Thomas E. Meurer is a retired business executive whose good fortune has allowed for careers and experiences in nearly all of his areas of interest: competitive sports, the military, teaching, politics, diplomacy, agriculture, venture capital, natural history, science, oil, gas, and dozens of practical jokes. Over the last 55 years, He has done business in 47 countries, several of which no longer exist.

Paul Krause is the editor-in-chief of VoegelinView. He was educated at Baldwin Wallace University, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Buckingham, where he studied with Sir Roger Scruton. His writings on the arts, classics, literature, politics, philosophy, and religion have appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines, and journals. He is the author of The Odyssey of Love and contributed to The College Lecture Today and Making Sense of Diseases and Disasters.

“Paul Krause has written a beautiful and accessible commentary on the Greeks, Romans, and Saint Augustine, illuminating the wisdom of the ancients for a contemporary audience. Rather than engaging in an anachronistic reading of these works, Krause uncover the enduring truths that these authors offer us today.”
– Lee Trepanier, Samford University

“Paul Krause is a wonderful communicator who encourages readers to lovingly appreciate the classics of Western literature regardless of the modern criticism leveled at such an endeavor. As Augustine told us to take up and read, Krause does the same by making this process an exercise in timelessness. This book is highly recommended to anyone seeking a deeper grasp of the enduring wisdom and rich texture of these seminal works of Western civilization.”
– Scott Meyer, George W. Truett Theological Seminary

“Paul Krause rightly notes that his book is intended to defend the classics against their increasingly ungrateful critics, but its real joy is in revisiting so many timeless works through his lens of love, which speaks to all of us.”
– Erich Prince, Editor of Merion West

“Paul Krause is a trustworthy guide to the enduring wisdom of the classics. His book orients readers to an ancient conversation about what it means to be human, the nature of the good life, and the shape of healthy human society. This is the ballast that can steady us as we engage in contemporary debates about these same questions”
– Jeffrey Bilbro, Grove City College

Nils A. Haug is a trial lawyer by profession and member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, and a faculty member of Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Retired from law to focus on writing and teaching, his particular field of interest is the intersection of Western culture with political theory, philosophy, theology, English literature, ethics, and law. Dr. Haug holds various degrees including an M.A.(cum laude) in Biblical Studies and Ph.D. in Theology (Apologetics).

Robert Hauptman is Professor Emeritus of Information Science at St. Cloud State University. His nearly 700 publications include 18 books (the 19th, The Desert Encyclopedia, is forthcoming in 2024) and cover innumerable topics. At 81, he still walks many miles almost every day and climbs mountains. He has stood on the highest point of 45 American states.

Steven Greer is Research Director at the Oxford Institute for British Islam, Professor Emeritus at the University of Bristol Law School, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, all in the UK. He studied Law at the University of Oxford, Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and holds a Ph.D. in Law from the Queen’s University of Belfast. In a career spanning nearly 40 years he has taught and delivered numerous papers throughout the UK and abroad, including in China and at Harvard Law School. He has also published widely, particularly in the fields of criminal justice, human rights, and law and terrorism. Two of his books were shortlisted for prestigious prizes. He has also acted as consultant/advisor to various organizations, including Muslim and Arab ones, written for the Guardian, the Times of London, the Irish Times, and the Belfast Telegraph, and appeared internationally on numerous radio and television stations.

Dr. Rand Irshaidat is Associate Professor in Marketing at the Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman, Jordan. She graduated in marketing from the University of Jordan and the University of Surrey. She received her Ph.D. in politics from York University, studying public diplomacy as a form of political marketing. She worked in banking before pursuing her Ph.D.

Rupert Hodder was born in Nigeria and educated in England and Hong Kong. He has lived and worked for many years in various parts of Asia. He has spent the last decade as Professor and Associate Dean at the School of Economics at the Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China, where he still teaches.

Richard Rex retired from the University of Utah. He is the author of a collection of Chaucer essays titled The Sins of Madame Eglentyne, as well as Alice Muriel Williamson: The Secret History of an American-English Author and The Literary Career of W. B. Trites. He lives with his wife, Ines, on the Olympic Peninsula, in Port Angeles, Washington.

Seymour W. Itzkoff is Professor Emeritus of Education at Smith College. His professional career began as a cellist in the Hartford Symphony while studying at the University of Hartford. The Korean War found him playing as a cellist in the U.S. Army Piano Trio in Washington D.C for President Harry S Truman at the White House and for General George Marshall at the Pentagon. Itzkoff’s developing interest in philosophy led him to enroll in doctoral studies at Columbia University. During this period, he taught at several public schools in New York and at Hunter and Lehman Colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY). He then joined the faculty of Smith College, where he taught for 35 years. His publications include 32 books in various academic fields with a major interest in human evolution and intelligence.

Liudmila V. Lbova is Professor of at the Graduate School of International Relations at the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
Pavel V. Volkov is Docent and Lead Researcher at Novosibirsk State University.

Translator: Richard L. Bland is Archeologist (retired) with the U.S. National Park Service, Heritage Research Associates, and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon.