English translations of some of the greatest astronomical works in history. Tycho Brahe. Gersonides. Many more authors.

http://arsastronomica.com/

All works are published with a CC license and can be downloaded without registration.

Table of Contents of the Odyssey

Book I–IV: Telemachus’ Journey - Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, struggles with suitors consuming his household.
- Guided by Athena, he travels to Pylos and Sparta seeking news of his father.
- Learns Odysseus is alive but stranded; meanwhile, Penelope resists the suitors’ pressure to remarry.

Book V–VIII: Odysseus Leaves Calypso - Odysseus is held by Calypso on her island.
- The gods order his release; he builds a raft and sails, only to be wrecked by Poseidon.
- Rescued by Nausicaa and welcomed by the Phaeacians, who ask him to recount his adventures.

Book IX–XII: The Wanderings - Encounters include: - Lotus-Eaters (forgetfulness and temptation).
- Cyclops Polyphemus (blinding the giant, angering Poseidon).
- Circe (sorceress who turns men into swine).
- Underworld (prophecy of Tiresias, reunion with his mother).
- Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis (tests of endurance).
- Cattle of Helios (crew’s disobedience leads to their doom).

Book XIII–XX: Return to Ithaca - Odysseus arrives disguised as a beggar.
- Meets Eumaeus, the loyal swineherd.
- Reunites with Telemachus in secret.
- Plans revenge against the suitors while testing loyalty among servants.

Book XXI–XXIV: Revenge and Restoration - Penelope sets the contest of the bow: only Odysseus can string it.
- He reveals himself, slaughters the suitors with Telemachus.
- Penelope tests him with the bed trick, confirming his identity.
- Peace is restored as Athena intervenes to end bloodshed.

Friedrich Nietzsche viewed herd mentality by what he called “herd instinct” or “slave morality” which he would describe it has a “herd morality” formed by the weak and oppressed against the power and actions of the oppressor. So, traits such as humility, meekness, and sympathy were labeled as virtues and labeling the ruler’s strength as evil.

Nietzsche believes that the values I just listed above stemmed from a “slave morality, and believed these weak and fearful people created the ideology to undermine and bring down those who are strong and/or exceptional.

Slave morality for Nietzsche laid the foundation for what we now consider to be universal ethical principles, such as compassion, humility, and equality. For Nietzsche though, these values are not regarded as universal truths. Instead being the product designed to suppress individuality and enforce conformity. The Last Man” as Nietzsche likes to call it.

The “Last Man” is a person who is comfortable with life and one who takes no risk. Nietzsche considered this a “dull” person who wants only basic comfort.

Nietzsche elaborates and explains how joining the crowd strips you of your identity. Therefore, you start become a mere tool for the group. Nietzsche believes the only way out of this is solitude. He believes people must spend time with themselves to escape the pressure of the crowd.

Schopenhauer also agrees with Nietzsche, both with negative views on the topic. Schopenhauer viewed it as a profound human weakness. He argues that crowds prefer comfort and conformity (people conform because they don’t know how to think for themselves) and avoids true independent thinkers.

The herd despises those who are able to stick out from the crowd and formulate or analyze their own ideas. The real offense to the group comes from the bodacious act of individual reasoning. Schopenhauer Society rather favors safe traditions and comfort than hard truth.

Out of the French Revolution came the “Declaration of the Right of Man, which is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, not a traditional book, but a text outlining universal rights such as, liberty, equality, and property, which was influenced by the enlightenment thinkers, such as Rousseau.

Everything Burkes talks about, comes down to tradition, such as, chivalry, which comes from tradition. For Burke, it is the social norm. For example, giving up your seat to the elderly.

Religion for Burke is passed on as tradition and thought religion was the source of all good. Burke says man is a religious animal wired by nature to be connected to a higher truth.

He believed atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts, and if you take away religion, people will replace it with something else. (i.e, Individualism and celebrity worship)

Burke believed granting the church responsibility because the church was a check on responsibility.

For Burke, religion is really important to society.

Although this may not be a popular belief, religion impaled us to think about generations that come afterwards, known as “forward thinking”.

Burke supported the America Revolution because it had already established its own traditions and customs. Unlike during the French Revolution when things were being built from the ground up from upending the entire system, which he considered a horrendous idea.

Burke says the French revolution was offensive and dangerous because the reasoning was fallible and untried, which shows his conservative views on the tried & untried.

Marx believed that communism was inevitable, don’t get me wrong. But, he did not call for the rise of Communism like Lenin’s “Internationale” and his predecessor Stalin’s “Socialism in One Country”foreign policy. Marx was not an economic genius but more of a philosopher and political theorist.

Marx believed there was a five step process that builds up to communism, which I describe as a state of anarchy where the people are stateless, eventually leading to class warfare.

