Dante, The Banquet; Knowledge and discourse for the common man

It's midweek and I should probably be cleaning but instead I'm Tipity-Typing on the computer, putting together another post. And it seems I will shortly be running out of books I have already read in the BC list. It has taken a few months, but I only have until the start of August to increase the amount I'm reading if I want to continue producing content at this pace. It has been a Godsend to have this buffer, especially over the last few months starting a new job. But, now it's time to up the anti and I've got to say, I'm both excited and apprehensive.
To my disgust I have to write most of this post twice as there was a saving error on blogger and I lost most of it.
So now I'm coming to the less known works of Dante with The Banquet. And I must say, it has been easier to read than the divine comedy as it goes down fewer rabbit holes.

Synopsis
Book 1
In the first book of Dante's The Banquet, he spends most of his time laying out his (for lack of a better way of putting it) rules for himself, as he works through the following three books. The latter half does tend to focus on his reasons for writing in Italian or, as he calls it, the "Vernacular tongue" rather than in Latin, which mainly boils down to not wanting to translate the poems to Latin for fear they will lose their poetic form. Once that decision is made, it follows that, to write the discourse in Latin would not work. He also points out that, only scholars would understand the Latin and he wants to write for a broader audience.
Book 2
This poem is mainly about love. Dante first waxes lyrical on his love for his Beatrice and he spends a lot of time proving she is in heaven with God. He then spends time on the concept of What Is Love and its parts. He ends with, how God Is Love, and how this is the Perfect Love. He spends some time on how Wisdom, which he also relates to his lady, is split into two parts, Love and Knowledge.
Book 3
Dante devotes most of the literal part of his discussion to his beloved Beatrice. The Allegorical reading that Dante proposes, centres around the Layers of the heavens. He takes the traditional seven layers and adds in an eighth as God's place or the place beyond. These layers would not be familiar to the modern reader but Dante has them relate to the aspects of the Lady and even compares her directly with the sun.
Book 4
Dante spends most of this much longer book on the definition of the noble man. First, correcting the idea that those born to power and wealth are automatically Noble as in the Nobility. He postures that it is a mix of the mans actions and a gift from God that make a man Noble, that is, not base. He spends a lot of time trying to understand the position that a man's birth makes him noble but ultimately he rejects it as unfounded. The book continues with an exposition of what good works make a noble man and what vices are missing. And finally, he looks through the ages of a man's life and what nobility looks like in each of them.

Reflection
Book 1
There is not too much to say about this first book, as, in it, Dante just lays out the rules for himself for the rest of the expositions, he puts with his poetry.
Book 2
Dante's exposition of love and how it is only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of love that we truly know what love is and can give it out to the world around us, rings true with the general understanding held of scripture. In some ways, though it is a rose in a quagmire of Christianity mixed with Philosophy, as Dante also holds the philosophers in the same high regard, it seems, as scripture in fact he quotes them far more often than scripture.
Book 3
Dante's exposition about the levels of heaven is very interesting. First, he, as would have been common at the time of writing, thinks the sun orbits around the Earth. Second, he divided the stars into levels based on how much they move in the night sky and relates that to how close to the observer they are, which, while not exactly wrong, does oversimplify how far away the stars are.
Book 4
Dante proposes 4 stages in a man's life: adolescence, youth, old age, and advanced old age. I found a few things interesting. First, that he says adolescence doesn't start until a man is 8 months old, what he is before that, I do not know, as Dante does not explain. The other is just how late the idea of youth goes, in the modern day, we suggest youth ends around 30 but Dante states it to be 45; in saying that he also says that that is the end of the upward growth of life and the start of the downturn of old age. These words have come to mean something quite different in the modern usage.

Comparison
As I said earlier, there are a lot less rabbit trails in The Banquet than we find in the Divine comedy. Though, we do see a continuation of the veneration of Beatrice that we see in The Paradiso. I think that having read more of the philosophers would illuminate this text a bit more as they are often mentioned but I am not that far through my BC list yet. It doesn't read like a story, as we see in the
Song of Roland, and it paints a very different picture of Christianity as well.

Have you read The Banquet? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read The Banquet but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of The Banquet.

Sophocles, Ajax; It should have been mine

I've been sick with a cold this week, which has been more annoying than anything else. I had to take a couple of days off work as my voice was all over the place, which isn't great when you work on the phones. It's definitely getting better now though, hopefully I don't catch many more this winter.


