Meta Description: Join Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe in Ad Navseam Episode 194 as they explore the complex relationship between Christianity and classical antiquity, nude statues, and mastering the Latin language.
Introduction: Slopes of Parnassus and Cough Syrup
Welcome back, classical gourmands, to Episode 194 of the Ad Navseam Podcast! Broadcasting from a wooded glen on the slopes of Parnassus near the Piraean Fountain, your hosts, Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle, return to the microphones for another delectable discussion of Greco-Roman civilization.
Kicking off the banter, the hosts examine their respective middle initials. For this episode, the “C” in David C. Noe stands for “catastrophizing,” reflecting a pessimistic tendency to constantly anticipate the absolute worst possible outcomes. Countering this negativity, Jeff originally decided his “T” stood for “truculent” simply because he enjoyed the phonetic resonance of the word. Realizing that pairing truculence with catastrophizing creates an overwhelmingly bleak atmosphere, he quickly pivots to “tranquil” to establish a proper yin and yang dynamic. This impromptu vocabulary lesson inadvertently devolves into a hilarious tangent about over-the-counter cough syrups, with the hosts jokingly comparing “tranquil” to NyQuil and DayQuil.
Corrigendum: Papyrology and High-Resolution Scans
Before tackling the primary academic topic, a crucial corrigendum must be addressed . Frequent correspondent Will Fitzgerald writes in to gracefully correct a geographical blunder from a previous episode. The University of Michigan’s esteemed Papyrology Collection is actually located within the Hatcher Library, not the Kelsey Museum as previously stated. The Kelsey Museum, originally developed by Francis Willie Kelsey, primarily houses Egyptian artifacts.
Fitzgerald also provides a fascinating technological update regarding the ongoing Vesuvius Challenge. The cutting-edge imaging technology utilized to decipher the carbonized Herculaneum scrolls is known as high-resolution computerized tomography (CT). These incredibly powerful scanners operate at breathtaking resolutions of 3.24 and 7.91 micrometers, dimensions roughly equivalent to the size of a single bacterium and a red blood cell, respectively.
The Traditional Partnership: Jerome’s Dream and Stripping Aristotle
The core intellectual focus of Episode 194 resumes the podcast’s ongoing journey through Carl Richard’s landmark book, The Golden Age of the Classics in America. Specifically, the hosts dissect Chapter 6, which analyzes the deeply conflicted, perennial love-hate relationship between Christianity and classical antiquity.
Early Christian thinkers heavily relied upon pagan philosophy to articulate their own theological frameworks. Richard notes that Thomas Aquinas and the medieval scholastics essentially “stripped Aristotle for spare parts” to construct their theology. Similarly, figures of the Protestant Reformation maintained a cautious reconciliation with classical learning. Martin Luther openly praised Cicero as a wise, industrious man, expressing hope that God would show the Roman orator mercy in the afterlife.
However, this intellectual partnership was frequently fraught with profound guilt. Richard recounts a famous anecdote regarding St. Jerome, a church father so utterly obsessed with Cicero’s prose that he experienced a terrifying religious vision. In the dream, God accused Jerome of being a “Ciceronian” rather than a true Christian. Stricken with remorse, Jerome swore to abandon worldly books forever, yet his subsequent Christian writings continued to heavily showcase Cicero’s unmistakable stylistic imprint.
Charles Sumner and the Homeric Problem
During the American antebellum period, several prominent thinkers began actively rejecting classical morality, arguing it was fundamentally incompatible with the Sermon on the Mount. Charles Sumner, speaking to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard in 1846, delivered a blistering critique of the ancients. When advising a graduating senior named Henry Ware, Sumner bluntly stated that no Roman ever wrote from the moral elevation of the second great commandment: love thy neighbor as thyself.
Sumner argued that pagan literature, despite its rhetorical brilliance, completely lacked the purity, righteousness, and divine charity required by Christian ethics. For Sumner, the soaring poetry of Homer merely provided inspiring tales of blood that Alexander the Great used to pillow his head. The hosts agree with Sumner’s assessment, noting the stark ethical contrast between the Homeric ideal of arete—which demands helping one’s friends and violently harming one’s enemies—and the Christian mandate to turn the other cheek and love one’s adversaries.
Hawthorne, Modesty, and Nude Sculptures
The tension between classical aesthetics and 19th-century American morality extended well beyond literature, heavily impacting the reception of visual art. The author Nathaniel Hawthorne possessed notoriously mixed feelings regarding nude classical sculpture.
