Ancient and modern
Brutus: the Steve Hilton of ancient Rome
A traitor to one man is a hero to another. So debate rages around the role of David Cameron’s old…
Cicero’s Brexit moment
If Remain has won, for all the political and financial flurries, it will be business as usual for us plebs.…
How Plato predicted the EU referendum campaign
Our politicians, realising that the referendum campaign will be settled not by themselves under the usual parliamentary constraints but by…
Why the Roman empire worked – and the EU empire doesn’t
The principle of countries working harmoniously together is wholly admirable. Why, then, has the European Union become such a disaster area?…
How Aristotle would hire civil servants
The civil service is to be allowed to find out what job applicants’ ‘socio-economic background’ is. What abject drivel is…
The best guide to being an EU politician – from 1,900 years ago
Boris Johnson argues that the current European Union is yet another failed attempt to replicate the golden age of a…
On immigration, are we doing as the Romans did?
Last week it was suggested that the questions asked of London mayor Sadiq Khan had nothing to do with racism,…
Romans, racism and Sadiq Khan
‘Racism’ refers to the belief in racially determined inferiority, most often recognised in body-type, about which, by definition, nothing can…
Elephants are special – the Romans knew it too
In order to deter poachers, hundreds of tons of elephants’ tusks are being incinerated in Kenya. But even for Romans,…
Britain’s fight with European law goes back 750 years
It is no surprise that the laws imposed on the UK by a European parliament in Brussels should so infuriate…
The Treasury’s prophecies vs the Sibyl
The Treasury has announced that an EU exit ‘could leave households £4,300 a year worse off’. Since that only ‘could’ be…
The Camerons of the ancient world boasted about the tax they paid
As Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell whinge away about how rich David Cameron’s family is, they might consider that in…
How Seneca got to sleep
As if we did not have enough to cause us sleepless nights, the Royal Society for Public Health has demanded…
Meet the Donald Trump of ancient Athens (he won)
Why does the Republican party loathe Donald Trump? Because Trump is the ultimate loose cannon, beholden to no one. And…
Cicero could have told you all about the MPs’ standards committee
As Sir Kevin Barron, chair of the MPs’ ‘Standards’ committee, steps down so that his own MP-packed body can adjudicate…
There were no safe spaces at the dawn of democracy
Brilliant Oxford undergraduates argue that it is right to prevent us saying things they object to, because speech they do…
Jean-Claude Juncker speaks to Britain like a Roman emperor
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, made a typically brilliant intervention in the EU referendum debate by arguing that…
What Pericles knew that David Cameron doesn’t
It does seem extraordinary that the increasingly puce-faced Mr Cameron offered us an ‘in-out’ referendum and is now telling us…
Ancient Roman advice on how to deal with bouncers
The papers are full of top stories about important people who cannot get into important parties because the doorman does…
Oscars goodie bags should take a tip from the Roman emperors
There was something admirable about the spirit of careful mockery behind the doggy bags on offer to the finalists in…
Become like ancient Athens — leave the EU
One feels that Sir Stuart Rose, leader of the EU referendum ‘In’ campaign, should really try a little harder. First…
In defence of discrimination
David Cameron has accused universities of being xenophobic, racist and prejudiced against the poor. He is too much of a…
Some 2,000-year-old teaching tips for Oxford’s new vice-chancellor
Professor Louise Richardson, Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, is worried about a new government plan to judge teaching quality. Her reason is…
Ancient and Modern: The mercenaries of IS and ancient Greece
Last week we read that Isis was crumbling, but still a force to be reckoned with. That is true, but…
For a true moral lesson, Rugby School, get your pupils drunk
Rugby and Ampleforth schools have decided to give their charges experience of sensible drinking by introducing a little alcohol, under…
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