Roman History Books and More

… and another one: SPQR XIII: the year of confusion: a mystery by john maddox roberts

(When it rains it pours, the next Lindsay Davis novel, Nemesis, will be out soon too.)

SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion: A Mystery (The SPQR Roman Mysteries) by John Maddox Roberts.

Caius Julius Caesar, now Dictator of Rome, has decided to revise the Roman calendar, which has become out of sync with the seasons. As if this weren’t already an unpopular move, Caesar has brought in astronomers and astrologers from abroad, including Egyptians, Greeks, Indians and Persians. Decius is appointed to oversee this project, which he knows rankles the Roman public: “To be told by a pack of Chaldeans and Egyptians how to conduct their duties towards the gods was intolerable.” Not long after the new calendar project begins, two of the foreigners are murdered. Decius begins his investigations and, as the body count increases, it seems that an Indian fortuneteller popular with patrician Roman ladies is also involved.

new rosemary rowe 'libertus' mystery: requiem for a slave

A new mystery novel by Rosemary Rowe is out: Requiem for a Slave (Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain)

Enjoy!

Started reading "Augustus: A Novel" and have to admit earlier reading left no memories. Pleasantly surprised, a very intelligent and gripping novel.

Intermittent chatfail last night. What's the matter with Google Talk?

upcoming book chats, may 5 & 19: novels on augustus

On May 5 & 19 we will discuss Augustus, A Novel by John Williams.

We thought that interested parties might want to combine this with Allan Massie’s Augustus as a contrast.

  

As background, there is my old Augustus Primer.

'meditations' a 'cross between a diary and a commonplace book?'

R.B.Rutherford asks this in the introduction to the Oxford World Classics 1998 edition of the "Meditations."

Definition: Commonplace Book

a book chat member's background information on marcus aurelius' 'meditations'

(better late than never, my apologies to Garumm)

My personal favorite Aurelius is the George Long translation (available in hard copy and public domain on the web).  As I promised Irene, here is some information on a book I recently purchased, for comparison.  This one is (IMHO) a good starting point for anyone with no background in philosophy in general, or Stoicism in particular.  Note that it is "selections" and does not include the entire text of the Meditations:

TITLE:  The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius:  Selections annotated and explained
AUTHOR:  Russell McNeill
PUBLISHER:  Skylight Paths Publishing, Woodstock (Vermont, USA)
ISBN 978-1-59473-236-2

BACK COVER BLURB (not on Amazon link):

The timeless wisdom of an ancient Stoic can become a companion for your own spiritual journey.

Stoicism is often portrayed as a cheerless, stiff-upper-lip philosophy of suffering and doom.  Yet as experienced through the thoughtful and penetrating writings of roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 CE), the Stoic approach to life is surprisingly rich, nuanced, clear-eyed and friendly.

With facing-page commentary that explains the texts for you, Russell McNeil, PhD, guides you through key passages from Aurelius's Meditations, comprised of the emperor's collected personal journal entries, to uncover the startlingly modern relevance his words have today.  From devotion to family and duty to country, to a near-prophetic view of the natural world that aligns with modern physics, Aurelius's words speak as potently today as they did two millennia ago.

Now you can discover the tenderness, intelligence and honesty of Aurelius's writings with no previous background in philosophy or the classics.  This SkyLight Illuminations edition offers insightful and engaging commentary that explains the historical background of Stoicism, as well as the ways this ancient philosophical system can offer psychological and spiritual insight into you contemporary life.  You will be encouraged to explore and challenge Aurelius's ides of what makes a fulfilling life -- and in so doing you may discover new ways of perceiving happiness.

The Amazon link will allow you to see the format and sample the language of the book.

NOTE:  Selections NOT included in the book are available online here: The Manual of the New Stoicism.

McNeil's blog

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:  McNeil was a featured guest on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's weekly radio hour on spirituality.

stoicism online

To better understand "The Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius, our current read, one should be a bit familiar with Stoicism.  Information can be found online at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

Stoicism

This image of Zeno of Citium (c. 334-262 BC), founder of the Stoic school, is courtesy Wikimedia Commons and can be found at the Wikipedia page for Stoicism (as usual, handle with with care).  That page leads to a list of Stoic philosophers.

the meditations by marcus aurelius online

Most of the complete online editions I found are of the translation by George Long (1862)

• Harvard Classics
• Internet Classics Archive, MIT
• Internet Archive plus various other versions at the same site
• as Google PDF
• Audio File

Jeremy Collier (1702) Internet Archive (there are various other translations to choose from)

Meric Casaubon (1634) at Project Gutenberg.

There are Google Book editions with limited preview, however their (almost complete) introductions might helpful:

• Oxford World Classics 1998
• Penguin Classics 2002 /also 1964

Marcus Aurelius at Wikipedia (as usual handle with care)

Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons, Marcus Aurelius at the Glyptothek in Munich

biography of marcus aurelius by anthony birley

This is what I'm currently reading as background to Marcus Aurelius Meditations (online version):

Marcus Aurelius by Anthony Birley

correspondence of marcus cornelius fronto with marcus aurelius antoninus, et al

Our current read is The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Online: The Meditations).

It might be worthwhile reading the correspondence of Marcus with his former tutor Fronto (Wikipedia, handle with care).

The Loeb's translation can be found online at the Internet Archive:

The correspondence of Marcus Cornelius Fronto with Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Lucius Verus, Antoninus Pius, and various friends. Edited and for the first time translated into English by C.R. Haines.
Volume I
Volume II