The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Ch. XXIX The Roman Empire in Relation to Culture
Rome had a major impact on later cultures in a number of ways, the most important of which were a long peace to allow the transmission of ideas, Greece and the east's influence on a large Empire because that influence included Christianity and the transfer of Hellenistic ideas to Islam where it was kept for later use.
With the power of Rome coming to full fruition under Caesar Augustus, "The Greek world lost its youth, and became either cynical or religious" (Russell, 273).
As far as the direct effect Rome had on Greek thought, two thinkers emerged as important that had been greatly effected by Roman rule. The historian Polybius, born circa 200 BC and Panaetius the Stoic were contemporaries and both friends of Scipio the younger.
Epictetus, though a Greek, spent most of his life in Rome. Plutarch also spent a long time in Rome and was changed by it.
Most Greek thinkers however were not impacted by a favorable view of Rome and the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire split along Greek and Latin lines.
Rome was "culturally parasitic on Greece. The Romans invented no art forms, constructed no original system of philosophy, and made no scientific discoveries. They made good roads, systematic legal codes, and efficient armies; for the rest they looked to Greece" (Russell, 278).
The older Romans saw the adoption of all things Greek as moral decay.
As the Western part of the empire decayed and the Emperors became more and more generals and semi-barbarians the West fell out of love with the Greek culture and culture in general. Non-Hellenic religion introduced through Greece to the Romans however had a much longer lasting audience.
Numerous Pagan religions spread into the empire from as far away as Persia, Babylonia and Egypt.
Elagabalus, the emperor from 218-222 came to power and acted like a godking from the Medes or Phoenicians. He ascended to the throne from his place as a chief-priest in the cult of the sun God and had a private chapel with statues of Abraham, Orpheus, Apollonius of Tyana and Christ.
The Persian religion of Mithras, a competitor of Christianity was wildly popular with soldiers in both the East and the West.
Constantine finally ushered in the Christian age, what Russell calls a politically successful attempt at introducing a new religion for stabilizing purposes. He notes that the major difference between Christianity and other eastern religions really boiled down to its successful implementation.
"The fact that we are acquainted with what was done by the Greeks in art and literature and philosophy and science is due to the stability introduced by Western conquerors who had the good sense to admire the civilization which they governed but did their utmost to preserve" (Russell, 281).
Russell notes that while Rome may have never risen to the level of culture that Athens of Pericles had, but the stability and scope of the empire allowed for mass quantity to come down the ages and that sometimes that quantity is just as good as quality.
The Islamic conquest of the East saw their intellectuals take on Greek learning. They are responsible for the rise in Aristotle's estimation.
"In philosophy, the Arabs were better as commentators than as original thinkers. Their importance, for us, is that they, and not the Christians, were the immediate inheritors of those parts of the Greek tradition which only the Eastern Empire had kept alive" (Russell, 283).
Showing posts with label Roman History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman History. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Bulfinch's Mythology
From Goodreads
Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable
Thomas Bulfinch
While Bulfinch is certainly more thorough in his treatment of mythology I find I personally enjoyed Edith Hamilton more. Don't get me wrong; this book is great. It gets you good and immersed into mythology. I especially enjoyed his Wagner chapter.
Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable
Thomas Bulfinch
While Bulfinch is certainly more thorough in his treatment of mythology I find I personally enjoyed Edith Hamilton more. Don't get me wrong; this book is great. It gets you good and immersed into mythology. I especially enjoyed his Wagner chapter.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Mythology - Edith Hamilton
From Goodreads
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
Edith Hamilton
I love mythology and history. Edith Hamilton does a great job of making the myths easily digestible without dumbing it down. Although she's a little too harsh on Ovid in my opinion.
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
Edith Hamilton
I love mythology and history. Edith Hamilton does a great job of making the myths easily digestible without dumbing it down. Although she's a little too harsh on Ovid in my opinion.
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Goodreads: The Aeneid
The Aeneid
Virgil
From Goodreads
Rating and reviewing a classic, even to some nonexistent audience, seems a bit beyond my capabilities. The Aeneid is one of the pillars of Western Literature. My Goodreads review of it is like a faux leaf on a bunch of wax grapes attached to that pillar with knock-off brand scotch tape. It's tacky, unnecessary and detracts from the beauty of that pillar, which are of the Ionic variety in this crunchy and tortured metaphoric word picture. (Doric columns are a bit boring. Corinthians are bit cliche and garish. The Ionic says, "I'm functional, elegant and still have a bit of panache").
Seriously though, if you like classics, read this. If you like epics, read this. If you like poetry, read this. If you like action and adventure, read this. Blood and gore? Read it. Spurned love? Read it. Fables, myths or history? You get the point.
Virgil
From Goodreads
Rating and reviewing a classic, even to some nonexistent audience, seems a bit beyond my capabilities. The Aeneid is one of the pillars of Western Literature. My Goodreads review of it is like a faux leaf on a bunch of wax grapes attached to that pillar with knock-off brand scotch tape. It's tacky, unnecessary and detracts from the beauty of that pillar, which are of the Ionic variety in this crunchy and tortured metaphoric word picture. (Doric columns are a bit boring. Corinthians are bit cliche and garish. The Ionic says, "I'm functional, elegant and still have a bit of panache").
Seriously though, if you like classics, read this. If you like epics, read this. If you like poetry, read this. If you like action and adventure, read this. Blood and gore? Read it. Spurned love? Read it. Fables, myths or history? You get the point.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
Tom Standage
This was a really fun little history book that shows the development of human history through six beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. For a history book it really keeps the pages turning and would be a good read for just about anyone. It's not so lofty that only history nerds would like and understand it; but, it isn't so simple that those same nerds would turn their nose up at it.
Here are just some of my highlights from the book.
"To Neolithic drinkers, beer's ability to intoxicate and induce a state of altered consciousness seemed magical" (Standage, 19). - The obvious inference here is that beer is a gift from the gods, which played a central role in many ancient peoples' religions.
An interesting Egyptian myth that would be worth further study and possibly a short story:
"The Egyptians, for example, believed that beer was accidentally discovered by Osiris, the god of agriculture and king of the afterlife. One day he prepared a mixture of water and sprouted grain, but forgot about it and left it in the sun. He later returned to find the gruel had fermented, decided to drink it, and was so pleased with the result that he passed his knowledge on to humankind. (This tale seems to tally closely with the way beer was probably discovered in the stone age)." (Standage, 19).
It is better to be a beer drinker than a non-beer drinker.
"In other words, beer helped to make up for the decline in food quality as people took up farming, provided a safe form of liquid nourishment, and gave groups of beer-drinking farmers a comparative advantage over non-beer drinkers" (Standage, 22).
Philosophy of Religion and History of Religion: An interesting theory on how temples emerged to play a role in society:
"Keeping surplus food in the storehouse was one way to ward off future food shortages; ritual and religious activity, in which the gods were called upon to ensure a good harvest, was another. As these two activities became intertwined, deposits of surplus food came to be seen as offerings to the gods, and the storehouses became temples." (Standage, 22).
"The Mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer.
-Egyptian Proverb, c. 2200 BC."(Standage, 23)
The very definition of civilization is beer.
"The Mesopotamians regarded the consumption of bread and beer as one of the things that distinguished them from savages and made them fully human. Interestingly, this belief seems to echo beer's association with a settled, orderly lifestyle, rather than the haphazard existence of hunter-gatherers in prehistoric times" (Standage, 27).
Another Egyptian Myth worth retelling in short story form:
"One Egyptian tale even credits beer with saving humankind from destruction. Ra, the sun god, learned that humankind was plotting against him, and dispatched the goddess Hathor to exact punishment. But such was her ferocity that Ra feared there would soon be nobody left to worship him, and he took pity on humankind. He prepared a vast amount of beer - seven thousand jars of it, in some versions of the story - dyed it red to resemble blood, and spread it over the fields, where it shone like a vast mirror. Hathor paused to admire her reflection and then stooped to drink some of the mixture. She became intoxicated, fell asleep, and forgot about her bloody mission. Humankind was saved, and Hathor became the goddess of beer and brewing. Versions of this story have been found inscribed of Egyptian kings, including Tutankhamen, Seti I, and Ramses the Great" (Standage, 28-29).
"Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever"
-Aristophanes, Greek comic poet (c. 450-385 BCE)." (Standage, 43).
Plato's wine experiment and "fear drink" to test someone's character:
"Wine could be used in everyday life to reveal truth: It could expose the true nature of those drinking it. While he objected to the hedonistic reality of actual symposia, Plato saw no reason why the practice could not, in theory, be put to good use as a test of personality. Speaking through one of the characters in his book Laws, Plato argues that drinking with someone at a symposium is in fact the simplest, fastest, and most reliable test of someone's character" (Standage, 63-64).
"Baths, wine and sex ruin our bodies. But what makes life worth living except baths, wine and sex?
-Corpus Inscriptions VI, 15258" (Standage, 69).
Another short story that would be worth writing - This might be good as a story of disembodied heads relating their final moments on earth at a party in the afterlife:
"It is not often that choosing one wine over another is a matter of life or death. Yet that is what determined the fate of Marcus Antonius, a Roman politician and a renowned orator. In 87 BCE, he found himself on the wrong side of one of Rome's many interminable power struggles. Gains Marius, an elderly general, had seized power and was ruthlessly hunting down supporters of his rival, Sulla. Marcus Antonius sought refuge in the house of an associate of far lower social status, hoping that nobody would think of looking for him in such a poor man's house. His host, however, unwittingly gave him away by sending his servant out to buy wine worthy of such a distinguished guest. The servant went to the neighborhood wine shop and, after tasting what was on offer, asked for a far better and more expensive wine than usual. When the vintner asked why, the servant revealed the identity of his master's guest. The vintner went straight to Marius, who dispatched a handful of soldiers to kill Marcus Antonius. Yet having burst into his room, the soldiers could not bring themselves to kill him, such was the power of his oratory. Eventually, their commanding officer, who was waiting outside, went in to see what was happening. Denouncing his men as cowards, he drew his sword and beheaded Marcus Antonius himself" (Standage, 75).
