A delightful short story set in medieval Baghdad, fabric merchant Fuwaad ibn Abbas, tells a story to the Caliph of the day. This remarkable story invoA delightful short story set in medieval Baghdad, fabric merchant Fuwaad ibn Abbas, tells a story to the Caliph of the day. This remarkable story involved his visit to a merchant’s shop in a bazaar of Baghdad, this shop contains some amazing goods – one being, a gate that allows people to time travel to the past or future.
men of experience say, "Four things do not come back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity," and I understood the truth of those words better than most
Fuwaad tells the Caliph four stories of people travelling back, or forward in time to either impact what has happened and/or learn from what happens in the future. However, the future of past cannot be changed.
Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.
These stories are magical and vibrant – one can almost hear the noises of the bazaar, the smells, feel the heat. The author touches on fate, regrets, time and love and much more. There’s certainly a philosophical and religious element to this one too. The main message here, I believe, is the fact that the past and future are unalterable – what matters is understanding.
Imagine if we could do that? Observe what happened in the past or what will happen in the future. Not being able to change either – but learning and understanding what happened and why. Imagine that.
This is a delightful story. Many thanks to my buddy, Kevin, and his review that encouraged me look this one up – it’s well worth it!!!
Imagine if you couldn’t stop yourself remembering everything? All day and all night, every day and every night. You even find yourself remembering timImagine if you couldn’t stop yourself remembering everything? All day and all night, every day and every night. You even find yourself remembering times when you were remembering a particular thing. Aaaarrrggghh!!!
This is the short story of a man called Funes, and the unnamed narrator describes the short life, and insatiable memory of this young man in Uruguay in the late 1800s. Funes can remember every fruit on a vine, every leaf, and the markings on each leaf on a tree. He also, devises his own language and numerical system – the systems currently used by everyone are too simple (of course).
There’s synaesthesia happening here too – this is when one of our senses can trigger other senses to come into play. Such as remembering a number as a colour, or a plant as a smell.
Poor Funes was debilitated by this condition. One may expect this ability would be beneficial. But this guy couldn’t communicate normally with anyone, he was in a world of his own, he couldn’t sleep – his mind was FULL.
Imagine that? Can our mind be full?
The irony here is, not all superpowers are beneficial. That’s my take home message anyway.
This is a fascinating short story and caused me to deep dive into lots of rabbit holes and read many analyses. Much of them over my head – this wee little beauty is certainly one for the mind.
If you do read it, and I recommend it, you may want to lie down afterwards.
Fathers and Children by Ivan Turgenev is a story I have mixed feelings about.
Initially, I really enjoyed this, largely because of a young manMmmmm…..
Fathers and Children by Ivan Turgenev is a story I have mixed feelings about.
Initially, I really enjoyed this, largely because of a young man, a nihilist, named Bazarov. He accompanied another young man, called Arkady, to the latter’s family home to meet his widower father, Nikolay, and his uncle Pavel. Immediately, there were some uncomfortable discussions to be had as the opinionated Bazarov proved to be a taciturn, contrary (and in my opinion, arrogant) character – who spent his time disagreeing with everything Nikolay and Pavel had to say. There was a particular animosity between Uncle Pavel and Bazarov. Personally, I thought Bazarov was a complete tosser, and I would’ve thrown him out of my home, no matter how much Arkady fawned all over him. Arkady idolised him.
Despite my fractious relationship with Bazarov, I found him interesting as a character and whenever he appeared in a scene I made a wee “whoop” noise of delight (nothing too creepy, mind you), as I knew drama would ensue. If you read this, keep an eye on the relationship between Bazarov and Pavel – it crumbles dramatically.
The young men also visited Bazarov’s family farm, I found this part of the story incredibly sad – the parents of Bazarov, were almost ‘cap in hand’ gratefully simpering, in appreciation for their son’s visit. Bazarov seemed to exploit this, and even worse, he became increasingly indifferent to their love.