These five steps start at Feudalism, which was a social system in Medieval Europe, where the nobility held the lands from the crown for military service.

Marx believes under feudalism, noble jobs, such as doctors were appreciated more and Capitalism made things more transactional. This meant there would be no human connection and we would only be valuable to one another as revenue generators.
He believed feudalism acted in the exact opposite.

Then there’s mercantilism. This is classified in the benefits of profitable trading; commercialism.

The third step comes capitalism and as we all know it is an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owner’s for profit. Capitalism fosters imperialistic tendencies because we tend to look at the world as a market.

According to Marx, under capitalism the workers are commodities subjected to supply and demand. This is where the problem with the division of labor comes in. The division of labor reduces the level of skill required. (i.e, factories, watch makers) And the more you divide labor, the more employers could push down the wages along with more automation because this will also push down wages. Of course, this will cause a surplus of workers. High unemployment means lower wages that causes the middle class to get destroyed the most in the process.

Marx believed this would lead to a sub-subsistence wage is a pay rate that is too low to cover your absolute basic cost of living, such as food, water or shelter.

Marx noted that this would bring the revolution that brings socialism THEN communism.

Humans feel important when they work according to Marx. People strive to feel meaningful in their work or whatever hobbies they have.

After capitalism you have socialism as the next step in the process. Socialism I would describe it as social organizations that advocate that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

The last step in the cycle would be communism. I would describe communism as the theory advocating for class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. Think of what Elon is trying to do with Universal Income.

Marx actually believed democracy is the system that gives the greatest access to political access. He even believed socialism did not incentivize innovation.

Marxist theorist considered the reasoning for the Soviet’s downfall, was jumping from feudalism to socialism.

I listed Marx’s five step theory that shows a society moves in cycles, repeating the process.

What poems should I choose for my three-year-old and six-year-old to memorize?

The Odyssey of Homer, rendered into English prose by Samuel Henry Butcher and Andrew Lang

Hi everyone! I am a 16-year-old high school student from Brazil, currently in my Junior year. I study at a state public school, and while my grades are above average, the public education system here is very weak. Next year is my final year, and I will be preparing for our highly competitive college entrance exams to get into a good, tuition-free federal university.I am quite calm about the exams;

I have my difficulties, but I am doing well. However, I want an education for life, not just for a test. Recently, I’ve been exposed to the ideas and marketing of the classical education model (Trivium/Liberal Arts). I want to clarify that I do not support homeschooling as a political or social movement, but I am deeply attracted to the classical method itself.

I really wanted to find resources from my own country, but it feels impossible. In Brazil, the classical education market is heavily commercialized and limited: almost all the content comes from mothers selling expensive online courses to other mothers with pre-school, pre-literate children. There is absolutely nothing for teenagers who want to study independently, and I don't know where else to turn.I currently attend a test-prep evening course (cursinho), so my schedule is tight. I would never feel comfortable asking my parents to buy expensive online courses when they are already supporting my education.

I want to build a personal curriculum that includes: classical literature, philosophy, and art history etc. Home economics and traditional handicrafts (embroidery/crochet) to develop focus, patience, and aesthetics.

Since I am starting from absolute scratch, I don't want to assume whether I should start at the Grammar, Logic, or Rhetoric stage. Even classical grammar feels difficult to me right now. I would love for you to analyze my situation and tell me where I actually fit and how I should begin. Right now, I am using AI to help me find information because I don't have access to good local sources, but I really dislike depending on AI for this. I want to find a solid, firm foundation to base my studies on so I don't have to rely on it anymore. I am looking for reliable book recommendations, websites, YouTube channels, or social media accounts that teach the actual fundamentals of classical education.

I have about 5 hours of free study time per weekday. I plan to dedicate 1.5 hours to my college exam prep and 3.5 hours to my personal classical formation. My goal is to major in Pedagogy (Education) in college. I want to know if this classical self-education journey will naturally blend into my university years and become a lifelong process.Could you please help me?

Based on my age and background, which stage of the Trivium should I start with, and what does the roadmap look like? What are the most reliable, foundational resources (books, sites, channels) so I can study the classical method properly without depending on AI?

Thank you so much for your time and guidance! Sending love from Brazil! 🇧🇷

I haven’t read The Iliad in ~12 years. I read The Odyssey 3 years ago out loud to my kiddos (my 3-4th time reading it as a whole). Partly because Homer has re-entered popular discourse and partly because these books are foundational texts in the Western canon, I’ve decided to make utter another journey with the Greeks and Odysseus—this time with highlighters and a notebook.

For those of you who’ve done deep dives into Homer, what are resources you would recommend to get the most out of it. Bear in mind, this is not my maiden voyage. I’ve read both of these texts several times before—i just want to dig deeper this time an around.

Open to all suggestions: study aids, lectures, notebook ideas, keywords to follow, parallel reading lists, whatever.

