Roman Lives: A Selection of Eight Lives (Oxford World's Classics)

Sima Qian, K. E. Brashier, Raymond Dawson

'the Following Year Qin Unified All Under Heaven And The Title Of August Emperor Was Immediately Adopted.' The Short-lived Qin Dynasty Unified China In 221 Bc And Created An Imperial Legacy That Lasted Until 1911. The Extraordinary Story Of The First Emperor, Founder Of The Dynasty, Is Told In The Historical Records Of Sima Qian, The Grand Historiographer And The Most Famous Chinese Historian. He Describes The Emperor's Birth And The Assassination Attempt On His Life, As Well As The Political And Often Brutal Events That Led To The Founding Of The Dynasty And Its Aftermath. Sima Qian Recounts The Building Of The Great Wall, The 'burning Of The Books', And The Construction Of The First Emperor's Magnificent Tomb, A Tomb Now World Famous Since The Discovery Of The Terracotta Warriors In 1974. Sima Qian's Love Of Anecdote Ensures That His History Is Never Dull, And Raymond Dawson's Fluent Translation Captures His Lively And Vivid Style. Chronicling Recent Archaeological Developments And Questioning Sima Qian's Biases, K. E. Brashier's Preface Highlights The Importance Of The Grand Historiographer's Account And Dawson's Translation In The Twenty-first Century. Lire plus…

Pindar; Edited Stephen Instone; Translated Anthony Verity

The Greek poet Pindar (c. 518-428 BC) composed victory odes for winners in the ancient Games, including the Olympics. The Odes contain versions of some of the best known Greek myths and are also a valuable source for Greek religion and ethics. Verity's lucid translations are complemented by insights into competition, myth, and meaning. - ;'we can speak of no greater contest than Olympia' The Greek poet Pindar (c. 518-428 BC) composed victory odes for winners in the ancient Games, including the Olympics. He celebrated the victories of athletes competing in foot races, horse races, boxing, wrestling, all-in fighting and the pentathlon, and his Odes are fascinating not only for their poetic qualities, but for what they tell us about the Games. Pindar praises the victor by comparing him to mythical heroes and the gods, but also reminds the athlete of his human limitations. The Odes contain versions of some of the best known Greek myths, such as Jason and the Argonauts, and Perseus and Medusa, and are a valuable source for Greek religion and ethics. Pindar's startling use of language - striking metaphors, bold syntax, enigmatic expressions - makes reading his poetry a uniquely rewarding experience. Anthony Verity's lucid translations are complemented by an introduction and notes that provide insight into competition, myth, and meaning. - Lire plus…

Plato, Robin Waterfield (Translator)

\_I have heard some call this work a confused jumble of unrelated concepts. These people just didn't get it. There is one unified theme to the Phaedrus: without a deep connection to the soul and to the higher Reality only accessible to the soul, then all human endeavors are in error. \_The first part of the dialogue deals with three speeches on the topic of love. This is used only as an example and is not the primary theme (though it is an extremely thorough and compelling examination of the subject.) The first speech (by Lysias) is clearly in error- it is badly composed, badly reasoned, and supports what is clearly the wrong conclusion. The second speech (by Socrates), while an impeccable model of correct rhetoric, and reaching the correct conclusion is also essentially flawed- for it makes no appeal to the deepest fundamental causes of things. Simply put, it lacks soul. The third argument (attributed to Stesichorus) however, delves deeply into the soul. In fact, the core of the argument is centered around the proof of the existence and nature of the soul. That is the consistency here- unless you are Philosopher enough to have looked deeply within your own soul, to have made contact (recollection) with ultimate Reality (Justice, Wisdom, Beauty, Temperance, etc.) then your arguments are just empty words- even if you are accidentally on the correct side. \_The second part of the dialogue concentrates on showing how true rhetoric is more than "empty rhetoric" (i.e. just... Lire plus…

Translated With An Introduction And Notes By Cyril Edwards

When the upcoming publication of this new translation was announced, I wondered how it would compare with Hatto's translation from the 1960s. The short answer is: it is more literal, keeping closer to the sentence-for-sentence structure of the original Middle High German poem. This makes it seem perhaps a bit choppy or less polished than Hatto. That is not to say it is not as good, however; I like that it keeps very close to the original. The introductory matter and appendices are relatively slight. The introduction briefly covers the basics, then has a couple of short sections on interesting tangents having to do with modern derivative works. In places, the introduction and appendices are a bit unclear. The notes to specific words and lines are helpful and interesting. I would have preferred that they be presented as footnotes rather than end notes, but that is a minor quibble. If you want to read the story, either this or Hatto's translation will serve you well. For more voluminous editorial material, get Hatto. For a more literal rendering, get this one. Lire plus…

