Free-Man's Perspective

Distortion, Decentralization And Reset

One of the things you’ve probably noticed as we explained how people lived in classical Rome, is that their lives weren’t terribly different from our own. After all, a great many Romans lived in comfortable homes, shopped in well-stocked markets, picked up meals at fast food shops, attended huge sporting events, traveled on roads with mile markers and rest stops, and so on. They didn’t have high technology, but that’s not necessary for a comfortable and productive life. Continue reading “Earned Knowledge, L8, P1”

Most Jews know how to suffer. Most Christians don’t, although they once did. Bitcoiners and homeschoolers know how to suffer. “Vote harder” types seldom do.

There’s no virtue in suffering itself, but suffering is required if you want to be more than mundane. If you can’t accept suffering, anyone with a pin and a threat owns you. So, let’s be clear on this: Living in any way except one prescribed by authority requires suffering. Continue reading “Suffering Is Required”

Here are Tables 1, 2 and 3 of the Twelve Tables of Roman Law:

TABLE I – Concerning the summons to court.

Law I.

When anyone summons another before the tribunal of a judge, the latter must, without hesitation, immediately appear. Continue reading “Earned Knowledge, L7, P6”

There are a large number of people waiting for a full-spectrum, apocalyptic crash of the Western system. What I maintain is that it won’t happen. And I hope to convince you that I’m right.

The risk of this moment is a long, steady decline in quality of life, not an apocalypse.

Not that an apocalypse doesn’t have great dramatic appeal, of course…

Continue reading “Why You Shouldn’t Believe In A Full-Spectrum Crash”

The agricultural areas surrounding Roman cities were worked carefully and intelligently. Plants, especially fruits, were brought in from all over the world and were carefully grafted onto other plants. In addition to grains, olives, grapes and legumes (beans, peas, etc.) there were onions, garlic, cucumbers, asparagus, lettuce, cabbage and so on. Romans also grew a wide variety of other fruits and herbs, such as apricots, peaches, plums, figs, mulberry, dill, parsley, cumin and others. Continue reading “Earned Knowledge, L7, P5”

Sadly, there are fairly few people left who understand what the Hippies were really about. Mostly people remember the Hollywood version: pot-smoking, political protesting and clumsy dancing. The actual Hippies, especially the early Hippies, were a much different group. They were interesting and brave people: people very much worth remembering. Continue reading “The Wisdom Of The Hippies”

Another major feature of Roman cities were the baths, more or less a Roman version of the Greek gumnasion.

Roman baths were fairly similar to modern health clubs. Upon entering you’d go to a locker room of sorts, then to an exercise area (boxing, discus throwing, weight lifting, wrestling) or to a swimming pool, or to a series of warm and hot rooms, perhaps to a steam room, and then to a cold bath. Continue reading “Earned Knowledge, L7, P4”

There is a simple fact that people are unable to ingest. You can explain it carefully, with charts, graphs and solid documentation… and they may even like the sound of it… but after the explanation, it fades away and is forgotten.

The problem is simply that this truth is too foreign. It just doesn’t fit within our mental universe. Most of us don’t directly fight against it, but even so, we aren’t able to integrate it. Continue reading “The Truth We Can’t Accept”

Daily Life In Rome

Daily life in Rome, as it was for the Greeks, was family-centered, usually involving extended families. Even their names carried the model: A Roman’s first name was as we use it: Mark, Susan Robert, etc. The second name was that of the clan… of the largest and oldest family group. Their third name was of the smaller and more direct branch of the family. Continue reading “Earned Knowledge, L7, P3”

(We can call this one an experiment. I hardly know what to think of it myself.)

* * * * * Continue reading “6,000 Years On The Wheel”