Since I’ve retired from a 30 year career as an English teacher, I have been devouring religious history and beliefs. I’ve been a teetering agnostic for most of my life, but I guess you might call it my search for truth (better late than never?) I vaguely remember reading this as a young woman, but I will definitely reread it. I wasn’t much for reflection and truth in the days when everything was a struggle to get a degree, feed a family, etc. That’s the beauty of this time in life.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

So true. Schools and universities do not necessarily pursue truth. It was the foundation of the institutions originally. For me there is no more important search a human can make. Sadly the majority of debates on youtube etc are full of sophists trying to deliver knock-out blows to another person's argument. Anyone who does that, in my opinion, is not actually looking for truth, they are looking to bolster there position.

@traceyarnaud8433

3 күн бұрын

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 True. I am grateful for my education introducing me to Shakespeare and the great writers though. My main problem seems to be retention of plots, characters, etc. I did remember the interesting family name in The Way of All Flesh though, so that’s a small comfort!

@genealotech

2 күн бұрын

It’s never too late. 🙂

@nedludd7622

2 күн бұрын

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 There are at least two truths being confused. There is the physical truth such as if you do not drink water you will die. Then there are the, let's say, social truths which are constructed for social values which change over time as community values change.

As Mark Twain wrote, "Faith is believing what you know ain't so."

@johnsterman77

3 сағат бұрын

No, actually, it isn’t.

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

@@marthacanady9441 lovely quote.😀

It sounds like the right book for these times as well. Thanks for the recommendation!

Goodness! I’ve read this book twice. Yep! I’m old.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

I'm sure you're not. You just use your time wisely 😀

@StephaniePatterson-jb5it

3 күн бұрын

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 You,sir,are a true gentleman.

Thank you so much for covering one of my favorite novels of all time! Like you, I struggle to think of any fictional book that I love more. In addition to the personal pursuit of truth, Butler also masterfully details the unique experience of being raised by narcissistic parents and brilliantly points out how the world is designed to reward and nurture narcissism and crush people who are humble, honest, introspective, and empathetic. "The Way of All Flesh" is a brilliant exploration of how psychological trauma is passed from generation to generation.

Whenever I click on one of your videos I have to be prepared to fatten up my tbr.😂 I just want to add that I as a believer am very excited to start this book.

@LuvLuke954

3 күн бұрын

Me too!! 😂

@joanneleeson516

2 сағат бұрын

And me.

I read this book a couple years back and it left a deep impression. It’s one of those books that require pondering and time to digest. I wish I’d had someone to discuss it with, but you’re right! No one I know has read it!

I read this in April and was quite moved by the parent/child relationships throughout the Pontifex generations. My heart especially broke when Ernest lamented that he was never allowed to feel towards his father what he was trying to feel. A line I copied down reads as follows, “It often happens that if the son is right, the father is wrong, and the father is not going to have this if he can help it.” Such a heartbreaking chasm between a parent and their child, and one that is most likely not too uncommon. Thank you, Tristan for highlighting this work.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

5 сағат бұрын

The critique of parenting standards is exceptional. It is also emblematic of how we as a society develop so many habits by consensus of society.

Thank you for adding one more book to my already impossible to conquer TBR! I’ve never heard of this book and it sounds very interesting. 😊

I am not quite ready to read that book, but the basis is essential to self understanding!!! Searching for truth is the great mission !

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

There is nothing more important! As for the book, it's not an in depth argument of the points of the religious/irreligious discussion. In fact I disagree with many of Ernest/butler's ideas. The power is in Ernests genuine pursuit for truth. He is overall objected to by all sides, but that's not the actual story. What are you reading currently.

I read TWOAF many years ago for a course and loved it, much to my surprise. It's quite gently funny in some places, and it's just a great read. One little vignette that I remember is how the village church gradually changed from low to high church without anyone really noticing. I think it's time for a reread.😊

I must be old. Not only have I heard of the book and author, but I have read it.

Splendid! I found a copy of this at a used book sale but have yet to sink my teeth into it. Looking forward to it now more than ever!

