Bøger af Simon Swain

A compilation of ancient wisdom sourced from ancient and medieval philosophers. Words of wisdom and advice for leading a good life have long been part of society, handed down from one generation to the next. Many of these wise observations originated from the philosophers of Ancient Greece and Rome and went on to circulate widely among the Arabic-speaking communities of the Middle Ages, who added new sayings of their own. Wisdom from the Ancients features over four hundred sayings, riddles, and aphorisms from the ancient and medieval world in English translation. Grouped by themes including medicine, food, politics, and nature, they derive from a range of philosophers and physicians, from Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato to al-Kindī, Ibn Hindū, and al-Rāzī. Packed with timeless advice to contemplate, share, and enjoy, this entertaining book offers readers a gateway to ancient and medieval cultures whose musings on philosophy, health, and life are just as authoritative and relevant today.

Bryson's Management of the Estate (Oikonomikos Logos) offers advice on the key private concerns of the Roman elite: getting rich, managing slaves, love and marriage, and bringing up children. This estate owner is a farmer and a merchant, making his money through good and effective business. His wife is co-owner of the estate and their love promotes material prosperity. Their child needs twenty-four hour supervision in 'all his affairs'. Bryson's book was almost certainly written in the mid-first century AD, but survives mainly in Arabic. It had a profound effect on Islamic thinking on the economy and on marriage, but is virtually unknown to classicists. This new edition of the text together with the first English translation will appeal to Roman social and economic historians, students of imperial Greek literature and all those interested in the development of Greco-Roman thought in the Islamic empire of the Middle Ages.