There’s also a love story in this liquorice all sorts, chop suey type of tale. Romance erupts when the boys visit a local aristocratic family – admittedly, this was interesting, too.
I think the theme in this story is the differences between the old and the young. Seems obvious, I know. However, I could write a few pages on the theme as I see it – and that’s the difference between nihilists and the rest of us. What an annoying bunch.
Admittedly, the literary messages here are probably way above my ability to identify, define, and analyse.
I found this interesting in parts, but it was also all over the shop (for me) and didn’t seem at all cohesive – a bit like this review!
Good enough to recommend (the story, not my review).
I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe
This poignant quote from our narrator – struck me like a thunderbolt. I loved it, not bI laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe
This poignant quote from our narrator – struck me like a thunderbolt. I loved it, not because I agree with this sentiment. But because it was the thoughts of a man I initially loathed, however, as this work progressed the writer developed such a beautifully layered* character – I felt like I identified with him, in some way, on a deeper level.
That made me squirm.
This is a brilliant novella of a man (our narrator) who seems to cruise through life, apparently not caring. To the point of seeming to not have any opinions, views, or desires for anything at all. He attracts a small gaggle of undesirables, who are as equally as dislikable as him. Unexpectedly, he did attract the affections of a nice young woman – it did make me think, “what the hell was she doing?”.
Our narrator, who seems to glide through life, doesn’t have it all his own way and becomes involved in a situation he is unable to extract himself from. A situation he will find it increasingly impossible to elude.
Dark, gripping, revealing, psychological and quite simply, brilliant.
Many thanks to my buddy reader Jennifer for sharing this story with me.
This is my first novel by Voltaire, and it will not be my last. How lucky to have a trifecta of satirists and piss-takers on hand now, just waiting foThis is my first novel by Voltaire, and it will not be my last. How lucky to have a trifecta of satirists and piss-takers on hand now, just waiting for me to pluck out a story and have a ball. The other two being Gogol and Kafka, of course. This piece was written by Voltaire in 1759.
Candide was an impressionable young man, he was a very gullible, kind hearted young man. He was influenced by his tutor, a man called Pangloss. This man’s mantra was this world we live in is “the best of all possible worlds”. Or as is said down under “She’ll be right mate.” Everything will work out in the end, for the good. This had a massive impact in the impressionable Candide.
Pangloss was a professor of metaphysicotheologico-cosmolo-nigology. He and Candide were living in a castle in a place called Whestphalia owned by the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh. You can imagine, as soon as I read these words, I knew I was in for one helluva ride.
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Candide caught in the act of trying to seduce the gorgeous Cunegonde
Candide falls for the scrumptious Cunegonde, the Baron’s daughter. As soon as the Baron discovers this – Candide is kicked out of the castle and what follows next is a journey across the globe whereby he encounters many dreadful people and situations. The horrors he experiences, sees, or hears from other people include, rape, murder, enslavement, thieving, whipping, the inquisition, earthquakes, monkeys chasing naked young maidens and biting their buttocks, burning at the stake – to name only a handful.
The villainy of mankind presented itself before his imagination in all its deformity, and his mind was filled with gloomy ideas
Candide started to have serious doubts about Pangloss’s overly optimistic philosophy of life. In fact, Voltaire spends considerable time dismantling the notion of supreme optimism here, and he does an incredibly good job. He also explores the idea of happiness, and fulfilment – and his view on how to achieve that.
This book is a lovely amalgam of philosophy, history and fun – my review has only scratched the surface.
Stoicism: How to Use Stoicism Philosophy to Find Inner Peace and Happiness by Jason Hemlock, as the title suggests, is a self-improvement book on how Stoicism: How to Use Stoicism Philosophy to Find Inner Peace and Happiness by Jason Hemlock, as the title suggests, is a self-improvement book on how to use the ancient philosophy of Stoicism to help the reader lead a better, more virtuous life.
