Wisdom of Ancient Greece: Thinking and Debating

Author: Wang Yubei (compiler), Wei Erqiao (illustrator)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Ancient Greek wisdom is scattered throughout the vast body of literature. Over ten years, more than 2,000 entries have been collected, and now over 100 of the most important ones are compiled here. These entries, in terms of form, are either single sentences, dialogues, or passages; in terms of content, they are either proverbs, witty sayings, or stories reflecting a particular philosophy. Ancient Greek wisdom is profound and extensive. To make it accessible to both the learned and the general public, the compiler has provided two types of annotations: textual and pictorial. The textual annotations neither adopt the approach of "annotating the classics with my notes" nor "annotating my notes with the classics," but rather "the classics contain me, and I am contained within the classics." The purpose is to make the original text and annotations complement and enhance each other. The choice of text paired with the right illustrations is crucial. A perfect combination of text and illustration should be mutually supportive. Therefore, Erqiao has adopted single-panel cartoons, pairing each segment of the original text and annotations with an illustration. To give the illustrations an ancient yet light and lively charm, Erqiao has drawn inspiration from the depictions of wise figures in ancient Greek vase paintings, adding some "foreign language"—Latin mixed with Greek letters—to the scenes. This is done, on the one hand, to meet the needs of composition, and on the other, to make the illustrations more cosmopolitan. These illustrations are all Erqiao's meticulous creations, both in content and form, truly "unique and fresh." Whether it is textual annotations or pictorial annotations, they are all intended to spread wisdom to more people's hearts, to make reading enjoyable and beneficial. This book, in a richly illustrated format, collects over 500 entries of Ancient Greek wisdom scattered throughout the vast body of literature. This volume includes three parts: the wisdom of asceticism, the wisdom of happiness, and the wisdom of tranquility.