The Harvard Classics, vol. 2: Plato, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius

by Charles William Eliot; Plato; Epictetus; Marcus Aurelius

Publisher:

P. F. Collier & Son

, 1917

The Harvard Classics

Journey through the classics on “Dr. Eliot’s Five Foot Shelf.” This massive collection, designed to provide the elements of a liberal education, was compiled by distinguished Harvard University president Charles Eliot in the early 1900s. Packed with the essential works of the Western classical tradition, the Harvard Classics collection remains one of the most comprehensive and well-researched anthologies of all time—a must-have library for students and lovers of the classics.

Harvard Classics, vol. 2

In the second volume of the Harvard Classics you’ll find works of Greek philosophers Plato and Epictetus, and of the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius.

Explore three of Plato’s dialogues: Apology, Phaedo, and Crito, which epitomize the Socratic question-and-answer style as they detail the last days of Socrates. Find The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, transcribed by the disciples of the great Stoic. Additionally, this volume includes the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, in which the great Roman Emperor hands down day-to-day principles on which he ruled for the welfare of the people.

Key Features

• Second volume of the prominent Harvard Classics collection
• Five important works by Plato, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius

Contents

• Plato’s Apology, Phaedo, and Crito
• The Golden Sayings of Epictetus
• Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations

Top Highlights

“Tell the judges, then, who is their improver; for you must know, as you have taken the pains to discover their corrupter, and are citing and accusing me before them.” (Pages 10–11)

“how you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was, such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth.” (Page 3)

“Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is—for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows. I neither know nor think that I know.” (Pages 7–8)

“The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death.” (Page 26)

“If a man could be thoroughly penetrated, as he ought, with this thought, that we are all in an especial manner sprung from God, and that God is the Father of men as well as of Gods, full surely he would never conceive aught ignoble or base of himself.” (Page 120)

Product Details

• Title: The Harvard Classics, vol. 2: Plato, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius
• Authors: Plato, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius
• Editor: Charles William Eliot
• Series: The Harvard Classics
• Publisher: P. F. Collier & Son
• Pages: 355

About Charles W. Eliot

Charles William Eliot (1834–1926) served as president of Harvard University for 40 years, helping to shape the struggling provincial college into a premier American research university. Eliot graduated from Harvard in 1853, and was appointed tutor in mathematics in 1854, before becoming assistant professor of mathematics and chemistry. Eliot left Harvard in 1863 and traveled in Europe for nearly two years, studying the educational systems of the Old World. He took an interest in every aspect of institutional operation, from curriculum and methods of instruction through physical arrangements and custodial services. But his particular concern was with the relation between education and economic growth.

Returning home in 1865, Eliot accepted an appointment as professor of analytical chemistry at the newly-founded Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1869, he published a two-part article with his ideas about reforming American higher education in The Atlantic Monthly—ideas which caught the attention of businessmen at Harvard, which was currently embroiled in a crisis of short-term presidents and languishing curriculum. Eliot was quickly elected as the youngest president in Harvard’s history. Under his leadership, Harvard began to expand the range of courses offered, permitting undergraduates with unrestricted choice in selecting their courses of study. This enabled them to discover their “natural bents” and pursue them into specialized studies. The university soon became a center for advanced scientific and technological research. During his presidency, the university extended its facilities with laboratories, libraries, classrooms, and athletic facilities. Eliot was able to attract the support of major donors from among the nation’s growing plutocracy, making it the wealthiest private university in the world.