Ancient Books - Page 8

The Way Things Are: The De Rerum Natura of Titus Lucretius Carus

Lucretius

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

Still the best edition for the general reader 5 out of 5 stars.
50 of 51 people found this review helpful.

A number of other English translations, in prose or verse, have emerged since this book was first published in 1968. While most have their good points, this one stands out for its clarity, unforced feel, and the sheer beauty of its poetry. (It doesn't hurt that it is reasonably priced!) In this Lucretius, the poet and philosopher are inextricably mixed and cannot be put asunder.

The naturalistic view of a beautiful but cold, and unfeeling universe is limned brilliantly and passionately. The gods appear, but only as a literary conceit, or as a faint concession to the possibility of higher realms of being. We are left "all alone", but not "all afraid". The light of understanding banishes dark terrors: Nothing; no horrors await us in death. Our lives here remain what we make them. Far from leading to nihilism and despair, this knowledge renews our sense of purpose. Play your part well; there is no second act.

I can only hint at the excitement that awaits the interested reader within these pages. If anything written here has failed to convey the pleasure of this book, or has proven off-putting, then I apologize. "Tole et lege!"

On the Nature of the Universe (Penguin Classics)

Lucretius

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Book, Bad Edition [Penguin] 2 out of 5 stars.
11 of 15 people found this review helpful.

This is my favorite book. I've been through three different copies: a now out-of-print Classics Club copy, the Loeb Classics Library copy with the original Latin facing the English text, and this Penguin edition. The Penguin is by far the worst of those three. Among its faults is the fact that it's translated into prose, which makes for an easier read but in the end dumbs down the text and reduces it in beauty; and while the footnotes are sometimes informative, most of them I find insulting to both the reader's and Lucretius's intelligence. Go with the Loeb, or some other edition; chances are it's better than this one.

Editorial Review:

This is regarded as a seminal text of Epicurean science and philosophy. With a new introduction and commentary and a revised translation, this edition acknowledges advances in textual research and also provides more background information for the reader. Epicurians discarded both the idea of immortality and the superstitious worship of wilful gods for a life of serene contentment in the available pleasures of nature. Lucretius (c100-c55BC), in elucidating this belief, steers the reader through an extraordinary breadth of subject matter, ranging from the indestructibility of atoms and the discovery of fire to the folly of romantic love and the phenomena of clouds and rainstorms.

On the Shortness of Life (Penguin Great Ideas)

Seneca

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

"Never have I trusted Fortune..." 5 out of 5 stars.
31 of 31 people found this review helpful.

Seneca's brand of Stoicism emphasized the philosophy by which his reader might face life's setbacks. In particular he considered it important to confront the fact of one's own mortality. The discussion of how to approach death dominates this book, which is a series of letters to relatives and friends. Seneca himself was ordered to commit suicide by the Emperor Nero, and did so in A.D. 65.

This book also elucidates the author's pet peeves, many of which sound quite modern:

* Men who comb their few strands of hair forward in an effort to hide their baldness
* Historians who memorize obscure dates and battles in an effort to appear knowledgeable
* Collectors and hobbyists of any sort
* Sports fans (men who sit at "a wrestling ring...keenly following the bouts between boys")
* Men who pretend they're younger than they are
* Lunatic poets who prose on about love
* The current mode of dance (mincing and wriggling)

There is very little talk about love or mitigating the pain of death through love. In fact, Seneca recommends that we detach ourselves from strenuous goal-seeking, repeated indulgence in sport and play, or overindulgence in anything.

Everything in moderation.

Yet his wife did commit suicide with Seneca. Was that out of love or fear?

This small book (106 pages) gives its reader a window into the life and customs of the Roman Empire as seen through the clear gaze of one of its eminent philosophers.

Editorial Review:

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are. The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living, the importance of reason and morality, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their eloquence, lucidity and timeless wisdom.

Lectures on Ancient Philosophy

Manly P. Hall

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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.

Phaedo

Plato

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Socrates' final hours 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Socrates is unique among philosophers, not just for his place among the early Greek philosophers, but also for the fact that he is the most famous philosopher to never write his own books. What we know of Socrates comes from contemporary accounts and students, most particularly Plato.

Set in 399 BCE, the Phaedo is a reconstruction of Socrates final conversations with friends on the day he died. We do not know when this dialogue was written, but it was probably before The Republic (Plato's most famous work, also featuring the figure of Socrates). Like The Republic, this dialogue features a well developed theory of Forms -- these are introduced gradually here, slowly filling out the details of each step. This develops the story of the caves idea from Plato's earlier work in epistemological, metaphysical, moral, and semantic terms. Plato also advances the 'imperfection argument' here -- the idea that when we sense something, it is never perfectly the thing we are thinking of, and that idea or standard to which we relate what we see, hear, feel, etc. is tying into a more perfect Form.

However, the idea of the soul is rather less developed here than in The Republic. The soul is simply mind, or intellect - all emotions are here placed as bodily aspects. This is rather Pythagorean in a fashion, that only the soul grasps the perfect Forms, and so should consist of nothing but reasoning ability, for emotions distort and cloud the perceptions and judgments.

