One measure, perhaps, of a book's worth, is its intergenerational pliancy: do new readers acquire it and interpret it afresh down through the ages? The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, translated and introduced by Gregory Hays, by that standard, is very worthwhile, indeed. Hays suggests that its most recent incarnation--as a self-help book--is not only valid, but may be close to the author's intent. The book, which Hays calls, fondly, a "haphazard set of notes," is indicative of the role of philosophy among the ancients in that it is "expected to provide a 'design for living.'" And it does, both aphoristically ("Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly.") and rhetorically ("What is it in ourselves that we should prize?"). Whether these, and other entries ("Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life.") sound life-changing or like entries in a teenager's diary is up to the individual reader, as it should be. Hays's introduction, which sketches the life of Marcus Aurelius (emperor of Rome A.D. 161-180) as well as the basic tenets of stoicism, is accessible and jaunty. --H. O'Billovich --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. ?The emperor Marcus Aurelius, the proverbial philosopher-king, produced in Greek a Roman manual of piety, the Meditations, whose impact has been felt for ages since. Here, for our age, is his great work presented in its entirety, strongly introduced and freshly, elegantly translated by Gregory Hays for the Modern Library.? ?Robert Fagles -- Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 'He has provided Farquharson's text with a lucid introduction, a select bibliography and light but helpful annotation. His selection of letters brings both Fronto and Marcus pleasingly to life.' Times Literary Supplement --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Pliny's "Natural History" is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Mingling acute observation with often wild speculation, it offers a fascinating view of the world as it was understood in the first century AD, whether describing the danger of diving for sponges, the first water-clock, or the use of asses' milk to remove wrinkles. Pliny himself died while investigating the volcanic eruption that destroyed Pompeii in AD 79, and the natural curiosity that brought about his death is also very much evident in the "Natural History" - a book that proved highly influential right up until the Renaissance and that his nephew, Pliny the younger, described 'as full of variety as nature itself'.

A masterpiece of Western culture, this is the first attempt to link all the Greek myths in a cohesive whole to the Roman myths of Ovid's day. Horace Gregory, in this modern translation, turns his own poetic gifts toward a deft reconstruction of Ovid's ancient themes.

这部书从奥古斯都立为皇帝，将罗马共和国变为罗马帝国写起，直到东罗马帝国灭亡以后，还写了罗马的政变，到教皇重新控制罗马。延续近乎1500年，包括了基督教和伊斯兰教如何兴起，以及罗马帝国周边国家对罗马的影响，有波斯、阿拉伯、匈牙利、保加利亚、俄罗斯、蒙古等国家的简短历史，甚至还提到了长城和汉武帝对匈奴的战争以及北匈奴的西迁，忽必烈的舰队对日本不成功的入侵。整部著作气势恢弘，是一部堪称巨著的作品。 全书被分成好几卷，本书为其中的第二卷。 全六卷本简体中文版《罗马帝国衰亡史》，上下纵横一千三百年。全书涵盖三大特点：一是罗马帝国的政治经济、军事文化与社会生活，帝国扩张与防卫、内部元老院和皇帝的权力拔河，二是蛮族入侵与其间之重大战争，三是基督教的发展，政教之争，回教兴起和十字军东征等。《罗马帝国衰亡史》出版后传颂百年迄今不衰，其文学光彩与史学成就同样为后人称颂。

当今大学、中学、小学的三级教育建制和班级制度，从根本上来说发源于古罗马，而古罗马的教育则通过接续和改造古希腊的教育理念和形式而来。 古罗马的文教理念和形式基本上由两个人奠定：共和制晚期的西塞罗和帝国初期的昆体良。 通识教育的目的并非把一种专家的知识细节给予每个学生，而是使学生掌握这类一般的原则，以便有助于学生日后恰当地使用已获得的知识。正如西塞罗在《论演说家》中所说的：成为任何一种“艺”的分支方面的专家是一回事，清楚地懂得生活的一般目的是另一回事。 《古罗马的教育——从西塞罗到昆体良》是一部讲述古罗马的文教理念和形式的著作。古罗马的文教理念和形式基本上由两个人奠定：共和制晚期的西塞罗和帝国初期的昆体良，因而，本书副标题就是“从西塞罗到昆体良”。同时，作者对西塞罗之前的早期罗马的传统和新希腊—罗马的文教亦有颇为精审的描述。 当今学校的三级教育建制和班级制度，从根本上来说发源于古罗马。葛怀恩（Aubrey Gwynn）这本《古罗马的教育》为我们窥察古罗马文教的历史发展提供了方便之门，有利于我们熟悉西方的古典文教理念和形式。 《古罗马的教育》全书章节划分颇详，行文简要却面面俱到。全书大致按时间顺序论述，分为四个部分：西塞罗之前的罗马文教状况、西塞罗的“人文”教育理念、西塞罗之后至昆体良之前的新变化、昆体良的古典文教理念。

本书收入了巴西尔的两部力著及其部分书信。巴西尔的《创世六日》是传世名著，包含了他就《创世记》第一章宇宙起源所发表的九篇讲道。巴西尔以字义解经为主，间或采用寓意解释，对创世故事的各个不同部分加以注释，揭示出整个创世都是造物主上帝的作为，万物都在上帝之爱的引领下走向各自的目标。此书很像一本可供读者沉思上帝对宇宙计划的灵修著作，而布道文的文体，使得书中的文字显得非常通俗易懂，而且字里行间也流露着巴西尔澎湃的激情。 其中所收录的另一部重要著作是《论圣灵》，此作品引用大量的经文论证圣灵具有完全的神性，其与圣父、圣子是同一位上帝。并阐明三者在权柄、职分和恩赐上是合一的，而且三者彼此同质，彼此共契。这部作品属于基督教神学关于圣灵论的开创之作，在当时反对阿里乌主义的斗争中起到了重要的作用，对后世也有极其深远的影响。阅读此作品，可以使我们对三一上帝有更全面、清晰的认识，并坚定我们对三一位格的认信，抵挡新时代里的阿里乌主义异端。