Denis Diderot; Translated With An Introduction And Notes By Russell Goulbourne

Who would have thought that this simple book with its bare title about a fully clothed nun is truly an expressive story. If not Voltaire, who could have written a more satirical episode on clerical life. Diderot is just as striking! This man of letters is stylish in his writing and a faithful epitome of French Enlightenment. In the old days convent is an ideal haven for ecclesiastical women and a suitable refuge for old maids. Parents who can not produce sufficient dowry also send their daughters to monasteries to wed the putative bachelor. This is what happens to the heroine Suzanne Simonin. Her mother treats her harshly because she is the product of her extra marital affair. Against her will she is to become a nun so as not to have claim on the inheritance of her legitimate sisters. Once in the convent she meets the chief nun who later smothers her not with compassion but with unjust punishments. Suzanne in the true sense of the word is more pious than the Mother Superior. Each time she moves from one convent to another the atrocities she suffers intensify. This story will make you weep particularly when such brutalities happen in consecrated place. Meanwhile this sort of vocation and establishment coexist thereby you finish the story with feeling of disgust. This will change however when you read the preface which is written at the end of the story. It explains the origin of the novel and it will surprise you how cleverly Diderot crafted it. Although he... Lire plus…

Virgil; Translated By Peter Fallon; With An Introduction And Notes By Elaine Fantham

Peter Fallon's translation seems anything but stilted--earthy, colorful, rhythmical, it is sheer delight. I wasn't sure at first whether a long didactic poem on agriculture would be gripping, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading the "Georgics." Many of Virgil's images and descriptions of nature are meltingly beautiful, and the deeper philosophical stratum of this work produces a constant intellecutal tension--ultimately, this poem investigates to what extent "the good life" is possible in this world, what is the balance between good and evil, to what extent our good efforts and labors are rewarded, how we are to position ourselves spiritually in this ambiguous, hard-to-understand universe... From an ecological standpoint, Virgil examines how we are to relate and live in harmony with our environment. Many mythological stories are woven in, and Peter Fallon's notes help one understand historical and mythological allusions without any problem. The poem really is just brimming over with interesting content, and reading it to me felt like an utterly pleasurable meditative exercise. And I am truly grateful to Fallon for bringing this poem to me in a wonderfully "natural" and vivid translation, the best translation of the "Georgics" that I have been able to find. I read the "Georgics" partly in order to understand Willa Cather's novels better, which allude to and are deeply influenced by this poem. Her works truly cannot be fully understood without a clear awareness of the... Lire plus…

Thomas Hardy; Edited With An Introduction And Notes By Patricia Ingham

Hardy's last and most controversial novel, Jude the Obscure caused much outrage when it was published in 1895. Jude Fawley, poor and working-class, longs to study at the University of Christminster, but his ambitions to go to university are thwarted by class prejudice and his entrapment in a loveless marriage. He falls in love with his unconventional cousin, Sue Bridehead, and their refusal to marry when free to do so confirms their rejection of and by the world around them. The shocking fate that overtakes them is an indictment of a rigid and uncaring society. This is the first truly critical edition, taking account of the changes that Hardy made over twenty-five years. Hardy's last, and most controversial novel, this revised edition has the first truly critical text, a new chronology and bibliography, and substantially revised notes. Lire plus…

Samuel Johnson, John Mullan Mullan

Contents......Page 6 Introduction......Page 8 Note on the Text......Page 31 Select Bibliography......Page 32 A Chronology of Samuel Johnson......Page 34 THE LIVES OF THE POETS......Page 36 Advertisement......Page 38 Cowley......Page 40 Milton......Page 89 Rochester......Page 150 Dryden......Page 156 Congreve......Page 253 Gay......Page 264 Savage......Page 273 Swift......Page 353 Pope......Page 382 Gray......Page 487 Appendix......Page 497 Explanatory Notes......Page 499 Lire plus…

Plutarch; Bernadotte Perrin (Trans.)

Plutarch (Plutarchus), ca. 45–120 CE, was born at Chaeronea in Boeotia in central Greece, studied philosophy at Athens, and, after coming to Rome as a teacher in philosophy, was given consular rank by the emperor Trajan and a procuratorship in Greece by Hadrian. He was married and the father of one daughter and four sons. He appears as a man of kindly character and independent thought, studious and learned. Plutarch wrote on many subjects. Most popular have always been the 46 Parallel Lives , biographies planned to be ethical examples in pairs (in each pair, one Greek figure and one similar Roman), though the last four lives are single. All are invaluable sources of our knowledge of the lives and characters of Greek and Roman statesmen, soldiers and orators. Plutarch's many other varied extant works, about 60 in number, are known as Moralia or Moral Essays. They are of high literary value, besides being of great use to people interested in philosophy, ethics and religion. The Loeb Classical Library edition of the Lives is in eleven volumes. Lire plus…

Plutarch; Bernadotte Perrin (Trans.)

