New Humanists

Send us a textThe Iliad was more popular than the Odyssey beginning in ancient times, and continued to be all the way up to World War One. Then, something changed. Now the Odyssey leaves the Iliad in the dust in terms of which poem gets assigned more frequently in school, in book sales, and simply in the stated preference of readers. What happened? Ryan and Jonathan read Edward Luttwak's essay, Homer Inc., about the thriving industry of Homer translations, the ancient redactors of Homer, the historicity of the Trojan War, and one of the perennial questions any humanist must answer - and to which Luttwak gives his own idiosyncratic response: Why does Homer matter?Edward Luttwak's Homer Inc.: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n04/edward-luttwak/homer-incNH episode on Melanchthon and Homer: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/13181921-return-of-the-old-gods-in-germany-episode-liiNH episode on Weil and Homer: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/10429309-the-iliad-or-the-poem-of-force-episode-xxiNH episode on Nietzsche and Homer: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/13949908-nietzsche-homer-and-cruelty-episode-lviStephen Mitchell's Iliad: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781439163382Robert Fagles's Iliad: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780140275360Emily Wilson's Iliad: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781324001805Richmond Lattimore's Iliad: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780226470498Peter Green's Iliad: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780520281431Robert Fitzgerald's Iliad: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780374529055New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textFor the first time, a collection of Irving Babbitt's and Paul Elmer More's correspondence has been published. Eric Adler, the editor of the collection (titled "Humanistic Letters") joins the show to discuss the collection, New Humanism, and the question that caused more controversy between Babbitt and More than anything else: Do humanists need to believe in God? Eric Adler's Humanistic Letters: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780826222909Eric Adler's The Battle of the Classics: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780197680810Irving Babbitt's Literature and the American College: https://amzn.to/3YIP0MlNew Humanists episode Can Humanism Replace Christianity? https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/12494774-can-humanism-replace-christianity-episode-xlivJustin Garrison and Ryan Holston's The Historical Mind: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781438478432Ryan Holston's Irving Babbitt and Christianity: A Response to T.S. Eliot: https://www.academia.edu/43227260/Irving_Babbitt_and_Christianity_A_Response_to_T_S_EliotC.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060652944Norman Foerster's Humanism and America: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.88302/page/n5/mode/2upLuke Sheahan's The Intellectual Kinship of Irving Babbitt and C.S.Lewis: https://www.pdcnet.org/humanitas/content/humanitas_2016_0029_0001_0005_0042C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060652920Paul Elmer More's The Greek Tradition: https://amzn.to/4dxbXGQNew Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textLove for Cicero, attention to rhetorical form, use of pagan wisdom for political thought - these are all hallmarks of the Renaissance humanists. But not their invention. In fact, you find the same things among some medieval thinkers. Jonathan and Ryan read and discuss selections from the Policraticus and the Metalogicon, two works by the 12th century bishop of Chartres, John of Salisbury, who was an exemplar of this medieval brand of humanism.Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://amzn.to/3Q4lRnOHomer's Iliad: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780374529055Homer's Odyssey: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780374525743Cicero's Pro Archia Poeta: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674991743New Humanists episode on Leonardo Bruni: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/14460440-mediocrity-versus-glory-in-the-renaissance-episode-lxiiS.A. Dance's Authentic Grammar in Classical Schools: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/05/authentic-grammar-in-classical-schoolsNew Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textThomas Aquinas is also known as the "Angelic Doctor," but he was quite capable of coming down from the heavens and getting practical. In two selections from his work included in Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition, we find some of Thomas' advice and outlook for students and teachers, including a discussion of whether teaching is an inherently contemplative or active pursuit.Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://amzn.to/3Q4lRnONew Humanists episode Education that Makes Aquinas Look Modern, feat. John Peterson: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/12698279-education-that-makes-aquinas-look-modern-feat-john-peterson-episode-xlviPope Leo XIII's Aeterni Patris: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_04081879_aeterni-patris.htmlAugustine's De Magistro (The Teacher): https://amzn.to/4cUbVZ4A.G. Sertillanges's The Intellectual Life: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780813206462Homer Camp: https://ancientlanguage.com/homer-camp/Bible Camp: https://ancientlanguage.com/bible-camp/New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textThe things of God belong to a heavenly kingdom. But politics is taken up with what is earthly. Surely, therefore, Christians should keep politics at a distance as much as possible. Right? Even while defending the life of contemplation and retreat from the earthly, Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Bocaccio laud Christian involvement in public life. Petrarch goes so far as to dream of a Julius Caesar reborn in medieval Europe and baptized a Christian, who goes on to conquer Egypt from the Muslims and present her as a gift - this time not to Cleopatra - but to