In Plato’s Ion, Socrates questions Ion on whether he should really claim laud and glory for his ‘rhapsodic’ recitals of Homer’s poetry.
Categories: Arts, Education, Society & Culture
Tags: Ancient Texts, audio books, audiobook, Classics (antiquity), ebooks, free audio books, Ion, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Plato
A divinely beautiful woman who becomes the cause of a terrible war in which the gods themselves take sides. Valor and villainy, sacrifices and betrayals, triumphs and tragedies play their part in this three thousand year old saga. The Iliad throws us right into the thick of battle. It opens when the Trojan War has already been raging for nine long years. An uneasy truce has been declared between the Trojans and the Greeks (Achaeans as they’re called in The Iliad.) In the Greek camp, Agamemnon the King of Mycenae and Achilles the proud and valiant warrior of Phthia are locked in a fierce contest to claim the spoils of war. The gods in Olympus watch horrified as the best of Greeks and Trojans are slain. However, Zeus has prohibited them from openly interfering. But finally, even the gods cannot stay neutral. The mighty Zeus steps in to prod the Trojans into breaching the truce. Achilles, who is sulking in his tent refuses to fight and the Greeks suffer terrible losses. Achilles, a demigod is the son of the sea nymph Thetis and the King of the Myrmidions Peleus. He has been rendered immortal like the gods except for one spot near his foot where his mother held him while she dipped him in the Styx. He is the greatest hero in The Iliad and known for his rage, impulsiveness and courage. He watches as his comrades fall one by one and finally puts his pride aside. He sends his beloved friend Patroclus into battle. But Apollo, the savior of the Trojans, dashes away Patroclus’ armor and the Trojan prince Hector slays him. Maddened by anger and grief, Achilles vows revenge and resumes battle. And the epic goes on… The Iliad is purportedly written by the blind poet Homer some time during the eighth century BC. Its supreme importance in Greek literature slowly permeated to the rest of the Western world and in time to come, the two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey became the reference points for thousands of works of art. European museums and art galleries are filled with works based on the themes, heroes and divinities from The Iliad. Contemporary films have portrayed the Trojan War, while tourists throng the sites mentioned in the poems. It was first translated into English in the sixteenth century and has since then, gripped the collective imagination for generations. As one of the defining myths of western literature, The Iliad is indeed a must read for anyone interested in an epic tale. More great books at LoyalBooks.com
Tags: audio books, audiobook, Classics (antiquity), ebooks, free audio books, Homer, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Myths/Legends, poetry, The Iliad, tragedy, War stories
The extraordinary child-adult Prince Myshkin, confined for several years in a Swiss sanatorium suffering from severe epilepsy, returns to Russia to claim his inheritance and to find a place in healthy human society.The teeming St Petersburg community he enters is far from receptive to an innocent like himself, despite some early successes and relentless pursuit by grotesque fortune-hunters. His naive gaucheries give rise to extreme reactions among his new acquaintance, ranging from anguished protectiveness to mockery and contempt.But even before reaching the city, during the memorable train journey that opens the novel, he has encountered the demonic Rogozhin, the son of a wealthy merchant – who is in thrall to the equally doomed Nastasia Filippovna: beautiful, capricious and destructively neurotic, she joins with the two weirdly contrasted men in a spiralling dance of death…
Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Languages, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Idiot
Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases is a practical handbook written by Grenville Kleiser. Grenville is known for his writings on humor, positive thinking and inspirational thought. This serves as a handbook of pertinent expressions, striking similes and terms for embellishing speech and literature. This book can be used to improve vocabulary for reading, writing and speaking alike. Through mastery of words, the most powerful and perfect expression of thought can be delivered orally. Choosing the correct words conveys ideas in a crisp and clear way that will hold and audience’s attention. Language can also act as an instrument to reach the human heart and awaken the soul. The author spent years of his life to provide the correct expressions in speech and in writing to help people convey their message excellently and extraordinarily. He has provided a means to increase the vocabulary of a person by practical methodology. This book forms the basis for speaking in a pleasing manner. Practice makes perfect and so here studying this book would surely make anyone an eloquent speaker. Do read this book if you want to master public speaking and develop the mental traits of clarity, exactness and precision.
Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases, free audio books, Grenville Kleiser, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction
Have you ever struggled becoming fluent in any language? Learn with an upper-intermediate English learner and join his long term language journey. Together we are stonger!
Categories: Education
Tags: advanced, english, Fluent, intermediate, language, Languages, polyglot, vocabulary
This podcast covers history, philosophy, anthropology, literature, and film. It has three concurrent series: 1. A series of discussions that focus on one book or film. 2. A shorter series in which authors discuss their three favorite books. 3. A series of audio essays. The first one focuses on walking. For the related blog, see http://www.eclecticintellection.com. Note: All opinions expressed by the founder of this podcast are solely his own opinions and do not express the views or opinions of any other individual, institution, or entity. The views expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and the guests’ appearance on this channel and podcast does not imply any form of endorsement of them, their views, or any entity they represent.
Categories: Arts, History, Society & Culture
Tags: academia, Arts, Books, classics, History, Humanities, Languages, Literature, personal, Philosophy, travel
This series of twenty programmes will allow you to review and improve your knowledge of French verbs in four tenses: present, perfect, imperfect and future. The podcast uses relaxation techniques to help you learn. Join thousands of French students across the world who are “sitting back, closing their eyes, and suddenly knowing their French verbs!” This podcast was developed through the Partners in Excellence project which ran in East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Argyll & Bute. Funding for this project ceased in 2007.
