How to be a good symposiast and other lessons from Xenophon'sSymposium

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 121-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Hobden
Keyword(s):  
Literary Form ◽  
Modern Reader ◽  
Literary Influences ◽  
The One ◽  
Considerable Complexity

Xenophon'sSymposiumlies at a confluence between two trends in modern scholarship. On the one hand, its author and his writings have recently attracted a resurgence in interest and credibility. No longer is Xenophon regarded as merely a ‘literary dilettante’, a dull, unimaginative and ultimately incompetent philosopher, or a conservative gentleman of the British old school. He is rather a political radical, an innovator in literary form, and the defender of a ‘trendy and shocking philosopher’. In this vein, hisSymposiumhas been rescued from condemnation as a poor imitation of Plato's dialogue of the same name. No modern reader of Xenophon's work would go so far as Eunapius in declaring its writer to be ‘the only man out of all the philosophers to adorn philosophy in word and deed’. Yet, as Huss's comprehensive commentary has shown, theSymposiumis much more than the product of an amateur philosopher and writer. It is a work of considerable complexity which draws on a variety of literary influences beyond Plato'sSymposium, mixing seriousness with jest in order to explore, among other issues, beauty and desire.

The Allure of the Improbable: Fingal, Evidence, and the Testimony of the “Echoing Heath”

PMLA ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Wickman
Keyword(s):  
Literary Form ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Social Critique ◽  
Witness Testimony ◽  
Commercial Society ◽  
Legal Evidence ◽  
Scottish Highlands ◽  
Critical Relation ◽  
The One ◽  
British Culture

While James Macpherson's epic translation Fingal has usually been marshaled as evidence or impugned for its lack thereof, it actually bears a reflexive and critical relation to the issue of evidence in eighteenth-century British culture. On the one hand, the text elicits the ubiquitous logic of probability that was coming to shape the epistemology of legal evidence as well as parallel formations in commercial society and even in theories of the novel; on the other hand, however, the text counteracts this logic by highlighting its own affiliation with the improbability of witness testimony. Such testimony—improbable because widely differentiated from the deliberations of jurors, for example—increasingly came to reflect the relation of literature to the legal, scientific, and philosophical discourses of knowledge. Fingal shows how the improbability of the Scottish Highlands began symbolically to enable configurations of literary form as a vehicle of social critique.

Treasures and wondrous objects in Gothic Toledo and Muslim Medieval culture

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-160
Author(s):  
Jaime Gómez de Caso Zuriaga
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
General Sense ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
The Past ◽  
Modern Reader ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Muslim Culture ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The aim of the present contribution is twofold. On the one hand we shall discuss the background of some Islamic legends about places and wondrous objects – holy relics of the past – that had once been in the possession of the Gothic monarchy by inheritance, but were subsequently lost or looted out of al-Andalus by the Muslim leaders. On the other hand our study is concerned with the relationship between the content of the legends in question and the “loss of Spain” in a more general sense, i.e. not only the loss of these objects by the Christian Goths subsequent to their loss of power in Spain, but also their disappearance from Muslim ownership. Besides, the legends possess a moral core, which is interesting in its own right: the way in which they are viewed in the Muslim sources, the locations and objects they describe, and their relationship to the Gothic monarchy may provide the modern reader with an insight into the striking vision of the past held by the invading Muslim culture.

Poetry

2020 ◽  
pp. 1015-1025
Author(s):  
Clarissa Vierke
Keyword(s):  
Literary Form ◽  
Modern Poetry ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Language Form ◽  
Intimate Connection ◽  
Specific Term ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
Praise Poetry

This chapter offers an overview of poetry in African languages from all over the continent, which is, on the one hand, the most universal and the most specific literary form. Most African cultures did not have a specific term for literature before colonialism, but have long traditions of rhythmically bound speech reserved for special occasions and used to promote the most important ideals and aspirations of society which have proved flexible to newly emerging styles. Given the beauty, vitality, and long history of poetry and its diversity rooted in its intimate connection with respective cultural contexts, concepts of aesthetics, and language form, the chapter starts by making heuristic use of generic categories, like epic and praise poetry, to be able to both draw comparisons and highlight cultural specifics. It pays attention to poetry’s changing media across time while also going beyond the typical dichotomy of “traditional” and “modern” poetry.

