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20 May 2018 - SALT LAKE CITY
Jordan River Utah Temple Is Rededicated
Extensive renovations are complete
President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, rededicated the Jordan River Utah Temple May 20, 2018.
Jordan River Temple Rededication
Jordan River Temple Cultural Celebration
Jordan River Temple Walk
Jordan River Utah Temple Walk
Downloadable video for journalists: Cultural Celebration SOTs | Cultural Celebration b-roll | Rededication SOTs | Rededication b-roll
During the two-year closure, the temple’s interior was extensively renovated. New furniture, carpet, decorative paint motifs, artwork and art glass were added, and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing elements were updated to improve the building’s efficiency. The exterior did not change; however, the landscaping immediately surrounding the temple and sidewalks is new, and other areas were refreshed. Additional details of the renovation can be found here.
In an interview prior to the dedication, President Eyring said that during the dedication Sunday he will be feeling “echoes of the pioneers” who settled that part of the Salt Lake Valley “because of the faith they had.” This is a “pioneering place.”
President Eyring also referenced the 1981 dedicatory prayer by then President Spencer W. Kimball, his uncle, and said it is “appropriate to our time.” In the prayer, President Kimball talked about governments and the need to have righteous leadership and unity.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also participated in the rededication, along with Elders Timothy J. Dyches and Mervyn B. Arnold of the Seventy; Sister Joy D. Jones, general president of the Primary; and Bishop Dean M. Davies, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric.
The temple was rededicated in three sessions for Latter-day Saints living in the Jordan River Temple area, as well as in the Draper Utah and Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple districts. The regular schedule of Sunday meetings was cancelled for those members of the Church.
The day before the temple was rededicated, 17,000 young men and women danced and sang in a cultural celebration in the Conference Center on Temple Square Saturday, May 19. The theme of the event was “Ready,” from a Mormon scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants.
President Eyring told the youth in brief remarks before the performance: “My prayer is that this experience will lead to a lifetime of choices to make the temple a guiding star on your journey home to live forever in loving families with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. I am grateful to be on the journey with you. Thank you for your companionship today, and may this celebration be another step along our way.”
Of the 17,000 youth, Saturday’s celebration included a cast of more than 2,000 youth who participated as narrators, soloists, dancers and members of the celebration choir, band and orchestra. The remaining 15,000 teens joined the Conference Center audience and performed in various elements of the production. The performers rehearsed for two months, providing them with an experience meant to build spiritual strength and unity for their temple experience now and in the future.
The cultural celebration was broadcast to meetinghouses in the temple districts. Featured was video footage from the activities held during the previous eight weeks that helped the youth personally prepare themselves to be ready for the rededication of the temple.
One of the activities the youth participated in while preparing for the rededication occurred Saturday, May 12. Thousands of youth and their leaders walked, on a very rainy day, from their homes throughout the Salt Lake Valley to the temple, a journey for some of over eight miles.
At the time of its dedication in 1981, the Jordan River Utah Temple was the 20th operating temple of the Church worldwide and the seventh to be built in Utah. It serves Church members from 66 stakes in the Salt Lake Valley. Today, there are 159 temples around the world, of which 10 are being renovated. There are also 10 temples under construction and 20 have been announced, for a total of 189 temples.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord,” where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ceremonies that unite families.
Public Open House Begins for Jordan River Utah Temple
Previous Article Brook P. Hales Called as General Authority Seventy Next Article Church Transferring 169 Missionaries Out of Nicaragua
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Guest Blog, Isak Finer, COS Systems: Why I Believe Open Access is The Right Choice for Communities
Sep 28, 2017 | Blog Entry, Getting Started, Models 101, News, Resources
An increasing number of US cities are considering a deployment of fiber networks to ensure job creation, economic development, and quality of life for their residents. Community leaders realize that the younger generations and businesses of the future will not accept inadequate broadband access. What they also realize is that the incumbent providers will prioritize their investments to the bigger markets or the densest urban areas where the business case is the most favorable. It’s simply how the market dynamics work. For the US to reach its national broadband target and to stay competitive in an increasingly connected world, cities need to build networks. The right model for community networks is Open Access and this blog post will explain why.
What is an Open Access Network?
