Which Classic would you like to read and discuss?

[pctacitus]

Vote or send a message to my ezboard inbox and tell me what you voted for. These are the best available options for those who don't read Latin and or Greek, either in price and/or in quality. The internet also contains several copies of the text in both English and the original languages of most, if not all of these works. Your best bet is classics.mit.edu/ or if not on the original text is not on the internet try www.hup.harvard.edu/loeb/author.htmlThe options are:1. The Persian Expedition/Anabasis by Xenophon.www.amazon.com/exec/obido...74-5999864or: www.amazon.com/exec/obido...74-5999864Book DescriptionXenophon's vivid eyewitness account of the expedition of the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries who fought under Cyrus is now available in a fully revised edition. John Dillery has corrected the Greek text in accordance with current scholarship, revised Brownson's translation, supplied updated notes, and provided a new Introduction. Xenophon's Anabasis is an engrossing tale of remarkable adventures, as the Greeks retreated through inhospitable lands from the gates of Babylon back to the coast after Cyrus' death. It is also an invaluable source on Greek military forces.2. The Later Roman Empire: A.D. 354-378 by Ammianus Marcellinus.www.amazon.com/exec/obido...74-5999864A man must have fine qualities so to write the history of his own times that his judgments on his contemporaries shall be sustained on appeal to the court of History, and posterity, after fifteen centuries accept them still. He must be cool and dispassionate in his survey, and yet sympathetic. He should be alive every aspect of the problems that beset his fellows, and take into account every advantage or disadvantage arising from age and environment. Commonly to attain the true perspective one must stand a century or at least a generation away. But in the fourth century, in the midst of the quarrels of Arian and Nicene, through all the turmoils of civil strife and barbarian war, lived and wrote a man, whose verdict on most of the men of his time is with some reservations substantially our own. - Glover, T. R., Life and Letters in the Fourth Century3. Clizia by Niccolo Machiavelli.www.amazon.com/exec/obido...74-5999864Book DescriptionA valuable, new translation of Machiavelli's marvelous satire! Machiavelli writes in the prologue to Clizia that comedies were invented for the dual purpose of amusing and benefiting the audience. Clizia is no exception. It is a raucous comedy about love that extends to the scandalous, but it also contains a serious teaching about managing passions and relationships. Daniel Gallagher provides a lively and readable translation that enables readers to access not only the humor of the play but also makes possible thoughtful study of the play's more serious themes. His consistent and literal rendering of terms and numerous explanatory notes help readers identify Machiavellian curiosities in the language and understand the play's many allusions to religious and Renaissance doctrines. Robert Faulkner's introduction sets the stage for examining the complex work of art that is Clizia. He shows how the play mixes Machiavellian instruction with its wit and scandal, and that the malicious and scoffing humor is part of the instruction. In Clizia, as in the better known Mandragola, Machiavelli intends reform through comedy. It is a reform that mixes liberation with techniques of management, an eerily contemporary reform of private life that complements Machiavelli's famous reforms of public life.4. A selection from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1.www.amazon.com/exec/obido...ce&s=booksBook DescriptionPlutarch's Lives, written at the beginning of the second century A.D., is a brilliant social history of the ancient world by one of the greatest biographers and moralists of all time. In what is by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch reveals the character and personality of his subjects and how they led ultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full of detail, Volume I contains profiles and comparisons of Romulus and Theseus, Numa and Lycurgus, Fabius and Pericles, and many more powerful figures of ancient Greece and Rome.The present translation, originally published in 1683 in conjunction with a life of Plutarch by John Dryden, was revised in 1864 by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose notes and preface are also included in this edition.5. Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War.www.amazon.com/exec/obido...74-5999864From Library JournalStrassler, an unaffiliated scholar of classical studies, has remedied many of the flaws of Richard Crawley's 1874 translation of The Peloponnesian War. He has added descriptive paragraph-by-paragraph synopses, topic headers on every page, numerous maps keyed to the adjoining text, explanatory footnotes, an extensive index, an excellent introduction by Victor Davis Hanson (California State Univ.), and 11 appendixes (by various scholars) on politics, warfare, and society in the Greece of the fifth century B.C.E. What the editor has done he has done well, creating a valuable basic reference for students of ancient history. His work has only two flaws: it lacks a substantial bibliography, having only a two-page "concise" one; and the price will put it out of reach of many institutions. For academic libraries and others with large history collections.Results (total votes = 11):The Persian Expedition/Anabasis by Xenophon&nbsp1 / 9.1%&nbsp The Later Roman Empire: A.D. 354-378 by Ammianus Marcellinus&nbsp4 / 36.4%&nbsp Clizia by Niccolo Machiavelli&nbsp3 / 27.3%&nbsp A selection from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1&nbsp0 / 0.0%&nbspThucydides History of the Peloponnesian War&nbsp3 / 27.3%&nbsp 

[Chris OConnor]

SamuelThese all seem worthy of our attention, but The Later Roman Empire: A.D. 354-378, by Ammianus Marcellinus, calls out the most to me. We'll see how others vote. The email will go out tonight.Chris "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"

[Chris OConnor]

Once we have chosen our book we can create a thread in either The Academy or The Reading Room, to discuss it, depending on whether or not it is nonfiction or fiction.Chris "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"

[ZachSylvanus]

I also voted for Rome....I ordered a book the other day titled Rubicon: a history of the late Roman Republic...I hope it's good.

[Niall001]

I voted for Clizia by Niccolo Machiavelli. I think this is rather interesting.

[ginof]

Looking at the results of the poll, there appears to be only one thing we agree on so far: This is a great idea! :-))Despite my vote, I'm willing to try any of these. Let's see how it goes!

[Tiarella]

*pounds head on wall* My library system (which is huge) doesn't have the The Later Roman Empire: A.D. 354-378 by Ammianus Marcellinus, or Clizia; I haven't checked for the others. They all sound good to me, but those two would be my first picks. I read at least one of the Greek texts in college (Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War), but I've forgotten everything except the fact that my paperback copy fell into the bath when I was reading it. I'm afraid it put me to sleep! I did reserve the last two months' selections, and my spouse is going to pick them up for me. Better late than never, right? *looks around; notes expressions; quietly slips away*

[Chris OConnor]

I'll be happy with any of the choices.Chris "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"

[pctacitus]

The vote tally so far is: The Later Roman Empire: A.D. 354-378 by Ammianus Marcellinus,2, Chris and Zach.Clizia by Niccolo Machiavelli,1, Niall.Please post, or send me an ezboard message stating which book you voted for specifically.

[Chris OConnor]

You need to let Samuel know which book you picked so that he knows all votes are from active BookTalk members. Anyone can cast a vote in this poll if they have an EZBoard account. People do fly-bys on EZBoard communities and take polls for fun, thus screwing up the reliability of our voting process.Chris "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"