April: Great Books in a Year
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| Date | Reading | Talk about it | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1 Day 91 | Elements, Book I, Euclid Read: Book I: Theory of Angles, Triangles, Parallel Lines, and · grades 8–12 Parent note: Propositions with proofs; best read with diagrams. | Which postulate and which axiom does Proposition 1 use, and where? | ☐ |
| April 2 Day 92 | Elements, Books I-VI, Euclid (part 1 of 2) Read: Opening to BOOK III. THEORY OF THE CIRCLE · grades 8–12 | In I.1, which postulate justifies drawing each circle, and which axiom proves the triangle equilateral? | ☐ |
| April 3 Day 93 | Elements, Books I-VI, Euclid (part 2 of 2) Read: BOOK IV. INSCRIPTION AND CIRCUMSCRIPTION OF TRIANGLES to BOOK XI. · grades 8–12 | Why might Euclid have delayed using this axiom for twenty-eight propositions? | ☐ |
| April 4 Day 94 | The Method (Geometrical Solutions Derived from Mechanics), Archimedes Read: Full Text · grades 11–12 Parent note: Geometric proofs; needs strong mathematics. Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Why does Archimedes say his mechanical argument indicates the result without proving it? | ☐ |
| April 5 Day 95 | Introduction to Arithmetic, Nicomachus of Gerasa Read: The summary, argument and lessons on the library page · grades 8–12 | Restate Nicomachus's fourfold division in your own words. Where would modern subjects such as statistics or physics fit? | ☐ |
| April 6 Day 96 | On the Nature of the Universe, Lucretius (part 1 of 2) Read: Book I to The Senses And Mental Pictures · grades 11–12 Parent note: materialist philosophy; best with guidance Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Does natural explanation comfort or chill? | ☐ |
| April 7 Day 97 | On the Nature of the Universe, Lucretius (part 2 of 2) Read: Some Vital Functions to The Plague Athens · grades 11–12 Parent note: materialist philosophy; best with guidance Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Is Lucretius fair to love? | ☐ |
| April 8 Day 98 | Discourses (selection) and Encheiridion, Epictetus (part 1 of 2) Read: Full Text to Full Text (part 2) · grades 9–12 | Why does Epictetus put the body on the list of things not in our power? | ☐ |
| April 9 Day 99 | Discourses (selection) and Encheiridion, Epictetus (part 2 of 2) Read: Full Text (part 3) to Full Text (part 4) · grades 9–12 | How does the example of Socrates support the claim about death? | ☐ |
| April 10 Day 100 | The Discourses, Epictetus (part 1 of 2) Read: Opening to Chapter 1. Of finery in dress · grades 10–12 | In I.1 Epictetus says the will cannot be fettered. What does he mean, and is it true of every kind of pressure? | ☐ |
| April 11 Day 101 | The Discourses, Epictetus (part 2 of 2) Read: Chapter 2 to Chapter 13. Against or to those who readily tell their own affairs · grades 10–12 | Why does Epictetus say a single outburst of anger is more than a single defeat? | ☐ |
| April 12 Day 102 | Meditations, Marcus Aurelius (part 1 of 2) Read: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus The Roman Emperor His First Book to The Eighth Book · grades 9–12 | Is it always possible to remove the judgment 'I have been harmed'? | ☐ |
| April 13 Day 103 | Meditations, Marcus Aurelius (part 2 of 2) Read: The Ninth Book to Glossary · grades 9–12 | What temptations of power does Marcus guard against? | ☐ |
| April 14 Day 104 | Enneads, Plotinus (part 1 of 2) Read: The Six Enneads to Fourth Tractate. · grades 11–12 Parent note: hard philosophy; best in excerpts Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Where does Enneads reward patient attention? | ☐ |
| April 15 Day 105 | Enneads, Plotinus (part 2 of 2) Read: Fifth Tractate. to The End. · grades 11–12 Parent note: hard philosophy; best in excerpts Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | What kind of disorder is most dangerous in Enneads? | ☐ |
