Philip Hensher

The attraction of freethinking humanism

From Erasmus to David Hume, the humanists of the past appear consistently kinder, more decent and generous than their contemporaries

Detail of a fresco by Cosimo Rosselli showing the Italian humanists Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola and Agnolo Poliziano (Sant’Ambrogio, Florence). [Bridgeman Images] 
issue 15 April 2023

  • Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Thinking, Enquiry and Hope

    Sarah Bakewell

    Chatto & Windus, pp. 464, £22

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Farewell to the Fleet Street I loved

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Filthy, foetid and fraught with danger. A magnet for hooligans, hard drinkers, a few saints and plenty of sinners. And that was Fleet Street before the newspapers moved in. This ancient thoroughfare, in use since Roman times, is one of London’s most famous occupational streets, much as Jermyn Street is known for its tailors and Harley Street its medics. The difference is that Fleet Street is

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