Narrow is the Gate to Utopia

Moreana ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (Number 187- (1-2) ◽  
pp. 207-226
Author(s):  
Marie-Claire Phélippeau

This study examines the notions of pleasure, individual liberty and consensus in Thomas More’s Utopia. The paradox inherent in Utopia, written before the Reformation, is especially visible in the affirmation of religious toleration coexisting with the need for a strict supervision of the citizens. The dream of an ideal republic is based on a Pauline vision of man which defines the individual mainly as a sinner. Consequently, it is the duty of the republic’s rulers to guide the citizens and establish a consensus. This study tries to determine the part left to the individual’s free will and examines the nature and function of the structures that are supposed to ensure the happiness of each one and of the whole community. The notion of moral hierarchy is asserted as the linchpin of the Utopian social construction.

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Miola

Throughout their careers both Jonson and Shakespeare often encountered Homer, who left a deep impress on their works. Jonson read Homer directly in Greek but Shakespeare did not, or if he did, he left no evidence of that reading in extant works. Both Jonson and Shakespeare encountered Homer indirectly in Latin recollections by Vergil, Horace, Ovid and others, in English translations, in handbooks and mythographies, in derivative poems and plays, in descendant traditions, and in plentiful allusions. Though their appropriations differ significantly, Jonson and Shakespeare both present comedic impersonations of Homeric scenes and figures – the parodic replay of the council of the gods (Iliad 1) in Poetaster (1601) 4.5 and the appearance of “sweet warman” Hector (5.2.659) in the Masque of the Nine Worthies (Love's Labor's Lost, 1588–97). Homer's Vulcan and Venus furnish positive depictions of love and marriage in The Haddington Masque (1608) as do his Hector and Andromache in Julius Caesar (1599), which features other significant recollections. Both Jonson and Shakespeare recall Homer to explore the dark side of honor and fame: Circe and Ate supply the anti-masque in the Masque of Queens (1609), and scenes from Chapman's Iliad supply the comical or tragical satire, Troilus and Cressida (c. 1601). Both poets put Homer to abstract and philosophical uses: Zeus's chain and Venus's ceston (girdle), allegorized, appears throughout Jonson's work and function as central symbols in Hymenaei (1606); Homer's depiction of the tension between fate and free will, between the omnipotent gods and willing humans, though mediated, inflects the language and action of Coriolanus (c. 1608). Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare practice a kind of inventive imitatio which, according to classical and neo-classical precept, re-reads classical texts in order to make them into something new.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Johan Klopper ◽  
Oladele Vincent Adeniyi ◽  
Kate Stephenson

Abstract Background The larynx has multiple composite functions which include phonation, airway protection, and sensory control of respiration. Stenosis of the larynx and trachea were first recorded by O’Dwyer in 1885 and by Colles in 1886, respectively. Initially, the aetiology of laryngotracheal stenosis was predominantly infective. Currently, the leading cause is iatrogenic injury to the laryngotracheal complex secondary to prolonged ventilation in an intensive care unit. Main body Laryngotracheal stenosis is a complex and diverse disease. It poses a major challenge to the surgeon and can present as an airway emergency. Management typically demands the combined involvement of various disciplines including otorhinolaryngology, cardiothoracic surgery, anaesthesiology, interventional pulmonology, and radiology. Both the disease and its management can impact upon respiration, voice, and swallowing. The incidence of iatrogenic laryngotracheal stenosis has reflected the evolution of airway and intensive care whilst airway surgery has advanced concurrently over the past century. Correction of laryngotracheal stenosis requires expansion of the airway lumen; this is achieved by either endoscopic or open surgery. We review the relevant basic science, aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis, management, and treatment outcomes of LTS. Conclusion The choice of surgical procedure in the management of laryngotracheal stenosis is often dictated by the individual anatomy and function of the larynx and trachea, together with patient factors and available facilities. Regardless of how the surgeon chooses to approach these lesions, prevention of iatrogenic laryngotracheal damage remains of primary importance.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 469
Author(s):  
Johnny Grandjean Gøgsig Jakobsen

