Classical Stuff You Should Know

In this episode, we discuss Nietzsche's work, "On the Genealogy of Morality," in which he discusses the history of morality through tracing the words used to describe it. We also talk about a recent film that's pretty good, and poor poor Leopardi again. Join us!

In this episode we track Wordsworth's view of how to stay happy in life, specifically through two poems: "Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey," and "Elegiac Stanzas Suggested by a Picture of Peele Castle in a Storm, Painted by Sir George Beaumont." Turns out he was idealistic when he was young and cranky when he was old. WHO KNEW

During Stalin's regime in Russia there was one author daring enough to write a Satire . . . one that I can't quite nail down. I ask Graeme to help me.

The Proslogion contains Anselm of Canterbury's Ontological Argument, which is still argued about in philosophical circles today. It's not really convincing, except that it is.

We discuss the romantic movement and how they interpret Paradise Lost to be other than what it really is. Also, we get cranky about bad guys.

This one is about an Italian hunchback who lives with his mom and writes nihilistic poetry about women he can't get. You can't make this stuff up.

Asimov's excellent sci-fi trilogy is worth a read. Plus, space capitalism!

I have finally tackled the (rumored) most difficult book in the English language. Feel free to send me any money you've got for the service I just rendered you.

Thomas was kind enough to reach out to Joshua Gibbs for an interview, and the results speak for themselves. Joshua is a renowned figure in the classical world, and we're happy to have him (and his great big bushy beard) on the podcast.

Josh Gibbs decided to write a pamphlet to kids trembling at the notion of going to a classical school. We, clearly a bunch of children, decided to read it.

Nothing to be done.

In this episode, drawing three books together, Graeme leads us through a discussion about Atlas Shrugged in light of the Therapeutic man . . . and Raskolnikov.

In this installment of Thomas's series on the Landmark Herodotus, we talk about the reign of Cambyses, who gave bad gifts, had bad spies, and couldn't pull back a fancy bow. He was cranky about it.

Leibniz's theory of the best of all possible worlds helps to explain the problem of evil in Theism. "Oh nuh uh" says Voltaire. He wrote Candide in response.

In this episode, we discuss David Hicks's (yep, THAT David Hicks, the one who wrote "Norms and Nobility") article "Is Classical Education Still Possible?" If we agree with him, it could mean that two of us are out of a job, and three of us are out of a podcast.

In Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," a character gives a two-hundred-page-long speech on objectivism, her philosophy. Hey, if you're looking for an ethos that gives you both independence AND cash, you're in the right place.

This is our first real venture into eastern philosophy. The Tao Te Ching is from the 4th century BC, and lemme tell ya, I've never wanted to be simple like an infant more.

In this episode, we ponder the four causes and unravel the mysteries of the universe. Well, Thomas does. We ruffle his feathers while he does good work.

Sometimes you have feelings. Romeo is one such person who has feelings. Graeme, inspired by a previous episode, ponders on whether Romeo is an existentialist, meaning that the philosophy is immature.

Existence precedes essence. If you don't know what that means, you're making a statement about how all men should be, you non-existentialist, you. DID YOU KNOW THAT!?!?

Continuing on in the Landmark Herodotus, we get to a chapter which earns him the moniker, "Father of Lies." Overstating it a bit, don't you think?

In this episode, we discuss Charles Dickens's "Great Expectations." But you know, if you keep your expectations low, it's harder to be disappointed. I guess, in a way, that's the point of this book.

In this second episode on the Landmark Herodotus, we discuss the exploits of Cyrus the great. You can look forward to: baby swapping, kid kingdom, and blood wine for the dead!

The writings of Epictetus are some of the only stoic manuscripts that survive. The Enchiridion is his essential handbook for the budding acolyte of Stoicism.

A literary foil is something in the story that exists to highlight the characteristics of the protagonists. COULD IT BE that literature is a foil for us!? I THINK YES.

The Trolley problem presents a perfect study case from which to look at different ethical viewpoints. But . . . come on. You know you'd pull the lever. It's just the right thing to do.

In 1848, a small group of social philosophers publish a little pamphlet with big wings: The Communist Manifesto. This podcast is about that thing.

In this episode we talk about the differences in theme and construction between the recent (pretty solid) film about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the poem by the same name.

Herodotus put together a pretty stellar history, and the Landmark version is a stellar translation of it. In this episode we discuss the book and several stories from it.

Arthur Brooks, a researcher of happiness at Harvard, has distilled his research about happiness into a simple equation. Want to know how to be happy? Turns out this is the way.

The Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid are all part of one story. That story was common knowledge for the Greeks, but mostly unknown to us moderns. This episode is that story, giving the context necessary for understanding the Iliad, which begins in the middle of things.

Thomas has recently left his position as the Dean of Student Life at Veritas. These are the things he's learned.

A.J. has always struggled with his views of poetry as a genre. He might have finally sorted it out with the help of John Donne.

Kierkegaard faced the absurdity of the universe, the absurdity of faith, and held both in tension. In this episode we explore his book "Fear and Trembling" as it traces the mystifying story of Abraham and Isaac.

Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is a bit of a mystery of a play, especially since nothing really happens.

The Book of Common Prayer is for those of us who don't always know what to say. So . . . all of us. Thomas gives us a little history, then a quick rundown of the book.

This is the second half of A.J.'s series on Machiavelli's "The Prince." It addresses how a prince can establish a reputation. We also chat about pie.

"The Great Divorce," by C.S. Lewis, recounts a bus trip to heaven. We discuss the Problem of Evil in the perspective of the book.

Euclid's "Elements" was the math text for over a thousand years. We all try to do a proof, and we end up with something looking like an Eiffel Tower.

Machiavelli was a statesman that wanted back into the good graces of the Medici. It half worked. This is a discussion of the work that was supposed to do the job of charming the prince. It's entitled, shockingly, "The Prince."

Jane Austen is a delight, and her novel Pride and Prejudice is no exception. In this episode, we review the book and talk about what it takes to change as drastically as Elizabeth and Darcy.

While "The Gates of Paradise" mark one of the first uses of perspective in sculpture, Rodin's "Gates of Hell," made much later in response, chronicle the existential despair of human suffering, so that's great!

"A Mathematician's Lament," by Paul Lockhart, mourns the way we teach math to children. In many ways, he's right. A.J. will probably still find something to complain about, though.

We all get depressed sometimes. We take a look at when Satan gets the feels in Milton's Paradise Lost.

Lorenzo Ghiberti sculpted what are perhaps the most famous doors of human history. You can see them in Florence (if you go to a museum), or you can listen to this podcast and see them in your mind's eye. If you want to view them online, we've included a link in the show-notes on our website.

Even smart people need a little direction sometimes (except for Graeme, who is perfect always), and The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges helps us all in the disciplines of intellectualism.

The rest of Goethe's Faust is flat bananas, and it ends with a devil flirting with Angels. I can't even. (Also, please don't miss my rhyming pun with "Tokyo Drift." I'm convinced puns are extra good if you have to explain them.)

Let's talk about gnosticism. Let's talk about heresy. Let's talk about Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's book, "Montaillou, Cathars and Catholics in a French village, 1294-1324." Let's talk about starting our own cult.

As the archangel Michael boots Adam and Eve from Paradise, he gives Adam a vision of the future to, you know, make him feel better. Adam then says that he knows what is right now, and that man only has to obey. Was Milton making a statement about the ways in which we should conduct ourselves in regard to curiosity? I mean, probs.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a breathtaking German masterpiece of literature written by a rock collector. In this episode, we do the first bit of part one.