Shakespeare understood evil like no other

His plays are filled with murderers, adulterers, and thieves — but one villain stands out from all the rest

She tempted, deceived, and tried to play God — but paid the ultimate price for it…🧵 “Macbeth,” is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies

It follows Macbeth — a Scottish general — and his descent into pure evil

His unchecked ambition leads to regicide, mass murder, and widespread agony

Yet bad as this is, Macbeth is NOT the scariest villain

228 years ago, British and Spanish faced off in one of history’s most incredible naval battles

The epic showdown changed the course of history — and gave birth to Britain’s greatest hero of the past millennium

It all began by disobeying orders…🧵 Feb 14, 1797 — Britain faces an existential threat

Off the coast of Portugal, a massive Spanish fleet is sailing to unite with the French navy

If they combine forces, the Franco-Spanish armada will outnumber the Royal Navy

They'll take the English channel, and invade Britannia

You know Jonah, the guy swallowed by a whale?

Well, that’s the least interesting part of his story — what happens next is far more intriguing.

The Book of Jonah will turn your entire conception of God on its head… (thread) 🧵 To understand Jonah, you first need to understand Nineveh

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire — a superpower known for its cruelty

Assyrian artwork brags of their brutal methods:

Among other tortures, they would impale and skin their enemies alive…

There's a dark side of Santa Claus you don't know about.

In cultures across Europe, much darker figures emerge from the folklore

These 5 "Anti-Santas" teach the harsh lessons of Christmas...🎄🧵 1) Krampus

A horned, demonic figure from Alpine folklore, Krampus is the most famous anti-Santa

He is the "ying" to the "yang" of St. Nick's charity, and emerges to punish naughty children...

He either beats them with birch rods, or drags them off to his lair to be eaten!

Only ONE man ever managed to bring Rome to her knees

He did so by embarking on an impossible task — crossing the Alps with 50,000 men, 10,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants

Here’s how he pulled it off…🏔🧵 At the outbreak of the Second Punic War, Rome looked untouchable

Their navy ruled the seas. Their armies controlled the Italian Peninsula

And their "walls" — the Alps — made them safe from the north

No army had ever crossed them...

Leonardo da Vinci took a massive gamble painting “The Last Supper”

At first, it seemed to pay off — but success soon turned to disaster

Because what you're looking at wasn't painted by Leonardo...🧵 By the time Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint "The Last Supper," he was already a legend

The Duke of Milan wanted a fresco that would showcase the glory of his court — and rival anything in Italy

Incredibly, Leonardo had even bigger ambitions...

Canaletto used to be mocked as a "post-card" painter

Then some simple marketing advice changed his life — and he sold 200+ paintings to King George III

Here's the secret that made him the greatest marketer of the century...🧵 Born in Venice in 1697, Giovanni Antonio Canal — later known as Canaletto — grew up surrounded by art

His father was a theater set designer, so by his early 20s, Canaletto was designing opera sets for luminaries like Antonio Vivaldi

But then a trip to Rome changed everything...

In 1275, Marco Polo met the great Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan

To survive in a faraway land, Polo had to win the Khan's trust.

Here's how a cunning 21 year old European bridged the East-West divide...🧵 Marco Polo’s journey to Kublai Khan’s court was grueling

He traveled the Silk Road, crossing deserts, mountains, and war-torn lands — the polar opposite of his native Venice

By the time he reached Shangdu, Polo found himself in a world beyond imagination

Dante’s Purgatorio is an epic journey up the mountain of Purgatory.

It shows you how to conquer the 7 deadly sins at each level, and prepare your soul for Heaven.

But it's also history's greatest self-help manual to use in life... In Dante’s Divine Comedy, Purgatory is a mountain with 10 terraces

There's a "pre-Purgatory" terrace at the bottom, and 2 "Earthly Paradise" terraces at the top

In between are 7 terraces that correspond to the 7 deadly sins

To get to heaven, you must climb the mountain…

One piece of literature influenced The Lord of the Rings more than any other

Tolkien studied it for 25 years, convinced it had a hidden meaning

What he discovered changed the face of literature and helped him create his life’s masterpiece… 🧵 Beowulf is an Old English epic poem set in 6th century Scandinavia

The story begins with a group of Danes partying in a mead hall

All is joyful in their kingdom — but an evil “shadow walker” named Grendel lurks nearby

He despises the sounds of joy and descends into the town…

Old English is the coolest language you’ve never heard of

From Beowulf to Lord of the Rings, its influence is legendary — but most people know nothing about it.

