Roman Thought
Marcus Fabius Quintilian …
Men, even when alone, lighten their labors by song, however rude these may be.
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The perfection of art is to conceal art.
While we are making up our minds as to when we shall begin, the opportunity is lost.
We must form our minds by reading deep rather than wide.
The pretended admission of a fault on our part [...]
The Original ??? …
Bit disconcerting, when you had credited some one with something, to find that some other, much earlier had said the same.
Case in point. The great Gibbon, in his magnum opus, has observed –
“The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were considered by the people as equally true; by the by the [...]
John of Antioch … (340 – 407AD)
Saint John Chrysostom was nicknamed, the ‘golden mouthed’; and rose to become Archbishop of Constantinople. He is supposed to have gone into the desert for nearly a decade of self study and discipline before he accidentally came upon his chosen field.
In the Nineteenth Century John Henry Newman painted this notable portrait -
“He spoke because his heart, his head, were brimful [...]
A Hobson’s Choice … ???
As Mark Antony views the body of the murdered Ceasar, who was his friend and benefactor, the assassins come upon him … and offer the frightened Antony, their friendship. HIs responce …
One of two evil ways you leave me; either that of a flatterer or a coward
Read and Listen to the Language of Caesar
This is how Gaius Julius Ceasar’s ‘Conquest of Britain’ begins. He writes in the third person and despite the period style, you just cannot put him down.
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During the short part of summer which remained, Caesar resolved to proceed to Britain, because he discovered that in almost all the wars wtth the Gauls, succours had been [...]
Lucretius
Pleasant it is to behold feats of war over the plains with no part of you in peril.
The fall of dropping water wears away the Stone.
The sum of all sums is eternity —- Life is one long struggle in the dark.
The greatest wealth is to live content with little, for there is never want where [...]
Juvenal
And life is given to none freehold, but it is leasehold for all. Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another.
One globe seemed all too small for the youthful Alexander.
Censure acquits the raven, but pursues the dove. I wish it, I command it. Let my will take the place of a reason.
There is hardly a [...]
Marcus Aurelius … the Great Roman Emperor
Begin – to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.
Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive -to breathe, to think, to enjoy, [...]
Virgil
Fortune favours the bold. Go forth a conqueror and win great victories. They succeed, because they think they can. They are able because they think they are able. Who asks whether the enemy was defeated by strategy or valor?
Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance. Perhaps even these things, one day, will [...]
HORACE – on Writing.
Whatever advice you give, be short. …………………………………. Words will not fail when the matter is well considered.
It is no great art to say something briefly when, like Tacitus, one has something to say.
The pen is the tongue of the mind. I never think at all when I write. ………………………………… Good sense is both the first [...]
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