Archives for the 'Books' Category
A Roman Ghost Story
The following is a 2000 year old tale told by Pliny, a consul in ancient Rome. I copied it from The Letters of Pliny the Consul, translated by William Melmoth, Esq. (printed in 1810).
There was at Athens a large and commodious house, which lay under the disrepute of being haunted. In the dead of night [...]
The Origin of the World
A double feature today. Two versions of the nature of the universe, and how everything works. Lucretius’ “On the Nature of the Universe” was written around 50-100BC by a Roman Epicurean. Lucretius was an atomist, which means that he believed that all matter was composed of a bunch of unseen atoms that, while they have [...]
Marius the Epicurian
The introduction to this book states that it is the best novel ever written in the English language. With an endorsement like that I had to buy it. It was written in Victorian times and so the language is quite complex. Initially I thought that it would be unreadable for me, but with some persistence [...]
The Last Days of Socrates
I seem to be in a rut with the Plato books, but here is another. The Last Days of Socrates has several dialogs starting with Socrates defending himself against a charge of corrupting the youth of Athens and for being an atheist. He describes how the Oracle of Delphi proclaimed him to be the wisest [...]
Cicero
Another book from my favorite bookstore, McLeod’s Books, on Pender St., a couple/few blocks east of Granville. I can’t even remember the cross street, but this is a great book store. I buy these little penguin classics for ~$3. What a bargain! Its hard to imagine such a bargain as $3 for some of the [...]