There are fourteen chapters each detailing an aspect of stoicism, describing the theory, the history of the topic followed by some exercises to enable the reader to practice and attempt to adopt stoic practices into their daily lives. Some examples of chapter topics include - seeking out misfortune, turn an obstacle upside down, view the world from above, embrace your lack of control, prepare for the worst and be your best self.
My main interest in stoicism is historical, as two greats from antiquity are major players in this philosophical practice:
Seneca (5 BCE – 65 CE) – one of the wealthiest men in the Roman Empire, an advisor and mentor to Nero (something one could say, "the proof was NOT in the pudding"), but well connected and possessed a great mind. His book On the Shortness of Life is one of my ‘go-too’ books, when I want to read something inspirational about the importance of using our time wisely. It’s our most valuable possession.
It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it
Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 CE) – the last one in the period of the five good emperors. He was a man with a great mind and his Meditations is a philosophical work that is still relevant today, all written while he was on the battle front warring with the Germanic Tribes of the day.
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
Both are quoted heavily in this book – as are others such as Epictetus and many others.
Death is the ultimate motivating force for us to be our best selves, because if we can truly say on our death bed that we always did our best, death holds no power over us………..I like that.
For those looking at adopting practices to become your ‘best-self”, improve well-being and happiness, this may be a book you may find handy.
Outline by Rachel Cusk is unlike anything I have read before.
Our largely unnamed narrator is a novelist travelling to Athens to deliver a creative wriOutline by Rachel Cusk is unlike anything I have read before.
Our largely unnamed narrator is a novelist travelling to Athens to deliver a creative writing course. During this journey and her time in Greece she had a number of conversations. It is these dialogues that deliver a powerful study of loss, relationships, friendships, reflections of self, perspectives of others, and many other elements of what it is to be human.
Perhaps one of the most compelling parts for me was when the man she sat next to on the plane took her on a boat trip for a swim in the beautiful Aegean Sea. Once anchored in a cove, they observe another boat with a family, and she thinks about this family (they look happy), and she makes assumptions watching them. The family of course and each of its members would have their own perceptions of their own reality (they might be dreadfully unhappy), also their perceptions of each other and of themselves would differ – in short, there may be no reality at all.
I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about this book. I was dwelling on the question of ‘who the heck we are?’. To be sure – the perspectives of others towards us wouldn’t hold true (largely), even those who live closely to us wouldn’t know exactly who we are. Most fascinating to me is - we probably don’t even know who we are. One reason being we spend so much of our lives, being someone else. Meaning, we spend so much of our time looking after, managing, responding to the needs of others and the world around us. What have we become through other people? Is the idea of ‘self’ an illusion?
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we are so crammed full of our own memories, obligations, dreams, knowledge and the plethora of day-to-day responsibilities – gleaned over years of listening, talking, emphasising. We can no longer be certain what has happened to us and who we have become
This self-reflection has made me think and I have no bloody idea who I am. Seriously, it’s an uncomfortable feeling. Other questions arise from this like, what do we deserve, what do we really want, and what don’t we want?
No matter how busy you are, no matter how many kids and commitments you have if there’s passion, you find the time. For example, you never hear someone say they wanted to have an affair but couldn’t find the time..
I’m excited to learn this is the first of a trilogy – I need to get my hands on Transit #2. I would like to thank Charles, who’s review threw me on the tracks under the wheels of this wonderful, wonderful 240-page behemoth.
Devoid of plot, philosophical, this one is a powerful, beautiful piece of work.
If he could only love what he did not know, and be loved in return on that same basis, then knowledge became an inexorable disenchantment, for which the only cure was to fall in love with someone new ....This said by a character who had an affair to escape those around him, who knew him so thoroughly.
