On Duties A Guide To Conduct Obligations And DecisionMaking edition by Quintus Curtius Politics Social Sciences eBooks
Download As PDF : On Duties A Guide To Conduct Obligations And DecisionMaking edition by Quintus Curtius Politics Social Sciences eBooks 
This is the most complete, readable, and explanatory edition of Cicero's "On Duties" available in English.
“On Duties” represents the pinnacle of Western moral philosophy. Not only is it an unmatched practical guide to conduct, it also serves as a profoundly ennobling vision of man. Acknowledged as a moral authority for many centuries, it was the second book (after the Gutenberg Bible) to be printed following the invention of the printing press.
This new English translation by Quintus Curtius brings Cicero into the 21st century, while at the same time preserving the majesty and elegance of the original. Lucid, precise, and accessible for the modern reader, this complete and unabridged translation was designed specifically to meet the needs of the modern reader.
It contains the following special features that are found nowhere else
1. An innovative topical organizational scheme that permits easy location of subjects and terms
2. Detailed textual notes for unfamiliar terms and historical references
3. Detailed commentaries on the text
4. Complete subject and name index
5. Additional explanatory essays
Quintus Curtius is an attorney, writer, and former Marine officer. He can be found at qcurtius.com.
On Duties A Guide To Conduct Obligations And DecisionMaking edition by Quintus Curtius Politics Social Sciences eBooks
How do we behave morally? What is the right thing to do? Is it different from what is the convenient thing to do, and if so, how do we reconcile the two?In the modern era we are left adrift when considering this question. In school we get a lot of facts and pointless data foisted on us, but very little in the way of moral instruction. We are left off much poorer for it.
The ancients, in that sense, were often much wiser than us. That is why we need this book. "On Duites" is a detailed guide on how to live as an honorable man. Quintus Curtius has done the task of translating it for us.
Striving to balance the original syntax and patina of the original while making the writing palatable for modern readers, Quintus has succeeded in resurrecting a classic for the ages. It expresses many complex ideas in a straightforward, easy to read fashion. This is the masterpiece of not only Cicero, but maybe even Quintus himself.
The content is just as relevant today as it was in antiquity. What do we owe our fellow man? What do we owe our society? How do we balance the necessities of state with spiritual notions of honor and decency? More than ever we could use answers to these questions.
It is a sad testament to the educational system of today that I and many other young people have never even heard of this book until now. It would be great to see this as required reading on how to live as a citizen. Trust me, you'll get more out of this than your typical liberal arts education today.
Take note, though: this book is not just to be read leisurely. It is to be studied and practiced. It is a handbook. I originally bought it on kindle and now I've ordered a paperback copy just so I can take copious notes in it. I have never done that with any other book. This book has many moving passages that resonate with me deeply and spiritually. I often have to stop and ponder what I've just read instead of just nodding along and agreeing.
In summary, I highly recommend this book to everyone, of every walk of life. It is perhaps more relevant and more needed now than ever. I plan on buying copies to give to friends and family
Product details
|
Tags : On Duties: A Guide To Conduct, Obligations, And Decision-Making - Kindle edition by Quintus Curtius. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading On Duties: A Guide To Conduct, Obligations, And Decision-Making.,ebook,Quintus Curtius,On Duties: A Guide To Conduct, Obligations, And Decision-Making,Fortress of the Mind Publications,Philosophy Ethics & Moral Philosophy,Philosophy Good & Evil
People also read other books :
- Kindergarten Em uma cidade perto da sua Portuguese Edition Júlio César Rodrigues Books
- The Goose Girl Harold Macgrath 9781495908590 Books
- Reporting and Analytics with SAP BusinessObjects 9781592293100 Computer Science Books
- Mission To Mahjundar The Sectors SF Romance Series eBook Veronica Scott
- Another Country Nicolas Rothwell 9781525242786 Books
On Duties A Guide To Conduct Obligations And DecisionMaking edition by Quintus Curtius Politics Social Sciences eBooks Reviews
Although I have been interested in philosophy and studied many philosophers for my entire adult life, I somehow managed to miss Cicero. If you read any "intro to philosophy" textbook today, the Stoic philosophers are covered, but they focus primarily on the Greek ones. I recently started following the translator's excellent blog and it was from this that I learned of Cicero's work. Having previously read Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations", I am interested in the Stoic school of philosophy because it seems to be the most appropriate one for the chaotic times we live in today.
As for Cicero's work itself, I found it insightful. I found myself agreeing with what he wrote so long ago and was surprised that he echoed so many of my own beliefs. Often we hold beliefs that we are not really aware of, but after studying On Duties we are forced to reflect upon why we have them. I guess I did not expect so much deep thinking from a book written over two thousand years ago. We think that people in the past were stupid because they didn't have advanced technology, but biological evolution does not happen rapidly, and we have to realize that people in the past had the same intelligence we have and their only disadvantage was their lack of access to information. I suppose Cicero must have had enough wealth that he could study whatever books were available at the time. His work shows that he had a sharp mind and was well educated.