A funny account of early English settlers to the New World:
"In 1613 a Spanish observer reported that the three hundred colonists had nothing but water to drink, 'which is contrary to the nature of the English - on account of which they all wish to return and would have done so if they had been at liberty'" (Standage, 113-114).
The Early American Drink:
Rum starts out as the colonial and American drink, but it is supplanted by whiskey with even George Washington getting in on the game. Jefferson however laments this as both a statesman, and a wine aficionado - calling wine, the only antidote to the bane of whiskey. "No nation is drunken where wine is cheap, and none sober where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage" (Standage, 127).
A fascinating account of the origin of coffee
"One tells of an Ethiopian goatherd who noticed that is flock became particularly frisky after consuming the brownish purple cherries from a particular tree. He then tried eating them himself, noted their stimulating powers, and passed his discovery on to a local imam. The imam, in turn, devised a new way to prepare the berries, drying them and then boiling them in water to produce a hot drink, which he used to keep himself awake during overnight religious ceremonies. Another story tells of a man named Omar who was condemned to die of starvation in the desert outside Mocha, a city in Yemen, on the southwestern corner of the Arabian peninsula. A vision guided him to a coffee tree, whereupon he ate some of its berries. This gave him sufficient strength to return to Mocha, where his survival was taken as a sign that God had spared him in order to pass along to humankind knowledge of coffee, which then became a popular drink in Mocha" (Standage, 137).
Might be a funny short story:
Not everyone in the arabic world was thrilled with discovery of coffee. "Religious leaders invoked this rule in Mecca in June 1511, the earliest known of several attempts to ban the consumption of coffee. The local governor, a man named Kha'ir Beg, who was responsible for maintaining public morality, literally put coffee on trial. He convened a council of legal experts and placed the accused - a large vessel of coffee - before them. After discussion of its intoxicating effects, the council agreed with Kha'ir Beg that the sale and consumption of coffee should be prohibited... Within a few months, however, higher authorities in Cairo overturned Kha'ir Beg's ruling, and coffee was soon being openly consumed again. His authority undermined, Kha'ir Beg was replaced as governor the following year" (Standage, 138).
Another funny short story surrounding coffee, might be one reported in the Spectator (London paper) in 1712.
"There was a fellow in town some years ago, who used to divert himself by telling a lye at Charing Cross in the morning at eight of the clock, and then following it through all parts of town until eight at night: at which time he came to a club of his friends, and diverted them with an account of what censure it had drawn at Will's in Covent Garden, how dangerous it was believed at Child's and what inference they drew from it with relation to stocks at Jonathon's" (Standage, 154).
This was a well-written and well-researched book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Tom Standage
This was a really fun little history book that shows the development of human history through six beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. For a history book it really keeps the pages turning and would be a good read for just about anyone. It's not so lofty that only history nerds would like and understand it; but, it isn't so simple that those same nerds would turn their nose up at it.
Here are just some of my highlights from the book.
"To Neolithic drinkers, beer's ability to intoxicate and induce a state of altered consciousness seemed magical" (Standage, 19). - The obvious inference here is that beer is a gift from the gods, which played a central role in many ancient peoples' religions.
An interesting Egyptian myth that would be worth further study and possibly a short story:
"The Egyptians, for example, believed that beer was accidentally discovered by Osiris, the god of agriculture and king of the afterlife. One day he prepared a mixture of water and sprouted grain, but forgot about it and left it in the sun. He later returned to find the gruel had fermented, decided to drink it, and was so pleased with the result that he passed his knowledge on to humankind. (This tale seems to tally closely with the way beer was probably discovered in the stone age)." (Standage, 19).
It is better to be a beer drinker than a non-beer drinker.
"In other words, beer helped to make up for the decline in food quality as people took up farming, provided a safe form of liquid nourishment, and gave groups of beer-drinking farmers a comparative advantage over non-beer drinkers" (Standage, 22).
Philosophy of Religion and History of Religion: An interesting theory on how temples emerged to play a role in society:
"Keeping surplus food in the storehouse was one way to ward off future food shortages; ritual and religious activity, in which the gods were called upon to ensure a good harvest, was another. As these two activities became intertwined, deposits of surplus food came to be seen as offerings to the gods, and the storehouses became temples." (Standage, 22).
"The Mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer.
-Egyptian Proverb, c. 2200 BC."(Standage, 23)
The very definition of civilization is beer.
"The Mesopotamians regarded the consumption of bread and beer as one of the things that distinguished them from savages and made them fully human. Interestingly, this belief seems to echo beer's association with a settled, orderly lifestyle, rather than the haphazard existence of hunter-gatherers in prehistoric times" (Standage, 27).
Another Egyptian Myth worth retelling in short story form:
"One Egyptian tale even credits beer with saving humankind from destruction. Ra, the sun god, learned that humankind was plotting against him, and dispatched the goddess Hathor to exact punishment. But such was her ferocity that Ra feared there would soon be nobody left to worship him, and he took pity on humankind. He prepared a vast amount of beer - seven thousand jars of it, in some versions of the story - dyed it red to resemble blood, and spread it over the fields, where it shone like a vast mirror. Hathor paused to admire her reflection and then stooped to drink some of the mixture. She became intoxicated, fell asleep, and forgot about her bloody mission. Humankind was saved, and Hathor became the goddess of beer and brewing. Versions of this story have been found inscribed of Egyptian kings, including Tutankhamen, Seti I, and Ramses the Great" (Standage, 28-29).
"Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever"
-Aristophanes, Greek comic poet (c. 450-385 BCE)." (Standage, 43).
Plato's wine experiment and "fear drink" to test someone's character:
"Wine could be used in everyday life to reveal truth: It could expose the true nature of those drinking it. While he objected to the hedonistic reality of actual symposia, Plato saw no reason why the practice could not, in theory, be put to good use as a test of personality. Speaking through one of the characters in his book Laws, Plato argues that drinking with someone at a symposium is in fact the simplest, fastest, and most reliable test of someone's character" (Standage, 63-64).
"Baths, wine and sex ruin our bodies. But what makes life worth living except baths, wine and sex?
-Corpus Inscriptions VI, 15258" (Standage, 69).
Another short story that would be worth writing - This might be good as a story of disembodied heads relating their final moments on earth at a party in the afterlife:
"It is not often that choosing one wine over another is a matter of life or death. Yet that is what determined the fate of Marcus Antonius, a Roman politician and a renowned orator. In 87 BCE, he found himself on the wrong side of one of Rome's many interminable power struggles. Gains Marius, an elderly general, had seized power and was ruthlessly hunting down supporters of his rival, Sulla. Marcus Antonius sought refuge in the house of an associate of far lower social status, hoping that nobody would think of looking for him in such a poor man's house. His host, however, unwittingly gave him away by sending his servant out to buy wine worthy of such a distinguished guest. The servant went to the neighborhood wine shop and, after tasting what was on offer, asked for a far better and more expensive wine than usual. When the vintner asked why, the servant revealed the identity of his master's guest. The vintner went straight to Marius, who dispatched a handful of soldiers to kill Marcus Antonius. Yet having burst into his room, the soldiers could not bring themselves to kill him, such was the power of his oratory. Eventually, their commanding officer, who was waiting outside, went in to see what was happening. Denouncing his men as cowards, he drew his sword and beheaded Marcus Antonius himself" (Standage, 75).
A funny account of early English settlers to the New World:
"In 1613 a Spanish observer reported that the three hundred colonists had nothing but water to drink, 'which is contrary to the nature of the English - on account of which they all wish to return and would have done so if they had been at liberty'" (Standage, 113-114).
The Early American Drink:
Rum starts out as the colonial and American drink, but it is supplanted by whiskey with even George Washington getting in on the game. Jefferson however laments this as both a statesman, and a wine aficionado - calling wine, the only antidote to the bane of whiskey. "No nation is drunken where wine is cheap, and none sober where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage" (Standage, 127).
A fascinating account of the origin of coffee
"One tells of an Ethiopian goatherd who noticed that is flock became particularly frisky after consuming the brownish purple cherries from a particular tree. He then tried eating them himself, noted their stimulating powers, and passed his discovery on to a local imam. The imam, in turn, devised a new way to prepare the berries, drying them and then boiling them in water to produce a hot drink, which he used to keep himself awake during overnight religious ceremonies. Another story tells of a man named Omar who was condemned to die of starvation in the desert outside Mocha, a city in Yemen, on the southwestern corner of the Arabian peninsula. A vision guided him to a coffee tree, whereupon he ate some of its berries. This gave him sufficient strength to return to Mocha, where his survival was taken as a sign that God had spared him in order to pass along to humankind knowledge of coffee, which then became a popular drink in Mocha" (Standage, 137).
Might be a funny short story:
Not everyone in the arabic world was thrilled with discovery of coffee. "Religious leaders invoked this rule in Mecca in June 1511, the earliest known of several attempts to ban the consumption of coffee. The local governor, a man named Kha'ir Beg, who was responsible for maintaining public morality, literally put coffee on trial. He convened a council of legal experts and placed the accused - a large vessel of coffee - before them. After discussion of its intoxicating effects, the council agreed with Kha'ir Beg that the sale and consumption of coffee should be prohibited... Within a few months, however, higher authorities in Cairo overturned Kha'ir Beg's ruling, and coffee was soon being openly consumed again. His authority undermined, Kha'ir Beg was replaced as governor the following year" (Standage, 138).
Another funny short story surrounding coffee, might be one reported in the Spectator (London paper) in 1712.
