Conversation with Socrates “Any one who has an intellectual affinity to Socrates and enters into conversation with him is liable to be drawn into an argument; and whatever subject he may start, he will be continually carried round and round by him, until at last he finds that he has to give an account both of his present and past life ; and when he is once entangled, Socrates will not […]
Read moreCategory: Classics
Greco-Roman and Eastern Classics: Mythology, Philosophy, Literature.
“Sophist” by Plato
A sophist states, to the effect that, falsehood is that which is not, and because that which is not does not exist, falsehood doesn’t exist. Socrates refutes that argument in this fascinating exercise in ontology, a discourse on the definition of being, not being, same, other, rest, motion, truth and falsehood. What it highlights for me is the circularity or futility, for lack of a better word, of using language […]
Read more“Gorgias” by Plato
In this dialogue, Socrates argues that, just as the aim of a good man should not be to gratify his desires but to improve himself and strive toward goodness, so the prime object of the truly good statesman should not consist in gratifying the desires of the citizens, but in “transforming those desires and not allowing them to have their way, and using the powers which they had, whether of persuasion […]
Read more“The Art of War” by Sun Wu
[Original Chinese Title: 孫子兵法 | 孙子兵法] An absolutely brilliant treatise on military philosophy, strategy and tactics! I find the principles herein applicable to all areas of life, as many things are often likened to war, e.g., war against disease, business as war, etc. This book is a must-read for leaders of all levels, from heads of states to project managers, to achieve personal and organizational excellence in a competitive environment. […]
Read more“On the Nature of Things” by Lucretius
Cicero, because of his personal aversion to the Epicurean philosophy, didn’t quite do it justice in his book The Nature of the Gods, which introduced the Greek philosophical schools to the Romans. He all but made the Epicurean the laughing-stock of all the other philosophers. However, he also prepared and edited the transcript of this book by Lucretius, arguably the best exposition of Epicureanism, as a counterpoint. Lucretius made a […]
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“Letters to Atticus IV” by Cicero
A collection of letters written by Cicero to his close friend Atticus during his declining years, i.e., the period between the death of his daughter and his own murder, which is also a period of crisis in Roman history, from the fall of the Republic to the rise of dictatorship and the Roman Empire. The letters provide rare insights into Cicero as a person, friend, prolific writer and astute statesman. The […]
Read more“The Nature of the Gods” by Cicero
“That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.” More than two thousand years ago, Cicero summarized the theologies of ancient Greek philosophers, in the form of a brilliant, pungent and witty debate among the representatives of the Stoic, Epicurean and Academic schools. The discourse is centered around four questions: Do gods exist? What […]
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