The mysteries of nature are nothing compared with the mysteries of the city. Not the least is the insoluble riddle of the petrol station. It is the culmination of one vast chain of evolution, that stretches back to the first lumpish cairns that our distant ancestors called home. It is the polished product, the masterpiece,Continue reading “Train Stations and Petrol Stations”
Author Archives: arkadypyotrovich
Latin and its Champions
How I ended up being cornered in a schoolyard by a teacher over that formidable fossil Latin, is a strange tale, and not one I intend to tell; suffice to say I undertook to defend that antiquity in the capacity of a bystander, not being properly a Latin teacher myself, but honoured to have taughtContinue reading “Latin and its Champions”
Art – A Fable.
Once upon a time there was a well-dressed and intellectually cultivated civil servant named M. Mortimer. He lived a comfortable life, and was well provided with every luxury the modern world affords to people disinclined to question the ethicality of aristocracy. He was remarkable for two things; which were, his unremarkable life, and the astonishingContinue reading “Art – A Fable.”
History and Historians
I have discovered a lurking monster in the minds of the semi-academic people who popularise history. The assumption is so enormous and so absurd that I cannot describe it as anything else; for when one cannot make a head or tail of something, it may have a hundred heads and a thousand tails. Indeed, itsContinue reading “History and Historians”
Proceedings of the Pain Debate
There is an advantage to asking silly questions: they never have simple answers. How we solve the problem of suffering is a prime example, for the question is almost impossible to interpret. But as I sat in the corner of a packed lecture hall, listening to the idle clatter of a philosophical combat that veeredContinue reading “Proceedings of the Pain Debate”
The Progressive Primate
There is a great deal to be said for stepping aside to see the oddity of the things we most insistently assert. It is so healthy for the mind that it can even cause laughter. But it is an unsettling approach, and not many are comfortable with it. If a scientist or an historian tellsContinue reading “The Progressive Primate”
A Consideration on Comedy
There are two kinds of laughter: one is the most beautiful sound under heaven, the other the most cruel. This fact is generally recognised. We talk about laughing at someone and laughing with someone; one is nasty, one is nice. The extremes are worlds apart: the difference between the harsh echo in an ancient despot’sContinue reading “A Consideration on Comedy”
Between the Seasons
Spring is already upon us. The winds and rains have battered the lands in earnest, and now satisfied those of us who feel an almost religious awe for the force of nature’s frown. It was the season of pensive melancholy, the season of originality – for winter has not yet become a cliché. Spring has:Continue reading “Between the Seasons”
The Architecture of Society
If I understand rightly – it can be difficult to disentangle the multitudinous dissatisfactions of the world – there are two current complaints about the educational system of our day that make any claim to novelty. Education has always been considered a great bore, and generally quite fruitless; it has always appealed to a minority,Continue reading “The Architecture of Society”
Smatterings of the Philosopher’s Stone – Conclusion: On History
Humour me a little history as I begin to conclude. This whole extended essay on that English knight, Thomas Browne, has been about history, and remarkably few historical facts have been mentioned. I have written at length about modernity in the abstract, an abstract I would not venture to assert exists, though I am certainContinue reading “Smatterings of the Philosopher’s Stone – Conclusion: On History”
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