Theme Assignment Ledger · Anthony Nuñez

Assignment audit

Every one of the 732 included stories appears exactly once below under its primary theme. The preserved original, source collection, or source chapter is linked beside it.

Character, Integrity & Example (38)

Pontius Paulinus Gives Away a Fortune and Becomes an Example — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
Akimoto Suzutomo Rejects the Five-Ryo Bargain — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Angela Merkel Has One Beer at the Berlin Wall and Goes Home — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Angela Merkel Makes Plain Dress a Statement of Public Service — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Angela Merkel Notices Where Her Father Spent His Patience — The Daily Dad; source section
Casanova Gives Cristina a Festival—and Then Finds Her a Husband — The Art of Seduction; source section
Casanova Walks Away When a Countess Makes Desire a Transaction — The Art of Seduction; source section
Cato Keeps Serving After Pompey Takes Back His Command — The Daily Stoic; source section
Cato Teaches Without Writing a Book — The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
Cato Trains for Bad Fortune in Good Weather — The Daily Stoic; source section
Dean Acheson Shows Roosevelt How a Gentleman Resigns — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Epaminondas Makes a Sewer Office Honorable — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Flea Chooses Sobriety to Stay Available to His Daughter — The Daily Dad; source section
J. M. W. Turner Dulls His Painting Until the Exhibition Ends — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Jimmy Carter Answers Rickover’s ‘Did You Do Your Best?’ — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Joe Louis Becomes the Unrattled Ring Robot — The Daily Stoic; source section
John McCain Refuses Freedom Without His Fellow Prisoners — The Daily Stoic; source section
John Wooden and the Footsteps in the Sand — The Daily Dad; source section
Krishnamurti Dissolves the Messiah Role Built Around Him — The Art of Seduction; source section
Lycurgus Says to Begin with Your Own Household — The Daily Dad; source section
Margaret Thatcher’s Father Loses with Grace — The Daily Dad; source section
Monty Williams Congratulates the Team That Beat Him — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Ninon de l'Enclos Ends Villarceaux Cleanly When the Bond Changes — The Art of Seduction; source section
Ninon de Lenclos Writes a Contract That Makes Admirers Compete for Her Terms — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Ove’s Father Shows Him What Decency Looks Like — The Daily Dad; source section
Ralphie Repeats the Word He Heard at Home — The Daily Dad; source section
Steve Jobs Carries His Father's Craftsman Ethic into Apple — The Daily Laws; source section
The All Blacks Sweep Their Own Locker Room — The Daily Dad; source section
The College-Admissions Lesson in Hypocrisy — The Daily Dad; source section
The Disabled Fox — Standalone vault note; source note
The Opulent Stoic Defends His Fortune — The Daily Stoic; source section
The Ring of Gyges — Standalone vault note; source note · The Righteous Mind; additional source
Tiger Woods Inherits More Than a Golf Swing — The Daily Dad; source section
Will Percy Tells Walker That Character Outranks Glory — The Daily Dad; source section
Young Lyndon Johnson’s Bluster Collapses at a Poker Table — The Daily Stoic; source section
Three Partial Rings of Gyges Create Honest Cheaters — The Righteous Mind; source section
Ethics Books Go Missing from Philosophy Libraries — The Righteous Mind; source section
A Nurse Comforts a Child Who Cannot Feel It — The Righteous Mind; source section

Discipline, Habits & Self-Mastery (23)

Babe Ruth Spends and Eats Faster Than Success Can Protect Him — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Cato Refuses Even to Remember the Blow — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Cato, Curius, and Michelangelo Want Too Little to Be Bought — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Cleanthes Interrupts a Stranger Berating Himself — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Eisenhower Quits a Thirty-Eight-Year Smoking Habit Cold — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Floyd Patterson and James Stavridis Treat Sleep as Preparation — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
George Washington Trains His Temper into Calm Light — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Hercules Chooses Virtue at the Crossroads — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
James Mattis Refuses the Sunday-Show Circuit — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
John Wooden Starts Every UCLA Season with Socks and Shoes — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
King George IV Eats and Idles Himself into Ruin — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Lou Gehrig Makes Discipline a Career—and Knows When to Stop — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Musashi Refuses to Become a Prisoner of His Own Method — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Phil Jackson Learns to Know the Clock — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Richard Feynman Quits Drinking at the First Sign of Dependence — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Robert Moses Uses a Drawerless Table to Force Decisions — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Sam Cassell Injures Himself Celebrating a Shot — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Seneca Rehearses Poverty Before Nero Can Take Anything — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Keith Moon and the Blurred Line between Rebellion and Violence — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Odysseus Binds His Future Self — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Phineas Gage Is “No Longer Gage” — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Children and the Marshmallows — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Forbidden Donut and the Hot Sauce — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section

Courage, Resilience & Adversity (33)

A Tea Master Faces a Samurai with the Mind of a Tea Ceremony — The Daily Laws; source section
Beethoven Chooses Art over Suicide — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Benjamin Mee Breaks Courage into Twenty Seconds — The Daily Dad; source section
Chuko Liang Plays a Lute Before an Open City — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Churchill Refuses to Negotiate with Hitler — Standalone vault note; source note
Ernest Shackleton Leaves Safety to Bring Every Man Home — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Floyd Patterson Gets Back Up After Seven Knockdowns — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Franklin Roosevelt Refuses to Let Polio End His Career — The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
Freddie Roach Turns a Forced Retirement into a Training Career — The Daily Laws; source section
Henry Ford Treats Business Failure Like a Machine to Diagnose — The Daily Laws; source section
J. Frank Norfleet Hunts the Con Ring That Assumed He Would Go Home — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
James Stockdale Keeps Faith in the End of His Story — The Daily Dad; source section; The Daily Stoic; source section
Joan Crawford Turns a Punitive Western into a New Apprenticeship — The Daily Laws; source section
Leonidas and the Stand at Thermopylae — The Daily Dad; source section
Mao’s Long March and Return from Retreat — Standalone vault note; source note
Marcus Aurelius Outlasts Illness, War, and a False-Death Revolt — The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
Miyamoto Musashi Forces Groups of Attackers into a Line — The Daily Laws; source section
Muggsy Bogues Turns Five Feet Three into an Advantage — The Daily Stoic; source section
Nell Painter Learns Reinvention from Her Mother — The Daily Dad; source section
Nelson Mandela Sets the Terms Inside Prison — The Daily Stoic; source section
Pastor Hides His Grief from Caligula to Protect His Surviving Son — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Rubin Carter Refuses to Let Prison Define His Mind — The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
Scheherazade Uses Suspense to Survive One More Night — The Art of Seduction; source section
Socrates Retreats without Dropping His Shield — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Temple Grandin Converts a Predicted Limitation into Scientific Work — The Daily Laws; source section
The Little Hero of Holland — Standalone vault note; source note
Theodore Roosevelt Builds Challenges into Family Walks — The Daily Dad; source section
Theodore Roosevelt Goes West After Losing His Wife and Mother — The Daily Stoic; source section
Theodore Roosevelt Says He Can Work from a Wheelchair — The Daily Stoic; source section
Theodore Roosevelt’s Father Challenges Him to Build His Body — The Daily Dad; source section; The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
Tommaso Campanella Feigns Madness and Writes Orthodoxy to Survive — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Viktor Frankl Preserves Meaning in the Camps — The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
William Seabrook Takes Hold of the Other Handle — The Daily Stoic; source section

Love, Loyalty & Family Bonds (27)

