Some historical figures I admire...

• Thomas Jefferson. How rare is it for an intellectual to also be a founding father of a nation? It’s sad that recent intellectual Americans have either been failed politicians (such as Jimmy Carter) or so mistrusted because that they lost major elections to intellectual inferiors (Adlai Stevenson and Al Gore).

• Abraham Lincoln. Here was a man who failed at nearly everything he did previously, yet became perhaps the finest president this country has ever known. And he made his most important decisions out of a deep sense of conscience rather than personal aggrandizement. Too many people who invoke his name are not even worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as him.

• Dante Aligheiri. One of the greatest Italian writers ever and an important cornerstone in literary history. And he did it all out of love! What’s not to like about him?

• Walter Scott. He practically invented the historical novel, certainly popularized it, and his classic novel Ivanhoe popularized Robin Hood as well.

...and don’t admire...

• Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Napolean Bonaparte. Three men whose greatest claim to fame was killing people and invading countries. It says a lot about modern civilization that they are still considered three of the so-called “greatest” men in history. Bah.