About

I manage a YouTube account, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRuggedPyrrhus

I am currently reading through the Great Books of the Western World 10 year reading plan.

My posts are organized in the following manner:

Years 1 – 3

1) Summary of the reading selection in bullet points

2) Interesting quotations

3) My thoughts upon the reading selection

Years 4 – 10

1) Brief reflections upon the reading selection

2) Interesting quotations

I manage another blog, which can be found here: orwell1627.wordpress.com

114 thoughts on “About”

  4. it took me 33 years to read Proust’s “À la recherche du temps perdu”, Great Books, in French even, months to read all of Homer, as long to read Dante’s masterpiece, the “Divine Comedy”, all out loud of course, all unforgettable experiences, next “Paradise Lost”, I think, but you keep us posted, and don’t drive through, take the time to smell the roses, which it appears you already do do

    cheers

    Richard

    Reply

    1. Those are all very excellent writings.

      Yes, like Marcus Aurelius, I am not satisfied with a superficial understanding of books. The process of writing this blog ensures that I thoroughly grasp the major themes of the reading selections.

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    1. Thanks for the well wishes. I am dreading Immanuel Kant. I have previous experience with his writings, but I anticipate spending an extraordinary amount of time trying to comprehend his abstruse ideas.

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    1. Thanks for your well wishes!

      If we define intelligence as the ability to recall factual information, then I hope that this quest will improve my creativity more than my intelligence. I have found that creativity is a much more desirable skill than intelligence; for one may appear intelligent by performing a quick Google search and regurgitating the information one finds about a particular topic. Many of the ancient writers did not know the true nature of the Earth and its relation to the sun and other planets, but their creative works are nonetheless useful and interesting.

      Reply

  10. I admire you for the challenging and rewarding reading you are undertaking.

    Best Wishes for Your Success In Whatever You Do,

    Ron

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  12. I like you’re reading challenge – readers are leaders, and leaders are readers. I have no doubt that you will challenge others to do more!

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  15. Great Idea orwell1627, But with my failing eyesight I must concentrate on squinting at my blogs. I really wanted to read more great books, but I also wanted to learn to play the guitar and piano. I don’t mean plink and pluck, I really mean play. Oh well, maybe next life. Good luck, visit your ophthalmologist frequently
    Marty

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    1. Haha! It’s never too late to begin a new endeavor Marty!

      The following is from Tennyson’s Ulysses, one of my favorite poems:
      “Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
      We are not now that strength which in old days
      Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
      One equal temper of heroic hearts,
      Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
      To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

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      1. Thanks for responding with a laugh. That my friend is my calling. A fearful stand-up comedian. I can play a circle of 20+ people but if they sat down and waited for me to make them laugh…I’m doomed. Good luck with you great books quest. I’m rooting for you and will follow till completed.
        Marty

  17. All the best with your 10 reading plan. I’m doing something similar but mine is spread over my life time. 😉 Good luck!

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  20. Fascinating. The more I explore your blog, the more I wish mine to be like it in the (hopefully near!) future. This one is by Dante, on friendship and sharing the beauty of knowledge:

    Guido, i’ vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io
    fossimo presi per incantamento,
    e messi in un vasel ch’ad ogni vento
    per mare andasse al voler vostro e mio,

    sì che fortuna od altro tempo rio
    non ci potesse dare impedimento,
    anzi, vivendo sempre in un talento,
    di stare insieme crescesse ’l disio.

    E monna Vanna e monna Lagia poi
    con quella ch’è sul numer de le trenta
    con noi ponesse il buono incantatore:

    e quivi ragionar sempre d’amore,
    e ciascuna di lor fosse contenta,
    sì come i’ credo che saremmo noi.

    Reply

    1. Questa è una fantastica poesia. L’ultima strofa è particolarmente bello. Grazie per la condivisione!

      Perdona il mio italiano. Sono passati molti anni da quando ho studiato la lingua.

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  24. I think this is worthy and demanding. I would love to do something like this, but there are just so many hours in a day… and I am a painter. But, I would love to know which book you have enjoyed the best so far. I am looking for something interesting to read.

