Mostrando resultados por narrador "Andrea Giordani" en Todas las categorías

Caligula’s father was a beloved military leader, so the Romans were initially glad to see his son take the throne, but Suetonius recounts the less flattering aspects of Caligula’s life and rule that followed his ascension. The narcissistic Caligula believed he was a god, and often replaced the busts of deities with his own. A devoted fan of gladiator fights, he also often had people assassinated, covered up the deed, and then claimed the deceased had committed suicide. Suetonius concludes this biography by detailing the omens that foreshadowed Caligula’s eventual assassination.

Diogenes Laërtius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. His work Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek philosophy. Book I includes, among others, Thales, Solon, Chilon of Sparta, Pittacus of Mytilene, and Epimenides.

The deaconess Olympias, to whom 17 of Chrysostom's extant letters are addressed, was born about 368 to a pagan family of high rank. After the death of her father Seleucus, she was brought up under the guardianship of her uncle Procopius who was a devout Christian.

In contrast to some of the other, bloodier names listed in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, Demosthenes was a great orator and politician. The Life of Demosthenes starts out uniquely, detailing Demosthenes’ commitment to his study - one so fierce that he built an underground study room and shaved half his head so he wouldn’t go outside. All this was to take his guardians to court for not allowing him to take gymnastics, but his education went on to help him in the end. Going on to write speeches for the greatest politicians, Demosthenes made his mark on Ancient Greece through his craft.

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.

In this chapter from Lynn Thorndike's The History of Medieval Europe, gradually there grew up in the medieval West a native merchant class who devoted most of their time to buying and selling. They found it advisable to band together for mutual support and protection; in the towns a merchant guild arose as a sort of medieval chamber of commerce. A guild consisted of apprentices, journeymen, and master-workmen.

In The Life of Cicero, Plutarch details the priceless contributions Cicero made to Roman society. He translated the works of Greek philosophers into Latin, gained acclaim as an orator and lawyer, and was elected to office. Politics ultimately got the better of him, however, and his life ended in assassination while in exile. Cicero’s ideas live on through his body of work, but to learn about the man himself, Plutarch’s biography is an excellent starting point.

One of the many documented lives in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives series, The Life of Coriolanus looks into the controversial life of one of Rome’s most famous generals. When the town of Corioli was under siege, Coriolanus gathered a group of men together to fight for freedom. Always loyal to his town, he advocated during the Roman grain shortage that any grain stocks be divvied out based on loyalty. Because of his harsh views, he was eventually exiled - but he never stopped fighting for what he believed to be right.

This tale follows eight individuals all searching for the Great Carbuncle, a legendary red gemstone. These wildly disparate individuals camp together one night in the White Mountains, united by their shared desire for the stone. Each wants it for a different reason, though: fulfilment, knowledge, wealth, skepticism, inspiration, posterity, utility. The next morning, they all part ways to continue their quest, but who will be the first to the stone?

This letter of St. John Chrysostom to the Bishop of Rome, deals with Theophilus, the leader of the Church in Alexandria. Theophilus had been commanded to go to Constantinople, to answer to the Emperor for accusations against him. He arrived bringing with him a multitude of Egyptian Bishops, showing from the outset that he came for war and antagonism, argues Chrysostom.

Villette (1853), was Charlotte Brontë's third novel and the last published during her lifetime. After an unspecified family catastrophe, the main character, Lucy Snowe, travels to Belgium to teach in a boarding school in the fictional town of Villette. She falls in love with a man she cannot marry, which triggers a nervous breakdown. Ultimately, a new, strong Lucy emerges who becomes the owner and head of her own school.

The Cherry Orchard (1903) is the final play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It is considered as one of four outstanding plays by Chekhov, along with The Seagull, Three Sisters, and Uncle Vanya. The narrative recounts an aristocratic landowner who returns to her family estate just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. It dramatizes the socio-economic developments in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom and the waning power of the aristocracy.

The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neill is a play in eight scenes, published in 1921. It chronicles the fall of Brutus Jones, who has escaped from prison and exchanged the US for an unnamed Caribbean island. With the aid of Henry Smithers, a Cockney adventurer, Jones persuades the illiterate, uneducated and superstitious islanders that he’s a powerful magician, whereupon they crown him emperor. As his secret foreign bank account grows, Jones abuses and exploits his subjects.

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....

John Chrysostom’s letters to his childhood friend Theodore who had fallen for a young woman after agreeing to live a life of asceticism. John explains to Theodore that he has covenanted with a Heavenly Bridegroom and that to marry Hermione would be adultery. John compares the destruction of the soul of Theodore to the destruction of the Temple of Israel.

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) was a famous French poet. His most celebrated work is The Flowers of Evil, a collection of lyrical poetry.

In this classic devotional book, St. Francis de Sales shows the average believer how to become closer to God. St. Francis avoids the extremes that might lead to imbalance; his purpose is to arouse in the listener a complete love of, and trust in God. This life of devotion is open to everyone. The book is easy to understand, explaining in simple terms how to expand one’s spiritual life, with examples from scripture and from a variety of other sources. It covers topics such as creation, cleansing the soul, confession, sin, death, judgment and paradise.

Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, Book VI is devoted to the Cynics, like Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope, Monimus, Onesicritus, Crates of Thebes, Metrocles, and Hipparchia of Maroneia.

First published in 1918, My Antonia is the final book of Willa Cather’s "prairie trilogy" of novels, preceded by O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark. This is a coming-of-age story about the orphaned boy Jim Burden growing up on his grandparents' farm in Nebraska and his lifelong friendship with Ántonia Shimerda, the eldest daughter of an immigrant family from Bohemia.

Publius Valerius Publicola, the subject of Plutarch’s The Life of Publicola, is one of the most influential Roman figures to be written about in the author’s Parallel Lives series. Originally from Sabine, Publicola made his life in Rome with the intent to support the unification of Rome’s people. However, when the revolution happened, he and four others drove out Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and reformed the state. His political presence only grew, and by the time of his death, he was one of the most beloved Roman politicians in the land.