Ancient Books - Page 3

The Trial & Death of Socrates: Apology and Phaedo

Plato

Amazon Price: $24.28 List Price: $28.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Naxos Audiobooks Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $16.20

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Greece -> General
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Greece -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Trial and Death of Socrates 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a must for anyone who is interested in the writings of Plato and what little we know about Socrates. The footnotes provide excellent refrences to phrases, gods and place names that the average reader may not be familiar with.

The Trial and Death of Socrates 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I was totally pleased with the entire process. The book arrived surprisingly quickly and was in perfect condition.

In the name of Iran 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book was pleseant to read because Socrates was accused of corrupting of young Greek people's mind. Socrates made mockery of his trial. Eventually, he was convicted and was order to drink poison to die.

Expensive 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Of the eight books I bought, it was the most expensive (cost per page) for all that I received. Although it was in great condition, so were some of the others.

The Trial and Death of Socrates (3rd Edition) by Plato, John M. Cooper 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This purchase saved me a lot of money compared to the price in the campus bookstore.

Editorial Review:

The Trial & The Death of Socrates remains a powerful account of the end of one of the greatest figures in history, presented with scene-setting introductions to the historical situation.

The Consolation of Philosophy (Classics S.)

Ancius Boethius

List Price: $13.95 By: Penguin Classics Amazon Marketplace: 80 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Foreign Language Nonfiction -> Latin
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Modern

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

truly consoling 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 20 people found this review helpful.

I don't read a lot of philosophy texts, but I read this one after my father died and was surprised to find it very meaningful and truly consoling.

A Literary and Philosophical Masterpiece 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Boethius, in his "Consolation" written in prison shortly before his death, turns to the pre-Christian philosophers and the tradition of Rome and Greece for aid and comfort. The work is one of the most historically important works ever written: it is through Boethius that we had knowledge of Aristotle during the middle ages.

The work takes the form of a Platonic dialogue, mixing prose and poetry as the author slowly convalesces with the aid of Philosophy, his "nurse." This literary style has been imitated many times since.

The work ought to be read not only for its historical and literary appeal, but for its arguments, which are as cogent as they were nearly two thousand years ago.

Editorial Review:

Boethius was an eminent public figure under the Gothic emperor Theodoric, and an exceptional Greek scholar. When he became involved in a conspiracy and was imprisoned in Pavia, it was to the Greek philosophers that he turned. "The Consolation" was written in the period leading up to his brutal execution. It is a dialogue of alternating prose and verse between the ailing prisoner and his 'nurse' Philosophy. Her instruction on the nature of fortune and happiness, good and evil, fate and free will, restore his health and bring him to enlightenment. "The Consolation" was extremely popular throughout medieval Europe and his ideas were influential on the thought of Chaucer and Dante.

Handbook of Epictetus

Epictetus

Amazon Price: $4.50 List Price: $4.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hackett Pub Co Inc Amazon Marketplace: 96 new & used starting at $0.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ethics & Morality
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Greek & Roman

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Great Introduction to Stoic Philosophy 5 out of 5 stars.
61 of 61 people found this review helpful.

Possibly the most famous Stoic Philosopher is Marcus Aurelius, whose "Meditations" was written, not to be read as a philosophic treatise, but rather as a personal journal, complete with seemingly random entries and no apparent structure. Moreover, it is clear from his "Meditations" that Marcus Aurelius was greatly influenced by the teachings of Epictetus. In fact, according to Aulus Gellius, Herodes Atticus (who was Marcus Aurelius' teacher at the time) told Marcus Aurelius that Epictetus was the greatest of all the Stoic philosophers, which is quite convenient for us since most of the writings of earilier Stoics (such as Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes and Chrysippus) have been lost, probably in the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

Epictetus, like Socrates, apparently never wrote anything himself; however, his students took very good notes. One student by the name of Flavius Arrian may be responsible for the composition of eight volumes, titled "The Discourses of Epictetus," of which four volumes still survive. Arrian served under Emperor Hadrian who initially choose Atticus to be Marcus Aurelius' teacher. Arrian also wrote another text, titled "The Encheiridion of Epictetus" (or "Handbook" or "Manual"), which also survives and appears to be an abstract of his "Discourses". Throughout the second century, Epictetus was regarded as the greatest of the Stoic philosophers, and became even more popular than Plato. Stoicism nevertheless lost favor in the middle ages and was not revived until 1584 when Justus Lipsius published his "De Constantia".

