Daily Archives: March 17, 2020


Some Corona Virus Humility

There are two well-known themes, or topoi, in classical literature. One concerns the graphic descriptions in Thucydides, Sophocles, and Procopius of plagues—especially the human misery and despair that accompanies outbreaks that killed large numbers. The unknown plague at Athens (430–429 bc) killed one-quarter of the Athenian population during the Peloponnesian […]