Aly Khan Becomes Rita Hayworth's Refuge Before Becoming Her Husband — The Art of Seduction; source section
Bill Campbell Makes Sure Jules Is Not Alone — The Daily Dad; source section
Bruce Springsteen Keeps Driving Back to His Father’s House — The Daily Dad; source section
Buck Murphy Stands with His Jailed Son — The Daily Dad; source section
Cato Loves the Brother Who Cannot Live Like Cato — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Charles and Yvonne de Gaulle Welcome Anne — The Daily Dad; source section
Damon and Pythias — Standalone vault note; source note
David Carr’s Letter Arrives in London — The Daily Dad; source section
Floyd Patterson’s Mother Knows Why He Came Home — The Daily Dad; source section
Guillaume de Balaun Uses Absence Until the Performance Turns Cruel — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Jack Harbaugh Turns Bedtime Chaos into a Family Motto — The Daily Dad; source section
Joe Orton's Success Turns Kenneth Halliwell's Envy into Murder — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
John Jay O’Connor Moves Away from Relentless Criticism — The Daily Dad; source section
Josephine and Napoleon Turn Distance into a Volatile Bond — The Art of Seduction; source section
Lancelot Accepts the Cart of Shame to Reach Guinevere — The Art of Seduction; source section
Madame Récamier Becomes Prince Augustus's Absent Ideal — The Art of Seduction; source section
Marie Mancini Mirrors the Heroic Self Louis XIV Wants to See — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Max Becomes Gogo's Mommy — The Righteous Mind; source section
Master and Man — Standalone vault note; source note
Sandra Day O’Connor Keeps Loving Through Alzheimer’s — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Seneca Comforts His Mother from Exile — The Daily Stoic; source section
Ted Williams Slowly Learns to Love His Children — The Daily Dad; source section
The Father Runs to the Prodigal Son — The Daily Dad; source section
Two Fathers Leave Their Pride Hidden in a Drawer — The Daily Dad; source section
Victor Hugo and Juliette Drouet Build a Lifelong Literary Partnership — The Art of Seduction; source section
What the Roosevelt Children Saw in Marriage — The Daily Dad; source section
Winston Churchill Refuses the Hand That Insulted His Son — The Daily Dad; source section

Presence, Care & Family Priorities (23)

Angela Merkel Waits for Her Father — The Daily Dad; source section
Archie Manning Retires for Eli — The Daily Dad; source section
Bill Simmons Turns Soccer Traffic into Conversation — The Daily Dad; source section
Chesty Puller Carries His Daughter to Surgery — The Daily Dad; source section
Chesty Puller Keeps Driving the Paper Route — The Daily Dad; source section
David Letterman Retires and His Son Asks About Cartoons — The Daily Dad; source section
Diane di Prima Leaves the Beat Party — The Daily Dad; source section
Douglas MacArthur Schedules a Little Morning Madness — The Daily Dad; source section
Gregg Popovich Orders Mike Brown to Stay with His Sons — The Daily Dad; source section
Harmon Killebrew’s Father Chooses Boys Over Grass — The Daily Dad; source section
Hasan Minhaj Discovers the Humbling Extremity of Care — The Daily Dad; source section
Jeannie Gaffigan Decides to Engage with the Slime — The Daily Dad; source section
John Thompson Learns Why His Father Ate Last — The Daily Dad; source section
Kobe Bryant Declines One More Interview — The Daily Dad; source section
Marqise Lee Sits Out a Season for His Daughter — The Daily Dad; source section
Queen Elizabeth Greets Protocol Before Prince Charles — The Daily Dad; source section
Queen Elizabeth Moves the Prime Minister’s Meeting — The Daily Dad; source section
Stuart Scott Was Parenting, Not Babysitting — The Daily Dad; source section
The Earl Who Did Not Recognize His Child — The Daily Dad; source section
Tom Brady Sr. Learns His Son Treasured Their Golf Mornings Too — The Daily Dad; source section
Ulysses S. Grant Lets His Son Wrestle Him to the Floor — The Daily Dad; source section
Winston Churchill Gets Down on the Floor for a Toy-Train Crash — The Daily Dad; source section
Young Winston Churchill Asks Why His Father Did Not Visit — The Daily Dad; source section

Parenting, Discipline & Independence (16)

A Jordanian Father Chooses a Culture of Filial Respect — The Righteous Mind; source section
Agrippina Clears Nero’s Path—and Seneca Draws the Opposite Lesson — The Daily Dad; source section
Cato Adjusts His Hardness to the Child in Front of Him — The Daily Dad; source section
George VI Calls One Daughter ‘Pride’ and the Other ‘Joy’ — The Daily Dad; source section
Jeannie Gaffigan Realizes Her Help Has Made the Family Helpless — The Daily Dad; source section
Jimmy Carter Keeps His Father’s Smoking Promise — The Daily Dad; source section
Jimmy Carter Loses His Father’s Fish — The Daily Dad; source section
John Adams’s Father Lets the Salt Marsh Make the Case — The Daily Dad; source section
John Steinbeck Chooses Patience and Discipline over a Lecture — The Daily Dad; source section
Lycurgus Demonstrates What Training Does to Two Dogs — The Daily Dad; source section
Siddhartha Cannot Spend His Son’s Mistakes for Him — The Daily Dad; source section
Thomas Edison’s Wife Asks Him to Let His Sons Struggle — The Daily Dad; source section
Tim Hardaway Sr. Stops Trying to Reproduce Himself — The Daily Dad; source section
Will Ferrell’s Mother Lets Him Choose Square Dancing — The Daily Dad; source section
Young Gorgo Wonders Whether the Visitor Has Hands — The Daily Dad; source section
‘Bean Dad’ Turns a Can Opener into a Six-Hour Ordeal — The Daily Dad; source section

Mentorship, Belief & Human Potential (23)

Arat Hosseini Lands the Jump After Nine Falls — The Daily Dad; source section
Atwood Wilson Announces the Future Muhammad Ali — The Daily Dad; source section
Boy Capel Gives Coco Chanel a Practical Apprenticeship — The Daily Laws; source section
Charlie Parker Shows John Coltrane What the Saxophone Could Express — The Daily Laws; source section
David Robinson Teaches Tim Duncan Without a Lecture — The Daily Dad; source section
Dr. Papanek Sees the Boy Floyd Patterson Could Become — The Daily Dad; source section
Ed Stack’s Father Minimizes the Store That Changed the Business — The Daily Dad; source section
Edith Eger Is Told to Push Toward Potential — The Daily Dad; source section
Fronto Teaches Marcus Aurelius to See Beauty in Ordinary Things — The Daily Stoic; source section
Glenn Gould Learns from Guerrero Without Remaining in His Shadow — The Daily Laws; source section
Hakuin Pays a Miser to Pray Until the Practice Becomes Its Own Reward — The Daily Laws; source section
Hazel Harrison Teaches Ralph Ellison to Play for the Listener Behind the Stove — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Principal Protects His Reading — The Daily Dad; source section
Jane Austen’s Father Sends Her Manuscript to a Publisher — The Daily Dad; source section
Jim Valvano’s Father Packs for the Championship Years Early — The Daily Dad; source section
King George VI Becomes the Standard His Daughter Keeps Consulting — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Marcus Aurelius Finds a Father in Antoninus — The Daily Dad; source section · additional source
Marie Souvestre Sees Eleanor Roosevelt — The Daily Dad; source section
Milton Erickson Makes a Chronically Late Student's Entrance the Main Event — The Daily Laws; source section
Musonius Rufus Teaches Through Three Exiles — The Daily Stoic; source section
Richard Gregory Becomes Ramachandran's Model of Playful Science — The Daily Laws; source section
Ron Charity Asks Arthur Ashe If He Wants to Learn — The Daily Dad; source section
Will Ferrell’s Father Catches Himself Before Discouraging the Dream — The Daily Dad; source section

