War, Literature & the Arts 323 Benjamin F. Jones Looking for Bernard Knox: Warrior, Ancient and Modern L ooking for Bernard Knox enlightened my understanding of war and also my knowledge about humanity. Knox devoted his life, through action, word, and thought to explain- ing humanity. As a young man, he chose to fight in the Spanish Civil War and World War II, and later spent his life studying, teaching, writing, and pro- moting ancient Greek and Roman literature. These experiences, uniquely embodied in this one man, may provide all of us a window to warfare, both in the ancient and modern worlds. Knox’s experience with war’s irrationality in the 20th Century and his studies on ancient warfare show us revealing sim- ilarities with the ancient Greek hero’s irrationality. The modern ideologies engaged in bitterly devastating wars during the 20th Century, leaving tens of millions dead. But what was the core of the argument? Perhaps it can be found in the literature and debates of the Ancient Greeks. Plato energetically argues against the idea that man is the center of all things. Plato’s argument could take a similar tone if lodged against Hitler. The ideas implemented after the Enlightenment, when looked at in their simplest form would sound the same to the ancients. Bernard Knox’s experiences and writing reveals such similarities and therefore, that humanity’s basic nature remains remarkably unchanged. Discovering “Captain Bernard M. W. Knox” 1 while doing research for my masters thesis in history proved to be a longer journey than I anticipated, a very enjoyable and satisfying journey and I’ve not minded making it. I want- ed to write on Allied operations during World War II supporting the French resistance and came upon operation “Jedburgh.” Composed of a French offi- cer, a British or American officer, and an enlisted radioman from any one of the three nations, these teams coordinated resistance actions. Beginning on D-Day and continuing until the Allies pushed Germany out of France; the Jedburghs coordinated, supplied, trained, and equipped the French resistance behind the German lines. Such operations are dangerous to say the least and the men who performed that mission were known for their bravery, tenaci- ty, independence, and imagination. Among these 300 plus men was one man I became fascinated with because he made a career after the war studying