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A Student's Guide to Classics
Bruce Thornton s crisp and informative Student s Guide to Classics provides readers with an overview of each of the major poets, dramatists, philosophers, and historians of ancient Greece and Rome. Including short bios of major figures and a list of suggested readings, Thornton s guide is unparalleled as a brief introduction to the literature of the classical world. Author: Bruce S. Thornton Pages: 90, PaperbackPublisher: Christendom PressISBN: 1-932236-15-5
92 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2003
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About the author
Bruce S. Thornton
15 books6 followersBruce S. Thornton grew up on a cattle ranch in Fresno County, California. He received his B.A. in Latin from UCLA in 1975, and his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature: Greek, Latin, and English, from UCLA in 1983.
Thornton is currently Professor of Classics and Humanities at the California State University in Fresno, California. He is the author of eight books and numerous essays and reviews on Greek culture and civilization and their influence on Western civilization. He also has written on contemporary political and educational issues, as well as lecturing at venues such as the Smithsonian Institute, Hoover Institution and the Air Force Academy, as well as numerous colleges and universities.
He was a 2009-2011 Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where he currently is a research fellow.
Thornton is currently Professor of Classics and Humanities at the California State University in Fresno, California. He is the author of eight books and numerous essays and reviews on Greek culture and civilization and their influence on Western civilization. He also has written on contemporary political and educational issues, as well as lecturing at venues such as the Smithsonian Institute, Hoover Institution and the Air Force Academy, as well as numerous colleges and universities.
He was a 2009-2011 Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where he currently is a research fellow.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 19, 2020
What an enjoyable, enlightening and inspiring little book. Laced throughout Thornton’s survey of classical (Greco-Roman) categories (drama, poetry, history—sadly lacking science and mathematics) are morsels resurrecting the epic expanse of this human pageant responsible for Western civilization. To think the ancient Greeks (to a lesser degree the Romans) attained such heights between 700 BCE to 100 CE, one can’t help but puzzle over the pale nature of our own times. While we don’t live in a Dark Age (yet) sampling such astonishing achievements of that intellectual / artistic era makes our present look stable, comfortable and dreadfully dim. While ignored by current fashions, Thornton seeks to introduce those lost in our present to this brilliant heritage.
Some of the most stirring moments come from Thornton’s footnotes on the life and times of great creators. “Catullus was part of a social and artistic movement that rejected ideas of Roman culture for the values of Hellenistic Greek civilization, which focused on the individual and his sensibility, his experiences rather than his duty to the State.” One can hear echoes in our own age when calls for patriotism challenge civil rights as well as our problems with excess individualism. The severe austerity of lugubrious ancient Israel clashing with inquisitive, luxurious, decadent Greco-Rome—resonant still in the West’s spilt personally—takes place in these same pages. Lessons for popular culture are frequent: “Thucydides’ concern for accuracy, his insights into human nature and political psychology, his realist acceptance of the tragic nature of human affairs, his refusal to admit supernatural causes… all set the standard for historical writing as a sincere, painstaking effort to get at the truth of things.” Thornton’s concise definitions illuminate the subject in ways not often articulated by we tourists on classic shores: “The essential elements of all satire is an attack on hypocrisy and pretension delivered with brutal wit, driven by the imperative to tell the truth while laughing.” And we see a recurring warning when replacing people with things: “The myth of the Five Ages which starts with a paradisiacal Golden Age then degenerates into the wicked present, the Iron Age of suffering, hard work and moral decay.” Only postmodern professors detached from reality could encounter these constants of the human condition and make-believe there are no universal human truths.
Thornton shows us why the Greco-Roman world is birthplace and lifeblood of our West and why it’s right to embrace it, and ignorantly scandalous to suppress or replace them with revisions or inventions of the politically motivated.
One note on ISI books, which this is: the ISI opposes vacuous fads in academia which their books seek to ameliorate, but they not infrequently add their own religious views where they appear to be replacing one contradiction with another (some volumes promote fallacies of Creationism over science). No such contradictory bylines or innuendo exists in Thornton’s text, nor would it be easy to mask in an appraisal of Greco-Rome. A quick and splendid little book.