| April 16 Day 106 | Eclogues and Georgics, Virgil Read: Full Text · grades 9–12 | How does Tityrus explain his good fortune? What does Meliboeus's reply suggest about it? | ☐ |
| April 17 Day 107 | The Aeneid, Virgil (part 1 of 2) Read: Book I to Book VII · grades 9–12 Parent note: war violence | Whose suffering does Roman destiny require? | ☐ |
| April 18 Day 108 | The Aeneid, Virgil (part 2 of 2) Read: Book VIII to Book XII · grades 9–12 Parent note: war violence | When is Aeneas most admirable? | ☐ |
| April 19 Day 109 | Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, Plutarch (part 1 of 3) Read: Theseus to Philopoemen · grades 9–12 | Why does Plutarch think a jest can reveal more than a battle? | ☐ |
| April 20 Day 110 | Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, Plutarch (part 2 of 3) Read: Flamininus to Caesar · grades 9–12 | Choose one Comparison. Do you agree with Plutarch’s verdict? | ☐ |
| April 21 Day 111 | Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, Plutarch (part 3 of 3) Read: Phocion to Otho · grades 9–12 | Which Life shows most clearly a gift undone by a passion? | ☐ |
| April 22 Day 112 | The Histories, Tacitus (part 1 of 2) Read: Opening to BOOK III. ANTONIUS' ADVANCE · grades 10–12 Parent note: Civil-war narrative with political violence; Fyfe translation. | Why does Tacitus call the army's discovery a secret of state? | ☐ |
| April 23 Day 113 | The Histories, Tacitus (part 2 of 2) Read: BOOK IV. ROME AFTER THE FALL OF VITELLIUS to BOOK V. THE CONQUEST OF JUDAEA · grades 10–12 Parent note: Civil-war narrative with political violence; Fyfe translation. | Which of the four emperors does Tacitus judge most harshly, and on what evidence? | ☐ |
| April 24 Day 114 | The Annals of Imperial Rome, Tacitus (part 1 of 2) Read: Contents Introduction to Book III · grades 11–12 Parent note: Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Where do characters speak in code? | ☐ |
| April 25 Day 115 | The Annals of Imperial Rome, Tacitus (part 2 of 2) Read: Book IV to Book VI · grades 11–12 Parent note: Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Which private relationships become political? | ☐ |
| April 26 Day 116 | Almagest, Claudius Ptolemy Read: The summary, argument and lessons on the library page · grades 11–12 Parent note: Summary and guide only; no text stored. Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Why does Ptolemy show that the eccentric and the epicycle give the same motion of the Sun? | ☐ |
| April 27 Day 117 | On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, Nicolaus Copernicus Read: The summary, argument and lessons on the library page · grades 11–12 Parent note: Summary and guide only; no text stored. Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | How does the motion of the earth explain why Mars sometimes appears to move backward against the stars? | ☐ |
| April 28 Day 118 | New Astronomy and The Harmony of the World, Johannes Kepler Read: The summary, argument and lessons on the library page · grades 11–12 Parent note: Summary and guide only; no text stored. Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | Why did Kepler trust Tycho's data over his own elegant model? | ☐ |
| April 29 Day 119 | Epitome of Copernican Astronomy, Johannes Kepler Read: The summary, argument and lessons on the library page · grades 11–12 Parent note: Needs plane geometry and ratios; Book V suits students who know conic sections. Recommended for grades 11–12; read it first or together. | What does the question-and-answer form allow Kepler to do that a continuous treatise would not? | ☐ |
| April 30 Day 120 | Confessions, Augustine of Hippo (part 1 of 2) Read: Book I to Book IX · grades 10–12 Parent note: demanding; best with guidance | Why does Augustine pray 'give me chastity, but not yet'? | ☐ |