The Modern Scholar

Hebrews, Greeks and Romans: Foundations of Western Civilization

By: Timothy Shutt

Narrated by: Timothy Shutt

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Our purpose in this course will be to examine the foundations of Western civilization in antiquity. We will look at the culture of the ancient Hebrews, of the ancient Greeks, and of the Romans, and we will likewise look at how these cultures interacted with each other, sometimes happily, sometimes not.

In the process, we will focus on how the questions they addressed and the answers they found live among us and continue to shape our lives to this very day. For in a very real sense we are all of us, as participants in Western culture, Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans still.

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©2003 Timothy Shutt (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Excellent

I received more than expected, and am sure the subject players -- Greeks, Romans and Hebrews -- would also applaud Dr. Shutt. He has the knowledge, enthusiasm, talent and balance to make this an outstanding lecture series.

The Wild, Wild, Wild, Wild West

Professor Shutt excels at creating comprehensive, comprehensible overviews of immensely complicated subjects. Along the way he puts Great Ideas and Great Works in their appropriate cultural contexts, telling us from whence they emerged and the extent of the impact they have had since. Armed with these insights, you can go to the actual Works and be that much ahead of the game.

But while that’s all good, there’s more. You also get Professor Shutt himself. He sincerely loves what he does and it shows. He never condescends; rather, he assumes you’re as interested in the subject under discussion as he is. Even better, he’s as astonished, amazed and just plain blown-away as you are by the insights under discussion. In a way he reminds me of Julia Child when she’d step back from a perfectly prepared roast and say, “Isn’t that beautiful?” She wasn’t congratulating herself; she was admiring—and inviting us to admire—what the art of cookery is capable of. In the same way, Shutt invites us to explore and admire what the West is capable of. He takes an almost palpable delight in getting at the nub of things. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he loves the Western Tradition unapologetically. For anyone familiar with the trendy trajectory of academia, that’s enough to make these lectures a must-buy. I’ll add that these lectures are eminently listenable and stand up to re-listening as well.

With the notable exception of his talks on naval warfare, all of the above is true of every course I have from Professor Shutt: Medieval Literature, Wars that Made the Western World, Dante and his Divine Comedy and now Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. In 14 lectures we trace the development of three unique, distinct cultures that answered the question, “What is the good life?” in radically different ways, and yet ultimately met and melded in a synthesis that created the West we live in today.

Along the way Shutt examines what he calls the “fruitful tensions” between, for example, the Greek ideal of individual human achievement and the Judeo-Christian call to humility and holiness. Rather than reject the one and embrace the other, the West said yes to both. It occurs to me that besides being what makes the West so complex, saying yes to both is what makes us so easy to criticize. We don’t “make sense”; we don’t “add up” in a neat, seamless package.

As a Catholic I especially appreciate Shutt’s handling of Christianity and the Medieval thought which amalgamated the ideals of Jerusalem, Athens and Rome. Of course, as an academic he’s not about to advocate the Faith. These are lectures, not homilies. But he’s as enthusiastic about the Gospel of John as he is about the Aeneid. As when he speaks of the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans, he keeps the focus on Christian ideas and ideals “at their best”, without any of the standard cheap shots. And, unlike most expositors of the Classical past from Gibbon onward, Shutt doesn’t view the advent of Christianity as a regrettable occurrence, a timid retreat from the rational, sunlit glories that were. I will venture to say, out of my admittedly slender knowledge, that he oversimplifies Saint Augustine's problem with Pelagianism. But he’s right about the clash between faith and works (more of that “fruitful tension”). By outlining the intellectual and cultural resonances and dissonances that created the West, Professor Shutt provides a reliable roadmap to, as he suggests at the very end, our own further and deeper reading.

My first experience in Audible courses

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Covering a really broad swath of ancient history this is a great introduction to the societies that made us what we are today.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's a history course. Characters are too numerous to mention and it dwells more on societies than individuals

Any additional comments?

I like taking online courses and this was a great introduction to those areas of history that most interest me.

A breeze to listen to...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. Very well presented, concise, not boring at all.

What does the narrator bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It is presented in a simple style and natural way of talking, as if he traces the roots of western culture at a kitchen table.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Not to be ashamed of...

Any additional comments?

You do not need to be a history buff to appreciate the content of this audio book. The author does a great job and makes the subject-matter both interesting and easy to understand.

Good history book

Where does The Modern Scholar rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I enjoy listening to history, and this was a good one. I liked how it built on things I already knew, and added tons of detail that I'd never learned

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Modern Scholar?

I especially liked the section on Plato as I was trying to support my middle schooler with a project he was doing. I hadn't expected to hear information that was so useful.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

My son and I had listened to the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus novels, so I had recently listened to lots of fiction based on Greek and Roman mythology & history. It was great to listen to the real history.

Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans

T. Shutt's lecture style, for this series and others I have heard, makes hours on the bike or in the car enjoyable instead of tedious.

Very interesting

I enjoyed these lectures quite a bit and thought they shed interesting light on their subjects. Very worthwhile for me.

Good presentation

Thorough, listenable, smart. A little too much philosophy for my taste.
An impressive professor. Kudos.

Great, Thought Provokong Lectures

I've listened to five of the Modern Scholar series and enjoyed them all. This one was the best yet. Professor Shutt gives many insightful comments and analogies throughout. His style is comfortable and engaging -- never dull. Finally, he does an outstanding job of examining the consequences of whatever event he is discussing.
I have already downloaded more from this professor.

Wonderful!!

I liked this set of lectures with its very interesting topics presented by a very informative interesting and great storyteller lecturer!! I highly recommend this set!