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Homer’s ‘Iliad’ is a Morality Tale 0
- Education
- July 14, 2016
Sing, Muse, of Achilles’ anger and its devastation … and of the will of Zeus which was done. – Homer The opening lines of Homer’s epic, The Iliad, say it all. In these first few words, the poet betrays his purpose and unpacks the deepest meaning of his work. He begins with a prayer to
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Can You Pass This American Literature Quiz from 1911?0
- Education
- July 14, 2016
In 1911, American high schoolers used these questions to review and prepare for tests such as the New York Regents exam. Do you believe today’s high school students would be able to pass this test, or are schools failing to teach students about America’s literary history? Save this article to favorites
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How Our Society Treats Prisoners ‘Like Animals’0
- Culture
- July 14, 2016
About 2.2 million people reside in the approximately 5,000 prisons sprinkled across the U.S. today, more than any country in the world. They’ve been put there for being found guilty of violating any number of laws that society has deemed important enough to send people away. But what is the ultimate purpose of the prison
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Wimpy Men: A Result of Disrespectful Women?0
- Culture
- July 14, 2016
One of our perennial favorite pieces at Intellectual Takeout is Mark Judge’s Women Who Emotionally Abuse Men. In case you haven’t read it, the gist of the article is that men are on the receiving end of emotional abuse more often than many realize. I was reminded of this concept when I picked up a
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Decentralization: The Secret of Swiss Success 0
- Culture
- July 13, 2016
Programs about the improbable success of Chile and Estonia already have aired on nationwide TV, and those were joined last weekend by a show about the “sensible nation” of Switzerland. Here’s the 28-minute program. When I first watched the program, I was slightly irked that there was very little discussion of the role of fiscal policy and the importance
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J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hope for the Modern World 0
- History
- July 13, 2016
Clyde Kilby, an English professor from Wheaton College, worked with Tolkien in the summer of 1966. “Tolkien was an Old Western Man who was staggered at the present direction of civilization,” Kilby recorded after a summer of conversations with Tolkien. “Even our much vaunted talk of equality he felt debased by our attempts to ‘mechanize
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