[.cnI redruM]

If you feel like killing the rest of the afternoon, here are the links...I'm always impressed with how much time and effort Derbyshire puts into his work.

http://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/eng309/tudor/106.html

http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/h/hilliard

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Sima%20Qian

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172

http://www.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire041902.asp

http://www.nationalreview.com/redirect/amazon.asp?j=0002727463

http://www.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire011303.asp

http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/laing.html

http://www.gospelcom.net/chi/DAILYF/2002/06/daily-06-08-2002.shtml

[SMARTY]

One covers one's face only in shame...shame for what you are or what you do. Proud people do not cover their faces.

[maryz]

One response to the difficulty of pinning down where civilization ends and barbarism begins has simply been to deny the difference altogether, or even to elevate the barbarian (spontaneous! spiritual! in touch with nature!) over the civilized person (repressed! materialistic! heartless!). This has been a typically modern project, launched by the odious Jean-Jacques Rousseau 250 years ago. Rousseau's "noble savage" concept is now an ineradicable part of our culture, and forms one of the underpinnings of the modern cult of political correctness. . . .

There is, in fact, a sort of sneaking admiration for the barbarian life among some civilized folk.

A hallmark of the Left; our own leftists, of course, are sneaky barbarians, undermining rather than honestly confronting.

This whole concept could generate at least an essay of its own.

Great piece! Thanks for posting.

[metesky]

Great article that, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be getting much traction.

Maybe because it's preaching to the choir.

[nothingnew]

Thanks for the post (in it's entirety, no less!). Darby is right on again.

FMCDH

[maro]

There's a lot of sloppy thinking in this article. The Romans were more civilized than the Celts and Germans, but it is not clear to me that the Romans were any better than those barbarians. The Persians may have been more civilized than the Athenians. Derbyshire is trying to argue against terrorism while avoiding reference to right and wrong. But that is impossible. The civilized state in the historical perspective has been the sedentary, rich society, while the barbarians have the nomadic and poor society. Thus, the Philistines were probably more civilized than the ancient Israelites. So it is not always true that the civilized are to be supported over the barbarian; what matters is who is on the side of good and who on the side of evil.

[rightwingcrazy]

The Chinese eventually got their act together and prevailed against the Huns. Took too long, but still, cause for hope for those of us that prefer civilization.