‘Yahweh is a Man of Wars’

1969 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-188
Author(s):  
P. C. Craigie
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human History ◽  
Modern Reader ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One

The declaration that ‘Yahweh is a Man of Wars’page 1 poses a problem for the modern reader of the Old Testament. The direct connexion between God and war seems to be alien to the spirit of the New Testament. And today, when the horrors of war are so constantly in the news, this epithet for God seems to be all the more abhorrent. The epithet was quoted at the beginning of an article in an earlier volume of this Journal, A. Gelston's ‘The Wars of Israel’.page 2 The problem becomes most acute in the question of the wars of conquest, for there we can trace two aspects of Yahweh's activity. On the one hand, Yahweh uses war as a means of judgment on the sinful Canaanitespage 3; on the other hand, He uses war as a means to an end, namely the fulfilment of the patriarchal and Covenant promises.page 4 Although Gelston mentions this double aspect of the wars of conquest (p. 326), his conclusions only satisfy the former of the two aspects (p. 331). Of his five summary points, two are applicable to this particular case. The first is that ‘when Yahweh is identified with Israel's cause, the motive is usually the execution of judgment on Yahweh's enemies’, and secondly he declares that ‘Yahweh alone is ultimately sovereign in human history, and his cause is always just’.

Plotinus on the Making of Matter Part III: The Essential Background

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-80
Author(s):  
Denis O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Unsuccessful Attempt ◽  
Female Desire ◽  
Modern Reader ◽  
Difficult Question ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Style Of Writing ◽  
Nature Of Matter

Abstract Plotinus did not set out to be obscure. Difficulties of interpretation arise partly from his style of writing, compressed, elliptical, allusive. The allusions, easily enough recognisable by those he was writing for, are often not recognised at all by the modern reader who no longer has at his fingertips the texts of Plato and Aristotle that Plotinus undoubtedly alludes to, but whose authors he has no need to name. So it is pre-eminently with his subtle use of earlier ideas in tackling the difficult question of the nature of matter and its place in the scheme of emanation. The frequent references to matter as ‘non-being’ and as ‘privation’ can be understood only if they are seen as a radical adaptation of the paradoxical definition of a ‘form that is, of what is not’ in Plato’s Sophist(258 D 5-7) and as a deliberate correction of Aristotle’s unsuccessful attempt at including female desire in an analysis of privation in the Physics(i 9, 192 a 22-25). Only when the debt to Plato and Aristotle has been recognised for what it is are we able to appreciate that matter defined as ‘non-being’ is not therefore ‘non-existent’, and that the ‘privation’ that is matter is not a terminus a quoof change, but a permanent substrate of change. The adaptation and the daring syncretism lead to deliberate paradox in Plotinus’ own definition of matter as both ‘so to speak a form of sorts’ and ‘formless’ (I 8 [51] 3). The seeming inconsistency is Plotinus’ acknowledgment of the use he has made of earlier ideas when he writes of matter, so defined, as ‘made’ by a lower manifestation of soul, and therefore as the last and the least of the products flowing from, but not created by, the One.

scholarly journals Humanistic aspects of Carolingian Court Poetry: Poetical Technique and Use of Sources in Paul the Deacon's Carmen X

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Marco Conti
Keyword(s):  
Literary Form ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Typical Specimen ◽  
Court Poetry ◽  
The One

The object of this article is the analysis of a typical specimen of Carolingian court poetry, namely Paul the Deacon’s Carmen X, which was written at the very beginning of the so-called Carolingian Renaissance in 781. In my opinion, Paul’s poem demonstrates once more how, on the one hand, the poetical technique and use of classical sources and, on the other hand, the crucial influence of the environment of Charlemagne’s court that both makes Carolingian poetry an extremely innovative literary form, and strongly connects it with the later phenomenon of Humanism.

scholarly journals Literature Philosophied. Witkacy – Gombrowicz – Schulz

Tekstualia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-180
Author(s):  
Żaneta Nalewajk
Keyword(s):  
Literary Form ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Witold Gombrowicz ◽  
Philosophy And Literature ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Contextual Indicators ◽  
The One ◽  
Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz ◽  
Almost All

Readers of Witkacy, Gombrowicz, and Schulz are bound to notice philosophical inspirations present in numerous intertextual references and contextual indicators. Their texts contain almost all possible literary signs suggesting the possibility of at analysing works by Witkacy, Gombrowicz, and Schulz on at least two hermeneutic levels: literary and philosophical. In the case of Witkacy, Schulz, and Gombrowicz, the choice of literary form was essentially philosophical. In works by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, it seemed to advocate replacing philosophical monographs with individualised language as one of conditions of innovation in the fi eld. Witold Gombrowicz, in turn, manifested his objection towards a speculative, “non-physical” philosophy deprived of experience. Bruno Schulz’s decision to mix philosophy and literature stemmed from a conviction that the arts (and literature as one of them) cannot mindlessly recreate existing philosophical theses. On the contrary, it should be the one to challenge philosophy with complex questions. If we were to look for examples of an illustrative character in the works of the three authors, we might only refer to their individual stands. In this sense, the presence of references to philosophical tradition was naturally signifi cant, but should not overshadow their own points of view.