"There was a fellow in town some years ago, who used to divert himself by telling a lye at Charing Cross in the morning at eight of the clock, and then following it through all parts of town until eight at night: at which time he came to a club of his friends, and diverted them with an account of what censure it had drawn at Will's in Covent Garden, how dangerous it was believed at Child's and what inference they drew from it with relation to stocks at Jonathon's" (Standage, 154).
This was a well-written and well-researched book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Notes on Trimalchio's Feast
I was hitherto unfamiliar with The Satyricon by Petronius. On my good reads I gave this 80p Penguin Classics a so-so rating. This was because the satire was particularly blunt and it felt a bit overdone. Second, it was because of my unfamiliarity with Petronius. So I've put his complete book on my to read list and hope that it has a little more oomph than this section of the whole book.
But that said, it was enjoyable and there were a few things I rather enjoyed in it. I liked Trimalchio's extravagance when he said "Wine has a longer life than us poor folks. So let's wet our whistles" (Petronius, 8).
I don't pay much attention (or give any worth) to astrological readings, but every now and then I find a capricorn reading to be mildly humorous when I apply it to my circumstances. "Under Capricorn, people in trouble who sprout horns through their worries" (Petronius, 15). I might be myself a little devilish under worries...
A funny line that was actually a little more subtle in the satire than the rest was, "I damned my own stupidity and asked no more questions in case I looked like someone who had never dined in decent company" (Petronius, 16).
"People today are lions at home and foxes outside" (Petronius, 19). That's funny.
"Nobody believes in heaven, see, nobody fasts, nobody gives a damn for the Almighty. No, people only bow their heads to count their money" (Petronius, 20). This was probably the best piece of satire in the book. Here we have people living lavish lives condemning the lavishness of the common folk. Hypocritical and timeless. It could be leveled against a number of the pious today.
But that said, it was enjoyable and there were a few things I rather enjoyed in it. I liked Trimalchio's extravagance when he said "Wine has a longer life than us poor folks. So let's wet our whistles" (Petronius, 8).
I don't pay much attention (or give any worth) to astrological readings, but every now and then I find a capricorn reading to be mildly humorous when I apply it to my circumstances. "Under Capricorn, people in trouble who sprout horns through their worries" (Petronius, 15). I might be myself a little devilish under worries...
A funny line that was actually a little more subtle in the satire than the rest was, "I damned my own stupidity and asked no more questions in case I looked like someone who had never dined in decent company" (Petronius, 16).
"People today are lions at home and foxes outside" (Petronius, 19). That's funny.
"Nobody believes in heaven, see, nobody fasts, nobody gives a damn for the Almighty. No, people only bow their heads to count their money" (Petronius, 20). This was probably the best piece of satire in the book. Here we have people living lavish lives condemning the lavishness of the common folk. Hypocritical and timeless. It could be leveled against a number of the pious today.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Notes on Caligula
Suetonius wrote the Twelve Caesars and I think at some point in my pre Egg to the Apples life I read it, or listened to it. But, it's not the largest book if I remember correctly, but when I came across these 80p books in England I had to snatch them up. 'Caligula' is the excerpt from Suetonius' Twelve Caesars' dealing only with the reign of Caligula. It's short, concise and moves quickly as a read.
The story of Caligula is a pretty famous one, as he is somewhat famous for being somewhat notorious, to put it mildly. I've always enjoyed Roman History, but when I discovered Mike Duncan's now (sadly) finished podcast when I was living in the Dominican Republic some seven or eight years ago (I don't remember when I started listening, but it wasn't at the beginning of his run, but it was before Julius Caesar appeared on the scene) it rekindled an early childhood fascination with all things Roman. If you haven't checked out that podcast or his newer one and like history than you don't know anything about podcasts. Figure out what a podcast is and go check it out. But, after that incredible turn to the left let's try and steer back on to the matter at hand - Caligula.
Suetonius didn't paint a very good picture of Caligula in the little book as most of it is negative. But, if I didn't have any knowledge of Caligula prior to reading it I wouldn't have really expected it to have gone so badly. There's a lot of nice things about him and his father Germanicus in the first little bit, but then Suetonius slides in this nugget of a sentence: "So much for Gaius the Emperor; the rest of this history must needs deal with Gaius the Monster" (Suetonius, 21). Ouch! Must Needs. Must.
Right after Suetonius takes this must needs turn he reveals that Caligula has some of the better statues of all the famous gods in Greece brought to Rome where he has their heads removed and busts of his own as their replacement. I would condemn this behavior, but if you've ever been on my Instagram feed you may have seen this:
That's my head on a god statue in the Parthenon. (Unfortunately, its the lifesize replica in Tennessee). SO, I say we go ahead and give Caligula a pass on that one - agreed?
Caligula might have been a madman, egotistical, debauched and petulantly cruel, but he had a pretty astute sense of politics going on for awhile. "He often quoted the tragic line 'Let them hate me, so long as they fear me'" (Suetonius, 32). If you're not going to be loved as a despotic ruler, which most times you aren't, you might as well go whole hog on it and strike fear in the hearts of everyone. Sometimes, as with the case of Caligula, it doesn't pan out in the long-run. But there have been a whole bunch of vicious despots that died peacefully in their bed.
The problem with Caligula (aside from the obvious awfulness of his soul) was that as a despotic tyrant one must needs be paranoid because even if every one is deathly afraid of you, if the right opportunity presents itself somebody is going to take it, but Caligula took the paranoia to a whole new kind of crazy level. And he didn't have the foresight to let some people have small victories here and there to ensure loyalty. "In short, however low anyone's fortune or condition might be, Gaius always found some cause for envy" (Suetonius, 37).
But you can't blame the guy for being that way totally. Nature dealt him a pretty rough hand, even if fortune did not. He got to be the most powerful man in the Roman world on the merits of his dad. But, then his dad died. So fortune favored him. Nature wasn't so kind as he ended up turning out to be bald and hairy. It made him insecure and when naturally inclined guys get insecure they tend to lash out. Most don't end up becoming as bad as Caligula; but, I believe that is solely because they don't have the tools to lash out properly like Caligula had. But, Caligula was so insecure about this unfortunate mix up of where his hair ought to have been, "he announced that it was a capital offence for anyone to look down on him as he passed or to mention goats in any context" (Suetonius, 50-51). That's pretty insecure.
The story of Caligula is a pretty famous one, as he is somewhat famous for being somewhat notorious, to put it mildly. I've always enjoyed Roman History, but when I discovered Mike Duncan's now (sadly) finished podcast when I was living in the Dominican Republic some seven or eight years ago (I don't remember when I started listening, but it wasn't at the beginning of his run, but it was before Julius Caesar appeared on the scene) it rekindled an early childhood fascination with all things Roman. If you haven't checked out that podcast or his newer one and like history than you don't know anything about podcasts. Figure out what a podcast is and go check it out. But, after that incredible turn to the left let's try and steer back on to the matter at hand - Caligula.
Suetonius didn't paint a very good picture of Caligula in the little book as most of it is negative. But, if I didn't have any knowledge of Caligula prior to reading it I wouldn't have really expected it to have gone so badly. There's a lot of nice things about him and his father Germanicus in the first little bit, but then Suetonius slides in this nugget of a sentence: "So much for Gaius the Emperor; the rest of this history must needs deal with Gaius the Monster" (Suetonius, 21). Ouch! Must Needs. Must.
Right after Suetonius takes this must needs turn he reveals that Caligula has some of the better statues of all the famous gods in Greece brought to Rome where he has their heads removed and busts of his own as their replacement. I would condemn this behavior, but if you've ever been on my Instagram feed you may have seen this:
That's my head on a god statue in the Parthenon. (Unfortunately, its the lifesize replica in Tennessee). SO, I say we go ahead and give Caligula a pass on that one - agreed?
Caligula might have been a madman, egotistical, debauched and petulantly cruel, but he had a pretty astute sense of politics going on for awhile. "He often quoted the tragic line 'Let them hate me, so long as they fear me'" (Suetonius, 32). If you're not going to be loved as a despotic ruler, which most times you aren't, you might as well go whole hog on it and strike fear in the hearts of everyone. Sometimes, as with the case of Caligula, it doesn't pan out in the long-run. But there have been a whole bunch of vicious despots that died peacefully in their bed.
The problem with Caligula (aside from the obvious awfulness of his soul) was that as a despotic tyrant one must needs be paranoid because even if every one is deathly afraid of you, if the right opportunity presents itself somebody is going to take it, but Caligula took the paranoia to a whole new kind of crazy level. And he didn't have the foresight to let some people have small victories here and there to ensure loyalty. "In short, however low anyone's fortune or condition might be, Gaius always found some cause for envy" (Suetonius, 37).
But you can't blame the guy for being that way totally. Nature dealt him a pretty rough hand, even if fortune did not. He got to be the most powerful man in the Roman world on the merits of his dad. But, then his dad died. So fortune favored him. Nature wasn't so kind as he ended up turning out to be bald and hairy. It made him insecure and when naturally inclined guys get insecure they tend to lash out. Most don't end up becoming as bad as Caligula; but, I believe that is solely because they don't have the tools to lash out properly like Caligula had. But, Caligula was so insecure about this unfortunate mix up of where his hair ought to have been, "he announced that it was a capital offence for anyone to look down on him as he passed or to mention goats in any context" (Suetonius, 50-51). That's pretty insecure.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Day 5 of London
(Originally Written April 7, 2015)
This was our first of two excursions from London on our trip. We left the hotel to get to the Travel Company in route to Bath, Lacock & Stonehenge. First, off we saw this, which was utterly disappointing and an indictment of today's culture. The line on the left hand side is a line for the Harry Potter WB studios tour and is filled to capacity. Two busloads of tourists would be going to this tour in the hour and two more in the next. The line on the right (two people) would be going to Stonehenge. That said, there was only about 25-30 travelers with us on the trip so we had the place basically to ourselves which was very cool.
