/lit/ - Literature

>>13734026
> Simplicity in dress is what best befits a man. Theseus conquered Ariadne without troubling about the way his hair was done. Phædra fell in love with Hippolytus, who certainly was not a dandy. Adonis, a simple woodlander, was the idol of a goddess. Study to be clean, let your skin be tanned in the open air, wear well-cut clothes, and see there are no spots on them. Have a clean tongue, and let your teeth be free from tartar; and don't slop about in boots that are two or three sizes too big for you.
> Don't let your hair stick up in tufts on your head; see that your hair and your beard are decently trimmed. See also that your nails are clean and nicely filed; don't have any hair growing out of your nostrils; take care that your breath is sweet, and don't go about reeking like a billy-goat. All other toilet refinements leave to the women or to perverts.

Still works today

>>10588238
>>10588257
Can you explain the textual evidence behind:
>the whole point of machiavelli's princely training is to train the would be republican citizen to the continuities of political reality: that one may lie, cheat, steal, even use force and violence AS LONG AS these are done in the service of the common good.

specifically how Machiavelli says that these "immoral" actions are fine as long as they are done for the common good.

>>10537713


>>10537756
I understand that ultimately every author is influenced by the classics and have read plenty myself. My polisci friends (mostly in a international relations context) in the last two years have turned me onto a lot of the classics like Marcus Arelius, Plato, Machiavelli, and even Martin Luther, and I've been studying early Confucianism for a while and am familiar with those classics. But I'm sorely lacking in contemporary lit.

Ultimately my current interest falls in how contemporary lit shapes our society. Even 'trash' like 50 shades of grey has a big impact on culture and sexuality, Capital in the 21st Century impacting the layman's idea of capital, or Fire and Fury describing the trump residency, its power structure and the influences on the people that surround him (and the discussion if the book is even mostly true). I'm having a hard time finding journals or academic studies about contemporary lit influencing the public sphere so if anyone could point me to something it'd be appreciated.

>>10537755
>>10537755
Thanks for the insight anons, didn't think about drawing patterns in something like book covers. Looks like I'll have to be more bold, take risks, and jump into some stuff that normally I would be unfamiliar with or not be interested in. Any particular awards or author classifications you'd recommend?