First, we need to agree on what the Open Access business model is, since there are more interpretations of the term than one could count. Some people consider a model where a network owner builds a fiber ring in the community and allows multiple providers to tap on to that fiber and build their own last mile network to the actual houses, as Open Access. We don’t encourage that approach since it won’t create enough choice for the end user, which is the very definition of Open Access.
The Open Access model described here is a 2 or 3-layer model where there are subscribers, service providers, an operations company, and a network owner. In the 2-layer model the network owner is also the operator managing their own network, while in the 3-layer model the network owner has contracted an external operations company to manage the day-to-day operations of the network.
The network owner will build the actual fiber infrastructure and maintain it. This is the ideal role for the city or community to be in, and often in mature open access markets this is a utility company since they are used to deploying cables or pipes in the ground. The most important thing to remember is to document the network properly so that it will be easy to locate e.g. a fiber cut in the future or how to do construction work without the risk of cutting the optical cables.
The operations company would manage and often supply the active layer equipment in the network. This means the routers and switches that control the actual internet traffic and keep track of which ports should be open or not, among other similar things. When a subscriber orders a service, it’s the operations company that will make sure that service is properly activated with the service delivered by the service provider that was chosen by the subscriber. Large operators often have systems that could automate this, so that the subscriber could get the service activated instantly.
The service providers are generally private companies who specialize in delivery of IP based services such as Internet access, VOIP (Voice over IP, replacing the traditional phone line), IPTV (replacing traditional TV) and other services getting more common today, such as home security, cloud storage, elderly care services, etc.
The very important difference in the Open Access network compared to traditional networks built by a service provider is that the subscriber has a choice. Since the Network Owner (the city) has built the network all the way to the house, they open the market to any service provider to sell services to the subscriber. If you’re not happy with your current provider you can just switch to another one. It’s even possible to buy Internet from one, TV from a second and VOIP from a third provider.
What about the money?
In the Open Access model the subscriber will buy the services from service providers, most commonly from a marketplace provided by the operations company where all the providers and services are published for subscribers to easily compare and choose what suits them best. Just like an Appstore, where all apps are easily available to the smartphone user. Subscribers would pay service providers directly and receive technical support from them as well. The service provider would in turn pay the operations company a fee for being allowed to deliver services over the network, normally a monthly fee per service. Then, if the network owner is a separate entity than the operations company, there is an arrangement between those two, that normally goes two ways. The network owner is paying the operations company money for operating their network, while the network owner is sharing the revenue from the service providers based on how much utilization (customers) there is on the network.
A pothole some network owners and/or operations companies have come across has been sending bills to the subscriber, for example a monthly fee that’s supposed to cover costs for maintaining the fiber infrastructure. This setup is very costly for numerous reasons. One is the cost for the handling of all those invoices, but the major issue is that it creates uncertainty for the subscriber about whom to contact when they have a problem. Because they get invoiced from multiple entities for their broadband related services, they might contact the network owner or the operations company with issues that should be handled by the service provider, and vice versa. This confusion will cause a lot of unnecessary communication between the different parties, perhaps sending the customer back and forth.
The customer should get one single bill from the service provider and all inquiries should go through the service provider. The operations company will need much less staff and focus on the more technical issues the service providers cannot handle.
Who will connect the farmer?
Everyone can agree that the farmers are quite important, since they provide the food we eat. But the farmers are as affected by the new digital era as everyone else. They collect their orders online, they pay their bills online, and have many high tech devices like milking machines that expect network access. Their kids also need to be able to do their homework which is has moved online. But the costs of building to these areas of low population density make a return on investment challenging. Private companies must make money to survive and in all honesty, would you be happy to see your retirement fund investing in companies who wasn’t trying to maximize their profit? No, many profit-maximizing firms will not build to rural areas. But the community has a different agenda. Communities recognize the importance of investments that create indirect benefits as well as direct benefits.
The above scenario also explains why the “dark fiber middle mile” version of Open Access won’t work. Even with a fiber ring, the service providers would only build where they are able to make a quick return, leaving farmers even worse off because cherry-picking off the middle mile would result in less overall revenue for a business model that would connect everyone. Having local government build an open access fiber network to everyone will avoid this problem.
Why Competition is key to success
As in all industries, competition will drive the price down and quality up and competition is only created if the end customer can actually make a choice between different providers. Research from my home country of Sweden, with the most mature open access approach anywhere, shows that there is a clear correlation between the number of service providers and the price of service. Especially when you go from one to two and three providers, but even the ninth and tenth provider will help to push the price down.
