Great list. I have read Tocqueville and Jacques Barzun. Haven’t read any of the others, but I have a copy of The Monks of War. One of my favorites stories is by Robert E, Howard, “The Sowers of the Thunder” which has a depiction of the Battle of Hattin, where the a few hundred Knights Templar and Knight Hospitalar rode out to their doom, with their fellow warriors of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and were crushed by Saladin’s host. Howard is the perfect writer for such a scene!
Thanks, looking some of these up. I always felt like Mere Christianity was CS Lewis cribbing from Chesterton's Orthodoxy. Not taking anything away from Lewis, I admire him a great deal. But from my understanding Mere Christianity was a series of radio addresses that were later collected as a book, and it makes sense to me that he may have used Orthodoxy as an outline of sorts.
Cato disemboweled himself to avoid capture by Caesar. Cicero was murdered by agents of Mark Antony, whom he’d trolled by repeatedly calling him a bankrupt male prostitute.
It's definitely worth watching the two series of HBO's Rome. On the literary front, one mid-brow take on Cicero, Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder, often in the employ of a fictional version of Cicero, is well-worth a read. It's a bit like Cadfael, but set in Rome.
Robert Harris also wrote a Cicero trilogy, but (although well-written) I wasn't too sure what to make of his blatant attempt to assert parallels between Cicero, politics in Ancient Rome, and the zeitgeist of political events at the time.
As a historical aside, the Founding Fathers drew heavily on Ancient Rome as well as English Common Law tradition, Enlightenment philosophers, and other sources. One of the reasons why political tribunes didn't survive the transplant of Roman Republic principles into the New American Republic, was because John Adams idolised Cicero. The persecution of Cicero by noble-turned-populist Clodius (probably the first Champagne socialist), probably weighed heavily on the decision not to include political tribunes in the New Republic.
Special Prosecutors tend to fill the role now, on an ad hoc basis- which is, of course, even worse. At least tribunes were elected by the plebeian assembly.
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA; I have it hard copied and also in ebook format. In Ebook, control F makes it easy to find references or check de Tocqueville 'quotes' you've read elsewhere, as many such are false.
Not sure what edition of Athenaze I own, but I think you and I are roughly of an age, so there's a good chance it's the same one. The classical languages are HARD man. Best Monty Python skit ever is in the Life of Brian when the Roman centurion corrects the grammar of Brian's Latin graffiti. If you know, you know.
Thanks for the list - very helpful, especially from one who is teaching history.
Great list. I have read Tocqueville and Jacques Barzun. Haven’t read any of the others, but I have a copy of The Monks of War. One of my favorites stories is by Robert E, Howard, “The Sowers of the Thunder” which has a depiction of the Battle of Hattin, where the a few hundred Knights Templar and Knight Hospitalar rode out to their doom, with their fellow warriors of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and were crushed by Saladin’s host. Howard is the perfect writer for such a scene!
And I thought t'was only I who read The Monks of War. Of course I bought my copy in Valetta, so it is even monky than others
Thanks, looking some of these up. I always felt like Mere Christianity was CS Lewis cribbing from Chesterton's Orthodoxy. Not taking anything away from Lewis, I admire him a great deal. But from my understanding Mere Christianity was a series of radio addresses that were later collected as a book, and it makes sense to me that he may have used Orthodoxy as an outline of sorts.
Aww man, I've gone my whole life without seeing a picture of CS Lewis, dang that's unfortunate. Good writer though.
About Cicero, he disemboweled himself right? It's been a while since I listened to my Plutarch audio (best value on Audible, but man it's morbid).
Cato disemboweled himself to avoid capture by Caesar. Cicero was murdered by agents of Mark Antony, whom he’d trolled by repeatedly calling him a bankrupt male prostitute.
Based.
It's definitely worth watching the two series of HBO's Rome. On the literary front, one mid-brow take on Cicero, Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder, often in the employ of a fictional version of Cicero, is well-worth a read. It's a bit like Cadfael, but set in Rome.
Robert Harris also wrote a Cicero trilogy, but (although well-written) I wasn't too sure what to make of his blatant attempt to assert parallels between Cicero, politics in Ancient Rome, and the zeitgeist of political events at the time.
As a historical aside, the Founding Fathers drew heavily on Ancient Rome as well as English Common Law tradition, Enlightenment philosophers, and other sources. One of the reasons why political tribunes didn't survive the transplant of Roman Republic principles into the New American Republic, was because John Adams idolised Cicero. The persecution of Cicero by noble-turned-populist Clodius (probably the first Champagne socialist), probably weighed heavily on the decision not to include political tribunes in the New Republic.
Special Prosecutors tend to fill the role now, on an ad hoc basis- which is, of course, even worse. At least tribunes were elected by the plebeian assembly.
Great list! Jacques Barzun and Tocqueville are two of my favorites. I think about their writing all the time.
I hope to get the Norwich series some day. I keep seeing it mentioned on substack.
Thanks for the list!
No list is complete without the Cat in the Hat. Just sayin.
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA; I have it hard copied and also in ebook format. In Ebook, control F makes it easy to find references or check de Tocqueville 'quotes' you've read elsewhere, as many such are false.
D in A can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg ; https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/815
Not sure what edition of Athenaze I own, but I think you and I are roughly of an age, so there's a good chance it's the same one. The classical languages are HARD man. Best Monty Python skit ever is in the Life of Brian when the Roman centurion corrects the grammar of Brian's Latin graffiti. If you know, you know.
Oh, man, I promised myself no more books till I finish the four on my nightstand. I’m going to follow Cicero’s advice and exercise some discipline.
Thank you for putting this together. I’d be very interested in a booklist of religious books as well.