Patrice's comments (member since Jun 09, 2009)

Patrice's comments from the Classics and the Western Canon group.

I would love to read Emile sometime. If I remember correctly he had a lot of children, none of which he actually raised. He was quite a guy. But part of me loves what he had to say. It's very romantic and parts of it very true, I think.

I agree about Rousseau. He was just imagining to serve a political purpose.

I thought Diamond was doing the same thing only calling it science.

Just popping in with my two cents worth. I did not like Guns, Germs and Steel. I recently took a course on "First cities" at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chciago. The professor was the director of the Institute. I could not resist asking him what he thought of the book. He did not like it either. No one knows for sure how the first cities evolved. There are many theories. But his idea resonated with me. His hunch is that people came together to mediate disputes. He's worked for some time in Syria and has noticed how the local people come to a central location and discuss their disputes with their leaders. I thought this was a terrific insight. Even on the net, we need a moderator.
Conflicts can arise even in cyber-land, where absolutely nothing is at stake.;-)

Patrice wrote: "Everyman wrote: "Audrey wrote: "On another note, I think it might be interesting to try to go chronologically in, say, six month cycles. "

This is the general approach that the reading plan for th..."



grahamschool.uchicago.edu/programs/basicprogram/reading-list

hope this works!

Yet your internet did not go down!

That must be such a shock! However, I have to admit the thought of such a big fir tree so near the house makes me envious. Was the two-story library hit?

As long as no one was hurt, that's all that matters. Take care.

Everyman wrote: "Audrey wrote: "On another note, I think it might be interesting to try to go chronologically in, say, six month cycles. "

This is the general approach that the reading plan for the Great Books fol..."



While I do like the chronological approach, there's also the conceptual approach which can be really exciting. For instance, "justice", or "freedom". Sometimes two works that seem very unrelated by time and place can really be saying the same thing, or very different things about the same concept. The U of Chicago Basic program tends to use this approach.

I think you were going that way with the interim reading of Emerson, eman.

This discussion reminds me of Don Quixote. I'm sure in his time and place Amadis of Gaul was considered a "classic". It was influential, it was considered the best of a genre. But we generally don't read it today. Why? My guess is that it's because it is not something that can be related to four hundred years later. What it has to say is bound by it's place and time. There is nothing universal in it's message. And maybe, the ideas in it were just not true. Yet, four hundred years later, we're still reading Don Quixote.

Fashions come and go but genius remains. The time cut-off, imo, is just a way to see if the perceived genius of the time remains so when pulled out of the time. When I was in school in the 60's "relevancy" was all the rage. The students wanted to dictate curricuum and the administrations caved. So, long lists of of books about urban unrest were assigned. None of them are read or remembered today. What a waste that was. I realize i'm preaching to the choir here. I just thought I'd throw out some unfinished thoughts, and make Stringfellow Barr happy. ;-)

Uh-oh, I posted the edition on a different thread! Sorry.

Everyman wrote: "Patrice wrote: "Just wondering if any St. John's alumni on here have ever had Lawrence Berns as a professor? I went to his lecture on the Meno today. It was wonderful. He has come out with a new..."

Berns is in his 80's and I think he was at St. John's from the 50's until his retirement. Too bad you missed him, he's a sweet man and an impressive scholar.

Time does march on and sometimes I lose track. The last time I read CT was in high school in the 60's so anything published since then I consider "new". The edition I was assigned this time around was the Bantam edited, introduced and translated by Peter G. Beidler. It provides the middle English on the left page and the modern translation on the right so it's easy to compare and for a purist to read the original. When I was in high school we were only given the original and it was quite a chore to read. I actually enjoyed reading it this time around.

Just wondering if any St. John's alumni on here have ever had Lawrence Berns as a professor? I went to his lecture on the Meno today. It was wonderful. He has come out with a new translation. More than that he seemed to be such an nice man!

I absolutely love the new translation of CT. It was a huge surprise and a delight to read!

So sorry to hear of your health problems Gerald. I'm happy to hear that you're back to reading again.

Ooooo! How exciting! Welcome!

Terrific article Eman. I've printed it out and will read it carefully. Thanks!

Anyone read Plutarch's description of Cleopatra on the Nile? Shakespeare copied it almost exactly, just putting it into iambic pentameter.

A teacher would have given him an F!

I'll have to check again but I think what I read said that Prospero and his enchanted island may have been "inspired" by DQ, not that Prospero was DQ. I think it was a hunch, not a fact. But thanks for the feedback, they're good points and I can see what you're saying about the differences. DQ himself has so many interpretations that there were many ways that Shakespeare could have been inspired.

I just realized something, my favorite line from The Tempest "we're the stuff that dreams are made of", that really does seem to come from DQ.

I just read that one of the first to read the English translation of DQ was Shakespeare! Some think DQ was the inspiration for Prospero in the Tempest.

Maybe because Cervantes wrote it while incarcerated?

I'm glad to see you're as obsessed as I am! It's still rolling around in my mind and I agree, the depths are endless. I've been reading Plato lately and I just keep thinking about DQ. I just see him everywhere.

Anyone who wants to know what it's like to live in a society where free thought is non-existent should read "Inside the Kingdom" by Carmen Bin Laden. I will never think of Saudi Arabia in the same way.