Classic Texts Never To Be Left Unread

Although some of you are doing everything possible to prove me wrong, I stand by my premise that you can’t read all the Great Books. There just isn’t enough time even for the most dedicated bibliophile. You must make discerning choices about what literary wells you drink from. However, in A Students Guided to Liberal Learning James V. Schall recommends the following titles as “classic texts never to be left unread.”

1) Gorgias, by Plato

2) Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle

3) Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius

4) The Confessions, by Augustine

5) Reflections on the Revolution in France, by Edmund Burke

6) The Republic, by Plato

7) The City of God, by Augustine

The Summa Theologiae, by Thomas Aquinas

What classic texts would you add to his list?

__________

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• Lord Acton’s List of 100 Best Books
• New St. Andrew’s College Reading List

Philosophers and Death

No man escapes death, yet most spend their entire life running from even the idea of it. In A Students Guided to Liberal Learning James V. Schall recommends these five classic texts on philosophy, good men, and death;

1) The Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, by Plato

2) The account of the death of Christ in the Gospel of John (chapters 13-21)

3) On Duties, by Cicero (especially Part III which was written just before he was executed)

4) The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius

5) Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt

What texts would you add to his list?

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas has a tremendous influence on the theology of both Catholics and Protestants.  How much do you know of him?  In  A Students Guided to Liberal Learning James V. Schall recommends the following five books on Thomas Aquinas;

1) St. Thomas Aquinas, by Ralph McInerny

2) Guide to St. Thomas Aquinas, by Josef Pieper

3) Friar Thomas D’Aquino, by James Weisheipl

4) St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox, by G.K. Chesterton

5) The Thought of Thomas Aquinas, by Brian Davies

What do you think of his recommendations?

Laughter and Metaphysics

In A Students Guided to Liberal Learning James V. Schall writes, “Aristotle said that , because both depend on seeing relations, the ability to laugh is very close to metaphysics.”  Thus, he recommends the following three books of humor;

1) The Wodehouse Clergy (P.G. Wodehouse)

2) My Life and Hard Times (James Thurber)

3) The Pocket Book of Ogden Nash (Ogden Nash)

Worship

Grace Baptist Church of Cape Coral, Florida (pastored by Tom Ascol) shares on its website the following list of recommended books on Worship.

• Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God by Bob Kauflin
• Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship by David Peterson
• Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation by Allen Ross
• Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship by Phil Ryken, Derek Thomas, and Ligon Duncan (eds.)
• Worship: The Regulative Principle and the Biblical Practice of Accommodation by Ernest Reisinger and Matt Allen
• The Art of Worship: A Musician’s Guide to Leading Modern Worship by Greg Scheer
• Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts by Harold Best
• Gospel Worship by Jeremiah Burroughs
• We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry by G.K. Beal
• Worship by the Book by D.A. Carson
• Exploring the Worship Spectrum by Paul Engle and Paul Basden (eds.)

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