classics digests, reflections and reviews
[Original Latin title: De Civitate Dei] A Masterpiece of Christian Apologetics St. Augustine started the book to address a pressing crisis and the practical problem of suffering, and then gradually rose to the height of Christian philosophy and theology that has rarely, if ever, been surpassed since. He gave a sweeping overview of ancient history, the history of the Jewish people intertwined with the history of the worldly empires (Roman […]
Read morePlato discourses on the nature of beauty and love. He bases his argument on the belief that the soul is immortal and originates from the presence of god. He likens the soul to “a pair of winged horses and a charioteer.” The good steed is a lover of honour and modesty and temperance, and the bad steed a mate of insolence and pride. The wing lifts the soul to the […]
Read moreA group of men gathered together for a feast and started a discourse on the nature of Love. Everybody presented their own notion of love one after another. The dialogues were half playful and half serious, but always entertaining and fascinating. Every speaker seemed to best the one preceding him, and Socrates gave the climatic, noble speech. Just when one thought that he couldn’t be topped, a drunk came in […]
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