Learning, Curiosity & Discovery (37)

A Broken Boiler Shows Newcomen the Power of a Vacuum — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
A Compass Awakens Albert Einstein’s Curiosity — The Daily Dad; source section
A Toy Helicopter Opens the Wright Brothers’ Horizon — The Daily Dad; source section
Charles Lindbergh Measures an Ocean with String — The Daily Dad; source section
Emperor Hadrian Arrives as Epictetus’s Student — The Daily Dad; source section
Feynman's Glass of Ice Water — Standalone vault note; source note
Freud Recognizes Transference in Patients' Attachment — The Art of Seduction; source section
Haidt's Failed Experiments Undo His Preferred Model — The Righteous Mind; source section
Two Minutes of Reflection Let a Strong Argument Through — The Righteous Mind; source section
Harry Truman Is Too Busy Reading to Get into Trouble — The Daily Dad; source section
Harry Truman’s Mispronunciations Reveal a Reader — The Daily Dad; source section
Henry David Thoreau Goes to Catch the Chirping Frogs — The Daily Dad; source section
James Mill Makes John Stuart Mill Exhaust His Own Effort First — The Daily Dad; source section
Jane Goodall Lives Close Enough to See Chimpanzee Society Differently — The Daily Laws; source section
Jennifer Doudna’s Father Revises His Reading List — The Daily Dad; source section
Kwame Onwuachi’s Mother Follows the Smell of Curry — The Daily Dad; source section
Leonardo Studies Light and Anatomy to Make Painting Feel Alive — The Daily Laws; source section
Malcolm X Leaves Prison Educated — The Daily Stoic; source section
Mozart Lets Bach Change His Late Musical Language — The Daily Laws; source section
Napoleon Studies Military Art Before He Commands Armies — The Daily Laws; source section
Orville Wright Names the Brothers’ Unusual Advantage — The Daily Dad; source section
Plutarch Learns Roman Literature Late in Life — The Daily Stoic; source section
Power Learns from Former Slaves — The Daily Stoic; source section
Robert Lovett’s Father Trains Him to Notice — The Daily Dad; source section
Rusticus Lends Marcus Aurelius the Lectures of Epictetus — The Daily Stoic; source section
Sandra Day O’Connor Mails Cicadas to Her Grandchildren — The Daily Dad; source section
Seneca Borrows Wisdom from Epicurus — The Daily Stoic; source section
Steven Rinella’s Children Return with Two Montana Scorpions — The Daily Dad; source section
Wagner Hears the Prelude to Das Rheingold in a Half-Dream — The Daily Laws; source section
Wiser Than Yesterday — Standalone vault note; source note
The 2–4–6 Testers Never Try to Prove Themselves Wrong — The Righteous Mind; source section
Haidt Gets His Ph.D. at McDonald's — The Righteous Mind; source section
Five Liberal Researchers Build YourMorals to Test Their Own Field — The Righteous Mind; source section
Toddlers Follow a Point That Chimpanzees Miss — The Righteous Mind; source section
Belyaev Selects the Tamest Foxes—and Doglike Traits Appear — The Righteous Mind; source section
Haidt Sits Down on a Bookstore Floor and Rethinks Conservatism — The Righteous Mind; source section
His Father's Hospital Infection Sends David Goldhill into the Health-Care System — The Righteous Mind; source section

Identity, Calling & Belonging (33)

A MacArthur Grant Finds Cormac McCarthy in a Motel — The Daily Stoic; source section
Alcibiades Changes Social Colors in Every City — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Alexander Defines Himself Against Philip—and Keeps What Works — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Bruce Springsteen Sees Elvis and Asks for a Guitar — The Daily Dad; source section
Byron Makes Scandal Part of the Byronic Hero — The Art of Seduction; source section
Charlie Chaplin Assembles the Tramp from Costume and Memory — The Art of Seduction; source section
Daniel Everett Follows a Border-Town Fascination into Linguistics — The Daily Laws; source section
Elvis Turns Nervous Motion into a Stage Phenomenon — The Art of Seduction; source section
Florence Nightingale Refuses to Be Her Family’s ‘Wild Swan’ — The Daily Dad; source section
George Sand Builds a Public Character That Protects a Private Self — The Daily Laws; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Josephine Baker Creates—and Then Reinvents—Her Own World — The Daily Laws; source section; The Art of Seduction; source section
Lyndon Johnson Tries to Earn His Mother’s Love — The Daily Dad; source section
Marie Curie Recognizes Her Childhood Fascination in the Laboratory — The Daily Laws; source section
Marilyn Monroe Builds the Voice and Walk the Camera Remembers — The Art of Seduction; source section
Marlene Dietrich Studies Herself as Material for a Public Image — The Daily Laws; source section; The Art of Seduction; source section
Martha Graham Finds in Dance the Language Words Could Not Supply — The Daily Laws; source section
Mata Hari Makes Unverifiable Origins Part of Her Act — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Michael Chabon Watches His Son Find His People — The Daily Dad; source section
Natalie Barney Turns Love Affairs into Literary Myth — The Art of Seduction; source section
Pauline Bonaparte Makes Spectacle Part of Her Social Power — The Art of Seduction; source section
Pausanias Dresses Like a Persian and Loses the Greeks — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Ramachandran Turns a Fascination with Anomalies into a Scientific Niche — The Daily Laws; source section
Rilke Mirrors Lou Andreas-Salomé Until He Loses the Mirror — The Art of Seduction; source section
Rudolph Valentino Builds an Androgynous Screen Persona — The Art of Seduction; source section
Ryan Shazier Learns That Visible Trouble Is Not the Only Trouble — The Daily Dad; source section
Susan Straight Discovers the Painting Her Mother Abandoned — The Daily Dad; source section
The Golden Eagle — Standalone vault note; source note
The Ship of Theseus and the Rebuilt Shrine — The Daily Stoic; source section
Zeno’s Shipwreck Carries Him to Philosophy — The Daily Stoic; source section
Haidt Balances an American Flag with a United Nations Flag — The Righteous Mind; source section
Tony Hsieh Walks into a Rave and Finds a Tribe — The Righteous Mind; source section
Twelve Dancers Weave One Fabric Around a Maypole — The Righteous Mind; source section
The Choir Master Abandons Keith Richards—and Lights a Rebel Fuse — The Righteous Mind; source section

Leadership, Power & Responsibility (102)

