Great Mythologies of the World - The Great Courses

It's been a while since I've taken in any of The Great Courses, and this one really added to my current study of Greek myth.  I only watched the first nine (of 60) lectures, as these covered the Greek and Roman periods.  In the perfect world I would have continued through the entire series, but sometimes you have to pick and choose.

Dr. McClymond did a tremendous job presenting the world of Greek and Roman mythology, providing both a wide perspective, going deep on select narratives and subjects.

Now I've moved on to another 60 lecture series, this one on physics, virtually a tabula rasa for me.  As my wife knows, I took the bare minimum of science classes in both high school and college.  Now it's time to make up for that loss, and so far I'm enjoying it thoroughly!

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

One of the smartest moves I've made this year was to sync up my reading of history with my reading of fiction.  I'm reading more fiction than ever, and now that fiction is mostly set in the same time period as the history I'm reading on a parallel track.  Right now both are fixed squarely on the mid-19th century.

Even better, I'm listening to an audio course on English fiction, entitled The English Novel by Professor Timothy Spurgin of Lawrence University, to provide additional context and help me select much of the fiction that I read.

The most recent example is Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, and wow, did I really enjoy this book!  Although written almost a century before Dickens, the book must have influenced that beloved, favorite author of mine.  The setting, the characters, the style, the wit, virtually everything reminded me of Dickens.  Even the names of characters are descriptive in true Dickensian style, from the always virtuous Mr. Allworthy, to the cynical Mr. Thwackum.

In Spurgin's discussion of the book he spends a great deal of time contrasting Tom Jones with Pamela, which were written about a decade apart (1740 for Pamela, 1750 for Jones).  Fielding and Richardson were in fact huge rivals and quite on the record about their dislike for one another.

Although both deal centrally with class divisions, hierarchy, and the difficulty (or impossibility) of ascendancy, as does much English literature of the period, they approach these issues from different perspectives.

In Pamela, Richardson takes the point of view that, although difficulties abound, one can rise through the hierarchy by the constant striving for virtue.  The full title of that book, after all, is Pamela, Or Virtue Rewarded.  Pamela's supreme virtue elevated her from lady's maid to mistress of the estate.

In Fielding's masterpiece, which itself is fully titled The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, centers around the question of whether or not Jones comes from the gentry or not.  He acts like a gentleman, he dresses the part, and in fact most people upon first impression believe him to be a gentleman.  But because he was abandoned in his infancy as a foundling with unknown lineage, no one really knows if he deserves the title or not.  Where does he fall in the strata of society?  This is the central issue of the book.

Near the very end of the story we learn that Jones is in fact a gentleman, immediately changing his trajectory for life.  The stars instantly align, all loose ends are tied off, and no doors remain closed for Jones.  Even the love of his life, Miss Sophia Western, and her crazy father relieve themselves of any objection to Tom Jones.  Sophia and Tom wed within days.

And of course this is the ending everyone wants.  But for this modern reader it's a little disappointing how quickly Jones' newly confirmed lineage changes everything.  British society in the 18th century was highly stratified, and Jones' confirmation as a gentleman means a completely different life for him.

Fielding writes from the perspective that one can't change classes through any effort of our own, in direct opposition to Richardson's point of view as expressed in Pamela.

One aspect of Fielding's Jones that I did like, however, was his imperfection.  Tom Jones is virtuous in every sense of the word about 95% of the time.  Everyone across all strata of society loves Tom Jones.  But the other 5% of the time he shows great lack of judgement.  He's a great lover of women, and doesn't waste an opportunity to romance them on occasion even while he risks life and limb in pursuit of his beloved Sophia.

No one is perfect, not even the gentleman of Tom Jones.  That gave him real humanity.  Heroes are typically portrayed as boundless beyond measure.  Fielding created a wonderful character in Tom Jones, and one of my favorite reads of the year in this lovable novel.