In the lowest cost community networks, a 100 Mbps symmetrical Internet service costs approximately $25. In Sweden the hundreds of Open Access community networks have been key to the vast build-out of high-speed broadband and especially fiber networks. Sweden has a population density of only 57 people per square mile (US has 90) but according to PTS (Sweden’s FCC) still 99.99% of the population has access to at least 10 Mbps broadband, 73% to 100 Mbps and 79% have access to fiber (within 45 yards of a fiber line). These numbers are for 2016 and increasing rapidly as both private and public network owners are now competing fiercely to reach the last customers with fiber first. So at a national level the build-out of strong community networks also pushes the private telecom giants to build more and faster and provide higher speed services at competitive prices, which benefits the country as a whole.
The Open Access model is also an enabler for the city to control the subscriber price on an aggregate level. If the city wants to subsidize Internet services to increase adoption they can simply lower the cost to the service providers to sell services on the network, which due to competition will drive the end customer price down and lead to higher utilization.
Why Open Access is necessary for Smart Cities
Today there is a big trend towards IoT (Internet of Things) where a lot of different devices and machines are connected. It could be everything from the heating system in your house being accessible to control and monitor via an app in your phone, to the utility placing smart meters in every home, or street lights that are connected to be able to allow much more sophisticated management of traffic, enabling free passage for emergency vehicles. All these smart services that will benefit the community and residents will be easy to implement if the city owns a citywide fiber network, but consider what happens when the entire network, or big parts of the network (in the case where the city only builds the fiber ring) is owned by private providers.
Let’s say you have five different profit-driven providers owning the infrastructure. This means you need to negotiate five different agreements to be able to deploy the services and still you might not be able to do a city wide roll-out, since the private providers will only have built their network in areas where they reach their ROI targets. As a city you might be forced to build those “worst” areas just to be able to deliver those smart services to all who need them and thereby force you into being a network operator anyway. With an open access network reaching every desirable end-point you’re ready for any smart service application the future may hold.
Yes, the private service providers will be able to make money
There is a fear that open access would lead to great service for subscribers but push the prices so low that ISPs will not have enough margin to profit. The answer is yes and no. No, those companies who don’t adapt to the competitive nature of the Open Access networks won’t make money. If you don’t deliver capacity and speeds as promised and don’t have excellent customer service (things not as important if you own the infrastructure and the customers have no other provider to turn to) you probably won’t be very successful in the long run. Also trying to lock customers in with long contracts or using data caps will be a hard sell in a competitive environment.
For those providers who focus on delivering high quality of both service and support at a reasonable price, there is the chance to also be very profitable. By focusing on service delivery, customer care and billing and not having to spend resources on capital intensive construction and maintenance of the physical infrastructure, they can build a highly specialized organization.
It’s also easy for new entrants, since there are no large investments as would have been the case if you are to build your own infrastructure. In Sweden there are numerous nationwide service providers who started with just a few guys in a basement, today creating jobs for hundreds of young, service-minded people. Even though the price for broadband in Sweden is lower than in the US, the profit margin among Service Providers on Open Access networks in Sweden is looked upon with envy by companies in other industries.
Open access is the right choice for cities who consider building their own network infrastructure. It’s important that the network is built all the way to the subscribers’ property. This way the digital future of the city is in their own hands. They can decide which providers are allowed to sell services on their network and adopt smart city services as they please. It will also give more power to the subscriber since there is competition at the subscriber level. This will make sure services are delivered with quality and at reasonable prices. The affordable prices will increase adoption and subsequently create the benefits the new broadband enabled services will bring to the community as a whole.
Isak Finer holds a position as Chief Marketing Officer at the software company COS Systems, founded in Umea. Umea is a city in the northern part of Sweden, and is home to one of the world’s first city owned fiber networks (built in 1994) and now home to a number of open access operations companies as well as some of the largest nationwide service providers. Today COS Systems, through the subsidiary COS Systems Inc has most of their customers in USA. Mr Finer is managing the sales and marketing teams bringing to the market two major innovative cloud-based software platforms; COS Service Zones, for demand aggregation and analysis of the expected costs and revenues of fiber roll out in different zones and COS Business Engine, a business and operations support system enabling open access operations companies to efficiently operate multiple networks with multiple service providers. Isak is also regularly invited to speak at Industry trade shows. He holds a MSc degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and has further academic experience within economics and entrepreneurship from Stanford University, CA, University of California Berkeley, CA and Uppsala University, Sweden.
