Confucius: The Analects

September-October 2006

CAMI

Cami said: "A gentleman reads those that have come before him, even if they say the same things he finds everywhere else." That is my summary of Confucius. Although I have underlined and written in the margins more in this book than any yet, I found this has been the least "enlightening" so far! Maybe it was the lack of journey, of analogy, of character. We're just supposed to read and ponder these tidbits of truth? And while, yes, many are true, I found few to be profound. . . . This all makes it sound like I hated it--on the contrary, I couldn't put it down. . . . Maybe it was because the truth I found in it was familiar and comfortable.

So anyway, I cam away with what I found to be truth, and let slip out of my mind those things which I did not need. I think the master would approve.

JANICE

I was glad to learn that the man we know as Confucius was Kung Fu, if I understand corrrectly, who taught the ancient arts of self-defense and meditation and oriental philosophy, for want of better terms. . . . I think this was a very wise man with very idealistic and correct ideas in the eternal scheme of things, but not religious. He did not believe that man is fallen and in need of redemption. He believed man was essentially good. He taught people to strive for the loftiest human potential and acto out of the noblest motivations possible. He taught uncommon sense and uncommon goodness, and for that we can be grateful, but he did not teach devotion to or reliance on God.

Nevertheless, I am grateful for Confucius and the like because here we have proof that a standard of goodness has existed for millennia, a standard which is relatively suddenly being uprooted by a few lucky people with influence and power, and replaced with a new standard based only on the whims and proclivities of one generation . . .

JULIA

Reading Confucius was a calm and welcome respite after the bloody battles of The Iliad and the harrowing adventures of The Odyssey. As I read, I was amazed at the desire by C.'s followers to record all those ideas on how to be a good person. Do very many people care about that anymore? Just the idea that these suggestions and rules were important to the ancients gives me hope that all civilizations have had good and virtuous people striving to be better. It made me want to be better.

I got the idea that actually living these virtues was more of a goal than a reality. It was like reading distilled scripture without the parables, the cast of characters, the geography and the long chpaters. . . . May we all try for this enlightenment and perhaps make up our own 5 good and 4 bad rules.

Homer: The Odyssey

September-November 2006

CAMI

Well, if The Iliad was like hiking a mountain, then The Odessy was like a mountain bike ride down it: it’s bumpy, it’s a little scary, but it’s much faster. Not to mention it’s much more exciting. I think knowing the background and war-based culture of the characters was helpful in understanding the sort of moral-free glory hunting that occurred in the story, and allowed me to concentrate on the adventure.

What struck me the most about all this, was his attitude about it. We, as readers, know how involved the gods were in each voyage and each danger Ulysses encountered. And yet when he talked with Minerva face to face, he asked why she had left him alone. He had boasted in his own strength. He thought he truly was the hero of his own life. Even in the Iliad we knew that neither side could win without the grace of the gods. It’s funny how easily Ulysses forgot his own weakness. But Minerva forgave his weakness and restored him to his kingdom. Parallels every which way in this story.

JANICE

. . . I agree with Cami on how different the two books are in tone and setting. The Iliad was more crashing armor and blood and dust and death while the Odyssey wias more yearning, cunning, relationships, intrigue, ocean. Is this Sea vs. Earth? Yin vs. Yang? Masculine vs. Feminie? Opposition in all things?

I just found something I wrote in my journal a few weeks ago. "In this reading I'm doing . . . I feel as if I have joined up with the part of the human race most valuable to know. The best of the great thinkers are alike in the most important ways. Having read (at last) the Iliad and the Odyssey, I am no longer in the dark when references are made which they more frequently than expected are. When this happens it's like meeting an old friend in turning a corner, and knowing immediately who they are inside even though the conversation is shallow and superfluous. It makes me smile with a certain intellectual glee and surprised gratitude. It is not my doing but some act of grace that I should have this little joy. Things MEAN something now. Thank you."

JULIA

Yay! I just finished The Odyssey, all 324 pages. What a trip it has been. . . . Most of the adventures were familiar. One thing I found quite interesting was the double standard issue. Penelope waits two decades, faithful the whole time, and Odysseus never apologizes or even admits his indescretions. . . . Apparently P. was one tough Mom, being the sole parent to bring up her son. . . . I understand P. a little because when my husband went for months at a time to Guam and I had the responsibility of children and household, it took me a while to let the resentment go and I was hard as flint when he would return home.

MARATHON ODYSSEY

First Half

Even before rosy-fingered dawn,
I hear Sirens' tempting strain,
disuading me to honor my pledge,
but I know day is full of promise,
with favorable winds, fated skies.

And so it is I meet with others
similarly equipped for journeying
with their fierce jaws of determination
and their layered disposable armour
suitable to fend off iciness of morn.

Gods blow at our backs, this sea of life,
canyon road smooth like silver water
under first rays of golden sun,
our bodies afloat, legs churning
to move us gloriously through the miles

Second Half

I notice how all of us seem lost
in our own struggle, central to ourselves,
each toiling life no small matter
but one of great and mythic concern.
I glimpse islands of distraction,
doubtful thoughts of victory arise.

As if Zeus hears my mind, he sends Athene
to cause a honeyed pear to fall to me.
I see it there glistening under a tree
unmarred on its bed of gentle grass,
nectar-sweet, a gift of sustaining grace.

Energy replaces confusion, fear
fruit a sign I will taste sweet
success. I feel myself being weaved
into the loom of other lives
as on and on we run toward Ithaca.