Aztec Elites Resist the Missionaries’ One-Spouse Rule — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
Duke Berthold Dies without an Heir—and Swiss Towns Govern Themselves — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
France Persecutes the Huguenots—and Exports Denis Papin — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
A Soldier Tells Abraham Lincoln to Get Down — The Daily Dad; source section
Alexander Comes to Asia to Decide What Others May Keep — The Daily Stoic; source section
Andrew Jackson's Campaign Turns Hickory into a Political Identity — The Art of Seduction; source section
Astorre Manfredi's Popularity Makes Cesare Borgia Fear Him — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Athens Uses Ostracism to Remove Leaders Before Factions Harden — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Balboa Reaches the Pacific but Never Plans for Pedrarias — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Bismarck Answers William's Fear with a Pledge to Die Beside Him — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Bismarck Makes a Weak King the Indispensable Base of His Own Power — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Bismarck Stops After Limited Wars Create a German State — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Boniface VIII Lures Dante Away and Lets a Faction Take Florence — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Caesar's Assassins Produce the Monarchy They Meant to Prevent — The Daily Laws; source section
Catherine de' Medici Uses the Flying Squadron to Split Her Rivals — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Catherine Lets Peter III Discredit Himself Before She Moves — The Art of Seduction; source section
Ch'ung-erh Remembers an Insult After Returning from Exile — The Daily Laws; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Churchill Holds Britain’s Fighters for the Battle That Matters — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Cincinnatus Returns to the Plow — Standalone vault note; source note
Claudius's Passivity Lets Messalina's Betrayal Become Public — The Art of Seduction; source section
Cleopatra Lets Roman Power Remove Her Dynastic Rivals — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Cosimo de' Medici Preserves Republican Forms While Emptying Their Power — The Daily Laws; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Cyrus the Great Ignores Tomyris and Wins One Battle Too Many — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
D'Annunzio Turns Voice and Theater into Power at Fiume — The Art of Seduction; source section
De Gaulle Makes Distance, Uniform, and Timing Part of Authority — The Art of Seduction; source section
Deioces Withdraws His Judgments Until the Medes Demand a King — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Dov Charney Destroys American Apparel Rather Than Share Control — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Eisenhower Governs Power by Governing Himself — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Eisenhower Writes the Failure Message Before D-Day — The Daily Stoic; source section
Elizabeth I Keeps Essex Between Favor and Uncertainty — The Art of Seduction; source section
Elizabeth I Uses Marriage Negotiations Without Surrendering Her Crown — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Eva Perón Builds a Saintly Presence Through Charity and Absence — The Art of Seduction; source section
Franklin Roosevelt Names Fear During a Bank Panic — The Daily Stoic; source section; The Daily Laws; source section
George McClellan Gets the Slows — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
George Villiers Becomes James I's Favorite by Performing Devotion — The Art of Seduction; source section
George Washington Hands Back Power—Twice — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Godunov and Washington Make Others Press Power upon Them — The Daily Laws; source section
Gondomar Makes Buckingham and Charles Want Spain — The Art of Seduction; source section
Gregg Popovich Pays a Quarter Million Dollars to Rest the Spurs — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Haile Selassie Goads Ras Gugsa into Revolting on the Regent's Terms — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Haile Selassie Invites Balcha to a Banquet and Takes His Army — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Hannibal Stages a Brutal Contest Before His Army Faces Rome — The Daily Laws; source section
Hsi Shih Is Trained and Sent to Undo the King of Wu — The Art of Seduction; source section
Hsiang Yu Spares Liu Pang Until His Rival Takes the Empire — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
I Know What I'm Doing — Standalone vault note; source note
Isabella d'Este Keeps Mantua Useful to Every Side — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Ivan the Terrible Makes Russia Choose Him or the Boyars — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Ivan the Terrible Makes Russia Petition for the Authority It Resisted — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Ivan the Terrible Waits Through Humiliation and Then Strikes the Boyars — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
James Garfield Waits at Home for the Fight — The Daily Stoic; source section
Jiang Qing Uses Access to Mao as Both Intimacy and Political Power — The Art of Seduction; source section
Jim Mattis Takes the Christmas Guard Shift — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Joan of Arc Recognizes Charles and Gives an Army Belief — The Art of Seduction; source section
John F. Kennedy Turns the New Frontier into Camelot — The Art of Seduction; source section
Julius Caesar Makes Politics Feel Like Theater — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Kissinger Lets Nixon Receive the Public Credit for China Diplomacy — The Daily Laws; source section
Kissinger's Reaction to the Pentagon Papers Helps Create a Larger Crisis — The Daily Laws; source section
Kobe Bryant Drives Teammates as Hard as Himself — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Lenin Compresses Revolution into a Message People Can Carry — The Art of Seduction; source section
Lorenzo de' Medici Converts Banking Wealth into Cultural Prestige — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Louis XIV and Philip II Build Authority into New Palaces — The Daily Laws; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Louis XIV Turns 'I Shall See' into an Instrument of Rule — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Louis XIV Uses Gifts to Make Independent Nobles Dependent — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Louis XV Lives in Louis XIV's Shadow Without Building a New Authority — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Louis-Philippe Removes Royal Distance and Becomes the King No One Reveres — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Marcus Aurelius and José Mujica Carry Power Lightly — The Daily Stoic; source section
Marcus Aurelius Shares Power and Sells the Palace Before Burdening Rome — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Marcus Aurelius Uses Private Notes Against Imperial Flattery — The Daily Stoic; source section
Michael III Raises Basilius Until His Friend Takes the Throne — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Mucianus Punishes the Engineer Who Wins the Argument but Disobeys — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Napoleon Gives the Army of Italy a Vision Before It Has Supplies — The Art of Seduction; source section
Napoleon Returns from Elba Without Firing a Shot — The Art of Seduction; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Napoleon Uses a Rumored Alliance to Pressure Alexander I — The Art of Seduction; source section
Napoleon Uses Rare Praise and Rebuke to Hold an Army's Attention — The Daily Laws; source section
Nero’s Fear Turns Against His Family and Teacher — The Daily Stoic; source section
Nicolas Fouquet's Perfect Party Makes Louis XIV Feel Secondary — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Potemkin Uses Attention and Pageantry to Keep Catherine Engaged — The Art of Seduction; source section
Qin Shi Huang Hides in a Palace and Loses Control of Succession — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Queen Elizabeth Turns Constitutional Constraint into a Lifetime of Service — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Robespierre's Festival Exposes the Man Behind the Aura — The Art of Seduction; source section
Savonarola's Charisma Collapses When the Ordeal Does Not Happen — The Art of Seduction; source section
Sparta's Perfect Military Form Becomes a Strategic Cage — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Hunt for Pancho Villa Makes the Fugitive Larger — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The King of Wu Expands North While Yueh Waits at His Back — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Shah of Khwarezm Insults Genghis Khan's Envoys and Loses His Empire — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Sword of Damocles — Standalone vault note; source note; The Daily Stoic; source section
The Victory That Made the Enemy — Standalone vault note; source note
Thomas Cromwell Reforms Faster Than England Can Absorb — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Three Emperors Show What Power Reveals — The Daily Stoic; source section
Walt Bettinger Tests Character with a Wrong Breakfast Order — The Daily Stoic; source section
William Tecumseh Sherman Refuses the Presidency — The Daily Stoic; source section
Wu Chao Removes Every Rival on Her Way to the Throne — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Xenophon Carries a Soldier’s Shield — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Xenophon Sees a Route Home for the Ten Thousand — The Daily Laws; source section
Yang Kuei-fei Turns a Quarrel into Greater Power over Ming Huang — The Art of Seduction; source section
Zelenskyy Asks Ukraine to Hang Different Portraits — The Daily Dad; source section
Eating without Looking over One’s Shoulder — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Margaret Thatcher’s Handbagged Objection — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Tsutomu Yamaguchi Survives Both Atomic Bombings — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The !Kung Make Every Adult Share the Killing of Twi — The Righteous Mind; source section
Kennedy's “Ask Not” and Mussolini's Counterfeit Transcendence — The Righteous Mind; source section
Removing Lead from Gasoline Becomes a Test of Public-Health Regulation — The Righteous Mind; source section

Justice, Mercy & Moral Courage (37)