I’ve had some fun this week immersing myself into the world of Essayists, all thanks to Gore Vidal, I’ve been introduced to an Italian Communist, in GI’ve had some fun this week immersing myself into the world of Essayists, all thanks to Gore Vidal, I’ve been introduced to an Italian Communist, in Gramsci, and next I was fortunate to meet the prolific French Essayist from the 1500’s – Michel de Montaigne. New subjects are fun to learn and this guy is super interesting.
Montaigne: A Very Short Introduction by William H. Manlin is a ‘not-so-short’, very short summary of this man’s life and works. He is considered by many, to be the founder of the personal essay – I am not sure about the veracity of this claim, but he was certainly prolific, and he certainly covered countless topics – all contained within a publication called The Essays. Montaigne was not only an essayist he was also a well-connected and busy servant of the Royal Family and the Government of the day, a well-known man in high demand to be sure.
The author states The Essays offer “Profound meditations on social and ethical questions and presents one of the most candid self-portraits ever written”. In fact, Montaigne, in a shameless example of self-promotion says his Essays are “the only book in the world of its kind, with a wild and eccentric plan”. In fact, many of his thoughts would have been very controversial for the time.
Montaigne was a Catholic, and he often quoted his faith as fact – to my mind this isn’t consistent with his Skepticism. Those who practice Skepticism are those who question cultural beliefs and assumptions, these people classify doubt as the ultimate truth. It seems his religious beliefs fell outside of this thinking (this is only my opinion). Bearing in mind though, Catholics and Protestants were tearing each other apart during this grisly faith-related period of history, so being overly critical of Christianity may have seen him roasted alive. However, and interestingly, he does make some critical comment of Christianity in his essay “Of Cannibals” – where he says there is ”More barbarity in roasting people alive, or having them bitten – bit by bit by dogs and pigs than eating a man after he is dead”. He is clearly stating the violence seen in European Christendom conflict is far worse than the actions of Cannibals of the New World, in places such as Brazil. Can’t argue with that!
He was an unashamed misogynist, but he was also very progressive in some other areas, such as his issue with humans believing we are “Kings” over all non-human animals. He had an inherent respect and appreciation of our ‘animal brothers and sisters’ (my words) – something this animal lover, loves, utterly.
His scope of work is way to vast to summarise here, he was passionate, interested in and opinionated about so many things – I was fortunate to find a pdf of his essays and managed to work my way through several of them. It’s worth looking up his works on-line if you’re interested.
Anyway, I am so glad I ‘met’ Michel de Montaigne – he was an interesting man, and this was an interesting journey.
Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 CE) was the last in line of the five good Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus).
Fun Fact 1: funny tMarcus Aurelius (121 – 180 CE) was the last in line of the five good Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus).
Fun Fact 1: funny thing is, they were all adopted by their predecessor. The next Emperor after Marcus was Commodus, he was a son of Marcus and was a complete Muppet, nasty too – hence the start of a period of volatility after his death. An argument against hereditary ascension to a throne to be sure. This is not the only instance of hereditary ascension being a complete disaster in the Roman Empire.
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Marcus Aurelius – didn’t he look curious?
Now Marcus was not only the guy in charge of the Roman Empire he was a Stoic Philosopher. I am a tad conflicted about an Emperor being a Stoic. In my mind a Stoic, is calm, happy with his or her lot, does not want for much, but on the other hand an Emperor is grab, grab, grab and kill, kill, kill. When he wrote this – he was on the frontline of the war with the Germanic Tribes in 170-180 CE. So that does not lie straight with me – however, he did not live lavishly.....apparently. But to be fair, he was part of a machine, and in charge of it – he could very well have been (and I believe it to be so) a decent, intelligent man.
Either way Meditations is a piece of work that endures to this day. Imagine that it still holds up. Meditations was first printed in 1559 CE; Marcus originally wrote this work in Greek – the language of the intelligentsia of the time. It is also believed; these writings were not intended to be published. He wrote these for himself. Yes, just he – and we have been gorking at these writings for centuries – academics and lay people alike – it is respected, it has stood up.
Don’t you think that is amazing?
