In search of Western civilisation's lost classics

The Australian ^ | 8/6/08 | Luke Slattery

[LibWhacker]

The unique library of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, buried beneath lava by Vesuvius's eruption in AD79, is slowly revealing its long-held secrets

STORED in a sky-lit reading room on the top floor of the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples are the charred remains of the only library to survive from classical antiquity. The ancient world's other great book collections -- at Athens, Alexandria and Rome -- all perished in the chaos of the centuries. But the library of the Villa of the Papyri was conserved, paradoxically, by an act of destruction.

Lying to the northwest of ancient Herculaneum, this sumptuous seaside mansion was buried beneath 30m of petrified volcanic mud during the catastrophic eruption of Mt Vesuvius on August 24, AD79.

[VOA]

bump

[Towed_Jumper]

“A carbonized scroll fragment is read under a microscope at the National Library in Naples, Italy.”

One of my talents generally unknown to FReepers is that I can read ancient Greek (with the help of my Lexicon). However, I took one look at that carbonized scroll and now I am seriously considering going back to only reading modern comic books. It will be truly a miracle if they can recover the writings on that scroll —and I hope they do!

[gleeaikin]

“When you eliminate any reason to reign in rampant desire, other than personal preference, most people (other than philosophers and their students) take that as license to do whatever they want.”

The best prevention of unreasoned greed is to provide the young child with love, safety, and community. This can be done very well in a religious community, but as you point out a philosophically based community can create similar results. Personally, I think it is better to do the right thing because greed, lack of consideration, etc. have been reasoned to be undesirable. I do not think the idea of doing the right thing because God will be angry is as healthy. No more than doing the right thing because dad will beat the s*** out of you if you don’t.

Actually the better self-discipline seems to result from very mild punishment or disapproval from a loved authority figure. When the child is about to repeat the undesired activity, they feel vaguely uncomfortable and don’t do it. Because the reproof was mild they don’t remember it, whereas they would remember a beating and perhaps not do it then, but when older and no longer with the beater. This is called “cognitive dissonance”.

[ModelBreaker]

I do not think the idea of doing the right thing because God will be angry is as healthy. No more than doing the right thing because dad will beat the s*** out of you if you don’t.

If there is a God and He will be angry, it really doesn't matter what we think about it, does it? On the other hand, whether we accept His grace and forgiveness does.

Personally, my dislike of how things were set up by God kept me for years from accepting His grace and forgiveness. And I can't say that I like the setup even now. Things would certainly be different were I God. But then, things would have been a lot different when I was 8 had I, not my father, gotten to set the rules. I suspect the outcome would not have been good.

In any event, I usually accept things as they are today, not as I would have them. Accepting things the way they are seems to me, in the end, to be only reasoned course of behavior.

[Daffynition]

But once they get their act together, you’ll be able to read it on line! Ain’t the ‘net great?

[Ciexyz]

I weep with joy.

[SunkenCiv]

also of interest:

New life given to ancient Egyptian texts stored at Stanford for decades
Stanford University | July 23, 2008 | Adam Gorlick
Posted on 07/24/2008 8:09:38 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2050553/posts

[Daffynition]

Great isn’t it? Perhaps SunkenCiv, who is always on top of these things can let us know when they are published on the net.

I have the feeling that may be quite a while though. Naples is run like an episode of the Keystone Cops; how soon they can resolve the fact that the Villa of the Papyri lies under the town of Ercolano, and modern buildings will have to razed to accomplish this remains to be seen.

[SunkenCiv]

The main problem with these carbonized scrolls is, the text was written with pencils, meaning drawn with graphite, a form of carbon, and, well... ;’)

Great that you can read ancient Greek though, I’m jottin’ that down...

[SunkenCiv]

I’m barely on top of my own daily life, but I’ll be happy to keep an eye on this. My prediction is, when the last of the known scrolls is read, the last sentence will break off, followed, in parentheses, with “continued on next scroll, look in the downstairs library”. ;’)

[SunkenCiv]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism

[snip] ...founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Following Aristippus — about whom very little is known — Epicurus believed that the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear (ataraxia) as well as absence of bodily pain (aponia) through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of our desires. The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest form. Although Epicureanism is a form of hedonism, insofar as it declares pleasure as the sole intrinsic good, its conception of absence of pain as the greatest pleasure and its advocacy of a simple life make it quite different from “hedonism” as it is commonly understood. [end]

[Daffynition]

LOL ... or we’ll hear, “Oh that scroll was checked out in AD77, and we can’t find the borrower.” [I know it was a private library]; we can hope for amnesty day.

Thanks SC love your posts! ;)

[SunkenCiv]