Augustus Tries Mercy on Lucius Cinna — Standalone vault note; source note
Bonhoeffer’s Grandmother Crosses the Boycott Line — The Daily Dad; source section
Callisthenes Tells Alexander the Truth Until the King Has Him Killed — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Casey Martin’s Golf Cart — Standalone vault note; source note
Cesare Borgia Displays Remirro de Orco's Body After Using His Violence — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Chao Executes the Crown-Keeper for Doing the Coat-Keeper's Job — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Churchill Protects the Driver Who Nearly Killed Him — The Daily Stoic; source section
Condoleezza Rice’s Father Tells Her to Keep Her Seat — The Daily Dad; source section
Errol Flynn Frames Pursuit as Adventure While Hiding the Power Imbalance — The Art of Seduction; source section
God Sees the Truth But Waits — Standalone vault note; source note
James Lawson’s Mother Asks What His Blow Accomplished — The Daily Dad; source section
Jeff Bezos Learns That Kindness Is Harder Than Cleverness — The Daily Dad; source section
Jesus Forgives from the Cross — The Daily Stoic; source section
Lovelace Isolates Clarissa Until He Controls the World Around Her — The Art of Seduction; source section
Martin Luther King Jr. Opens His Hands to His Attacker — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Melos Chooses Defiant Honor and Athens Destroys the City — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Rochester's Abduction of Elizabeth Malet Becomes a Cautionary Romance — The Art of Seduction; source section
Siena and Venice Dispose of Mercenaries They No Longer Need — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
St Bartholomew's Day — Standalone vault note; source note
The Angels Are Rebuked for Celebrating at the Red Sea — The Daily Dad; source section
The Lion and the Mouse — Standalone vault note; source note
The Pilgrim Who Stopped — Standalone vault note; source note
Ts'ao Ts'ao Blames the Commissariat Chief for His Own Supply Failure — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
William Stafford’s Parents Ask, ‘What Did You Do?’ — The Daily Dad; source section
Christian Wirth and the Jewish Boy — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Cruelty as Public Entertainment — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Forced Confessions Expose Torture — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Ravaillac Stabs Henry IV—and the State Makes His Body a Spectacle — Independently researched historical story; Parlement trial and execution record; Larousse biography of Henri IV; French Ministry of Culture execution print
Jean Calas and the Moral Force of a Witnessed Injustice — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Mary Ellen Is Protected through the Animal-Cruelty Analogy — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Ruby Bridges Walks into School — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Emperor Who Replaced People with Clay — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Old Couple and the French Glass — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The State’s Treatment of Alan Turing — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Three Afternoons in a Salmon-Colored Cadillac — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Wagon Train Leaves the Girl Behind — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
“The Hunting Story” and the Ethical Warrior — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section

Conflict, Anger & Reconciliation (36)

Alexander the Great Kills His Friend in Anger — The Daily Stoic; source section
Chekhov Uses the Writer's View to Understand—and Forgive—His Father — The Daily Laws; source section
Chuko Liang Captures Menghuo Seven Times and Releases Him Seven Times — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
D. H. Lawrence and Frieda Keep Their Marriage in Constant Drama — The Art of Seduction; source section
D. H. Lawrence Creates Rivalry Around His Attention — The Art of Seduction; source section
Don Mateo and Conchita Turn Desire into a Cycle of Punishment — The Art of Seduction; source section
Emperor Sung Retires His Generals and Wins Former Enemies — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Grammont Steals Brissac's Horse to Interrupt a Rival — The Art of Seduction; source section
Henry VIII Stops Arguing with Catherine and Changes the Institution Around Her — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Hermes Steals Apollo's Cattle and Trades Music for Peace — The Art of Seduction; source section
Kissinger Meets the People Accused of Plotting to Kidnap Him — The Daily Laws; source section
Kuriyama Daizen Clears a Friend's Debt Through a Tea Vase — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Lincoln Writes His Anger—and Puts It in a Drawer — The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
Put Out the Spark — Standalone vault note; source note
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Practices ‘A Little Deafness’ — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Shane Parrish’s Mother Gives Him Tomorrow — The Daily Dad; source section
Talleyrand Lets Napoleon's Rage Reveal That Power Is Slipping — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Talleyrand's Market Pigs Turn Napoleon's Hunt into Humiliation — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Boy Who Had Lived in Plato’s House — The Daily Dad; source section
The Empty Boat — Standalone vault note; source note
The King and His Hawk — Standalone vault note; source note
William Thalhimer Buys the Land Instead of Fighting the Bigot — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Zhou Enlai Uses Courtesy and Memory to Defuse Chiang and Stalin — The Art of Seduction; source section
A Nose Cut Off for Another Person’s Adultery — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
A Penny Candle and a Killing — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Afonso Dhlakama Is “Wooed” into Peace — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Hamilton Chooses Honor over Survival — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Jane Goodall’s Disturbing Discovery — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Kennedy and Khrushchev Untie the Knot — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Terrorist Violence That Destroys Its Own Cause — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Punch in Witness — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Matching Force Escalates Eighteenfold — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Sadat Speaks to the Israeli Parliament — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Shweder's Red Pill Makes Conservatives Legible — The Righteous Mind; source section
A !Kung Healing Dance Unites People Who Do Not Like One Another — The Righteous Mind; source section
A Child Hears That Political Disagreement Is Why His Parents Are Separating — The Righteous Mind; source section

Community, Cooperation & Connection (32)

William Buckley Survives by Becoming Someone’s Dead Relative — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
Ilahita Builds a Village Larger Than Its Clans — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
The Call to Prayer Changes Sixty-Nine Shopkeepers’ Choice — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
Magdeburg Law Copies Itself through a Family of Cities — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
London’s Excluded Stockbrokers Build Rules in a Coffeehouse — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
Andy Warhol Makes the Factory a World People Cannot Visit Just Once — The Art of Seduction; source section
Defoe's Plague Narrator Watches Old Divisions Lose Their Force — The Daily Laws; source section
Dunkirk Turns an Evacuation into a Discipline of Survival — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Harry Belafonte Buys the Kings Time to Serve the Movement — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
James Rothschild Spends on Culture to Cross a Social Barrier — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Only the Animals Stayed — Standalone vault note; source note
Pamela Harriman Turns Attention and Hosting into Political Connection — The Art of Seduction; source section
Rome and Lyons Answer Each Other’s Fires — The Daily Stoic; source section
The Bundle of Sticks — Standalone vault note; source note
The Gates of Hamburg — Standalone vault note; source note
The Rothschild Brothers Concentrate Trust Across Five Capitals — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
What Men Live By — Standalone vault note; source note
Nova Scotia’s Christmas Tree to Boston — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Robbers Cave Repairs the Water Line — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section · The Righteous Mind; additional source
Oxytocin in a Trust Game — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Taking Elaine’s Shocks — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Boston Miracle and a Face-Saving Exit — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Swiss Students Pay to Punish Strangers—and Cooperation Climbs — The Righteous Mind; source section
Twenty-Four Sisters Bring a Motorboat to Evolution's Boat Race — The Righteous Mind; source section
William Muir Breeds the Cage, Not the Champion Hen — The Righteous Mind; source section
William McNeill Marches Until the “I” Becomes “We” — The Righteous Mind; source section
Oxytocin Makes Dutch Men More Loyal, Not More Universal — The Righteous Mind; source section
Fifty Thousand Cavaliers Turn a Football Game into a Church — The Righteous Mind; source section
Costly Sacrifices Help Religious Communes Outlast Secular Ones — The Righteous Mind; source section
Balinese Water Temples Coordinate Thousands of Rice Farmers — The Righteous Mind; source section
Religious Trustees Return More in a German Trust Game — The Righteous Mind; source section
Congressional Families Stop Moving to Washington—and Cross-Party Friendships Fade — The Righteous Mind; source section

Work, Ambition & Excellence (36)

