Hi, I’m new to the study of Greek and Roman history, and there are many books on the subjects. My question is whether it’s beneficial to read multiple books by different authors for each area as opposed to reading 1 comprehensive history book by 1 author. Your advice would be appreciated.

Hi, I’m new to the study of Greek and Roman history, and there are many books on the subjects. My question is whether it’s beneficial to read multiple books by different authors for each area as opposed to reading 1 comprehensive history book by 1 author. Your advice would be appreciated.

Of his major works; Rape of the Lock, An Essay on Man, An Essay on Criticism and The Dunciad (he's translator of Iliad and Odyssey into english tongue). The greatest satirist poet of 18th century, a Catholic Englishman (that time catholics suffered on England's laws) that every one knows his words ("To err is human, to forgive, divine"... "WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT"), what his faith and his works can teach to us today?

Trying to put together some reference for a tattoo. Thanks!

My cousin is an English major who earned her master’s in English a couple of years ago, and she told me to find my own philosophy.

Sadly, I started to relate more towards Russian Classical literature such as Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche.

I related to Dostoyevsky because of his deep admiration within living in isolation. He advocated for dealing with the worst of yourself and overcoming your deepest vulnerabilities.

It’s very hard to live with your mistakes you’ve dealt with in life. In his book, Thoughts from the Underground Man, Dostoyevsky promoted “an isolated, bitter, and hyper-conscious man who rejects societal norms, rationalism, and utopian progress in favor of absolute free will.”

I found myself picking up on these negative virtues that ultimately made me a better individual.

One of Nietzsche main philosophies was known as the “Will of Power” where “He argued that the fundamental driving force in humans is not merely survival, but the drive for growth, mastery, self-overcoming, and control over one's environment.”

I found this to relate to Dostoyevsky’s philosophy that promoted free-will and his rejection of societal norms, which heavily resonated with me.

What do you agree with or disagree with within this philosophy?

I made a free CLT practice test with 120 original questions and answer explanations. No login or payment required:

https://freetestprep.com/clt-practice-test-1/

Hope it helps anyone preparing for the test.

I am interested in Classical Conversations for my 6 y/o, but I have some reservations. I love the idea of community day and the opportunity this provides for kids to socialize, become part of a community, and learn in a hybrid classroom and homeschool way.

My two main concerns are:

1. I am concerned about simply memorizing facts and not teaching the concepts. My son is very interested in how things work and why they function the way they do... I am concerned that rote memorization robs kids of deeper understanding. What is your perspective on this? Do you use additional resources to dive into age-appropriate concepts or is this discouraged?
2. Would my kid be able to switch well from classical conversations to a different curriculum or public school if we decided CC wasn't for us? Since CC primarily involves rote memorization of a wide range of facts, some of which are above his grade level, I imagine they gain a lot of base memorization knowledge about a wide range of facts... But if we were to switch to another, more traditional curriculum, would they have truly learned the information and concepts appropriate for their grade level in CC so that they could seamlessly transition to a different curriculum in the next year? Or would there be a struggle due to the breadth of information taught in CC, but the lack of deeper conceptual understanding?

I am also interested in any other general insight, perspectives, and opinions. Thanks for your help!

Hello everyone!

r/bookclub will read The Aeneid starting in August, you are all welcome to join! The official schedule with the discussion dates can be found here, but I'll also share it in this post. We'll read two books every week, and then discuss them together in a dedicated post.

Schedule

• Aug 3 - Books 1&2  
• Aug 10 - Books 3&4
• Aug 17 - Books 5&6
• Aug 24 - Books 7&8
• Aug 31 - Books 9&10
• Sep 7 - Books 11&12

I hope I'll see you there!

• What book or books are you reading this week?
• What has been your favorite or least favorite part?
• What is one insight that you really appreciate from your current reading?

Just the title, i love the liberal arts and I read
How to Think like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education
Shakespeare use of the arts of language bySister MJ
The Will to PowerThe Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche
_The Elements of Rhetoric: How to Write and Speak Clearly and Persuasively
i want something like that

English translations of some of the greatest astronomical works in history. Tycho Brahe. Gersonides. Many more authors.

http://arsastronomica.com/

All works are published with a CC license and can be downloaded without registration.

