readoldthings

Hi Everyone,

I haven't been able to post much lately and I wanted to share a few quick updates. 

The blog is still rolling; I have a post on Matthew 12 written up in my head that just needs time to get onto the page, plus more on the Christian Wheel of the Year. The issue, of course, is time, a resource which is rather scarce right now. I'm currently in the middle of two huge projects, which are eating up the great majority of my free time. Things should calm down after the first week of June, and I'll be back to posting with more regularity.

I used to make a habit of doing very short posts here, with only a minimum of commentary; I may go back to that for right now.

In the meantime-- since this is a blog about books, after all-- here are a few things I've been reading lately and can strongly recommend:

The Ancient City, by Fustel de Coulanges

This is a 19th century study of the history and institution of the city-states of the ancient world. Some of its assumptions are dated and it certainly reflects the culture in which it was written, but it's an excellent work over all. Moreover, its insights are critical to understanding one of the oddest things, for a modern, about Plato: How is it that he appears to be both a spiritual philosopher whose insights are on par with those of a Patanjali or Gautama Buddha, and also a political philosopher whose views are often repellant, or at least very confusing, to the modern reader? The key lies in the structure of the cities of the ancient world, in which were wrapped up all of the ideas that we now separate under the headings "church," "family," "community," and "residence." 

The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, by Flavius Philostratus

This is a record of the life of a wandering sage and miracle worker who lived in the First Century A.D. For some reason, modern atheists have attached themselves to Apollonius because they think that his history proves the non-existence of Jesus. This is more or less equivalent to thinking that the writings of Hunter S. Thompson prove that Jack Kerouac never existed. Apollonius is the same sort of figure as Jesus, but his teachings and his practices are very different in a number of important ways. 

The Cave of the Nymphs, by Porphyry

This is a meditation by Porphyry, a leading Classical Platonist and student of Plotinus, on a brief passage in Homer. Read it because it's fascinating, but also read it to learn how to use the techniques of discursive meditation and Platonic philosophy to unpack any myth-- or, rather, to unfold it into light, as Porphyry would say.