Daoist Mysticism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judson B. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Mystical Experience ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Literary Form ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Moral Integrity ◽  
Optimal Setting ◽  
Chinese Religions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One

Daoist mysticism is a subfield in academic areas of study including comparative mysticism, Chinese religions, and Daoist studies. Methodologies employed in it often adopt and adapt different definitions, categories, and theories formulated in contemporary Western scholarship on the subject of “mysticism” for the purpose of analyzing Daoist thinkers, texts, practices, and traditions throughout the religion’s history. Important topics examined in scholarly works on Daoist mysticism include, first, Daoist views of the human self, both as it exists in its problematic state of degeneracy—physically, intellectually, emotionally, and morally—and in the natural and optimal condition it can and should embody. A point of emphasis regarding the latter condition is the self’s experience or consciousness of, conformity to, and unity with that which is of ultimate significance for Daoists: the “Way” (Dao/Tao). Daoist mystics, by understanding themselves to be microcosmic embodiments of the world and its processes, grasp that they are inherent constituents of the Dao and are unified with the totality of existence that it encompasses. Second, there is an array of Daoist self-cultivation techniques that are combined into training regimens aimed at cultivating and actualizing this awareness. Methods range from practices relating to the optimal setting and lifestyle to adopt for training, proper preparation and maintenance of the body, qi/ch’i cultivation, ethical observances, visualizations, and other meditative techniques. Third, successful training in them achieves the mystical aims, experiences, and transformations that practitioners seek, including physical vigor to aid the body’s functioning and longevity, moral integrity, profound visions, true and omniscient insight, correct and effective conduct, self-divinization, and immortality. Fourth, the scholarship also identifies both notable continuities and intriguing innovations in comparing ancient Daoist mystical ideas, practices, and goals to later expressions and elaborations of them. Studying Daoist mysticism has also reciprocally contributed to Western scholarly inquiries into theories of mysticism and comparative mysticism, not only in providing a wealth of material that is relevant to these fields, but also in offering both additional perspectives on debated issues and new trajectories for future research. For example, recent scholarship has contributed to the debate between, on the one hand, Essentialist and Decontextualist theorists and, on the other, Contextualists concerning the subject of mystical experience. Scholars of Daoist mysticism have also underscored the distinctiveness of the content and the literary form of its mystical writings, as well as the vital role the practitioner’s body plays in its theories and practices, and how these defining features distinguish Daoist mysticism from some of the world’s other mystical traditions.

Hesiod's Myth of the five (or three or four) races

1998 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 104-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn W. Most
Keyword(s):  
World History ◽  
Literary Form ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Human History ◽  
Physical Deterioration ◽  
The Many ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
Better Than

Few passages in Greek literature are as familiar, and as perplexing, as the story of the various races of men in Hesiod'sWorks and Days. On the one hand, thismythseems perfectly to fulfill Italo Calvino's definition of a classic: somehow we seem always already to know it even when we come upon it for the very first time. For the conception of a golden age, when life was easier and men were better than now, has become so basic a motif of western culture that it is familiar even to the many who have never read or even heard of theWorks and Days; moreover, Hesiod seems at first glance to deploy such widespread notions as those of a succession of ages of world history and of a steady moral and physical deterioration from the beginning of human history to the present. But on the other hand, the specific literary form which this myth assumes in thetextin which it is embodied here seems strangely at odds with these familiar ideas. For Hesiod's text has a richness and complexity far in excess of what would be needed to communicate them, and in certain crucial respects seems to be at variance or even in contradiction with them. Instead of simply distinguishing between past and present, Hesiod apparently constructs a complicated scheme juxtaposing four metals in descending order of value, from gold through silver and bronze to iron; but he then goes on to confuse this pattern by inserting between the bronze and iron races a race of heroes who not only are not associated with any metal but also interrupt the steady decline by being better than their immediate predecessors. Without Hesiod, we probably would not even have this myth; yet his own version of it seems oddly defective.

‘I Have Become a Stranger in a Foreign Land’: Reading the Exodus Narrative as the Villain

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 515-527
Author(s):  
Tchavdar S. Hadjiev
Keyword(s):  
Modern Reader ◽  
Foreign Land ◽  
Ideological Stance ◽  
To Come ◽  
The One ◽  
Exodus Narrative ◽  
The Voice

AbstractThis article offers a reading of the beginning of the Exodus narrative that recognises the affinity between contemporary western readers and the villains of the story, the Egyptians. Both groups live in prosperous places where migrants wish to come in and settle, and both have to deal with minorities living in their midst and posing apparent threat to their security. Against such a background the modern reader can choose to read against the grain of the text and construe the otherness of the Hebrews as the main reason behind the devastation that engulfs Egypt. However, a more fruitful and attractive approach is to embrace the ideological stance of the narrative and place oneself in the role of the villain. This allows us to hear through the story the voice of the one who has become a stranger in a foreign land.

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