ignored how secular life itself is a perversion of Christianity.  This insight will move into greater relief as the West … Continue reading →

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How The Secular World Began

Posted on September 26, 2011 by William Holland

Just as contemporary historians and philosophers are finally beginning to ride astride the findings of Catholic theologians on distinguishing variable modes of the Enlightenment (Hans Urs von Balthasar, John Courtney Murray, Henri De Lubac and Gertrud Himmelfard) all come to … Continue reading →

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Spinoza, Kant, Solomon Maimon & Jewish Secularization In 18th Century Europe

Posted on September 24, 2011 by William Holland

‘The Road to Modernity’ by Gertrud Himmelfarb, the wife of Irving Kristol and mother of Fox News contributor and founder/editor of Washington’s ‘The Weekly Standard’ William Kristol is the most significant public contribution to any understanding of the European Enlightenment … Continue reading →

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What Has Athens To Do With Jerusalem?

Posted on August 14, 2011 by William Holland

The North African Catholic Church throughout the last remaining centuries before the fall of Rome was the most fertile intellectual region before the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.  I don’t say that in a cavalier way, for the Church … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Antiquity, Arab Spring, Conservatism, Constitution, Ethics, Harry Jaffa, Identity Development, International Relations, Islam, Morality, Politics, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What Has Athens To Do With Jerusalem?

Alexis de Tocqueville: Letters Home & Gustave de Beaumont Travel Diaries

Posted on August 14, 2011 by William Holland

This blog has tackled the subject of Alexis de Tocqueville extensively.  I mention him because a handful of American scholars have finally decided to tackle what our American Founders and Framers instinctively understood:  the American Revolution would succeed and be … Continue reading →

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The Morality Of Political Realism: Fortitude For The American Imperium

Posted on August 14, 2011 by William Holland

What are we witnessing in the political and therefore spiritual morass that is a craven European Union, especially geopolitically and strategically?  “Idealism” is a tough sell in American Foreign Policy, but most often it has been alloyed to the social … Continue reading →

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Neal Stephenson: Natural Law & The Consequences Of Modernity

Posted on April 4, 2011 by William Holland

Neal Stephenson wrote “In the Beginning Was the Command Line” in 1999.  Its best to view his writings as a mixture of James Michener, Huxley and H.G. Wells.  Although committed to the craft of science fiction, he is not unfamiliar … Continue reading →

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Sun Tzu: A Critique Of Flaws In Chapter One ‘Laying Plans’

Posted on August 3, 2010 by William Holland

Sun Tzu is the greatest military commander the Orient ever produced.  Reading his texts over the years has increased my admiration for him and his success.  But he is not infallible.  The United States Marine Corps in building on British … Continue reading →

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