You cannot finish a book like this – it needs to be kept on one’s bedside table, to be referred to every now and then, maybe scribble your own notes (while listening to Enya) and reflect. This is what I do with my favourite Stoic work by one of my heroes – Seneca – his work On the Shortness of Life is my favourite. My review of this classic can be found here https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9.... So, Seneca’s and Marcus’ books are in my Man Bag. Stick them in yours too!!!!! Or handbag of you are a lady ...more
First read and reviewed in 2020, this review can be found below
Second read 31st October 2023
I have nothing to add to the initial review. This is just First read and reviewed in 2020, this review can be found below
Second read 31st October 2023
I have nothing to add to the initial review. This is just as amusing and clever the second time. Poor Claudius.
Apocolocyntosis (The Pumpkinification of Claudius) by Seneca is a short satirical farce, written after the death of Emperor Claudius.
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Seneca the Stoic Philosopher
But firstly, a little of the man himself. Seneca was born in Spain in 4 BCE and died by his own hand under the direction of Emperor Nero in 65 CE. Little is known of his childhood, but he did eventually end up in Rome and was a very capable Senator with outstanding oratory skills. He was also a prolific writer of letters, plays (Tragedies mainly) and his stoic philosophical works – one of which sits comfortably in my Man Bag for quick reference On the Shortness of Life, it’s quite short and I highly recommend it for those looking for some words of inspiration from time to time. Many believed he was a hypocrite though, as he espoused stoicism, whilst being one of the wealthiest men in the Empire.
It’s reported Caligula wasn’t a real fan of Seneca. But it was the “Mad Emperor’s” successor, Claudius, who ended up exiling Seneca to Corsica due to accusations he was with Caligula’s and Agrippina’s (the younger) sister Julia Livilla. Agrippina the Younger eventually recalled Seneca from Corsica – which apparently wasn’t such a bad place to be exiled, but Seneca thought it was hell on earth – to mentor and educate Agrippina’s young son, the monster in waiting Nero. You could argue he didn’t do a particularly good job there.
Anyway, onto this piece. It’s a satire about Claudius’ entry into heaven. Seneca not only writes a piece which clearly denigrates the stuttering, bumbling, club-footed Claudius, he also falls over himself to flatter Nero, yes Nero. He refers to Nero as ”Bright and shining, with a face that lights up the atmosphere, whilst his hair ripples in waves down his lovely neck”. If anyone has seen busts of Nero and his neckbeard, you’ll probably arrive at a different conclusion.
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Nero and ‘that’ Neck Beard
Seneca even refers to Claudius’ life as “worthless” and quotes the Emperor’s last words as ”Oh dear, oh dear, I think I’ve soiled myself” because he believed Claudius made a mess of everything. (NB: He didn’t by the way – he was considered quite a good Emperor by many sources).
Claudius is greeted in heaven by numerous Gods. For example, Hercules – who was frightened by the creature Claudius, who according to him had ”a voice like no creature on earth”. Other deeds Claudius is accused of by Seneca, is turning Rome into a ‘rotten place’ and he pokes fun of the fact the ‘savages’ on Britain worship him. For they know no better. He’s accused of being a murderer – make no mistake, Claudius was responsible for many deaths, including amongst his own family and friends.
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Claudius
The list of Gods who make an appearance is endless, even the deified Augustus chips in – his summation of Claudius is scathing. Mercury is tasked with dragging Claudius down to Hell, Claudius’ gout does cause him some discomfort as he’s rushed down Mount Olympus. In Hell, he meets up with those who were condemned by him, nice types like Messalina and other family members and friends. He was even greeted at the gates by Cerberus. This little piece really is a ‘who’s who’ of mythology and ancient history.
