Tag Archives | James Cameron Stewart

James Cameron Stewart

Formerly known as Cameron Stewart, theatre work includes Ayckbourn’s Things We Do for Love (Hamish), Philip Larkin in Larkin with Women (MEN Best Actor nominee) and his acclaimed show about his grandfather’s WW1 experiences, My Grandfather’s Great War (Stage Best Solo Performer Edinburgh nomination). West End/Tours: Les Miserables – Thenadier/Grantaire; Rocky Horror Show – Frank-n-Furter); various repertory. TV: Jericho, Emmerdale, Inbetweeners, Silent Witness, Doctors, Holby City, Eastenders, Heartbeat, Boyz Unlimited. He has narrated precisely umpteen audiobooks, and published his grandfather’s memoirs as A Very Unimportant Officer; in his spare time he flies hot-air balloons.

THE SECRET HISTORY

By Procopius
Read by James Cameron Stewart
5 hours 2 minutes

The Secret History, written by the 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius is one of the most extraordinary and scandalous documents to have survived from the early Byzantine period. Procopius, the leading official historian of his time, lived during the testing and indulgent time of Emperor Justinian the Great and wrote the official records of the successful wars and the grand building projects of his ruler. Continue Reading →

ON THE SOUL AND PARVA NATURALIA

By Aristotle
Read by James Cameron Stewart
8 hours 55 minutes

Two contrasting reflections by Aristotle which cover a very particular ground. In On the Soul, Aristotle presents his view of the ‘life essence’ which, he argues, is possessed by living things whether plants, animals or humans. Not a ‘soul’ in the generally accepted Western use of the term, this ‘soul’ he says is a life force that is indivisible from the organism that possesses it. Continue Reading →

POETICS • RHETORIC

By Aristotle
Read by James Cameron Stewart
10 hours 37 minutes

Poetics and Rhetoric are the two major works by Aristotle which, after more than 2,000 years, remain key behavioural handbooks for anyone interested in story, performance, presentation and indeed psychology. The continuing influence of Poetics, for example, is readily discernible even among the scriptwriters of Hollywood! Continue Reading →

METAPHYSICS

By Aristotle
Read by James Cameron Stewart
14 hours 30 minutes

Aristotle’s Metaphysics was the first major study of the subject of metaphysics – in other words, an inquiry into ‘first philosophy’, or ‘wisdom’. It differs from ‘Physics’ which is concerned with the natural world: things which are subject to the laws of nature, things that move and change, are measurable. Continue Reading →

ON THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE, ON HAPPINESS

ON THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE, ON HAPPINESS and Other Essays Volume 1

By Seneca the Younger
Read by James Cameron Stewart
6 hours 7 minutes

As former tutor and adviser to Emperor Nero, the philosopher and statesman Seneca was acutely aware how short life can be – his own life was cut short when ordered by the Emperor to commit suicide (for alleged involvement in a conspiracy). And Seneca proved true to his words – his life-long avowal to Stoicism enabled him to conduct himself with dignity to the end. Continue Reading →

ON ANGER, ON LEISURE, ON CLEMENCY

ON ANGER, ON LEISURE, ON CLEMENCY Essays Volume 2

By Seneca the Younger
Read by James Cameron Stewart
6 hours 36 minutes

On Anger is one of Seneca’s most important essays. At some length he investigates the nature of anger: how and why it emerges, the effect it has on the individual and those to whom it is directed; and how to manage it and prevent it even from arising. For, Seneca considers, anger simply serves no purpose – it does not bring courage in war, prevent others misbehaving, punish miscreants. In short, it has a negative effect on all. Continue Reading →

MEMORIES, DREAMS, REFLECTIONS

By C. G. Jung
Read by James Cameron Stewart
16 hours 51 minutes

Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss-born psychologist, was one of the giants of the 20th century. His wide-ranging studies, his clinical practice, and his open, searching mind transformed the way human psychology is viewed. He identified many key aspects of the human character and the words he chose are part of everyday life: introvert, extravert, archetypes, animus, anima, the shadow, the collective unconscious and many more. Memories, Dreams, Reflections is his fascinating and remarkable look at his own life. These frank revelations of the innermost life of one of the greatest explorers of the human mind is a unique document of our own and of all time. Continue Reading →

THE MORAL EPISTLES

THE MORAL EPISTLES 124 Letters to Lucillius

By Seneca the Younger
Read by James Cameron Stewart
23 hours 18 minutes

Towards the end of his life, Seneca the Younger (c4 BCE- 65 CE) began a correspondence with a friend in Sicily, later collected under the title The Moral Epistles. In these 124 letters, Seneca expresses, in a wise, steady and calm manner, the philosophy by which he lived – derived essentially from the Stoics. The letters deal with a variety of specific topics – often eminently practical – such as ‘On Saving Time’, ‘On the Terrors of Death’, ‘On True and False Friendships’, ‘On Brawn and Brains’ and ‘On Old Age and Death’. His views are as relevant to us today as in his own time. He remarks on how we waste our time through lack of clarity of purpose, how we jump from one attraction to another, how fleeting is life. But these are letters to a friend, so the tone is not grandly didactic but friendly, personal, direct and speak to us across the centuries. Though not so well-known as Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, The Moral Epistles are approachable, memorable, and immensely rich in content – and especially so in this sympathetic reading by James Cameron Stewart. Continue Reading →