Books Archive

Plato – The Republic


Title: The Republic
Published by: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition
Release Date: December 24, 2012
Contributors: Plato (Author), Christopher Rowe (Editor, Translator, Introduction)
Genre:
Pages: 496
ISBN13: 978-0141442433

The Republic is Plato's masterwork. It was written 2,400 years ago and remains one of the most widely read books in the world, famous for both the richness of its ideas and the virtuosity of its writing. Presented as a dialogue between Plato's teacher Socrates and various interlocutors, it is an exhortation to study philosophy, inviting its readers to reflect on the choices we must make if we are to live the best life available to us. This complex, dynamic work creates a picture of an ideal society governed not money, power, or fame, but by philosophy, wisdom, and justice.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Moody – The Secret of Guidance


Title: The Secret of Guidance
Series:
Published by: Moody Classics
Release Date: June 1, 2010
Contributors: F. B. Meyer (Author), Dallas Willard (Foreword)
Genre:
Pages: 128
ISBN13: 978-0802454546

Back Cover
We must escape the din of the world to become accustomed to the accents of the still, small voice.

To desire guidance is godly, but how are we to know Gods will? In The Secret of Guidance, F.B. Meyer shows us how. Mayers work outs actions to take examine our motives, spend time in the Word, search our hearts for sin and thoughts to ponder The Master promises to be to all faithful souls, in their pilgrimage to the City of God, what the cloudy pillars was to the children of Israel. By ordering how we can experience guidance through facts, faith, and feelings as well as addressing how to handle burdens and sorrows, Meyers work offers much assistance.
___________________

F. B. Meyer writes, “The grace of purity and self-control, of fervent prayer and understanding in the Scriptures, of love for men and zeal for God, of lowliness and meekness, of gentleness and goodness--all is in Christ; and if Christ is in us, all is ours also.”

F.B. Meyer was a contemporary and friend of D.L. Moody who was also a pioneer in the field of inner-city missions work. Drawing constantly on Scripture in this book, Meyer exhorts us to seek after God’s best for our lives by examining our inner motives, understanding Christ’s role in our present-day, and then examining how we ought to then bear up underneath the secret of God’s guidance.

F. B. MEYER (1847-1929) was an internationally known British minister of the Gospel, a public servant, and an evangelist for more than sixty years. A good friend of D. L. Moody, he began preaching at Christ Church in London, when there were only 100 regular attendees. Within two years he was preaching regularly to over 2,000 people. Charles Spurgeon once spoke of him, saying "Meyer preaches as a man who has seen God face to face." Meyer was also active in the temperance movement, worked to close more than 500 houses of prostitution, and formed a prison aid society. Meyer authored more than 40 books, including biographies, devotional commentaries, sermon volumes and expository works. He also authored several pamphlets and edited a number of magazines.

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TAN – The Interior Castle


Title: The Interior Castle
Series:
Published by: Tan Classics
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Contributors: St. Teresa Of Avila (Author)
Genre:
Pages: 256
ISBN13: 978-0895552273

The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila presents a remarkable description of the entire spiritual life from the first release from mortal sin into Sanctifying Grace through the Mystical Marriage of the soul with Christ as a journey through what she called The Interior Castle.
She sees the soul as a magnificent castle full of spacious and well-lit rooms or mansions each of which leads deeper into the heart of the castle to the seat of the King. However, St. Teresa laments that most people give all their attention to the outer wall of the castle the body ignoring the beauty of the soul within.

St. Teresa gives practical advice regarding the early struggles and the temptations to turn back which beset the beginner. She describes each of the seven mansions and urges us forward to love and serve the Divine Majesty, imparting her absolute conviction that progress toward God through prayer is worth vastly more than all the treasures of this earth.

St. Teresa of Avila was born in 1515 at Avila, Spain, and her mother Beatriz was determined to bring her up as a good Christian. She attempted to find martyrdom by running away from home when she was seven, but was promptly stopped by her uncle. She later became a Carmelite nun and began to experience, while suffering from sickness, spiritual ecstasy as a result of reading Francisco de Osuna's Third Spiritual Alphabet. In 1599 she was convinced that she was actually seeing visions of Christ, which continued often for two years.

Teresa of Avila founded a good many convents, including at Andalusia, Palencia and Soria. She is also the author of The Interior Castle, The Way of Perfection, and an Autobiography. She died in 1582 at the age of 67, and was canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. Her feast is celebrated on October 15.

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Covenant Theology


Title: Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives
Series:
Release Date: October 27, 2020
Contributors: Guy Prentiss Waters (Editor)
Genre:
Pages: 672
ISBN13: 978-1433560033

"Covenant theology sets the gospel in the context of God's eternal plan of communion with his people and its historical outworking in the covenants of works and grace."
―Ligon Duncan

Just as two bookends hold together a row of books, the covenant of works and the covenant of grace hold together the storyline of Scripture. Join a host of twenty-six scholars, including O. Palmer Robertson, Michael J. Kruger, and Scott R. Swain, as they explore how the concept of covenant is clearly taught in Scripture and how it lays the foundation for other doctrines of salvation. This monumental work is Trinitarian, eschatological, historical, confessional, and practical, presenting readers with a great hope and consolation: the covenant-making God is a covenant-keeping God.

Contributors
Guy Prentiss Waters (Editor), J. Nicholas Reid (Editor), John R. Muether (Editor), Kevin DeYoung (Afterword), Ligon Duncan (Foreword), Miles V. Van Pelt (Contributor), John D. Wilson (Contributor), Michael J. Kruger (Contributor), O. Palmer Robertson (Contributor), Richard Belcher (Contributor), John Scott Redd (Contributor), Guy Richard (Contributor), John D. Currid (Contributor), Michael G. McKelvey (Contributor), Robert Cara (Contributor), Greg Lanier (Contributor), Douglas Kelly (Contributor), Howard Griffth (Contributor), D. Blair Smith (Contributor), Bruce Baugus (Contributor), Mark McDowell (Contributor), Michael Allen (Contributor), Peter Y. Lee (Contributor), Benjamin L. Gladd (Contributor), Michael Glodo (Contributor), Scott Swain (Contributor), Derek Thomas (Contributor)

Review
“It has been said that Reformed theology is covenant theology, for covenant is not merely a doctrine or theme in the Bible but is the principle that structures all its revelation. Robert Rollock said, ‘God speaks nothing to man without the covenant.’ Therefore, it is a delight to see this amazing scholarly collaboration by the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary, which will surely prove to be a sourcebook for future studies of Reformed covenant theology. Here is a gold mine of biblical and historical studies by trusted pastor-theologians of Christ’s church.”
―Joel R. Beeke, President and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary; author, Reformed Preaching; coauthor, Reformed Systematic Theology

“The revived interest in covenant theology has sparked rich insights and lively debate. Representing a variety of views and specialties, and united by biblical fidelity and rigorous scholarship, Covenant Theology is a very impressive and welcome collection.”
―Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

“Covenant Theology is a gift to the church, a grand account of covenant in Scripture and in Christian theology. This work is scholarly and readable, rigorous and complete. Every chapter is thorough, whether it gathers data on familiar themes or explores new territory. The contributors and editors have presented a resource that pastors and scholars will draw from for many years.”
―Daniel Doriani, Vice President at Large and Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology, Covenant Theological Seminary

“This rich and learned compendium updates and extends our understanding of God’s initiative in, and manner of performing, his signature saving work. With thirteen chapters on covenant and covenants in the Bible, seven on covenant in Christian thought up to today, and seven on topics like covenant in contemporary New Testament scholarship, dispensationalism, and ‘new covenant theologies,’ no significant stone is left unturned. From Ligon Duncan’s foreword to Kevin DeYoung’s meaty homiletical summation at the end, this volume artfully defines a nonnegotiable Christian teaching and reaffirms its centrality. The annotated bibliography offers an invaluable listing of covenant studies in (and in some cases against) the Reformed tradition over many centuries. These important essays by a distinguished seminary faculty are a lasting gift to scholarship as well as to the church.”
―Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

“Breathtaking! I don’t know of any work that has the diversity and scope of Covenant Theology. Every aspect of the covenant doctrine receives attention from the book’s contributors. Each chapter is an urgent invitation. The covenant doctrine is analyzed here with unquestionable scholarship and inalienable commitment to Scripture and Reformed theology. Starting with the exegesis of biblical material, going through the historical development of the theme in the church, contrasting and comparing it with extrabiblical material, and analyzing the concept of the covenant in modern theology, this book offers the most comprehensive exposition of the covenant doctrine available today.”
―Augustus Nicodemus Lopes, Assistant Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Recife, Brazil; Vice President, Supreme Council, Presbyterian Church of Brazil

“If covenant is the Bible’s word for God’s relationship with his people, what could be more important than thinking deeply and clearly about covenant theology? This volume is a sure guide to the covenantal thinking that underpins so much of pastoral ministry. Bringing rigorous exegesis into conversation with historic perspectives and modern debates, it is a remarkably comprehensive and thorough work that will help any preacher or student of Scripture.”
―Jonty Rhodes, Minister, Christ Church Central Leeds, UK; author, Covenants Made Simple and Man of Sorrows, King of Glory

“In the history of Reformed theology, the biblical teaching of the triune God’s sovereign initiative to enter into covenant union and communion with his people, before and after the fall into sin, has been a central focus, and some say it even defines Reformed theology. For this reason, the contributors to this comprehensive volume, which treats the topic of the covenant or covenants in biblical, historical, and systematic perspectives, provide a wonderful overview of Reformed theology’s engagement with Scripture’s teaching. Encyclopedic in scope, balanced in tone and temper, sensitive to diversity of expression and formulation―this volume is a model of theological study and an indispensable resource for anyone who has interest in exploring the scriptural witness to God’s covenant.”
―Cornelis P. Venema, President and Professor of Doctrinal Studies, Mid-America Reformed Seminary; author, Christ and Covenant Theology and Chosen in Christ

“I rarely use the term magisterial of any book, but this one deserves it. The faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary have produced an outstanding volume on the biblical doctrine of the covenant. The opening section is marked by superb exegetical studies that ground the whole book in Scripture. The historical section that follows presents material (such as the use of covenant in the early church and the medieval period) that is not otherwise easily accessible. Later sections bring the discussions right up to the present time and interact with modern exponents and critics of covenantal theology. This is the volume to which those inquiring into the biblical idea of covenant should be pointed, and its presentation will instruct and challenge, while its annotated bibliography of modern studies will lead to many other sources. Everyone seriously pursuing an interest in this central biblical theme must have this book.”
―Allan Harman, Research Professor, Presbyterian Theological College, Australia; coauthor, The Story of the Church

About the Author
Guy Prentiss Waters (PhD, Duke University) is James M. Baird Jr. Professor of New Testament and academic dean at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He is the author or editor of fifteen books and numerous chapters, articles, and reviews. He is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

J. Nicholas Reid (DPhil, University College, University of Oxford) is associate professor of Old Testament and ancient Near Eastern studies, as well as the director of the hybrid MDiv program at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando. He is also a contributor to the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. Reid and his wife, Blair, live in the greater Orlando area with their four children. He is a member of St Paul’s Presbyterian Church.

John R. Muether (MAR, Westminster Theological Seminary) serves as dean of libraries and professor of church history at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando. Muether previously served as librarian at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He has authored and coauthored several books, most notably Cornelius Van Til: Reformed Apologist and Churchman. John and his wife, Kathy, have four children and six grandchildren. He is an elder at Reformation Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Oviedo, Florida.

Ligon Duncan (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is chancellor, CEO, and John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He previously served as the senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, for seventeen years. He is a cofounder of Together for the Gospel, a senior fellow of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and was the president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals from 2004–2012. Duncan has edited, written, or contributed to numerous books. He and his wife, Anne, have two children and live in Jackson, Mississippi.

Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte. He has written books for children, adults, and academics, including Just Do Something; Crazy Busy; and The Biggest Story. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.

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A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG)


Title: A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
Published by: University of Chicago Press; 3rd edition
Release Date: January 15, 2001
Contributors: Walter Bauer (Author), Frederick William Danker (Editor)
Genre:
Pages: 1188
ISBN13: 978-0226039336

Described as an "invaluable reference work" (Classical Philology) and "a tool indispensable for the study of early Christian literature" (Religious Studies Review) in its previous edition, this new updated American edition of Walter Bauer's Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments builds on its predecessor's staggering deposit of extraordinary erudition relating to Greek literature from all periods. Including entries for many more words, the new edition also lists more than 25,000 additional references to classical, intertestamental, Early Christian, and modern literature.

In this edition, Frederick W. Danker's broad knowledge of Greco-Roman literature, as well as papyri and epigraphs, provides a more panoramic view of the world of Jesus and the New Testament. Danker has also introduced a more consistent mode of reference citation, and has provided a composite list of abbreviations to facilitate easy access to this wealth of information.

Perhaps the single most important lexical innovation of Danker's edition is its inclusion of extended definitions for Greek terms. For instance, a key meaning of "episkopos" was defined in the second American edition as overseer; Danker defines it as "one who has the responsibility of safeguarding or seeing to it that something is done in the correct way, guardian." Such extended definitions give a fuller sense of the word in question, which will help avoid both anachronisms and confusion among users of the lexicon who may not be native speakers of English.

Danker's edition of Bauer's Wörterbuch will be an indispensable guide for Biblical and classical scholars, ministers, seminarians, and translators.

Review
Will influence more biblical scholarship than any one other book published in the English language in the last half century. -- Currents in Theology and Mission

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Oxford Annotated Apocrypha


Title: The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version
Series:
Published by: Oxford University Press
Release Date: April 1, 2018
Contributors: Michael Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol Newsom, Pheme Perkins
Genre:
Pages: 400
ISBN13: 978-0190276126

For decades students, professors, clergy, and general readers have relied on The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha as an unparalleled authority on the Apocrypha. This fifth edition remains the best way to study and understand the material at home or in the classroom. This thoroughly revised and substantially updated edition contains the best scholarship informed by recent discoveries and anchored in the solid Study Bible tradition.

· Introductions and extensive annotations for each book by acknowledged experts in the field provide context and guidance.
· Introductory essay on the Apocrypha gives readers an overview that guides more intensive study.
· Maps and diagrams within the text contextualize where events took place and how to understand them.
· A timeline, calendar, and essay on the Persian and Hellenistic Periods help to contextualize the books.

A volume that users will want to keep for continued reference, The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha continues the Oxford University Press tradition of providing excellence in scholarship for the general reader. Generations of users attest to its status as the best one-volume Bible reference tool for any home, library, or classroom.

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Piper – What Jesus Demands from the World


Title: What Jesus Demands from the World
Published by: Crossway
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Contributors: John Piper
Genre:
Pages: 400
ISBN13: 978-1433520570

The four Gospels are filled with demands from Jesus. These demands are Jesus’ way of showing us who he is and what he expects of us. They are not harsh demands originating from a selfish desire to control, but rather loving directions for our good and ultimate satisfaction. In fact, what Jesus demands from the world can be summed up as: “Trust and treasure me above all.” This is good news!

In What Jesus Demands from the World, John Piper looks at the demands of Jesus as found in the four Gospels. He begins with an introduction that puts the demands in a redemptive-historical context, then engages in a concise examination of each. The result is an accessible introduction for thoughtful inquirers and new believers, as well as a refreshing reminder for more mature believers of God’s plan for His Son’s glory and our good. Now available in paperback.