Here’s a primer on Old English, and an explanation of why we wrote "ye olde" instead of "the old"... First off, Old English is NOT the language of Shakespeare

When you look beyond the thee’s and thou’s, Shakespeare’s English is actually quite like our own

Old English is much older — by 1,000 years or more

Compare Shakespeare’s English with the Old English of King Alfred:

Teddy Roosevelt was known for his tough, American machismo

But he started out as the polar opposite — a weak boy bedridden by asthma attacks

This is how he overcame illness, grew in fortitude, and became an icon of American exceptionalism…🧵 From his birth, Roosevelt was plagued with illness and suffered chronic asthma attacks

Doctors prescribed him whiskey and cigars to help — but they (obviously) had the opposite effect

As his health worsened, Roosevelt was increasingly bullied, and even beaten up by his peers…

George Orwell warned the government would enslave us

But another man warned we would enslave ourselves — with drugs, orgies, and endless pleasure

All this, he said, would begin by making babies in a lab...🧵 Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World depicts how society enslaves itself to pleasure

It’s set in a technologically advanced and materially prosperous society — its citizens are deprived of nothing

Unfortunately, the world is more sinister than it looks...

C.S. Lewis hated democracy.

He said it celebrates mediocrity over merit — and societies that do so are doomed to die.

Here's why, and what you can do to resist... Lewis’ work Screwtape Proposes a Toast highlights the dangers of democracy

The story takes place in hell — literally

The main character is a demon named Screwtape, and he gives a speech saying that democracy is the key to destroying mankind

7 FACTS about fatherhood you need to know… 🧵

1. Men with daughters: she will marry your example

2. Men with sons: he will become your example... 3. The most important job is when a man is finished with work and spending time with family at home

All the finances in the world can never replace a present, loving father

Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" is the story of a passionate love affair that ends in suicide.

But it also reveals the dark reason behind why people cheat — and how to avoid doing so yourself.

Here's what her tragic story can teach you… 🧵 Anna Karenina is a rich aristocrat trapped in a loveless marriage

Her husband is kind, but career-driven. He often neglects Anna, and she finds him boring

Anna grows increasingly sad and lonely — until she meets a man at a train station…

Why did Dostoevsky fear free will?

He said it’s the cause of all evil and suffering

But he also thought there was only one thing worse than free will...

A world with no freedom at all.

Here’s why he says you need free will — even at the cost of evil, suffering and death… Dostoevsky writes about free will in “The Grand Inquisitor” — an excerpt from his novel The Brothers Karamazov

The fictional story takes place in Spain during the Inquisition

Christ returns to Earth, performs miracles, and is arrested by inquisitors

You know Columbus discovered the Americas

But did you know he also decoded the Atlantic wind patterns and proved the globe wasn't a perfect sphere?

And that's just the beginning — here's the (true) story of Columbus they never told you… Columbus was a master sailor

By his mid-20s he could expertly navigate the Mediterranean, and had traveled as far west as the Azores and the Canary Islands

He also visited Bristol in the UK, and potentially even Iceland

It was on these travels that he began to hear rumors...

Tolkien’s literary greatness is unmatched — his works sold over 100 million copies and single-handedly defined the fantasy genre

The secret to his success?

He owed it all to an obscure group that most people have never heard of… 🧵 The story begins at the University of Oxford

Tolkien was teaching Anglo-Saxon when he crossed paths with a fellow professor named C.S. Lewis

The two quickly bonded over a shared love of classical literature, mythology, and writing…

“The Kid Butcher” was one of Rome’s greatest generals

From defeating pirates to conquering Jerusalem, he was a man who had it all — until he turned on his former ally Julius Caesar

This is the story of the rise and fall of Pompey the Great… 🧵 Born into a wealthy Roman family in 106 BC, Pompey began his career under the shadow of his father

By age 23, he had already raised an army and fought for the dictator Sulla during Rome’s civil war

His early victories earned him the nickname Pompey “the Great”

How can a good God let you suffer and die?

CS Lewis asked this very question when his wife died — but rather than abandon his faith, he wrote a book.

What he discovered changed his entire understanding of God, human nature, and the problem of pain… Lewis had been a Christian for over 20 years, but the death of his wife rocked his faith

He wondered — how can God possibly be good if I suffer like this?

A Grief Observed is the book he wrote to work through the agony provoked by that question