Ben Wilson

Or if you're listening in Apple Podcasts, you can subscribe right there in the app. And then I've got, I don't know, 20 more minutes of content for you. If not, if you're just listening to the free version, I appreciate it anyways. Thank you very much for tuning in to How to Take Over the World. Before we tune out, a big thank you to Speechify. Speechify helps you turn anything into a podcast.

Or if you're listening in Apple Podcasts, you can subscribe right there in the app. And then I've got, I don't know, 20 more minutes of content for you. If not, if you're just listening to the free version, I appreciate it anyways. Thank you very much for tuning in to How to Take Over the World. Before we tune out, a big thank you to Speechify. Speechify helps you turn anything into a podcast.

I use it all the time for my reading. I find that when I read and listen at the same time, I'm able to retain much more of what I read, which is really important for me because I'm taking notes on all this stuff to turn into podcasts.

I use it all the time for my reading. I find that when I read and listen at the same time, I'm able to retain much more of what I read, which is really important for me because I'm taking notes on all this stuff to turn into podcasts.

So if you're a student or if you're just someone who reads in order to learn and to improve, then you're going to love Speechify as a great tool to help you learn and retain more. So go to Speechify.com and use code Ben to get 15% off Speechify Premium. And you can even listen, if you so prefer, if you're a real sicko for how to take over the world, to content in my AI voice.

So if you're a student or if you're just someone who reads in order to learn and to improve, then you're going to love Speechify as a great tool to help you learn and retain more. So go to Speechify.com and use code Ben to get 15% off Speechify Premium. And you can even listen, if you so prefer, if you're a real sicko for how to take over the world, to content in my AI voice.

You can hear me narrate anything. So again, that is Speechify.com and use code Ben to get 15% off Speechify Premium. Thank you, Speechify.

You can hear me narrate anything. So again, that is Speechify.com and use code Ben to get 15% off Speechify Premium. Thank you, Speechify.

I want you to think of a philosopher, a generic philosopher, okay? Picture what a philosopher looks like in your mind. What does he look like? How does he act? He's probably old, balding, or at least a little gray, maybe a bit stooped. Perhaps he's a bit more professorial, bearded with glasses and a long nose. And in your mind, what's he doing, this philosopher? He's sitting at a desk, right?

I want you to think of a philosopher, a generic philosopher, okay? Picture what a philosopher looks like in your mind. What does he look like? How does he act? He's probably old, balding, or at least a little gray, maybe a bit stooped. Perhaps he's a bit more professorial, bearded with glasses and a long nose. And in your mind, what's he doing, this philosopher? He's sitting at a desk, right?

Either reading or writing. Perhaps if you imagined a Greek philosopher, maybe he's sitting on a rock speaking with a crowd of other philosophers. But when we think of philosophy and wisdom and learning, this is what we think of, bald heads and quiet contemplation.

Either reading or writing. Perhaps if you imagined a Greek philosopher, maybe he's sitting on a rock speaking with a crowd of other philosophers. But when we think of philosophy and wisdom and learning, this is what we think of, bald heads and quiet contemplation.

Which is why I want to talk about someone you've never heard of, Francois de la Rochefoucauld, a famous French writer and philosopher who lived in the 1600s. And that's because Rochefoucauld was not only a man of letters, but a man of action as well.

Which is why I want to talk about someone you've never heard of, Francois de la Rochefoucauld, a famous French writer and philosopher who lived in the 1600s. And that's because Rochefoucauld was not only a man of letters, but a man of action as well.

This is someone who wrote one of the great works of the Western canon, but also literally kidnapped the Queen of France and smuggled her out of the country. His writing and his wit made him the star of the literary salons of Paris, but he also killed people as a cavalryman and was himself both shot and stabbed in battle.

This is someone who wrote one of the great works of the Western canon, but also literally kidnapped the Queen of France and smuggled her out of the country. His writing and his wit made him the star of the literary salons of Paris, but he also killed people as a cavalryman and was himself both shot and stabbed in battle.

And I think his dual nature is demonstrated quite well by comparing a history that he wrote with what actually happened. He wrote a history of a civil war in which he was involved. And the history is, you know, what you would expect. Serious, solemn, dry, stately.

And I think his dual nature is demonstrated quite well by comparing a history that he wrote with what actually happened. He wrote a history of a civil war in which he was involved. And the history is, you know, what you would expect. Serious, solemn, dry, stately.

One biographer of Rochefoucauld writes that, "...no one would suspect that the historian who affects the gravity of Tacitus was acting all through the events he describes with the levity of a full-blooded and unscrupulous schoolboy." The most amazing instance of this is his grotesque attempt to have his enemy, Cardinal de Retz, murdered at the Palais de Justice.

One biographer of Rochefoucauld writes that, "...no one would suspect that the historian who affects the gravity of Tacitus was acting all through the events he describes with the levity of a full-blooded and unscrupulous schoolboy." The most amazing instance of this is his grotesque attempt to have his enemy, Cardinal de Retz, murdered at the Palais de Justice.