What the Modern World Lost | Episode LXXX
01/01/25 • 70 min
Representative government, freedom of religion, the right to privacy - these are just some of the liberties of the modern world which we cherish. But at what cost? After the French Revolution and the subsequent rise and fall of Napoleon, the French classical liberal Benjamin Constant undertook an examination of ancient liberty as compared to modern liberty, in a bid to defend the modern liberal project against its detractors. But Constant is honest about the downsides of the modern liberal regime, and explains what rights and powers from the ancient world modern men can no longer exercise.
Benjamin Constant's The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns: https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/constant-the-liberty-of-ancients-compared-with-that-of-moderns-1819
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780141191751
Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780684827902
Herodotus' Histories: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781400031146
Stendhal's The Red and the Black: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780140447644
Julius Caesar's The Gallic War: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674990807
New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/
Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.
Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Representative government, freedom of religion, the right to privacy - these are just some of the liberties of the modern world which we cherish. But at what cost? After the French Revolution and the subsequent rise and fall of Napoleon, the French classical liberal Benjamin Constant undertook an examination of ancient liberty as compared to modern liberty, in a bid to defend the modern liberal project against its detractors. But Constant is honest about the downsides of the modern liberal regime, and explains what rights and powers from the ancient world modern men can no longer exercise.
Benjamin Constant's The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns: https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/constant-the-liberty-of-ancients-compared-with-that-of-moderns-1819
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780141191751
Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780684827902
Herodotus' Histories: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781400031146
Stendhal's The Red and the Black: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780140447644
Julius Caesar's The Gallic War: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674990807
New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/
Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.
Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Previous Episode
A Great Books Monastery | Episode LXXIX
When civilization is crashing down all around you, what do you do? Retreat to the hills, build a monastery, and preserve what you can. That is exactly what Cassiodorus did in the 6th century when he founded the Vivarium, an Italian monastery dedicated to copying, emending, and preserving the classics of Greek and Roman literature. In this episode, Jonathan and Ryan take a look at the proposed curriculum and list of great books and authors that Cassiodorus recommended for his students.
Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://amzn.to/3Q4lRnO
Rule of Saint Benedict: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780375700170
Athanasius' Life of Anthony: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780809122950
Virgil's Georgics: https://amzn.to/417pzFK
New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/
Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.
Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Next Episode
"The Church Is Like the Ancient Roman State" | Episode LXXXI
The Renaissance humanist Biondo Flavio dedicated his massive book Roma Triumphans, a historical investigation of what made Rome great, to his fellow humanist Pope Pius II. He contended that central to the story of Roman greatness was Roman religion, and that the Roman Catholic Church was the heir of the Roman Empire, correcting its faults even as it carried its legacy into the modern world. As James Hankins discusses in Virtue Politics, the main policy position that Biondo advocated for, in order for Europe to recapture the spirit of ancient Rome, was a renewal of the Crusades, so that the dominion of the Catholic Church could encompass the territory of the Roman Empire.
James Hankins' Virtue Politics: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674278738
New Humanists episode on Irving Babbitt, feat. Eric Adler: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/episodes/15574729-humanism-with-or-without-god-feat-eric-adler-episode-lxxiv
Biondo Flavio's Roma Triumphans: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780674055049
Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780300240023
New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/
Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.
Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
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