Category: Traditional Culture

Ancient Tales of Wisdom: Old Tiger and a Greedy Traveler

Ancient tales of wisdom remind us of the traditions and moral values that have been treasured all over the world. We hope the stories and messages in our Tales of Wisdom series help uplift the hearts and minds of our readers. “Old Tiger and a Greedy Traveler” is a tale about greed and how it…


How Can We Best Educate Our Children?

Parents and all right-minded people want the best for children, and one important aspect of considering what is best for them is contemplating their education. What is the process by which they become “educated”—what does having an “education” mean? It is not enough, I think, just to select the “best” school we intend to send…


Ancient Tales of Wisdom: The Stone Cutter

Ancient tales of wisdom remind us of the traditions and moral values that have been treasured all over the world. We hope the stories and messages in our Tales of Wisdom series help uplift the hearts and minds of our readers. “The Stone Cutter” is a tale about how a hardworking man who desired a…


Ancient Tales of Wisdom: The Elves and the Envious Man

Ancient tales of wisdom remind us of the traditions and moral values that have been treasured all over the world. We hope the stories and messages in our Tales of Wisdom series help uplift the hearts and minds of our readers. “The Elves and the Envious Man” is about the consequences of envying the good…


Fame, Obscurity, Controversy: Moses Ezekiel, Cadet and Sculptor

The place: New Market, Virginia; the date: May 15, 1864. Under the command of General John C. Breckinridge, 257 cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and other Confederate troops charge across a rain-soaked, newly plowed field against General Franz Sigel’s Union forces. Many of the cadets lose their shoes in the muck, rendering that…


Ancient Tales of Wisdom: The Stone in the Road

Ancient tales of wisdom remind us of the traditions and moral values that have been treasured all over the world. We hope the stories and messages in our Tales of Wisdom series help uplift the hearts and minds of our readers. “The Stone in the Road” is a short tale that tells of the eventual…


Memory and the Arts

The Greek myths are full of insightful and explanatory details that help us understand not only how to conduct ourselves in this world, but also about how things came to be and how things work. This latter point—how things work—is really important if we want to achieve anything. As we know, success and achievement can…


Ancient Tales of Wisdom: Death of an Old Tree

“Ancient Tales of Wisdom” remind us of the traditions and moral values that have been treasured all over the world. We hope the stories and messages in our Tales of Wisdom series help uplift the hearts and minds of our readers. “Death of an Old Tree” is a tale of a happy little bird that…


Martyr or Madman: John Brown’s Lingering Legacy

Sunday, Oct. 16, 1859. A light rain fell across the dark and sleeping town of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. The name of the town lost its apostrophe in 1891, and earlier, in 1863, the town itself became a part of West Virginia, as the only state to secede from a Confederate state. But before these changes,…


A Peek into the Heritage of Aristotelian Thought

“All teaching and all intellectual learning come about from already existing knowledge,” Aristotle said.  Since 335 B.C. when the Greek philosopher Aristotle founded the Lyceum, in Athens, Greece, people around the world have ardently studied the many facets of his knowledge: from science, logic, metaphysics, and ethics, to politics.   Aristotle’s influence is explored in…