Showing results by narrator "Andrea Giordani" in All Categories

Alcibiades was brilliant beyond his time and ambitious beyond his own safety. Was he traitor or true patriot? Even his own historian was not sure.

This moving treatise was composed when St. Chrysostom was in exile, probably shortly before his death. It was sent with a letter to his friend the deaconess Olympias in Constantinople. A portion of this treatise reflects the thoughts of Plato in the 10th book of The Republic to prove the immortality of the soul.

The Hairy Ape (1922) is an expressionist play by Eugene O'Neill. The protagonist, Yank, yearns for a sense of belonging in a world he perceives as being controlled by the rich. Initially, Yank enjoys his job stoking the engines of an ocean liner. Then the wealthy daughter of a steel magnate refers to him as a "filthy beast", and Yank starts experiencing an identity crisis. He leaves the ship, and while walking around Manhattan, comes to the conclusion that he does not belong anywhere; not with the rich on Fifth Avenue nor with the labor unions on the waterfront.

Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery covers the mid-teenage years of Anne Shirley. She is the new schoolteacher of Avonlea, and Anne meets many new people and gets into several fun mishaps. From accidentally selling her neighbor's cow to painting the town hall a bright, startling blue, the adventures never stop.

Julius Caesar peaked as one of the most powerful generals in Roman history. In “The Life of Caesar", Plutarch attempts to capture the greatness of this man on paper. With stirring prose, he documents Caesar’s military might and rousing spirit. The biography ends with the details of Caesar’s assassination, but Plutarch assures us that the murderers eventually paid for the deed.

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.

A young orphan seeks vengeance against the Yakuza man who killed her parents…. A jaded Ronin seeks out an old colleague before enacting a last ritual…. And an ancient demon taunts a former Knight of a holy order from the blade of her ancient samurai sword.

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.

Ninth-century Welsh monk Nennius has traditionally been linked to this purported history of the indigenous Britons. Written around 828, this history has been notable for its mention of certain historical figures and even saints. Most notable, however, is the very first mention of the historical King Arthur as a military leader.

The fate of a young university student, an amoral scientist, and his beautiful daughter clash in this Gothic tale of science and control. All the young men in Padua, Italy have fallen for Beatrice, who tends the exotic plants in her father’s garden. Giovanni makes his way into the garden and Beatrice’s heart, but the joy of young love shatters when he uncovers a terrible secret about her father’s work. This twisted gothic story presents powerful literary themes with the thrill of horror.

The classic children's tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum follows the adventures of young Dorothy, who lives in Kansas with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. As many fans know from the beloved film adaptation of the book, a terrible swirling cyclone sweeps through the prairie area where Dorothy and her family are living, and in an attempt to get to safety, Dorothy's dog Toto buries himself under a bed. The house is picked up by the extreme winds, and when Dorothy awakens after the event, she is no longer in the town she calls home.

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.

British flag officer, inspiring military leader, and brilliant strategist. The name of Horatio Nelson is intrinsically linked with a great number of decisive British naval victories. His most notable battles were during the Napoleonic Wars culminating in his death during his final victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Before his assassination, Julius Caesar named his great nephew Gaius Octavius as his successor. In this excerpt from The Twelve Caesars, Roman biographer Suetonius tells the life story of Octavius, who took the name Augustus when he became emperor. While Augustus did have a military career, Suetonius focuses on the dramatic details of Augustus’ personal life, making this biography more gossip-filled than its contemporaries.

In George Eliot's Middlemarch, the idea of marriage and vocation are explored through a small town's community of ordinary people. One of the main characters, Dorothea Brooke, is a kind and good-hearted woman who gives to the poor and helps to rebuild cottages of poor farmers. However, she is also stubborn and very strong-willed.

This sermon by St. John Chrysostom points out the error of scrutinizing the sins of others with great exactitude while we let our own pass. He argues that we ought to do the contrary, to keep our own faults unforgotten but never even to admit a thought of those of others. He argues that God would be more inclined to forgive their sins if people did that.

After a year living in lavish boredom within Ivywood Castle, sarcastic and witty Moira Finglas is tired of her repetitive life. Summoned to court by her betrothed, Moira is trapped in an endless cycle of monotony. Moira survives on foul language and small adventures, primarily thanks to her brother, Amis, and her love of reading.

As the third book in the series, Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery continues to follow the adventures of Anne Shirley. After leaving her teaching career behind in Green Gables, Anne attends Redmond College in Nova Scotia with some of her friends. Anne and her friends spend the first year of school at a boarding house, but they then decide to live together in a quaint little cottage known as Patty's Place. Here Anne pursues her dream of higher education but is interrupted by Gilbert Blythe and his attempts at seeking her hand in marriage.

An Enemy of the People is an 1882 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, who wrote it in response to the public outcry against his previous play, Ghosts, which challenged the hypocrisy of 19th-century morality. An Enemy of the People tells the story of a man who dares to speak an unpalatable truth and is punished for it. Ibsen uses the language of comic exaggeration through the mouth of his spokesman, the idealist Doctor Thomas Stockmann, who rejects all absolute principles of either wisdom or morality.

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.