Pamela by Samuel Richardson

I decided to read this book for two reasons.  One, I decided to read some of the novels highlighted in the audio course I've been listening to entitled The English Novel by Professor Timothy Spurgin.  That course identifies Pamela as the first English novel, published in 1740.  Two, I also decided to try and sync my reading of fiction with my reading of non-fiction, which is currently fixed squarely on early 18th century Europe.  Pamela fit that bill quite nicely.

I didn't know what to expect, as early fiction can be difficult to the modern reader, and the reviews I found online were decidedly negative.  Most of the reviews identified the book as boring, too long and sexist.

My guess is that many of those readers didn't make it past the first several chapters of the book, which can easily be viewed as boring, long and sexist if you never make it to the second half of the book.  The first half is consumed with Mr. B___s fixation on, attacks against and captivity of the young helpless Pamela.  It's not very pleasant.

The second half of the book has been fantastic (I'm perhaps 90% complete), and I often have had a difficult time putting it down.

Once Mr. B____ begins to understand Pamela's virtue, and Pamela learns that Mr. B ____ truly does love her, the game changes completely.  The switch happens almost instantly - perhaps a little too quickly for my liking - but the book becomes decidedly enjoyable from there on.

Although not exactly Austen-esque (Richardson doesn't command the language like Austen; the similarities between styles are what you would expect from an English novelist pre-dating her by a century), the story becomes much more enjoyable.  Mr. B____ ceases to be the antagonist; instead we begin to view English society of the time as the bad-guy, the society that will reject their union.

The full title of the book is Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, a title which reflects the larger story.  Pamela refuses Mr. B___'s advances when she believes he only wants her for sex, which would bring her virtue to a disdainful end.  Once she understands he actually loves her, and will in fact marry her, she sees him in a completely new light.  She, too, wants to marry him, although the knowledge of this is (almost) completely hidden from the reader during the first half of the book.

Mr. B.____ also learns the value of virtue over the course of the story.  Not only does he learn to respect Pamela's virtue, he also understand in hindsight that his own lack of virtue is what doomed their relationship from taking form.  Sugar works better than vinegar, as they say.  Once he courts Pamela with love and kindness (and once he commits to marriage), she does a complete 180.

The book symbolizes the Enlightenment in a lot of ways.  Society was moving forward.  Modern ideas - such as a wealthy lord marrying a member of his household - could actually happen, albeit with difficulty.

Great book.  Next up on the fiction front: Tom Jones by Henry Fielding.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I recently finished my fourth Jane Austen novel in Persuasion.  I enjoy her writing, and this was no exception, at least as a short read at 165 pages.

I'm really starting to believe that Austen and Dickens represent two sides of a similar coin, one geared mostly for women, and one for men.  Austen's appeal has faded somewhat for me now that I've been exposed to so much brilliant Dickens.

She is an amazing writer, however.  As I've written before, her command of the English languages is unparalleled in my mind.  Even beyond story and characters, her use of the language, throughout every page, is enjoyable in and of itself.

I read Persuasion on a parallel track with the audio course entitled The English Novel by Professor Timothy Spurgin of Lawrence University, which covers Austen in more detail than perhaps any other writer.

In the course I was fascinated to learn of Austen's invention of what is later called free indirect speech.  This blending of third party narration and first person thought was original at the time, and a huge influence on basically all novelists down to this day.

Austen's use of free indirect speech, now that I'm aware of it, is brilliant in its ability to convey richer story.  As the reader you're never quite aware of who is speaking (or thinking), the narrator or the character.  It allows one to experience ideas and thought processes with both the intimacy of the character, and the impartiality of the narrator, simultaneously.  Even upon close reading, it's sometimes impossible to discern the two.

The blend seems obvious to us today, but it was completely original in Austen's day.

Her stories follow a clear pattern, and perhaps that's why my interest wanes for the time being.  Professor Spurgin says that he thought almost nothing of Austen's Emma the first time he read it; but the second reading unveiled its brilliance.  After completing my fourth Austen novel, maybe it's time I start re-reading.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

The book I'm currently reading (The Age of Louis XIV, Volume VIII from Will and Ariel Durant's Story of Civilization) as well as an audio course I'm taking (The English Novel) both included references to Daniel Defoe and his classic adventure story of Robinson Crusoe.  I vaguely knew that this was the story of a man shipwrecked on a deserted island, and I knew it bore some connection to Disney's Swiss Family Robinson and its tree-house at Disney World, but that's about it.