Some of the most stirring moments come from Thornton’s footnotes on the life and times of great creators. “Catullus was part of a social and artistic movement that rejected ideas of Roman culture for the values of Hellenistic Greek civilization, which focused on the individual and his sensibility, his experiences rather than his duty to the State.” One can hear echoes in our own age when calls for patriotism challenge civil rights as well as our problems with excess individualism. The severe austerity of lugubrious ancient Israel clashing with inquisitive, luxurious, decadent Greco-Rome—resonant still in the West’s spilt personally—takes place in these same pages. Lessons for popular culture are frequent: “Thucydides’ concern for accuracy, his insights into human nature and political psychology, his realist acceptance of the tragic nature of human affairs, his refusal to admit supernatural causes… all set the standard for historical writing as a sincere, painstaking effort to get at the truth of things.” Thornton’s concise definitions illuminate the subject in ways not often articulated by we tourists on classic shores: “The essential elements of all satire is an attack on hypocrisy and pretension delivered with brutal wit, driven by the imperative to tell the truth while laughing.” And we see a recurring warning when replacing people with things: “The myth of the Five Ages which starts with a paradisiacal Golden Age then degenerates into the wicked present, the Iron Age of suffering, hard work and moral decay.” Only postmodern professors detached from reality could encounter these constants of the human condition and make-believe there are no universal human truths.
Thornton shows us why the Greco-Roman world is birthplace and lifeblood of our West and why it’s right to embrace it, and ignorantly scandalous to suppress or replace them with revisions or inventions of the politically motivated.
One note on ISI books, which this is: the ISI opposes vacuous fads in academia which their books seek to ameliorate, but they not infrequently add their own religious views where they appear to be replacing one contradiction with another (some volumes promote fallacies of Creationism over science). No such contradictory bylines or innuendo exists in Thornton’s text, nor would it be easy to mask in an appraisal of Greco-Rome. A quick and splendid little book.
July 21, 2024
A superb overview of the Classics. Thorton organizes his book by the genre/form of Greek and Roman literature (e.g., epics, poetry, histories, drama, letters, oratory, etc.), introducing the reader to essential authors and texts within their historical context. He also provides useful commentary on the broader significance of these authors and texts to Greco-Roman and Western civilization. This succinct, interesting, and clear "Study Guide" is a wonderful introduction to Classical Studies.
February 14, 2012
I think this 92-page guide is quite brief and basic, worth quick browsing for some readers interested in classics since the author's provided essential information in topical order, that is, from 'What is Classics?' to 'The Classical Heritage'. Moreover, you can read his 'Introduction,' 'Further Reading' and 'Notes'.
However, there're some biographies of notable persons, for example, Virgil (p. 17), Sappho (p. 24), Seneca the Younger (p. 52), etc. It's a bit diappointing to me when I can't find such biographies of some key historians such as Herodotus, Polybius or Livy.
However, there're some biographies of notable persons, for example, Virgil (p. 17), Sappho (p. 24), Seneca the Younger (p. 52), etc. It's a bit diappointing to me when I can't find such biographies of some key historians such as Herodotus, Polybius or Livy.
May 26, 2024
This was a great, short introduction to the classical literature of Greece and Rome. The author introduces the types of works (poetry, drama, letters, etc.) and their subdivisions. He also provides brief biographical sketches of some of the major figures. This short book surveys the sequence in which they were produced, some of the historical context, the impact - both at the time and on future authors - and some highlights to look for while reading.
More than just providing a reading list, this felt, more than some others in the series, like a reference I need to keep on-hand as I read. It serves it purpose as a quick, general introduction well, and it's something I'll return to as I read these authors.
More than just providing a reading list, this felt, more than some others in the series, like a reference I need to keep on-hand as I read. It serves it purpose as a quick, general introduction well, and it's something I'll return to as I read these authors.
August 2, 2018
I must admit that while I am not fluent in Greek or Latin, I have long had a complex relationship with the classics as a body of literature. Without ever having attempted a systematic reading of the classics, I have managed to find myself reading a great many classic works and being influenced by them [1] a little bit at a time. Whether that means reading some of the works in school and some of them for fun and some of them as a reviewer of books for scholarly journals, I have read a great many of what the author considers to be essential classics, and I would hope that I have been bettered by it. This book, of course, is intended for those who are younger and who may not be familiar with the writings of the ancient world and their relevance for the contemporary period, and sadly the classics as a whole are an area that are not well-studied either on a formal or an informal basis, something which this book seeks wisely to remedy, even if it is a shortcoming that few seem to be aware of.