Monasticism was introduced to Denmark in the 11th century. Throughout the following five centuries, around 140 monastic houses (depending on how to count them) were established within the Kingdom of Denmark, the Duchy of Schleswig, the Principality of Rügen and the Duchy of Estonia. These houses represented twelve different monastic orders. While some houses were only short lived and others abandoned more or less voluntarily after some generations, the bulk of monastic institutions within Denmark and its related provinces was dissolved as part of the Lutheran Reformation from 1525 to 1537. This chapter provides an introduction to medieval monasticism in Denmark, Schleswig, Rügen and Estonia through presentations of each of the involved orders and their history within the Danish realm. In addition, two subchapters focus on the early introduction of monasticism to the region as well as on the dissolution at the time of the Reformation. Along with the historical presentations themselves, the main and most recent scholarly works on the individual orders and matters are listed.


1974 ◽  
Vol 186 (1083) ◽  
pp. 99-120 ◽  

Tissue was obtained from the testes of three men, two in the age range 72-75 years (subjects A and B) and one aged 25 years (subject C). Parts of the testes were dissected to obtain samples of interstitium and tubules. The individual components and whole tissue were each incubated with equimolar concentrations of [7 α - 3 H]pregnenolone and [4- 14 C]progesterone in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer pH 7.4, at 35 °C with the addition of glucose but without cofactors. Some incubations were carried out with the substrates [4- 14 C]androstenedione and [7 α - 3 H]testosterone. The media were extracted both at various time intervals throughout the incubation for a kinetic study of the metabolic activity and after a fixed interval of time at the end of the incubations. In some incubations with whole tissue both media and tissue were extracted. Both the tubules and interstitium displayed steroid metabolic activity. Qualitatively they yielded the same range of metabolites, one series leading to the formation of testosterone (∆ 5 pathway) and the other to a variety of C 21 compounds as represented by 5 α -pregnan-3 β -ol-20-one. With similar amounts of tissue there was little difference in the yields of the main products formed by the tubules as compared with those formed by the interstitium; in incubations with [4- 14 C]androstenedione the rate of conversion to [ 14 C ]testosterone by the tubules greatly exceeded that due to the interstitium. Marked differences were found in the pattern of steroid metabolism by whole tissue as compared to the general pattern presented by the corresponding tubules and interstitium. It is concluded that the seminiferous tubules and interstitium of the human testis are both capable of steroid metabolism and hence that whole tissue incubations alone are of limited value and could give rise to misleading data. Some clinical aspects of the results are briefly discussed.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1606-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Michaelson ◽  
Wasif Ali ◽  
Vi K. Chiu ◽  
Martin Bergo ◽  
Joseph Silletti ◽  
...  

The CAAX motif at the C terminus of most monomeric GTPases is required for membrane targeting because it signals for a series of three posttranslational modifications that include isoprenylation, endoproteolytic release of the C-terminal– AAX amino acids, and carboxyl methylation of the newly exposed isoprenylcysteine. The individual contributions of these modifications to protein trafficking and function are unknown. To address this issue, we performed a series of experiments with mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) lacking Rce1 (responsible for removal of the –AAX sequence) or Icmt (responsible for carboxyl methylation of the isoprenylcysteine). In MEFs lacking Rce1 or Icmt, farnesylated Ras proteins were mislocalized. In contrast, the intracellular localizations of geranylgeranylated Rho GTPases were not perturbed. Consistent with the latter finding, RhoGDI binding and actin remodeling were normal in Rce1- and Icmt-deficient cells. Swapping geranylgeranylation for farnesylation on Ras proteins or vice versa on Rho proteins reversed the differential sensitivities to Rce1 and Icmt deficiency. These results suggest that postprenylation CAAX processing is required for proper localization of farnesylated Ras but not geranygeranylated Rho proteins.