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    1. Of the books on the ten year reading plan, I most enjoyed Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Montaigne’s essays. My favorite essay was ‘That the Relish of Good and Evil Depends in a Great Measure Upon the Opinion we have of Them.’

      But I highly recommend reading George Orwell’s 1984. His writing style is concise, and the plot is very interesting and thought-provoking.

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      1. Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will try Orwell. I love concise writing, and if I’ve read this before, it’s time for a reread. Best of luck with your reading. Anita

  29. This isn’t a frivolous question and I guess I’m too lazy to scout around for the answer myself. Has the Great Books series been essentially static through the many years? I worked with at least two people who had studied the Great Books at college, specifically at St. John’s College in Annapolis, and I consider them quite well educated. I understand that the idea of the Great Books provides for variables to better match the field of study for an individual: I know that I would prefer more literary works than a treatise on mathematics or boiling water. But coming from a strong background in comparative literature and literature in translation I know that during certain periods translations were highly suspect with an unacceptable level of censoring as well as bad translations which destroyed the essence of the original works. My daughter, who is a professor at the university, insists that you cannot claim to have read a work unless you read it in the original language. I look more to Ezra Pound and accept the ubiquitousness of translation, trying always to get the best translation available. Does the Great Books program regularly review the texts and suggest better or more up-to-date editions, especially translations?

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    1. The Great Books series was first released in 1952 by Encyclopedia Brittanica. A second edition was published in 1990 “with updated translations and six more volumes of material covering the 20th century.”

      I agree with your daughter that much is often lost in translation. If I am not fluent in the language of the original text, then I compare selections of several translations and choose the one which is most enjoyable to read. Although the chosen translation might be less faithful to the original text than another translation, I tend to learn and retain more knowledge when I enjoy the reading process than when I struggle through an irksome translation.

      Reply

    1. Darwin’s Origin of the Species is scheduled for September of Year 5.

      Nietzsche is my favorite philosopher. I have read everything he has written at least twice. I promise that he will be the first author I choose to write about after finishing this list. Thanks for commenting 🙂

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  36. Reading books that have, to paraphrase Nietzsche, “withstood the tooth of time” by surviving for centuries, if not millennia, is an excellent way to nourish one’s writing. I spent decades reading widely, with my focus on the classics, before I could write a single readable word. I hope you get great enjoyment and productivity from your endeavor. I look forward to the updates of your progress on this blog.

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  38. Hey, cool idea. Good luck to you! You’ll get through it. Kant is a bit of a stumbling block…I threw my copy of the Critique of Pure Reason against the wall when I came across two contradictory definitions of time (or was it space?) within one paragraph. But keep at it! You’ll get the pay off at your next cocktail party.

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  39. I admire your dedication in following this plan. It must take considerable patience and focus to study so many demanding texts – especially nowadays when so many people (including myself) find themselves distracted from serious reading by all the ephemera in today’s media.

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    1. You are certainly a prolific reader as well. Your recommendation of The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard has convinced me to make a short detour from the GBWW. After I finish the novel, I will be sure to comment on your post.

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  41. I love the tagline of your blog – ‘The unexamined life is not worth living”! Wow, you’ve got great posts on your blog, I’ll be looking forward to reading more from you 🙂

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    1. Year 4: GALILEO: Two New Sciences [Third Day, through Scholium of Theorem II]

      I do not follow the suggested times for reading a particular work. I merely read the assigned material and comment upon it. Once I finish a reading, I move on to the next one, regardless of how long it takes for me to finish it.

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  44. My focus is on the history and the politics of epigenetics – the science of epigenetics is out there all over the place, but I haven’t found much about the background or the political implications of epigenetics – and I refer a lot to the Western canon for material about the hows and whys of the connections between genetics, epigenetics and contemporary politics and ethics. Your extensive work in reading through and summarizing these books will be extremely helpful in identifying points of congruence, and where I should focus my efforts, etc.

    Thanks and keep on truckin’,

    Shea

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  45. This is a very strange concept for me…but it seems cool. I’ve been trying to get into the more serious classics anyway, so I guess I’ll stick around if you don’t mind? 🙂

    Reply

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The unexamined life is not worth living.