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Cerberus, the three-headed dog, guarding the gates of hell with Hades - nasty stuff
This Kangaroo Court charged Claudius of murdering 35 Senators, 221 Roman Knights and ‘as many others as there are grains of sand on the seashore’. In the end, they invented an enduring punishment for the hapless Claudius. Aeacus eventually ruled that Claudius was to rattle dice in a shaker with no bottom, so the poor wretch would spend eternity fruitlessly searching for the dice, which always slipped through his fingers. Poor bastard!
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Gambling Dice from Ancient Rome – no doubt Claudius is still frantically searching for these
This is an amusing piece, and Seneca makes no bones of the fact that he couldn’t stand the man. He is particularly vicious about his physical deformities and speech impediment – using what appears to be contemporary humour, I did find this a little bit uncomfortable. But there is so much about this period, many of us would find uncomfortable.
For anyone interested in a short, punchy farce from antiquity riddled with history and humour, I highly recommend this.
A Short History of Philosophy – From Ancient Greece to the Post-Modernist Era by Peter Gibson takes the reader on a voyage covering the great thinkersA Short History of Philosophy – From Ancient Greece to the Post-Modernist Era by Peter Gibson takes the reader on a voyage covering the great thinkers throughout history from 585 BCE to the modern era. The book covers what seems all of the great European thinkers – well a lot of them anyway.
I arrived at this book with very much a lay person’s knowledge of this wonderful and interesting topic. Previously, my only real exposure and reading has covered two philosophers from antiquity, namely Seneca the Younger and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. I particularly enjoyed Seneca’s On the Shortness of Life, in fact, I keep a copy of it in my Man Bag. Yes, Man Bag.
This book takes us through countless philosophers through 14 chapters, each covering a specific time period. Therefore, it describes the works of a lot of thinkers. Personally, I found it a tricky read because each Philosopher and their work was flung at me at breakneck speed, I lost track, and sometimes was overwhelmed and confused by the content. Maybe it was just over my head.
I believe this work would be ideal for a new student to philosophical studies, as it certainly would provide the reader with a snapshot of various Philosopher’s works and where they fit in the chronological order of things. A good basic reference.
This book was an interesting read but maybe a bit too much for me.
3 Stars
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review. ...more
Where do you start reviewing a colossal piece of work such as Homo Deus – A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari? Last year I read another wWhere do you start reviewing a colossal piece of work such as Homo Deus – A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari? Last year I read another work by this author Sapiens, I was so taken by that work I could have and should have given it 6 stars (rule breaker, I am – yes I live on the edge). Sapiens discussed how we got to where we are now, Homo Deus discusses where we could be heading. To be honest it isn’t pretty – not to me anyway.
Professor Harari explains how Homo Sapiens have conquered the world and everything in it – including the atrocious way we arrogantly treat animals and the way we believe we are inherently more valued and important than other beings such as pigs, cows, fish, lizards, bugs and all.
What makes the life of domesticated farm animals particularly miserable is not the way they die. But the way they live.
This humble (but quite opinionated and annoying) reader believes he is no more important in the grand scheme of things than my Pup, a Pig, a Sparrow, a Fly, a Kettle or a Coffee Table – we are all part of the intricate exchange of atoms and matter that started 14 Billion years ago (perhaps). To be honest, believing this gives me great comfort and peace. That is, my carbon-based body, which may end up expired at some time sooner rather than later, will exchange atoms, molecules, and various other sub-atomic particles with Mother Earth. I love that.
The author states the ‘fact’ we have eternal Souls - apparently this means we take precedence over beings such as a pig, who don’t have souls.. This seems to give Homo Sapiens, more sway in the way things are managed, and imagined.
As an aside, there is Zero evidence Humans have souls as there is zero evidence Pigs have souls.
I really like the way Harari describes concepts such as Objective Reality, like gravity (which is indisputably real) and Inter-Subjective Reality (which are human constructs), such as religion and money. I can’t argue with the power of the latter regarding its contribution in the way we have totally dominated this planet.