The book was great.  Written nearly 300 years ago when the British nation began its seafaring path towards world domination, the book comes alive with vivid detail.  The book was a huge hit, as it detailed an unknown world that seemed mythical to its early readers, but was based in reality.  If you lived in early 18th century England, not only have you (most likely) never visited a tropical island, you probably don't know anyone who has, you've probably never seen an image from such a setting, and have certainly never been stranded on one.  You might has well be talking about the planet of Mars.

In fact it's incredible to think about how much research Defoe must have had to do before writing the book.  No one had ever conceived of a shipwreck story before, so the many technical challenges faced by Crusoe required ingenuity on the part of both the character and the author.

Crusoe's story puts him on the island for nearly 30 years.  With so much time he overcomes some incredible challenges through wily innovation and experimentation.  He improves his life on the island so much that, in the end, he concedes that he was actually lucky to have been shipwrecked in such a place.

The story brings Crusoe face to face with deep religious contemplation, coupled with vexing societal issues and prejudice.  In fact, the range of issues is all-consuming, as Crusoe is placed into an environment heretofore never conceived.

It's a wonderful read.  These English novels are fascinating.

Classical Mythology

I somehow forgot to make a blog entry upon completing the audio course Classical Mythology by Elizabeth Vandiver, Ph.D. My wife and I have a lot going on right now with our recent move to Maryland, so this somehow slipped through the cracks.

Although I have a strong interest in Classical history and culture, I never actually took a class in mythology in school. And although this particular course didn't cover quite as much ground as I thought, it did help to organize the pantheon of Greek (and to a lesser degree, Roman) gods into a semi-understandable genealogy.

Understanding Classical mythology is apparently as much art as science: There are about as many rules as there are exceptions. However, Professor Vandiver does her best to take one through the main characters and story lines. Despite this, one could clearly spend many lives trying to learn the entire genre and not quite get there.

Once again I was pleased to see so many citations of works that I've actually read. Hesiod's Works & Days and Theogony, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and various works of Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides were each discussed at length. Ovid's Metamorphoses, which sits unread in my library, was one of the larger gaps in my experience. My wife and I have also been fortunate enough to visit and explore many of the famous sites of Classical mythology, including Agamemnon's Mycenae, Apollo's famous Temple of Delphi and the Palace of Knossos on Crete.

My only mild criticism was that Professor Vandiver didn't spend more time on the Roman pantheon, instead of tacking on a couple such lectures at the end of the course. Although the course topic is unimaginably large, it might have been better named Greek Mythology.

Economics

I just finished my audio course from The Teaching Company entitled Economics (3rd Edition) by Professor Timothy Taylor of Macalester College. This was quite a departure for me personally; all of the courses I've studied in the past have been on history and culture. In my quest to really understand the world, however, I felt it more than important that I strive to really understand the fundamentals of economics.

I was pleased to learn that I really do have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of both micro and macro economics. The vast majority of the lectures served as a refresher, or validation, of my understanding of the financial world. It really helped organize economics in a much more logical framework that will allow me to gain more useful, actionable conclusions.

I certainly did, however, learn some incredibly interesting stuff along the way, and feel considerably wiser after having studied the material closely.

For example, although the national debt of the U.S. hasn't grown much in relation to GDP, the forecast for coming decades is incredibly gloomy. As Professor Taylor confesses, it's difficult to see how this can be avoided.

At some point in the future the rest of the world will decide to stop serving as net-investors in the U.S., and that poses a remarkably difficult problem. To cover the shortfall, the only options are, quite literally, a dramatic drop in the federal budget (doubtful at best; and painful at worst as the drop in federal spending accelerates a dramatic recession/depression), exponential growth in tax collection (again doubtful, and again accelerating the economic decline), and/or a huge growth in domestic savings (my vote for the only realistic option).

