The poet Mihyar Al Daylami (?–1037) came from that region of Persia which bordered the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. He wrote in Arabic, and his works were so copious that his biographer says they filled four volumes. He was originally a Zoroastrian, but converted to Islam around the year 1003 under the influence of one of his professors.
A reasonable amount of experience in life teaches us that we are often the source of the wrongs that fall upon our shoulders. This is not always true, of course; but even a short period of honest reflection will reveal to us, if we examine the details of things, that we might have handled some situations better than we in fact did. Learning does not take place without honest examination; and the first person who is in need of this honesty is ourselves.
I didn’t really know what to call this podcast. It’s a mix of a few different things. I wanted to talk about the movies I reviewed in the last post here, but I also wanted to toss out an interesting comment made by Samuel Johnson on trade and pleasure. And finally–to relax and unwind a bit–I read a few recent tweets by the G Manifesto (@MichaelPorfirio). It’s important in life to mix things up. Idleness may be the Devil’s servant, but so is monotony.
Here are some of the more interesting choices of the past few weeks. Watching movies is much like trying new dishes: you just have to “consume” them and judge for yourself.
Fortress of the Mind Publications is pleased to announce that Sallust: The Conspiracy of Catiline and The War of Jugurtha is now available in a beautiful hardcover edition on Amazon and all other major book retailers. With extensive annotations, maps, photos, indexes, chronological tables, and an acclaimed introduction, this is a book designed to last for generations. Fully outfitted for comprehension and efficient referencing, this book–like all of Quintus Curtius’s translations–is a self-contained unit and requires no previous familiarity with the subject matter. It can be read and enjoyed by anyone, not just specialists.
In his allegorical work Kalila and Dimna, writer Ibn Muqaffa describes the journey to wisdom of one of his characters, a man named Barzouyeh. Barzouyeh was the man sent by the king of Persia to India for the purpose of acquiring the precious text of Kalila and Dimna, which was reputed to contain a treasure-trove of worldly wisdom. Ibn Muqaffa spends a good deal of time discussing Barzouyeh’s education and path to worldly wisdom; and it will be instructive for us to relate it here.
On Moral Ends is now available in audio book format on Amazon Audible and iTunes. For the first time, this essential classic has been introduced to a new generation of readers in a way that preserves the integrity and majesty of the original Latin work. Engagingly and professionally read read by Saethon Williams, this audio book adds a new dimension of understanding to the printed editions in paperback and hardcover. Length: 10 hrs, 17 min.
Fortress of the Mind Publications is pleased to announce the issuance of On Duties in hardcover. First published in 2016, Quintus Curtius’s innovative translation of On Duties has helped introduce this masterpiece of moral philosophy to a new generation of readers, many of whom have had no previous exposure to classical studies. In so doing, it has itself become a classic, and remains the best selling text at Fortress of the Mind. With topical organization tables, commentary, annotations, and vigorous prose that retains Cicero’s eloquent and disputatious style, this volume is one that merits a lifetime of continued reference and study.
Available at Amazon and all major book retailers (Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, The Book Depository, etc).
One of the first and greatest classics of Arabic prose is the Book of Kalila and Dimna. It is a collection of fables told with an allegorical purpose, but it is presented with such wisdom, poetic eloquence, and engaging humor as to make it one of the treasures of world literature. Its pedigree verifies its merit. The stories it contains were originally derived from a Sanskrit classic called the Panchatantra, but a Persian scholar and translator named Ibn Muqaffa’ (ابن المقفع), writing around 740 A.D., reworked the stories into something that was entirely original.
It is right that youth should celebrate its vigor. We do it a grave injustice by shackling its natural ebullience, by attempting to douse its fires with an excess of admonitions and restrictives. Let it, as far as health and safety will permit, taste the light of the open sky, the airs of unexplored mountains, and the swift currents swirling along tropical beaches. For in our elder years we will recall these liberating sensations with an intensity that sustains life itself.
Quintus Curtius 
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