History

Recollections of Ergo

This entry was posted in History Writing and tagged education history MIT writing on by

Ergo: The Campus Voice of Reason. That was the name of our paper. Like all college students, we were more confident we were right than we should have been, but we stood apart from the crowd. As an organization, we were never “liberal” or “conservative” in the popular sense of the words. Our position was libertarian, strongly influenced by Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. Ergo challenged university administrators, the campus left, politicians, and academics. My association with Ergo helped me to develop a framework of thought that I still go by. My views on what is important and how to achieve it have changed, and so have some of my conclusions, but my basic principles have changed very little.

Ergo came into being during a time called the “sixties,” which lasted from about 1965 to 1975. The founder was J. R. M. Seitz, who allegedly acquired all the parts necessary to build an Atlas missile (except the nuclear warhead) on the open market. It was the time of the Vietnam War and urban riots. It was a time of protests and violence. People marched and occupied buildings. Some thought that totalitarian Communist states were a great idea. Others just wanted the government to stop drafting people and sending them into an undeclared war on the other side of the globe. Once I was punched in the nose, and another time the sweater I was wearing was set on fire. I can’t count the number of times I was called a fascist. Interesting times.
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“Too many notes, Mozart”

This entry was posted in Commentary History and tagged history Mozart music on by

Upon hearing Mozart’s Singspiel The Abduction from the Seraglio, Emperor Joseph II is alleged to have said, “Too many notes.” The claim increased in popularity when Peter Schaffer put those words in his mouth in the travesty Amadeus. Quotations are tricky things, though. If I gratuitously claim someone said something, how do you know they didn’t? It’s the old issue of proving a negative.

The quotation, or something like it, has a source that long predates Schaffer. It’s the 1798 biography of Mozart by Franz Xaver Niemetschek. The full title is Leben des K.K. Kapellmeisters Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart nach Originalquellen beschrieben (life of the music director Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart, written based on original sources). The attribution given there is:
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New on Liberty Fund: The Peasants’ War and Martin Luther

This entry was posted in History My writing and tagged Germany history liberty on by

My latest article for Liberty Fund’s Online Library of Liberty, “The Peasants’ War and Martin Luther,” is now online. Marxist claims have largely dominated historical discussions of the Peasants’ War, but it was a revolt in defense of property rights, not against them. Its Twelve Articles contain ideas that appeared in the United States’ Declaration of Independence.

Lully and music under Louis XIV

This entry was posted in History Music My writing and tagged France history music on by

Jean-Baptiste LullyHere’s my latest for the Online Library of Liberty: “The Politics of Music Under Louis XIV.” Under Louis, successful art was art which he liked, by people he liked. In music, that meant Jean-Baptiste Lully, who got monopoly privileges from the king.

There are lots of famous German and Italian composers from that period, but French composers who weren’t Lully didn’t have much of a chance. Lully finally killed himself by conducting too vigorously.

The history of blasphemy in writing

This entry was posted in Commentary History Writing and tagged censorship history writing on by

The August 12 assault on Salman Rushdie was almost certainly prompted by his “blasphemy.” In 1989, the Ayatollah Khomeini took a dislike to Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, called it blasphemy, and put a bounty on Rushdie and his publishers. Rushdie went into hiding for years, the book’s Japanese translator was murdered, and the Italian translator was stabbed. Cover of The Satanic Verses

Writing about controversial subjects has always attracted anger and violence, and religion is one of the most controversial. Many governments with state religions have imposed severe penalties for blasphemy. Leviticus 24:16 says, “And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.” The most famous blasphemy execution in history was the one of Jesus of Nazareth. For his part, Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the one unforgivable sin.

In modern times, several countries, mostly Muslim, have laws against blasphemy, sometimes carrying the death penalty. In Pakistan, mobs have murdered alleged blasphemers. Even the supposedly civilized country of Austria has a blasphemy law, and several people have been convicted under it. The European Court of “Human Rights” says that such laws are fine. So much for freedom of religion. Germany has a law that can get someone who “through dissemination of written materials (section 11(3)) defames the religion or ideology of others” locked up for three years.

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The Faust legend 2

This entry was posted in History and tagged Faust history magic battery on by

In The Magic Battery, I play off the legend of Faust. There are many well-known versions of the story, including Marlowe’s play, Goethe’s play, and Gounod’s opera. Liszt was fascinated with the story and wrote a Faust Symphony as well as the Mephisto Waltzes. My treatment is a free one, but it starts from what’s known of the historical Faust. Or should I should say historical Fausts?

Sculpture in Auerbachs Keller

Sculpture above Auerbach’s Cellar in Leipzig, depicting a scene from Faust

Johann Faust was born in 1466, or maybe 1480. His name is sometimes given as Georg or Johann Georg. Several towns claim to be his birthplace. Could there have been two Fausts, both with a reputation for magic and born over a decade apart? This might explain the part of the story where he becomes young again.
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