Pandemic pandemonium

The world’s current troubles pale in the light of previous plagues. A terrible onslaught of bubonic plague in the sixth century, for example, abruptly ended Emperor Justinian’s dream of reunifying the Roman empire and caused massive geopolitical upheaval.

The dangerous allure of the Augustinian strongman

The Roman emperor Augustus is held up by some as a statesman who brought peace, and as a potential model for the future. But what was the cost of Augustus’ peace, and how relevant is his model today?