I must admit that part of my interest in the course was to help with our personal investment strategy. What I learned reinforced my belief that we need to have most of our equities in overseas investments. Besides the doom and gloom scenario of the previous paragraph, I just don't see how the U.S. can continue to outpace the rest of the world in growth. India and China represent the most obvious growth opportunities as they develop a bona fide middle class with self fulfilling consumption and growth. India particularly strikes my fancy, as it's earlier in its growth cycle, has a more transparent and dependable rule of law, and is generally moving in a more free-oriented, market-based direction.

Those two nations are only a couple of examples.

Lastly, one of the more interesting points I learned has to do with the best means for depressed nations to achieve real economic growth. It seems the answer lies not so much in "rich" nations transferring their wealth (through whatever means, investment, charity, trade, etc.) to "poor" nations. The most productive means of growth is for nations to grow their economies from within. If they can increase internal consumption of their own products and services, they are well on their way to real economic growth. Later in the development cycle international trade will help the cause, but growth typically starts from within.

Audio Lectures for the Holidays

Just a quick update that I recently finished listening to the Teaching Company lecture entitled The Foundations of Western Civilization for the second time. Taught by Notre Dame's Professor Thomas Noble, one of my favorite lecturers, the course again provided me with a terrific topline overview of a long stretch of Western history, from ancient Sumer to the discovery of the New World. Forty-eight lectures, each 30 minutes in length, may sound like a lot of time, but not when you're covering such a wide, important, swath of history.

In Professor Noble's typical humor, he points out that the course is something like riding on a motor scooter through Louvre.

With that finished, I've just purchased three new courses. I'm three lectures into Economics (3rd Edition), which will be followed by Classical Mythology and Augustine: Philosopher & Saint.

On Books, by Petrarch

I'm obviously fascinated by books. That's why I absolutely love this quote which I just ran across in a Teaching Company lecture. It quotes the famous early-Renaissance writer Petrarch on his attitude toward books:

"Books are welcome, assiduous companions, always ready to appear in public or to go back in their box at your command, always disposed to speak or to be silent, to stay at home or to make a visit to the woods, to travel or to abide in the country; to gossip, joke, encourage you, comfort you, advise you, reprove you, and take care of you; to teach you the world's secrets, the records of great deeds, the rules of life and the scorn of death, moderation in good fortune, fortitude in ill, calmness and constancy in behavior. These are learned, happy, useful and ready spoken companions who will never bring you tedium, expense, lamentations, jealous murmurs, or deception."

I couldn't agree more.

Sensory Underload

It's almost impossible to really understand what life was like in the historical past. In the present we have access to virtually all media at anytime, from virtually any place. We can read, see, hear, or experience just about anything at anytime, thanks to the Internet, television, iPods, etc. Jet travel allows us to visit virtually any modern culture, or explore any remains of the past.

Just think how different this is from the life and times of Wolfgang Mozart. He is quoted as saying "I have only to hear an opera discussed, I have only to sit in a theater, hear the orchestra tuning their instruments - oh, I am quite beside myself at once." His genuine excitement with live music is palpable.

Obviously Mozart loved the opera, but in those days music simply wasn't heard except at rare professional performances. Nothing in the background over dinner, nothing at the local pub, nothing in the elevator (thank goodness!).

Except for brief interludes, scattered throughout space and time, you really didn't experience much culture in everyday life. As such, live music was cherished by the few who could experience it from time to time. As Professor Robert Greenberg says in his audio course The Operas of Mozart, "In Mozart's day, the opera house was a combination theater; Super Bowl half-time show; major league ballpark; rock concert; carnival midway; high-end fashion show; high-tech IMAX-style movie place; theme park; and special effects extravaganza: in sum, a total sensory-immersion facility."

Again, compare that to the world of today where almost no one actually goes to the opera. We suffer from sensory overload; the ancients suffered from sensory underload.