I would highly recommend the writings of Epictetus to anyone interested in Stoic Philosophy, or anyone at all for that matter. Epictetus should make for an excellent introduction to Stoic Philosophy, and the "Encheiridion" is an excellent introduction to Epictetus. I prefer this particular translation of "The Encheiridion of Epictetus", by Nicholas P. White, over the other translations that I have read. Oldfather's translation (Loeb Classical Library) is also very good.

The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

Amazon Price: $14.60 List Price: $20.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Scribner Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $7.09

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Alternative Medicine -> Meditation
Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> Rome
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

BEAR IN MIND THAT THE

MEASURE OF A MAN IS THE WORTH OF THE THINGS HE CARES ABOUT.

IF IT IS GOOD TO SAY OR DO

SOMETHING, THEN IT IS

EVEN BETTER TO BE CRITICIZED FOR

HAVING SAID OR DONE IT.

ARE MY GUIDING PRINCIPLES

HEALTHY AND ROBUST? ON THIS HANGS EVERYTHING.

Essayist Matthew Arnold described the man who wrote these words as "the most beautiful figure in history." Possibly so, but he was certainly more than that. Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire at its height, yet he remained untainted by the incalculable wealth and absolute power that had corrupted many of his predecessors. Marcus knew the secret of how to live the good life amid trying and often catastrophic circumstances, of how to find happiness and peace when surrounded by misery and turmoil, and of how to choose the harder right over the easier wrong without apparent regard for self-interest.

The historian Michael Grant praises Marcus's book as "the best ever written by a major ruler," and Josiah Bunting, superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, calls it "the essential book on character, leadership, duty." Never intended for publication, the Meditations contains the practical and inspiring wisdom by which this remarkable emperor lived the life not of a saintly recluse, but of a general, administrator, legislator, spouse, parent, and judge besieged on all sides.

The Emperor's Handbook offers a vivid and fresh translation of this important piece of ancient literature. It brings Marcus's words to life and shows his wisdom to be as relevant today as it was in the second century. This book belongs on the desk and in the briefcase of every business executive, political leader, and military officer. It speaks to the soul of anyone who has ever exercised authority or faced adversity or believed in a better day.

Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2

Aristotle

Amazon Price: $35.64 List Price: $49.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Princeton University Press Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $33.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Greek & Roman
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Complete Works of Aristotle Volume 2 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.

The Complete Works of Aristotle Volume 2 edited bu Jonathan Barnes is a continuation of the revised Oxford translation. Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the Western tradition, but also one of the most difficult.

As with the first volume, this translation makes the surviving works of Aristotle easily read for the English-speaking readers. This volume combined with the first makes a comprehesive work. Both volumes are nicely bound and the type is easy to read. Also, the volumes have numerals printed in the outer margins to key the translations to Immanuel Bekker's standard edition of the Greek text of Aristotle of 1831. The index of both editions could use a bit more work as they are cumbersome to work with, but not impossible.

I've found that using "The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle" of great help. This is also edithed by Jonathan Barnes. The contents of volume 2 are as follows: On Plants, On Marvellous Things Heard, Mechanics, Problems On Indivisible Lines, The Situation and Names of Winds, On Melissus,Xenophanes,and Gorgias, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Magna Moralia, Eudemian Ethics, On Virtues and Vices, Politics, Economics, Rhetoric, Rhetoric to Alexander, Poetics, Constition of Athens, Fragments.