The author repeatedly quotes statistics and numbers, and as this is an audiobook, I did find it difficult to re-read, stop, and check references if I needed to. However, one classic is – only 14% of Americans believe humans evolved without any divine intervention at all. What? Really? Apparently, being college/university educated makes no difference to these numbers. It’s funny (not) how the Theory of Evolution attracts far more criticism and controversy than the Theory of Relativity, which seems to go unnoticed. People don’t really give a toss about space/time and if they’re interrelated, but don’t talk about evolution.
The author discusses so many topics here such as Humanism, Liberalism, Climate Change, Poverty – the difference between poor and rich.
Harari spends a great deal of time discussing Humanism. This is a non-theist philosophy which affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfilment. In other words, we can give shape to our own lives, using free-will, learning from our experiences and so forth. He then goes onto discuss ‘free-will’ – and the fact we may not be as free as we think. For example, we already have many automated algorithms collecting data on each of us to influence what we buy, want, need. In fact, I finished this section believing ‘the system’ knows me better than I know myself!
What will happen if we realise customers and voters never make free choices?
The confrontation-o-meter really starts to crank up when the author writes about us being replaced by A.I. Algorithms. A future of machines with no-consciousness making decisions using vast amounts of data, thus making us superfluous. It seems we are on the verge of massive changes in this area – if we all think about it, the rate of change in the last decade has already been massive, as we know rates of technological change seem to increase exponentially . It’s very frightening.
Apparently, experts find it difficult to tell the difference between computer generated music, poetry – there are many professions we previously thought were exempt from automation. Taking The Family Doctor for example, an A.I. GP would always be up to date with the latest journals, papers, diagnoses, medications – for every disease imaginable, in real-time. How can a human compete with that? This is just one very simple example.
In closing, this whole read was fascinating. I loved it, in an itchy sort of way.
But you know, there is one major thing missing from this whole automated algorithmic data-driven world. What about love – how can a machine ever do that? Grief also? Desires? Maybe the world doesn’t need this – I don’t know about you, but a world without the things that make us human – love, grief, emotions, desires, sounds like no world at all.
Initially, I felt slightly guilty adding this short book to my 2019 ‘books read’ list, but I re-read this book and various passages many times. It’s wInitially, I felt slightly guilty adding this short book to my 2019 ‘books read’ list, but I re-read this book and various passages many times. It’s worth noting, I needed to refer to the similarly brief Sparknotes booklet to help me understand the thing. In the end, I spent more time on this effort than my usual 400-page affair, and feel it is more than worthy to add to my list of books read for this year.
Okay onto the layperson’s review of Laches by Plato, who is considered the father of Greek and Western Philosophy. Most of his work takes the form of dialogues, and Laches is no different. This piece involves the fathers of two sons and they’re trying to decide on how best to educate each of them in the art of fighting in armour. As both Dads are not proficient at this, they engage two noteworthy Generals (Laches and Nicias) in a discussion to help assist them to decide which one to engage to train their sons.
Enter the argumentative (let’s not deny it) Socrates, to adjudicate. Seems Socrates spent most of his days sauntering around Athens arguing, debating, probing, poking and questioning people’s logic and assumptions with the whole intent of demolishing their arguments, to show they knew nothing. I can imagine people running in all directions when Socrates was approaching. I think it did him in, in the end.
Anyway, Socrates gave Laches two attempts at defining ‘Courage’. He finally admitted he hadn’t the slightest idea what Courage was. This was followed by Nicias’ attempt, this is where it got really complicated for me, as Nicias tended to use forms and various abstract arguments that seemed so far removed from Courage, my brain ached. But in the end Socrates proved Nicias didn’t know either. This presented Socrates with an incredible challenge on who best to select to teach the two boys.
I must say, after immersing myself in this dialogue for a short but intense time, I haven’t the faintest idea on how to define Courage. In fact, I probably am less able to do so after reading Laches than I was before – perhaps that is Socrates point. I know nothing.
