Scrinium Classical Antiquity

NUSSBAUM, M., Upheavals of Thought. The Intelligence of Emotions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (...), 2003. XIII,751p. Paperback. Nice copy.'It is an awesomely ambitious and unabashedly personal book. It contains, I would suggest, three elegant studies of the role of the emotions in human flourishing. The first part of 'Upheavals', a treatise in itself, concerns the nature of emotion and Nussbaum's now familiar thesis that emotions are evaluative judgments, a thesis, in its broad outlines. that she inherits directly from the Stoics. The second part is a much-needed and persuasive manifesto concerning the ethical importance as well as the cognitive nature of compassion. It is powerful in its own right, but I fear that it will be neglected as it sits so quietly in the middle of this rather enormous and energetic tome. (…) The third part of the book is an exploration of a realm Nussbaum has long claimed as her own, the still under-appreciated but rich interconnections between ethics (and philosophy more general) and literature. (…) The focus of a good deal of this third part (again, a book in itself) is erotic love, and it begins (…) with a new statement of Nussbaum's well-known interpretation of Plato's Symposium.' (ROBERT C. SOLOMON IN Mind (New Series), 2002, p.897). € 34.50 (Antiquarian)

NUSSBAUM, M.C., Not for Profit. Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. Princeton University Press, Princeton / Oxford, 2010. XV,158p. Half cloth wrps. 'Increasingly viewed as 'useless' by politicians, humanities and arts programming is being replaced by technical training courses in sciences, engineering and technology in the name of economic gain. While technical skills are important for the future health of nations, Nussbaum said that they alone do not make for a fully educated student. Without people with a liberal arts background, she said, the world would be filled with 'narrow, technically trained workers, rather than complete citizens who can think for themselves, criticize tradition and authority, and understand the significance of another person's sufferings and achievements.' These so-called soft-skills are essential for developing a 'decent world culture' and maintaining healthy democracies, she said. Study of history and culture imparts the ability to approach global issues as a citizen of the world. Study of philosophy teaches the critical thinking skills that help us reason about our choices. Participation in the creative arts fosters an empathetic capacity and, Nussbaum said, 'allows us to imagine the challenges facing someone unlike ourselves.' (...) Nussbaum quoted Socrates, who argued that democracy needs citizens who can think for themselves and reason together about their choices rather than just deferring to authority. Young people, Nussbaum said, will have a hope of holding politicians accountable only if they know how to think critically about what they hear, 'testing its logic and imagining alternatives to it.' (CORRIE GOLDMAN in Stanford Report, February 10, 2012 about the lecture Nussbaum has given at Stanford's Cubberley Auditorium). € 19.50 (New)

NUSSBAUM, M.C., and J. SIHVOLA, (eds.), The Sleep of Reason. Erotic Experience and Sexual Ethics in Ancient Greece and Rome. University of Chicago Press, Chicago / London, 2002. VIII,457p. Cloth. Small personal library mark and name on free endpaper. Nice copy. A.o.: M. NUSSBAUM: Eroos and Ethical Norms: Philosophers Respond to a Cultural Dilemma (pp.55-95); M. KAIMIO: Erotic Experience in the Conjugal Bed: Good Wives in Greek Tragedy (pp.95-120); St. HALLIWELL: Aristophanic Sex: The Erotics of Shamelessness (pp.120-143); A.W. PRICE: Plato, Zeno, and the Object of Love (pp.170-200); D.M HALPERIN: The First Homosexuality (pp.229-269); J.S. HOUSER: Eros and Aphrodisia in the Works of Dio Chrysostom (pp.327-354). From the library of the late Sir Kenneth James Dover. € 42.50 (Antiquarian)

NUYENS, Fr.J.Chr.J., Ontwikkelingsmomenten in de zielkunde van Aristoteles. Een historisch-philosophische studie. Dekker&VandeVegt, Nijmegen/Utrecht, 1939. XI,345p. Theses. Sewn. Lower corner front cover creased. Diss. Universiteit van Amsterdam. € 26.50 (Antiquarian)

O'BRIEN, D., Empedocles' Cosmic Cycle. A Reconstruction from the Fragments and Secondary Sources. Cambridge University Press, London, 1969. X,459p. Cloth wrps. Nice copy. € 70.00 (Antiquarian)

O'BRIEN, D., Pour interpréter Empédocle. Les Belles Lettres, Paris / Brill, Leiden, 1981. IX,139p. Sewn. Cardboard. Small stamp to fore edge. ‘M. O’Brien (…) nous offre une critique élaborée, et par moments très dure, de la publication de N. Van der Ben, “The Proem of Empedocles ‘Peri Physeos’, Amsterdam, 1975 (…). Comme il écrit dans le résumé en anglais, à la fin de son livre, il espère élever, ainsi, le niveau des publications présocratiques courantes. Au centre de cette critique se trouve l’argumentation de M. Van der Ben que le fr. 115, qui, jusqu’ici, avait été associé aux ‘Purifications’, en vérité airait sa plateau début du poème cosmique. Au cours de sa réfutations (convaincante, à notre avis) de cette thèse, M. O’Brien est amené, entre autres, à repasser les arguments plaidant en faveur de l’interprétation cyclique des fragments cosmiques (…). En plus, et ce n’est pas le moindre des mérites de la présente étude, M. O’Brien traite à fond du rôle joué par l’interprétation néoplatonicienne d’Empédocle (…). (H. DE LEY in L’Antiquité Classique, 1985, pp.343-344). € 45.00 (Antiquarian)