I suppose that's why art was so much more revered in times past; why the church invested its wealth adorning their interiors with brilliant works. St. Peters is absolutely amazing to experience today, but can we even begin to imagine how it overwhelmed the hearts of pilgrims of centuries past? Such rare beacons of beauty were genuinely perceived as heavenly, adding an allure to religion that almost can't be understood today.

As I listen to Professor Greenberg and his selections of Mozart's brilliant works, he points out something even more surprising: Mozart himself never heard his own music with the quality that we do today. Musicians simply weren't as good back then; their instruments hadn't been around that long, and lacked the centuries of trial and error that we benefit from today. The best musicians and ensembles of Mozart's time perhaps sounded something akin to an excellent high school ensemble today. Still, people were more fascinated, exhilarated and touched by his music than we are by the best of Super Bowls in the modern world.

From Yao to Mao

I'm winding down on another great audio lecture from The Teaching Company, entitled From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History. As previously noted, I'm just beginning to dip my toe into Far Eastern history, and this was a most substantial introduction to the breadth, depth and richness of Chinese history.

Some observations from this beginning student of Chinese culture:

• I love the fact that virtually the entire history is documented, albeit often by biased sources. I don't know if there is another culture that is so well documented consistently from such an early age.


• China's relative isolation from Western development played a role in its unique cultural development. As examples, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism couldn't haven't developed so vividly in a Western culture (and in fact didn't), but all three prospered for millenia in the Far East.


• China's relative isolation in millenia-past also led to its more recent adoption of communism. The Qing dynasty prospered for many centuries until meddling from the Western powers caused such instability that radical political reform appeared the only logical option. Proximity to the Bolshevik revolution in Russia allowed communism to take root so quickly.


• China's adoption of communism is barely a footnote on its long history. I hadn't thought about this before, which is strange in the modern context that makes it seem like China has always been a communist state. To me this says that China can and will eventually grow beyond communism and adopt a more democratic political form.


• Man, the Mongols are everywhere. The played a huge role in the development of China, eventually blending into the Chinese bloodline, much as they did in countless cultures as far away as India, Russia and the eastern Mediterranean.

In closing I will say that the Chinese developed the finest and gentlest of arts, while occasionally embracing the most bloody sorts of war mongering. Then again they differ from most other cultures in their adoption of the former, not the latter.

London Calling

My wife and I have finally committed to the trip to London that we booked last summer. With the economy in chaos we weren't sure if the timing made sense, and we're still not sure, but we've decided that we just don't care!

It's a short trip, centered around our long-time wish to visit the famed British Museum. We've been fortunate enough to visit a lot of the world's great museums, but this visit is going to be really special. Just to make sure, we've hired a guide who specializes in the museum to give us a personalized tour.

As previously mentioned, I'm hurriedly reading the Oxford History of Britain to fill in my embarrassing unfamiliarity with U.K. history. In two weeks I've advanced from Roman England to the arrival of The Tudors, about 1500 years of history, so I guess I'm catching up quickly.

I'm sure we'll take in much of the usual tourist destinations, but with only four full days, we don't have a lot of time to mess around. A daytrip to Bath will be another highlight, allowing me to explore the ancient baths, and Eileen to visit the hometown of her favorite author, Jane Austen.

And much to my surprise, I'm really enjoying my audio course on the comedies, histories and tragedies of William Shakespeare. Eschewing much detail in terms of plot summaries, the course provides wonderful contextual analyses of the settings from each play. I'm learning a great deal about the history of Elizabethan England, but also the time and location in which each play is set.

Lots of Beginnings

I've started a lot of new projects over the last week, and have probably bitten off more than I can chew. I started a new audio course on the works of William Shakespeare, as well as the fourth book in the History of Civilization by William Durant, entitled the Age of Faith.

Of course, it just donned on me that my wife and I are pondering a trip to London, our first to the U.K., in about six weeks and I had originally intended to dive into the Oxford History of Britain by Kenneth Morgan. It's been sitting in my study for weeks in the on deck circle and I completely forgot about that.

No biggy, I will get a jump on it next week.