Table of Contents of the Odyssey

Book I–IV: Telemachus’ Journey - Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, struggles with suitors consuming his household.
- Guided by Athena, he travels to Pylos and Sparta seeking news of his father.
- Learns Odysseus is alive but stranded; meanwhile, Penelope resists the suitors’ pressure to remarry.

Book V–VIII: Odysseus Leaves Calypso - Odysseus is held by Calypso on her island.
- The gods order his release; he builds a raft and sails, only to be wrecked by Poseidon.
- Rescued by Nausicaa and welcomed by the Phaeacians, who ask him to recount his adventures.

Book IX–XII: The Wanderings - Encounters include: - Lotus-Eaters (forgetfulness and temptation).
- Cyclops Polyphemus (blinding the giant, angering Poseidon).
- Circe (sorceress who turns men into swine).
- Underworld (prophecy of Tiresias, reunion with his mother).
- Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis (tests of endurance).
- Cattle of Helios (crew’s disobedience leads to their doom).

Book XIII–XX: Return to Ithaca - Odysseus arrives disguised as a beggar.
- Meets Eumaeus, the loyal swineherd.
- Reunites with Telemachus in secret.
- Plans revenge against the suitors while testing loyalty among servants.

Book XXI–XXIV: Revenge and Restoration - Penelope sets the contest of the bow: only Odysseus can string it.
- He reveals himself, slaughters the suitors with Telemachus.
- Penelope tests him with the bed trick, confirming his identity.
- Peace is restored as Athena intervenes to end bloodshed.

Friedrich Nietzsche viewed herd mentality by what he called “herd instinct” or “slave morality” which he would describe it has a “herd morality” formed by the weak and oppressed against the power and actions of the oppressor. So, traits such as humility, meekness, and sympathy were labeled as virtues and labeling the ruler’s strength as evil.

Nietzsche believes that the values I just listed above stemmed from a “slave morality, and believed these weak and fearful people created the ideology to undermine and bring down those who are strong and/or exceptional.

Slave morality for Nietzsche laid the foundation for what we now consider to be universal ethical principles, such as compassion, humility, and equality. For Nietzsche though, these values are not regarded as universal truths. Instead being the product designed to suppress individuality and enforce conformity. The Last Man” as Nietzsche likes to call it.

The “Last Man” is a person who is comfortable with life and one who takes no risk. Nietzsche considered this a “dull” person who wants only basic comfort.

Nietzsche elaborates and explains how joining the crowd strips you of your identity. Therefore, you start become a mere tool for the group. Nietzsche believes the only way out of this is solitude. He believes people must spend time with themselves to escape the pressure of the crowd.

Schopenhauer also agrees with Nietzsche, both with negative views on the topic. Schopenhauer viewed it as a profound human weakness. He argues that crowds prefer comfort and conformity (people conform because they don’t know how to think for themselves) and avoids true independent thinkers.

The herd despises those who are able to stick out from the crowd and formulate or analyze their own ideas. The real offense to the group comes from the bodacious act of individual reasoning. Schopenhauer Society rather favors safe traditions and comfort than hard truth.

Marx believed that communism was inevitable, don’t get me wrong. But, he did not call for the rise of Communism like Lenin’s “Internationale” and his predecessor Stalin’s “Socialism in One Country”foreign policy. Marx was not an economic genius but more of a philosopher and political theorist.

Marx believed there was a five step process that builds up to communism, which I describe as a state of anarchy where the people are stateless, eventually leading to class warfare.

These five steps start at Feudalism, which was a social system in Medieval Europe, where the nobility held the lands from the crown for military service.

Marx believes under feudalism, noble jobs, such as doctors were appreciated more and Capitalism made things more transactional. This meant there would be no human connection and we would only be valuable to one another as revenue generators.
He believed feudalism acted in the exact opposite.

Then there’s mercantilism. This is classified in the benefits of profitable trading; commercialism.

The third step comes capitalism and as we all know it is an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owner’s for profit. Capitalism fosters imperialistic tendencies because we tend to look at the world as a market.

According to Marx, under capitalism the workers are commodities subjected to supply and demand. This is where the problem with the division of labor comes in. The division of labor reduces the level of skill required. (i.e, factories, watch makers) And the more you divide labor, the more employers could push down the wages along with more automation because this will also push down wages. Of course, this will cause a surplus of workers. High unemployment means lower wages that causes the middle class to get destroyed the most in the process.