A Newborn Helps Lin-Manuel Miranda Protect *Hamilton* — The Daily Dad; source section
Aaron Rodgers Uses Three Years on the Sideline as an Apprenticeship — The Daily Laws; source section
Beethoven Lets the World Disappear into Raptus — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Bill Cunningham Refuses the Money That Would Buy His Independence — The Daily Stoic; source section
Bill Walsh Scripts the First Twenty-Five Plays — The Daily Stoic; source section
Booker T. Washington Says No to Protect Tuskegee’s Main Work — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Bruce Springsteen Watches His Mother at Work — The Daily Dad; source section
Eiji Ichimura Learns Sushi by Watching from the Dish Pit — The Daily Laws; source section
Einstein Chooses the Patent Office for a Self-Apprenticeship — The Daily Laws; source section
Emma Hamilton Turns Living Statues into a Career and Marriage — The Art of Seduction; source section
Fra Filippo Lippi Draws His Captor and Wins His Freedom — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Hitchcock Secures Creative Control One Concession at a Time — The Daily Laws; source section
Houdini Hides Research and Rehearsal Behind the Impossible — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
James Forrestal Works Past Every Warning Until He Breaks — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Jerry Seinfeld Gives a Young Comic the Chain Method — The Daily Stoic; source section
John Henry Beats the Machine and Dies of Exhaustion — The Daily Stoic; source section
Joyce Carol Oates Writes Prolifically—and Waits a Year to Publish — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
LeBron James Uses the Offseason as Training — The Daily Stoic; source section
Leonardo Tests His Own Style in Verrocchio's Workshop — The Daily Laws; source section
Look Where the Ball Lands — Standalone vault note; source note
Madame de Pompadour Studies for—and Repeatedly Renews—Louis XV — The Art of Seduction; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Manny Machado Half-Jogs a Play—and Loses the Yankees — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Marcus Aurelius Talks Himself Out of Bed — The Daily Stoic; source section
Martha Graham Lets Louis Horst Finish What Perfectionism Stalled — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Nakayama Hakudo and Musashi Make Practice Second Nature — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Nick Saban Reduces Championships to the Next Play — The Daily Stoic; source section
Proust Turns an Apparently Idle Life into Material for a Masterwork — The Daily Laws; source section
Sen no Rikyu Builds a Natural-Looking Gate Through Months of Work — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Susan Straight Writes a Novel Beside the Stroller — The Daily Dad; source section
Tesla Creates the System While Edison, Westinghouse, and Marconi Capture the Credit — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Five Dollars in the Fire — Standalone vault note; source note
The Tortoise and the Hare — Standalone vault note; source note
Theodore Roosevelt Cannot Leave the Arena — The Daily Stoic; source section
Thomas Edison Turns Attendance into Genius — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Tom Brady Chases Tiny Improvements and Pliability — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Toni Morrison Writes After the Children Are Asleep — The Daily Laws; source section · additional source

Contentment, Meaning & the Good Life (14)

Anthony Bourdain Finds Happiness in the Ordinary Backyard — The Daily Dad; source section
Buffett, Urschel, and Leonard Keep Their Wants Cheap — The Daily Stoic; source section
Churchill Spends His Way into Permanent Financial Anxiety — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Diogenes Needs Less Than Alexander — The Daily Stoic; source section
Epicurus Asks a Rich Friend for a Pot of Cheese — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Fitzgerald Discovers That the Rich Are Only Rich — The Daily Stoic; source section · additional source
Lincoln’s Rejected Office Seeker Finally Asks for Trousers — The Daily Stoic; source section
Manu Ginóbili Learns to Enjoy the Game After a Finals Collapse — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Seneca’s Father-in-Law Loses His Office and Gains His Time — The Daily Stoic; source section
Six Feet of Land — Standalone vault note; source note
The Contented Fisherman — Standalone vault note; source note
The Zen Master’s Broken Cup and Epictetus’s Stolen Lamp — The Daily Stoic; source section
Theodore Roosevelt Finds Pleasure Before the Caribou — The Daily Dad; source section
Emerson and Darwin Find the Sacred in Nature — The Righteous Mind; source section

Judgment, Perception & Self-Knowledge (114)