The Story
Ajax begins directly after the Greek victory at Troy. We see Ajax, angry that he was passed over for Achilles' armor plotting to take his revenge on the Greek Generals he feels have robbed him. Athena intervenes and makes Ajax believe that the cattle in the pens are actually the Generals and Ajax goes and slaughters them and some he even tortures. On coming to his senses, he becomes pressingly aware his loss of face and speaks to his wife about killing himself. She begs him not to and to think of his son. He then has his son brought to him, as if he were swayed by her arguments. After talking to his son, he decides to go for a walk and says he will bury the sword that was given to him by Hector. His wife and the chorus of other soldiers then receive a messenger that says there is a prophecy that, if Ajax leaves his tent he will die. They frantically try to find him but when they do, he is dead. He did indeed bury his sword point up, so that he could fall on it. The Generals argue with his wife as to whether he should be buried, until Odysseus comes along and says they must bury him. The play ends with his half brother preparing his funeral and burial.

Reflections
Although this is just another Greek tragedy, this is considered to be Sophocles' first surviving play and as such, is the first play where we explicitly see the death on the stage; all the other writers, so far, have put death off the stage. My reading suggest that this was a deviation from the standards of the day, Sophocles was being a little edgy. Ajax is a big part of this play though we barely see him on the stage, his presence carries through the play, even with his little stage time. Ajax is rather pig-headed and overly proud at first in his insistence that Achilles armor should be his, implying that he is best after Achilles and then in his death as he seems to be the only one who was really bothered by his treatment of the cattle, that we can see in the play anyway.

Comparisons
It is interesting to see this set directly after the events of the Iliad and, even though the author is different, we see consistencies in the characters that these works share. This makes sense, as the audiences of Ajax would have been familiar with the work of the Iliad. That being said, the research I did suggests that there was probably another play of Sophocles' that went before this one but it has not survived.
Oedipus the King also deals with a protagonist covered in shame but rather than death, Oedipus chooses to blind himself and live in exile. In saying that, Oedipus' shame seems far more real than Ajax's which seems be seen more by Ajax himself.

Have you read Ajax? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Ajax but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of Ajax.

Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus; Exile

It's the weekend again and I'm here typing diligently... or at least I'm slowly getting it done. It's been a rather uneventful week, just the normal day to day stuff and work. We were going to go on a bush walk today but the weather has been awful.

The Story
Oedipus at Colonus continues where Oedipus the King left off. Oedipus has been exiled from Thebes and is now a bedraggled beggar being led by the hand by his daughter, Antigone. A local tells them on his way past that they are on the sacred ground of the furies. Oedipus upon hearing this, calls the locals to go and get the King of Athens nearby, as Oedipus believes this is where he is prophesied to die. Before the King arrives, Oedipus' other daughter Ismene arrives with a message from his son's asking him to return and bless them, as they are at war with each other over the throne. Oedipus sides with neither of his sons, instead contrasting them with his faithful daughters. Oedipus throws himself on the mercy of the men of Colonus, the town beside which the grove to the furies lies.  The King of Athens arrives and pledges Oedipus his support and grants him citizenship in Athens so that he can be buried as a Athenian. Creon arrives and tries to convince Oedipus to come home to Thebes but  Oedipus does not trust the crafty man and refuses. Then Oedipus' son Polynices arrives and tries to reconcile with his father, knowing that there is a prophecy that the fight will go to whatever brother has his fathers blessing. Knowing this Oedipus refuses to be reconciled and prophesies that the brothers will kill each other in the upcoming fight. Oedipus hears great clashes of thunder and states that his death is at hand and retreats into the grove with the King of Athens, witnessing his final breath.

Reflections
This really is an sequel, there isn't really much of a stand alone plot. You really need to have seen (or read) what goes before it to have an idea of who the players are. Oedipus, acting almost as judge over his son at first, seems a bit hypocritical,considering Oedipus' history but once he starts contrasting them to his daughters you see that his standard is consistent. The King of Athens' part in all this is interesting as he is the one player acting towards the good of Oedipus: first with sheltering him and finally with witnessing his death and, we assume, burial rights.

Comparisons
This is, technically, a tragedy, with Oedipus dying at the end but his death is a lot more contemplative than we see in other tragedies. Even if we take Oedipus the King for example, it ends with dramatic suicides and scratching your eyes out level of grief, or Antigone that ends with a series of deaths and suicides.

