Bret Devereaux

So, first you have the students read an esoteric text, translated out of a language most/all of them cannot read and which they are not expected to really understand at first. I tell my students they should expect to read it twice, once before and again after the lecture... 2/7

Honestly, I don't think anyone really grasps Clausewitz at the first reading without having it explained to them. I certainly didn't. So then the students come in on Clausewitz day, either thinking (wrongly) they understand Clausewitz, or knowing that they don't... 3/7

Then, over the course of the lecture, you unravel the exegesis of the scripture: the ideal of war, reciprocal actions, friction, 'by other means' and so on The entire thing even culminates in revelation of the mystery of war as both constant and chameleon, 1 and yet 3... 4/7

There's even a trinity! And ideally at the end, they have taken the mystery of Clausewitz onboard and are now initiatives in the Cult of Military Theory, now able to utter the magic words, "Center of Gravity" and "Friction" and harness their arcane power... 5/7

Honestly, the only things missing are that I don't burn any incense, there aren't any mirrors, and we didn't sacrifice an animal at the beginning. It's too bad - it might be fun to do the lecture with the class ritually chanting "As Clausewitz says" after each line. 6/7