A Random Lighter Reveals Two Hadza Market Worlds — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
Said ibn Ahmad Sees Northern Europe as Barbarian—and History Reverses the View — The WEIRDest People in the World; source chapter
A Hockey Coach Asks Rich Cohen Whether His Son Is Happy — The Daily Dad; source section
Alcibiades Tries to Seduce Socrates and Meets Self-Possession — The Art of Seduction; source section
Alexandra Horowitz Discovers the Walk Began Inside — The Daily Dad; source section
Alfonso Grants One Dream and Refuses the Servant's Second — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Andy Warhol Turns Truman Capote from Pursued Idol into Factory Regular — The Art of Seduction; source section
Arnold and Slack Look Too Naive to Have Salted a Diamond Field — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Augustus and George Thomas Make Haste Slowly — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Baudelaire's Anonymous Letters Create an Ideal He Cannot Sustain — The Art of Seduction; source section
Beau Brummell Calls the Prince 'Big Ben' and Loses His Patron — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Bernard Boursicot Believes the Persona Shi Pei Pu Builds for Him — The Art of Seduction; source section
Bismarck Opposes a Premature War to Prepare for the War He Wants — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Bobby Fischer Makes Spassky Prepare for the Player He Cannot Predict — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Bragadino Gives Declining Venice the Alchemist It Wants — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Casanova Becomes a Different Ideal for Three Different Women — The Art of Seduction; source section
Casanova Lets Charpillon's Refusals Become His Obsession — The Art of Seduction; source section
Chateaubriand Makes Récamier Compete with an Imaginary Sylph — The Art of Seduction; source section
David Tests Saul's Intentions by Missing a Feast — The Daily Laws; source section
Dr. Jekyll's Repression Gives Mr. Hyde the Night — The Daily Laws; source section
Evan Handler Learns What Ordinary Happiness Feels Like — The Daily Stoic; source section
Fouché Feeds Napoleon's Own Spy System a Reflection — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Francesco Borri Turns a Conversion Story into a Cult — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Franz Mesmer Builds a Salon That Makes Magnetism Feel Mystical — The Art of Seduction; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Genji's Exile Makes the Court Want Him Back — The Art of Seduction; source section
George Costanza Improves His Life by Doing the Opposite — The Daily Stoic; source section
George Sand and Alfred de Musset Watch Venice Undo Their Ideal — The Art of Seduction; source section
Gonzalo Pizarro Spends an Expedition Chasing El Dorado — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Henry Ford Thanks the Art Dealers for the Book and Buys Nothing — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Howard Hughes's Maverick Image Conceals a Pattern of Weak Businesses — The Daily Laws; source section
Joan Didion’s Father Shrugs at Stanford’s Rejection — The Daily Dad; source section
John McGraw Dismisses Lou Gehrig After One Error — The Daily Dad; source section
Joseph Duveen Studies Andrew Mellon Before Engineering Their Meeting — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Joseph Fouché Survives Every Turn of the French Revolution — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Kennedy Treats Pain with Shortcuts Until Exercise Addresses the Cause — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Lincoln Integrates Ambition, Melancholy, Humor, and Empathy — The Daily Laws; source section
Lincoln Waits and Revises the Emancipation Proclamation — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Lola Montez Pulls a Chain of Powerful Men into Her Crises — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Lucian Imagines—and Edgar Mitchell Sees—the View from Above — The Daily Stoic; source section
Mao Gives Chiang the Cities and Turns Manchurian Space into a Weapon — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Mao Releases Chiang Kai-shek and Lets Two Enemies Exhaust Each Other — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Marie-Antoinette Treats Public Resentment as Beneath Her Until It Defines Her — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Marlborough Induces the French to Destroy the Fort He Wants Gone — The Daily Laws; source section
Mitch Hedberg Wonders Whether He Found the Wrong Radio Station — The Daily Stoic; source section
Napoleon Burns the Essay That Warned Him About Ambition — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Napoleon Feigns Weakness Before Austerlitz — The Daily Laws; source section
Napoleon Uses a Feint to Expose an Army's Flank — The Daily Laws; source section
Napoleon's Strategy Hardens into Convention — The Daily Laws; source section
Nobody Is Thinking About You — Standalone vault note; source note
Octavian Refuses Cleopatra's Final Attempt to Control the Scene — The Art of Seduction; source section
Pericles Leaves the Assembly Until Anger No Longer Decides for Him — The Daily Laws; source section
Pete Davidson Learns That a Hero Can Be Flawed — The Daily Dad; source section
Pompey Pursues the Wrong Kind of Greatness — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Professor Rath Loses Himself in Lola Lola — The Art of Seduction; source section
Rasputin Builds an Aura of Healing and Holiness at Court — The Art of Seduction; source section
Rich Cohen Realizes He Cares More Than the Rejected Player — The Daily Dad; source section
Richelieu Rises by Finding the Power Behind the Throne — The Daily Laws; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Rocky Marciano Leaves the Ring Before It Leaves Him — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
Rommel's Intuition Grows from Immersion in Men, Machines, and Terrain — The Daily Laws; source section
Searching for the Ass — Standalone vault note; source note
Sen no Rikyu's Statue Crosses Hideyoshi's Status Boundary — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Seneca Puts Each Day on Trial — The Daily Stoic; source section
Sherlock Holmes Solves Silver Blaze by the Dog That Did Not Bark — The Daily Laws; source section
Stefano di Poggio Appeals to Gratitude and Walks into Castruccio's Trap — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Stendhal's Idealization of Metilde Outlives the Relationship — The Art of Seduction; source section
Swann's Memories Attach a Melody and Gifts to Odette — The Daily Laws; source section
The Afghan Moon Story — Standalone vault note; source note
The Count of Saint-Germain Makes Uncertainty His Reputation — The Art of Seduction; source section
The Diamond Necklace Conspirators Borrow Marie Antoinette's Image — The Art of Seduction; source section
The Duchess of Marlborough Saves Pennies While Blenheim Consumes Years — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Fox and the Grapes — Standalone vault note; source note
The Guru's Cat — Standalone vault note; source note
The Moon Doctor Makes Reflected Light Feel Like a Cure — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Mountain Doctor Makes the Journey Part of the Cure — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Three Hermits — Standalone vault note; source note
The Widower Folding Clothes in The Sweet Hereafter — The Daily Dad; source section
The Wounded Bird Plays Dead — Standalone vault note; source note
Thyestes Accepts the Gifts That Hide Atreus’s Trap — The Daily Stoic; source section
Valmont Chooses Tourvel Because Resistance Makes Her a Worthier Target — The Art of Seduction; source section
Walter Raleigh's Display of Versatility Accumulates Silent Enemies — The Daily Laws; source section
Bread beside a Dead Man in Auschwitz — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Catching Self-Deception in Two Ledgers — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Lindow Man’s Threefold Death — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
One Conflict, Two Righteous Histories — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Milgram’s Shock Machine Follows the Room — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Pinker Obeys Standard Practice and Kills a Rat — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Pinker’s Childhood Games of Pain — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Andaman Islanders after the Tsunami — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The President, the Fly, and the Humane Catcher — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Thanksgiving Turkey — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
The Unsoftened Grimm Tales — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Toynbee and Richardson Make Opposite Forecasts — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Ötzi’s Cold Case — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Five Thousand Miles Away, and a Few Blocks West — The Righteous Mind; source section
A Four-Year-Old Interviews His Father in a Bathroom — The Righteous Mind; source section
Haidt's Subjects Invent Victims for Judgments Already Made — The Righteous Mind; source section
Jefferson Lets His Head and Heart Argue over Maria Cosway — The Righteous Mind; source section
Damasio's Patients Keep Their IQ and Lose Their Practical Judgment — The Righteous Mind; source section
Thirty Students Face Roach Juice, a Soul Sale, and Moral Dumbfounding — The Righteous Mind; source section
Haidt Catches His Inner Lawyer Inventing an Alibi — The Righteous Mind; source section
A Hypnotic Word Makes Innocent Dan Seem Wrong — The Righteous Mind; source section
A Perfumed Trash Can Makes Moral Judgments Harsher — The Righteous Mind; source section
Babies Prefer the Helper to the Hinderer — The Righteous Mind; source section
Self-Proclaimed Mavericks Watch Their Ratings Fall — The Righteous Mind; source section
Partisans Escape Their Candidate's Contradiction — The Righteous Mind; source section
Three Months in India Make Another Moral World Felt — The Righteous Mind; source section
The True Taste Restaurant Serves Only Sweeteners — The Righteous Mind; source section
A Hover Fly Borrows a Wasp's Warning Stripes — The Righteous Mind; source section
Armin Meiwes Turns Consent into a Moral Stress Test — The Righteous Mind; source section
Angry Emails Make Haidt Redraw Fairness — The Righteous Mind; source section
Ten Divinity Students Take Psilocybin in a Chapel — The Righteous Mind; source section
Fair Play Determines Whose Shock Hurts — The Righteous Mind; source section
A Parasite Sends an Ant to the Top of a Blade of Grass — The Righteous Mind; source section
Partisans Try to Answer as the Other Side—and Reveal Their Blind Spots — The Righteous Mind; source section

Communication, Persuasion & Truth (92)

Barnum Attacks Peale's Reputation Before Buying the Museum — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Barnum Turns a Near-Lynching and a Brick Route into Publicity — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Beaumarchais Lets a Tribunal Edit Trifles and Defend the Whole Play — The Daily Laws; source section
Bertolt Brecht Charms HUAC and Leaves the Country — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Billy Wilder Gets Dietrich to Volunteer for the Role She Rejected — The Daily Laws; source section
Brunelleschi Feigns Illness Until Florence Sees Who Can Build the Dome — The Daily Laws; source section
Casanova Lets Mathilde M. Control the Staging of Their Affair — The Art of Seduction; source section
Cato the Elder Sends Carneades Back to Athens — The Daily Stoic; source section
Cato Waits Until His Words Are Worth Hearing — The Daily Stoic; source section
Chinese Court Historians Hide Warnings in Strange Omens — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Christopher Wren Builds Columns That Stop Short of the Ceiling — The Daily Laws; source section
Churchill Paints the Sheep Henry Luce Suggested — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Cicero Treats Changing His Mind as Freedom — The Daily Stoic; source section
Cixi Uses a Banquet and Tears to Reframe the Foreign Court — The Art of Seduction; source section
Clementine Churchill Helps Mary Reconsider — The Daily Dad; source section
Cleopatra Turns Her Arrivals into Political Theater — The Art of Seduction; source section
Coco Chanel Makes Ordinary Materials Objects of Desire — The Daily Laws; source section
Columbus Performs Nobility Until Courts Finance His Voyage — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Cora Pearl's Expectation of Independence Becomes Her Social Power — The Daily Laws; source section; The Art of Seduction; source section
Corcyra Wins Athens by Arguing Interest While Corinth Argues Gratitude — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Coriolanus Talks a Military Legend into Political Exile — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Date Masamune Makes a Horse Come Out of a Gourd — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Demosthenes Tells Athens to Imitate Its Ancestors — The Daily Stoic; source section
Diane de Poitiers Turns Henri II's Reign into a Shared Emblem — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Disraeli Answers Parliamentary Attacks with Humor Before Argument — The Daily Laws; source section; The Art of Seduction; source section
Disraeli Wins Queen Victoria by Addressing Both Person and Crown — The Art of Seduction; source section
Don Juan Lets Cristeta Believe She Is Seducing Him — The Art of Seduction; source section
Duke Ellington Turns Each Affair into a Theatrical Memory — The Art of Seduction; source section
Edward Bernays Sells Cigarettes as 'Torches of Freedom' — The Art of Seduction; source section
Fulvio Testi Praises Urban VIII's Poetry for His Duke — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Fushimiya Buys an Ordinary Cup and Creates a Priceless Gift — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Galileo Turns Jupiter's Moons into Medici Patronage — The Daily Laws; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Genji Uses Music and Fireflies to Stage Hotaru's Courtship — The Art of Seduction; source section
Harry Reichenbach Turns Publicity Stunts into News — The Art of Seduction; source section
Isabey Places Wellington at the Entrance and Talleyrand at the Center — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Johannes Uses a Dull Suitor to Make Himself Seem Compelling — The Daily Laws; source section
Joseph Duveen Helps Build a Public Gallery That Also Protects His Market — The Daily Laws; source section
Joseph Duveen Makes Arabella Huntington Feel at Home Before Selling Art — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Jules Mansart Leaves Louis XIV a Flaw to Discover — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Kennedy Lets Curiosity Spread the PT-109 Story — The Art of Seduction; source section
Khrushchev Makes a Heckler Feel Why No One Challenged Stalin — The Daily Laws; source section
La Belle Otero Turns Rivalry into Her Legend — The Art of Seduction; source section
Lauzun Makes the Grande Mademoiselle Propose the Marriage — The Art of Seduction; source section
Lesley Stahl's Critical Reagan Segment Becomes a Visual Advertisement — The Daily Laws; source section; The Art of Seduction; source section
Lincoln Uses Laughter Before Emancipation — Standalone vault note; source note
Lou Andreas-Salomé Lets Absence Intensify Her Admirers' Pursuit — The Daily Laws; source section; The Art of Seduction; source section
Lyndon Johnson Treats the End of Every Conversation as the Next Beginning — The Daily Laws; source section
Machiavelli Turns Political Exclusion into a Strategy of Writing — The Daily Laws; source section
Madame de T Uses One Night to Rewrite a Lover's Reality — The Art of Seduction; source section
Major Taylor’s Daughter Learns the Battles He Never Explained — The Daily Dad; source section
Malcolm X Gives Disciplined Form to Anger Others Were Afraid to Voice — The Daily Laws; source section; The Art of Seduction; source section
Mao Wraps Communist Revolution in Familiar Chinese History — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Marie de Vionnet Wins Strether's Help by Making Him Feel Understood — The Daily Laws; source section
Mark Antony Makes Caesar's Funeral Crowd Complete the Argument — The Art of Seduction; source section
Meilcour Loses Madame de Lursay by Hiding Behind Formality — The Art of Seduction; source section
Merteuil Makes Belleroche Leave by Giving Him Too Much Attention — The Art of Seduction; source section
Michelangelo Lets Soderini Believe David's Nose Has Changed — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Milton Erickson Uses Dinner and Carpentry as Therapeutic Mirrors — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Nathan's Ewe Lamb — Standalone vault note; source note
Nell Gwyn Outlasts Louise de Kéroualle by Making Charles II Laugh — The Art of Seduction; source section
Ninon de Lenclos's Careful Plan Fails When the Marquis Confesses — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Oriana Fallaci Makes Kissinger and the Shah Reveal Their Self-Images — The Art of Seduction; source section
Oscar Wilde Creates the Character Before Delivering the Lecture — The Art of Seduction; source section
P. T. Barnum Makes the Obvious Fraud Part of the Show — The Daily Laws; source section
Pietro Aretino Spends His Savings to Build a Circle in Venice — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Pietro Aretino Turns Exposure of a Lie into a Story of Ascent — The Daily Laws; source section
Pietro Aretino Uses a Satirical Elephant Will to Enter Papal Service — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Richard III Courts Lady Anne Beside the Coffin — The Art of Seduction; source section
Richelieu Uses a Disguise and Tunnel to Reach a Duchess — The Art of Seduction; source section
Sen no Rikyu Teaches Desire Through One Flower — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Socrates Keeps Questioning While Athens Loses Its Temper — The Daily Stoic; source section
Socrates Says It Is Better to Be Refuted — Standalone vault note; source note
Sukarno Turns an Interview into a Performance for Cindy Adams — The Art of Seduction; source section
Talleyrand Builds a Roman Fantasy Around Napoleon — The Art of Seduction; source section
Talleyrand Learns Secrets by Suppressing Himself in Conversation — The Daily Laws; source section
The Emperor's New Clothes — Standalone vault note; source note
The Governor's Welcome — Standalone vault note; source note
The Joking Shepherd — Standalone vault note; source note
The North Wind and the Sun — Standalone vault note; source note
The Spartans Make Silence a Form of Strength — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
The Truth Shop — Standalone vault note; source note
The Yellow Kid Builds an Entire Bank Around the Victim — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Yellow Kid Hides a Boxing Con Behind a Real-Estate Deal — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
The Yellow Kid Uses Free Land and Red Ink to Sell the Fraud — The Daily Laws; source section
Victor Lustig Manufactures Mystery Before He Sells the Con — The Daily Laws; source section; The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Victor Lustig Returns Capone's Money and Receives Five Thousand Dollars — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Victor Lustig Sells the Eiffel Tower—Twice — The 48 Laws of Power; source section
Zachary Taylor and David Conner Dress for Each Other — Discipline Is Destiny; source section
A Photograph Becomes “Strange Fruit” — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Eleven Minutes of Applause — The Better Angels of Our Nature; source section
Max Rejects Ice Cream When It Becomes a Command — The Righteous Mind; source section
Haidt Rewrites Kerry While Walking the Dog — The Righteous Mind; source section

Mortality, Grief & Time (17)

Abraham Lincoln Mentions a Journey He Will Never Take — The Daily Dad; source section
Arthur Ashe Writes to His Daughter at the End — The Daily Dad; source section
Bob Saget Answers His Daughter Before Going Onstage — The Daily Dad; source section
Cato Reads the Phaedo Before Choosing Death — The Daily Stoic; source section
Dostoyevsky Faces a Firing Squad and Receives His Life Back — The Daily Laws; source section
Flannery O'Connor Lets Lupus Make Time Urgent — The Daily Laws; source section
Frances Gunther Receives Her Dying Son Anew Each Morning — The Daily Dad; source section
Franklin Roosevelt’s Last Unassisted Day with His Sons — The Daily Dad; source section
Rob Delaney Learns the Finitude He Wishes He Had Learned Otherwise — The Daily Dad; source section
Roosevelt and Kipling Pay the Human Price of Martial Glory — The Daily Dad; source section
Sean Lennon Still Hears His Father Through the Music — The Daily Dad; source section
Seneca’s Compromise with Nero Ends at the Executioner’s Door — The Daily Stoic; source section
Solon and Croesus — Standalone vault note; source note
The Gunthers Wish They Had Loved Johnny More — The Daily Dad; source section
Virginia Woolf Returns to Cornwall and Finds Her Grief inside a Larger Time — The Daily Laws; source section
William Stafford Overhears His Living Memorial — The Daily Dad; source section
William Stafford’s Last Note — The Daily Dad; source section

Preserved loose notes

Group Think — not promoted because the original contains only a fragment, placeholder, or link
Happy Accidents — not promoted because the original contains only a fragment, placeholder, or link
Small Things Big Impact — not promoted because the original contains only a fragment, placeholder, or link