Mundus Sophiae

Die Veneris praeteritae hebdomadis ultimam probationem sessionalem administravi. Erant etiam libelli, tractatuli, pensa hercule permulta quae deberem emendare, quibus notae assignandae essent. Dies Saturni, Solis, Lunae longos mihi et molestos serviliter laboravi sed -- gratias Deo -- non multo ante illam "lineam mortis" notas discipulis reddidi. Iam feriae incipiunt. Primum opus mihi erat inspicere pelliculam quandem alumnis meis destinatam quae Mundus Sophiae nominata in mythistoria scriptoris norvegiensis Jostein Gaarder fundata mihi commendata erat ut fabella et grata et plena utilitatis scholasticae. Quae sine dubio accuratissime descripta fuit. Historia Sophiae, adulescentulae quaerentis ut cognoscat quis et cuias ipsa sit, spectatores animosos capiet atque permulcebit. Quod et Socrates et Plato, attice loquentes, partes suas in pellicula agunt, mihi quidem est delectationi gratiosissimae. Tota opera apta decora iucundissima. Necesse autem est subtitulos hispanice legere nisi linguam norvegiensem scis....Haec digna pellicula oculos Americanos ad se adhuc (ut videtur) non convertit.

Qua de causa Americani pelliculas tolerabiles de Graecia non faciunt?

Sunt sine dubio non paucae pelliculae a Graecis vicesimi saeculi atque vicesimi primi quae mihi maxime placent: Stella, exempli gratia, atque Pote ten Kuriake (in his quid non est diligendum?); historicae ut Nymphae; recentior illa periucunda imaginaribusque viribus impleta Politike Kouzina. Sunt autem pelliculae quae maxime displicent, et hae ab Americanis de Graecis pactae: inter pessimas nunc (praeterita nocte visam) possum numerare hanc nomine Mea Vita in Ruinis. Certe primagonistria Nia Vardalos, zaftig atque amabilis, corda nostra attrahit; argumentum autem incredibile stomachum movet, personae animum repellunt, conceptum totum ruinosissimum est.

Consilia ad aestimationes librorum conscribendas

Ecce index consiliorum regularumque quae ad aestimationes conscribendas pertinent. In situ nostro "Humanistica" constituimus praebere occasionem discipulis componendi aestimationes librorum qui classicistas atque humanistas attrahant.

Guidelines for Humanistica et Classica Book Reviews

Thanks for your interest in writing a book review for Humanistica et Classica Book Reviews. This site is devoted to book reviews on subjects of interest to humanists and classicists. Our reviews are intended for both the general and the scholarly reader. Our review authors are all undergraduates interested in Classical languages and Classical studies.

Those interested in reviewing a book should contact the head blogger, Diane Johnson, at diane.johnson@wwu.edu. State the title and author of the book you are interested in reviewing, and explain why you feel this book deserves attention on our site. If Diane agrees with you, you will be sent a copy of the book (yours to keep); when your review is submitted, you will be presented with a home-baked pie or cake (specify your preference), and your review will be vetted by the Classics Section of the Modern and Classical Languages Department at Western Washington University. Then the review will be put on the Humanistica site. We welcome participation by students at other undergraduate institutions: please be aware however that it may be impossible to mail you a pie or a cake, and so cookies or fudge may have to be substituted.

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a. What is the book about? Give a synopsis of the author's argument Is there an index? an appendix? illustrations?

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Why or why not?

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d. Are there other studies on this topic with which you are familiar?
2. Length: 1000-1500 words (4-6 pages double-spaced).
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The School of Libanius in Late Antique Antioch. By Raffaella Cribiore. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-691-12824-5. Pp 360. $69.95 (hardcover).

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Aestimationes classicorum humanisticorumque

Feriis gratiarum agendarum ad finem appropinquantibus, occasionem accepi ut meum propositum incipiam, paginam interretialem aestimationibus librorum de rebus classicis humanisticisque deditam confingi. Qua pagina non nisi aestimationes voluminum utilium discipulis atque a discipulis conscriptas includere velim, in modo blog; quippe quo modo blog utentes persuadeamus lectoribus ut participes in actu aestimandi voluminis cuiuslibet fiant. Cum nonnulli discipuli nostri latine calleant, scilicet aestimationes latine scriptae accipiantur; sed licet et sermonibus vernaculis uti. Indices ad tales aestimationes componendas huic paginae mox adiungam.

Quamquam placet perscrutari poetas dramaticos graecos atque indos ut similia dissimilia inter eos repperiantur notentur contemplentur, haud scio an utile sit. Nam tragoedi comoedique graeci non nisi dramatice conscripserunt; Kalidasa, optimus inter permultos alios poetas, tribus generibus litterarum praecipuus erat: ex septem operibus ei ascriptis, tria sunt fabellae, tria carmina lyrica, unum poema epicum. De generibus litterarum indicis, et de quali modo opera Kalidasae distinguantur, opus nunc est disserere.

de discipulis Boethii Consolationem legentibus

Haud scio quid boni fecerim ut Fortuna sic beaverit me alumnis non modo pulcherrimis sed etiam intelligentissimis! Hi sunt qui hoc trimestri Consolationem Philosophiae mecum legunt...praeterea -- quod mea maxime refert-- hic liber optimus et intelligitur ab eis, et delectat.

Est Ujjayini inter antiquissimas urbes terrae Indicae. Iam tempore Buddhae et Mahavirae, sc. saeculo quinto ante Ch. n., erat vetusta metropolis regionis Malva, compitum quoque viarum ferentium ad oram Maris Arabicae et ad urbem imperialem Pataliputram. Per saecula permulta usque ad hodie opulentissima et rebus et artibus permanet Ujjayini; hic etiam apud aulam regiam Vikromadityae florebant saeculo quinto nostrae aetatis illa “navaratnani” vel novem gemmae: Dhanvantari medicus, Kshapanaka, Amarasimha, grammaticus atque poeta qui illud lexicon mirabile Amarakosha composuit; Shanku; Vetalabhatta, astrologus atque mathematicus; Ghatakarpara; Vararuchi, poeta atque philologus; Varahamihira atrologus, et Kalidasa.