Three categories of ancient literature and how to decide what to read

Three categories of ancient literature:

1. Authors who are useful (but should be pre-read)

Generally speaking, the more useful works are found in the categories of history, geography, biography, oratory, rhetoric, logic, grammar, science, medicine, mathematics, architecture, military, agriculture, and fables. We recommend that they be pre-read by parents. Remember, all of these works are written from a pagan worldview, so none of them can be considered truly “neutral.”

–Historians, Geographers, & Biographers

Ammianus

Appian of Alexandria

Aristotle

Arrian

Augustus

Dio Cassius

Diodorus Siculus

Diogenes Laertius

Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Eusebius

Eutropius

Herodian

Herodotus

Josephus

Julian the Apostate

Julius Caesar

Justin

Livy

Lucan

Nepos

Nicolaus of Damascus

Pausanias

Philo

Plutarch

Polybius

Priscus

Quintus Curtius

Sallust

Socrates Scholasticus

Sozomen

Strabo

Suetonius

Tacitus

Theodoret

Theodosius II

Thucydides

Velleius

Xenophon

–Orators

Aeschines

Antiphon

Cicero

Demosthenes

Dio Chrysostom

Isocrates

Lysias

Pericles (included in Thucydides)

Pliny the Younger

–Rhetoricians, Logicians, & Grammarians

Aristotle

Cicero

Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Gellius

Quintilian

Varro

–Scientists, Physicians, Mathematicians, Architects, Military, & Agriculture

Aristarchus

Aristotle

Archimedes

Cato the Elder

Celsus

Eratosthenes

Euclid

Frontinus

Galen

Hippocrates

Nicomachus of Gerasa

Pliny the Elder

Varro

Vegetius

Vitruvius

–Fables

Aesop

Avianus

2. Authors for mature christians

After they are firmly grounded in Christian philosophy and theology, more mature Christians may read the philosophers and the Christian apologists. Remember, there is nothing truly neutral about the philosophers, and even the Christian apologists have many unbiblical ideas in their thinking.

–Philosophers

Anaxagorus

Anaximander

Aristotle

Cicero – Stoic

Epictetus – Stoic

Epicurus – founder of Epicurean school

Lucretius – Epicurean

Marcus Aurelius – Stoic

Philo – Jewish

Plato

Pyrrho – founder of Skeptic school

Pythagoras

Seneca – Stoic

Socrates (found in Plato and Xenophon)

Thales – first philosopher

Xenophon – follower of Socrates

Zeno – founder of Stoic school

–Christian apologists (Some of these writings may be appropriate for younger students, but many of these writings are philosophical in nature.)

Ambrose

Aristides

Athanasius

Augustine

Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Rome

Commodianus

Cyprian

Ignatius

Irenaeus

Jerome

John Chrysostom

Justin Martyr

Lactantius

Origen

Prudentius

Salvian

Tertullian

Theodore

3. Authors with much questionable and graphic content

With few exceptions, the poets, satirists, tragedians, and comedians wrote questionable and graphic content which is simply inappropriate. Mature adults who have a special purpose may find a need to handle this material, but put on the chore boots first, and take a thorough

shower after you’re finished.

–Poets and Satirists (Some exceptions: The political poetry of Solon and Tyrtaeus is useful. Virgil’s Georgics may be useful. Lucian’s Life of Peregrinus is useful.)

Catullus

Hesiod

Homer

Horace

Juvenal

Lucian of Samosata

Lucilius

Martial

Menander

Ovid

Pindar

Sappho

Solon

Theocritus

Tyrtaeus

Virgil

–Tragedians and Comedians (Exception: The historical play The Persians by Aeschylus may be useful.)

Accius

Aeschylus

Aristophanes

Ennius

Euripides

Pacuvius

Plautus

Seneca

Sophocles

Terence

A few general comments on authors and literature:

Many persons begin in classical literature with the fables of Aesop (Greek) and Avianus (Latin). These are suitable for all ages, young and old.

Some literature suitable for ages ten and up:

Caesar – Gallic War and Civil War

Josephus – War of the Jews

Xenophon – Anabasis

Some literature suitable for ages twelve and up:

Ammianus – The History

Appian of Alexandria – The Roman History

Arrian – Anabasis of Alexander

Cato the Elder – On Agriculture

Eusebius – The History of the Church

Gellius – Attic Nights

Herodotus – The History of the Persian Wars

Julian the Apostate – Letters

Livy – The Early History of Rome

Pliny the Elder – Natural History

Plutarch – Lives

Quintus Curtius – History of Alexander

Socrates Scholasticus – History of the Church

The works of Xenophon are a mixed bag. Some are appropriate for even a ten-year-old (Anabasis), while others are quite inappropriate (Symposium). On the Deaths of the Persecutors, by the Christian apologist Lactantius, is more historical than philosophical, and may be read profitably by students age twelve and up. Most of Herodotus may be fine to read for students age twelve and up, but the very beginning and other short sections of Book 1 may be skipped because of content. Aristotle’s historical work (The Athenian Constitution) and his works on natural history (History of Animals, On the Parts of Animals, etc.) may be valuable for students age twelve and up, while his works on logic (Categories, Prior Analytics, etc.) and physics (Physics, On the Heavens, etc.) are better suited for rhetoric-level students. We suggest that Aristotle’s philosophical works (Metaphysics, Politics, Nicomachean Ethics) be reserved for mature Christians with a good foundation in theology and with sharpened analytical and critical skills. Cicero is listed among orators, rhetoricians, and philosophers, but his letters provide us with much valuable historical information, so he could also be listed under historians. Most of Cicero’s works are appropriate for students age twelve and up, except perhaps his Stoic philosophical works (On the State, On the Supreme Good and Evil, etc.), which could be left for the mature Christian. The mythological works and love poetry (works of Homer, Sappho, Ovid, Martial, Juvenal etc.) have a great reputation with the world, and that is one very strong reason for the Christian to handle them with utmost caution. There is no question that Hesiod and Homer are fundamental to understanding Greek culture, but that is no justification for sacrificing the tender conscience of a child to their fantasies, brutalities, and perversions. Historical poetry and plays (The Persians by Aeschylus, the political poetry of Solon) can be read by ages twelve and up.