Teaser Tuesday – Republic

By on August 30, 2010 in Classics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week comes from Plato’s Republic page 5:

I replied:  There is nothing which my part I like better, Cephalus, than conversing with aged men:  for I regard them as travellers who have gone a journey which I too may have to go, and of whom I ought to inquire whether the way is smooth and easy or rugged and difficult.  And this is a question which I should like to ask of you, who have arrived at that time which the poets call the “threshold of old age:”  Is life harder toward the end, or what report do you give of it?

Please feel free to share yours in the comment section!

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  • http://www.rundpinne.com Jennifer

    Awesome book choice and I like your choice in teaser. My TT: http://www.rundpinne.com/2010/08/teaser-tuesdays-i-curse-the-river-of-time.html

    • beltwaybandit

      Thanks! It’s something that I can’t definitely breeze through like I did previously with Dracula. It has been keeping me on my toes!

  • http://bokunosekai.wordpress.com Novroz

    I like your teaser, the last sentence can make people start thinking seriously

    • beltwaybandit

      Most definitely! A page and a half so later is an even more intriguing question! Republic is definitely going to keep me thinking as I work my way through it. Sometimes I feel the need to read a book where I’m required to think.

  • http://thebookishsnob.blogspot.com thebookishsnob

    I’d like to have seen the response to his question. Thanks for sharing it was a great teaser.

    Mine is at http://thebookishsnob.blogspot.com

    • beltwaybandit

      The response wasn’t something that I was expecting because it leads right into another intriguing question! I’m sure it’s only the beginning of many! Thanks for stopping by!

  • http://readingadventures.blogspot.com Marg

    Wow! challenging read. Enjoy.

    My teaser this week is quite action packed. It’s from Frostbitten by Kelly Armstrong.

    • beltwaybandit

      So far it most definitely is! It definitely doesn’t read like I expected. I’m sure I’ll be posting many snippets from it over the course of the next several days!

  • http://thecrowdedleaf.wordpress.com Alayne

    Oh man I remember having to read this for class ages ago. Good luck! My teaser is at The Crowded Leaf.

    • beltwaybandit

      Funny, I was never required to read Plato’s Republic in high school, nor in any of my undergraduate coursework. Most of the reading I do now in the classics is stuff that I didn’t get a chance to read. Now it’s more enjoyable since it’s not for a grade!

  • http://www.laurelrainsnowcreations.com laurelrainsnow

    I like the idea of travellers on a journey who share their impressions of the road. The wisdom of age and all.

    Told by someone farther along on the journey! lol

    Here’s my teaser:

    http://rainysnowday.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/teaser-tuesdays-22/

    • beltwaybandit

      So far I’m finding, from reading the introduction in my version, and the first 15 pages, that Plato’s Republic is about sharing good knowledge with the masses. I hope the writing style continues throughout the book!

  • http://ceceliabedelia.blogspot.com celi.a

    I’d like to know the answer to that question! Nice teaser.

    If you’d like, you can check out mine here.

    • beltwaybandit

      Thanks! It seems that the first book in Plato’s Republic is just posing the questions and giving some very basic answers. I’m sure the rest of the book will fully delve into answering those questions in considerable depth.

  • http://homeofaimala.blogspot.com/ Amy

    What a great teaser! It’s a question worth asking as we go through life, and really listening to the answer. It’s awesome that you are reading this. I pick iy up in the store and consider reading it but always get intimidated.
    Thank you for the inspiration!

    Thank you!
    ~ Amy

    • beltwaybandit

      Thanks for stopping by, and you’re welcome! Try not to be intimidated by it. While I was reading the introduction I was wondering how intimidating the writing was going to be, then I got into the first 10-15 pages and found that there was nothing to be intimidated about. Hope you’re able to get into it!