https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2009/10/10/the-end/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 15:37:51 -0400<![CDATA[History has two categories of Last Stands. First kind are represented by Thermopylae and the Alamo. The second is exemplified by the Battle for Berlin and the Fall of Constantinople. What chiefly distinguishes the former is that they pre-figure eventual victory. They are the night before the dawn; and so are glorious.  The playwright Aeschylus simply wanted to be remembered as veteran of the Battle of the Marathon &#8212; a Marathonomachos. But in the second category of last acts, the sun never rises. The loss of Nazi Germany and Constantinople are final. That doesn&#8217;t mean they are uninteresting. The death of great states like the loss of great ocean liners, are fascinating in the way that watching a giant killed by a thousand cuts has a morbid attraction. The descent from the pinnacle of power into the dust gives their story the power of tragic horror.]]>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:07:21 -0400<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2009/10/10/the-end-n189271