The virtues of the historical mind

The ancient Roman Portonaccio sarcophagus, 2nd-century AD, Museo Nazionale Romano

In my previous life as an academic historian, I used to ask my undergraduate students why they chose history. Nearly always the answer was 'because I'm fascinated by [insert historical age/period/event/figure]'. If you asked me back in 2007 why I signed up for a second unde…