The first stop on the tour was the Roman Baths at Bath. We toured the ruins, checked out the Abbey at Bath and sort of quick walked a little bit of the town. There were a lot of cool sites to see in the area. The statues surrounding the bath were pretty amazing, some of which were very well preserved. The main "bath" area however was a odd green color and we were instructed not to touch it for health and safety reasons. For once I suspect that this was not overkill as the greenness of the pool looked rather menacing. At the end of the tour though we were able to drink the water from the natural
spring and it tasted a lot like mineral water because it was in fact, mineral water. Our tour guide was very informative and had a good delivery. She also had a dry enough sense of humor to suck all the moisture out of the room. One of the most interesting facts that I learned about why the baths seemed to have such great healing powers in them was how the minerals interacted with the Roman Britons and Medieval British drinking habits. Everyone always seemed to get sick back then and the likely cause was the fact that their drinking vessels and storing vessels for their wine were led-lined. So it's likely that they always had a mild case of led poisoning. The minerals in the hot spring seemed to suck the led out of the body when they bathed in it, so the people would feel much refreshed out of the bath. Unfortunately, they would go home and have some wine and once again give themselves minor led poisoning and have a need for another bath.
After Bath, was the village of Lacock. It was interesting, a good look at Medieval England, but we were only there for 40 minutes and I could've spent some more time exploring Bath and had another pint of Cask Ale.
The highlight of the day and probably the trip though was the trip to Stonehenge and the inner circle. Just coming up on it was incredible, though the landscape was blotted somewhat by the new Stonehenge Welcome Center and its hideous architecture. We arrived at Stonehenge close to sunset and to watch the sun go down over the horizon from the middle of Stonehenge was an incredible feeling. However, when I was asked if it was a "spiritual" experience I had to say "no". Being inside either Saint Paul's or Westminster Abbey or the Abbey at Bath was much more of a spiritual sensation than being in the middle of some rocks arranged in circular fashion, but then again I'm not much of an animist, shamanist, neo-druid or have much sympathy for reconstructed modern paganism either. In spite of the lack of spirituality at the site it was an incredible thing to behold.
This was our first of two excursions from London on our trip. We left the hotel to get to the Travel Company in route to Bath, Lacock & Stonehenge. First, off we saw this, which was utterly disappointing and an indictment of today's culture. The line on the left hand side is a line for the Harry Potter WB studios tour and is filled to capacity. Two busloads of tourists would be going to this tour in the hour and two more in the next. The line on the right (two people) would be going to Stonehenge. That said, there was only about 25-30 travelers with us on the trip so we had the place basically to ourselves which was very cool.The first stop on the tour was the Roman Baths at Bath. We toured the ruins, checked out the Abbey at Bath and sort of quick walked a little bit of the town. There were a lot of cool sites to see in the area. The statues surrounding the bath were pretty amazing, some of which were very well preserved. The main "bath" area however was a odd green color and we were instructed not to touch it for health and safety reasons. For once I suspect that this was not overkill as the greenness of the pool looked rather menacing. At the end of the tour though we were able to drink the water from the natural
 |
| Note the green water... |
After Bath, was the village of Lacock. It was interesting, a good look at Medieval England, but we were only there for 40 minutes and I could've spent some more time exploring Bath and had another pint of Cask Ale.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Ideas for Urtsiul
Originally written August 6, 2010
Speeches for Urtsiul (prototypes)
Julius Caesar, The Conquest of Gaul
Pg. 24: Ariovistus' reply
pp. 33-35 Ariovistus' reply
Hoerth - Archaeology and the Old Testament
Description of city wall (pg. 83)
Description of Religion (pg. 87)
Sinshe story (pg. 89)
On pg. 90, use this when the son of Uslmli goes to Egypt.
Speeches for Urtsiul (prototypes)
Julius Caesar, The Conquest of Gaul
Pg. 24: Ariovistus' reply
pp. 33-35 Ariovistus' reply
Hoerth - Archaeology and the Old Testament
Description of city wall (pg. 83)
Description of Religion (pg. 87)
Sinshe story (pg. 89)
On pg. 90, use this when the son of Uslmli goes to Egypt.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Notes on The Metamorphoses
(Originally Written March 1, 2010 in the Journal)
Notes on Ovid's Metamorphoses
I'm already in Book VI!
"She was as beautiful as an angry woman can be" Very funny, use this in Habitaciones after the double date from Hell.
Love made him eloquent
The sky was dark and heavy, its weight pressing down on the earth, man both noble and common alike. It trapped the heat in and southerly winds blew cruel and ill-fortuned winds on them. For two moons the heat oppressed the land of Upuk and withered crops to dust. The sturdy beasts melted away and sheep shore their own wool, their dying bleats echoed through the hills. The four rivers dried and the center pool threatened an emptiness until the worship of the sun creased. The might king cast out the priests of the sun and restored the land to its former gods. (A plague scene and banishment of the sun cult).
"For I am burning with love, and its flame scorches me more fiercely when I am spurned"
Not struggles, but sheer laziness came to be what delayed my finishing of the Metamorphoses.
I really enjoyed this book until book fifteen that became pure propaganda for Augustus. It is amazing that art can become kitschy so quickly. But, book XV aside, it was great. The last line again, like from The Amores shows Ovid's ego - which I love.
"If there be any truth in poets' prophecies I shall live to all eternity, immortalized by fame"
Notes on Ovid's Metamorphoses
I'm already in Book VI!
"She was as beautiful as an angry woman can be" Very funny, use this in Habitaciones after the double date from Hell.
Love made him eloquent
The sky was dark and heavy, its weight pressing down on the earth, man both noble and common alike. It trapped the heat in and southerly winds blew cruel and ill-fortuned winds on them. For two moons the heat oppressed the land of Upuk and withered crops to dust. The sturdy beasts melted away and sheep shore their own wool, their dying bleats echoed through the hills. The four rivers dried and the center pool threatened an emptiness until the worship of the sun creased. The might king cast out the priests of the sun and restored the land to its former gods. (A plague scene and banishment of the sun cult).
"For I am burning with love, and its flame scorches me more fiercely when I am spurned"
Not struggles, but sheer laziness came to be what delayed my finishing of the Metamorphoses.
I really enjoyed this book until book fifteen that became pure propaganda for Augustus. It is amazing that art can become kitschy so quickly. But, book XV aside, it was great. The last line again, like from The Amores shows Ovid's ego - which I love.
"If there be any truth in poets' prophecies I shall live to all eternity, immortalized by fame"
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Notes on The Art of Love & The Cures For Love
(Originally Written October 4, 2009 in The Journal)
I enjoyed The Amores immensely more than The Art of Love
The Cures for Love
"Yet to recover health demands much suffering"
212-245, sound familiar?
"Every old love's eclipsed by a new"
"Yet to hate the girl you once loved is a crime, an end befitting none but a savage: indifference will suffice"
I enjoyed The Erotic Poems by Ovid, though after all of it the conceit of Ovid became a bit wearing. But, The Amores were far better than The Art of Love or the Cures for Love
I enjoyed The Amores immensely more than The Art of Love
The Cures for Love
"Yet to recover health demands much suffering"
212-245, sound familiar?
"Every old love's eclipsed by a new"
"Yet to hate the girl you once loved is a crime, an end befitting none but a savage: indifference will suffice"
I enjoyed The Erotic Poems by Ovid, though after all of it the conceit of Ovid became a bit wearing. But, The Amores were far better than The Art of Love or the Cures for Love
Friday, October 2, 2009
Notes on The Erotic Poems
(Originally Written October 2, 2009 in the Journal)
Notes on The Erotic Poems by Ovid
"He's so human he tears you apart"
The Amores: Book I
I. "His shafts - worse luck for me - never miss their target. I'm on fire now, love owns the free hold of my heart" (Ovid, 86)
II. "Heart skewered/by shafts of desire, the raging" (Ovid, 87)
"Play stubborn, you get a far more thorough going-over than those who admit they're hooked [on love]" (Ovid, 88)
III. "Fair's fair now, Venus. This girl's got me hooked. All I'm asking from her is love or at least some future hope for my own. Eternal devotion, no even that's too much - Hell, just let me love her" (Ovid, 88)
"Unswerving fidelity's my strong suit" (Ovid, 88)
VIII.
"Ah, that got a blush! Pale face needs color, but nature's method is so unpredictable, safer to stick to art" (Ovid, 98).
The Amores: Book II
II. "All we need is your consent to some quiet love-making. It's hard to imagine a more harmless request" (Ovid, 114).
IV. Compare this poem to Baudelaire or even the Marquis de Sade for unrivaled hedonism.
It is hysterical though - "My sex-life runs the entire mythological gamut" (Ovid, 116).
VI. Write a short story based on this.
VII. "How I wish I'd some genuine infidelity on my conscience - the guilty find punishment easier to take" (Ovid, 120).
IXb. "Girls are such exquisite hell when desire's slaked, when I'm sick of the whole business, some kink in my wretched nature drives me back.
XVII. I really like this poem.
"I shan't be an accusation you're glad to get rid of; our love won't ever require disowning".
XIX. This is savagely humorous
The Amores: Book III
I. "My subconscious is hatching a masterpiece" (Ovid, 139)
II.
"To sit at your side and talk with you is what I'm after - I want you to know the havoc you've wrought in my heart."
Poem II is my concept of dating in lines 2-8
"Help this new venture, Venus: soften my prospective mistress till she loves me or anyway till she let's me love her!"
VII. Seven is an ode to impotency. Very funny!
XIa. This is how I feel about my ex
Notes on The Erotic Poems by Ovid
"He's so human he tears you apart"
The Amores: Book I
I. "His shafts - worse luck for me - never miss their target. I'm on fire now, love owns the free hold of my heart" (Ovid, 86)
II. "Heart skewered/by shafts of desire, the raging" (Ovid, 87)
"Play stubborn, you get a far more thorough going-over than those who admit they're hooked [on love]" (Ovid, 88)
III. "Fair's fair now, Venus. This girl's got me hooked. All I'm asking from her is love or at least some future hope for my own. Eternal devotion, no even that's too much - Hell, just let me love her" (Ovid, 88)
"Unswerving fidelity's my strong suit" (Ovid, 88)
VIII.
"Ah, that got a blush! Pale face needs color, but nature's method is so unpredictable, safer to stick to art" (Ovid, 98).
The Amores: Book II
II. "All we need is your consent to some quiet love-making. It's hard to imagine a more harmless request" (Ovid, 114).
IV. Compare this poem to Baudelaire or even the Marquis de Sade for unrivaled hedonism.
It is hysterical though - "My sex-life runs the entire mythological gamut" (Ovid, 116).
VI. Write a short story based on this.
VII. "How I wish I'd some genuine infidelity on my conscience - the guilty find punishment easier to take" (Ovid, 120).
IXb. "Girls are such exquisite hell when desire's slaked, when I'm sick of the whole business, some kink in my wretched nature drives me back.
XVII. I really like this poem.
"I shan't be an accusation you're glad to get rid of; our love won't ever require disowning".
XIX. This is savagely humorous
The Amores: Book III
I. "My subconscious is hatching a masterpiece" (Ovid, 139)
II.
"To sit at your side and talk with you is what I'm after - I want you to know the havoc you've wrought in my heart."
Poem II is my concept of dating in lines 2-8
"Help this new venture, Venus: soften my prospective mistress till she loves me or anyway till she let's me love her!"
VII. Seven is an ode to impotency. Very funny!
XIa. This is how I feel about my ex
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Notes on The Aeneid
(Originally Written September 10, 2009 in the Journal)
This was my first time reading The Aeneid. I loved this book. I found the story incredibly fascinating. The use of the term godhead in the David West translation struck me as interesting because I had never seen it outside of a Trinitarian Christian context. I wonder if the Latin word is the same.
Book 1 - Storm and Banquet
Compare Aeneas & Job?
Aeneas suffers at the hands of Juno despite having committed no sin.
Book 2 - The Fall of Troy
This was one of my favorite parts of the book.
The chief virtue of Aeneas, a man known for his piety, is his courage, which he had to forsake for the destiny of the will of the gods.
Book 3 - The Wanderings
Book 4 - Dido
An interesting myth on the origin of enmity between Rome & Carthage.
Book 5 - Funeral Games
The origin of the rites of Parentalia - the festival of the dead. This was a major part of the Roman Religion.
Compare Aeneas to Solomon in diffusing the squabble between Nisus and Salius - wisdom.
Book 6 - The Underworld
This has philosophical and political undertones. It gives the origin of life explanation and praises the Julian family.
Book 7 - War in Latium
A good read for battle scenes.
Book 8 - Aeneas in Rome
The prophetic shield of Vulcan is made for Aeneas in this book. In this book Virgil ties Hercules to Aeneas and Aeneas to Caesar Augustus. This is the legitimization of Aeneas and thus, of Rome and Augustus.
Book 9 - Nisus and Euryalus
War scenes
Book 10 - Pallas and Mezeutius
War scenes, the use of dueling
Book 11 - Drances and Camilla
Camilla the Amazon - write a myth of Camilla
Book 12 - Truce and Duel
Great ending in the death of Turnus
This was my first time reading The Aeneid. I loved this book. I found the story incredibly fascinating. The use of the term godhead in the David West translation struck me as interesting because I had never seen it outside of a Trinitarian Christian context. I wonder if the Latin word is the same.
Book 1 - Storm and Banquet
Compare Aeneas & Job?
Aeneas suffers at the hands of Juno despite having committed no sin.
Book 2 - The Fall of Troy
This was one of my favorite parts of the book.
The chief virtue of Aeneas, a man known for his piety, is his courage, which he had to forsake for the destiny of the will of the gods.
Book 3 - The Wanderings
Book 4 - Dido
An interesting myth on the origin of enmity between Rome & Carthage.
Book 5 - Funeral Games
The origin of the rites of Parentalia - the festival of the dead. This was a major part of the Roman Religion.
Compare Aeneas to Solomon in diffusing the squabble between Nisus and Salius - wisdom.
Book 6 - The Underworld
This has philosophical and political undertones. It gives the origin of life explanation and praises the Julian family.
Book 7 - War in Latium
A good read for battle scenes.
Book 8 - Aeneas in Rome
The prophetic shield of Vulcan is made for Aeneas in this book. In this book Virgil ties Hercules to Aeneas and Aeneas to Caesar Augustus. This is the legitimization of Aeneas and thus, of Rome and Augustus.
Book 9 - Nisus and Euryalus
War scenes
Book 10 - Pallas and Mezeutius
War scenes, the use of dueling
Book 11 - Drances and Camilla
Camilla the Amazon - write a myth of Camilla
Book 12 - Truce and Duel
Great ending in the death of Turnus
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Brief Notes on City of God - Book II
(Originally Written June 5, 2008 in the Journal)
Notes on City of God - By Augustine
Book II
If one were to attempt to refute all criticisms of Christianity one would water their time for those who absolutely refuse to accept the logic of Christianity refuse to accept logic itself.
"Find out the role that God would have you play, the part assigned you, in the scheme of things" (Augustine, 54).
Pagan gods have not laid out places for moral instruction. Wherever Christianity has spread one can point to the church there for this moral instruction.
The pagan gods delight in their own ruin and in the ruination of man.
The gods of Rome undermined the morality of the Roman citizens by demanding displays of immoral behavior.
The Romans cannot receive the establishment of morals from their gods for they establish the morals of their gods.
Rome sunk to the depths of degradation long before the arrival of Christ, as was stated by some of the best Romans prior to the coming of Christ.
The Roman gods took no action to save Rome as her morals were declining.
Abandon false gods and "spring out to genuine liberty" (Augustine, 87).
Notes on City of God - By Augustine
Book II
If one were to attempt to refute all criticisms of Christianity one would water their time for those who absolutely refuse to accept the logic of Christianity refuse to accept logic itself.
"Find out the role that God would have you play, the part assigned you, in the scheme of things" (Augustine, 54).
Pagan gods have not laid out places for moral instruction. Wherever Christianity has spread one can point to the church there for this moral instruction.
The pagan gods delight in their own ruin and in the ruination of man.
The gods of Rome undermined the morality of the Roman citizens by demanding displays of immoral behavior.
The Romans cannot receive the establishment of morals from their gods for they establish the morals of their gods.
Rome sunk to the depths of degradation long before the arrival of Christ, as was stated by some of the best Romans prior to the coming of Christ.
The Roman gods took no action to save Rome as her morals were declining.
Abandon false gods and "spring out to genuine liberty" (Augustine, 87).
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Brief Notes on City of God - Book 1
(Originally Written June 4, 2008 in the Journal)
Notes on City of God by Augustine
Introduction
"The great lesson of the City of God is that out of all things come good" (Augustine, ix)
Book I
Great effort is needed to convince the proud of the power of humility.
The city of this world seeks to dominate but is dominated by its lust for domination.
"God's providence constantly uses war to correct and chasten the corrupt morals of mankind, as it also uses such afflictions to train men in a righteous and laudable way of life, removing to a better state those whose life is approved, or else keeping them in this world for further service" (Augustine, 6).
It is foolish to trust in gods who can be conquered and yet saved by man's hands. A god ought to be unconquerable and capable of saving man, not the other way around.
The god of Rome would have perished long ago if the Romans had not so painstakingly preserved them.
It is foolishness for men to blame the collapse of Rome on Christ when they invoked his name to save their very lives! The fall of Rome was brought about by their corrupt morals.
In the sack of Rome, the savagery of war was tempered by something new: Christianity. Pagan and Christian alike were spared in the temples of Christ. How then can Christ be blamed for the fall of Rome?
The mercy of the Lord extends to both the good and the bad. This is so the wicked can repent and come to the Lord, for God waits for all men to come. Some choose to harden their hearts, but that is their own task for destruction.
The mercy God extends will someday in the future only extend to those who accept Him.
God has willed that temporal goods and temporal evils will befall good and bad alike.
"The good man is not exalted by this world's goods; nor is he overwhelmed by this world's ills" (Augustine, 13-14).
Not all evil doing is punished in this world. Some punishment is stored up for the final judgment.
God punishes some sin in this world so that the belief in providence never ceases.
God rewards some good deeds here so that we do not believe God has no concern for temporal blessings, but other good deeds have blessings that are bestowed after this temporal life is done.
Though the suffering of the good and evil are alike, the sufferers are different. The wicked curse God under affliction; the good offer prayers to Him.
"Stir a cesspit, and a foul stench arises; stir a perfume, and a delightful fragrance ascends. But the movement is identical" (Augustine, 14).
The suffering of Christians have caused their moral improvement because they viewed them with eyes of faith.
Christians suffer justly when they do not admonish sins, for not to admonish sin is a sin itself.
The good and bad suffer because though they do not live equal lives, they both love this temporal world too much.
The worldly advantages of life are not discreditable in themselves. What is discreditable is when the Christian is unduly attached to those advantages.
The Christian loses nothing in the deprivation of temporal goods. A man can be poor in life, yet rich in spirit. A Christian ought to be content with that they have and bless the Lord for it.
Those Christians who grieve the loss of their temporal goods, though they do not love them as much as they love Christ, can learn how much sin they have committed in losing those temporal things. These Christians refused to be taught by words and so God taught them by experience.
Christ condemns the desire for riches, not the opportunity riches afford.
Those who suffer torture who have no wealth on account of wealth confess Christ. If the torturer is not swayed the tortured will still be justly rewarded in heaven.
