tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post8018815743391878355..comments2023-05-02T23:19:12.706+10:00Comments on Armarium Magnum: The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles FreemanTim O'Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-25974746319213981922014-01-28T15:13:13.458+11:002014-01-28T15:13:13.458+11:00One factor that as far as I can tell that's be...One factor that as far as I can tell that's been glanced is the status of women. <br /><br />Regine Pernoud wrote on the status of women in the Roman Empire. The book opens with a discussion of how women had virtually no legal status in pagan Rome, with girl babies being routinely murdered at birth. (p.19) Daughters were rarely given a first name but usually were called by a feminine form of Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09171580973957333599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-84985581722266409032011-05-26T10:38:02.049+10:002011-05-26T10:38:02.049+10:00If I do recall he did in 54 AD , thus making that ...If I do recall he did in 54 AD , thus making that five years ago :)Kristoferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16868744299989172597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-22024222962612629462011-05-24T15:50:57.319+10:002011-05-24T15:50:57.319+10:00Don't you mean 49 AD?
Ooops - yes. It would ...<i>Don't you mean 49 AD?</i><br /><br />Ooops - yes. It would have been hard for him to do anything much in 59 AD, considering he died four years earlier.Tim O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-63833891169509065272011-05-24T15:24:25.714+10:002011-05-24T15:24:25.714+10:00Don't you mean 49 AD?Don't you mean 49 AD?Kristoferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16868744299989172597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-38988739387309826932010-01-26T10:53:17.465+11:002010-01-26T10:53:17.465+11:00Mamiel writes:
I was unaware that there was outri...Mamiel writes:<br /><br /><i>I was unaware that there was outright persecution of Judaism under pagan Roman rule that was similar to say, the pogroms that occurred when Christianity became the state religion of Rome.</i><br /><br />Roman anti-Semitism flared into occasional pogroms, especially in cities with high Jewish populations such as Alexandria, where thousands were massacred in a pogrom inTim O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-57578216414030000272010-01-26T09:41:03.286+11:002010-01-26T09:41:03.286+11:00<<<>>>>>>>>
Coul...<<<>>>>>>>><br /><br />Could you please cite some examples of this? I understand the Romans suffered from a certain cultural chauvinism which lead them to believe their culture and religion was superior to others, I was unaware that there was outright persecution of Judaism under pagan Roman rule that was similar to say, the pogroms that occurred when ChristianityEllen Catalina, LCSWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05370543572803320295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-67610612742298835622010-01-24T07:02:26.634+11:002010-01-24T07:02:26.634+11:00I just came across this excellent review.
One thi...I just came across this excellent review.<br /><br />One thing Mr. Freeman might like to correct: Richard H. Schlagel is a philosopher, not a historian of science. And it is not at all surprising that he would like this book. His latest book is published by Prometheus Press. Look him up on Amazon. 'Nuff said.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01218661718228745361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-32658088030361056822009-07-02T19:14:31.133+10:002009-07-02T19:14:31.133+10:00From Charles Freeman
Dear Tim, I have been put ont...From Charles Freeman<br />Dear Tim, I have been put onto your review through the grapevine. I won’t reply to it first because Closing came out in 2002, and was written in the two years before that so it is based on material mostly ten or more years old. I have written four more books since then. Secondly much of my thinking now will be in my Yale book on early Christianity - to 600 - which comesCharles Freemannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-2877624279233207202009-07-02T01:18:52.048+10:002009-07-02T01:18:52.048+10:00Thanks ,Tim, for the info on professional historia...Thanks ,Tim, for the info on professional historians. I read somewhere that university publishers only take one per cent of the projects submitted to them , so I am not sure how people like Freeman get away with it. I will be interested to hear from The Swain or anyone else who knows of him and how he manages to keep going in such a competitive field. Surely university presses can't be quite Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-73733794347098191142009-07-01T23:23:52.392+10:002009-07-01T23:23:52.392+10:00Hi Tim, great review as always:
‘And none of the ...Hi Tim, great review as always:<br /><br />‘And none of the reviews I've been able to find are by "historians of science".’<br /><br />It isn’t a review I’m afraid, but in the latest edition of David Lindburg’s ‘The Beginnings of Western Science’ he does mention ‘The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason’. Having described the efforts of Dickson White and others to depict the Humphreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11936974517695558399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-52410876562395871572009-07-01T19:05:43.487+10:002009-07-01T19:05:43.487+10:00Not sure, Tim, what you mean about him being an am...<i>Not sure, Tim, what you mean about him being an amateur - presumably he makes some sort of money from history or do you mean that he is not a trained historian or not respected by academic historians.</i><br /><br />I mean that he's not a professional historian - ie someone with a teaching and/or research position at an accredited university. There's nothing wrong with being an Tim O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-65687568973408109592009-07-01T17:39:06.046+10:002009-07-01T17:39:06.046+10:00Interesting and thorough review, Tim. Can't se...Interesting and thorough review, Tim. Can't see myself working through the book from this review. Good to hear something about Freeman from The Swain- he crops up from time to time in blogs ,etc, but it is hard to find out much about him- someone once told me that there were two Charles Freemans, both historians , one writing on twentieth century subjects and this one on the ancient world soAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-84051588348540699952009-07-01T14:49:45.716+10:002009-07-01T14:49:45.716+10:00Well done and well argued. I have the same impres...Well done and well argued. I have the same impressions, this was a book written from an a priori position and easily proven wrong not just in its central thesis, but many of the details throughout. I can only say, well said!<br /><br />Freeman is an interesting chap. While "an amateur" which is true, he is intelligent and a good writer over all. He's written widely on historicaltheswainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05919025515524894537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-88113694683461256112009-06-30T20:19:34.226+10:002009-06-30T20:19:34.226+10:00you seem unaware of the vast amount of material on...<i>you seem unaware of the vast amount of material on the revival of Greek intellectual life in the second century, underpinned by the massive extensions of city building programmes in the east.</i><br /><br />I'm not sure what "city building programmes" have to do with the pursuit of science, but I'm unaware of any "revival" of Greek science in this period. As I noteTim O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-27992124973672463072009-06-30T19:28:29.846+10:002009-06-30T19:28:29.846+10:00It is some years since I read The Closing of the W...It is some years since I read The Closing of the Western Mind and although i found this review interesting ( and it seems remarkable that this book is still making waves), you seem unaware of the vast amount of material on the revival of Greek intellectual life in the second century, underpinned by the massive extensions of city building programmes in the east. I agree with you that there were Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-19332044648754262662009-06-29T17:34:31.384+10:002009-06-29T17:34:31.384+10:00A fine, thorough and well-argued review. If only a...A fine, thorough and well-argued review. If only a tenth of the reviews on places like amazon.com could be as thorough...it would mean one could actually trust their star ratings.Kaptajn Congoboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00096496363498080615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-24460003824526857992009-06-28T22:56:49.434+10:002009-06-28T22:56:49.434+10:00Ouch, talk about unmasking OZ!
I wonder how long...Ouch, talk about unmasking OZ!<br /><br /> I wonder how long it will take<br />Freeman to find and subsequently throw a temper tantrum about this review?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com