Name: The Illiad and The Odyssey
Rating: 3.985842026825634 (671 reviews)

Homer

The Illiad and The Odyssey

里森

This extraordinary novel, Dostoyevsky's last and greatest work, tells the dramatic story of four brothers: Dmitri, pleasure-seeking, impatient, unruly... Ivan, brilliant and morose... Alyosha, gentle, loving, honest... and illegitimate Smerdyakov, sly, silent, cruel. Driven by intense passion, they become involved in the brutal murder of their own father, one of the most loathsome characters in all literature. Featuring the famous chapter "The Grand Inquisitor", Dostoyevsky's masterpiece is at once a complex character study, a riveting murder mystery, and a fascinating examination of a man's morality and the question of God's existence.
(back cover)

The Brothers Karamazov

Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli, as the Father of Political Science, continues to be translated and read throughout the world. This latest edition contains many illustrations dealing with The Prince.

The Prince

Fascinante, intrépido, implacable. En El Príncipe, Maquiavelo nos enseña cómo obtener el poder, cómo mantenerlo, cómo perderlo, cómo ser amado, odiado o respetado y muchas más realidades del comportamiento de los líderes y de las masas. Cualquiera que califique este libro de "malo" o "despiadado" niega la naturaleza del hombre y, por consiguiente, se perjudica a sí mismo. Usar este libro como guía o como escudo quedará a disposición de la moral y la prudencia del lector.

Greg Talbot

Interesting to read a book that is primarily for an audience of one. The “Prince” is more than just a list of aphorisms of “its better than to be feared than loved. It is more nuanced, it's steeped in the history of it's time, and it recognizes the authority from action, presence, heredity and character. From Ceaser to Walter White, a leader must take action and authority quickly, or lose it all. There is this strong notion throughout the book that the goal is to hang on The prince should not be unpleasing to his people, but should do everything in their power to make sure the people do not revolt or are not ensnared by another more ardent prince. Mercenaries, fortresses, rule of love, being respected, these are some of the concerns that Macchiavelli deals with. As succintly written by Anthony Gratfton in the beginning, “The Prince” is about taking poltics to a science. It's about looking at what works. It may be that this line of demarcation is exactly why this book is to revealed. Rather than focusing on satisfying the masses, it focuses on educating the master. That hard praticially isn't so much ruthless, as it is solid judgement.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

The award-winning translation of Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel.

The Brothers Karamasov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture. 

A Novel in Four Parts With Epilogue

Imagine that the words you learned in kindergarden could be constructed like some beautiful tapestry to make cultural definining book. Dostovesky brought me into this world of three brothers (Mitya, Ivan and Aloysha), and their struggles with faith, relationships, paternal bonds and surviving financially. Although it's an emotionally heavy book, one that will challenge your convictions and wrestle with your soul. It's a huge book too, one that demands close attention, although if you miss some parts, you're going to be okay, because the main plot points are brought back at Mitya's trial at the end. Here are some of my personal take aways from the book. Ivan's chapters on faith (ch. 5 - The Grand Inquisitor, and Pt.4, chpt. 9 "The Devil, Ivan's Nightmare) stand on their own as worth reading apart from the book. Ivan's story about Jesus confronting the Medieval Church and that interaction is one of the best things i've ever read. Ivan's nightmarish visit from the Devil later twisted my expectations of the character. The Elder Zosima, though we know him only in the most pleasent basking descriptions portrays this "in the world, but not of the world" characteristic that Dotovesky presents as a model faith paradigm. Zosima's readings clearly are meant to eludicate his church, but they also inform us of Alyosha's inner workings, and the education that informs his worldview as a monk. Zosima may be the extreme enlightened being, and his reality is never shown in the book...so even here Dostoyevsky has us question his authenticity; still his shadow is over a signficiant portion of the book. Though I was far more interested in Mitya's soul searching than Aloysha. The ending of this book is one of the most transformative, bleak and beautiful ive ever read. Aloysha and the boys contend with being the remaining ones, at a gravesite, and it's almost like a mini church. Here we sense their loneliness, their grief, their yearning for a better Russia and a world transformed by Spirit. Truthfully the book trumps my reading skills in many areas. And I look forward to returning to this book like a fine wine. Like "Crime and Punishment", it's a rewarding journey to those brave enough to ride.

