Classics in Contemporary Culture

Conservative Readers

Jonah Goldberg (at National Review's blog) likes conservatives because...well, because they're always talking about Marcus Aurelius, or Xenophon, or Aristotle...There's a caveat:

Now, of course, not every conservative kid is going to go out there and buy Meditations or Aristotle's Ethics. But the important point is that these kids understand that these works are still relevant and that a proper education includes them.

Now, we can all agree that Xenophon and Aristotle were no progressives...On the other hand, this Unitarian minister counts Marcus Aurelius as a liberal...and on the other other hand, one could argue (based on a Law and Order episode) that the Stoic emperor is objectively pro-crime...

[UPDATE:  Oh, but of course there's that old saw of Aristotle's:  "Of all the           varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved."  Cited on the front page of LiberalForum.org.]

Historie, Sweet Historie

Franklin Wright (Jamaica Observer) has some wacky ideas about Herodotus...He begins his recent column, "The History of History," in a way that I can agree with:

Every literate society should pride itself in the ready availability of books and make every effort to produce books within an economical price range accessible to even modest wage earners.

But here's the fun stuff pertaining to Herodotus:

The "father" of modern history - and some even claim of ethnography and of anthropology - was Herodotus, the Greek, although Thucydides (455-400 BC) has an equally strong claim. Both wrote definitive accounts of the Peloponnesian Wars, the key event in their lives. Herodotus lived between about 484 and 425 BC and was an indefatigable traveller. During his exile from his native Halicarnassus, he claims to have visited Egypt, the lower Nile River valley, Italy, Sicily, as well as many Greek city states. His professional occupation was an oral poet who recited epic verse and legendary tales of heroic deeds.

...ah, once again:  "Inconsequential, thy name is CCC..."

 

Pandora's Music Box

Long summer hiatus is over...with an inconsequential post about a new internet music service known as "Pandora": Based on what I am assured is extensive research, this will stream music that you are hopefully going to love. In hindsight, I should have had more foresight than to break the long silence with such a piece of fluff! Well, there's always the hope that things will get better...