Favorites of classical lit?

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Classical literature and histories? a few historical favorites mabye
lets put the line at 1900?
a few of mine
Platos Republic, Fydor Dostoyevskys Brothers Kamarazov, The Oddyssy, Machiavelli the prince, Chaucers canterburry tails, Beowolf

if its a translated work and you know the version list your favorite translation if you could

Thank you if this isn't historical i'm sorry but all books, poems and history were written at sometime. The story of the authors and how the books show the times are a critical showing of the time.:book:

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Originally Posted by Julian the apostate

:balloon2: :book: :balloon2: :book: :balloon2: :book:
Classical literature and histories? a few historical favorites mabye
lets put the line at 1900?

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Off the cuff: Herod, Homer, Thucydides, Tacitus, Beowulf, Chanson de Roland, Genji Tales, Montaigne, Dickens, Stendal, Dostoyevsky. Oh, and Maurice Druon's series The Accursed Kings.

Definately Tolstoy for me. :yes:

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Originally Posted by AggonyDuck

Definately Tolstoy for me. :yes:

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Agreed.:bow:

Shakespeare.

Toooo many to name! So, I'll mention just the one: The Aeneid.

Sorry Homer, whoever you/they may be, your stuff is genius, but the most sublime verse in epic poetry, or any poetry, is in the Latin of the Aeneid.

Suetonius...classical biography, tabloid style!
Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson, still a brilliant adventure.

Definitely The Prince by Machiavelli.

what would be the best english translation of most of tolstoy? thats my big problem with russian lit. so many names, they are long and different and scary. but i love the writing.
i'm going to cheat a little bit, herman hesse published before 1900, so i'm going to put him in the running albiet his greats were later Siddharta <3.
how could i forget Rosseau, Locke and Hobbes
and my biggest error

Dante Alighieri and william butler yeats my two favorite poets
Faugh a Ballagh !

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Originally Posted by Julian the apostate

I'm going to cheat a little bit, Herman Hesse published before 1900, so i'm going to put him in the running

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In that case I'll see your Hesse and raise you a Conrad.

EDIT
Oh, and Anatole France! :yes:

What's this? No Voltaire? For shame!

And I'll second or third or fourth Tolstoy. My friends thought I was nuts many years ago when I dove into War and Peace at the age of 12. No one, they thought, could actually enjoy reading a 1000+ page book! Ah, but I could enjoy it, and I never looked back. I'm a reader and I'm not ashamed to admit it! (Cue Bill Hicks' comedy routine here)

And ditto on the Locke, Rousseau and Hobbes. The Leviathan is still a favorite.

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Originally Posted by Julian the apostate

what would be the best english translation of most of tolstoy? thats my big problem with russian lit. so many names, they are long and different and scary. but i love the writing.

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I must have found the original Penguin translation very readable [don't know how faithful it is] as I read it three times eventually. A true classic. :2thumbsup:

edit: sorry, should have said that it was 'War and Peace'. Much superior to Anna Karenina IMO.

Iliad and Odyssey. Though I admit I have probably not read enough classic lit to be an objective judge.

Michael Psellos
Machiavelli's Art of War
Bocchacio's Decameron

Shakespeare, Homer, and a couple others. I also like Daunte's Inferno

https://img215.imageshack.us/img215/...ercovernu8.jpg

:smug:

Could someone lend me an Antiochus III-hunting rifle?

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Originally Posted by AntiochusIII

https://img215.imageshack.us/img215/...ercovernu8.jpg

:smug:

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I didn't realize Harry Potter was written before 1900 AntiochusIII:smash:

No no, it was released much earlier, I believe that Antiochus went back in time, circa 1000?
I'm fairly sure I saw Antiochus at De Sade's the other weekend for a wine and bondage party.

For me it's Shakespeare.

I'm a bit puzzled by the answers; what does the thread mean?

To me, 'Classical' means from antiquity, i.e. ancient Greek and Roman literature.

But, 'Classic' means great literature from any period.

There's a subtle, but very real, difference. :inquisitive:

i don't know why i said classical :oops: :beam:

Homer, Hesiod and Xenophon
Ow and Sophocles as well.

Shakespeare and Machiavelli

Mary Shelley

Close enough
I like Sienkiwiecz, despite being published in early 1900's, he is a great author with several books.
I like Homer, Virgil, Ovid.
Julius Caesar's Commentaries, it's Roman warfare!

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Originally Posted by Julian the apostate

i don't know why i said classical :oops: :beam:

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Don't worry, I'm just being pedantic. :book: :beam:

This is a big big topic. The only way for me to answer is to break things into subcategories. Save for one work of Plato I'll stay in the more general literary arena as opposed to philosophical works (I'm making a distinction between philosohia and poesis)

Favorite Epic:

Iliad (Fagles or Latimore translation)

Favorite Greek Tragedy:

Antigone (Latimore translation)

Favorite Greek Poetry

Odes "Pindar naturally" (Latimore translation)

Favorite Philosophical/literary work from Antiquity

Phaedrus (Hackforth translation)

Favorite Medieval Literary Work

Beowulf (Kennedy or Heaney translation)

and

Saga of the Volsungs (Byock translation)

Favorite Medieval Poetry:

Divine Comedy: Inferno (Singleton translation)

Favorite Shakespeare:

Tragedy: Macbeth
Comedy: Measure for Measure
History: Henry V
Romance: Tempest

Favorite Enlightenment Poetry:

Paradise Lost

Favorite 19th Century Poetry

The Prelude (Wordsworth)


Favorite Novel: (up to 1900)

Brothers Karamazov (I have the Volokhonsky translation)

Favorite French Novel: Les Miserables (I don't know a best translation)

Favorite English Novel: Christmas Stories (Dickens)

Favorite American Novel: Huckleberry Finn

Does anyone remember what the rhyming scheme in the inferno was i think i remember reading that i was outrageously complicated

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Originally Posted by Julian the apostate

Does anyone remember what the rhyming scheme in the inferno was i think i remember reading that i was outrageously complicated

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It's called the terza rima or triple rhyme schema: ABA, BCB, CDC, DED etc.

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Originally Posted by Pindar

Favorite French Novel: Les Miserables (I don't know a best translation)

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Interesting that you'd like something I've been reading for a while now. Which version do you have, personally?

The only word I have for Les Miserables would be "outrageous," which is its charm as much as its faults. Hugo's extravagant writings are captivating in its own, self-conscious way. It's a reflection of both his time and himself, while at the same time he still manages to create a story that is independently engaging without the need to recognize the ever-present face of Hugo behind it. A lovely, epic work, that.

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Originally Posted by Orb

Could someone lend me an Antiochus III-hunting rifle?

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Which kind do you need? I must warn you however that I have a +5 defense bonus against rifle. Personally I'd suggest a stake and a bunch of onions. Cedar stake has an attack bonus on me, I think, though I actually fear anything ferns more myself. And I hate onions.

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Originally Posted by Csar

I didn't realize Harry Potter was written before 1900 AntiochusIII

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What? You did not know that? What are you? Texan? The Philosopher ("Sorceror," bah!) in the story is actually Plato, you know that? Hence why the book's my favorite classical work. The "stone" that Harry fought over is actually a metaphor for the Acropolis of Athens. This creation reflects Athens' -- represented by Plato -- desire to forever immortalize itself, its folly, and its vanity.

~;)

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Originally Posted by Bopa the Magyar

I'm fairly sure I saw Antiochus at De Sade's the other weekend for a wine and bondage party.

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Oh, that party? Nah. I was there to pick up my friend, that's all. What were you doing there? :egypt:

where did i leave my garlic. i thought it was about socrates. :book:
considering that he was nicknamed the dog i'm doubting Diogenes ever wrote much
does anyone know if he did?

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Originally Posted by AntiochusIII

Interesting that you'd like something I've been reading for a while now. Which version do you have, personally?

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I have a couple versions in my library. The last time I read the book was the Norman Denny translation. That's the version Penguin Classics goes with (I needed a small book that was easily portable).

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The only word I have for Les Miserables would be "outrageous," which is its charm as much as its faults.

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I don't know French, but I took miserables closest English variant as miserable.

Homer, definately my favourite.

I have an extrem dislike for that Roman barbarian plagarist, Virgil. ENTIRE scenes are lifted from Homer. The most shameless is probably the part with the dove and the archery contest.

Iliad and Odyssey
Sun Tzu "Art of War"
unknown "The Secret History of the Mongols"
Ibn Battuta "The Adventures of I.B."
Rumi - Poetry
Lao Tzu "Tao Te King"
Chuang-tzu "??? I don&#180;t know the translation????"
Herodot - Historien
Ovid - Ars amatoria [Tells you how to get chicks...well, 2000 Years ago...but remember you guys: always postion yourself in the corners of the racing arenas...b/c the ladies seem to collapse there more often and you can help them and win their heart in that way....And most of all: Don&#180;t use pin curlers!!!!!". I recommend this book it is veryvery interesting & fun to read....

That&#180;s about it....

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Originally Posted by Wigferth Ironwall

Homer, definately my favourite.

