James Romm is an author, reviewer, and the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College in Annandale, NY.

He specializes in ancient Greek and Roman culture and civilization. His reviews and essays have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the London Review of Books, the Daily Beast, and other venues.

On top of all that, James is quite prolific. Indeed, he has so many cool books, it’s sort of hard to know where to start… You may have heard him on Classical Wisdom Speaks talk about Dying Every Day. We discussed his work on Seneca at the Court of Nero as well as his thoughts on How to Die.

But before you rush to conclusions that Dr. Romm is of the morbid sort, he’s also delved deeply into Herodotus, Greek Plays, and perhaps most famously, Alexander the Great in his popular work, Ghost on the Throne.

James’ most recent book is “How to Give”… To give and receive well may be the most human thing you can do—but it is also the closest you can come to divinity. So argues the great Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BCE–65 CE) in his longest and most searching moral treatise, “On Benefits” (De Beneficiis). James Romm’s splendid new translation of essential selections from this work conveys the heart of Seneca’s argument that generosity and gratitude are among the most important of all virtues.

For Seneca, the impulse to give to others lies at the very foundation of society; without it, we are helpless creatures, worse than wild beasts. But generosity did not arise randomly or by chance. Seneca sees it as part of our desire to emulate the gods, whose creation of the earth and heavens stands as the greatest gift of all. Seneca’s soaring prose captures his wonder at that gift, and expresses a profound sense of gratitude that will inspire today’s readers.

Complete with an enlightening introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Give is a timeless guide to the profound significance of true generosity.

This weekend James will present on Philosophers, Kings and Philosopher Kings… he will also take part in a thrilling panel discussion on the concept of Power…and I’m not certain he will agree with the other speakers. It should most definitely be interesting!

Whether you can watch LIVE on the day, or enjoy the videos whenever it’s convenient, you will have FULL access to the event.

As I mentioned, you can get the two day ticket for only $22.50! All you need to do is use this code at checkout:

Click here to get your tickets:

Hope you can join us!