Republic Of Knives

Jefferson’s Knives: A Tale Of Two Future Presidents And William Shakespeare! Jefferson’s knives, from several mentions, in his memorandum books, we know that Thomas Jefferson purchased a number of pocket knives between 1767 and 1819. One of these knives looks a lot like a modern Victorinox Swiss Army Knife with about a dozen tools between the scales, with the exception of its obvious carbon steel blades and its degrading wood handle. This last one can be seen in Jefferson’s collection at Monticello, and while interesting for many reasons including its likely Sheffield manufacture, and technology, has no real bearing on the tale at hand. It is sufficient to say that Jefferson seems to have been like many if not most Americans regarding the utility of keeping a pocket knife on one’s person. Most men of letters in those days had somewhere about the office a knife of the type used to sharpen a quill pen, hence the term “penknife”. These were often des...

The Ides Of March The Ides of March is about doing things together! It is not just about stabbing, but about coming together to stab in groups! The Ides Of March is almost upon us! March 15th was the date when Julius Caesar was stabbed to death for the purpose of preventing tyranny. 60 men, led by Brutus and Cassius, participated in the mass stabbing! The story is well-known apart from its historic significance due to the artistry of the Bard of Stratford. William Shakespeare wrote his play from the perspective of a monarchist, thereby attributing to Brutus and Cassius the worst of possible motives, treason against the King! Those of us who are familiar with the historical account, and understand democracies and republics see it in a much different way. Shakespeare was a man of his time and place, as we all are. His story and the historic story have lessons for us today. The types of knives used The Romans had a number of swords that went through a number of chan...