Have you read Oedipus at Colonus? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Oedipus at Colonus but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
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Sophocles, Oedipus the King; Because he loved his mother

It's long weekend for Queens Birthday so it's Monday but I have the day off, as does my hubby. That makes it a great time to catch up on some writing. At work, we have a knitting project going on to provide beanies for premature babies. I've started but I am struggling to find the time to knit and it's not exactly easy: in fact, I would have to say, making chain mail is easier (and yes, I have done that).

I've been going through the Theban plays in the order they are presented in this edition. Which seems to be a little odd as Antigone the first is actually set after the other two. But, oh well, that's the order I'm doing them in.

The Story
Oedipus the king (also know as Oedipus Rex) starts with a plague in Thebes, so Oedipus send his brother Creon to go to the prophet at Delphi and ask what must be done to rid the city of the plague. Creon returns and announces that they must find the previous King's killer. Oedipus vows to do just that and sends for the local, blind prophet Tiresias who, after much persuasion and many threats, accuses Oedipus of being the killer. He confides in his wife and she tells him not to worry about prophecies as there was one that Laius would be killed by his son but that he had been killed on the road by thieves. This distresses Oedipus as he killed someone for running him off the road on his way to Thebes. Scared this was Laius, he calls for the only survivor of the attack. Also haunting Oedipus is another prophecy: that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He was raised in Corinth by King Polybus and his wife. A messenger comes to tell him of his parents death, he also tells him they were not his parents but that he had been brought by him, the messenger, from a shepherd. Oedipus summons the shepherd to find out the truth about his birth, expecting to find out he is low born, but his wife begs him to stop as she fears what he will find out. The shepherd is bought in and questioned and eventually gives up the information after being threatened with death. Oedipus returns to the palace to find his wife/mother has killed herself and in a moment of despair uses the pin from her clothes to gouge out his eyes.

Reflections
I must admit, I had heard of this story long before I actually read it and I had thought that Oedipus had knowingly been with his mother, so it was a pleasant surprise that he didn't know and the story of how he found out. It's an interesting story of trying to escape the prophecies of Oracle but its interesting how, the very things they did to escape, were the things that actually made the prophecies come to pass. For example, the prophecy given to Oedipus about how he will kill his father and marry his mother leads him to leave home and it is on the road to Thebes, away from home, that he has the altercation with his father, and kills him.

Comparisons
Oedipus the king is classic Greek tragedy like Seven Against Thebes and, obviously, is set in the same city. That being said, we see a lot less of the city in Oedipus the king than we do in Seven Against Thebes. It is unique, so far, in its theme of trying to out run or avoid Prophecy, though we do see disregard for prophecy in the Iliad. In the Iliad, it is not so much trying to run away from the prophecy though but rather the occasional ignoring of the gods.

Have you read Oedipus the king? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Oedipus the king but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of Oedipus the king.

Dante, Paradiso; Blinded by the light

At work training is over and the grind of the everyday has begun. I enjoy Saturdays as I can sit by the window and stare at the people going past, though the phones can be either very busy or very quiet. Some of us, if it's quiet, sit there and judge people's parallel parking for a bit of fun. 

I am glad to have finished the Divine Comedy, though at times I have wondered if I should have read the other two works first(The New Life and Convivio). I just wonder if it would have given me a bit of background into who Beatrice is.

The Story
In Paradiso, Dante proceeds through the nine spheres of heaven.
First, the sphere of the moon, with those who failed to keep their vows to God.
Second, the sphere of Mercury, with those who were just and right but for the reason of selfishness and ambition.
Third, the sphere of Venus with the lovers of God and people.
Fourth, the sphere of the Sun where Dante meets with the wise of the faith e.g. Thomas of Aquinas.
Fifth, the sphere of Mars with the holy warriors. Here, Dante meets his great grandfather, who fought in the crusades, as well as Roland and Charlemagne.
Sixth, the sphere of Jupiter, with those who ruled well on earth, including David and Hezekiah.
Seventh, the sphere of Saturn, with those who dedicated their lives to prayer, ascending and descending the golden ladder. Here, Dante discusses the current corruption in the Church with those he meets. Then, Dante ascends the stair to the next sphere.
Eighth, the sphere of the fixed stars, with Mary and the Apostles. Again, Dante discusses the corruption in the Church with those he meets.
Ninth, the sphere of Premium Mobile. This is the last sphere and from here Dante sees the nine circles of angels, circling the triune God. He tries to explain what he is seeing but quickly gives up as he has no words.
As he progresses through these spheres, he gets further and further away from earth and out into space. Also, the amount of light increases at every stage and he is eventually blinded by the light, that he can barely see Father, Son, and Spirit.