Emilia Frisby

Herodotus

George C. Macaulay

The History of Herodotus - Volume 1 is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1890. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

The History of Herodotus

Tim Pendry

The point of ploughing through this 1858 translation of Herodotus' 'world classic' is precisely to read the text that Victorian imperialists would have read. Go to a later translation with annotations if you want to hear the fully authentic voice of the Greek but this one will do. The book meets two needs. It is a geography (of the centres of power and civilisation in the fifth century BC) and a history, not only of those specific centres but of the massive clash between the hegemonic Persian Empire and the last nearby 'free' zone, that of the Greeks. Herodotus is, of course, writing as a Greek but a cosmopolitan one who has travelled to many of the places he describes. His achievement is remarkable. The slanderous 'father of lies' claim is grossly unfair ... he may take an absurd story at face value but he will also frequently question claims. The further away from Ionia he is, the more dodgy the data and the nearer, the more reliable, but, given the technology of travel and information transmission and preservation of the day, sneering strikes me as wholly inappropriate. It is not a religious text. We are all free to critique his claims. Truth to tell, the geography is much duller than the history. The micro-histories of provinces and the founding of empires is very much less interesting than the second half of the text (made up of nine books) which centres on the Persian Wars. If you can get through the first half, you will find (considering we are dealing with a text nearly 2,500 years old) some serious excitement as Darius and Xerxes build their forces, transport them around the Aegean and face off the mostly united Greek armies and navies. The battle of Marathon in the first invasion (490-492BC) and those of Salamis and Plataea during the second invasion (480-479BC) are events placed in their context, filled with detail (sometimes more than one account of a particular event) and written to thrill. If there is one section to read, it is the Spartan defence of the pass at Thermopylae which has become a by-word in Western culture for communitarian military sacrifice in defence of the homeland (Book VII) and has even inspired a contemporary comic book and film. There are gaps, of course, that we must regret. He rarely goes far West so, although we know something of the tyrants of Greek Italy and Sicily, he tells us nothing about Etruria, little about Carthage and virtually nothing useful about the Western Mediterranean or Central Europe. Nubia and Ethiopia are only palely reflected in relation to the Persian occupation of Egypt, Arabia, India and Central Asia are places of myth and legend and the South Russian steppes only interesting because of the peoples who harried civilisation. Later commentators often position the books as a morality tale about civilisation and oriental barbarism but this is self-serving by those wanting to be inheritors of Hellenic culture. It has created a myth about difference that has been exaggerated, It is a set of books about hegemony and the right of resistance. The Persians are representatives of imperial realpolitik rather than exporters of values. The Greeks have provoked them and the Persians find an irritating gap in control over the known world of consequence to them. The Greeks themselves are not a polity but a distinctive culture. It becomes clear that (just as many Britons would prefer to serve a hegemonic European Union than be free) many Greeks will submit to Persian lordship from vulnerability or for profit. The massive Persian forces also include many unstable Greek elements whose homelands are not being threatened with sack and massacre but who have thrown themselves in with the Persians either because they have little choice or, frankly, prefer mercantile stability to rebellion. Herodotus is not a theoretician, ideologue or social scientist. He just tells it like it is but the clues are there to mercantile interests who quite like access to the 'single market' built by the Persians but who are ready to switch sides at the drop of a hat if necessary. The Greeks who are defending their territory are an anarchic lot but they are able to sink their differences (Herodotus is good on the summits and councils where different interests are played out) to preserve their homelands. What is remarkable is the relative discipline, not based entirely on fear and shame but on consultation and interest. This is explained by factors alien to us today but they include a culture of shame and honour and a fatalistic but interpretative approach to oracles and the will of the gods. We are looking at a world both familiar to ourselves (in terms of interests, double-dealing, cynicism and political machination) and apparently unfamiliar (in terms of self-sacrifice, contempt for the cowardly, cultural coherence and shared religion). I say unfamiliar but this would not be quite so unfamiliar to our grandparents and to all the generations before them. World War I was fought in part on the basis of Hellenic virtue which brings us full circle to the 1858 edition and its role in creating an imperial honour culture. Herodotus can be read at many levels - as a source of data that would otherwise be lost, as a rattling narrative that reads as true history for the most part, as an incomplete picture of an Eastern Mediterranean civilisational zone and as exemplar. One gets the impression that Herodotus was keen to tell the story of the Persian Wars as a culturally patriotic tale but he is never dismissive of the enemy. Persians are always treated with respect as worthy opponents who are different from Greeks but not radically so. They come across 'just like us' as human beings (a theme to be brought out in Euripides 'The Persians') which is not incompatible with being triumphalist about victory. This is all about men against men with 'great men' (and the odd woman like Artemesia) on both sides. The victory is all the sweeter because the gods are fickle and because Greek heroism matched Persian organisational might. Indeed, in battle sections, it is clear that the Persians themselves are fine fighters and that both sides had wobbly and inexperienced allies. Similarly, the organisational structures of the two sides are central to the story. Both are capable organisers. Imperial might could bring vast numbers of men and material long distances. Hellenic fear could bring squabbling locals into one battle front that could hold a line. Men were defending their homelands (and would go back to warring with each other as soon as the danger was over) against 'imperialism' while quite happy to build empires if they could (as Athens and Macedon were to do). These wars are thus just one incident in the constant ebb and flow of raw power, organisation and morale where the ideology is merely culture - being a 'people' distinct from other people without necessarily wanting to exterminate them or not to trade or mate with them. Indeed, civilisation might be defined as conquest and expansion that utilises what it controls instead of destroying it. What is also heartening about Herodotus' world is that persuasion is just a tool for struggle and power - as in the references to the persuasive and cunning Athenian C-in-C Themistocles. There are no theorising philosophers trying to justify slaughter or getting in the way. The books are riddled with pagan virtue, less ritualised than in Homer and without the magical thinking of Plato. This was a culture of power defending itself against another culture of power that had miscalculated the organisational and cultural cohesion of its opponent on its home territory.

Funny at times and sad at times, it became heavier and heavier to read towards the end, but Dostoievky never fails with his striking writing. 

Nina Alexandra Bacrau

Niccolo Machiavelli

Il Principe (The Prince) is a political treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. Originally called De Principatibus (About Principalities), it was written in 1513, but not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. The treatise is not representative of the work published during his lifetime, but it is the most remembered, and the work responsible for bringing "Machiavellian" into wide usage as a pejorative term. It has also been suggested by some critics that the piece is, in fact, a satire.

Niccolo Machiavelli ( Short Stories, Non-fiction, Political Science ) [Annotated]

Մաքիավելլիզմն անպայման արժի ուսումնասիրության առնել։

Lawton

vern loce

The classic handbook of statecraft written four centuries ago by an Italian nobleman recommends guile and craftiness to attain and maintain political power.

it was nice but hating on women wont help you to get his dick wet 

Magnificent insights into the inner workings of power, and how people achieve, use, abuse and lose power.

catto fishu

This new, revised edition of the award-winning translation of Dostoevsky's classic novel celebrates the author's two hundredth birthday Winner of the Pen/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons—the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, its social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture. This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. For this bicentennial edition, Pevear and Volokhonsky have revised and refined their translation and continued their ongoing project of translating the great author's work. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel.

The Brothers Karamazov (Bicentennial Edition)

Could have used 53638384 more paragraph breaks but hfs this is a banger

🫶devil who serves grudgingly for the sake of events

Margo Koss

Could have used 53638384 more paragraph breaks but hfs this is a banger

🫶Alyosha

🫶devil who serves grudgingly for the sake of events

Konstanfin Mochulski

The brothers Karamazov

Luke Stamps

The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky's crowning achievement, is a tale of patricide and family rivalry that embodies the moral and spiritual dissolution of an entire society (Russia in the 1870s). It created a national furor comparable only to the excitement stirred by the publication, in 1866, of Crime and Punishment. To Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov captured the quintessence of Russian character in all its exaltation, compassion, and profligacy. Significantly, the book was on Tolstoy's bedside table when he died. Readers in every language have since accepted Dostoevsky's own evaluation of this work and have gone further by proclaiming it one of the few great novels of all ages and countries. "The Brothers Karamazov stands as the culmination of Dostoevsky's art—his last, longest, richest, and most capacious book," said The Washington Post Book World. "Nothing is outside Dostoevsky's province," observed Virginia Woolf. "Out of Shakespeare there is no more exciting reading."

Sosa Kuti 

The best book to ever be written. I swear.

Wanna read a whole book by him about children’s friend group politics 

Clay Carey

 by Fyodor Dostoevsky offers an uncompromising examination of love, grief, and faith, urging readers to reconsider their idealized notions of love. Dostoevsky presents love not as a romantic fantasy but as an active, laborious force requiring perseverance and fortitude. Through the character of Father Zossima, the author shows that genuine love is transformative, born from life’s struggles and redemptive in its ability to transcend pain. A standout in the narrative is the term “laceration,” which encapsulates the pain of grief but also the beauty of transformation through suffering. Dostoevsky’s reflections on grief as a doorway to a deeper love resonate with the metaphor of a seed falling to the ground, signifying the possibility of renewal even in the harshest of circumstances. This theme of love’s active, spiritual nature is intertwined with Dostoevsky’s religious iconography, showcasing a divine power quietly within the soul. The chapter “The Grand Inquisitor” is another highlight, offering unmatched spiritual depth through Ivan Karamazov’s philosophical musings. Ivan, with his sharp intellect and moral complexities, challenges the very notion of truth and suffering, leaving readers to ponder the value of truth when weighed against the cost of innocent suffering. His dialogue with Alyosha is a haunting meditation on forgiveness, suffering, and the struggle for harmony, with Ivan’s words still echoing long after the book’s conclusion:

The dense prose can be challenging, but the rewards of navigating Dostoevsky’s intricate style are immeasurable. As a lover of philosophical literature, I found the book to be both intellectually stimulating a challenging read, but for those willing to engage with its complexity, 

 stands as the pinnacle of existential exploration and one of the most impactful literary experiences I’ve ever had. 

🏹

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky offers an uncompromising examination of love, grief, and faith, urging readers to reconsider their idealized notions of love. Dostoevsky presents love not as a romantic fantasy but as an active, laborious force requiring perseverance and fortitude. Through the character of Father Zossima, the author shows that genuine love is transformative, born from life’s struggles and redemptive in its ability to transcend pain. A standout in the narrative is the term “laceration,” which encapsulates the pain of grief but also the beauty of transformation through suffering. Dostoevsky’s reflections on grief as a doorway to a deeper love resonate with the metaphor of a seed falling to the ground, signifying the possibility of renewal even in the harshest of circumstances. This theme of love’s active, spiritual nature is intertwined with Dostoevsky’s religious iconography, showcasing a divine power quietly within the soul. The chapter “The Grand Inquisitor” is another highlight, offering unmatched spiritual depth through Ivan Karamazov’s philosophical musings. Ivan, with his sharp intellect and moral complexities, challenges the very notion of truth and suffering, leaving readers to ponder the value of truth when weighed against the cost of innocent suffering. His dialogue with Alyosha is a haunting meditation on forgiveness, suffering, and the struggle for harmony, with Ivan’s words still echoing long after the book’s conclusion:


If the sufferings of children go to swell the sum of sufferings which was necessary to pay for truth, then I protest that the truth is not worth such a price.

The dense prose can be challenging, but the rewards of navigating Dostoevsky’s intricate style are immeasurable. As a lover of philosophical literature, I found the book to be both intellectually stimulating a challenging read, but for those willing to engage with its complexity, The Brothers Karamazov stands as the pinnacle of existential exploration and one of the most impactful literary experiences I’ve ever had. 

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives—and destroyed them. Now, Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are. Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers, and each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-drive design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped the world. Rejecting the traditional values of political theory, Machiavelli drew upon his own experiences of office in the turbulent Florentine republic to write his celebrated treatise on statecraft. While Machiavelli was only one of the many Florentine “prophets of force,” he differed from the ruling elite in recognizing the complexity and fluidity of political life.

Chaitanya Baranwal

Written in the 1500s, this book addresses the general tendencies and thought processes of humans, and how a prince can use them to his advantage. It's cold in its consideration of the public as mere subjects, yet pragmatic enough to advise that a prince should always strive to remove any hatred his public might have towards him. Moving away from the idealist approaches a prince must take, it makes a lot of good points, which I feel continue to apply even 500 years later.

No words. I fucking love you Dostoyevsky.

Il principe

yaya

Buku pedoman para diktator. Luas dan terasa tajamnya pembahasan di sini. Saya ingin membaca ulang buku ini kapan-kapan.

