Classics
The Greek guide to swearing an oath
A lawyer who wished to serve on a jury but was no Christian was given permission to swear his oath…
What we could learn from the classical courts
This year, in its annual Supreme Court moot trial of a famous ancient figure, the charity Classics for All charged…
Greco-Roman wrestling
Can the Classics escape the grip of their past?
Roman plebs would have known how to tackle Corbyn’s cabal
Jeremy Corbyn’s refusal to take serious action against Labour’s anti-Semitic members is no surprise: Marxists know who their friends are.…
Aristotle vs the civil service
The civil service is to be allowed to find out what job applicants’ ‘socio-economic background’ is. What abject drivel is…
Plutarch and the EU
Boris Johnson argues that the current European Union is yet another failed attempt to replicate the golden age of a…
How Rome did immigration
Last week it was suggested that the questions asked of London mayor Sadiq Khan had nothing to do with racism,…
Rome, 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…
Pliny on the joy of elephants
In order to deter poachers, hundreds of tons of elephants’ tusks are being incinerated in Kenya. But even for Romans,…
The Greek Donald Trump
Why does the Republican party loathe Donald Trump? Because Trump is the ultimate loose cannon, beholden to no one. And…
Safe space in ancient Athens
Brilliant Oxford undergraduates argue that it is right to prevent us saying things they object to, because speech they do…
Governor Cameron and the Brussels empire
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, made a typically brilliant intervention in the EU referendum debate by arguing that…
Seneca on bouncers
The papers are full of top stories about important people who cannot get into important parties because the doorman does…
In defence of discrimination
David Cameron has accused universities of being xenophobic, racist and prejudiced against the poor. He is too much of a…
Quintilian on lecturers
Professor Louise Richardson, Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, is worried about a new government plan to judge teaching quality. Her reason is…
Drinking at school with Plato
Rugby and Ampleforth schools have decided to give their charges experience of sensible drinking by introducing a little alcohol, under…
How ancient Athens handled immigrants
Among all the arguments about how many non-EU immigrants we should let in, campaigners are proposing a scheme for private…
The emperors of Brussels
As both sides of the great EU debate line up their forces, it is worth reflecting on the implications of…
Pericles vs Corbyn
Whatever else one can say about Jeremy Corbyn, one thing is clear: he is a leader who does not believe…
Adventures on the isle that seduced Odysseus
Gozo — Malta’s tiny island neighbour — was once rather a crucial spot in the Mediterranean. The Knights of Malta…
Socrates and Galen on the Great British Bake Off
As the national girth expands by the second, Auntie, never backward about lecturing us on the topic, continues to glory…
John McDonnell’s true economic guru: the emperor Nero
John McDonnell, shadow chancellor in the Corbynite splinter-group, has announced that £120 billion is waiting to be reclaimed from tax…
Livy on immigration policy
In the migration crisis, the EU is currently acting just like the ancients, as if border controls did not exist,…
Corbyn and the plebs
Last week, guru Corbyn was invited to reflect on the 2,500-year-old Roman origins of the republicanism to which he is…
Just how republican is Jeremy Corbyn?
True to his antique, bearded ideology, guru Corbyn is a ‘republican’, a form of government invented 2,500 years ago. ‘Republic’…