Categories: Education
Tags: excellence, france, french, grammar, In, Languages, learn, lingua, Mark, partners, pentleton, PIE, piecast, radio, relaxation, verbs
A mysterious crime is being plotted in a tiny garret above a dilapidated apartment building in St Petersburg in Russia. The plotter, Rodion Raskolinikov, is a poor student who has delusions of ridding the world of “worthless vermin” and counter balancing these crimes with good deeds. He commits a murder to test his own theories and prove that crime comes naturally to the human species. Crime and Punishment is a path-breaking novel of ideas that changed the course of novel writing in the 20th century. The intense insights into the workings of the human mind had seldom been attempted by any writer anywhere in the world till then. The author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was the son of a hardworking but indigent doctor in Moscow. He was educated in boarding schools and later at a military academy from which he graduated as a military engineer. However, his heart was set on becoming a writer and he left the army to pursue a life devoted to writing. He was also deeply involved in the politics of the time and was sentenced to four years in a prison camp in Siberia for being part of an anarchist group. In Siberia, he underwent an ideological change and reverted to traditional/conservative ideas. Crime and Punishment was published in serial form in a literary journal in 1866 after he returned from Siberia. His father’s sudden and brutal killing by serfs on their own estate probably provided the trigger for the ideas expressed in the book. His father was an authoritarian despot, while his mother was a weak and fearful person and many of Dostoyevsky’s novels contain images that portray these contradictions. The book is divided into six parts and it is quite a formidable task reading through the entire novel. However, the sheer size, scope and scale of the book carries even the most timid reader along as it traces social realities, psychological aspects of crime and the effect of environment on the minds of vulnerable people. The book met with immense acclaim as it emerged in serial form and was soon compiled in book form. Several English translations followed, as well as those in other languages. More than 25 film adaptations, numerous references in books, television and contemporary writings have kept its appeal alive for generations of readers. Its enduring fascination for modern day readers remains in its themes of alienation and loneliness, the idea of a Superman above the conventions and rules of society and its deep insights into the inner life of a young person on the brink of adulthood. More great books at LoyalBooks.com
Tags: audio books, audiobook, Crime and Punishment, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Languages, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, MYSTERY
As children, our first experience of the magic of talking animals, the conflict between good and evil, the battle of wits between the cunning and the innocent most probably came from Aesop’s Fables. These delightful, pithy and brief narratives are simple, easy to understand and convey their message in a memorable and charming fashion. Aesop’s Fables by Aesop consists of about 600 tales, some well-loved and familiar, others less known but just as entertaining and educative and help us map the perimeters of our moral universe. Fables have existed almost since the dawn of time. They hark back to a time when humans and animals lived in harmony and mutual respect. We humans could learn a great deal from the uncomplicated justice and the commonsense values of the animal kingdom. Animals are endowed with immutable personal traits like foxes being cunning, donkeys being patient, lions being proud and wolves being cruel. There is very little biographical information about Aesop. He is reputed to have been born a slave in Samos in ancient Greece in about 600 BC. He earned his liberty through his learning and wit and went on to become a respected diplomat and traveler. Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle, historians like Plutarch and Herodotus mention Aesop’s fables in their works. Today, these immortal fables have come down to us, as fresh and pristine as they were when they were first told. Aesop’s fables were known at the time of Socrates in the 5th century BC, when they were recounted in oral form. However, they were systematically compiled sometime in 300 BC by a Greek philosopher Demetrius Phalereus. The fables gradually vanished from popular literature till the 14th century AD when they re-surfaced in Byzantine Constantinople. Since then, they traversed with traders and diplomats to Europe and then to the rest of the world. Generations of children have enjoyed old favorites like The Ant and the Grasshopper, The Bear and Two Travelers, The Hare and the Tortoise, The Hen who laid Golden Eggs, The Thirsty Crow, The Lion and the Mouse and many others found in this volume along with less familiar ones. Their charm lies in their simplicity and the plain, straightforward way in which they deliver universal values of honesty, compassion and justice and teach us to shun pride, greed, envy and other negative qualities. They provide an enduring foundation for inculcating values and ethics in children and are at the same time, amusing and entertaining. More great books at LoyalBooks.com
Categories: Arts, Education, Kids & Family
Tags: Aesop, Aesop's Fables, animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Fairy tales, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Philosophy, satire
Presenting short devotional Bible verses in both Mando’a and the World English Bible.
Categories: Society & Culture
Tags: Bible, Constructed, devotional, fiction, Languages, science, star, wars
Learn a Language…Or Maybe Three! The Fluent Show is on a mission to help you get excited about language learning. We learn languages every day in our lives, and have learnt over 15 different languages between us. We share stories, news, tips, and ideas that will make you fluent…eventually. Subscribe to the show today to get your regular dose of Fluent love. It is worth clarifying that we actively want to support anti-racism and will highlight and advocate for the equality of all. Language learning means committing to tolerance of other world views, and this open mind is a core value for me. This topic deserves well considered words so here are the best Kerstin managed to put together. (https://www.fluent.show/blacklivesmatter)
Categories: Education
Tags: duolingo, Education, fluency, Fluent, language class, Language Learning, Languages, multilingual, polyglot