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Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms


Title: Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms
Series:
Published by: Baker Academic; 1st edition
Release Date: January 1, 2010
Contributors: Daniel J. Estes
Genre:
Pages: 448
ISBN13: 978-0801038884

"In this handbook Estes takes his readers by the hand to guide them through some of the more difficult books of the Old Testament. The introductory sections provide excellent orientation to their contents and to appropriate reading strategies, while the commentary explains the thought flow of the biblical writers and, importantly, the sometimes apparent breaks in thought flow. Estes writes lucidly and informs his discussion from his acquaintance with a wide range of current biblical scholarship. This is a first-class study aid that anyone could read with profit."--Robert P. Gordon, University of Cambridge

"Estes here provides the advanced student with an overview of the contents and theological message of the poetic books of the Bible and with some of their current interpretation. His insights reflect the best findings of contemporary scholarship. Without resorting to critical technicalities, he decodes many of the secrets of the biblical text and uncovers cultural realities that throw light on otherwise obscure sayings. Though faithful to the ancient biblical message, he always has his modern readers in mind as he plumbs the depths of that message. The bibliographies that follow each chapter will only enhance the study of this often overlooked segment of the biblical tradition."--Dianne Bergant, CSA, Catholic Theological Union in Chicago

"Estes's Handbook represents an enormous amount of time and labor well spent, for which teachers and students will be grateful. The scholarly conversation around many issues is summarized and described, current research well represented, and the biblical materials themselves discussed, so that this work should prove accessible to and useful for beginning students, and especially those already somewhat familiar with the biblical text. . . . Estes's Handbook should prove useful to advanced students who want to explore the literature for potential thesis topics and to pastors who wish to preach these biblical books."--Frederic Clarke PutnamJournal of the Evangelical Theological Society

"A model of balanced and judicious study. While taking advantage of the most recent scholarship on the Psalms and the wisdom writings, Estes is able to distill this information and present it in a form that is accessible to laypersons and helpful to any involved in the serious study of Scripture. He invites readers to an even greater delight in reading the Bible than they have had before."--Daniel I. Block, Wheaton College

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Holiness


Title: Holiness: It's Natures, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots
Series:
Published by: Waymark Books
Release Date: August 3, 2020
Contributors: J. C. Ryle (Author)
Genre:
Pages: 364
ISBN13: 978-1611047929

In Holiness, J. C. Ryle speaks to the heart and soul of every man. In a winning, approachable style, he wields the sword of the Spirit like a skillful surgeon, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow.

He addresses hard and trying subjects which most modern evangelicals have chosen to ignore: the power and depth of indwelling sin, the necessity of a holy life, the struggle and fight of faith, counting the cost of following Christ... and that's only in the first five chapters! Ryle's treatment of the texts which head the chapters is based on plain interpretation, common-sense exegesis and practical application. He does not side-step the difficult issues, but takes them head-on, making Christian theology and the principles of holy living seem so simple, obvious and straight-forward that readers will wonder what other Bible truths they've been missing all these years.

Christian, read J. C. Ryle. You will not regret it. He is a man who first and foremost loved the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the vital center of all his teaching and writing and the sole reason for his great power in ministry. Whether you are an erudite scholar or a hard-laboring farmer, a pastor or a layman, a spiritual elder or a babe in Christ-no matter where you are-Ryle's writings are for you. The love of Christ and the faith of this great 18th century saint cling to every page like an aromatic perfume.

About the Author
J. C. RYLE (1816–1900) was a prominent writer, preacher, and Anglican clergyman in nineteenth-century Britain. He is the author of the classic Expository Thoughts on the Gospels and retired as the bishop of Liverpool.

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Philosophy – Beyond Good and Evil


Title: Beyond Good and Evil
Series:
Published by: Penguin Classics
Release Date: April 29, 2003
Contributors: Friedrich Nietzsche (Author), R. J. Hollingdale (Translator, Introduction), Michael Tanner (Introduction)
Genre:
Pages: 240
ISBN13: 978-0140449235

Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil is translated from the German by R.J. Hollingdale with an introduction by Michael Tanner in Penguin Classics. Beyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche's position as the towering European philosopher of his age. The work dramatically rejects the tradition of Western thought with its notions of truth and God, good and evil. Nietzsche demonstrates that the Christian world is steeped in a false piety and infected with a 'slave morality'. With wit and energy, he turns from this critique to a philosophy that celebrates the present and demands that the individual imposes their own 'will to power' upon the world. This edition includes a commentary on the text by the translator and Michael Tanner's introduction, which explains some of the more abstract passages in Beyond Good and Evil. Frederich Nietzsche (1844-1900) became the chair of classical philology at Basel University at the age of 24 until his bad health forced him to retire in 1879. He divorced himself from society until his final collapse in 1899 when he became insane.

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Early Christian Lives


Title: Early Christian Lives
Series:
Published by: Penguin Classics
Release Date: July 1, 1998
Contributors: Athanasius (Author), Jerome (Author), Sulpicius Severus (Author), Gregory the Great (Author), Carolinne White (Translator)
Genre:
Pages: 288
ISBN13: 978-0140435269

Written between the mid-fourth and late sixth centuries to commemorate and glorify the achievements of early Christian saints, these six biographies depict men who devoted themselves to solitude, poverty and prayer. Athanasius records Antony's extreme seclusion in the Egyptian desert, despite temptation by the devil and visits from his followers. Jerome also shows those who fled persecution or withdrew from society to pursue lives of chastity and asceticism in his accounts of Paul of Thebes, Hilarion and Malchus. In his Life of Martin, Sulpicius Severus describes the achievements of a man who combined the roles of monk, bishop and missionary, while Gregory the Great tells of Benedict, whose Rule became the template for monastic life. Full of vivid incidents and astonishing miracles, these Lives have provided inspiration as models for centuries of Christian worship.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Carolinne White divides her time between research projects and tutoring in patristic and medieval Latin at Oxford University. She has worked on the supplement to the Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon and the Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources and has published a translation of the correspondence between St Jerome and St Augustine of Hippo (1990) alongside other work.

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Fagles – The Iliad


Title: The Iliad
Published by: Penguin Classics
Release Date: January 1, 1998
Contributors: Homer (Author), Robert Fagles (Translator), Bernard Knox (Introduction)
Genre:
Pages: 704
ISBN13: 978-0140275360

Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace.

Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He maintains the drive and metric music of Homer’s poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliad’s mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls “an astonishing performance.”

Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives. He was one of a long line of bards, or poets, who worked in the oral tradition. Homer and other bards of the time could recite, or chant, long epic poems. Both works attributed to Homer – the Iliad and the Odyssey – are over ten thousand lines long in the original. Homer must have had an amazing memory but was helped by the formulaic poetry style of the time.
In the Iliad Homer sang of death and glory, of a few days in the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. Mortal men played out their fate under the gaze of the gods. The Odyssey is the original collection of tall traveller’s tales. Odysseus, on his way home from the Trojan War, encounters all kinds of marvels from one-eyed giants to witches and beautiful temptresses. His adventures are many and memorable before he gets back to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope.

We can never be certain that both these stories belonged to Homer. In fact ‘Homer’ may not be a real name but a kind of nickname meaning perhaps ‘the hostage’ or ‘the blind one’. Whatever the truth of their origin, the two stories, developed around three thousand years ago, may well still be read in three thousand years’ time.

Robert Fagles (1933-2008) was Arthur W. Marks ’19 Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, at Princeton University. He was the recipient of the 1997 PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His translations include Sophocles’s Three Theban Plays, Aeschylus’s Oresteia (nominated for a National Book Award), Homer’s Iliad (winner of the 1991 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award by The Academy of American Poets), Homer’s Odyssey, and Virgil's Aeneid.

Bernard Knox (1914-2010) was Director Emeritus of Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. He taught at Yale University for many years. Among his numerous honors are awards from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His works include The Heroic Temper: Studies in Sophoclean Tragedy, Oedipus at Thebes: Sophocles’ Tragic Hero and His Time and Essays Ancient and Modern (awarded the 1989 PEN/Spielvogel-Diamonstein Award).

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