Ancient Rome, Biblical, and Philosophical Concepts for Study

Patrician

A member of the aristocratic families in ancient Rome. Patricians held most of the political power during the early Republic.

Verism

A style in Roman sculpture characterized by extreme realism, often highlighting the wrinkles and imperfections of age to convey wisdom and experience.

Pietas

A key Roman virtue meaning duty, loyalty, and devotion to the gods, family, and country.

Epicureanism

A Hellenistic philosophy founded by Epicurus. It taught that pleasure (understood as the absence of pain and fear) was the highest good, achieved through simple living and intellectual contemplation.

Stoicism

A philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium. It emphasized rationality, self-control, and virtue as the path to true happiness, accepting fate as determined by nature or divine reason (logos).

Triumphal arches

Monumental structures built in ancient Rome to commemorate military victories or other significant events. They often featured detailed relief sculptures.

Evangelists

The authors of the four canonical Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They spread the 'good news' of Jesus Christ.

Synoptic

Refers to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which share a similar structure and content and are often studied together due to their common perspective.

Parable

A simple, metaphorical story used by Jesus in the Gospels to teach moral or spiritual lessons.

Typology

A method of biblical interpretation where events, persons, or statements in the Old Testament are seen as prefiguring or symbolically foreshadowing New Testament events.

Vulgate

The Latin translation of the Bible completed by St. Jerome in the late 4th century. It became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church.

Muhammad

The founder of Islam, regarded by Muslims as the final prophet. He received revelations from Allah (God), which were later compiled into the Qur'an.

Qur'an

The holy book of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the literal word of God as revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel.

Hadith

A collection of sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. Hadiths supplement the Qur'an and guide Islamic practice and law.

Sufism

A mystical branch of Islam emphasizing personal experience of the divine, often through rituals, poetry (like that of Rumi), and spiritual discipline.

Cicero, On Duty

Theme: Moral duty, justice, civic responsibility. 'The whole glory of virtue resides in activity.' - Emphasizes that virtue is not just about knowing what's right, but acting on it, especially in public service.

Virgil, Aeneid, Book 4

Theme: Duty vs. desire, fate, sacrifice. 'I sail for Italy not of my own free will.' - Spoken by Aeneas; shows how he is compelled by fate and duty to fulfill his destiny, even at the cost of personal happiness.

Bible, Matthew 6:25-33

Theme: Trust in God, spiritual over material concerns. 'Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink... Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?' - Encourages faith in divine care rather than anxiety over material needs.

Augustine, City of God

Theme: Eternal vs. earthly values, Christian worldview. 'Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self.' - Defines the central contrast between the City of Man and the City of God, rooted in opposing priorities.

Tale of the Fisherman and the Genie

Theme: Wisdom, justice, storytelling as moral instruction. 'Spare me, so that God may spare you; destroy me, so that God may destroy you.' - The fisherman's clever moral appeal to the genie, using religious language to argue for mercy.