Roman Philosophy

Pleasure feels amazing! Anxiety, however, does not. The Ancient Greek Philosopher Epicurus rolled these two strikingly intuitive claims into a simple formula for happiness and well-being—pursue pleasure without causing yourself anxiety. But wait, is that even possible? Can humans achieve lasting pleasure without suffering anxiety about failure and loss? Epicurus thinks we can, at least once we learn to pursue pleasure thoughtfully.

This famous work by Lucretius is a masterpiece of didactic poetry, and it still stands today as the finest exposition of Epicurean philosophy ever written. The poem was produced in the middle of first century B.C., a period that was to witness a flowering of Latin literature unequaled for beauty and intellectual power in subsequent ages. The Latin title, De Rerum Natura, translates literally to On the Nature of Things and is meant to impress the reader with the breadth and depth of Epicurean philosophy.

Secrets of Greek Mysticism is the first spiritual book about the Greek gods and goddesses written by a native, practicing priest of Hellenic Polytheism. It goes beyond the simplistic and archetypical representation of the Greek pantheon and reintroduces the gods and goddesses from a theological perspective. Rather than presenting the gods and goddesses as symbolic, lifeless figures one can use to embellish spiritual practice, Secrets of Greek Mysticism teaches listeners how to find each god or goddess within them.

Written between A.D. 413 and 426, The City of God is one of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian thought, a book which is vital to the understanding of modern Western society. Augustine originally intended it to be an apology for Christianity against the accusation that the Church was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire, which had occurred just three years earlier. Indeed, Augustine produced a great amount of evidence to prove that paganism was responsible for this event. However, by the time the work was finished, the book had taken on a larger theme.

Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily.

Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely considered the most pivotal figure in the development of philosophy, especially the Western tradition. Unlike nearly all of Plato's philosophical contemporaries, Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years. The works which are most often assigned to Plato's early years are all considered to be Socratic dialogues, written from 399 to 387.

Pensées pour moi-même, l'empereur philosophe Marc Aurèle nous livre un témoignage intime et intemporel sur la condition humaine, le devoir, la souffrance, la mort, et la vertu. Rédigées pour lui-même, ces réflexions stoïciennes n’étaient pas destinées à la publication, ce qui leur confère une sincérité brute et touchante. Ce chef-d'œuvre de la philosophie antique devient alors un guide profond pour quiconque cherche à vivre avec sagesse, force intérieure, et sérénité face aux épreuves de l’existence.

How to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines. In 64 BC when idealist Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, ran for consul (the highest office in the Republic), his practical brother Quintus decided he needed some no-nonsense advice on running a successful campaign.

Here are three important but very different Dialogues from the Middle Period. Symposium, the most well-known in this collection, is concerned with the theme of love. In the house of Agathon, a group of friends - each very different in personality and background - meet to consider and discuss various kinds of love. Each one, Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes (the playwright) and Agathon (a prize-winning tragic poet), presents his particular view in a short discourse.

The Greek word sumposion means a drinking party (a fact shamefully ignored by the organizers of modern symposia), and the party described in Plato's Symposium is one supposedly given in the year 416 BC by the playwright Agathon to celebrate his victory in the dramatic festival of the Lenaea. He has already given one party, the previous evening; this second party is for a select group of friends, and host and guests alike are feeling a little frail.

The story of the Roman Republic is the greatest epic in human history. Seen in the long perspective of time, it seems too fantastic to be real. From its modest beginnings as a convenient fording place on the Tiber to its eventual destiny as the mistress of the Mediterranean, Rome offers a strange tale of fate, sacrifice, and indomitable willpower. The stern realities of war shaped its policies from the very beginning.

This captivating history bundle includes The Roman Republic, The Roman Empire, and The Byzantine Empire.

El gran filósofo griego Sócrates ha pasado a la historia como uno de los pensadores más importantes de la humanidad, y, debido a que no llegó a dominar la escritura, la gran mayoría de sus enseñanzas fueron transmitidas por su discípulo Platón.

Epictetus was one of the main voices of the philosophy of the Stoa, and as such most influentia. His "Enchiridion", or handbook, is a manual for practical philosophy. It offers carefully worded instructions for an ethical, sustained way of life. A very old text - but true to this very day and age!

"Cesse de te laisser emporter par le tourbillon." Ouvrage majeur de la philosophie stoïcienne, les pensées de l'empereur Marc Aurèle furent rédigées entre 170 et 180 ap. JC. Ces pensées apparaissent aujourd'hui comme étant d'une modernité surprenante. Considérées comme une véritable méthode pour atteindre le bonheur, ce chef de guerre, en avance sur ce temps, y démontre que le coaching moderne et la tendance du développement personnel n'ont rien inventé.

Here, in this second collection of Socratic Dialogues from Plato's Early Period, read by David Rintoul as Socrates with a full cast, are contrasting six works. Often, as with Gorgias, which opens the recording, Socrates combats the popular subjects of sophistry and rhetoric, in direct conversation with Gorgias (a leading sophist teacher), and with one of his pupils, Callicles.

Unlock the profound wisdom of Aristotle like never before. This audiobook presents a modern, clear, and easy-to-understand English translation of Aristotle’s most influential works—perfect for students, lifelong learners, and anyone curious about philosophy, politics, science, and the nature of human life.

"It takes an entire lifetime to learn how to die", wrote the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD). He counseled readers to "study death always", and took his own advice, returning to the subject again and again in all his writings, yet he never treated it in a complete work. How to Die gathers in one volume, for the first time, Seneca's remarkable meditations on death and dying. Edited and translated by James S. Romm, How to Die reveals a provocative thinker who speaks with a startling frankness about the need to accept death or even, under certain conditions, to seek it out.

Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Paul Johnson’s books have been translated into dozens of languages. In Socrates: A Man for Our Times, Johnson draws from little-known resources to construct a fascinating account of one of history’s greatest thinkers. Socrates transcended class limitations in Athens during the fifth century B.C. to develop ideas that still shape the way we think about the human body and soul, including the workings of the human mind.

By the middle of the second century B.C., the Roman Republic has been changed completely from the sober and virtuous character of the previous generations of self-sacrificing soldier-farmers. Rome has become a wealthy, diverse metropolis of many conflicting interests.