Hawthorne believed that the basic propriety of a nude statue depended entirely upon the historical epoch of the artist and the specific attitude conveyed by the marble subject. For instance, he deeply admired the semi-nude statue of Pompey in Rome, praising its austere moral dignity. He was equally captivated by the Venus de’ Medici, noting that the goddess’s pose—covering herself in a posture of modest surprise after being discovered bathing—rendered the artwork incredibly tender and chaste. Conversely, Hawthorne thoroughly rejected Titian’s Renaissance painting, the Venus of Urbino, arguing that its lounging, lustful attitude stripped the subject of any genuine innocence.
Speaking through the character of Miriam in his novel The Marble Faun, Hawthorne fiercely assaulted modern sculptors. Miriam argued that contemporary artists robbed their marble of chastity because they were forced to steal guilty glimpses at hired, modern models. She speciously claimed that the ancient Greek sculptors crafted pure art because they supposedly observed pure, princely maidens walking in the open sunshine.
Fitzhugh, Emerson, and the Republican Cart
While figures like Sumner and Hawthorne grappled with the moral deficiencies of antiquity, other Americans enthusiastically defended the classical tradition. George Fitzhugh launched a blistering, anti-capitalist diatribe, denying that modern 19th-century Christendom was morally superior to the ancient pagan world. Fitzhugh argued that the rampant selfishness of modern political economy was actually far more groveling and low than the philosophies of the Epicureans or the Sadducees. He pointed out that while moderns flatter themselves by shuddering at the brutality of ancient gladiatorial combats, they simultaneously delight in the bloody slaughter of their national enemies on the modern battlefield.
Meanwhile, the transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson emphasized the vast similarities linking the two traditions. Emerson boldly declared that an exemplary Christian minister of his day was perfectly content to match the moderate moral standard of a good Roman living during the era of Cicero or the Antonines.
Ultimately, statesmen like Daniel Webster sought to synthesize these competing cultural forces. Webster believed that to prevent the United States from suffering the catastrophic decline and fall of the Roman Republic, classical republicanism had to be firmly anchored by orthodox Christianity. Richard concludes the chapter by beautifully summarizing this dynamic: for two millennia, the cart of Western civilization was simultaneously pulled by two massive horses—the classical and Christian traditions—which generally managed to tread the path of reason and virtue together despite occasionally pulling in completely different directions.
Sponsors: Fueling the Classical Renaissance
Before delivering the parting shot, the hosts extend their gratitude to the phenomenal sponsors keeping the podcast operational.
- Hackett Publishing: For over 54 years, Hackett Publishing has produced highly accessible, erudite translations out of their Cambridge and Indianapolis offices. Build a solid library at hackettpublishing.com and use the code AN2025 to receive a 20% discount and free shipping on your entire order. (Note: Listeners can also win a free copy of the Hackett A Plato Reader by emailing the podcast with the subject line “Plato”!) .
- Della Chelpka Art: For those seeking stunning visual inspiration, Tucson-based oil painter Della Chelpka captures the people and places you cherish in breathtaking detail. Visit dellachelpka.art and use the promo code Apelles (named after the famous Greco-Roman painter) to receive 10% off your custom order.
- Ratio Coffee: If you are ready to banish bad morning routines, upgrade to a gorgeous Ratio 4 or Ratio 8 coffee brewer. These machines deliver a pristine, automated pour-over that effortlessly blooms and brews your grounds. Visit ratiocoffee.com/adnavseam and enter the promo code ANRATIO2025 for a generous $20 discount.
- LatinPerDiem: For listeners inspired to master the Latin language and ancient Greek, the podcast offers the perfect educational solution. Visit latinperdiem.com and use the code 10PLUS for a 10% discount on any language course, or explore over 2,300 free instructional videos on their YouTube channel.
The Gustatory Parting Shot
To officially close out Episode 194, a delightfully honest Gustatory Parting Shot courtesy of Joyce Rachelle is delivered.
Admitting knowing absolutely nothing about the woman other than the fact that she appears to possess two first names, the hosts recite her profoundly relatable culinary observation:
“One can hardly do anything productive when one knows there is cake in the fridge.”
A special thanks goes out to Mishka the sound engineer for consistently turning out pristine audio, and to Jeff Scheetz for providing the blistering “Thrillseeker” and “Rush Hour” guitar riffs that bookend the academic lectures. Check out the “Lurch with Merch” section on the website, beware of catastrophic thinking, and keep taking in the classics. Valete!
