Aug 31– “The American Scholar” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1837)

 In most countries Ralph Wally Emerson

Aug 31– “The American Scholar” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1837)

Summary: Has there ever been a commencement address that didn't suck?

Commentary: It's nice to know that, almost 200 years ago, they were still having hucksters give commencement addresses, and they were still eye rollingly bad. Emerson gives a typical transcendalist anti-society ramble, peppered with slightly better asides about being independent and well rounded. It's interesting to read this after Meditations, which give much of the same advice, but in a way that's both more succinct and actionable. Emerson blabs on for a half a page about how we need to listen to nature in order to find God, who is our true selves. Aurelius says decide who you want to be, and judge your actions based on whether they match that.

Aug 30– "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius translated by George Long

 This is some interesting weird/creepy CG

Aug 30– Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George Long

Summary: Do stuff. Be honest with yourself.

Commentary: I enjoy Marcus Aurelius overall, but not a huge fan of this translation. Even for the time (1862) the language is unnecessarily archaic. Being needlessly old-fashioned and wordy doesn't feel very Stoic to me.

I think #11 is my favorite from today's section:

11. About what am I now employing my own soul? On every occasion I must ask myself this question, and inquire, What have I now in this part of me which they call the ruling principle? and whose soul have I now,—that of a child, or of a young man, or of a feeble woman, or of a tyrant, or of a domestic animal, or of a wild beast?

How are you living your life? Is it consistent with what you want to be? A lot of Meditations revolves around this theme of being yourself, doing what's right for you, etc., but I think this is (out of this selection/translation) the best presentation of that.

Aug 29– "Antony" from Plutarch’s Lives translated by Dryden and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough

 Cleopatra, probably

Aug 29– Antony from Plutarch’s Lives translated by Dryden and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough

Summary:

Commentary: Plutarch is doing the, "accidentally made X sound cool" thing with Cleopatra here. She speaks all these languages, yanks Antony around for a while, seduces him, and out pranks him. She also manages to be the original Manic Pixie Dreamgirl:

  To return to Cleopatra; Plato admits four sorts of flattery,

  but she had a thousand.  Were Antony serious or disposed to

  mirth, she had at any moment some new delight or charm to meet

  his wishes; at every turn she was upon him, and let him escape

  her neither by day nor by night.  She played at dice with him,

  drank with him, hunted with him; and when he exercised in arms,

  she was there to see.  At night she would go rambling with him

  to disturb and torment people at their doors and windows,

  dressed like a servant-woman, for Antony also went in servant's

  disguise, and from these expeditions he often came home very

  scurvily answered, and sometimes even beaten severely, though

  most people guessed who it was.  

This was slightly more interesting than the other Lives but Plutarch is, as usual, unfocused and light on detail. 

Casually Completing Classics #6: The Odyssey Book 8

 Book 8 Summary/Note: They throw a party. Odysseus wrecks a guy at discus and cries when the bard sings about the fall of Troy.

They call pigs TUSKERS, which is fun. 

Some guy stars shit talking Odysseus and says he has no skill and was the skipper of "some tramp" so Odysseus tells him that he has "an empty noodle" and beats him at discus throwing. 

A harper tells the story of Ares and Aphrodite's affair, which involves Hephaestus calling her a "damned pigeon." He catches them in a metal net, but Hermes is like "doesn't matter, had sex."

There's a reference to a singular God here, which I think is Zeus in other translations. I'm guessing the original might've been something like father-god? Interesting translation quirk.

I believe this is the first account of the Trojan horse. It's brief, basically just that the Trojans brought it in while the Achaeans hid inside. At the end of this section, Odysseus starts crying and Alcinous asks who he is, which prompts Odysseus to finally tell us how he wound up lost at sea in the next section. 

Aug 28– From "Faust" by Goethe (1832) translated by Anna Swanwick

 I'd be pretty tempted to sell my soul to be really good at fighting games.

Aug 28– From Faust by Goethe (1832) translated by Anna Swanwick

Summary: Faust kills his babymama's brother. 

Commentary: I always think of Futurama when I read Goethe's Faust. Faust is just an extra horny Bender, with Mephistopheles following him around singing and goading him to be even worse behaved.

Aug 27– BURNNSSSSSSSSS

 This scene makes me cry everytime

Aug 27– BURNNSSSSSSSSS

Summary: Bad poems

Commentary: Not content with subjecting me to more Burns, Eliot makes me skip around in the selections tonight. I think there was only one other place he did this. This set is sort of the standard Burns set (minus "To A Mouse" which was already featured) that tends to get picked for anthologies and the like. They're still bad, but at least they're short. 

 

Aug 26– From "Froissart’s Chronicles" translated by Lord Bernes edited by G. C. Macaulay

 LEGO

Aug 26– From Froissart’s Chronicles translated by Lord Bernes edited by G. C. Macaulay

Summary: Longbow good.

Commentary: This is very much in the "list of names" style of history, without a ton of interesting detail or anything. I had to stop and reread some parts two or three times, since my eyes just kept glossing over them. I didn't really miss much the first time.