Notebook
‘No parking meter? No excuse!’
Wednesday 23 April 2008
I was in a newsagent this afternoon on the Rue de la Servette, a four-lane (+two tram lines) road in Geneva. A lady had got in to the shop just before me; she asked the shop-keeper where there was a parking meter in the vicinity. The lady behind the counter told this woman that although the signs had been put up and the ground prepared for them, the meters hadn’t yet been installed. Nevertheless, she went on, the customer should be vigilant because the lack of machines is not seen as a valid reason for not displaying a parking permit, and the wardens—who, she said, are known to pass regularly—are still liable to issue parking tickets!
All of this was reported slightly apologetically (in a don’t-blame-me-it’s-not-my-fault tone) but seemingly neither of them
Killed by a book!
Sunday 13 April 2008
Pliny the Younger, Epistles 2.1.5:
Nam cum vocem praepararet acturus in consulatu principi gratias, liber quem forte acceperat grandiorem, et seni et stanti ipso pondere elapsus est. Hunc dum sequitur colligitque, per leve et lubricum pavimentum fallente vestigio cecidit coxamque fregit, quae parum apte collocata reluctante aetate male coiit.
For while he was preparing a thanksgiving speech to the Princeps for the consulship, he happened to lift a rather large book which slipped from the old man’s hand, who was standing up at the time. When he bent down to pick it up, his foot slipped on the smooth and wet pavement, and he broke his hip, which was knocked out of joint, and because of his advanced age, re-knitted badly.
Let that be a warning to those of us who use
List of English homonyms whose meaning is derived from the way they’re stressed
Wednesday 27 February 2008
In English, we have many words which are used both as nouns and/or adjectives, and as verbs. When the words are used as nouns or adjectives, the first syllable is stressed, whereas when they're verbs, it's a later syllable which is stressed. The nouns are therefore known as 'Initial-stress-derived nouns’—what else?
Here are some fun examples:
Essay: Euripides’ Hippolytus and Seneca’s Phaedra
Friday 11 January 2008 #
What has changed between Euripides’ Hippolytus and Seneca’s Phaedra? How different is the dramatic technique of the poets? And what strikes you as distinctive in their thematic preoccupations?
- Paper:
- Ancient & French Classical Tragedy
- Due:
20 March 2008Complete!
Essay: Nature & Stoicism in Seneca’s Phaedra
Friday 11 January 2008 #
What is the force of Nature in Seneca’s Phaedra? How does this theme relate to the Stoic obligation to live according to Nature?
- Paper:
- Ancient & French Classical Tragedy
- Due:
- 24 April 2008
Essay: Christianity, diffusion and opposition
Sunday 10 June 2007 #
- Trace and explain the main causes of the rise of Christianity between the Pauline period and the conversion of Constantine. Why did people become Christians?
- What did Graeco-Roman polytheists make of the new sect? How soon was it distinguished from Judaism?
- Why were Christians persecuted? Did the Church Fathers exaggerate the extent and frequency of persecutions? Was Christianity incompatible with e.g. loyalty to the emperor, or with military service?
- Why did some Christians persecute others? How did belief turn into heresy?
- Paper:
- Religions of the Greek & Roman World
- Due:
12 June 2007Complete!
Essay: Early Christianity
Sunday 10 June 2007 #
- Was there an early 'Christianity', or where there early 'Christianities'? What other Gospel traditions existed early on beside the Synoptic Gospels? What distinguished these Gospels from the 'Synoptic' ones?
- How different was 'early Christianity' from contemporary Judaism? Would it be right to call 'early Christianity' an offshoot or a dialect of Judaism?
- How was Christianity organized? What were the consequencs of Christianization on existing family and social structures in the eastern Mediterranean? Did Christians stand out in the period of the Acts, or were they inconspicuous?
- Paper:
- Religions of the Greek & Roman World
- Due:
5 June 2007Complete!
Essay: Rome and the Jews
Friday 25 May 2007 #
- Outline briefly the main Romano-Jewish relations under the empire. How did Romans and Jews view each other?
- How valid is a distinction between 'Romans' and 'Jews'?
- How far were Jews integrated into the Roman empire? What were the sticking points? Were they social, political, or religious?
- How successful were Jewish apologists in this period?
- Paper:
- Religions of the Greek & Roman World
- Due:
29 May 2007Complete!
Essay: Mithraism
Friday 18 May 2007 #
- What were the origins of Mithraism? Explain its tenets. Why were Mithraea located where they were? Can we explain the iconography of the cult?
- What did Mithraism offer worshippers? How quickly did it become popular; were there problems?
- Should we classify Mithraism as an oriental or a military cult? Or neither?
- Paper:
- Religions of the Greek & Roman World
- Due:
22 May 2007Complete!
Essay: Isis and Sarapis
Wednesday 2 May 2007 #
- What are the salient features of the cult of Isis? And of Sarapis?Why were they associated?
- Why was Isis popular in Rome and Italy? Were there any problems of integration?
- Why do the Metamorphoses of Apuleius turn into a work of Isaian devotion? How genuine is it? What can we learn from the work about Isis?
- Did the worship of Isis introduce a new dimension to Roman religion?
- Why did some people in the Roman world decide to dedicate themselves to the worship of Isis? Was this 'elective' worship exclusive of other forms of cult?
- Paper:
- Religions of the Greek & Roman World
- Due:
8 May 2007Complete!