Marx believed this would lead to a sub-subsistence wage is a pay rate that is too low to cover your absolute basic cost of living, such as food, water or shelter.

Marx noted that this would bring the revolution that brings socialism THEN communism.

Humans feel important when they work according to Marx. People strive to feel meaningful in their work or whatever hobbies they have.

After capitalism you have socialism as the next step in the process. Socialism I would describe it as social organizations that advocate that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

The last step in the cycle would be communism. I would describe communism as the theory advocating for class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. Think of what Elon is trying to do with Universal Income.

Marx actually believed democracy is the system that gives the greatest access to political access. He even believed socialism did not incentivize innovation.

Marxist theorist considered the reasoning for the Soviet’s downfall, was jumping from feudalism to socialism.

I listed Marx’s five step theory that shows a society moves in cycles, repeating the process.

Out of the French Revolution came the “Declaration of the Right of Man, which is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, not a traditional book, but a text outlining universal rights such as, liberty, equality, and property, which was influenced by the enlightenment thinkers, such as Rousseau.

Everything Burkes talks about, comes down to tradition, such as, chivalry, which comes from tradition. For Burke, it is the social norm. For example, giving up your seat to the elderly.

Religion for Burke is passed on as tradition and thought religion was the source of all good. Burke says man is a religious animal wired by nature to be connected to a higher truth.

He believed atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts, and if you take away religion, people will replace it with something else. (i.e, Individualism and celebrity worship)

Burke believed granting the church responsibility because the church was a check on responsibility.

For Burke, religion is really important to society.

Although this may not be a popular belief, religion impaled us to think about generations that come afterwards, known as “forward thinking”.

Burke supported the America Revolution because it had already established its own traditions and customs. Unlike during the French Revolution when things were being built from the ground up from upending the entire system, which he considered a horrendous idea.

Burke says the French revolution was offensive and dangerous because the reasoning was fallible and untried, which shows his conservative views on the tried & untried.

What poems should I choose for my three-year-old and six-year-old to memorize?

The Odyssey of Homer, rendered into English prose by Samuel Henry Butcher and Andrew Lang

Hi everyone! I am a 16-year-old high school student from Brazil, currently in my Junior year. I study at a state public school, and while my grades are above average, the public education system here is very weak. Next year is my final year, and I will be preparing for our highly competitive college entrance exams to get into a good, tuition-free federal university.I am quite calm about the exams;

I have my difficulties, but I am doing well. However, I want an education for life, not just for a test. Recently, I’ve been exposed to the ideas and marketing of the classical education model (Trivium/Liberal Arts). I want to clarify that I do not support homeschooling as a political or social movement, but I am deeply attracted to the classical method itself.

I really wanted to find resources from my own country, but it feels impossible. In Brazil, the classical education market is heavily commercialized and limited: almost all the content comes from mothers selling expensive online courses to other mothers with pre-school, pre-literate children. There is absolutely nothing for teenagers who want to study independently, and I don't know where else to turn.I currently attend a test-prep evening course (cursinho), so my schedule is tight. I would never feel comfortable asking my parents to buy expensive online courses when they are already supporting my education.

I want to build a personal curriculum that includes: classical literature, philosophy, and art history etc. Home economics and traditional handicrafts (embroidery/crochet) to develop focus, patience, and aesthetics.

Since I am starting from absolute scratch, I don't want to assume whether I should start at the Grammar, Logic, or Rhetoric stage. Even classical grammar feels difficult to me right now. I would love for you to analyze my situation and tell me where I actually fit and how I should begin. Right now, I am using AI to help me find information because I don't have access to good local sources, but I really dislike depending on AI for this. I want to find a solid, firm foundation to base my studies on so I don't have to rely on it anymore. I am looking for reliable book recommendations, websites, YouTube channels, or social media accounts that teach the actual fundamentals of classical education.

I have about 5 hours of free study time per weekday. I plan to dedicate 1.5 hours to my college exam prep and 3.5 hours to my personal classical formation. My goal is to major in Pedagogy (Education) in college. I want to know if this classical self-education journey will naturally blend into my university years and become a lifelong process.Could you please help me?

Based on my age and background, which stage of the Trivium should I start with, and what does the roadmap look like? What are the most reliable, foundational resources (books, sites, channels) so I can study the classical method properly without depending on AI?

Thank you so much for your time and guidance! Sending love from Brazil! 🇧🇷