LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

“Here is 1,400 years of human culture, all the texts that survive from one of the greatest civilizations human beings have ever built—and it can all fit in a bookcase or two. To capture all the fugitive texts of the ancient world, some of which survived the Dark Ages in just a single moldering copy in some monastic library, and turn them into affordable, clear, sturdy accurate books, is one of the greatest accomplishments of modern scholarship—and one of the most democratic.”—Adam Kirsch

Dear Son,

The Loeb Classical Library, to quote from its website, "is the only existing series of books which, through original text and English translation, gives access to all that is important in Greek and Latin literature. Epic and lyric poetry; tragedy and comedy; history, travel, philosophy, and oratory; the great medical writers and mathematicians; those Church fathers who made particular use of pagan culture—in short, our entire classical heritage is represented here in convenient and well-printed pocket volumes in which an up-to-date text and accurate and literate English translation face each other page by page. The editors provide substantive introductions as well as essential critical and explanatory notes and selective bibliographies."

There are 480 volumes in the Loeb Classical Library, with the green-covered books referring to Ancient Greece and the red-covered books to Ancient Rome.  Our library currently contains about half of the volumes. 

We have been buying about 20-30 books a year, scouring Amazon and Ebay for good condition Used books.  We usually get these books from $13-$20 each.  It would be cheaper to buy the entire library at once as such would be sold for a 25% discount.  But not having the $9,360 to pay the lump sum cost (discounted from full retail of $12,480), we choose to spread it out over a number of Christmases.  And it is a special treat to handle each book individually as they make their way over time into our library.

We hope you will have a chance to read every word in this series.
Love,
Mom and Dad