The only thing that makes death an evil is what comes after death. We ought not worry about death because all die; we should instead focus on our destination after death.
We need not worry over the body of a man who has died. Those who can kill the body have no power over the soul. The saints who have fallen but not been given a proper burial will still be resurrected.
Suicide is never justifiable.
Purity is a virtue of the mind, not the body.
Courage endures evil, but does not condone it.
We cannot commit suicide for the Bible says we cannot kill (which implies a human being) and to kill one's self is to kill a human being.
Not all homicide is murder. God orders killing, but when He does so the man does not do the killing. He is just an instrument of God. He is like the sword that God is wielding.
Though gods may be false, worship of those gods can be sincere.
The judgment of God is inscrutable and His ways are mysterious. Sometimes we cannot comprehend why we suffer, but we can take consolation in the fact that Divine Providence is at work.
God always works suffering to result in our justification or our correction.
The saints ought not to regret this temporal life for it is their schooling for eternity.
Those who rebel against the Christian era do so that they may indulge themselves in extravagant sin.
The Church has members hidden amongst the world as the Church has ungodly hidden in its midst. But, God knows these men.
The city of God and the city of man stand interwoven and intermixed, awaiting separation on the Judgment Day.
Notes on City of God by Augustine
Introduction
"The great lesson of the City of God is that out of all things come good" (Augustine, ix)
Book I
Great effort is needed to convince the proud of the power of humility.
The city of this world seeks to dominate but is dominated by its lust for domination.
"God's providence constantly uses war to correct and chasten the corrupt morals of mankind, as it also uses such afflictions to train men in a righteous and laudable way of life, removing to a better state those whose life is approved, or else keeping them in this world for further service" (Augustine, 6).
It is foolish to trust in gods who can be conquered and yet saved by man's hands. A god ought to be unconquerable and capable of saving man, not the other way around.
The god of Rome would have perished long ago if the Romans had not so painstakingly preserved them.
It is foolishness for men to blame the collapse of Rome on Christ when they invoked his name to save their very lives! The fall of Rome was brought about by their corrupt morals.
In the sack of Rome, the savagery of war was tempered by something new: Christianity. Pagan and Christian alike were spared in the temples of Christ. How then can Christ be blamed for the fall of Rome?
The mercy of the Lord extends to both the good and the bad. This is so the wicked can repent and come to the Lord, for God waits for all men to come. Some choose to harden their hearts, but that is their own task for destruction.
The mercy God extends will someday in the future only extend to those who accept Him.
God has willed that temporal goods and temporal evils will befall good and bad alike.
"The good man is not exalted by this world's goods; nor is he overwhelmed by this world's ills" (Augustine, 13-14).
Not all evil doing is punished in this world. Some punishment is stored up for the final judgment.
God punishes some sin in this world so that the belief in providence never ceases.
God rewards some good deeds here so that we do not believe God has no concern for temporal blessings, but other good deeds have blessings that are bestowed after this temporal life is done.
Though the suffering of the good and evil are alike, the sufferers are different. The wicked curse God under affliction; the good offer prayers to Him.
"Stir a cesspit, and a foul stench arises; stir a perfume, and a delightful fragrance ascends. But the movement is identical" (Augustine, 14).
The suffering of Christians have caused their moral improvement because they viewed them with eyes of faith.
Christians suffer justly when they do not admonish sins, for not to admonish sin is a sin itself.
The good and bad suffer because though they do not live equal lives, they both love this temporal world too much.
The worldly advantages of life are not discreditable in themselves. What is discreditable is when the Christian is unduly attached to those advantages.
The Christian loses nothing in the deprivation of temporal goods. A man can be poor in life, yet rich in spirit. A Christian ought to be content with that they have and bless the Lord for it.
Those Christians who grieve the loss of their temporal goods, though they do not love them as much as they love Christ, can learn how much sin they have committed in losing those temporal things. These Christians refused to be taught by words and so God taught them by experience.
Christ condemns the desire for riches, not the opportunity riches afford.
Those who suffer torture who have no wealth on account of wealth confess Christ. If the torturer is not swayed the tortured will still be justly rewarded in heaven.
The only thing that makes death an evil is what comes after death. We ought not worry about death because all die; we should instead focus on our destination after death.
We need not worry over the body of a man who has died. Those who can kill the body have no power over the soul. The saints who have fallen but not been given a proper burial will still be resurrected.
Suicide is never justifiable.
Purity is a virtue of the mind, not the body.
Courage endures evil, but does not condone it.
We cannot commit suicide for the Bible says we cannot kill (which implies a human being) and to kill one's self is to kill a human being.
Not all homicide is murder. God orders killing, but when He does so the man does not do the killing. He is just an instrument of God. He is like the sword that God is wielding.
Though gods may be false, worship of those gods can be sincere.
The judgment of God is inscrutable and His ways are mysterious. Sometimes we cannot comprehend why we suffer, but we can take consolation in the fact that Divine Providence is at work.
God always works suffering to result in our justification or our correction.
The saints ought not to regret this temporal life for it is their schooling for eternity.
Those who rebel against the Christian era do so that they may indulge themselves in extravagant sin.
The Church has members hidden amongst the world as the Church has ungodly hidden in its midst. But, God knows these men.
The city of God and the city of man stand interwoven and intermixed, awaiting separation on the Judgment Day.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Chapter 4 - Pocket Guide to World Religions (B)
(Originally written February 16, 2007 in Book 14)
Christianity and Judaism split within the first generations of Christianity.
Life of Jesus Christ
Jesus was born in Bethlehem about 6 BC.
He was born to a virgin via a miraculous birth.
Virtually nothing about his life is known prior to age 30. At 30 he launched his public ministry. He gathered 12 disciples.
He emphasized servitude to God and men out of love, not obligation.
He claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God. He was a miracle worker and an exorcist.
He was crucified for offending the Jewish establishment and suspected of treason against Rome.
The Scriptures claim that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples over a 40-day period until finally ascending into Heaven.
Subsequent Developments
During the first 70 years after Jesus' death and resurrection his teachings spread throughout the Roman Empire.
Paul the Apostle was instrumental in these early years.
The New Testament books were written in this time too.
The Early Church was persecuted by the Roman Empire until 313 when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity a legal religion.
When the Roman Empire split tension between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Western Catholic Church arose. The Church finally split in 1054.
The bishop of Rome blame the Pope and asserted authority over all the Western Church between 350 - 850 AD.
Another major split occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation.
Currently, Christianity is characterized by two important features: first a global presence reaching into even the smallest corners of the world; and second, division into many different local churches and denominations, which often differ only on minor matters" (Corduan, 42).
Scriptures
Virtually all Christians recognize the Scriptures as two collections:
1) The Scriptures of Jesus' day (known as the Old Testament)
2) The New Testament
The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches maintain that the Apocrypha are also inspired works and thus, Scriptures. Protestants do not hold this view because the Apocrypha was not recognized as Scripture in Jesus' day.
Major Beliefs
Christianity emphasizes correct belief.
1. God - one God who created the universe and is not part of the universe.
2. Trinity - God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God is one nature, but three distinct persons.
3. Sin and Redemption - man is fallen and must redeemed
4. Christ - Jesus Christ is God. He became Incarnate.
5. Atonement - Jesus' death was not a martyrdom. It was the atonement for sinful man.
6. Faith - faith is an attitude of trust in Christ. Salvation is earned by faith alone, not through works.
7. Future - Jesus will come back to judge the earth. Those who believed will go to Heaven, those who did not will go to Hell.
Subgroups
Christianity is divided into numerous subgroups and sub-subgroups. Many have split over very minor doctrinal disagreements
Major Subgroups
1) Roman Catholic Church
- Headed by the Pope
- The Largest subgroup
- Worldwide
- Sacramental
2) Eastern Orthodox Church
- primarily in Greece, Eastern Europe and the Middle East
- Sacramental
- Has preserved many ancient traditions
- Headed by the Patriarch
3) Protestant Churches
- Emphasize individual salvation
Worship Practices
They vary from church to church, but usually have singing, scripture reading, prayer and preaching.
Some churches are liturgical, others are very informal.
Baptism and Communion are areas that have caused rifts in the Church.
Church Division: (among many others)
Baptism is the Christian initiation ceremony.
Communion is a ceremonial meal of a portion of bread and a sip of wine.
Some call these sacraments, others call them ordinances.
Sacraments -> conveying of God's grace.
Ordinances -> reminders of God's actions
Christianity and Judaism split within the first generations of Christianity.
Life of Jesus Christ
Jesus was born in Bethlehem about 6 BC.
He was born to a virgin via a miraculous birth.
Virtually nothing about his life is known prior to age 30. At 30 he launched his public ministry. He gathered 12 disciples.
He emphasized servitude to God and men out of love, not obligation.
He claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God. He was a miracle worker and an exorcist.
He was crucified for offending the Jewish establishment and suspected of treason against Rome.
The Scriptures claim that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples over a 40-day period until finally ascending into Heaven.
Subsequent Developments
During the first 70 years after Jesus' death and resurrection his teachings spread throughout the Roman Empire.
Paul the Apostle was instrumental in these early years.
The New Testament books were written in this time too.
The Early Church was persecuted by the Roman Empire until 313 when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity a legal religion.
When the Roman Empire split tension between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Western Catholic Church arose. The Church finally split in 1054.
The bishop of Rome blame the Pope and asserted authority over all the Western Church between 350 - 850 AD.
Another major split occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation.
Currently, Christianity is characterized by two important features: first a global presence reaching into even the smallest corners of the world; and second, division into many different local churches and denominations, which often differ only on minor matters" (Corduan, 42).