Plutarch (Plutarchus), ca. 45–120 CE, was born at Chaeronea in Boeotia in central Greece, studied philosophy at Athens, and, after coming to Rome as a teacher in philosophy, was given consular rank by the emperor Trajan and a procuratorship in Greece by Hadrian. He was married and the father of one daughter and four sons. He appears as a man of kindly character and independent thought, studious and learned. Plutarch wrote on many subjects. Most popular have always been the 46 Parallel Lives , biographies planned to be ethical examples in pairs (in each pair, one Greek figure and one similar Roman), though the last four lives are single. All are invaluable sources of our knowledge of the lives and characters of Greek and Roman statesmen, soldiers and orators. Plutarch's many other varied extant works, about 60 in number, are known as Moralia or Moral Essays. They are of high literary value, besides being of great use to people interested in philosophy, ethics and religion. The Loeb Classical Library edition of the Lives is in eleven volumes. Lire plus…

Thucydides, Martin Hammond, P. J. Rhodes

"The greatest historian that ever lived." Such was Macaulay's assessment of Thucydides (c. 460-400 BC) and his history of the Peloponnesian War, the momentous struggle between Athens and Sparta that lasted for twenty-seven years from 431 to 404 BC, involved virtually the whole of the Greek world, and ended in the fall of Athens. A participant in the war himself, Thucydides brings to his history an awesome intellect, brilliant narrative, and penetrating analysis of the nature of power, as it affects both states and individuals. Of the prose writers of the ancient world, Thucydides has had more lasting influence on western thought than all but Plato and Aristotle. This new edition combines a masterly new translation by Martin Hammond with comprehensive supporting material, including summaries of individual Books; textual notes; a comprehensive analytical index; an appendix on weights, measures and distances, money, and calendars; ten maps; an up-to-date bibliography; and an illuminating introduction by P.J. Rhodes. Booknews Lucid line drawings and photos, 16 in fine color. Based on some 15 years of study and collection in both polar regions and most areas of the tropics and temperate zones. Detailed treatment is given on all known pelagic snails (aoubt 140 species) including: external anatomy, swimming and buoyancy mechanisms, escape and other behavioral responses, feeding and mating habits, reproduction and ontogeny, and evolutionary trends for each group. Reprint of the... Lire plus…

C.p. Cavafy, Anthony Hirst, Peter Mackridge

"A Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe." E. M. Forster's famous description of C. P. Cavafy--the most widely known and best loved modern Greek poet--perfectly captures the unique perspective Cavafy brought to bear on history and geography, sexuality and language. Cavafy wrote about people on the periphery, whose religious, ethnic and cultural identities are blurred, and he was one of the pioneers in expressing a specifically homosexual sensibility. His poems present brief and vivid evocations of historical scenes and sensual moments, often infused with his distinctive sense of irony. They have established him as one of the most important poets of the twentieth century. The only bilingual edition of Cavafy's collected poems currently available, this volume presents the most authentic Greek text of every poem he ever published, together with a new English translation that beautifully conveys the accent and rhythm of Cavafy's individual tone of voice. In addition, the volume includes an extensive introduction by Peter Mackridge, explanatory notes that gloss Greek historical names and events alluded to in the poems, a chronological list of the poems, and indexes of Greek and English titles. Lire plus…

Cornelius Tacitus, Anthony A. Barrett

Here is a lively new translation of Cornelius Tacitus' timeless history of three of Rome's most memorable emperors. Tacitus, who condemns the depravity of these rulers, which he saw as proof of the corrupting force of absolute power, writes caustically of the brutal and lecherous Tiberius, the weak and cuckolded Claudius, and "the artist" Nero. In particular, his gripping account of the bloody reigns of Tiberius and Nero brims with plots, murder, poisoning, suicide, uprisings, death, and destruction. The Annals also provides a vivid account of the violent suppression of the revolt led by Boudicca in Britain, the great fire of Rome under Nero, and the subsequent bloody persecution of the Christians. J. C. Yardley's translation is vivid without sacrificing accuracy, and is based on the recent Latin Heubner text, with variations noted in an appendix. Anthony A. Barrett's introduction and notes provide invaluable historical and cultural context. This superb edition also includes maps, a glossary of Roman terms and place names, and a full index of names and places. Lire plus…

