Most people think Dune and The Lord of the Rings belong to the same shelf — epic, mythic, world-building masterpieces.

But Tolkien would’ve despised Dune, because its moral universe is upside down.

Here’s why… (you'll want to bookmark this):🧵 At the heart of The Lord of the Rings is a very simple idea:

Power corrupts. Always.

Not sometimes, not just for the weak, not just for the selfish.

Everyone who touches the Ring is changed by it.

Even the good. Especially the good.

Ani was once known as the City of 1001 Churches.

Then the Turks came.

What followed was slaughter and conquest.

This is the story of Ani: Ani is a ruined city on the Turkish-Armenian border

In the 11th century, it rivaled Constantinople.

Today, it's a ghost.

We think of Hell as chaos.

Dante saw it as the most organized place in the universe.

That’s what makes it so disturbing... (you'll want to bookmark this): Dante begins Inferno with one of the most famous lines in literature:

“Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a dark wood…”

He’s about 35, the midpoint of a biblical lifespan.
He’s not just lost in the forest.
He’s lost in his soul.

He murdered a man in cold blood.

Escaped prison using bedsheets.

Then wrote a book bragging about all of it.

This is the insane life of Benvenuto Cellini (you'll want to bookmark this): He was born in Florence in 1500.

His father wanted him to play the flute.

Cellini refused.

He preferred metal, fire, and danger.

Caravaggio’s life reads more like a crime novel than an artist’s biography.

He changed painting forever—then died under strange circumstances at 38...

This is how it happened (you'll want to bookmark this): He was born Michelangelo Merisi on September 29, 1571, in a town called Caravaggio, near Milan.

The plague wiped out his father and grandfather when he was six.

By 13, he was apprenticed to Simone Peterzano in Milan.

The best books written by women?

They’re raw. Smart. Unapologetic.

They don’t flatter you. They wake you up.

Here are 15 classics every woman must read (you'll want to bookmark this): 1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Still sharp after 200 years. A novel about love, marriage, and money—but mostly about knowing yourself.

Elizabeth Bennet is witty, honest, and flawed.

Which is what makes her unforgettable.

He was a poor immigrant.

Self-taught. Unknown.

Then he picked up a paintbrush and changed American art forever.

This is the story of Thomas Cole (you'll want to bookmark this): Thomas Cole didn’t start as a painter.

He was a poor boy from Lancashire, England, who moved to America at 17.

He worked in a wallpaper factory. He taught himself to draw.

The first landscapes he painted weren’t for art. They were for survival.

We just started a book club.

Together, we are working through the great texts of Western Civilization — the classic novels, epic poems, and philosophical treatises that built it.

Starting with 10 classic books that every man must read... (thread) 🧵 1. The Iliad - Homer

It’s not just about war—it’s about what it means to be a man when everything’s on the line.

Achilles shows you how dangerous your own pride can be.

And why grief can break even the strongest warrior.

We're finally launching our book club today🔥

The mission of Athenaeum is to revive the soul of Western Civilization through the careful study of the books that built it.

Keep reading... The Athenaeum is a private book club my business partner @theculturist_ and I have been building for months.

We wanted a space for people who love ideas, culture, and reading to meet, learn, and grow together.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of history's most brilliant minds, was also a passionate reader.

There are 7 books he couldn’t live without...

Goethe's ultimate reading list... (you’ll want to bookmark this): First, you need to understand Goethe’s mindset.

He was a polymath—poet, scientist, statesman.

He saw books not as entertainment but as fuel for his restless intellect. Every book he loved had something deeper to teach.

A forgotten prophet of the 20th century, Spengler believed that civilizations live and die like organisms.

He predicted the fall of the West.

Here’s what you need to know about one of the most fascinating minds of the last 100 years (bookmark this): Oswald Spengler was born in 1880 in Germany.

He studied mathematics, history, literature, and philosophy—but never held a formal academic post.

He was a loner, an outsider, and often misunderstood.

It’s one of the most remote islands in Croatia.

