Rejoice and Tremble
January 27, 2023
This book tackles the confusing lexicon of the Bible around the term(s) “fear the Lord.” It dives into the differences in today’s view of fear and the biblical definition of fear and how they differ. If you’re
Author
James M. May is a classics professor, he translated and wrote the brief intros to all the different speeches from Cicero.
The more important author you probably care about is Marcus Tullius Cicero. Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, philosopher, and political theorist from the 1st century BC. He is widely considered one of the greatest orators and prose stylists of all time, and is remembered especially for his influential writings on politics and philosophy. He is also credited for popularizing the Latin language, developing it into a versatile tool for communication, and is the originator of many Latin phrases still used in modern day.
Main points
- Practice what you’re going to say. You might be gifted, but people who practice will usually do a better job.
- Don’t rely too much on one type of rhetoric. Having a full repertoire of skills and processes will serve you best. When you rely too much on one type of speech, you won’t be effective. A little sugar is good, too much will ruin it.
- Speaking your language correctly is a powerful tool. That skill alone is one of the most important. If you can’t speak or write your ideas clearly, you won’t do a good job.
What I liked
I enjoyed how the book was organized. The author went to a lot of effort to organize part of Cicero’s writings so they were organized and easy to follow. I liked how he grouped certain writings together and how he gave an introduction to about all of them and how they fit into “How to Win an Argument.”
What I disliked
I feel like I would have enjoyed just reading Cicero’s works. It was very choppy. The author did a great job organizing the book, but I would have just focused on the translating into modern english and leave your commentary out of the book. Or write a book about how to win an argument and just reference Cicero (and others) instead of this Frankenstein book where it’s half Cicero and half random professor.
Recommendation
If it wasn’t so short, I’d say no. But half the book is the original Latin text, which admittedly is pretty interesting. (I wish I could read Latin.) So you’re only reading 140 pages. If it was any longer, I’d say pass.
Buy it
This book is at all major book stores in the US. Use your good computer know how and find it at one of those book stores.