2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Oberdorfer

AbstractThe relevance of the reformation for the development of modern liberty rights is much debated. Although the Protestant Reformers fought for the »Freedom of a Christian« against religious patronization, they were not tolerant in a modern sense of the term. However, the Reformation released long-term impulses which contributed to the origin and formation of a modern civil society, e. g. the respect for the autonomy of the individual over against the church, the passion for education, the emphasis on the »universal priesthood of all believers«, and the appreciation of civil professions. Long historical learning processes were necessary, though, until the Protestant churches acknowledged and adopted modern liberty rights, a participatory democracy and a pluralistic society as genuine forms of expression of a Protestant ethos.


1963 ◽  
Vol s3-104 (68) ◽  
pp. 505-512
Author(s):  
L. T. THREADGOLD

The cuticle of light microscopy is shown by electron microscopy to be a surface layer of protoplasm which is an extension of areas of nucleated protoplasm lying deep in the parenchyma. The cuticle therefore exists at two levels. The external level is syncytial, consisting of plateaux separated by branching valleys. This level contains apical pinocytotic vesicles, numerous mitochondria, endoplasmic membranes, large basal and other vacuoles, and dense spines. Tube-like evaginations from the base of the external level connect it to the individual areas of flask-shaped protoplasm which compose the internal level. Each of these areas of protoplasm contains a nucleus, great numbers of mitochondria, some vacuoles and diffuse inclusions, and the Golgi bodies. The histochemistry and function of the cuticle is discussed in the light of this new knowledge of cuticular ultrastructure, and a comparison is made between the cuticle of Cestoda and Trematoda.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 135-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-U. Kreft ◽  
J. W. Wimpenny

We have simulated a nitrifying biofilm with one ammonia and one nitrite oxidising species in order to elucidate the effect of various extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production scenarios on biofilm structure and function. The individual-based model (IbM) BacSim simulates diffusion of all substrates on a two-dimensional lattice. Each bacterium is individually simulated as a sphere of given size in a continuous, three-dimensional space. EPS production kinetics was described by a growth rate dependent and an independent term (Luedeking-Piret equation). The structure of the biofilm was dramatically influenced by EPS production or capsule formation. EPS production decreased growth of producers and stimulated growth of non-producers because of the energy cost involved. For the same reason, EPS accumulation can fall as its rate of production increases. The patchiness and roughness of the biofilm decreased and the porosity increased due to EPS production. EPS density was maximal in the middle of the vertical profile. Introduction of binding forces between like cells increased clustering.


2010 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
BEN JACKSON

ABSTRACTIt is often suggested that the earliest theorists of neo-liberalism first entered public controversy in the 1930s and 1940s to dispel the illusion that the welfare state represented a stable middle way between capitalism and socialism. This article argues that this is an anachronistic account of the origins of neo-liberalism, since the earliest exponents of neo-liberal doctrine focused on socialist central planning rather than the welfare state as their chief adversary and even sought to accommodate certain elements of the welfare state agenda within their market liberalism. In their early work, neo-liberal theorists were suspicious of nineteenth-century liberalism and capitalism; emphasized the value commitments that they shared with progressive liberals and socialists; and endorsed significant state regulation and redistribution as essential to the maintenance of a free society. Neo-liberals of the 1930s and 1940s therefore believed that the legitimation of the market, and the individual liberty best secured by the market, had to be accomplished via an expansion of state capacity and a clear admission that earlier market liberals had been wrong to advocate laissez-faire.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Janew

Can we trace back consciousness, reality, awareness, and free will to a single basic structure without giving up any of them? Can the universe exist in both real and individual ways without being composed of both? This dialogue founds consciousness and freedom of choice on the basis of a new reality concept that also includes the infinite as far as we understand it. Just the simplest distinction contains consciousness. It is not static, but a constant alternation of perspectives. From its entirety and movement, however, there arises a freedom of choice being more than reinterpreted necessity and unpredictability. Although decisions ultimately involve the whole universe, they are free in varying degrees also here and now. The unity and openness of the infinite enables the individual to be creative while this creativity directly and indirectly enters into all other individuals without impeding them. A contrary impression originates only in a narrowed awareness. But even the most conscious and free awareness can neither anticipate all decisions nor extinguish individuality. Their creativity is secured.


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