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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:	Baroque Theatre Baroque Literature
Name:	Jean Baptiste Racine
Birth Year:	1639
Death Year:	1699
Representative Image:
Biography, Lectures, and Research Links:	Biography Blog Jean Baptiste Racine SEARCH NOW: by title by author Racine was a French dramatist, one of the "big three" of seventeenth-century France (along with Moliere and Corneille). Racine was primarily a tragedian, though he did write one comedy. Born in La Ferte-Milan in 1639, Racine was a graduate of Port-Royal, a religious institution which would greatly influence other contemporary figures including Blaise Pascal. In his youth he turned away from this upbringing in favour of a licentious lifestyle, but his enormous literary talent was soon recognised, and he won his early success with plays on classical themes, including Andromaque (1667), Britannicus (1669), Mithridate (1673), Phedre (1677) and Berenice (1679). Racine had many rivals, and retired temporarily from the theatre in 1679, following a public scandal which lost him favour. However, having married and had children and returned to his former religious faith (Jansenism), he produced a further two plays, Esther (1689) and Athalie (1691), both with Old Testament themes. He died in 1699. Details Left an orphan at a very early age, his relatives sent him to the College of Beauvais, which was intimately connected with Port Royal, whither he went in 1655. Here, though only sixteen years of age, he made such progress that he not only read Greek at sight, but wrote odes both in Latin and in French. In 1658, he entered the College d'Harcourt. While boarding with his uncle, Nicolas Vitart, he formed too close an acquaintance with some theatrical people, and in order to guard him against temptation his relatives sent him to another uncle, the Abbe Sesvrin; but failing to obtain any position there, he returned to Paris in 1663, where he wrote two odes which made him known to the court. He wrote several insignificant plays before his first important work Andromaque, in 1667. It proved a great success, and was followed by his only comedy Les Plaideurs (1668). Britannicus followed in 1669, Berenice (1670), Bajazet (1672), Mithridate (1673), Iphigenie (1674). After the failure of Phedre in 1677, Racine abruptly severed his connection with the stage, partly because he was weary of unjust criticism and unfair rivalry, and partly from conscientious motives. He remained silent for twelve years, but in 1689, at the the request of Madame de Maintenon, he wrote Esther, and Athalie in 1691. Racine's dramas were variously received. Andromaque achieved as great a success as Le Cid, and deservedly. the author devoted his most delicate and refined art to the portrayal of the most tragic passion. No characters on the French stage are more interesting and attractive than Hermione, the type of passionate love, and Andromaque, of maternal. His comedy, Les Plaideurs, inspired by the Wasps of Aristophanes, failed at first, but, being applauded by Louis XIV, it subsequently met with great favour. Britannicus was called by Voltaire la piece des connoisseurs. Berenice was written in competition with a play on the same subject by Corneille, which it far surpassed. His two tragedies on Oriental subjects, Bajazet and Mithridate, do not breathe the Oriental spirit. Iphigenie is full of pathos. Phedre, which may dispute with Andromache and Athalie the title of Racine's masterpiece, was represented at the Hotel de Bourgogne, while the Phedre of Pradon was performed by the king's actors. From the first Racine had been bitterly opposed by various cabals, whom his success and his sarcasm had irritated. His own Phedre was a failure, while Pradon's triumphed. He now ceased all dramatic work, married, and became very pious, devoting himself entirely to domestic life and to his duties as royal historiographer. In the remaining twenty years of his life he wrote only two plays. Madame de Maintenon, who had established an institution at Saint-Cyr for the education of poor girls of noble family, asked Racine for a drama to be represented by her protegees. He wrote Esther, which had an enormous success. Every critic admires in it the splendour of the chorus, the perfection of the characters, and the wonderful art of the play as a whole. The other was Athalie, a drama of the same kind. As a dramatic writer, Racine is one of the leaders of the classical school. His dramatic art was a protest against the heroic and bombastic tragedies which, until that time, had been the fashion. We read in the preface to Britannicus: "What can I do to satisfy my stern critics? It would be very easy to do so if I were willing to sacrifice common sense. I need only disregard nature and rush into the sensational." Corneille liked an action rather complicated, "full of incident, a large number of theatrical surprises, and high-flown speeches". Racine, to quote his own words, always chose "a simple action, not overladen, which, progressing steadily to the catastrophe, is sustained by the interest, the feelings, and the passions of the characters." Again, while in Corneille the characters are secondary to the action, in Racine the action is suited to the characters. Hence we do not find sensational situations in his tragedies, but rather a deep and complete study of the passions to which the human heart is prey and, above all, of love. Racine is the great painter of love, but love as he conceives it is always violent, impetuous, jealous, and sometimes criminal. The effect of his new method was to bring about a change in that of the French drama. Racine's style is simple and smooth, always pure, elegant, harmonious, and, nevertheless, when necessary, strong and bold. Racine was a sensitive, vain, and irritable man, with deeply religious feelings, and a keen, supple, and strong intellect. He displays in his work almost unique powers of psychological analysis, a wonderful delicacy of sentiment, and an exquisite sense of literary art. [This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Jean Baptiste Racine and the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911).] The Great Books: Jean Baptiste Racine Please browse our Amazon list of titles about Jean Baptiste Racine. For rare and hard to find works we recommend our Alibris list of titles about Jean Baptiste Racine. Post Comments, Questions or Suggestions! This database is maintained by Malaspina Great Books.
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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.