But Vis has seen it all—Greek settlers, Roman emperors, Venetian fleets, British admirals, Tito’s partisans.

Here’s the fascinating story of Vis, the island that once ruled the Adriatic (bookmark this): Vis is the farthest inhabited island off the Croatian coast.

Its isolation preserved its beauty—but also made it strategically important.

The Greeks were the first to recognize this.

The year is 722.

A small band of Christian warriors, outnumbered and cornered in the mountains of northern Spain, prepares for battle.

Their leader, Pelayo, has no empire, no great army—just faith and determination.

What happens next changes history forever: In 711, the Muslim armies of the Umayyad Caliphate swept through Spain, crushing the Visigothic Kingdom.

Within a few years, nearly the entire Iberian Peninsula fell under Islamic rule.

October 7, 1571—Islamic conquest seemed unstoppable.

A massive Ottoman fleet sailed to crush Christian Europe. No one had beaten them at sea.

Then, at Lepanto, 200 galleys of the Holy League stood in their way.

What happened next changed history forever: By the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire ruled the Mediterranean.

Their navy was the most powerful in the world, and their armies had taken Constantinople, much of the Balkans, and parts of Hungary.

In 732 AD, a Muslim army swept into France.

Nothing had stopped them before. Kingdoms had fallen. Cities had burned.

Then, at Tours, one man stood in their way—Charles Martel.

What happened next decided the fate of Europe: In 732 AD, a Muslim army from the Umayyad Caliphate invaded the Frankish Kingdom.

Their goal was not just conquest but domination—Europe lay open before them.

They came to conquer Europe.

150,000 Ottoman soldiers stood at the gates of Vienna, ready to break through...

Then, on September 12, 1683, 20,000 horsemen appeared on the horizon—the largest cavalry charge in history.

What happened next changed the course of history forever: The year was 1683.

The Ottoman Empire, at the height of its power, had set its sights on Vienna.

If the city fell, the road to Western Europe lay open. The stakes could not have been higher.

This is Joseph Campbell.

In 1949, he published The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a book so influential it became the foundation for countless stories—from Star Wars to The Lion King.

At its core? The Hero’s Journey: a universal storytelling structure.

Here’s how it works: 2/ Every great story is about transformation.

The Hero’s Journey outlines this process in 12 stages.

It’s not just about slaying dragons—it’s about inner change.

The external challenges reflect internal growth.

Here’s the 12-step blueprint:

C.S. Lewis was a master of clarity, wisdom, and imagination—a man who could speak to the soul as easily as he could tell a story.

I deeply admire his work and the insights he left us.

Here are 50 lessons from C.S. Lewis that continue to challenge and inspire: True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.

Friendship is born when two people say, “You too? I thought I was the only one.”

Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

For centuries, the Rosary has been a symbol of faith, meditation, and victory.

From the battlefields of Lepanto to the hands of saints, it has shaped history, comforted souls, and inspired devotion.

Here’s how the Rosary became one of the most powerful prayers in Christianity: Tradition holds that the Rosary was given to St. Dominic by the Virgin Mary in 1214.

She appeared to him in a vision, urging him to spread devotion to the prayer beads as a way to fight heresy and lead souls to Christ.

For nearly 1,000 years, St. Mark’s Basilica has been the heart of Venetian wealth.

Built to house the stolen relics of St. Mark, it became a masterpiece of Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance architecture.

Here’s how it was built (bookmark this): Venice needed a relic to rival Rome.

In 828 AD, two Venetian merchants smuggled the body of St. Mark out of Alexandria, Egypt, hiding it under layers of pork to fool Muslim guards.

This “holy theft” gave Venice its patron saint—and a reason to build a magnificent church.

For centuries, St. Peter’s Basilica has stood as the center of the Catholic world.

But its construction was filled with controversy, took over 120 years, and nearly bankrupted the Church.

Here’s how the greatest church in Christendom was built (bookmark this): The site of the basilica is no accident.

It was built over the tomb of St. Peter, the first pope and one of Christ’s apostles, who was crucified in Rome around 64 AD.