Cicero; Translated With Introductions And Notes By D.h. Berry

'Two things alone I long for: first, that when I die I may leave the Roman people free...and second, that each person's fate may reflect the way he has behaved towards his country.' Cicero (106-43 BC) was the greatest orator of the ancient world and a leading politician of the closing era of the Roman republic. This book presents nine speeches which reflect the development, variety, and drama of his political career,among them two speeches from his prosecution of Verres, a corrupt and cruel governor of Sicily; four speeches against the conspirator Catiline; and the Second Philippic, the famous denunciation of Mark Antony which cost Cicero his life. Also included are On the Command of Gnaeus Pompeius, in which he praises the military successes of Pompey, and For Marcellus, a panegyric in praise of the dictator Julius Caesar. These new translations preserve Cicero's rhetorical brilliance and achieve new standards of accuracy. A general introduction outlines Cicero's public career, and separate introductions explain the political significance of each of the speeches. Together with its companion volume, Defence Speeches, this edition provides an unparalleled sampling of Cicero's oratorical achievements. Lire plus…

Plutarch; Translated By Robin Waterfield; With Introductions And Notes By Philip A. Stadter

Lycurgus, Pericles, Solon, Nicias, Themistocles, Alcibiades, Cimon, Agesilaus, Alexander `I treat the narrative of the Lives as a kind of mirror... The experience is like nothing so much as spending time in their company and living with them: I receive and welcome each of them in turn as my guest.' In the nine lives of this collection Plutarch introduces the reader to the major figures and periods of classical Greece. He portrays virtues to be emulated and vices to be avoided, but his purpose is also implicitly to educate and warn those in his own day who wielded power. In prose that is rich, elegant and sprinkled with learned references, he explores with an extraordinary degree of insight the interplay of character and political action. While drawing chiefly on historical sources, he brings to biography a natural story-teller's ear for a good anecdote. Throughout the ages Plutarch's Lives have been valued for their historical value and their charm. This new translation will introduce new generations to his urbane erudition. The most comprehensive selection available, it is accompanied by a lucid introduction, explanatory notes, bibliographies, maps and indexes. Lire plus…

Plutarch; Bernadotte Perrin (Trans.)

Plutarch (c. 45-120 CE) wrote on many subjects. His forty-six Parallel Lives are biographies planned to be ethical examples in pairs, one Greek figure and one similar Roman, though the last four lives are single. They not only record careers and illustrious deeds but also offer rounded portraits of statesmen, orators, and military leaders. Plutarch (Plutarchus), ca. 45-120 CE, was born at Chaeronea in Boeotia in central Greece, studied philosophy at Athens, and, after coming to Rome as a teacher in philosophy, was given consular rank by the emperor Trajan and a procuratorship in Greece by Hadrian. He was married and the father of one daughter and four sons. He appears as a man of kindly character and independent thought, studious and learned. Plutarch wrote on many subjects. Most popular have always been the 46 Parallel Lives, biographies planned to be ethical examples in pairs (in each pair, one Greek figure and one similar Roman), though the last four lives are single. All are invaluable sources of our knowledge of the lives and characters of Greek and Roman statesmen, soldiers and orators. Plutarch's many other varied extant works, about 60 in number, are known as Moralia or Moral Essays. They are of high literary value, besides being of great use to people interested in philosophy, ethics and religion. The Loeb Classical Library edition of the Lives is in eleven volumes Lire plus…

Plutarch; Translated By Robin Waterfield; With Introductions And Notes By Philip A. Stadter

Lycurgus, Pericles, Solon, Nicias, Themistocles, Alcibiades, Cimon, Agesilaus, Alexander `I treat the narrative of the Lives as a kind of mirror... The experience is like nothing so much as spending time in their company and living with them: I receive and welcome each of them in turn as my guest.' In the nine lives of this collection Plutarch introduces the reader to the major figures and periods of classical Greece. He portrays virtues to be emulated and vices to be avoided, but his purpose is also implicitly to educate and warn those in his own day who wielded power. In prose that is rich, elegant and sprinkled with learned references, he explores with an extraordinary degree of insight the interplay of character and political action. While drawing chiefly on historical sources, he brings to biography a natural story-teller's ear for a good anecdote. Throughout the ages Plutarch's Lives have been valued for their historical value and their charm. This new translation will introduce new generations to his urbane erudition. The most comprehensive selection available, it is accompanied by a lucid introduction, explanatory notes, bibliographies, maps and indexes. Lire plus…