Showing results by narrator "Andrea Giordani" in All Categories

The Secret Adversary, which is the first novel in the series that follows Tommy and Tuppence, chronicles the pair's quest to find a mysterious woman who goes by the name of Jane Finn. Earlier in 1915, Jane Finn had been given a secret document while aboard the Lusitania, which was sunk due to a torpedo hit. That document was a treaty, and Jane was entrusted by the stranger who gave it to her to deliver it to the American Embassy located in London. Years later, the document has still never been delivered....

Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. In it, the two characters, Meno and Socrates, discuss "arete", or virtue. This dialogue is also famous for introducing "Meno's Paradox".

Aristotle was the first philosopher to write ethical treatises. His best-known work in this field, The Nicomachean Ethics, consists of 10 books addressing the question of how the individual should best live. For Aristotle, ethics seeks to determine what makes a virtuous character possible, which is essential for a state of well-being. He describes a sequence of necessary steps to achieve this, such as righteous actions that promote the development of the right habits. He examines the moral virtues and their corresponding vices, like courage versus fear.

After Marathon, the Athenian government needed a new type of leader. That leader was politician and general Themistocles, whose life is well-attributed in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives series. From how he handled the Persian invasion to his time in Athens after the navy, Themistocles was known as the “Glory of the Law”. Though his later life was fraught with whisperings of treason, he went on to be remembered as one of the greatest navy leaders and politicians that Greece had.

Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a children's classic. The story is about a young boy named Cedric who lives with his mother in a tiny cottage in New York after his father dies. Luckily for Cedric, a lawyer finds him and tells him that he is the heir to the title of earl and a vast estate in England. His grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has sent for him, and it is his grandfather's wish that Cedric come to the estate to learn to be an aristocrat with the new title Lord Fauntleroy.

Learn the advantages of calisthenics exercises compared to other workouts, and get some of the best exercises to help you achieve the most impactful results. Learn everything you need to know to safely get started in the right direction, and discover the crucial mistakes you must avoid when performing these exercises.

English barrister and historical, travel and legal writer C.G. Addison wrote his history of the Knights Templar in 1842. The Knights Templar were a Catholic order active between 1119 and 1312. Growing rapidly in power and notable for charitable causes as well as their fighting skills during the crusades, they are perhaps best known for developing financial methods that were an early form of banking.

Sappho ( c. 630-c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. In ancient times, Sappho was widely considered one of the greatest lyric poets and was given titles such as the "Tenth Muse" and "The Poetess". Her estimated date of birth places her sometime after the composition of the works of the Homeric poets, which are preserved in the epics known as the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is claimed that her work filled nine papyrus rolls in the famous library of Alexandria some 500 years after her death.

The Roman statesman Sulla had the nickname “Felix” - meaning “lucky.” Yet his accomplishments were more a matter of brute force than good fortune. He put an end to a civil war, declared himself dictator, and used his power to bring Rome back to its former value system, purging thousands of Roman enemies along the way. Plutarch’s biography of Sulla shows how one man’s use of force to obtain political power influenced many who came after him, most notably Julius Caesar.

At the turn of the 19th century, Hannah Smith stood as a popular evangelist and trusted teacher in the Christian faith. Listen to the full and complete text, with no chapters cut away as is common in so many releases of her work. Here is Hannah Smith's truth, real and unchanged, for the true Christian wanderer.

Henry Reginald Holland Hall (1873-1930) was an English Egyptologist and historian. His in-depth study of the ancient near east examines the region’s civilizations and history, starting with the early Bronze age civilizations such as that of the Minoans on Crete. He explores the history of ancient Egypt in detail, and the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Iran, like Babylonia, Assyria and Persia.

The book covers the history of the Byzantine Empire from late antiquity until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. The author provides a comprehensive view of this great empire which was characterized by Orthodox Christianity, Greek culture and language, and Roman traditions.

Oscar Wilde's Salome was originally published in French in 1891 and translated into English by Lord Alfred Douglas. This one-act play, a sinister tale of a woman scorned and her vengeance, has become a landmark of Decadent literature. The play tells the biblical story of Salome, stepdaughter of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, who, to her stepfather's dismay but to the delight of her mother Herodias, requests the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter as a reward for dancing the dance of the seven veils.

The Gospel of Barnabas is not to be confused with the Epistle of Barnabas or with the Acts of Barnabas. The book depicts the life of Jesus and claims to be written by the biblical Barnabas who is one of the 12 apostles. Barnabas is about the same length as the four canonical gospels put together, with the bulk being devoted to an account of Jesus' ministry. The text of this Gospel is pseudepigraphical, but some scholars suggest that it may contain remnants of an earlier, apocryphal work from the Gnostic, Ebionite, or Diatessaronic traditions.

Alexander is arguably one of the most notable Greek figures, immortalized in stories and legends that are commonly used in mythology classes today. With the lingering feeling of discontent after the Persian invasion and the political unrest that surrounded him, his life made for an interesting topic in Plutarch’s works.

The Analects or Selected Sayings is an ancient Chinese text comprising sayings and wisdom teachings attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, as well as fragmentary dialogues between the philosopher and his students. The Analects has been one of the most influential books in China for the last two millennia, and continues to contribute to Chinese and East Asian culture and thought.

Antigone is a famous Greek tragedy attributed to the ancient playwright Sophocles at around 440 BCE. The play expands on the Theban legend of Oedipus that predates it, dealing with Antigone’s burial of her brother Polyneices in defiance of the law and the tragic results of her act. On another level, the play exposes the dangers of the absolute ruler or tyrant in the character of Creon. No one speaks freely to him, so he makes a series of mistakes, illustrating the folly of tyranny.

Ancient Art and Ritual is a book by Jane Ellen Harrison (1850-1928), who was a student of anthropology and a classical scholar by training. The book shows how mankind has always used rituals to celebrate new life or rites of passage and examines the way that these rituals evolved into art forms. The author also shows how rituals and rites of passage developed into visual and dramatic art, dance, and sculpture as a way of expressing the religious urge. She identifies intense emotional energy as the driving force behind all artistic expression.

The Enchiridion is a collection of the most profound teachings of Epictetus (c. 55-135 AD), who taught that philosophy is a way of life and not just a matter of theory. The Enchiridion is a canonical text of Stoic philosophy, and contains all the fundamentals. Among them is the principle of not being concerned with that which is out of one’s control. Misfortune should not disturb the individual at all, and should not be perceived negatively.

Saint John Chrysostom (c. 349-407), Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. These three homilies deal with errors against, which Chrysostom contended all his life. It is assumed that they were delivered at Antioch when Chrysostom was a presbyter under the Episcopate of Flavian. Chrysostom opposed the idea that the world was abandoned to the dominion of devils, insisting very boldly on the freedom of will, moral responsibility, and the duty of vigorously resisting temptation.