This short book is a very thorough introduction for its size of less than 100 pages. After an introduction and a discussion of what the classics are (namely worthwhile works in Greek and Latin), the author gives a very detailed discussion on the classics in the genres of epic, poetry, drama, prose fiction, literary criticism, oratory and rhetoric, letters, biography, history, and the classical heritage, before giving some suggestions for further reading. The books recommended range from well-known works to obscure poetry (like the poetry of Catullus), as well as books which defend the importance of the classics in the contemporary world. By and large the author seeks to encourage readers to seek out works that are readily available and not particularly expensive, which is a good way for the author someone to become far better versed in the classics without having to pay a king's ransom in order to obtain obscure and rare books in the field. Even someone like me who has read quite a lot of the books can find some more books to read that both justify and extend familiarity with the writings discussed here, and that is certainly something that I appreciate.
Given that we are a society that remains heavily influenced by the Greek and Roman classical past, it makes a great deal of sense to become familiar with writings in Greek and Latin. Fortunately, there is a lot of worthwhile ancient writing that can be found, whether one is reading the political speeches of a Cicero or an Isocrates, or whether one is reading philosophical works or poetry or drama or epigrams or works of history or any number of related works, including early efforts at textual criticism. Many of the writings we engage in now, including the cringeworthy tell-most memoir/autobiography, were originally classical genres, and so it behooves us to understand the writings of the past so that we may be inspired to write well ourselves. The familiarity that we should have with these sources is great, especially given the way that references and allusions to these works still fill our literature by those who may be unfamiliar with the sources of the allusions. We are a lot more knowledgeable about ourselves the more we know where we came from, and knowing the classics is a good way to know where we came from, all the more reason to be more familiar with them.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
This short book is a very thorough introduction for its size of less than 100 pages. After an introduction and a discussion of what the classics are (namely worthwhile works in Greek and Latin), the author gives a very detailed discussion on the classics in the genres of epic, poetry, drama, prose fiction, literary criticism, oratory and rhetoric, letters, biography, history, and the classical heritage, before giving some suggestions for further reading. The books recommended range from well-known works to obscure poetry (like the poetry of Catullus), as well as books which defend the importance of the classics in the contemporary world. By and large the author seeks to encourage readers to seek out works that are readily available and not particularly expensive, which is a good way for the author someone to become far better versed in the classics without having to pay a king's ransom in order to obtain obscure and rare books in the field. Even someone like me who has read quite a lot of the books can find some more books to read that both justify and extend familiarity with the writings discussed here, and that is certainly something that I appreciate.
Given that we are a society that remains heavily influenced by the Greek and Roman classical past, it makes a great deal of sense to become familiar with writings in Greek and Latin. Fortunately, there is a lot of worthwhile ancient writing that can be found, whether one is reading the political speeches of a Cicero or an Isocrates, or whether one is reading philosophical works or poetry or drama or epigrams or works of history or any number of related works, including early efforts at textual criticism. Many of the writings we engage in now, including the cringeworthy tell-most memoir/autobiography, were originally classical genres, and so it behooves us to understand the writings of the past so that we may be inspired to write well ourselves. The familiarity that we should have with these sources is great, especially given the way that references and allusions to these works still fill our literature by those who may be unfamiliar with the sources of the allusions. We are a lot more knowledgeable about ourselves the more we know where we came from, and knowing the classics is a good way to know where we came from, all the more reason to be more familiar with them.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
September 20, 2022
Nice introduction to the Classics. First the author defines the field, its relevance and challenges in current times. The book then introduces readers to the most important extant works in philosophy, poetry, oratory, drama/theater, history, etc.
Short, informative, enjoyable read that is recommended to students or anyone interested in the Classics or Ancient Greece and Rome.
Short, informative, enjoyable read that is recommended to students or anyone interested in the Classics or Ancient Greece and Rome.
March 30, 2025
Exactly what's on the tin. Bit dry and reads like a high school Essay reading off facts. Regardless, it did cover the contents and was understandable. I learned what entails the classics so he did his job.
August 10, 2008
Great intro to the major of Classics.
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November 21, 2009None
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews