The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus: a Roman Slave
The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus: a Roman Slave

Author: Publius Syrus

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2016-07-27

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 1365287785

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Part Stoic, part Epicurean, and even part Skeptic and Cynic, the wit and wisdom of the former Roman slave turned playwright Publius Syrus transcends doctrine and embraces humanism. The dramatic works of Syrus are all but lost - what remains is a collection of over a thousand one-line quotations known as 'The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus: A Roman Slave.'With a brevity and insight that would make Oscar Wilde proud, Syrus summarizes an astonishing range of human emotions in his memorable epigrams.

The Moral Sayings of Publilius Syrus
The Moral Sayings of Publilius Syrus

Author: Publilius Syrus

Publisher: Ravenio Books

Published:

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Publilius Syrus was a Syrian slave, a mime, and a writer of Latin maxims. Brought as a slave to Italy in the 1st century BC, he won his freedom by his wit and talent. His 1087 sayings presented here include: 1. As men, we are all equal in the presence of death. 2. The evil you do to others you may expect in return. 3. Allay the anger of your friend by kindness. 4. To dispute with a drunkard is to debate with an empty house. 5. Receive an injury rather than do one. 6. A trifling rumor may cause a great calamity. 7. To do two things at once is to do neither. 8. A hasty judgment is a first step to a recantation. 9. Suspicion cleaves to the dark side of things. 10. To love one’s wife with too much passion, is to be an adulterer. 11. Hard is it to correct the habit already formed. 12. A small loan makes a debtor; a great one, an enemy. 13. Age conceals the lascivious character; age also reveals it. 14. Bitter for a free man is the bondage of debt. 15. Even when we get what we wish, it is not ours. 16. We are interested in others, when they are interested in us. 17. Every one excels in something in which another fails. 18. Do not find your happiness in another’s sorrow. 19. An angry lover tells himself many lies. 20. A lover, like a torch, burns the more fiercely the more agitated.

How to Die
How to Die

Author: Seneca

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-02-27

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1400889480

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Timeless wisdom on death and dying from the celebrated Stoic philosopher Seneca "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 and dazzling writer who speaks with a startling frankness about the need to accept death or even, under certain conditions, to seek it out. Seneca believed that life is only a journey toward death and that one must rehearse for death throughout life. Here, he tells us how to practice for death, how to die well, and how to understand the role of a good death in a good life. He stresses the universality of death, its importance as life's final rite of passage, and its ability to liberate us from pain, slavery, or political oppression. Featuring beautifully rendered new translations, How to Die also includes an enlightening introduction, notes, the original Latin texts, and an epilogue presenting Tacitus's description of Seneca's grim suicide.

How to Win an Argument
How to Win an Argument

Author: Marcus Tullius Cicero

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2017-10-31

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1400883350

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Timeless techniques of effective public speaking from ancient Rome's greatest orator All of us are faced countless times with the challenge of persuading others, whether we're trying to win a trivial argument with a friend or convince our coworkers about an important decision. Instead of relying on untrained instinct—and often floundering or failing as a result—we’d win more arguments if we learned the timeless art of verbal persuasion, rhetoric. How to Win an Argument gathers the rhetorical wisdom of Cicero, ancient Rome’s greatest orator, from across his works and combines it with passages from his legal and political speeches to show his powerful techniques in action. The result is an enlightening and entertaining practical introduction to the secrets of persuasive speaking and writing—including strategies that are just as effective in today’s offices, schools, courts, and political debates as they were in the Roman forum. How to Win an Argument addresses proof based on rational argumentation, character, and emotion; the parts of a speech; the plain, middle, and grand styles; how to persuade no matter what audience or circumstances you face; and more. Cicero’s words are presented in lively translations, with illuminating introductions; the book also features a brief biography of Cicero, a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and an appendix of the original Latin texts. Astonishingly relevant, this unique anthology of Cicero’s rhetorical and oratorical wisdom will be enjoyed by anyone who ever needs to win arguments and influence people—in other words, all of us.

Stoic Six Pack 5
Stoic Six Pack 5

Author: Dioegenes Laertius

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-08-28

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9781517104061

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For Cynics the secret to happiness was living a life of virtue in harmony with Nature with only the bare essentials necessary for survival. They rejected materialism and were free of belongings. Many were homeless and proud of it. The Cynics emphasized the value of self-sufficiency, or autarkeia. They ate one (vegetarian) meal a day and made a habit of walking vast distances to stay in shape. The school extolled the virtue of perseverance, or karteria. The founder of Cynicism was Antisthenes (c. 445 - c. 365 BC), a former student of Socrates. He was followed by Diogenes of Sinope, who famously lived in a tub on the streets of Athens. The third key figure was Crates of Thebes (360 - 280 BC), a rich man who gave away his money to live a life of pious poverty. Crates wed the like-minded Hipparchia of Maroneia and they became one of the few known philosopher couples in antiquity. Stoic Six Pack 5 - The Cynics presents the key primary sources for our understanding of this ancient philosophy, as well as secondary material to provide insight and understanding: An Introduction to Cynic Philosophy by John MacCunn. The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave by Publius Syrus. Life of Antisthenes by Diogenes Laërtius. Book IV of The Symposium by Xenophon. Life of Diogenes by Diogenes Laërtius. Life of Crates by Diogenes Laërtius. With the rise of Stoicism in the 3rd Century B.C., the Cynic movement stalled. But there was renewed interest in the 1st Century A.D. when bedraggled Cynics could be found on the streets of Rome in large numbers, preaching their creed of anti-materialism and a simple life. The philosophy struck a chord with certain elements of Roman society and Cynics flourished into the 4th Century A.D., unlike Stoicism, which had long since faded by that time. "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours." - Diogenes of Sinope.

Measure of My Days
Measure of My Days

Author: Florida Scott-Maxwell

Publisher: Knopf

Published: 2013-07-31

Total Pages: 93

ISBN-13: 0307828344

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At eighty-two, Florida Scott-Maxwell felt impelled to write about her strong reactions to being old, and to the time in which we live. Until almost the end this document was not intended for anyone to see, but the author finally decided that she wanted her thoughts and feelings to reach others. Mrs. Scott-Maxwell writes: “I was astonished to find how intensely one lives in one’s eighties. The last years seemed a culmination and by concentrating on them one became more truly oneself. Though old, I felt full of potential life. It pulsed in me even as I was conscious of shrinking into a final form which it was my task and stimulus to complete.” The territory of the old is not Scott-Maxwell’s only concern. In taking the measure of the sum of her days as a woman of the twentieth century, she confronts some of the most disturbing conflicts of human nature—the need for differentiation as against equality, the recognition of the evil forces in our nature—and her insights are challenging and illuminating. The vision that emerges from her accumulated experience of life makes this a remarkable document that speaks to all ages.

The Bed of Procrustes
The Bed of Procrustes

Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2010-11-30

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0679643680

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The author of the modern classics The Black Swan, Fooled by Randomness, and Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb expresses major ideas in ways you least expect in this collection of aphorisms and meditations—now expanded with fifty percent more material than the hardcover. The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from the Greek myth of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection, either by stretching them or by cutting their limbs. It represents Taleb’s view of modern civilization’s hubristic side effects—modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery. Playful and irreverent, these aphorisms will surprise you by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized. With a rare combination of pointed wit and potent wisdom, Taleb plows through human illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance, and erudition with the modern diseases of nerdiness, philistinism, and phonies.