Thucydides offers one-hundred and forty-one speeches in his monumental history of the Peloponnesian War, yet the early eulogy offered by Pericles (in Book II) is surely the most famous. The word "eulogy" comes down to us from the Greek word eulogia meaning to offer praise, or even high praise. Pericles delivers his famous eulogy, the … Continue reading What Is A Eulogy? Ethos, Pathos, and Logos In Pericles’s Funeral Oration Speech
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The Principle of Exchange in The Shipman’s Tale
The Shipman is a western man, perhaps hailing from Dartmouth (as Chaucer suggests in the "General Prologue"). He is a modest man, riding a cart horse, and wearing a wool cloth with a dagger around his neck. He is a "good felawe." On his way to the pilgrimage had stolen a good deal of wine … Continue reading The Principle of Exchange in The Shipman’s Tale
Jonathan Swift and the Idea of Satire
The term "satire" comes down to us from the Classical Greek word for "satyr drama." The best example of a surviving satyr play from is Euripides's Cyclops, and though we moderns have a limited perspective on these tetralogical comedies, we believe they originated from Dionysian drunken revelries, and that they once concluded a series of … Continue reading Jonathan Swift and the Idea of Satire
Thoughts on Years of Grace
I am thoroughly enjoying reading through the Pulitzer-Prize winners. Years of Grace is a delightful novel. It is a surprisingly whimsical and light read for a 600-page book, yet it is sorely lacking in substance. Margaret Ayer Barnes spends a great deal of time describing the world of little Jane Ward; the books she reads, … Continue reading Thoughts on Years of Grace
The Story of Jerome’s Vulgate
Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius, or "Jerome," is likely the most significant Biblical translator in history. He was born in northeast Italy in 345, and by the time he was 29, Jerome had become a devout and ascetic Christian. He claims to have had a dream chastising him for being a follower of Cicero, not of Christ. … Continue reading The Story of Jerome’s Vulgate
Susanna: An Apocryphal Fable
The Story of Susanna is a beautiful but brief tale of a virtuous woman, Susanna, who is wrongly accused of infidelity by two lustful men. She has been raised in a family that follows the laws of Moses. She is reportedly very beautiful, which is why two old men spy on her each day. One day, … Continue reading Susanna: An Apocryphal Fable