One thing I found especially revealing was that Cicero was writing in pre-Christian times, yet no one would doubt that he felt there was a very firm moral code to be followed. Although there are mentions of gods/god, it is the Roman pagan gods he refers to, and these play a secondary role and are not the cause or judge of what is right and wrong. Can there be morality without god? Apparently so, as Cicero expounds the Natural Law theory in his work. In contemporary times, some would have you believe that without Christianity, the world would descend into amoralism and anarchy. They would say that without the Ten Commandments, our society would have no sense of right and wrong. Yet, history proves this view incorrect. Moreover, a present-day author worth studying if you are interested in a scientific/biological view of ethics is Frans de Waal, who also makes a natural law argument, but from more modern biological research.
I will not say that I agree 100% with everything Cicero has written. He sometimes leaps to conclusions that seem unsupported by the arguments. It may be that I misunderstood what he wrote, because it is not always easy to follow. The translation is good, and I blame Cicero for his sometimes hard to follow reasoning, not the translation. I haven't read any other translations of On Duties, but this one seems good to me. The footnotes help a lot to put the arguments in their historical context. You will also be relieved to find that it is a modern translation rather than "Ye Olde English" as some expired copyright works might be. However, you will likely have to keep a dictionary nearby if words like "expediency" are unfamiliar to you. This is not a translation to baby talk for a vapid audience. I am guessing the choice of words are based on their Latin roots.
If you like this work, I suggest also reading Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations" which is my favorite book. It is worth seeking out the Martin Hammond translation as the free ones online have the "Ye Olde English" problem I mention above. I compared them all and the Hammond translation of the Meditations is the best, in my opinion. These important historical works deserve a high quality translation and it is worth spending the money if you are going to spend the time to study the book. You will not gain much benefit if you don't understand everything that is written.
The extensive footnotes and background historical information provided by Quintus makes this book one-of-a-kind. Cicero's wisdom is often overlooked in an era obsessed with Machiavelli. Quintus has updated the antiquated language of other translations but he does seem to have a fixation on the word "chicanery." Don't get me wrong, chicanery is an excellent word but since there is so much chicanery going on in Cicero's world, it might be best to find a few synonyms.
I highly recommend Quintus' podcast which can be found by searching his name in your podcast app. The podcast also gives updates on his upcoming books and he sometimes reads some excerpts. One thing that I'd to see Quintus apply to his political episodes is the philosophy of the Ancient Greeks and Romans regarding the nation state. They were very clear on the dangers of diversity and moving large volumes of people from one tribe to live in another location amongst a different tribe. Aristotle gives dozen of examples of this in his work, "Politics" We can deduce from their writings that even moving people relatively similar populations (Greeks and Macedonians for example) caused immense conflict.
As a world traveler myself, I sympathize with Quintus when he describes his positive experiences with the people of what many call "The Third World." However, the movement of tens of millions of these people into the First World over the last fifty years does not cause them to metamorpihize into high output Westerners. There is no Magic Dirt. If we do not heed the warnings of the Ancients in this regard we will share the same fate as Rome. Some will say, "They deserved it" but the Cicero tells us to "Take heed and prepare."
How do we behave morally? What is the right thing to do? Is it different from what is the convenient thing to do, and if so, how do we reconcile the two?
In the modern era we are left adrift when considering this question. In school we get a lot of facts and pointless data foisted on us, but very little in the way of moral instruction. We are left off much poorer for it.
The ancients, in that sense, were often much wiser than us. That is why we need this book. "On Duites" is a detailed guide on how to live as an honorable man. Quintus Curtius has done the task of translating it for us.
Striving to balance the original syntax and patina of the original while making the writing palatable for modern readers, Quintus has succeeded in resurrecting a classic for the ages. It expresses many complex ideas in a straightforward, easy to read fashion. This is the masterpiece of not only Cicero, but maybe even Quintus himself.
The content is just as relevant today as it was in antiquity. What do we owe our fellow man? What do we owe our society? How do we balance the necessities of state with spiritual notions of honor and decency? More than ever we could use answers to these questions.
It is a sad testament to the educational system of today that I and many other young people have never even heard of this book until now. It would be great to see this as required reading on how to live as a citizen. Trust me, you'll get more out of this than your typical liberal arts education today.
Take note, though this book is not just to be read leisurely. It is to be studied and practiced. It is a handbook. I originally bought it on kindle and now I've ordered a paperback copy just so I can take copious notes in it. I have never done that with any other book. This book has many moving passages that resonate with me deeply and spiritually. I often have to stop and ponder what I've just read instead of just nodding along and agreeing.
In summary, I highly recommend this book to everyone, of every walk of life. It is perhaps more relevant and more needed now than ever. I plan on buying copies to give to friends and family
0 Response to "[BK7]∎ [PDF] On Duties A Guide To Conduct Obligations And DecisionMaking edition by Quintus Curtius Politics Social Sciences eBooks"
Post a Comment