If you’re reading this blog, you may have at least a passing familiarity with the Jeffersonian aphorism from which The Taper takes its name. If so, you might be interested in a new article by Jeremy Sheff, summarized and reviewed by Dave Fagundes here, that traces the origins of the metaphor back to Cicero, and a very different theory of property and justice. Sheff explains that the Cicero’s version of the taper story is a parable about charity and beneficence, built on a theory of property and justice that is, well, not very Jeffersonian. Looking forward to the reading the full article!