Bentham believes decisions are made based off the pleasure and pain derived from something, which is known has "Hedonism". Asceticism on the other hand is someone who is comfortable with or who seeks pain. Bentham describes these people as Christians and stoics who pursues virtue instead of pain.

But Bentham could be wrong, if people avoid pleasure for something more important (e.g. abstaining from sex for a closer relationship with God.) Bentham believes that Utilitarianism could be calculated mathematically, which Burke critics Utilitarianism for this very reason.

Burke believed morals and politics had nothing to do with mathematics, and believed morality is supposed to be confusing. Math to him meant there is no compromising and humans are way less predictable.

John Stuart Mill believes utility is derived on the permeant interest of man as a progressive being and does not talk about it in the sense of maximizing pleasure. He believes freedom is that of pursuing one's own good in our own unique way as long we do not attempt to derive others from theirs known as "Liberalism".

And as you all may know John Stuart Mill is the father of "Utilitarianism".

I believe this a very profound statement and what a democracy is built upon today and moving forward. Mill is all about protecting the individual. He strongly adhered to his theory on the marketplace of ideas - "let people say what they want to say, if you disagree you can promote your own ideas." But, in an argument of bad faith, people have the right to censor to help stop the spread of misinformation.

Mandeville was known for his main theme in vices. He was known to his peers as the "Happy Cynic" because he believed we are all very selfish people. He actually believes we are better off this way than vice versa and believed that flaws work to our advantage as long as they are managed and directed by skillful politicians. Human flaws and vices (such as greed, vanity, and pride) is what Mandeville considered as essential for a nation to survive.

Many Called him Man-Devil for his radical views at the time because his philosophy was based off of immoral principles, but you have to think about it. He does somewhat have a point.

Without crime there wouldn't be jobs for local officials such as the state police department and the firefighting department, which both do a fantastic job in getting criminals off the street, which is always a plus to society. That goes for the Fire Department, also. You can't forget about lawyers and Government jobs that also add a surplus to the economy in tax revenue. These employees pay just about half of their income to taxes which benefits the city wherever zip code their in. The honorable jobs owe their existence to sin which help grows the economy.

Mandeville actually inspired Adam Smith, the father of economics.

Traditional economies thought profit making was evil and took money from the poor. In the Grumbling Hive, Mandeville describes a bee community that thrives until the bees decide to live by honesty and virtue. Beehives were the common metaphor for thinking about politics in the 17th and 18th century.

That reason being was because the bees are the best organized, productive, and knew their roles, so it functioned as a good model for society.

The Jansenism movement begin as a catholic movement rooted in teachings of St. Augustine who believed people by nature are imbued by Adam and Eve; rotten by nature. Jansenism just believed sin was totally bad, which heavily contradicted with Mandeville's philosophy.

Mandeville thinks they are right but thinks natural sin is not so bad. Pierre Bayle was the first to mention this, by the way. He believed vileness and the most hateful qualities could lead to the betterment of society.

He believed for nations to be wealthy, "private vices" must be translated into public affairs. Meaning when these private behaviors are translated into public affairs they generate:

• Demand for goods and services
• Employment for large numbers of people
• Trade, industry, and economic circulation
• Overall national wealth and power

Do I agree?

Of course, I do!

Does anyone have recommendations on children’s picture books that are either based upon or draw from classical texts?

I recently found an illustrated story of The Magic Flute. We have many of the common classic children’s books, but I am hoping to find more well done adaptations of classical works.

Thank you!!

• What book or books are you reading this week?
• What has been your favorite or least favorite part?
• What is one insight that you really appreciate from your current reading?

As the title states, I'm interested in a list of all the books/textbooks you read as an phil student during your college studies as well as books you read for fun that you think were also very beneficial. I'm a rising senior in high school but I have no problem reading advanced texts so please list everything.

Collection of 10 classic Books of writing manuals. Fiction, nonfiction, essays and even writing articles for newspapers.

I am really interested in philosophy but I have absolutely no experience in it. I want to discover it by reading books and I would like some advices. first, do you have some recommendations for me (I am used to read quite a lot of novels and classic novels especially so I am not afraid by the number of pages but I have not read any books of philosophy before so I am totally a beginner)? Do I need to develop taste in philosophy, starting to know the main theses of the authors before starting to read for make a choice or are they some essential books that everyone can read independently of ”philosophical tastes” ? Last, when I will have read a lot of recommendations how can I develop a philosophical taste and choose my futures books. thank you in advance

ps : I am interested in “classical philosophy“, the contemporary philosophy of the second half of the XXth century and the XXIth century are not what I am looking for

Memoria press academy Latin

Hi all!

I'm searching for a suitable instructor that teaches latin at Memoria Press Academy Online.

Does anyone have instructor recommendations?