Wisdom Through Knowledge Through History

From The Roman Republic to October 7th...

Dec 21, 2025

Reading snippets of the most interesting parts of history is perfectly enjoyable, but it just doesn’t lead to wisdom. When I read such pieces, they usually serve only as triggers to send me looking for more knowledge—MUCH more knowledge and alternative modes of thought. Because the purpose of studying history can only be wisdom.

Wisdom, as Heraclitus knew, is knowledge of that which steers all things through all things. Which immediately makes me think conspiracy theorists are the wisest of all! ‘It’s all the CIA maaaannn.’ Well the CIA probably steers some stuff, but I don’t think it quite steers all things through all things. For knowledge, and therefore for wisdom, you need to dive deeper, to investigate, to contemplate what steered what through what—and THAT is where a full history semester comes in. Spending entire days reading about one subject; hearing multiple arguments about one idea; discussing those subjects & ideas with like-minded people—and with unalike-minded people too.

I hold such history semesters through The New Cavalier Reading Society—have held 2 in the last two years, and a 3rd one is now ready to be given.

It’s an 8-week semester covering a different subject each week—covering them, that is, by providing you with a specially researched & novelist-written history of each subject. Those histories are kind of like these Substack pieces, only 10 times longer—which enables you to investigate what steered what through what: to gain knowledge and, perhaps, to approach wisdom. To give you an idea of what those histories are like, I’ve uploaded an excerpt from our History of The Enlightenment here.

Our new World-History semester contains 8 new subjects—adding to the 16 from our previous semesters—and I’ll quickly take you through the new ones, beginning with...

The Roman Republic.

What was the nature of ‘Rome’ compared to that of ‘Greece’? Did it really sacrifice puppies and contain more slaves than any society in human history ever? How and why did Rome become powerful and how did it use that power? Did it have enemies? Were they wicked—or were the Romans in fact the wicked ones? Just how rich were the billionaires who destroyed The Republic for the sake of their own egos? And how was the Roman ‘Republic’ different from the Roman ‘Empire’?

Persia Before & After Islam.

What happened to Greece’s old enemy, Persia, after Greek power evaporated? Did the Romans ever make it to the Middle East—and who would they have found there? And why on God’s green earth did an Arab tribe emerge from the desert in the 7th century, and start conquering people in the name of their new god? Did Persia resist their conquest? And what did that Arab tribe do to the Persian empire, its ancient religion, its society—after it had conquered them?

Meiji Japan.

In 1850 Japan had been entirely closed to the outside world for centuries. It was illegal to enter or leave Japan but OK for a samurai to chop off a peasant’s head to test out his new sword. 50 years later, Japan would defeat Russia in steel-battleship warfare, Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig played baseball there, and soon after that they controlled an empire 50% larger than Nazi-occupied Europe. This is one of THE most fascinating historical epochs—the modernisation of Japan—effectively, why and how they switched out their samurai swords for baseball bats.

Australia from Colony to Nation.

How did Australia transform itself, in 50 years, from a collection of 6 penal colonies into a nation—and one with the world’s highest standard of living? Were the Aboriginal Australians really murdered into non-existence by European colonists? How important really was the Eureka Stockade—what even is a ‘drover’—and how widespread was bushranging? And why did the appalling defeat of ‘Gallipoli’ become so important a word—and an idea—in the new country’s consciousness?

The Great War.

How did the century that brought Europe more progress and civilisation than any other end up killing tens of thousands of people every hour—for fully 4 years? What was it like in the trenches of the Western Front, watching clouds of gas waft towards you as you evaded machine guns, snipers, flamethrowers? What effect did such an inhuman war have on the arts—how did it inspire Thomas Mann, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway? Where were Hitler & Mussolini through all of it—and how did Lenin end up getting from Switzerland to Russia during such a war? What new modernity followed in its muddied & bloodied wake?

World War Two in The Easts.

Leaving the war in the West for calmer investigations, you’ll explore the most destructive war ever in its most destructive places: Asia & Eastern Europe. What did the Nazis get up to in Greece, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Russia? How were they fought there—wait, how much cannibalism took place in Leningrad?—and how were they there defeated? Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor and take on the world’s largest industrial power? Why were Japanese POW camps so much more deadly than Nazi ones? And was it really necessary to drop TWO atomic bombs on them?

Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

All those centuries after Islam conquered it, what was Persia like in the early 20th century—how Islamified had it become?—and when did it come to be called ‘Iran’ instead of ‘Persia’? Did the CIA really steer all things through all things there, and what was the Shah like as a person? Why did so many Iranians hate him, and prefer the Ayatollah? What even is an ‘ayatollah’?! How did clerics use Western technology to reject Western influence and how did their Revolution compare to the French and the Russian? Finally, what do Shi’ites believe politically that makes the Iranian regime so frightening?

The Israel-Palestine Conflict.

With Israel established by the United Nations—and every nation adjacent to it rejecting that establishment—how many wars has Israel had to fight to preserve its own existence? How involved was Nazism in stirring the Arab people against the Jews—and how involved the Soviet Union in arming them? When did aeroplane hijackings and suicide bombers become things—who invented them and why!? Why is there still no been peace between Israelis and Palestinians? What exactly is an ‘intifada’—why were there 2 of them—and who came to Gaza during the second one & decided that digging tunnels was a great idea—then paid for them?

And there you have it!

8 new world-history subjects spanning 2,500 years, the entire globe, and around 20 different peoples, religions, & cultures.

The semester starts on January 12th and enrolments have just opened. In each of the 8 weeks you’ll be able to participate in group tutorial discussions with a global society of curious people AND if you can’t make those discussions you can schedule a 1-on-1 with your tutor—who is I, Joshua Humphreys—so that I can answer all the questions you’re bound to have once you’ve read that week’s history.

You also, by enrolling in our semester, receive a volume of our Commonplace Book. These really have to be seen to be believed and a video is the best way to show them to you. They’re available only to New Cavaliers and the moment you enrol, one gets on its way to you.

So yes. Wisdom through knowledge through history—most gainable through a whole semester of experiencing the joys and fascinations of studying history.

We start on January 12th with The Roman Republic, and new enrolments are now open. If you have any questions about any of the above do send me an email at pigeonry@joshvahvmphreys.com.

And if beginning your new year by getting to know the Ancient Romans, by exploring the origins of Islam, by swapping out your samurai sword for a baseball bat, by seeing Australia become a nation, by jumping into (& out of) the trenches of The Great War, by fighting the Nazis in Eastern Europe AND the Japanese in the Pacific, by exchanging a Shah for an Ayatollah, and by coming to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict—all sound like intellectually enriching ideas to you…

Do take a look at our upcoming World History semester.