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The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: Selections Annotated and Explained Russell McNeil, PhD Editor, Malaspina Great Books In 1862 the English literary critic and poet Matthew Arnold described Marcus Aurelius as "the most beautiful figure in history." The Stoicism of Aurelius is grounded in rationality and rests solidly on an ethical approach rooted in nature. Stoicism promises real happiness and joy in this life and a serenity that can never be soured by personal misfortune. This philosophy has universal appeal with practical implications on problems ranging from climate change and terrorism to the personal management of sickness, aging, depression and addiction. I truly believe that the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has much to offer us now...(Click on book cover for more)

Category:	Ancient Theatre
Name:	Menander
Birth Year:	342 BCE
Death Year:	291 BCE
Representative Image:
Biography, Lectures, and Research Links:	Biography Blog Menander Greek dramatist, the chief representative of the New comedy, was born at Athens. He was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes Dc Chersoneso. He doubtless derived his taste for the comic drama from his uncle Alexis. He was the friend and associate, if not the pupil, of Theophrastus, and was on intimate terms with Demetrius of Phalerum. He also enjoyed the patronage of Ptolemy Soter, the son of Lagus, who invited him to his court. But Menander, preferring independence and the company of his mistress Glycera in his villa in the Peiraeus, refused. According to the note of a scholiast on the Ibis of Ovid, he was drowned while bathing; his countrymen built him a tomb on the road leading to Athens, where it was seen by Pausanias. A well-known statue in the Vatican, formerly thought to represent Marius, is now generally supposed to be Menander (although some distinguished archaeologists dispute this), and has been identified with his statue in the theatre at Athens, also mentioned by Pausanias. Menander was the author of more than a hundred comedies, but only gained the prize eight times. His rival in dramatic art and also in the affections of Glycera was Philemon, who appears to have been more popular. Menander, however, believed himself to be the better dramatist, and, according to Aulus Gellius, used to ask Philemon: "Don't you feel ashamed whenever you gain a victory over me?" According to Caecilius of Calacte (Porphyry in Eusebius) he was guilty of plagiarism, his Llao'i&ztuwv being taken bodily from a play of Antiphanes. But, although he attained only moderate success during his lifetime, he subsequently became the favourite writer of Antiquity. Copies of his plays were known to SuIdas and Eustathius (10th and 11th centuries, and twenty-three of them, with commentary by Psellus, were said to have been in existence at Constantinople in the 16th century. He is praised by Plutarch (Comparison of Menander and Aristophanes and Quintilian, who accepted the tradition that he was the author of the speeches published under the name of the Attic orator Charisius. A great admirer and imitator of Euripides, he resembles him in his keen observation of practical life, his analysis of the emotions, and his fondness for moral maxims, many of which have become proverbial: The property of friends is common, Whom the gods love die young, Evil communications corrupt good mantlets (from the Thais, quoted in I Cor. xv. 33). These maxims (chiefly monostichs) were afterwards collected, and, with additions from other sources, were edited as a kind of moral textbook for the use of schools. Menander found many Roman imitators. The Eunuchus, Andria, and Adelpili of Terence (called by Caesar "dimidiatus Menander ") were avowedly taken from Menander, but some of them appear to be adaptations and combinations of more than one play; thus, in the Andria were combined from several of Menander's plays, while the Adelphi was compiled partly from Menander and partly from Diphilus. The original of Terence's Hecyra (as of the Phormio) is generally supposed to be not Menander, but Apollodorus of Carystus. The Bacchides and Stichus of Plautus were probably based upon Menander's plays. Caecilius Statius, Luscius Lavinius, Turpilius and Atilius also imitated Menander. He was further credited with the authorship of some epigrams of doubtful authenticity; the letters addressed to Ptolemy Soter and the discourses in prose on various subjects mentioned by Suidas are probably spurious. Till the end of the 19th century, all that was known of Menander were the fragments collected by A. Meineke (1855) and T. Kock. They consist of some 1650 verses or parts of verses, in addition to a considerable number of words quoted expressly as from Menander by the old lexicographers. From 1897 to 1907 papyri were discovered in different parts of Egypt, containing fragments of considerable length, amounting to some 1400 lines. It is doubtful whether these fragments, which are of sufficient length to afford a basis for the consideration of the merits of Menander as a writer of comedies, justify the great reputation enjoyed by him in ancient times. With few exceptions of scenes, they contain little that is witty or humorous; there is little variety in the characters, the situations are conventional, and the plots, not of a highly edifying character, are lacking in originality. Menander's chief excellences seem to be facility of language, accurate portrayal of manners, and naturalness of the sentiments which he puts into the mouth of his dramatis personae. It is remarkable that the maxims, which form the chief part of the earlier collections of fragments, are few in the later. [Adapted from Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)] NOTE: Since the publication of this article, the complete text of Dyskolos (The Grouch), a play by Menander, has been rediscovered. It is the only example of New Comedy to have survived in its entirety. A few long fragments by Menander have survived as well from such plays as The Arbitration, The Girl from Samos, The Shorn Girl, and The Hero. Please browse our Amazon list of titles about Menander. For rare and hard to find works we recommend our Alibris list of titles about Menander. Post Comments, Questions or Suggestions! This database is maintained by Malaspina Great Books.
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Best Choice Books, Music, Art:	Plays and Fragments Oxford Readings in Menander Reproducing Athens : Menander's Comedy
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Library Catalogs:	COPAC UK: Menander Library of Canada: Menander Library of Congress: Menander Other Library Catalogs: Menander
External Links:	Research Links: Menander Malaspina Canada Links: Menander Representative Image: www.livius.org
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Records from Related Period and Category:	Ancient Theatre

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This web page is part of a biographical database on Great Ideas. These are living ideas that have shaped, defined and directed world culture for over 2,500 years. By definition the Great Ideas are radical. As such they are sometimes misread, or distorted by popular simplifications. Understanding a Great Idea demands personal engagement. Our selection of Great Ideas is drawn from literature and philosophy, science, art, music, theatre, and cinema. We also include biographies of pivotal historical and religious figures, as well as contributions from women and other historically under-represented minorities. The result is an integrated multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary database built upon the framework of the always controversial Great Books Core List published in 1940 by the late Great Books Pioneer Mortimer Adler (1902-2001). Most of the works on that list are available in the 60 volume Great Books of the Western World.