Isn’t it better to have no possessions at all than to have millions of them and then lose them? According to ancient Cynic philosophy: Absolutely Yes! I’ve been discussing how this view comes to be embodied in Lucian’ of Samosata’s humorous dialogue Downward Journey, about a rich tyrant who abused his power and wealth and then ended up completely miserable in the afterlife. I begin here with the paragraph that ended the last post, to provide a bit of context for the humorous passage that follows. (All this is taken from my book Journeys to Heaven and Hell, with Yale University Press, due out in April) Read by Petra Ortiz
Early in his academic career, Bart learned that few subjects are inherently interesting but must be made interesting. Read by John Paul Middlesworth
In his second-most-commented-on post, Bart reflects on the significance of Easter, historically. Read by Brandon M. Bender
Bart previews the topics of several of his lectures in his new course on www.bartehrmanblog.com. Read by John Paul Middlesworth