Scriptures
Virtually all Christians recognize the Scriptures as two collections:
1) The Scriptures of Jesus' day (known as the Old Testament)
2) The New Testament
The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches maintain that the Apocrypha are also inspired works and thus, Scriptures. Protestants do not hold this view because the Apocrypha was not recognized as Scripture in Jesus' day.
Major Beliefs
Christianity emphasizes correct belief.
1. God - one God who created the universe and is not part of the universe.
2. Trinity - God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God is one nature, but three distinct persons.
3. Sin and Redemption - man is fallen and must redeemed
4. Christ - Jesus Christ is God. He became Incarnate.
5. Atonement - Jesus' death was not a martyrdom. It was the atonement for sinful man.
6. Faith - faith is an attitude of trust in Christ. Salvation is earned by faith alone, not through works.
7. Future - Jesus will come back to judge the earth. Those who believed will go to Heaven, those who did not will go to Hell.
Subgroups
Christianity is divided into numerous subgroups and sub-subgroups. Many have split over very minor doctrinal disagreements
Major Subgroups
1) Roman Catholic Church
- Headed by the Pope
- The Largest subgroup
- Worldwide
- Sacramental
2) Eastern Orthodox Church
- primarily in Greece, Eastern Europe and the Middle East
- Sacramental
- Has preserved many ancient traditions
- Headed by the Patriarch
3) Protestant Churches
- Emphasize individual salvation
Worship Practices
They vary from church to church, but usually have singing, scripture reading, prayer and preaching.
Some churches are liturgical, others are very informal.
Baptism and Communion are areas that have caused rifts in the Church.
Church Division: (among many others)
Baptism is the Christian initiation ceremony.
Communion is a ceremonial meal of a portion of bread and a sip of wine.
Some call these sacraments, others call them ordinances.
Sacraments -> conveying of God's grace.
Ordinances -> reminders of God's actions
Friday, January 19, 2007
Class notes on Quintilian
(Originally written January 19, 2007 in Book 12)
Class Notes
Quintilian
Endowed chair of Rhetoric in 71 AD by the emperor
Believed that both the father and the mother are the primary teachers of the children. Must speak correctly and proper to one's own children and model lifelong learning.
Age 7 - Learn language
Age 14 - Grammar school
Then, rhetorical training.
Quintilian's principles for teaching (educational principles)
- Different ages ought to be corrected in different ways (more individualized)
- Caution against too much praise so it seems too false
- We imitate those we like, teacher has to be liked/respected so as to encourage imitation
- Teacher should have feeling of parent toward pupils (implies moral guidance)
- Avoid being so free of fault that you are free of merit
- Teacher need to "stoop" to teaching the details, must have the ability to give instruction in small matters even if the teacher has obtained great things
- Teacher ought to have a balance between being rough in correction and praise, a good teacher gives reasons why for correction
- don't expect perfection of style, but prefer exuberance and invention, not demanding perfection when it is unreasonable
- best teachers can teach the early things
- tenderness of teacher
- morals of teacher and classroom must first be established
- teachers ought to give exacting tasks, not long ones
- Don't let the students praise each other too much
- No mixed cohort
- Teacher shouldn't be superfluous in praising students
- Best teachers can teach the simple things
- Perspicuity - chief virtue of eloquence: less able people try to puff up and are compensating for some deficiency
- One should lower one's self to the pupil's level
- Consistency in teaching
Quintilian's caring for the students was unprecedented and many centuries following no one showed this much care investing in students.
Quintilian's definition of rhetoric/rhetorician:
- A good man speaking well, no man can be an orator if he is not a good man
- the art of oratory includes many other subjects (arts)
- a perfect orator must have all the excellences of character
- rhetoric includes the art (theory), artist and the speech
- Rhetoric is the science of speaking well
- Rhetoric is the action, not the result of the speech
Definition of rhetoric according to Quintilian: Art (set of principles), Artist (moral character) Speech (best possible, but not necessarily successful)
Rhetoric is the culmination of theory, speaker, and speech in action producing from the moral character and ability of the speaker, the best possible, but not successful by necessity, speech.
Rhetorical education includes:
I. Invention
- Arrangement
II. Eloquence
- Memory
- Delivery
III. Philosophical knowledge
IV. Historical knowledge
Stasis
Definition is vital to the proof used
"By settling what a thing is we have come near to determining its identity, for our purpose is to produce a definition that is applicable to our case" (221).
Reading and Writing Principles:
- Go over reading with care (when it well)
- Critical function guides reading, not ethos or pathos
- Read through from cover to cover, multiple times
- Memorize from your written paper
- Research the facts of the case
- Read only the best authors
- Don't assume that the author is perfect
- Poetry is good to read (Roman/Greek poetry: moral and philosophical in nature)
- Read history
- Read philosophy
Memory (Principles of)
- Importance of Memory
- Knowing the laws
- Knowing own speech
- Knowing opponents' words
- Writing aids memory. Memory aids association of place helps in memory
- Symbols
- Learning in pieces
- Practice and industry
- Dividing and ordering
Class Notes
Quintilian
Endowed chair of Rhetoric in 71 AD by the emperor
Believed that both the father and the mother are the primary teachers of the children. Must speak correctly and proper to one's own children and model lifelong learning.
Age 7 - Learn language
Age 14 - Grammar school
Then, rhetorical training.
Quintilian's principles for teaching (educational principles)
- Different ages ought to be corrected in different ways (more individualized)
- Caution against too much praise so it seems too false
- We imitate those we like, teacher has to be liked/respected so as to encourage imitation
- Teacher should have feeling of parent toward pupils (implies moral guidance)
- Avoid being so free of fault that you are free of merit
- Teacher need to "stoop" to teaching the details, must have the ability to give instruction in small matters even if the teacher has obtained great things
- Teacher ought to have a balance between being rough in correction and praise, a good teacher gives reasons why for correction
- don't expect perfection of style, but prefer exuberance and invention, not demanding perfection when it is unreasonable
- best teachers can teach the early things
- tenderness of teacher
- morals of teacher and classroom must first be established
- teachers ought to give exacting tasks, not long ones
- Don't let the students praise each other too much
- No mixed cohort
- Teacher shouldn't be superfluous in praising students
- Best teachers can teach the simple things
- Perspicuity - chief virtue of eloquence: less able people try to puff up and are compensating for some deficiency
- One should lower one's self to the pupil's level
- Consistency in teaching
Quintilian's caring for the students was unprecedented and many centuries following no one showed this much care investing in students.
Quintilian's definition of rhetoric/rhetorician:
- A good man speaking well, no man can be an orator if he is not a good man
- the art of oratory includes many other subjects (arts)
- a perfect orator must have all the excellences of character
- rhetoric includes the art (theory), artist and the speech
- Rhetoric is the science of speaking well
- Rhetoric is the action, not the result of the speech
Definition of rhetoric according to Quintilian: Art (set of principles), Artist (moral character) Speech (best possible, but not necessarily successful)
Rhetoric is the culmination of theory, speaker, and speech in action producing from the moral character and ability of the speaker, the best possible, but not successful by necessity, speech.
Rhetorical education includes:
I. Invention
- Arrangement
II. Eloquence
- Memory
- Delivery
III. Philosophical knowledge
IV. Historical knowledge
Stasis
Definition is vital to the proof used
"By settling what a thing is we have come near to determining its identity, for our purpose is to produce a definition that is applicable to our case" (221).
Reading and Writing Principles:
- Go over reading with care (when it well)
- Critical function guides reading, not ethos or pathos
- Read through from cover to cover, multiple times
- Memorize from your written paper
- Research the facts of the case
- Read only the best authors
- Don't assume that the author is perfect
- Poetry is good to read (Roman/Greek poetry: moral and philosophical in nature)
- Read history
- Read philosophy
Memory (Principles of)
- Importance of Memory
- Knowing the laws
- Knowing own speech
- Knowing opponents' words
- Writing aids memory. Memory aids association of place helps in memory
- Symbols
- Learning in pieces
- Practice and industry
- Dividing and ordering
Roman Rhetoric Review
(Originally written January 19, 2007 in Book 12)
I. Cicero's definition of rhetoric - all rhetoric is argument, any discussion of matters pertaining to citizenship (duty, moral character is implied)
II. Quintilian's definition of rhetoric: a good man speaking well, art (theory) guided by principles, artist guided by moral character and speech.
III. Cicero's Four Stages:
1) Fact
2) Definition
3) Qualitative
4) Translative
IV. Facilities the speaker needs according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium? The canon of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory.
V. What are the three things necessary for the education of a orator according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium?
1) Theory
2) Imitation
3) Proactive
VI. What are Cicero's requirements for an orator? Must be a citizen, must possess good tone and delivery; possess great dignity, pleasantry, and wit; must be fertile in argument and analogies; must know stasis theory; must instruct listeners, give him pleasure and stir his emotions.
VII. What are Quintilian's requirements of an orator? Must be a good man, must be trained, must possess exceptional gift of speech, must possess a sort of phronesis to make wise decisions on a daily basis; must possess the virtues of courage, justice and self-control; must possess strong memory.
VIII. Cicero's four ways of arguing assumptive issues:
1) Confession and avoidance
2) Shifting the charge
3) Retort of accusation
4) Comparison
IX. Cicero's three styles of oration:
1) Dignified
2) Middle
3) Plain
X. Quintilian's primary stasis point - definition
XI. Significant contributions
A. Cicero
- Stasis theory (outlined it thoroughly)
- Rhetoric as argument
- Critiqued other rhetorician's style
- 3 levels of style
B. Quintilian
- Modifies pupil/teacher relationship
- Exhaustive philosophy of rhetorical education
- treatment of reading and writing
- treatment of memory
I. Cicero's definition of rhetoric - all rhetoric is argument, any discussion of matters pertaining to citizenship (duty, moral character is implied)
II. Quintilian's definition of rhetoric: a good man speaking well, art (theory) guided by principles, artist guided by moral character and speech.
III. Cicero's Four Stages:
1) Fact
2) Definition
3) Qualitative
4) Translative
IV. Facilities the speaker needs according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium? The canon of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory.
V. What are the three things necessary for the education of a orator according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium?
1) Theory
2) Imitation
3) Proactive
VI. What are Cicero's requirements for an orator? Must be a citizen, must possess good tone and delivery; possess great dignity, pleasantry, and wit; must be fertile in argument and analogies; must know stasis theory; must instruct listeners, give him pleasure and stir his emotions.
VII. What are Quintilian's requirements of an orator? Must be a good man, must be trained, must possess exceptional gift of speech, must possess a sort of phronesis to make wise decisions on a daily basis; must possess the virtues of courage, justice and self-control; must possess strong memory.
VIII. Cicero's four ways of arguing assumptive issues:
1) Confession and avoidance
2) Shifting the charge
3) Retort of accusation
4) Comparison
IX. Cicero's three styles of oration:
1) Dignified
2) Middle
3) Plain
X. Quintilian's primary stasis point - definition
XI. Significant contributions
A. Cicero
- Stasis theory (outlined it thoroughly)
- Rhetoric as argument
- Critiqued other rhetorician's style
- 3 levels of style
B. Quintilian
- Modifies pupil/teacher relationship
- Exhaustive philosophy of rhetorical education
- treatment of reading and writing
- treatment of memory
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Introduction to De Officiis
(Originally written January 18, 2007 in Book 8)
So, I escaped logic, surviving it with a "C". But, that was last semester. Now, it is J-Term and "Classical Rhetoric". I'm working on researching a topic for a paper on Roman rhetoric and have hit a brick wall. I liked my essay on episteme and doxa in Georgian rhetoric, but I'm tired of dealing with knowledge and epistemology. I am going to read Cicero's On Duties.
On Duties
Cicero
translated by M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins
Cambridge University Press: NY, NY. 2004.
Introduction
So, I escaped logic, surviving it with a "C". But, that was last semester. Now, it is J-Term and "Classical Rhetoric". I'm working on researching a topic for a paper on Roman rhetoric and have hit a brick wall. I liked my essay on episteme and doxa in Georgian rhetoric, but I'm tired of dealing with knowledge and epistemology. I am going to read Cicero's On Duties.
On Duties
Cicero
translated by M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins
Cambridge University Press: NY, NY. 2004.
Introduction
- Marcus Tullius Cicero was born in 106 B.C.
- He was a 'new man', the first of his family to hold public office.
- He was from Arpinum
- Cicero and his brother, Quintus, were taught by L. Licinius Crassus
- He studied under the Stoic Diodotus and the head of the Academy, Philo of Larissa.
- He then traveled to Greece to study. There he encountered the philosophers Antiochus of Escalon and the Stoic polymath, Posidonius
- Cicero adhered to Philo of Larissa's skeptical teaching: "rejecting the possibility of certain knowledge and asserting his right to adopt what position seemed most persuasive on any occasion" (x)
- His first public office was quaestor (financial officer) of Sicily.
- He rose to consul in 63 B.C. at the age of 43.
- The political shift to militarism took some of his power and he began to write
- "Cicero had once suggested to his brother that his consulship was the realization of Plato's dream of the philosopher ruler" (xi).
- Cicero sided with Pompey in the last days of the Republic, but was pardoned by Caesar.
- He was one of the first to attempt philosophy in Latin.
The Political Context of De Officiis
Written post-assassination of Caesar, Cicero attempts to justify tyrannicide. He believed Caesar wanted tyrannical power, was bent on revolutionary social policy, was economically irresponsible and was distrusting of his clemency.
He then turned on Antony, whom he believed ought to have been assassinated with Caesar.
Above all, he wanted to restore/uphold the Republic.
His chastising of Antony in the Philippic Orations led to his downfall.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Notes on Roman Rhetoric
(Originally written January 17, 2007)
Readings from Classical Rhetoric
Edited by: Patricia P. Matsen, Philip Rollingen, Marion Sousa
pp 161-167
Greco-Roman Rhetoric
The Hellenistic culture had a profound effect upon the Roman world.
Greek education, including rhetoric was incorporated into Roman life. After being tutored privately, middle class and wealthy youths went to pursue advanced rhetoric education at either Athens, Rhodes or Pergamum.
Rhetoric ad Herennium
author: unknown
Overview of Rhetoric
Anything of speaking is useless without continuous practice.
"The task of the public speaker is to discuss capably these matters which law and custom have fixed for the uses of citizenship, and to secure as far as possible the agreement of his hearers" (16).
Three types of speech:
1) Epideictic - praise or blame
2) Deliberative - policy making
3) Judicial - legal controversies
A speaker should possess the faculties of:
1) Invention - devising of matter
2) Arrangement - ordering of the matter
3) Style - adaptation of words
4) Memory - firm retention of the matter, words and arrangement
5) Delivery - graceful regulation of voice, countenance and gesture
The faculties needed are acquired by:
1) Theory - definite method and system of speaking
2) Imitation
3) Practice - exercise
Introductions
Introductions must match type of speech.
Two kinds of introductions:
1) The Direct Opening (Greek: Prooimion)
2) The subtle Approach (Ephodos)
The Direct Opening prepares the hearer to attend to the speech.
If the subject matter of the speech is controversial, the Direct opening will be based on good-will so that "the discreditable part of the cause cannot be prejudicial to us" (164).
There are four ways to make the hearer well-disposed
1) Discussing one's own person
2) Discussing the person of one's adversaries
3) Discussing the person of one's hearers
4) Discussing the facts themselves
There are three occasions when one cannot use the Direct Opening:
1) When the cause is discreditable
2) When the subject alienates the hearer from the speaker
3) When the hearer has become wearied by listening to the previous speakers
If the subject has a discreditable character make the introduction with the following points:
1) The agent, not the action, ought to be considered
2) When the agent/speaker is displeased with the acts of one's opponents
If the hearers are fatigued, one should open with something that may provoke laughter
Conclusions
Conclusions (Greek: Epilogoi) are tripartite
1) Summing up
2) Amplification
3) Appeal to Pity
A conclusion can be used in four places:
1) At the end of the direct opening
2) after the statement of facts
3) after the strongest argument
4) at the conclusion of the speech
Summing up includes recalling of the main points briefly
Amplification is the principle of using common places to stir the hearers.
The first common place is taken from authority.
The second common place is used when we consider who are affected by these acts.
The third common place is asking what would happen if the same indulgence should be granted to all culprits.
The fourth common place is indulging the man
The fifth common place is one judgment is pronounced otherwise than as we urge.
The sixth common place we show that the act was done with premeditation.
The seventh common place is to show it as a crime.
The eighth common place is to show that a common crime is unique.
The ninth common place consists of a comparison of wrongs.
The tenth common place is a sharp examination.
Readings from Classical Rhetoric
Edited by: Patricia P. Matsen, Philip Rollingen, Marion Sousa
pp 161-167
Greco-Roman Rhetoric
The Hellenistic culture had a profound effect upon the Roman world.
Greek education, including rhetoric was incorporated into Roman life. After being tutored privately, middle class and wealthy youths went to pursue advanced rhetoric education at either Athens, Rhodes or Pergamum.
Rhetoric ad Herennium
author: unknown
Overview of Rhetoric
Anything of speaking is useless without continuous practice.
"The task of the public speaker is to discuss capably these matters which law and custom have fixed for the uses of citizenship, and to secure as far as possible the agreement of his hearers" (16).
Three types of speech:
1) Epideictic - praise or blame
2) Deliberative - policy making
3) Judicial - legal controversies
A speaker should possess the faculties of:
1) Invention - devising of matter
2) Arrangement - ordering of the matter
3) Style - adaptation of words
4) Memory - firm retention of the matter, words and arrangement
5) Delivery - graceful regulation of voice, countenance and gesture
The faculties needed are acquired by:
1) Theory - definite method and system of speaking
2) Imitation
3) Practice - exercise
Introductions
Introductions must match type of speech.
Two kinds of introductions:
1) The Direct Opening (Greek: Prooimion)
2) The subtle Approach (Ephodos)
The Direct Opening prepares the hearer to attend to the speech.
If the subject matter of the speech is controversial, the Direct opening will be based on good-will so that "the discreditable part of the cause cannot be prejudicial to us" (164).
There are four ways to make the hearer well-disposed
1) Discussing one's own person
2) Discussing the person of one's adversaries
3) Discussing the person of one's hearers
4) Discussing the facts themselves
There are three occasions when one cannot use the Direct Opening:
1) When the cause is discreditable
2) When the subject alienates the hearer from the speaker
3) When the hearer has become wearied by listening to the previous speakers
If the subject has a discreditable character make the introduction with the following points:
1) The agent, not the action, ought to be considered
2) When the agent/speaker is displeased with the acts of one's opponents
If the hearers are fatigued, one should open with something that may provoke laughter
Conclusions
Conclusions (Greek: Epilogoi) are tripartite
1) Summing up
2) Amplification
3) Appeal to Pity
A conclusion can be used in four places:
1) At the end of the direct opening
2) after the statement of facts
3) after the strongest argument
4) at the conclusion of the speech
Summing up includes recalling of the main points briefly
Amplification is the principle of using common places to stir the hearers.
The first common place is taken from authority.
The second common place is used when we consider who are affected by these acts.
The third common place is asking what would happen if the same indulgence should be granted to all culprits.
The fourth common place is indulging the man
The fifth common place is one judgment is pronounced otherwise than as we urge.
The sixth common place we show that the act was done with premeditation.
The seventh common place is to show it as a crime.
The eighth common place is to show that a common crime is unique.
The ninth common place consists of a comparison of wrongs.
The tenth common place is a sharp examination.
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