And although I'm enjoying the audio course on Shakespeare, I'm not sure I'm going to make it through any of his actual plays. I'm trying, but I'm just not feeling it. Why is it that I can muscle through volumes on history that would bore 99% of the reading public, but I can't make it through a single Shakespeare play?

Buddhism

My interests are definitely moving in an easterly direction. After reading my first book on the history of India just a few months ago, I couldn't help downloading the audio course Buddhism, by Professor Malcolm David Eckel and published by The Teaching Company.

Not surprisingly, I'm really enjoying the course, possibly because it is just so incredibly foreign to anything I've studied before. The basic precepts are fascinating... The idea that complete enlightenment and happiness can only be achieved through study and the total elimination of any desire. What a revolutionary concept when contrasted with the Western notion that happiness can only be attained through material gain!

It turns out that there is just a lot that makes sense to me in Buddhism. The Middle Path, the avoidance of all extremes (not too much wine, not too little!) syncs up completely with my upbringing, with constant encouragement to keep everything in balance. And I particularly love the idea of not getting too wrapped up in yourself (i.e. I'm too cool for school) while at the same time not forgetting your own needs.

I'll admit that the concept of Emptiness almost lost me, at least at first. The world, and human experience, are both comparable to a river that is always flowing and always changing. It's literally going through countless modifications every second of every day. This constant change calls into question, and in the Buddhist tradition actually renounces, the existence of anything at all. Emptiness doesn't exactly mean that nothing is there, but it optimistically reveals that anything is possible. Only Buddhism could define something called Emptiness as something so wonderful!

I'm not even going to get into the more complex themes of the Buddhist tradition, mostly because I don't really understand them myself. But there is definitely something very appealing about what I have learned.

And it's more than enough to propel my studies eastward!

Mozart, Part II

As previously mentioned, I'm in the midst of a deep dive into the classical world of Mozart. His name at birth was actually Johannes Christian Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart, with the Amadeus (beloved of God) added much later by admirers who first began to mythologize the life of this great artist.

My source is another audio course that I've just completed by The Teaching Company entitled Great Masters: Mozart - His Life and Music by Professor Robert F. Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I found the course extremely interesting, serving diligently to debunk much of the myth about the man, while providing fact-based insight into the genius.

It turns out that he was not a freak, an idiot-savant, or a mouthpiece for God. He was quite simply an amazingly talented person who channeled those gifts into extremely hard work, focus and dedication towards producing the greatest music ever.

And I'm removing the film Amadeus from my list of all-time favorites. As it turns out, it was filled with much of the legend that makes great books and movies - but is misleading, untruthful and innacurate to the extreme.

More than anything else, this course on Mozart has given me a budding appreciation for opera music - something I've never had in the past.

A Brief History of the World

I've been enjoying another great audio course from The Teaching Company called A Brief History of the World by Professor Peter N. Stearns of George Mason University. This has been another great departure from my perpetual enjoyment of Mediterranean history, into the academic specialty known as world history. It seems there is a movement among many academics away from the Western view of history towards an all-encompassing world view of the development of human civilization.

I suppose this is the type of controversy that historians fight over at cocktail parties (assuming historians go to cocktail parties).

For centuries we have been taught that the only cultures that really matter began in Mesopotamia and Egypt, with their influence gradually moving westwards through Greece, Rome, and Western Europe before arriving in the United States. World historians, on the other hand, while not ignoring the importance of Western development, pay equal homage to historical developments in India, China, Southest Asia, Japan, Russia, Northern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the pre-Columbian Americas.

Historical politics aside, I'm just enjoying the macro view of historic achievement. I never really thought, for example of how so much happened around the close of the 15th century (what world historians call the close of the post-classical period) across many parts of the world: Mongol domination faded across the Middle East and Asia, The Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks, the Ming Dynasty in China began to withdraw from world exploration and trade while fortifying the Great Wall, the Americas were discovered by Spanish Conquistadors, and the Italian Renaissance really began humming across Europe.

Now that's enough news to get Anderson Cooper out of the path of a Level 5 hurricane!

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