Even the ancients wondered why patterns in human behaviour and events occur. We shouldn’t wonder at their wondering since they, like us, were concerned with prediction and control for matters of survival and social flourishing. “Perhaps there is a sort… Read More ›
Tacitus
Thoughtlets. xxxii.
A scapegoat is (usually) a person or group of people unjustly blamed for some set of circumstances arising from the actions of others. Scapegoats bear the brunt of crowd hostility and, once identified by an angry mob, find themselves in no-win,… Read More ›
Thoughtlets. xxix.
Today’s Thoughtlet is a quote on freedom of expression that originates with Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived in the first century CE. This quote, translated as follows, appears in Latin on the title page of the first edition of Hume’s… Read More ›
Ancient Rome had its parallels with internet mobbing.
“Which is the more pitiful I cannot decide — being accused because of a friendship, or accusing a friend.” Tacitus. The Annals: The Reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero. Oxford World’s Classics. Translated by J.C. Yardley. Introduction and notes by Anthony… Read More ›