Current Readings

As March begins winding down, we are currently getting acquainted with one of the political classics of all
time--Plato's Republic--and enjoying the opening books of that greatest of travelogues--Homer's Odyssey.

On the cover, a portion of the School of Athens:  Plato, left, argues with his student Aristotle, right. 
Neither was right.

 


For now, we are looking at the opening books--The Telemachia.



To the Gates of Troy

Assignments for the Last Weeks of the Semester: 

 In the Tenth Year of the Trojan War

To Book 24 of Homer's Iliad

Finish the Iliad

First to finish was brilliant Mr. House, wielder of books read and students broken under his ashen spear.

Finished on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.

The Paper:

Write a 3 to 5 paragraph paper comparing the situations, personalities, and connections between two of the characters of the Iliad.

Achilles and  Agamemnon

Achilles and Thetis

Achilles and Patroklos

Achilles and Priam

Achilles and Hektor

Or whatever combination you prefer.

The paper will be read in class as part of your semester test.



Opening Guns

Can you imagine a better opening to a book than Dickens' first paragraph in A Tale of Two Cities?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

It sets a tone for the universiality of the experience of this book. It reminds us that all times are God's times, and that all times in a fallen world are times of glimpes of grace and of judgment.

This week we will be slowly moving through the first part of this book.



Also, shifting gears to a historical topic, be reading The Great Siege by Ernle Bradford. I first heard the story of this book from R. J. Rushdoony who told it on his World History tape series. For years, I looked for the book. When the Internet changed the world of book searching, I bought a copy of the book and enjoyed the story first hand. Then the book was reprinted. I not only used it in several classes over the years, but also sold (or gave away) numerous copies of the book.

So, we have a novel that reads like history and a history that reads like a novel. What a delight.

Great first day.