O'DONNELL, J.J., Cassiodorus. University of California Press, Berkeley (...), 1979. XV,303p. Original black hard bound with dust wrps. Spine gilt titled. Dust wrps a little bit edge worn. ‘In this exemplary study of Cassiodorus, O’Donnell offers its a biography of the man, an analysis of his writings, and a reevaluation of Cassiodorus’ contributions to western culture. The search for the man emerges from the meticulous and often brilliant study of the literature. (…) O’Donnell establishes from skilful inference and ‘educated guesses’ an impressively persuasive account of Cassiodorus’ life. Perhaps the most important result of the biographical study is the portrait of a single personality: there was no radical division, O’Donnell argues, in Cassiodorus’ spiritual life between his years of political service and those of religious endeavour. (…) O’Donnell considerable gifts are perhaps most distinguished in the practice of literary criticism. In discussing the various works of Cassiodorus he has avoided the pitfall of merely summarising the contents in order to flesh out the portrait of his subject. Instead, O’Donnell persistently seeks in each work for the ‘mind of Cassiodorus’, a search which becomes a relentless pursuit for the motivation of each work. In each case the motivation is discovered primarily by means of a convincing analysis of structure and style. The ‘Variae’ (…) receive perhaps the most memorable analysis. (…) In his evaluation of the contributions of Cassiodorus to western culture, O’Donnell is, on the whole, negative. First he refuses to see Cassiodorus as the ‘avid humanist student of secular learning he is m=often made out to be (p.205). (…) Second, O’Donnell denies the general assumption that Cassiodorus was instrumental in establishing the practice of manuscript copying in the monasteries, and especially that he was responsible for the preservation of manuscripts of the secular classics. Finally, O’Donnell does not believe that Cassiodorus had any vision of a monastic program for all Europe; he wrote simply for his own monastery, and his influence on medieval culture was insignificant.’ (ROBERT D. SIDER in The Review of Metaphysics, 1985, pp.369-370). € 65.00 (Antiquarian)

O'GRADY, D., The Victory of the Cross. A History of the Early Church in Rome. Harper, London, 1992. 192p. ills. Paperback. € 13.50 (Antiquarian)

O'HARA, J. J., Inconsistency in Roman Epic. Cambridge University Press, 2007. 180p. Paperback. Series: Roman Literature and its Contexts. 'O'Hara argues that inconsistencies in Roman epic are often, but not always, thematic devices that demand interpretation. He begins with an expansive survey of the device in 'Greek Versions' (chapter 1) that introduces inconsistency as an established hermeneutic, especially in Hellenistic literature. He proceeds to focus on Roman epic alone in the following five chapters, which are on Catullus 64 (chapter 2), Lucretius' 'De Rerum Natura' (chapter 3), Vergil's 'Aeneid' (chapter 4), Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' (chapter 5), and Lucan's 'De Bello Civili' (chapter 6). In a compelling study, O'Hara argues that many thematic inconsistencies are related to the experience of reading these texts. O'Hara supports his argument by focusing specifically on the proems of the epics he covers. One of the greatest strengths of his argument is to link thematic inconsistencies with the formal construction of epic. His command of the secondary literature is formidable, as the sixteen pages of bibliography and over 300 footnotes attest. O'Hara attends constantly to the place of his argument in the history of scholarship and guides the reader through a variety of interpretive approaches to the inconsistencies that he analyzes without claiming to offer a 'key' to them all.' (JOSIAH EDWARDS DAVIS in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.10.22). € 26.50 (New)

O'HARA, J., Death and the Optimistic Prophecy in Vergil's Aeneid. Princeton University press, Princeton, 1990. XI,207p. Original cloth with dust wrps. Spine gilt titled. 'The prophecies of the 'Aeneid' continue to be investigated by scholars (...), and O'Hara's well-written and scholarly book shows that there is still much to say. His central thesis is that the prophecies of the 'Aeneid' generally mislead both their hearers and their readers into false expectations; undesirable material, such as forthcoming deaths, is frequently and deliberately excluded; and inconsistencies in prophetic contexts have a dark rather than casual significance. (...) This is a book of many virtues: clear, well-documented, analytical, and always asking pertinent questions. It will be very useful for teaching and research on the 'Aeneid.' (S.J. HARRISON in The Classical Review (New Series), 1991, pp.327-328. € 55.00 (Antiquarian)