Top of Utah Marathon
Logan, UT 9-23-06

Homer: The Iliad

July 2006

CAMI

Jake asked me if The Iliad was good and after a long pause I said, "I don't know how to respond to that question." I guess I didn't have in mind that I was reading for pleasure. However, unlike some books I've read for pleasure, I did look forward to picking it up, I did enjoy reading it (even though it often put me to sleep), and I do feel like I've accomplished something. So I guess that makes it a "good" book. I'm not sure I actually get to make that judgment for the world, but for myself, I'm glad I have conquered it.

No one was really noble, good, or especially more heroic than anyone else. I was glad to know that as this story was told orally, the audience was made up of people from all over, so each of their local heroes were given their day in the sun. I could appreciate more the new and short-lived characters knowing that they were there for a reason. But, Achilles or Hector . . . who am I rooting for? Even Zeus didn't know the answer to that question. . . . But to me, it seemed like the mortals were at the mercy of the will of the ever-changing gods. Really, the only thing you could do is try to make good decisions, give the glory to the gods, and hope their will is for you to conquer in the end. What do you know. It has more application than I realized.

JANICE

Aside form all the craziness, I feel good about making this effort. I am getting a teeny tiny inkling of how the ancient Greeks had their effect on western civilization in the last 3000 years. Homer pulls no punches in exposing human nature. Even his gods and goddesses and kings and heros are pathetically petty and flawed, always wanting glory, jumping to conclusions, worried about what everyone else thinks about them, self-interested above all. Isn't mankind still dealing with these same old issues? It gives you a sense of timelessness and spacelessness, like Mom alluded to in her letter. We are all children of one God and this earth is really a very small place.

JULIA

I'm almost finished with this marathon of a book. It reminds me of reading Moby Dick. I felt so virtuous. The patterns of defeat, battle, victory, intervention, fate, ego, greed, power, violence, continue with each page. It is all becoming familiar, especially the constant metaphors and when I pick it up to read, it is like something I've read before, mythical, like our own unpredictable lives. Because of the gods, wounded warriors can be miraculously healed. Responsibility still rests on the soldiers, the care to put on their armour and helmets, to hold up their shields.

In the Beginning . . .

Some notes from the conception of our club:

CAMI:

I am personally glad to be on this journey with members of at least two of those thousands of lifetimes I have not led. I think three generations of ideas, experiences, and emotions is just about as good as we're going to get, and I will appreciate learning from our accumulated knowledge, as well as from that of the world. . . So, fellow learners, sisters, and matriarchs of my life, I am ready to find these timeless truths with you. I'll try to keep copies of all our correspondence in a safe place. What an amazing record we'll have!!! Let's follow through! Let's encourage each other! Let's also be patient with ourselves, because I've tried to read Don Quixote before, and it's no picnic.

JANICE

. . . I am looking forward to starting a special little journal for this project to keep these letters and any other insights organized somewhat. I loved drawing and painting my map of the world in my Giant Journal. Without being perfectionistic, I tried to get the shapes and proportions right and learned a lot about the relationships of the countries and the finiteness of our world. We learn so much more by applying our own hand.

JULIA

As I worked on my hand drawn map of the world, I had a few thoughts. I am a little person living in an isolated little bubble. All of us in this world have in common the classics. This fact alone should pop that bubble and help to make us feel closer to each other. . . . I have so much to learn about the world, the words that have been written and the philosophies that have emerged. . . . It is very thrilling to begin on a course of study that I have been neglecting. Thanks to C. Fadiman, I understand why the classics are an important part of our heritage. I plan to be diligent, but not hyper, kind to myself, not critical at how dumb I am. . . . Let's share our insights and enjoy this great conversation. Read or scim, concentrate on what really speaks to us and remember this is a LIFETIME reading plan.

Time for Serious Blogging

Ok, the Classics Club has had our first in-person meeting since beginning our quest for education. We set a few time goals, and made plans for our on-line publication plan. So here it is:

We will continue to write our letters to the three members at the end of each book. However, now we are all going to TRY to remember to write a paragraph summary at the end of the letter that will be used for posting on the blog. I, Cami, am going to back-blog our other letters, using whichever excerpts of the letters I deem exciting and informative. This may take some time. Be patient.

SO, that means, that not only will the three of us be able to view our accomplishments and insights at a glance, but those of you who may be checking in on us from time to time will be able to get a little review of each book as we go along. It will not be comprehensive, but it will be semi-informative at least.

Good luck to me, and to us being able to get through Thucidytes in one month!! Sheesh!

Time Goals

Ok, kids. It's been almost one year since we began this journey, and we are not yet half done with Part One! So, here's my suggestion.

It looks like, reading about one author per month, we could finish each Part in about 2 years. We can choose selections, or read excerpts of some assignments (like Shakespeare, Complete Works). Parts Four and Parts Five will probably take us even longer, although we've read many of them already--but we want to add to it.

So, we can make 2 years per section as our goal. That means we have until next July to finish Part One. That also means we'd be done in 10 years. I think that is a reasonable time limit. Can we do it? Let's get going. We've had our nice little break, now get reading The Histories.

Ok, love you all, bye bye.

I suggest we put up a Classics for Kids section on this blog. I have a good politically incorrect list to start with: The Atkinson-Ravitch Sampler of Classic Literature. I'd like to make my way through this, too, and have it available to parents and children. The thing is, kids are no longer exposed to most of the great books in schools because schools DO NOT REQUIRE teaching the classics anymore. It's up to the teacher. Crazy! See The Language Police, How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn by Diane Ravitch, 2003.