10 Old Books that Changed how I Think

Here are 10 old books that changed how I think about life.

Apr 13, 2025

Plato's Symposium

The first book is Plato's Symposium. It was the first time I had read an ancient philosophical text, at least that I can recall. While I don't remember all the details, my reading of the Symposium made a lasting impression on me. It opened my eyes to genres of writing outside of my norm, brilliance outside of what I thought was normal, and that there was a whole world out there that was bigger than myself.

Homer's Odyssey

The second old book that's been really important to me is Homer's Odyssey. I never thought I would be on the edge of my seat reading a book that's nearly 3000 years old, but it's a compelling read about a man's homecoming. He's away from home for 20 years and meanwhile, home has been attacked and destroyed by suitors who want to marry his wife. His son Telemachus is mistreated, and on the way home, Odysseus has to learn certain lessons, discretion being a key one. One of the key themes is hospitality. Wherever you go, you need to find out if the people will be hospitable or inhospitable to you. Hospitality is seen as a great and grand virtue. It's really important as we live in an international world today to think about hospitality and how you treat others who are different than you. This is a fascinating book.

Tao Te Ching

The third book is the Tao Te Ching, which is a work of ancient Chinese philosophy associated with Daoism. What this work showed me is that, in the language of George Grant, "beyond space and time there is order." What I mean by that is it is a work of Chinese philosophy that came from an entirely different world, full of different kinds of people, different thoughts, etc., and yet there was a commonality. The same sort of order that the Tao Te Ching discovered is the same order that I discovered when I read Plato or Aristotle.

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

The fourth book is Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. It's a brilliant description of virtue and how you can help people change. You need to read it. It is hard to understand, so you can read a commentary on it or a summary first; that's probably the best way to start reading it and then come back to it almost like a reference to understand things like prudence and temperance and so on.

Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy

The fifth book is Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. Boethius was at the height of his career in Rome. His family had wealth and power, prestige, and everything that you could hope for. Because he tried to do the right thing and be a just judge, he was falsely accused and lost almost everything—wealth, power, prestige. In the Consolation of Philosophy, he is waiting for his death sentence and trying to understand: is it still possible to be happy when all the things that you've desired in life have been lost? You no longer have power, prestige, and all the rest, and the reason you're being punished is because you tried to do a just thing. How can you understand this? How can you live your life by valuing the right thing even when it doesn't give you the results that you want? Is it still worthwhile? You need to read this. It is brilliant.

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

The sixth book is The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis. It's not that old of a book, but it's relatively old, written in the 1940s. It is about the way in which our society is being transformed so that we are no longer able to value and live in a way that is perfectly humane. There's a technological transformation that's happening. It's just one of those brilliant books that you should read.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The seventh is The Epic of Gilgamesh. This is a book that has a place in my heart. When I was much younger and more ambitious, I was learning Akkadian and then began to translate a version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. What makes this such an interesting book to me is the story—it's perennial. There are fascinating things in there like Enkidu, the wild man who is domesticated by a woman, and all these kinds of interesting elements. The great man of old is one of those fascinating ancient tales that has stood the test of time. Worth reading.

Marcus Aurelius's Meditations

The eighth book is Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. It's become a bit cliché to read this book today, but you've got to remember this is the emperor of Rome, one of the greatest men to ever live in terms of power and prestige and wisdom, and we get access to his journal, as it were—how he thought about living life. There are so many wonderful life lessons in there that I think everybody should read.

Dante's Inferno

The ninth book is Dante's Inferno. I have to admit that I am still reading this book right now, but it has the quality of being a work that has made me reflective and thoughtful, trying to understand what vice is and its consequences. Definitely worth reading.

John Scotus Eriugena's Periphyseon

The last book is John Scotus Eriugena's Periphyseon (On Nature). It is probably the last work of late classical or, more accurately, early medieval philosophy. It's an early medieval book that is sort of the capstone of late classical philosophy. It's a way of viewing the world and reality through the lens of the predominant view of the world throughout the centuries. While it's hard to understand and difficult to read, it's one of those books that is incredibly helpful to free you from the tyranny of today—all the assumptions and all the things I'm included in.