/lit/ - Literature

>With us, moreover, people combine an interest in public and private matters, and those who are more involved in business are still well enough aware of political issues. In fact we alone regard the person who fails to participate in public affairs not just as harmless but as positively useless; and we are all personally involved either in actual political decisions or in deliberation about them, in the belief that it is not words which thwart effective action but rather the failure to inform action with discussion in advance. Indeed, in this too we are distinguished from others. We bring to our ventures a very high degree of both daring and analysis, whereas for others their boldness comes from ignorance and analysis means paralysis. The bravest spirits are rightly judged to be those who see clearly just what perils and pleasures await them but do not on that account flinch from the danger.

>>17490415
(((Their))) endgame is no less than the complete destruction and degradation of Western Civilization.
We must stop (((them))) before it's too late (I pray it's not too late already)!

Any good charts or lists?

Hey /lit/,
I'm trying to get better at writing papers on political philosophy. I'm an undergrad at a pretty rigorous school. My professor is a really bright guy who has plenty of work published. For whatever reason, he doesn't want us to use secondary sources to answer his essay questions, which leaves me scratching my head as to how I can improve my paper. Undergrad papers are usually a breeze for me, but this is the sort of guy who has an average grade of C+ for his papers.
Any tips would be appreciated.
I'm writing on Pericles' Funeral Oration

Which translation is best?

>Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.

>Let me say that our system of government does not copy the institutions of our neighbors. It is more the case of our being a model to others, than of our imitating anyone else. Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility, what counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses. No one, so long as he has it in him to be of service to the state, is kept in political obscurity because of poverty.

>We have a form of government that does not emulate the practices of our neighbors, setting an example rather than imitating others. In name it is called a democracy on account of being administered in the interest not of the few but the many, yet even though there are equal rights for all in private disputes in accordance with the laws, wherever each man has earned recognition he is singled out for public service in accordance with the claims of distinction, not by rotation but by merit, nor when it comes to poverty, if a man has real ability to benefit the city, is he prevented by obscure renown.

Oration thread: Give me your favourite speeches and points on public speaking.

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/education/thucydides.html