In the end of the Phaedo, we witness Socrates drink the hemlock, without fear or trembling, as a philosopher should know the value of life and welcome death with a firm hope. The story is almost religious in nature here.

David Gallop's translation is good and true to the original (in as much as I can tell from my small Greek learning). It is somewhat tending toward the formal side. This is serious stuff, but in a small number of pages manages to capture much, and this makes it all the more relevant.

Editorial Review:

I should so like to hear about his death. What did he say in his last hours? We were informed that he died by taking poison, but no one knew anything more; for no Phliasian ever goes to Athens now, and it is a long time since any stranger from Athens has found his way hither; so that we had no clear account.

Dialogues and Essays (Oxford World's Classics)

Seneca, Tobias Reinhardt

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Alain de Botton's bestselling The Consolations of Philosophy--later made into a six-part TV series--has helped popularize ancient philosophy and especially the work of Seneca. This superb volume offers the finest translation of Seneca's dialogues and essays in print, capturing the full range of his philosophical interests. Here the Stoic philosopher outlines his thoughts on how to live in a troubled world. Tutor to the young emperor Nero, Seneca wrote exercises in practical philosophy that draw upon contemporary Roman life and illuminate the intellectual concerns of the day. They also have much to say to the modern reader, as Seneca ranges widely across subjects such as the shortness of life, tranquility of mind, anger, mercy, happiness, and grief at the loss of a loved one. Seneca's accessible, aphoristic style makes his writing especially attractive as an introduction to Stoic philosophy, and belies its reputation for austerity and dogmatism. This edition combines a clear and modern translation by John Davies with Tobias Reinhardt's fascinating introduction to Seneca's career, literary style, and influence, including a superb summary of Stoic philosophy and Seneca's interpretation of it. The book's notes are the fullest of any comparable edition.

Plato: Five Dialogues

Plato

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful translation 5 out of 5 stars.
28 of 31 people found this review helpful.

Since it is certainly not my place to review Plato's philososphy, I shall here simply comment on Grube's translation. With the possible exception of the Euthyphro, these are all very, very important dialogues, and, as such, it is important that the translation be accurate, yet readable. Having translated part of the Meno myself, I can attest to Grube's wonderful job at rendering into clear and comprehensible English all that he could from Plato's beautiful Attic Greek. These are wonderful dialogues, and Grube does a wonderful job at making them accessible to the modern reader.

The death of Socrates and the basics of Platonic philosophy 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Many are the college students who have read the Platonic discourses collected in this volume. Along with The Republic, these dialogues form the most basic core of Platonic philosophy and are required reading for anyone interested in the art of philosophy.

In the Euthyphro dialogue, Socrates is on his way to court to answer the charges of Meletus that he creates his own gods and does not believe in the gods of society. On his way, he meets Euthyphro, a lawyer-priest of some sort who tells Socrates that he is prosecuting his own father for the murder of a slave (a slave who had himself committed murder). Socrates compels the learned Euthyphro to explain to him the truth about what is pious and what impious; if he can tell the court what he has learned from the knowledgeable Euthyphro, he will have no trouble countering Meletus' charges. Euthyphro tries to define what is pious as that which is pleasing to the gods, but Socrates shows him that his definition is really just an effect of piety, and Euthyphro bows out of the circular conversation without ever giving Socrates a satisfactory definition of true piety.

In The Apology, Socrates defends himself from both the recent charges of Meletus for impiety as well as the host of charges long leveled at him as being a corrupter of the youth. He cites a pronouncement of the Delphic oracle that he is the wisest of all men and explains how he has spent his life trying to vindicate the god's pronouncement by seeking out the wisest men in society and testing them. The wisest men, he says, turn out to be not wise at all. He himself knows he is not wise, while the supposedly wise think they are wise when they are not, and he has concluded that the gods believe that the wisest man is the man who knows how much he does not know. The fact that he shows men that they are not in fact wise has admittedly made Socrates unpopular and turned the minds of many citizens against him. He bravely says he will continue philosophizing if he is acquitted because the god himself compels him to do so. In fact, he says society benefits from what he is doing (namely, trying to make men more virtuous), and he defends himself by saying that society itself will be harmed by his execution. Of course, claiming that he is actually a gift of the god for Athens is a hard way to win over a jury already biased against him. Upon his conviction, he willingly accepts the death sentence imposed upon him, but he, somewhat oddly, warns his fellow citizens that there are younger men ready to come out and question individuals in the same manner as he has done.

In the Crito, Socrates convinces his friend Crito that it is just and right for him to accede to the punishment of death returned by the Athenian jury. He feels that he has been wronged by men but not the laws or society, and to escape from prison and run away would make of him the very type of man the jury wrongly concluded him to be. It is an exceedingly elegant and brave discourse.

Meno is one of Plato's early and, to my mind, least successful, Socratic dialogues. The conversation centers, naturally enough, on virtue and whether or not it is teachable. Meno's definitions of virtue are woefully inadequate, by and large, and deserving of Socrates' typical arrogance. At one point, Meno says that one cannot learn about what one does not know. To counter this argument, Socrates, arguing that the soul is eternal and that learning is in fact recollection, sets about showing how a slave "remembers" the answers to geometrical questions Socrates puts to him. Later, when Meno agrees with the notion that virtue is knowledge and can be taught, Socrates counters the point by saying he has yet to find anyone who truly practices virtue and is thus qualified to teach it. In the end, Socrates concludes that virtue cannot be taught and is in fact a gift of the gods.

The Phaedo is a third-person account of the philosophical discussion between Socrates and his friends on the day of his death. Socrates accepts his fate most amicably, arguing that death is the means by which to achieve the aims of true philosophy, for only by escaping the evil of the body can the soul truly acquire wisdom. Socrates renews his argument that learning is in fact recollection, supposedly proving that the soul exists before birth. He also argues that everything comes from its opposite; if death comes from life, then life must come from death. The proofs he offers for his belief that the soul is eternal do not strike me as very convincing. In many ways, the Phaedo is a precursor to much of the philosophy of The Republic, in which the concepts of the eternal soul and the invisible Forms mentioned here are threshed out much more satisfactorily.

On the Nature of Things (Great Books in Philosophy)

Titus Lucretius Carus

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Editorial Review:

With the passion of a true poet, Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. 99-55 B.C.E.) expounds the most coherent and eloquent system of materialism surviving from the ancient world. Developing the atomic theory of his master, Epicurus, Lucretius discusses the motion of atoms, natural phenomena, sensation, free will, and the soul's relation to the body. Most importantly, Lucretius sees his teaching as a bulwark against religious fears and prejudices. Since death is final, humankind need not fear everlasting torture and punishment.

On the Commonwealth and On the Laws (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

Marcus Tullius Cicero

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good apparatus, hit-or-miss translation 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Zetzel's edition of the Cicero's Republic and Laws contains all of the nice extras that go along with the Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. It has helpful footnotes, biographical glossary, and an introduction into some of the difficulties that Zetzel faced as a translator. Zetzel has also supplemented the manuscript text of the Republic with fragments preserved in other writers to give some sense of what is missing.

The translation is one of the better ones I've seen, and I'm not sure that there is a better one. Zetzel found it impossible to translate res publica consistently, but does point out wherever it appears in the text in a footnote. This translation is not suited to the demands of in-depth interpretation, however. Zetzel translates both prudens and sapientia as wise or wisdom, for example, but not consistently. Both scientia and philosophia are translated as philosophy. These problems may cause some difficulty if the text is read too closely, but the general sense of Cicero's works won't be lost.

Editorial Review:

Cicero's On the Commonwealth and On the Laws are his most important works of political philosophy. The present volume offers a scholarly reconstruction of the fragments of On the Commonwealth and a masterly translation of both dialogues. The texts are supported by a helpful, concise introduction, notes and other aids. Students in politics, philosophy, ancient history, law and classics will gain a new understanding of this seminal thinker thanks to Professor Zetzel's volume.

The Enneads: Abridged Edition (Penguin Classics)

Plotinus

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Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Skip this Penguin travesty of a book 2 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

The Enneads: Abridged Edition (Penguin Classics) translated by Stephen MacKenna (ISBN 014044520X).

The Penguin edition of Stephen MacKenna's translation Of Plotinus' 'Enneads' is printed on newsprint in a miniscule font, is sadly and inexplicably incomplete, and has a lengthy and condescending 40-page introduction by the Jesuit Paul Henry followed by a more interesting though much shorter one of 18 pages by editor John Dillon.

If it's the MacKenna translation you want - and there are some who feel it is one of the truly great translations of the age - skip this Penguin travesty of a book and treat yourself instead to a copy of the freshly edited 'Plotinus: The Enneads' (Larson Publications Classic Reprint Series) (ISBN 0943914558) which has been annotated, not as here with mere references to Plato's dialogues (as if we didn't know that Plotinus had read Plato), but with useful and interesting alternate translations of many passages.

Unlike the Penguin which, with its glued spine that cracks when opened and seems to have been designed to self-destruct after minimal use, the LP Classic Reprint is a PERMANENT BOOK, well-printed in a readable font on excellent paper, sewn in the traditional manner so that it opens flat, and is both clothbound and COMPLETE.

Editorial Review:

Regarded as the founder of Neo-Platonism, Plotinus (AD 204 70) was the last great philosopher of antiquity, producing 0works that proved in many ways a precursor to Renaissance thought. Plotinus was convinced of the existence of a state of supreme perfection and argued powerfully that it was necessary to guide the human soul towards this state. Here he outlines his compelling belief in three increasingly perfect levels of existence the Soul, the Intellect, and the One and explains his conviction that humanity must strive to draw the soul towards spiritual transcendence. A fusion of Platonism, mystic passion and Aristotelian thought, The Enneads offers a highly original synthesis of early philosophical and religious beliefs, which powerfully influenced later Christian and Islamic theology.