fyi
From the article: “As an Englishman and a lover of the civilisation of Rome I am not opposed to Empire.”
I stopped reading right there. The “civilization of Rome” as he so sweetly puts it, was not a “civilization” in the sense that I would use the word. The imperial romans were a bunch of evil, tyrannical bastards who were more than happy to murder anyone who was remotely perceived as a threat to their power. If that wasn’t enough to slate their bloodthirst, then you had their “entertainments” like the circus. Crucifying Christians was all the rage for awhile, as was execution “ad bestias” where criminals were torn apart by animals.
For those of you who cut the umbilical cord when your children were born, you might be interested to know that in the “roman civilization” that this author is so enamored with that it was a tradition then as well. But for a far more sinister purpose. The paterfamilias was given the opportunity to cut the cord, not as an expression of love, but to make the decision as to whether the child should live or die. Cut the cord too close, and the infant bleeds to death. Do I need to note that abortion was a popular practice as well?
So you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t take the time to read the philosophical and political musings of someone who is a lover of this so-called civilization.
Love me some Roger Scruton. I’d listen to him talk about anything.