{"product_id":"theophrastus-characters-an-ancient-take-on-bad-behavior-hardcover","title":"Theophrastus' Characters: An Ancient Take on Bad Behavior - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames Romm\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003ePamela Mensch\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eAndre' Carrilho\u003c\/b\u003e (Illustrator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eThese \u003ci\u003eCharacters\u003c\/i\u003e are people we know--they're our quirky neighbors, our creepy bosses, our blind dates from hell.\u003c\/b\u003e Sharp-tongued Theophrastus, made sharper than ever in this fresh new edition, reminds us that Athenian weirdness is as ageless as Athenian wisdom.\" -\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMary Beard, Professor of Classics at Cambridge University, presenter of BBC's Civilisations\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe more things change, the more they stay the same: \u003ci\u003eTheophrastus' Characters\u003c\/i\u003e, a classical Greek text newly translated for a modern audience, is a joyful festival of fault-finding.\u003c\/b\u003e The book outlines 30 characters, each crystallizing a human flaw all readers will immediately recognize, and is a humorous survey of failings, follies, and bad behavior taken straight off the streets of Athens and brought into our everyday fraught and divisive social and political scene. Brilliantly illustrated by acclaimed artist Andre Carrilho, this is an irresistible treasure of a book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWHEN ARISTOTLE WROTE that \"comedy is about people worse than ourselves,\" he may have been recalling a hard-edged gem of a treatise written by his favorite student, Theophrastus.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eTheophrastus' Characters\u003c\/i\u003e is a joyous festival of fault-finding: a collection of thirty closely observed personality portraits, defining the full spectrum of human flaws, failings, and follies. With piquant details of speech and behavior taken straight off the streets of ancient Athens, Theophrastus gives us sketches of the mean, vile, and annoying that are comically distorted yet vividly real.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnlivened by Pamela Mensch's fresh translation--the first widely available English version in over half a century--\u003ci\u003eTheophrastus' Characters\u003c\/i\u003e transports us to a world populated by figures of flesh and blood, not bronze and marble.\u003c\/b\u003e The wry, inventive drawings help envoke the cankered wit of this most modern of ancient texts. Lightly but helpfully annotated by classicist James Romm, these thirty thumbnail portraits are startlingly recognizable twenty-three centuries later. The characters of Theophrastus are archetypes of human nature that remain insightful, caustic, and relevant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 112\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 7.2 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 01, 2018\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47520861454557,"sku":"9780935112375","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/hY2S8WQPr59780935112375.webp?v=1772248822","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/theophrastus-characters-an-ancient-take-on-bad-behavior-hardcover","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}