Reflections
While Dante is, on the surface, taking us through a rather Christian view of heaven, he can not seem to leave out the references to the old Roman gods and to astrology (Scorpio). I find this dilutes his authority on these matters. I haven't read his other works yet but I must say that his idolization of Beatrice is odd and rather out of place in his attempted epic on heaven. He seems to almost deify her, which feels out of place in an epic about God.

Comparisons
I say "attempted epic", as it does not have the same feel as the earlier epics, like the Odyssey. Though, we saw in Inferno that he rates himself as up there with the great epic poets.
The change of guide from the Purgatorio seems necessary, in the sense that Virgil wasn't a Christian and we could not expect him to have access to heaven. But the choice of his lovers, Beatrice, as his new guide seems, well, odd.  We don't see the same fragmentation of levels as we see earlier in Inferno and Purgatorio, which is interesting, but I wonder if he wanted to stay with the religious numbers of 6 for Inferno, 7 for Purgatorio and, 9 for Paradiso. In fact, it even seems a little like he was stretching to find nine topics for spheres of heaven.

Have you read Paradiso? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Paradiso but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of Paradiso.

Sophocles, Antigone;Let her bury her brother

Long Easter weekend is here. It's nice to have a bit of a break. training has been brutal but its nearly over. Now it's just onto racking up the on the job learning.

The Story

Antigone is set after the fight at Thebes that we see in Seven Against Thebes, and deals with the aftermath of this fight. Both brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, are dead but the new king Creon has only buried Eteocles and has banned anyone from burying Polyneices. The play starts with Antigone speaking with her sister about burying her brother Polyneices and that she can not bear to see him stay unburied. Her sister washes her hands of it and will have no part in the burial.

Antigone goes and buries her brother in secret but the guards uncover him. Antigone is caught reburying her brother and is executed for disobeying the king. Her fiance, saddened by the news, kills himself. Her mother on learning of this, also kills herself.

Reflections
Antigone is a dutiful sister and sees her tie to her brother as more important than her tie to the king. By contrast, her sister wants to please the king, this is her highest want, even at her own brothers expense. This contrast is rather stark and makes the reader or viewer think about their own allegiances. The suicides in the play feel a little melodramatic, but then this is Greek tragedy, I guess.
The first especially, I know he was her fiancee, but it still seems a little extreme and quite abrupt as we do not see a huge amount of him in the play.

Comparisons
In the sense that all things end in death we can compare it to any other Greek tragedy like Seven Against Thebes. In fact, it's the deaths at the end of Seven Against Thebes that are the catalyst for the drama of this play. In some ways we see a lot of modern stories similar to Antigone with the  protagonist deciding to do what they believe is right over what has been set out by authority.

Have you read Antigone? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Antigone but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of Antigone.

Sun Tzu, The Art of War; In death ground, fight

I'm half way through my training for the call center job. It's going really well I'm passing all the tests. In some ways, I can't see how we will be reading in another 3 weeks and yet at times, I'm like "I've got this".

The Art of War is a rather pithy and to the point. It was a joy to reread and is the first book that I have reread in order to blog about it.

Synopsis
The Art of War outlines Master Sun's lessons on how to run a military, mainly at the tactical level but parts do suit the strategic level as well.
Master Sun breaks it down into 13 chapters ranging from assessment and planning, to intelligence and espionage. Over all, it consists of short bites of what a good general needs to be thinking about to make war to his own advantage. Master Sun likes to give both the positive and the negative of each idea. The 'what to do' and 'what not to do'. He breaks down things like 'what sort of ground' into types, then expounds exactly on what to do on those terrains. He is not afraid to say, 'do not engage with the enemy' or even, 'retreat'. We see over the course of the work that he is dedicated to making war in the way that is both of your own choosing as well as to your advantage.

Reflections
The Art of war is so short and yet so much goes on inside it. It is also a book that still gets quoted a lot in military circles, as well as high flying business. It is interesting how it transcends cultures and military styles. I think, this is because it focuses on what the General can do in advance, rather than once the army's get to grips with each other. It also contains many pithy quotes like; "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." 

Comparisons
There is not a lot to compare the Art of War to yet, as we do not see preserved European texts about war at this period. We do see stylistic similarities with the Analects and the Tao Te Ching.

Have you read The Art of War? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read The Art of War but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of The Art of War.