PING
I suspect that there may be a handful who will reply here immediately to me in the affirmative that yes they personally consider the Founders as classics, but I mean the question in an overarching view.
Aren’t the Founders THE classic, the most important classic? Way more important than any of the others listed or some I didn’t list?(We can all name some “classics” of our own)
While not exactly one of the founders, Joseph Story’s “Commentaries On The Constitution...” should be required reading for any US civics class.
so, I have designed and implemented numerous efforts to bring a classics-based education to those interested, whether young or old
I absolutely consider the Founders to be classics, and I would insist that people read closely the Federalist Papers, Washington’s farewell address, Joseph Addison’s Cato, and a few others. I am also assuming that anyone tackling these works have already studied the Constitution, and the Declaration.
I also think the classics of the Founders are best tackled with a thorough grounding in those classics you cite which precede them....especially Roman history, which they were very, very familiar with. I would omit Hobbes and Machiavelli. And if I was forced to put in one of those, I’d go with Machiavelli. I don’t consider Hobbes to be a classic, or really at all interesting. But that’s an opinion. I generally leave out Mach precisely for the reason that there is no evidence that the Founders were very aware of him at all. (Though sometimes I have taught his Discourses on Livy....which is less torturous than Livy straight up....)
The question, what is the most important? is very interesting. If our goal is human flourishing, then it’s hard to say they are the MOST important....but if our goal is to the polis, then they are probably the most important, though understood best on the firm foundation of Roman history (which requires some knowledge of Greek history and philosophy), Christianity (especially the Reformation), and yes, the Enlightenment. Each of these pillars flow into the practical genius of the Founders.
British history is also pretty important, to say the least....
And that is precisely the problem with lists. There is no logical place to stop; so much is important.
But we can dispense with a few charlatans....ie, Hobbes lol