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Thank you for visiting the official website of The Rockford Institute. Here you will find details about the Institute's events, both future and past, as well as regular posts on all areas of classical learning, with discussions led by Dr. Thomas Fleming. Stop back regularly to view our growing archive of resources for autodidacts of all ages.

Upcoming Events

Nov. 10-14, 2010: Randolph Club (Charleston)

Jan. 12-19, 2011: Winter School (Rome)

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  • Aeneid V Pt. 1

    Aeneid V Pt. 1

    Thomas Fleming | August 30, 2010 | 2 Comments

    The fifth book of the Aeneid, on the surface at least, seems an unnecessary interlude between the Carthaginian love-idyll, with its disastrous consequences, and the Trojans’ arrival in Italy. Ordinary readers would probably not notice, but a careful scrutiny reveals that it could not have been part of the original plan: Characters are introduced in the later, Italian or Iliad part of the poem, as if they had not been mentioned when in fact they play a part in this book.

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  • Aeneid IV

    Aeneid IV

    Thomas Fleming | August 4, 2010 | 24 Comments

    Aeneid IV is deservedly the most famous part of the poem. Structurally, it is placed in a strategic position, because now, at last, the narrative is ready to move forward, and the story is propelled by erotic passion. Dido is a beautiful and passionate woman, whose love for her late husband is so deep that she has sworn never to love another man or to remarry.

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  • Aeneid III A

    Aeneid III A

    Thomas Fleming | June 26, 2010 | 6 Comments

    If the second book of the Aeneid is a nightmare, the third books is a melancholy depiction of people who are so obsessed with the past that they cannot deal with the present, much less face the future.  Aeneas has been told of his glorious mission and the destiny of his people, but all it [...]

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  • Learning a Dead Language I: The Basics

    Learning a Dead Language I: The Basics

    Thomas Fleming | June 10, 2010 | 11 Comments

    I just received a request from a friend who wants to study ancient Greek. I had previously recommended that she stay away from recent textbooks that tend to be too gimmicky–and overpriced–and from New Testament Greek texts. There is no such thing as New Testament Greek, which is nothing more than a rather simplistic form of the Koine which served as a common tongue in the Mediterranean world.

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  • Rockford Institute VP To Speak in Northern Virginia

    Rockford Institute VP To Speak in Northern Virginia

    TRI | June 9, 2010 | 0 Comments

    Christopher Check, executive vice president of The Rockford Institute, will be delivering three lectures in Northern Virginia this weekend. All are free and open to the public. Details after the jump.

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John Randolph Club 2010: Charleston

John Randolph Club 2010: Charleston

TRI | May 12, 2010 | 0 Comments

Come discuss the restoration of local control of political, economic, and cultural life with a convivial meeting of The John Randolph Club, November 10-14, 2010, the Mills House Hotel, Charleston, South Carolina. Click for more information.

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Winter School 2011: Rome

Winter School 2011: Rome

TRI | May 13, 2010 | 1 Comment

Join Chronicles editor Thomas Fleming, his wife, Gail, and Rockford Institute vice president Christopher Check for daily guided walks to Rome’s churches, museums, and archeological sites.

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Aeneid V Pt. 1

Aeneid V Pt. 1

Thomas Fleming | August 30, 2010 | 2 Comments

The fifth book of the Aeneid, on the surface at least, seems an unnecessary interlude between the Carthaginian love-idyll, with its disastrous consequences, and the Trojans’ arrival in Italy. Ordinary readers would probably not notice, but a careful scrutiny reveals that it could not have been part of the original plan: Characters are introduced in the later, Italian or Iliad part of the poem, as if they had not been mentioned when in fact they play a part in this book.

View Post
Aeneid IV, pt. 2

Aeneid IV, pt. 2

Thomas Fleming | August 16, 2010 | 4 Comments

Book IV really belongs to Dido.  It is her mad passion for Aeneas, the consummation of their love, and her response to his decision to leave that drive the narrative.
What sort of a woman is Dido?  We know she is of Phoenician royal blood, very beautiful, and while a mature woman, since she was not [...]

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Aeneid IV

Aeneid IV

Thomas Fleming | August 4, 2010 | 24 Comments

Aeneid IV is deservedly the most famous part of the poem. Structurally, it is placed in a strategic position, because now, at last, the narrative is ready to move forward, and the story is propelled by erotic passion. Dido is a beautiful and passionate woman, whose love for her late husband is so deep that she has sworn never to love another man or to remarry.

View Post
Aeneid III A

Aeneid III A

Thomas Fleming | June 26, 2010 | 6 Comments

If the second book of the Aeneid is a nightmare, the third books is a melancholy depiction of people who are so obsessed with the past that they cannot deal with the present, much less face the future.  Aeneas has been told of his glorious mission and the destiny of his people, but all it [...]

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Aeneid: Metrical Excursus

Thomas Fleming | June 11, 2010 | 6 Comments

One serious problem facing any translator of ancient verse is the incompatibility of  most English poetic meters with the meters used by ancient poets.   To oversimplify a difficult and complicated problem, English meters are basically defined first by the number and sequence of stressed syllables per line, while ancient Greek verse–to take the simpler [...]

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