Category Archives: European history

Essays on European history

Hugh Crawford, Scottish Paper Stainer and Emigrant to America, 1789-1857

Posted on July 6, 2020 by theamericanplutarch

Hugh Crawford was born in Glasgow on January 31, 1789; he died in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on July 1, 1857 when he was 68. He was the second-born son of John Crawford and Agnes Wright of Glasgow. He had many … Continue reading →

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Montaigne’s Lesson about Life

Posted on June 17, 2020 by theamericanplutarch

“We are great fools,” Montaigne declared, in Of Experience. “I have done nothing today,” the fool says. “What! Have you not lived?” The living of life is a sufficient task. “Have you known how to . . . manage your … Continue reading →

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Grunter’s Plea: The Ancient Philosophy of Vegetarianism

Posted on August 27, 2018 by theamericanplutarch

One of the more fascinating tales of Homer in the Odyssey is that of the bewitching of Odysseus’s men by the witch Circe. Odysseus and his men have arrived at an unknown wooded island. Odysseus sends a detachment of men … Continue reading →

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Sibyl’s Leaves

Posted on July 29, 2018 by theamericanplutarch

One of my favorite authors is Michel de Montaigne, author of Essays. In Montaigne’s final essay, “Of Experience,” he traces his experience with the disease of kidney stones. He wrote about his anxiety and fears, his expectation of death, which became … Continue reading →

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War Story

Posted on May 25, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

Bob lived in an old two story tenement, thin, tall, and long with clapboard exterior badly in need of paint. Other tenements of similar age and quality lined the street, which was crowded with parked cars, some working but others … Continue reading →

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Richard Hooker’s Message from the Past

Posted on June 30, 2015 by theamericanplutarch

In light of the Supreme Court decision on marriage this past week, and the controversy from opposing sides that has ensued, it is worthwhile, in my opinion, to seek the wisdom of the past. Oftentimes the human perspective living in … Continue reading →

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