Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.(Marcus Aurelius)

Generations of men admired the manly and the excellent, and sought to cultivate in themselves what was regarded as good. From elder members of their own families, and from unrelated mentors, boys and young men learned what it meant to be a man, and learned what it was to be a responsible citizen.

Some fifty years have passed since the planting of seeds in the soil of society, from which wild and tangled vines of misandry have grown. What were once the strongholds of masculine virtue and fellowhip have given way to programmes which treat boys, as Chrstina Hoff Sommers puts it, "like defective girls."

Yet, in response to the onslaught,. or perhaps in spite of it, there are men out there who are seeking to reclaim the virtues in themselves, and to cultivate them in the young.

This afternoon, Woodwose Radio takes a look at many ways in which men have defined manliness and excellence, ranging from Classical thinkers, to modern-day men.