Christ.James Hankins's Virtue Politics: https://amzn.to/3UiQpp3Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780199535699C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780062565396Calvert Watkins's How to Kill a Dragon: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780195144130New Humanists episode on Leonardo Bruni: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/14460440-mediocrity-versus-glory-in-the-renaissance-episode-lxiiSallust's Catilinarian Conspiracy: https://amzn.to/4chKY1CHenry David Thoreau's Walden: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780460876353Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780385486804New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textImagine that you are the leading figure in a movement to renew the study and appreciation of classical literature, but you have come to the end of your life and not only has the educational and political situation not improved - it has gotten worse. Such was the vista spread out before Petrarch in his twilight. Jonathan and Ryan read and discuss some of Petrarch's correspondence, recording the meditations of the great humanist as he wrestled with civilizational decline, the possibility of rebirth, and the awareness of how little time he had left.Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://amzn.to/3Q4lRnOCicero's Pro Archia Poeta: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674991743Tim Griffith's The Case for Classical Languages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UquUv7wzAgQRyan Hammill's Saints Versus Statesmen: https://americanreformer.org/2024/04/saints-versus-statesmen/New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textAre the liberal arts for everyone? We tend to think that the liberal arts can be helpful and edifying for anyone. But even amidst the humanist enthusiasm for the study of letters, the Renaissance writer Pier Paolo Vergerio denied that the liberal arts could improve a corrupt soul. In his mind, the liberal arts are proper only for those born free from the demands of moneymaking and furthermore, possessing a liberal temper. What is a liberal temper? And what are the liberal arts anyways? Jonathan and Ryan discuss Vergerio's treatise "The Character and Studies Befitting a Free-Born Youth" which, even before the printing press, was a sensation in Europe, and was copied and re-copied many times.Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://amzn.to/3Q4lRnOI Tatti Renaissance Library's Humanist Educational Treatises (containing Pier Paolo Vergerio's entire treatise, The Character and Studies Befitting a Free-Born Youth, in Latin and English): https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674007598Sallust's Catilinarian Conspiracy: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674996847Cicero's Pro Archia Poeta: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674991743New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textWe think we know what a "republic" is, but what did the Romans mean with their phrase "res publica"? What about the Italian humanists? And how did they distinguish a republic from a tyranny? We take a look at two more chapters from James Hankins's book, Virtue Politics, a groundbreaking examination of Renaissance political theory. These chapters focus on the question of legitimacy: What makes a government legitimate? What makes it illegitimate?James Hankins's Virtue Politics: https://amzn.to/3UiQpp3Francesco Petrarch's Invectives: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674011540New Humanists episode on Nietzsche and slavery: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/14044549-compassion-versus-classical-antiquity-episode-lviiCicero's De Officiis: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780199540716Robert Harris's Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780743498661Adrian Goldsworthy's Caesar: Life of a Colossus: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780300126891New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textA pandemic. A changing climate. A hopelessly divided country. Christianity threatened by Islam. Universities completely out of touch with normal people. Late medieval Italy was a basket case. All the while, a small group of men was dreaming of the Roman Empire - maybe emulating Rome was the way to save Italy? In his book Virtue Politics, James Hankins elucidates the neglected political thought of the humanists of the Italian Renaissance, which he names "virtue politics." Jonathan and Ryan outline Hankins's arguments.James Hankins's Virtue Politics: https://amzn.to/3UiQpp3N.T. Wright's The New Testament and the People of God: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780800626815Augustine's City of God: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780140448948Thomas Aquinas' De Regno: https://isidore.co/aquinas/DeRegno.htmDante's De Monarchia: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781502885555Desiderius Erasmus' The Praise of Folly: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780691165646New Humanists episode on T.S. Eliot's Praise for Privilege: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/9884564-t-s-eliot-s-praise-for-privilege-episode-xviNew Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Send us a textThe poet of Joan of Arc, and a notable example of a female writer in the premodern period, Christine de Pizan took a turn at the popular humanist genre of the mirror to princes in her book "The Book of the Body Politics." Jonathan and Ryan take a look at her characterization of virtue, corporal punishment, and what it takes to educate a Caesar.Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://amzn.to/3Q4lRnOChristine de Pizan's The Book of the Body Politic: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780521422598C.S. Lewis's The Weight of Glory: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060653200Christopher Schlecht's "Did Dorothy Sayers Get Education Wrong?": https://youtu.be/--gjw3gaG-U?si=7OLZ-SlExk8_QMp2Joris-Karl Huysmans's Against the Grain: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780199555116New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com