Classical Considerations: Useful Wisdom from Greece and Rome - Softcover

Inhaltsangabe

Classical Considerations: Useful Wisdom from Greece and Rome is a collection of Greek and Roman quotations, primarily poetry, accompanied by English translations and brief essays reflecting on their meaning by a variety of modern writers, mostly Americans. Their essays, for the most part, are extremely engaging. These are definitely not dry, detached discourses on the wisdom of the ancients. The art, quotations, translations, essays, and commentaries are arranged according to different themes (Fate, Character, Art, War and Violence, Redemption After Suffering, Time). The book contains several fine original watercolors by Thom Kapheim which provide a colorful and simple introduction to several of the quotations and companion essays. The titles of the paintings are the same as the thematic headings for each chapter. For example, in "Redemption After Suffering," Kapheim depicts a young girl escorted and protected by a fatherly figure, directly paralleling John Breuker's companion piece "Pressing On" which deals with the adversity faced by the father of a disabled child. The translations of the quotations are mostly very literal. For example, non ergo fortuna homines aestimabo sed moribus; sibi quisque dat mores, condicionem casus assignat . 'I will not therefore estimate men according to their fortune but according to their character; each person gives himself his character but chance assigns us our status in life.' Macrobius. The commentaries are provided by various authors. They do not try to be insightful, but rather contextual in their ysis. The commentaries tend to put more emphasis on the relationship of the quotation to the rest of the work, rather than offer any "useful consideration." The book's appendices include brief biographies of the contributors, editors, and the artist. The book is easily read in one sitting.

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