from THE INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR
April 17, 2025
BOOK COLLECTING
I just received Oedipus the King, by Sophocles. This is part of the Greatest Books Ever Written subscription from Easton Press. Basically, it’s a book-of-the-month subscription of leather-bound editions of books that are considered classics. So far I have received:
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane
Oedipus the King, by Sophocles
In addition to the subscription, I bought a signed copy of The Restless Wave, by Adm. James Stavridis and The Influence of Sea Power Upon History – 1660-1793, by Capt. A.T. Mahan (in the mail). As you can see, I have started to also collect books with naval themes.
(I know this would have fit nicely in the next issue of Page & Screen newsletter, but it was a slow week.)
HOLISTIC HERBALISM STUDIES
Classes continue. The first topic was on Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I felt overwhelmed. I think I said it before, but I felt very lost in the cultural language they used. We moved on into a segment on the immune system. It is presented in Western terms, so I feel more comfortable with it. We will finish that next week and then move on to skin conditions.
I also looked at some material outside of our assigned readings to help gain background on herbalism as a practice. I don’t feel so scared of the material now. Still, I don’t want to do something wrong and make people sicker, or think that I can do it all when a patient is actually faced with something more acute than herbal remedies can help to cure.
I plan to write some of my thoughts on it for a future issue of The Philomath.
The Philomath 
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