How to be a Thinker-Doer | Columbia's Katharina Volk on Cicero & Caesar

[@BrandonStewartCS]

Cicero was the first philosopher I read when I began studying classic thinkers. On Living and Dying well is a great insight into his own thoughts about the world and virtue.

[@bi.johnathan]

If anyone has a claim to having lived and died well, Cicero would be up there. Personally I’m a lot more fascinated by the style he introduced to Latin. TLDR … there’s a lot to love!

[@jokasmoka9114]

I love you Jonathan Bi. I love you.

[@BradDunn]

the production of these videos is so good. really liking this content.

[@bi.johnathan]

Thank you! More to come

[@snakejuce]

Without the Muslim translation movement and the transcultural osmosis of Muslim writings into Europe, we would not have had any of the Greek or Roman texts, let alone the enlightenment and Renaissance. Awesome talk, Katharina is super down to earth and very knowledgeable. Thanks for introducing us to her, and thank you for your relevant questions!

[@maus-v1t]

Why did you feel the need to bring that up?

[@snakejuce]

@@maus-v1t Because of the intense focus on Western supremacy & the "Enlightenment" with the deliberate detraction of its origins. Why did you feel that the point brought up by my comment is somehow something negative that should have stayed hidden and not discussed?

[@maus-v1t]

@@snakejuce I asked because I did not watch the entire video and thought maybe you responded to some part / statement in there.

[@snakejuce]

@@maus-v1t Ah okay, thanks for clarifying!

[@Thrasybulos411]

Partly true, but nowhere near as true as you suggest. The rediscovery of Cicero's writings ushered in the Renaissance. The westward flight of Greeks from an endangered Byzantine world brought Greek texts tot he west. Muslims did preserve some cumbersome translations of Aristotle which were invaluable to Christian theology, especially in the productivity of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

[@historyrepeat402]

58:00 I cannot imagine Caesar literally giving dictations about grammar while fighting a battle, but I have no doubts he did it while leading his campaign in Gaul, likely in winter while fighting is sparse. There are letters from Napoleon organizing a school for orphans, commenting on political events in Paris, and giving orders to his officers at the same time, the night before a battle.

[@bi.johnathan]

🤯🤯🫡🫡

[@mcviluancapadiso519]

Daammn. I really love this side of youtube. Thanks for pursuing this kind of topics, Jonathan!

[@SevenFootPelican]

Currently wrapping up part 1 of Cervantes’ Don Quixote and this lecture reminds me a lot of Don Quixote’s discourse on the comparison between lettered men (students) and men of arms (soldiers). Thanks for posting!

[@adentroelviento]

Oh boy, this channel is gold ❤

[@EricLeCrennSanchez]

Your videos are fantastic! I hope you continue to put out more lectures and interviews.

[@The_Wanderer_And_His_Shadow]

Very interesting interview, thank you! I hope your channel grows.

[@Aviral_Agarwal_Coins]

Amazing interview! I've always been enamored by the idea of the polymath who may or may not have been a scholar by trade but excelled in several areas of human achievement where the specialist today struggles to succeed in a subsection of a particular domain. I think among the "modern" polymaths, a great example is Thomas Young who although was a physician by trade, you won't find a book on Physics or Egyptology missing his name. What I find interesting is that because he lived in at a time when specialization had just started, he kept his physics papers and discoveries largely private and wrote anonymously because he did not want his patients and clients to think that he is less "focused" or perhaps less dedicated to Physiology. A few centuries prior perhaps most gifted men wouldn't "hide" their talents. I think this is part of the issue which you are discussing, people perceive dilettantes as less serious and as amateurs which leads to increased specialization and makes Caesers and Ciceros all the more rare in our age.

[@bi.johnathan]

Agreed. It always strikes me how so many of the great philosophers even in modernity were not in the academy: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Rousseau …

[@BSFan-c4j]

Skrength and honor Johnathan.

[@bi.johnathan]

Instead of ad reads, my channel is funded directly by people passionate about the Great Books. Help me keep making more episodes with a paid subscription: johnathanbi.com * Full transcript: open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-for-interview-with-katharina-volk-cicero-caesar * Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io Companion lectures and interviews: * Lecture on Shakespeare's Caesar: Coming soon. * Katharina Volk on politically-engaged Epicureans: Coming soon. * Katharina Volk on Stoicism: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnnFlXqVhpmbmLs Professor Volk's Book (affiliate): * The Roman Republic of Letters: amzn.to/3AAzjgh * My book notes: open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/roman-republic-of-letters-by-katharina 00:00 0. Introduction 03:51 1. Intellectual Life in the Late Roman Republic 25:02 2. Cicero's Intellectual Life 51:39 3. Caesar's Intellectual Life 01:04:17 4. The Dangers of Combining Action and Contemplation

[@KrakenBolter]

Ave True to Caesar

[@eric.aaron.castro]

The true poetry of Rome lived in its institutions; for whatever of beautiful, true, and majestic, they contained, could have sprung only from the faculty which creates the order in which they consist. “But yours will be the rulership of nations, remember, Roman, these will be your arts: to teach the ways of peace to those you conquer, to spare defeated peoples, tame the proud.” The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 6, l. 851ff (6.851-53) [tr. Mandelbaum (1971), l. 1134ff]

[@bi.johnathan]

that's my favorite line of the Aeneid too ... perhaps of all epic poetry

[@SpaceCityTuan]

You been putting out a lot of content. I hope you stay healthy and be sure to take care of mental and physical health.

[@bi.johnathan]

Just getting started!

[@MichaelPiecyk]

You the man @bi.johnathan

[@sgongorahdz]

What’s the background music? Amazing touch

[@bryanutility9609]

❤ Greece & Rome

[@bi.johnathan]

I'm in Greece right now doing an Ancient Greek intensive ... falling in love with the culture/place

[@bryanutility9609]

@@bi.johnathan Our entire “entertainment” mythology could be based on real European history & more interesting than any Game of Thrones. We will make it so.

[@Avo7977]

@@bi.johnathan Abide by the Greco-Roman ideal, brother!

[@Dino_Medici]

@@bi.johnathan Kallos

[@rexloss7199]

underrated. but better like that..

[@elsaturnertx]

Is there a Chinese canon of philosophy?

[@bi.johnathan]

Indeed ... and it is magnificent

[@elsaturnertx]

@@bi.johnathan Do you have any links to a list of books? Or can you do a Chinese Canon 101 video?

[@bi.johnathan]

@@elsaturnertx maybe one day! Analects, Dao De Jing, Vedas, Art of War aren't a bad place to start

[@snakejuce]

Ofc there is. China's history is rich beyond words.

[@默-c1r]

I highly recommend Zhuangzi, but make sure you get some sort of annotated version because it's full of humor that is quite funny even today especially when you have a bit of background knowledge

[@CramRockets]

🎉

[@Montes88r]

Caesar was a God!

[@bi.johnathan]

You sound like Augustus…

[@gideonbentula9418]

Damn bro... 😂😂

[@antonmusicals]

😢 discuss about ayn rand's philosophy

[@felixikanzo7008]

:)

[@EsatBargan]

Williams Carol Perez Deborah Young Eric

[@fullmoon8358]

It’s difficult to focus on the topic due to your esthetic beautiful face 😅

[@bi.johnathan]

Good thing I can't see it when I do these interviews then :P

[@fullmoon8358]

@@bi.johnathan I haven’t had a chance to go through the entire content yet, is there any lecture or interview in which you share your take on ‘Thus spoke Zarathustra’? and the übermensch?

[@bi.johnathan]

@@fullmoon8358 not yet, one day

[@mmnotes95]

This is what you need Jonathan someone to counterbalance you. You are too much but when you get counterbalanced you have a nice cadence.keep going big fan ... almost

[@indi_prime]

ΔCΔA≥ℏ/2