Tag Archives: Truth

Craving facts: the new graffito from Pompeii

Posted on October 17, 2018 by

Yesterday news broke about the discovery of a graffito from Pompeii that was, in the usual sensationalist way, hailed as a text that would require us to rewrite our history books: View this post on Instagram Pompeii, Regio V. Casa … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

‘You’re dead, you’re a joke,’ or: How should one respond to that image of a Pompeian who was struck by a massive piece of rock?

Posted on June 27, 2018 by

Contrary to what most people think, there is not only one certainty in life, namely that we all must die: there is a second one, and that is that, before we die, we must live with the certainty of death. … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Valentine’s Valour

Posted on February 14, 2017 by

As the world once again celebrates undying love, chocolate, and flowers, it may be of interest to recall the story of Saint Valentine himself for a change. In his Legenda Aurea (‘Golden Legend’ – legend not as in ‘he’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hard shell, soft core

Posted on February 5, 2017 by

The late antique poet Claudian wrote a series of seven short epigrams on a fluid inclusion (or ‘enhydro’); these poems form part of a collection of Carmina minora (‘Shorter poems’), where they feature under the title De crystallo cui aqua … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Facts vs. alternative facts (formerly known as ‘bull$#!^’): an ancient poem

Posted on January 26, 2017 by

Phaedrus, Rome’s fabulist of the first century A. D., wrote a remarkable piece called Poeta de credere et non credere, ‘The poet’s judgement with respect to believing and not believing’ (Phaedr. 3.10). This is the rather delightful 1761 translation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An innocent lamb used facts as a weapon against post-truth politics. You won’t believe what happened next…

Posted on December 14, 2016 by

In my previous post, I explored the dynamics and rhetoric behind what has been called ‘post-truth politics’. The concept still is very much on my mind. On the one hand, I am not deluded enough to believe that concepts such … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Fake News and Post-Truth Politics

Posted on December 11, 2016 by

There is a widespread, distinct feeling that Western politics has entered a phase of what tends to be called ‘post-truth politics‘. The term ‘post-truth politics’, often accompanied by references to fake news and disinformation campaigns, looks like a euphemism for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments