Why Read Classical Literature - From Homer to Augustine - The Western Story Video 1
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- Опубліковано 1 лип 2024
- This is the first video in the Freedom Academy's "Western Story" series hosted by Victor Davis Hanson. In this video:
Why bother to read things written 2,500 years ago? Because human nature
has not changed, and so the classical authors still have much to teach
us. In fact, thinkers like Homer and Socrates often have better answers
to our problems than those provided by modern pundits. The classical
authors were not distracted by Twitter and Facebook or hobbled by
political correctness; they give it to us straight.
Professor Hanson, I received a BA in Classics from a college that closed due to enrollment; they lost their credentials. My Classics degree helped me greatly in my dual degree in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering and on to graduate school in Electrical Engineering. I wrote my thesis for my degree in classics on Ciceronean Jurisprudence. I cherish the memory of the experience and it still has its use in my daily life.
Baruch ben Avraham You sound like an amazing person! So happy to know people like you are walking around today!
Dr VDH is like a cool drink of water in the parched desert our culture has become.
Exactly
Amen to that!
👌🍾🥂
He would disapprove of your usage of the word “like.”
VDH can do no wrong imo.
They keep tearing down our statues, I propose we all should start up a kickstarter to erect a statue of VDH.
“Electronic grunting”.
That’s the gift the iPhone has brought us
Can't believe I only heard of this man this summer. He is a wonderful teacher!
I wish it were possible to take military or classical history classes by this remarkable man. Can you imagine how interesting any class he teaches is. I have been studying military history since I was 11 years old, now 75. Dr. Hanson has forgotten more than I have learned.
You can, Paul! Hillsdale College offers many courses online, free of charge. Victor Davis Hansen presents some of the military history/analysis courses there, particularly on WWII, but I think he speaks on others as well. I think the site is just “online.hillsdale.edu”. Good luck and enjoy!
@@HarveyDog123 Thanks for the tip!
Me too, at age 69. I'm known by family as someone who knows history, but Dr. Hanson keeps me not only humble, but humiliated.
@Andro mache Yes, you are trying to take something away. Your comment is patronizing and unnecesary. Stop projecting.
Andro mache Sure thing my dearest bearer of truth.
He is fantastic - and what a compelling argument for reading the classics.
Love how Victor Davis Hanson so effortlessly and genuinely speaks to his audience.
Prof. Hanson, please record & release many more of these videos. Our society needs this. What's worse is that our failed public educational system (of more than 100 years) has not & will never deliver such quality as what you've shared in this video. Just look at the state of university systems, our political environment, or medical schools - woke, woke, woke (mensurating men, pregnant men, non-binary individuals, etc.). God bless you.
Thank you for being such a great teacher. That is not always a given, in this day and age.
Hanson is a man of WISDOM , a virtue
Oddly enough, this man lives on Earth.
🙂
You mean he's an intellectual,refugee academic from the Vulcan civilization? Mr.Spock's big bro!!?
@@raymondfrye5017 More like Dr. Zarkov.
@@Jubilo1 Dr.Zarkov? Now you're reaching WAY BACK! Har! 1936? Harhar!
I used to watch those 30s and 40s serials (early1960s) on Saturday morning.25 cents.
Perfect delivery. A very intelligent man with a great topic.
VDH is a national treasure. This series will be mandatory in education before we are done with the rebuild of our country.
the Latin language use to be taught in high schools which gave a base understanding of medical and law terminology as well as being able to better grasp and understand the classics of western civilization. I do hope you are correct and we see a renaissance in America education.
I am taking a course online with Yale University in finance and there is absolutely no comparison of the teaching ability between that professor and Victor Davis Hanson. It is not just a difference in topics because I can listen to Dr. Hanson discuss the water and highway infrastructure in California and I am spellbound.
Ditto.
This is why I don't pay for anything. The best stuff can be found for free! I learned 100x more on UA-cam than I have at University and Grad School.
Me too! Some of my favorite videos. Makes me glad I live inTexas
VDH is so wise. I would have been so fortunate to have taken a class with him when i was younger
"Watch American Idol when you're sixty?"
BRILLIANT!
Victor Davis Hanson is a true Educator. He doesn't just teach...he shapes his speech in to knowledge that appeals to the heart. Fantastic!
Thank you very much Victor for being a voice of reason and reasoned thought.
Inspiring lecture, how? It has motivated me all the more towards acquiring some semblance of a classical education in the first year my 8th decade.
Through Prof Hanson primarily and now Hoover Instu. (multiple programs there), Hillsdale College, C-span, and various lectures and books, I am absolutely thrilled with the learning and enlightenment process.
Most of my life it was work, and hard work at that, plus sports after work and lots of endurance activity that gave me the most pleasure in life after family - friends - church involvement. Now at 70, though still quite active, I find the learning experience = to or greater than the physical, and something I can do for far greater periods of time. I agree also that it makes me more well rounded, gives humility and respect for those who've gone before and more able to clearly make points in discussion.
I feel lucky in high school to have taken Latin 1, 2, and 3 and been exposed in most rudimentary form to some of what is being taught by our good Professor.
My latest more modern read is the Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn. Thus far the most powerful book I have read, it is enlightening, inspiring, terrible and marvelously written, crafted a better description of the writing perhaps. The world is indebted to this great man.
Thank you again Prof Hanson and AFA for posting this series.
Are we not incredibly fortunate, to have these GIANTS whose knowledge we can benefit from?! So great that you're taking the time now to discover all this great stuff! And Solzhenitsyn is a must-read. If "kids today" read Gulag I think half of what we're going through would have been avoided.
And Hanson is indeed a treasure!
Don Gaetano Solzhenitsyn’s gives us understanding of the anti-human horror of communist ideology. He is well worth reading.
@@davidhawley1132 Agree David. Anti-human indeed. Expendable cogs on a gear driven by an ideology of evil, godless evil. Thanks.
@Jamie Ellman
Hi Jamie. Old guy is up because not being wise as the classic readers usually are, I ate a big dish of pasta and sauce too late!
Your question."...has it way over....huh?", makes me think a bit. You can definitely do it all your life at a pretty high level and you do get a bit euphoric at the sheer beauty of the writing often times, but raw physical exertion has always been a big draw for me not just in sports but in daily labor on the job. Having the desire to do both and loving both I'll say each one gives you something the other can't supply.
The learning expands the mind, broadens consciousness, give wisdom, humility, understanding, etc. and makes you a better person and more helpful to society in general, while also having a positive effect on health due to the positive nature of knowing the True, Good and Beautiful as the philosophers talk about. It does have a much wider scope of influence on your life and the effect you have on those around in cultivating good behavioral practices that are contagious.
Yes it contributes to the greater good of society in general and is absolutely necessary to those in Democratic societies to maintain the freedoms and safety and prosperity they have achieved. So Yes again, a greater and more necessary activity.
I've been so physical all my life and the community of athletic people and hard laborers always seemed cheerful and satisfied just from the benefits of the physical activity and were able to do things that many people could not. If you're not foolishly proud in the physical gifts it's a very rewarding activity with great benefits that I feel now even at 70 this year working and exercising at a much lower intensity.
What the physical provides that the learning can't is the chance of strength in older age and ability to remain in youthful activities, if you have no debilitating illnesses or accidents. No guarantees in life. Humility and thankfulness required in all areas of life for the good things we have.
Sorry for the long reply as I said this in brief in my initial comment. Your Question just caused me to think it through thoroughly to be able to agree solidly on it with you.
Thanks Jamie, best to you.
@Jamie Ellman
Thanks Jamie. Very good news for you is just plain old walking for say, 35-45 min a day can keep everything working quite well without risk of injury. Watch your diet and little hand weights and some instruction and the benefits will be obvious after just a few weeks. Now I''l check you new message.
His tribute to the Hitch makes me all misty eyed.
Been an atheist since age 14. Started following Hitch in 2000. I miss him very much. Like you, he was one of my heroes, and I still watch and rewatch him on UA-cam. He appeared on a video as a guest and was asked how he felt. He replied to the audience: “I’m dying; but so are all of you”. One person wrote in the comments that you and Hitch had a discussion about WW2 on Uncommon Knowledge, which I will immediately search out. Good video Professore!
Excellent ... and listening to Hitchens is a perfect example of why study classics.
No one more than Mortimer Adler documented and demonstrated these truths. Producing the Great Books and the Great Ideas he aimed to help Educate everyone about the human condition. "The great authors have engaged in “great
conversation” about the nature of human life; it is our duty as free citizens to pursue wisdom by knowing their ideas."
I remember when I encountered postmodernism for the first time as it was demoralizing. I agree about Hitchens.
Kathryn Ludrick OMG - thinking about postmodernists and the postmodernism conception of reality they created is like being cast into hell.
it's dehumanizing soul sucking drivel
I love VDH and agree with almost everything he is stating here. I would push back on the cellphone, tablet minimization of language. The people he is describing wouldn't have been literate in ancient times or any time except the recent modern. It's actually a huge step up for the common man who flirts with classical ideas in movies, comics and television/video. He is absolutely right that the portion of the population that was meant to be classically trained have been diminished by our failing institutions of education.
@22:52 this is amazing... I am almost convinced now to start (having a go at) reading some classical literature.
Thanks for this Victor and AFA, I pray there develops a resurgence in this way of thinking within everyone.
3 yrs. of Latin and Greek in h.s.served me well. BS, MD followed in addition to insights in history, English language and literature. Unknown to Americans thousand of words are at our disposal: all words ending in -tion, drama, music, theater, democracy, anthropology, etc. Freedom Academy and Dr Hanson are the perfect prescription for our modern societal ills and for the very obvious onslaught on our Western Culture. Thanks to all who have produced this from the proverbial bottom of my heart.
Probably the best educated yank in the world. Sorry yanks lol he explains complex themes and philosophys in plain English for us un educated British
Thank you for this extraordinarily well spoken explanation of the value of classical literature. It's such a pleasure to listen to your thoughts on subjects related to everything from ancient philosophy to modern day politics. Please continue to enlighten us. It's so important that we all regain the understanding of the value of rational thought- and arguments. Something that at times seems completely lost with the "emotionalization" of all communication. Greetings to you from Denmark, Mr. Hanson
I am so happy that I discovered this lecture series. It is nice to see someone so well-spoken and intelligent articulate the virtues and achievements of Western Civilization.
His tribute to Christopher Hitchens almost made me cry. VDH and Hitch once appeared together on Uncommon Knowledge to discuss WWII...and if you haven't seen it, you need to. It is one of the most intellectually stimulating videos you will ever see.
The man talks about history and the classics like I talk about baseball. Only you learn a great deal more when he talks. I am grateful to listen. Hats off.
Fantastic !! That’s why I listen to his lectures almost everyday !! I make time for his lectures. It is perpetually educating me. !!
Extremely inspirational! So glad I watched this!!
Thank you Professor Hanson.
Possibly the brightest mind in our society today. Thank you Professor Hanson.
I thought for sure VDH would mention how today we say (with some degree of pride) we're in "The Age Of Information". But information isn't necessarily history, it isn't necessarily logic. If the most important commodity to a society is information then the world can be thought to be new on a daily basis. Yesterday's information can be overwritten by the information that comes to pass on the present day. And so on with each passing day. Consequently, our understanding of the human experience is becoming as rootless as tumbleweeds being driven by the ever-changing direction of the wind.
Information, knowledge is very different from wisdom. We can gain wisdom from the classics
and from the Bible. This world is sadly lacking.
Brilliant lecture! Thank you so much, Dr. Hanson.
Thank you Dr. Hanson and the Freedom Academy.
What a GIFT!!!! AN ABSOLUTE GODSEND THESE LESSONS!!! PROFESSOR HANSON HAS BEEN AN IDOL FOR ME FOR DECADES!!!! HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO HAVE HIS ERUDITE VOICE!!!
I am always in awe of your intelligence and I love the way you teach and the topics you teach about.Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Victor Hansen is an amazing man, someone I admire on many levels. Have listened to his lectures for years, and he is my go to person for political, historical and cultural commentary. I did read the Classics when in my days in high school and college, but to be honest, I spend my free time these days reading the Sunday Funnies. I find them just as powerful as classic Greek literature with the same philosophical context.
So beautifully delivered. I was captivated. Thank you.
Thank you for this more in depth (for me) understanding of the classics for which I was told as a teenager was regrettably missing in our public education curriculum then, 1970. I had desired to take Latin, but, settled for Spanish a couple of years later because Latin had been removed as a language course. Conflict with my dwindling Church studies, brought up Lutheran, continued with this "public replacement" for decades until after many sobering episodes I was driven to the Holy Bible, the original text book in our public schools since Noah Webster. Being born again (John 3:3,5,7) certainly is the most sobering and joyous state or condition to be in for desiring more classical discipline. Thank you again. I have watched many of your teachings on other video channels from Hillsdale College to the Hoover Institute.
Thank you, vdh, for embodying our tradition and the life of the mind.
Dr. Hanson is a spectacularly erudite and knowledgeable speaker; I think currently he's our premiere intellectual.
A VDH-Paglia sit-down would be fascinating, as few (Harold Bloom, perhaps Peterson (in his oeuvre)) have read so deeply or so well, and critique our universities so trenchantly...
Spiritual Politics And I LOVE Camille Paglia. Reading Sexual Personae now. Super amazing woman.
@@margasnyder254
Sexual Personae is a brilliant work, one of my most influential books. Paglia is pure genius, perhaps the West's greatest living intellectual... (Though a bit more inert these days, so perhaps not any more...)
I'd recommend her art book Glittering Images too as a marvelously written art history book.
If you haven't seen it, check out the Jordan Peterson-Camille Paglia sit-down; it's about the finest thing on UA-cam...
Spiritual Politics Yes, I can only read short sections of Sex Pers because the depth of her knowledge is overwhelming - like getting water thru a firehose sometimes! I will definitely check out her art history book too. And yes a watched the discussion she had with Peterson and was in awe basically.
@@margasnyder254
Gad Saad is a more current commentator also very intellectual but more a satirist you might enjoy, if you dig VDH, Peterson and Paglia...
Saad's hot takes are kind of like Paglia's in the 90s during the early web/blog...
Spiritual Politics Thanks. I know Dr Saad and listen occasionally when he shows up in my You Tube feed but I need to follow him!
I'm only sorry it took me 55 years to understand the true importance of a proper education. What we really need to protect our society. Classics lead to critical thinking. VDH, well done. Thank you.
Amazing. Just amazing. He has opened so much to me. I will try to read classical Greek literature so that I can gain the knowledge he spoke of. Thank you, Dr. Hanson.
This is so, so wonderful -- I'm infinitely grateful
Another wonderful, easy-to-digest lecture from an absolute master.
Knowledge and it's discussion with other knowledgeable individuals makes the old younger and the young older. What a profound statement.
Love the way this guy open up my mind. I never knew that about "Euripedes Medea"
Victor, you are a gifted teacher.thankyou
Great stuff, thumbs up from Saxony
What a wonderful lecture! I have to watch it again.
This is phenomenal lecture! Thank you very, very much!
Another great video into the mind and soul of the ancients and a great synopsis of ancient Greek thought!
It was an insatiable curiosity about what happened before I got here, that lead me to start reading these mysterious old reports about the Old World, and its old ways.. Classical Greece, fascinated me the most. Loose facts learned, made me wiser.
Its exploits, from dark periods with the presence of the various factions; groups of same origin however grown apart.
The enhancement of common law, and the original invention of recorded, Democratic Governance..! Rights and rules serving the majority, with the citizens' ability to compete freely; to work towards personal success, to the best of their abilities, and keep the fruit of their labour. Classical Greece was an exemplar of weird freedoms that have lasted, somewhat modified to fit the year, until today.. sifted through very fine mesh. Most common law from any culture, pretends to steer human behaviour, much the same way, as any religious writing has. Since most folk were sadly challenged, back then, religious writing helped immensely..
Ancient Greek wisdom is extremely powerful and pertinent for all times.
Reading Greek and Roman works also allows us to understand, in the most authentic manner and intimate detail, the thoughts, emotions and reflections of the writers and the time and people that produced them. We know, in the only way possible, then, what is truly timeless and universal, and by extension what is merely discrete and ephemeral. Kudos to Hanson for this presentation....The exchange, the threnody between Antigone and her sister Ismene at the close of the Seven Against Thebes will shake a person of any historical age to the core.
Fantastic. Everyone should watch this. I'm going to go read some Homer now. Thank you, Victor.
This is exquisite. People need to see this
These videos are so educational and informative!! It’s so sad that it does not have more views!! It’s unfortunate that more people in our culture want to know about this subject!
Wonderful - all action aims at the good !
When VDH was talking about learning it reminded me of of my dad. He told us kids always try to learn something new everyday.
The day is wasted without it :)
VDH delivering the goods.
Excellent! Big fan of Dr. VDH.
These are such great lectures. Does anyone else feel a little regret for having gone to school and not having been thought about any of these ideas? All this schooling and I feel like I don't know anything.
Though I did not do doctoral work in Classics, I did take years of Greek (not Attic or Classical, but Koine’ Greek). That investment created an appreciation for the Greek language, as it captures the nuances of thought & emotions in its literature.
When you are of school age you don’t care about any of that and can’t relate to any of that. That’s my perspective.
Thank you I am so glad I found your site best orator just great 👍💯👌
Timeless, priceless ...
Thank you for this wonderful lecture!
This was or is a quality half hour. Thank you.
astonishing presentation sir.
Great, informative, enjoyable.
great reflection on the elements of literature
This is one if the most valuable and underrated YT videos, that truly brings some enlightenment to average American Lay people.
Oh how I wish I'd heard this lecture 40 years ago! Still, I will do my best to imbibe the classics as, what Plato called in the *Laches*, a "late-learner."
Wonderful, clear thinking. Untainted.
learning the classics are a must .
I'm so glad VDH gives this lecture. If I can't study at Hillsdale, I can study classical literature with the fine classicist Victor David Hanson.
He illuminates the past with such conviction.
VDH is a national treasure if only he could be esteemed like the rock stars or athletes are we would have a richer experience and a more civil society.
Superb!!!
This video may have legit changed my life.
Vocabulary gives you the tools to think in a higher level
This is superb!
This is wonderful. How does anyone put a thumbs down?
Ah, I wish I shared that intellect! Brillant
I love these videos thank you!
Loved it.
Thanks Victor, I had been ignoring this fine lecture due to lack of time.
In classical fashion, it showed me how wrong I was!
What a beautiful and stirring lecture. Fortunate must have been the students who had him as a professor.
Superb!!👍
Victor Davis Hanson is a gentleman and a scholar
I wish I had a teacher like you!!
Great lecture!
So true.And still people love to hear good storysAnd good storys are classical storys.Even good films are classical storys.My students love to be in class , to do their work and the same time talk , what is happening in their lives And this is a oppurtunity to tell them a classical story and tell about the books to read .Because the human nature has not changed .But this kind of discussion can only be , when you have ten or fiveteen students at time.Like in classical time.And now , when I must teach them by e mail , they started to call and want to visit.And show their works in my garden ,even fron distants.I hope , that the classical human voice and and good conversation is starting coming back.Instead of e mail.And now the family and good home in country is coming back.I hope people start to read again the classical books.And all people , who wants to be happy in older age , must past their own personal "Odysseia".When you finally reach home ,you feel younger .And the classical literature is like a map to go ....
7:00] "It is very confining to write..." Constraints force creativity.
Excellent
For a funny example of this search comedian John Branyan reciting the Three Little Pigs in Shakespearian English. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Excellent.