As with the first voume, this work contains works that the authenticity has been seriously doubted and works that are spurious and have never been seroiusly contested.

The translations are easily read and flow. You can definately understand what Aristotle is trying to say. Both of these volumes make an excellent addition to your home library.

Editorial Review:

The Oxford Translation of Aristotle was originally published in 12 volumes between 1912 and 1954. It is universally recognized as the standard English version of Aristotle. This revised edition contains the substance of the original Translation, slightly emended in light of recent scholarship; three of the original versions have been replaced by new translations; and a new and enlarged selection of Fragments has been added. The aim of the translation remains the same: to make the surviving works of Aristotle readily accessible to English speaking readers.

La voz del conocimiento: The Voice of Knowledge, Spanish-Language Edition

Don Miguel Ruiz, Janet Mills

Amazon Price: $11.20 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Amber-Allen Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $6.94

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Self-Help -> Happiness
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Self-Help -> Personal Transformation
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Spain

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Libro Fundamental 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Leer este libro fué como si alguien me dijera por primera vez con palabras claras algo que había yo intuído desde hace tiempo.
Miguel Ruiz expone con extraordinaria claridad el funcionamiento de nuestro sistema de creencias, y el mecanismo mediante el cual este nos ata a vivir sufrimiento y miedo.
Iniciando con la alegoría del arbol del conocimiento, la serpiente y Adán y Eva, Miguel Ruiz muestra como nuestras creencias nos son enseñadas mediante un sistema de premio/castigo, y como nuestras emociones responden a estas creencias.
Este libro me ayudó enormemente a reconocer que puedo escojer mis pensamientos, y que puedo elegir dejar de pensar pensamientos que van en contra de mi mismo. Aprendí tambien a usar mis emociones como un sistema de alerta sobre el contenido de mi mente. Como resultado de la aplicación de este conocimiento vivo más tranquilo, amo más y disfruto más de mi camino en esta tierra. Tambien he observado que en la medida en la que he logrado hacer paz con migo mismo, ha aumentado mi fortuna y han mejorado mis relaciones con los otros.

Definitivamente vale la pena leer este texto, y de paso "los 4 acuerdos (the four agreements)" y "la maestría del amor (the mastery of love)" del mismo autor.

Otro buen libro que acabo de descubrir, que hace muy buena sinergia con este, es "The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent: Living the Art of Allowing"

Editorial Review:

Don Miguel tells readers that they are born in truth but grow up believing in lies — mainly about themselves. As a child one listens to the "voice of our integrity," which is rooted in truth. Once one learns to speak, he or she mainly hears the louder "voice of knowledge," which is rooted in lies and causes endless suffering. By following the guiding principles presented in this book, readers can reclaim their authentic self, just as it was before they learned to speak.

Tao

Alan Watts, Al Chung-Liang Huang

By: Jonathan Cape Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $94.63

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Master 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book, true to Alan Watts' spirit and style. A perfect choice for a westerner interested in eastern concepts, as are all of Alan's books and lectures. If you've never read Alan Watts, you're missing out on one of the brilliant minds of our time.

Tao The Water Course Way 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This was the first book on Taoism that I ever read 30 years ago and it blew me away. I connected so much with this book the Tao. I strongly support this book in a big way.

An excellent introduction, and more, on Zen 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

An excellent introduction, and more, on Zen. I've read several books on Zen, and Alan Watts' book was the easiest for me to understand. If you have found Zen difficult, I suggest that you try this book. The illustrations by Al Chung-liang Huang are beautiful and expressive of Zen.

I had to buy it again! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am what you would call a spiritual seeker. I've delved into many different faith traditions. I became interested in Taoism when I was about 15. It was the first philosophy I ever looked into. Since then I've moved on but this book was instrumental in my understanding of the Tao.

I have lent this book to a few of my more "serious" friends and they didn't like it. But I still love Alan Watts wry sense of humor and erudite understanding of the essentials of Taoist practice. I actually lent this book and never got it back, but I liked it so much I had to buy another copy!

The book itself is broken into five sections. Alan even goes so far as to describe the pronunciation of the Wade-Giles system of Chinese.

The introduction talks about the origins of Chinese language and basic Chinese attitudes. He then goes on to explain four of the main tenets of philosophical Taoism, namely Yin-Yang Polarity, Tao, Wu-Wei (Non-Action), and Te (Virtue).

And as an added bonus Al Chung-liang Huang adds his "grass style" Chinese calligraphy of phrases from the book!

This book has shown me how to go in with the whirl and out with the swirl, as Alan so aptly puts it. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Taoism that wants a good Western view of it.

Other books by Watts I'd recommend are "Cloud-hidden Whereabouts Unknown" and "The Wisdom of Insecurity." He definitely has the feel of it--I think others can get it too with his easy-going style.

Editorial Review:

Drawing on ancient and modern sources, Watts treats the Chinese philosophy of Tao in much the same way as he did Zen Buddhism in his classic The Way of Zen. Critics agree that this last work stands as a perfect monument to the life and literature of Alan Watts.

Lectures on Ancient Philosophy

Manly P. Hall

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tarcher Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $3.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Consciousness & Thought
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Complete in itself, this volume originated as a commentary and expansion of Manly P. Hall's masterpiece of symbolic philosophy, The Secret Teachings of All Ages.

In Lectures on Ancient Philosophy, Manly P. Hall expands on the philosophical, metaphysical, and cosmological themes introduced in his classic work, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. Hall wrote this volume as a reader's companion to his earlier work, intending it for those wishing to delve more deeply into the esoteric philosophies and ideas that undergird the Secret Teachings. Particular attention is paid to Neoplatonism, ancient Christianity, Rosicrucian and Freemasonic traditions, ancient mysteries, pagan rites and symbols, and Pythagorean mathematics.

First published in 1929-the year after the publication of Hall's magnum opus-this edition includes the author's original subject index, twenty diagrams prepared under his supervision for the volume, and his 1984 preface, which puts the book in context for the contemporary reader.

Greeks & Romans Bearing Gifts: How the Ancients Inspired the Founding Fathers

Carl J. Richard

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $9.75

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> Greece
Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> Rome
Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> General

Editorial Review:

This lively and engaging book is the only popular work to explore the profound impact of Ancient Greece and Rome on the founding fathers. Recounting the stirring stories the founders encountered in their favorite histories of Greece and Rome, renowned scholar Carl J. Richard explores what they learned from these vivid tales and how they applied these lessons to their own heroic quest to win American independence and establish a durable republic.

On Free Choice of the Will

Saint Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Williams

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hackett Pub Co Inc Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $3.42

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Classics -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ancient
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Medieval Thought

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

excellent text for considering the impact of Christianity on Platonism and vice-versa 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

If you were looking for a significant and representative but introductory level medieval Christian philosophy text, you would be hard pressed to find one better than this. When I teach intro to philosophy, I often choose representative texts from the ancient, medieval, early Modern, and roughly contemporary periods. I start with Plato, either the Apology or the Meno or both. Then we read this book. Then Descartes' Meditations. Finally, we read something from Nietzsche, de Beauvoir, or from an early American philosopher (e.g. Thoreau).

This book is an excellent part of the sequence because it introduces free will, and introduces it in a way that is very relevant to Descartes' discussion of will in connection with error. Plato (and the ancients generally) didn't really have a notion of the will: our choices are dictated by our level of understanding. Augustine understood that the Christian notion of sin entails something more radical than mere ignorance -- I must, he thought, be in some real way capable of unmotivated choice if I am to be blamed for my actions.

There are other great bits in this dialogue -- one that it IS a dialogue and so forms a nice segway from Plato's dialogues. Another is its articulation of a proof of existence that prefigures Descartes' cogito and a proof of God that is remarkably similar (though very different in intent) to Descartes' first proof in the meditations.

Editorial Review:

Library of Liberal Arts title.