I have an extrem dislike for that Roman barbarian plagarist, Virgil. ENTIRE scenes are lifted from Homer. The most shameless is probably the part with the dove and the archery contest.

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Tut, tut. Homer might be your favourite, and it is a work of genius (or probably a whole tradition of geniuses going back some 500 years, therefore they copied and adapted each other - plagiarists? I think not), but there's no need for you to misrepresent Vergil. He may have used structures and themes from 'Homer', but much was his own, and the beautiful, moving poetry was all his own. Plagiarist he certainly was not, and I don't think that there is a single reputable scholar that would agree with you. As the work of a single mind, the Aeneid is a monument to epic poetry.

A Horatian quote that certainly applies to Vergil:

exegi monumentum, aere perennius

Why are the German authors missing? Do not forget that Germany used to be the nation of the poets and philosophers.

So here are some:

Goethe (of course)
Schiller (maybe even better)
Heine (great writer)

For the Americans I prefer Poe.

While not really a work of litterature as say Homer, Ovid, Seneca ect ect. it is still highly entertaining.

Xenophon's Anabasis.
It is a work of art in my mind. The constant references to himself, but in a detached way (unlike Ceasar who likes to present hiomself as a good sarmaritan and nice person, to the point that he becomes naive). Xenophon in the Anabasis has weaknesses that can't be attributed to coming from other strengths (such as Ceasar's trust in subject who then betray him). That makes him a very believeable figure.

Also, the entire story has some legendary and almost mythological situations. Meeting strange people and walking in odd lands. Eating new food and experiencing weather unlike anything before. These guys really do go about like Jasons, but with the added spice of their trek actually being a work of truth rather than mythological fiction (Jason didn't exist, but the way he travelled did exist as did the golden fleece in general).

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Originally Posted by Franconicus

Why are the German authors missing? Do not forget that Germany used to be the nation of the poets and philosophers.

So here are some:

Goethe (of course)
Schiller (maybe even better)
Heine (great writer)

For the Americans I prefer Poe.

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Let me venture an explanation.

The reason could be that German classical literature is more poetry-laden than that of most other countries. The three most famous German literary authors (whom you mentioned) are all poets, and for a reason. Poetry loses much of its appeal over time, and even more so in translation. And so, I think, did these authors. Mind you, no English poets are mentioned above either: no Wordsworth, Byron, etcetera. On the other hand, when you mention Poe as your favourite American author, I daresay it is because of his stories, not his poems. As for the French authors, I've seen one mention of Verlaine, but none of Lamartine or Baudelaire (my own favourite French poet).

I am one of the few non-Germans here who reads German with great pleasure, but I must admit that of Goethe's oeuvre I only read Die Leiden (which is hysterically bad) and Faust (which is a sublime piece of theatre). The authors I prefer are modern prose writers, from Doeblin to Feuchtwanger to Grass to Boell to Kempinski to -- well, the list goes on. I just finished two older books by Johannes Mario Simmel, to name one (who is an Austrian, but made his name in Germany).

I think you will find that Hesse or Mann are well represented in such lists, and are bging read (in translation) by as many British and Americans as, for instance, French Victor Hugo.

Definitely the Oddyssey!

I'm gonna go with Plutarch's Lives. I love Classical Biographies, and this is no exception. I am reading through pompey's one now.

That said, I also love Polybius for the time period that he is writing about. middle Roman Republic is just fascinating.

Homer -- and Ovidius. Few writers have achieved such a level of beauty in words as Ovidius. :bow:

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Originally Posted by Wigferth Ironwall

I have an extrem dislike for that Roman barbarian plagarist, Virgil. ENTIRE scenes are lifted from Homer. The most shameless is probably the part with the dove and the archery contest.

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I don't like Vergilius, either, but for an entirely different reason. True, it's plagiarism, and that sucks -- but I also had to translate that crap in eleventh grade. God, Dido, why didn't you just ******* die? Die, *****, die, just ******* die, come on, you keep on saying you want to, so DO IT!

Argh. She just wouldn't die. :no:

Best classic work is Dostojevskij Raskolnikov (also known as Crime and Punishment).

Best poetry work Goethes Faust

Best classical work is the Illiad

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Originally Posted by Baba Ga'on

I don't like Vergilius, either, but for an entirely different reason. True, it's plagiarism, and that sucks -- but I also had to translate that crap in eleventh grade. God, Dido, why didn't you just ******* die? Die, *****, die, just ******* die, come on, you keep on saying you want to, so DO IT!

Argh. She just wouldn't die. :no:

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Barbarian! :whip:

~;)