Ziggy

Completed only a few months before the author's death, The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoyevsky's largest, most expansive, most life-embracing work. Filled with human passions ― lust, greed, love, jealousy, sorrow, and humor ― the book is also infused with moral issues and the issue of collective guilt.
As in many of Dostoyevsky's novels, the plot centers on a murder. Three brothers, different in character but bound by their ancestry, are drawn into the crime's vortex: Dmitri, a young officer utterly unrestrained in love, hatred, jealousy, and generosity; Ivan, an intellectual capable of delivering impromptu disquisitions about good and evil, God, and the devil; and Alyosha, the youngest brother, preternaturally patient, kind, and loving. Part mystery, part profound philosophical and theological debate, The Brothers Karamazov represents the culmination of Dostoyevsky's life's work and ranks among the greatest novels of all time.
Reprint of the Constance Garnett translation as published by W. Heinemann, London, 1912-1920.
Source: http://store.doverpublications.com/0486437914.html

I lack the necessary English degree to adequately review this book.

It was long.

Dostoyevski, yaşamının son yıllarında başyapıtı Karamazov Kardeşler'i tamamladığında, Rus yazınında 'felsefe düzeyinde roman-tragedya denen türün de temelini attığının bilincinde değildi. Dostoyevski'nin yaşam birikiminin tümünü ve sanat gücünün doruğunu içeren bu roman, gerçekte insanı insan yapan ne varsa, onlara adanmış bir destan niteliğini taşır. Yazar, hiçbir romanında "Karamazov Kardeşler"de olduğu denli insan ruhuna inmemiş, insanoğlunu bu denli kesitler biçiminde, içgüdülerinin ve istencinin tüm görünümüyle sergilenmiştir. Bir aileyi konu alan ve bir felaketler zinciri olarak gelişen olay örgüsü, bireysel öğelerin yanı sıra, ondokuzuncu yüzyılın ikinci yarısındaki Rus toplumunu da geçirdiği sarsıntıların tümüyle, dünya edebiyatında bir eşi daha bulunmayan bir sanat aynasından yansıtır.

Suat ATAN

Ortaokuldan beridir, kütüphane raflarında gördüğüm için okumak istediğim ancak cesaret edemediğim “Karamazov Kardeşleri” nihayet okudum. Bence bu kitaplar o yaşlar için pek ağır. Okunmayacağından değil, anlaşılması için yaşlanmak gerektiğinden… En azından benim için öyle.

1000 sayfalık ağır bir roman hakkında yapılacak yorum da “güzel kitap” diye iki kelime olursa, Dostoyevski’nin kemikleri sızlar. Okumamış olanlar için baştan söyleyeyim, eğer eski eserleri veya “sıkan kitapları” hemen bırakıyorsanız bu işe girmeyin… Bu kitap uzun, çok uzun bir rüyaya benziyor kitabı bitirmeyene kadar olan biteni anlamıyorsunuz. Arada insan ruhuna dair farklı kahramanların dilinden tahliller büyülüyor. Bazen kahramanların kendi tutarsızlıkları da öyle… Bir kahramanın tutarsızlığı diye yapıştırıverdiğimiz hükmü her gün yaşadığımızı unutuyoruz. Kitabın kahramanı neredeyse kitaptaki herkes… Alyoşa’yı ana karakter sayanlar var ancak aslında gerçek hayata ve insanlara bu kadar yaklaşmış bir romanda bir Gruşenka da, Dmitri de hatta İlyuşa.

Kitapta unutamayacağım bölüm yerini söylemeyeceğim bir duruşma sahnesi… Orada Avukat Fetükoviç ve İppolit Kiriloviç’in tahlillerini okuyunca hayatta bırakın basit bir olayı romanın konusu olan o büyük olayda bile insan ruhundan, olan bitenden, suçun/yargının toplumsallığından yana öyle dersler alıyorsunuz ki bunu burada “bütün ihtimalleri düşünün” şeklinde anlatırsak “Aa, bu muymuş” diye geçiştirisiniz ama öyle. Bu duruşma sahnesinde bir mühendis kafasıyla bir hesap yaptım. Bir duruşmada 10 delil ve 10 tanık olsun. Bu kişilerin hemen hemen her birinin birbirleri ile illiyeti olsun. Bu durumda 10+10 = 20 öğenin kendi aralarındaki ilişkileri 20×20 = 400 oluyor. Zaten insan zihninin bunu bir dava dokümanından okuyup aklında tutması imkansız. Bu yüzdendir ki her “iddia” veya her “savunma” ilk dinlendiğinde haklı bile gelebiliyor insana, hele İppolit Kiriloviç’in o tahlilleri öyle derin ki, eğer tanık sandalyesine masum adam otursa müebbet yer… Çünkü kitabın kendi benzetmesiyle maddi gerçekler de roman haline gelip anlamsız kurgular yaratabiliyor

Diğer yandan kitaptaki kahramanlardan Dimitri, Katerina, İvan ve Gruşenka’nın diğer en büyük özelliği “poliamori”. Kitapta bu terim elbette geçmiyor, yani bir kişinin birden fazla kişiye aşkı… Ama kahramanlar bunu yaşıyor. Önce saçma geliyor, sonra Gruşenka’nın ağzından birine karşı “onu sevebilme ihtimalim vardı” gibi cümleyi duyup olan biteni, kıskançlıkları, hesapları da okuyunca bunun da tipik bir insan davranışı olduğunu görüyoruz. Öyle ki romanda daha sonradan ruh aslında bu poliamori olgusunda insanın “her anının ayrı bir telde” olabileceğini görüyoruz. Her konuda da böyle.

Kitabı okuduktan sonra içimdeki “İppolit Kiriloviç” de Avukat Fetükoviç de birebir oluştu, yerlerini aldı. Kendimi kitaptaki tahlilleri kendime ve başkalarına yaparken buldum. Kitapta çok kızılan “Fyodor Pavloviç” in de aslında hepimizin içinde yer aldığını biliyorum. Sadece adlarını koyacak Dostoyevski gibi derin değiliz.

Dostoyevski kitapta ana hikayeden kısmen bağımsız olan eski yüzbaşının oğlu İlyuşa’nın babasının Dmitri’den uluorta dayak yerken, çocuğun babasının yanına gidişini öyle bir anlatıyor ki sarsılıyorsunuz. Ana hikaye değil ama yan hikayelerden biri olan İlyuşa’nın öyküsü ve betimlemeler sizi ağlatabilir.

Kitapta Alyoşa’nın “şeyhi” diyelim, Startez Zosima’nın kendi yaşam öyküsü ayrı bir romandır aslında. Bir düelloda yaptığı bir hareket sonrasında kendisi ile dost olan yaşlı bir adamın öyküsü var, siz okursunuz artık, insanın çelişkilerini öyle bir anlatıyor ki… Ayrıca Startez Zosima’nın verdiği öğütler çok etkileyici.

Her kitap bir ders verir en kötüleri ise okunmayacak kitabın ne olduğuna dair ders verir. Bu kitaptan çıkardığım ders şudur: İnsanlar da, ilişkiler de, hayat da neredeyse muammadır. Biz günlük yaşamın pratiklği içinde örneğin bir hakim olarak o gün hızlıca karar verip birilerini idama da gönderiyor olabiliriz. Öte yandan idama giden suçlu da olabiliriz. Bu muammanın içinde rasyonel olmak için adil olmak gerekiyor. Adil olmak için -kitapta Alyoşa karakteri tam bir adalet örneği- ise herşeyi çok dikkatli gözlemlemek, Dostoyevski’nin gözü ile tahliller yapmak, sezgilerimizi dinlemek ama onlarla hüküm vermek yerine daha fazla düşünmek zorundayız. Nitekim doğru ile yanlış, iyi ile kötü, yalan ile doğru feci şekilde bir aradadır.

Plato

Phaedo

Meagan Fischer 

Boo. All we see in this book is Plato abandoning the Socratic method in favor of turning his fictional Socrates into a cult leader whose friends are nothing more than yes-men. His arguments about the nature of the soul are also full of fallacies akin to the Monty Python logic about ducks and witches. Not impressed at all.

Edited to add: After thinking about it further, I recognize that to be fair, Plato was literally making this stuff up as he went. He did not have access to brain science and other research that would shed more light on the topics he was exploring. What bothers me is more that people still think his ideas are somehow the pinnacle of human insight.

Presents a dramatization of the trial and death of Greek philosopher Socrates, written by his student and friend, Plato.

The Last Days of Socrates

Hannah Yang

Wonderful, accessible collection of four of Plato's dialogues regarding Socrates' trial and death, with very helpful introductions to each dialogue. Great read for those interested in pondering the law, justice, and considering things like the nature of our soul / whether there is life after death.

The Illiad and The Odyssey

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