I did chuckle at this (From Sparknotes):
“Interestingly, Socrates own teacher, Cratylus, was so focused on his own thoughts of wisdom that he even refused to speak”……..Imagine that!
They must have been an interesting bunch back in 500-400 AD.
Much is said about engaging one’s mind, as we age, in new activities such as learning an instrument or a new language to fight off the risk of dementia and other similar diseases. Well, trying to understand books such as this and performing the mental gymnastics required to figure out even the most ‘simple’ of passages, certainly has the potential to keep us all mentally nimble. Enjoy – I did!
I am writing this review as a layperson, Philosophy isn’t my area of expertise and my level of knowledge is limited at best. I ended up here, as I’ve I am writing this review as a layperson, Philosophy isn’t my area of expertise and my level of knowledge is limited at best. I ended up here, as I’ve been researching Rome for an upcoming holiday. I’ve taken an interest in that crazy gang of early Roman Emperors from Augustus to Nero (i.e. the Julio-Claudian dynasty).
So, this review is for those of us who stumble across a book with little or no knowledge of the subject matter – easy I know.
The edition I read contained three essays, the one I enjoyed the most is called “On the shortness of Life” ……….and Wow!!!
Seneca was born in Spain, just before the birth of Christ and died by his own hand in 65 AD. Apart from his philosophical works, he was known for being an intellectual, an orator, a politician, an author of letters and plays and most dangerously, an Imperial advisor and mentor to the young Emperor, Nero. It turns out that inhabiting the same orbit of an Emperor, especially that of a nutter like Nero, was a very hazardous calling indeed.
The other two essays are called ‘Consolation to Helvia’ and ‘On tranquillity of Mind’. The first is a piece which consoles his mother after he was exiled to the Island of Corsica for a few years (sounds ok right?), the latter essentially details advice he gave to a mate of his called Serenus who was struggling with some of his vices. Humankind hasn’t changed much hey?
But let’s focus on “On the Shortness of Life”, it could pass as a contemporary piece of work. This essay is quite dense, the words of wisdom come at you at machine-gun pace, I found myself being impacted by one sentence or paragraph only to be smashed by an even more stunning thought immediately after. As such, this should really be a slow read, to allow you to ponder, let it sink in. I will continue to revisit this book, it is ideally suited to keeping in my man-bag or laptop case to be pulled out while travelling, or when modern life is becoming a bit much. Yes, I found it that good.
Some thought provoking examples include:
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it”
“So, it is, we are not given a short life, but we make it short, and are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it”
“It is a small part of life we really live; Indeed, all the rest is not life but merely time”
Seneca’s intention here is to ask us to examine the problems most of us experience of time passing us by too quickly. To nurture our most important asset – our own life.
Following are more gems, particularly relevant in this modern, busy, materialistic world we find ourselves in:
“People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing it is right to be stingy”
“In guarding their fortune men are often closefisted, yet, when it comes to the matter of wasting time, in the case of the one thing in which it is right to be miserly, they show themselves most extravagant”
…..and my favourite, on the topic of not nurturing ourselves:
“X cultivates Y and Y cultivates Z – no one bothers about himself”
The words of wisdom come at you thick and fast, no headings, no breaks – it is relentless, but oh so worth it.
There are some aspects of Seneca that bother me though. For example, he was the richest man in the Empire at the time but found it necessary to lecture us on frugality. Perhaps an easy thing to do for a well-heeled aristocrat. He also was the mentor and imperial advisor of Nero and even though it is often argued the first five years of Nero’s reign were respectable, it rapidly spun out of control, and the remaining eight years revealed the true monster he really was. It seems Seneca failed spectacularly in this endeavour. Some even criticise him for being a Nero sycophant.
Either way, Nero didn’t appreciate his mentoring and told Seneca to kill himself at the age of 68. So he did.
I loved these essays and will certainly re-read them. If you read contemporary self-improvement books, or books on mindfulness and the like, it is worth checking out this guy. I know I’ll certainly read more about him, and his works.
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