Faith and prayer in and to God changes a person. A peace that anchors despite the circumstances of life.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

5 сағат бұрын

It certainly does.

All I know about Samuel Butler is that his (prose) translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are often considered the "worst" of all the English translations, yet there are still people who benefit from his translations. My own favorite prose translations are the ones by Rieu (and revised by Rieu's son, also a scholar in his own right). The Rieu translations are what largely contributed to making Penguin Classics world famous (followed closely by Dorothy Sayers's translations of Dante's Divine Comedy).

"Beauty is truth, and truth beauty . . . " Will definitely read this next, Tristan. Thank you.

It sounds intriguing and you made it sounds even more interesting 😊

I really must read this book, which I've heard about but not read, and you explain the conceits so clearly that I'm very grateful to you for the recommendation.

That takes me back. I read TWOAF almost fifty years ago, and it's definitely a book that no one seems to talk about or read these days.

Pen and paper ready!! So excited Tristan! Thank you!!!

I read that at uni.... I believe a reread is in order and I'm so happy to have your take on it.

Hello Tristan: I have never heard about this book, "The Way of All Flesh," by Samuel Butler. I will have to check if my library has a copy, and read it. I am not a speed/fast reader, because I do stop and question what I am reading etc., etc. I also make lots of notes as I read, and look up the definition of words I have not come across in the past, etc., etc.

I have read it. It's good. I feel like "Erewhon" is maybe more famous? It's interesting how books that are really famous in one generation fall out of favour in later years.

I am putting this book on my TBR immediately. Thank you ! ❤

Very true! Thank you!

I was eagerly waiting for your video ❤, added this book to my tbr.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

Hope you enjoy it!

I have actually read that one. It's on the Boxall list of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. So it hasn't been completely forgotten. But it had gotten jumbled in my mind with Brecht's Three Penny Novel which I read around the same time, (very different plot, I know) so I enjoyed this refresher.

Oh, I love that book! I read it last year. Found it at a library sale for a buck. One I would read again.

I read it as part of your patreon group. I must confess I had never heard of it and would never have chosen it myself. However I picked it up because of you. At first i did not like it and almost gave up but I stuck with it and discovered it was really worthwhile!! THANK YOU TRISTAN!!!

Yes, it has captured my interest such that I have reserved it at my library.

Sounds interesting. I'll definitely give it a try.

Fascinating. I want to read it. Found it on the Project Gutenberg Pages! In the end I think the debate will be about the validity of the arguments. Thank you for this video. Greetings from the Netherlands...

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

Hope you enjoy it 😀 The arguments are not extensive and are not the main focus. The point is that Ernest shows us that we should dig deep into the things we take for granted. That we should all make a search for truth without looking to verify what we want to be truth.

@Lightwriter1

3 күн бұрын

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 ❤

Yes,I have read it. I inherited it from my parents. I've actually read it twice.

This type of critical thinking is just what I need. I have in recent years been discovering more and more stories that I have told myself so often that I was convinced they were true. Specifically about my own and others motivations for their words or actions.

I find that people can confuse truth or faith with comfort. Comfort in being able to tell themselves that there is a grand plan or that nothing matters and everything is meaningless. Simply because it is so. There is comfort in that sort of mental surrender. Yet, for some, such an idea is tantamount as shutting ones eyes and calling it shade.

I love this topic!! You have gotten me thinking Tristan! What is truth? What do I believe to be true? These are fascinating questions, and considering what's happening in U.S. politics right now, they couldn't be more relevant.

Okay, I’m sold.

This book is on my shelf but I have never read it. Your review has got me interested. As a contrarian by temperament, I have always looked askance at consensus opinion. In particular, the expression “my truth “ has always seemed absurd to me.

Sounds really interesting!

Excellent video. Thank you.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

5 сағат бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Im definitely going to read this! Thanks for what you do 😊

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

I really hope that you enjoy it.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

I hope that you enjoy it 😀

I read it in my early twenties so I'm due for a refresher. But I can't emphasize enough how often I come across diaries and reminiscences of 19th century figures who were deeply influenced by The Way of All Flesh.

As a part of the Patreon group, I can confirm Tristan's comment about people not considering this book before. I was one of those people. I had a copy collecting dust on my shelf which I had looked at a few times only to put it back and move on to a different book. I'm so glad Tristan picked this book or I may have never read it. It is a wonderful book. I was surprised to discover it was quite funny in many places. Not much happens, but Butler is so brilliant at what he does, that you will be taken into the story and find it hard to put down.

Ooh this sounds interesting! You're right that I haven't read it (yet), but I do have a copy. Maybe this is the nudge I needed to get around to reading it.

Without having read the novel, it seems Butler has written about how Socrates berated his fellow Athenians for their lack of critical thinking. Pilate's question to Jesus: "What is truth?" Actors usually say those words in a tone of contempt. Then you have the "Doubting Thomas". Then, you have Kierkegaard's comment that so many people claim to be Christians but not really are. Emerson said that "... for every Stoic was a Stoic, but in all Christendom, where is the Christian?" Only two classes made me more intelligent---logic and statistics. The media narratives about Mother Teresa and the "Matthew Shepard case" turned out not to be true, but people believe the media narrative. Christopher Hitchens exposed the truth about Mother Teresa. The Book of Matt" has revealed the Matthew Shepard Case was simply a drug deal gone bad. Karl Popper has said you can disprove a theory but not really prove one.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

Very true. As to Kierkegaard's comment, I have found this to be ond of the big reasons for people's unbelief; the conduct of religious people put many off. Yet most I have spoken to have little knowledge of what the teachings actually are.

Never heard of the book. After this, may well have to seek this out.

You won me. I will get the book. Very interesting.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

I really hope that you enjoy it.

Available on Hoopla, 17 hour audiobook. I’ll give it a try.

this sounds like the kind of book that is best imbibed by annotating while reading, so that the reader is essentially having a conversation with the author.

'I should do another video on it "I'm waiting Tristran

Great 🙏❤️

Age old question! Even Pilate talking to Jesus argued’What is truth’!

I’m definitely going to read this. I’ve recommended to anyone who cares the book Transitions by William Bridges. Non fiction with strong references to the Odyssey to explain the author’s points. Excellent book.

Being a truth-seeker sounds right up my alley! Thank you for this video!!🎉

It's on the bedside table, awaiting a re-read. But not before Nancy Mitford, who is at the head of the queue.

@janebaily3758

2 күн бұрын

Which Nancy Mitford? Thanks!

@GenWivern2

2 күн бұрын

@@janebaily3758 The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. A paperback with both appeared in the charity shop, so that's my frivolous summer treat taken care of. 🙂

Another wonderful video! I highly recommend checking out “The Varieties of Religious Experience” by William James.

This book is on my shelf, but I haven't read it. I'm going to pick it up today. Have you read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis?

@bbeth7092

15 сағат бұрын

Mere Christianity is great. The chapter on forgiveness was life changing for me.

I was reading about the publishing of the book and it said when it was published posthumously in the early 1900s it was heavily edited and was not published in its original form until the 1960s. Is the later published version the one you are referring to?

Who would have thought…

OMG Tristan. My list of books to read based on your recommendations is getting longer and longer. 😂😂

This sounds really interesting! Thanks for the recommendation and pointers! Also, the "good person" non christian vs the religous hypocrite reminds me of Dickens a little bit. Edit: Interestingly enough, Jesus claimed to be the truth. Just a thought 🤔

I agree with you that The Way of All Flesh is a wonderful book. I love the charming wit and wisdom of its narrative voice and that the narrative voice is clearly a gay man.

Being trained in the physical sciences, this doesnt sound like a challenging notion...

I don't have enough faith to believe that the Universe created itself. Something must have always been here because you can't make something out of absolutely nothing. I choose to call that prime cause by the word "God" Having thus become convinced absolutely that God must exist I look to see what people think about God. And like the ancient Jews I do not believe we can know much about him, nor picture what he is, nor what he "looks" like. This is in contrast to all the religions around the Jews in Canaan who did think they knew what God looked like and a hundred other things about him. To the Jews, God to seemed to say to them when they asked about him: "I am what I am, that's who I am." In other words he answered: "you are not able to understand". And like Pharaoh Akhenaten who also believed in one primal cause, they believed that salvation comes by living righteously, not by buying the priest's or the witch's charms and magic. In other words, salvation is not for sale. Meanwhile all the other nations in Canaan did believe in salvation by shortcuts: magic and potions, anything that was easier than righteous living. The God they imagined was thus trivial and worthless to society.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

11 сағат бұрын

Thank you for sharing. I like that you provide a definite line of reasoning to your conclusions, and I'm sure they are far more extensive than the comment section permits. This is the point Butler quietly explores through Ernest in the book: that we should all seek deeply, rather than merely parroting soundbites. Most reading this book will hone in on the things that they agree with - whether that is belief or unbelief - and conclude that Butler agrees with them, thus solidifying their position superficially. That is a subtle point he is making. Rather, we should all make a ernest search for what is true, not what is expedient or preferred. It is the principle Butler is interested in, not necessarily the particular topic. This idea should be applied everywhere a person considers important. Climate change; race relations; government; religion; morality etc etc. According to Butler, the majority will hold their position, not based upon a thorough individual search but on the clever sounding comments they casually pick up and repeat. This is one of the reasons I do not share my thoughts on lots of topics directly pertaining to the books I discuss. I want my viewers to dig to their own conclusions without my opinions colouring a book first. It was great to read your polite and well thought out comment. I especially appreciate these comments. 😀❤️

Truth seeker! Yes.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

Good for you! 😀

I have enjoyed reading all my life and continue to do so in my retirement. When I came across your channel recently, I thought it’s such a shame that students aren’t fed like you feed your viewers. I have read and heard it said that the Bible is the book of books and so it makes me wonder whether you have read it. Unlike what most people do when they start reading the Bible, I suggest you don’t start with Genesis but rather one of the biographies of Jesus. I would recommend Luke who has been acknowledged by secular authorities as being a first class historical work. The book of Acts follows on naturally after that and describes what happened with Jesus’ followers after his death. It’s important to note that in Jesus’ day there was no one who refuted what Jesus said or did for he spoke with authority and it was the truth. The miracles or signs, as he called them, simply pointed to the truth of what he was saying. It’s not a long read and I believe that with these two books under your belt you’ll certainly get a good understanding of TRUTH. I’ve love to hear from you when you’ve done that! Greetings from Hobart 😁😉

@tristanandtheclassics6538

2 күн бұрын

I have read the Bible numerous times. And I agree with the statement that it is the book of books. There are a great deal of inaccurate and false statements made about it by both irreligious and religious people. It is perhaps the best example for highlighting Butlers' point. I have heard and watched so many try to rubbish the Bible with not even the most basic knowledge of what it says. That is damning evidence that these ones are not interested in finding truth but rather in coddling their own views. This includes some of the most popular debaters on the subject who frequently make the preposterous claim that faith is believing in something without evidence. On the other hand, there are many who accept the bible, espousing things about it that are also untrue or not following its tenets. This, too, betrays a genuine search for truth. If one really thought it was true, wouldn't one follow it carefully? The truth seeker will not judge based upon what other people say and do, but will carefully examine these things themselves to see whether they are so. A more noble attitude I cannot imagine. 😀❤️. I'd be happy to discuss it further.

@stefaniemapley4386

Күн бұрын

That is absolutely right, Tristan, and it is such a pity that down through the centuries the truth has been so misrepresented. That is why, if you do have the time to read the gospel of Luke, I would love to know whether your opinion and views about what it means to be a follower of Christ means. Thanks, Tristan. 💛

Didnt you hear? There is no such thing as Truth. We are living in a post modern world.

@tristanandtheclassics6538

3 күн бұрын

😂😂😂 Yes and look how that's working out!😀 Someone told me there was no such thing as truth quite seriously, once. I asked if they thought that statement was true. 😅👍

@Yesica1993

3 күн бұрын

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Well played! That nonsense drives me insane.

@marlonjormungand7845

2 күн бұрын

There is, just rarely in absolutes.