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Stirling Local Guide Tolbooth
Tolbooth
Tolbooth - Stirling`s venue for live music and the arts
Re-opened in 2002, after a sensational restoration and redesign by award winning architect Richard Murphy, the Tolbooth has quickly established a reputation as one of the best live music venues in the country.
The Tolbooth has always been a feature of Stirling`s cultural life, it has been a court and jail (complete with death cells) and hosted a parliament in the reign of James VI.
Nowadays the Tolbooth is the base for Stirling Council`s Arts and Event Team and the home to some of the best musicians and performers working in Scotland.
The extended Grade A-listed building has retained many original features such as the dome ceiling in the main auditorium as well as incorporating state of the art technology throughout its eight floors.
The main auditorium can accommodate up to 166 people seated theatre style but at the touch of a button the space can be transformed to suit a an event for up to 225 people standing.
Throughout this light and airy building there are small to medium sized meeting rooms, the largest of which can accomodate 100 people, break-out rooms, circulation space, a cafe/bar and restaurant.
A permanent technical team is on hand to provide support to the more than traditional methods of presentation.
Music Venue Hire Dance Drama & Music LocalGuide Sport Leisure & Entertainment Theatre Disabled Access Chargable services Events Cafe live entertainment arts project Concerts & Music
Macrobert Arts Centre
The Macrobert Arts Centre is situated in the heart of the University of Stirling where events and experiences - cinema, comedy, dances take place.
The Albert Halls
Since its opening over a hundred years ago, the Albert Halls has been at the heart of Stirling`s artistic and civic life
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Home Business News Companies NPF Microfinance Bank Just Appointed A Managing Director That Shows What It...
NPF Microfinance Bank Just Appointed A Managing Director That Shows What It Means To Rise Through The Ranks
NPF Microfinance Bank just appointed a new MD, Mr Akinwumi Mohammed Lawal. I was reading his CV and was blown away by his rise to fame. This bears the hallmark of a guy who grew from the ranks. The guy rose from a clerk to become a Managing Director of a bank after being in banking for about 28 years!!! Check it out yourself.
NPF Microfinance Bank Plc has notified The Nigerian Stock Exchange of the appointment of Mr. Akinwumi Mohammed Lawal as the substantive Managing Director of the Bank. It also announced the appointment of Mr. Jude Chukwueloka Ohanehi as Executive Director of the Bank with effect from the date of its last Annual General Meeting held on June 26, 2014.
Mr. Akinwumi Mohammed Lawal: A Fellow Chartered Institute of Bankers (FCIB) holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) from the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos (1991 – 1994) before obtaining his Master in Business Administration (MBA) in 2003 from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
Mr. Lawal started his professional career with Fidelity Bond Insurance Brokers as a Principal Clerk (1986) before joining the Federal Savings Bank where he was between 1987 and 1991.
Between 1991 and 1993, he worked with FSB International Bank Ltd as a Treasury Unit Officer while from 1993 – 1994, he was at United Commercial Bank Ltd.
He joined the NPF Microfinance Bank Plc (formerly NPF Community Bank Plc) in 1995 as Head of Accounts and has occupied several positions in the bank since then ranging from; Branch Manager (Abuja) 1999 – 2005, Senior Manager (Head of Treasury) 2005 – 2007, AGM (Financial Control) 2007 – 2009, AGM (Operations) 2009 – 2010 and DGM (Operations/Head, Risk Management Enterprise) 2011 – September 2013.
He is an Associate, Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria and was since September 2013, the Acting Managing Director of the Bank prior to this substantive appointment.
Nairametrics is Nigeria's top business news and financial analysis website. We focus on providing resources that help small businesses and retail investors make better investing decisions. Nairametrics is updated daily by a team of professionals. Post updated as "Nairametrics" are published by our Editorial Board.
Leye July 8, 2014 at 8:03 am
Just shows that you can excel at whatever you do if you put your mind to it. Sky is the limit. http://www.leadtraderng.com
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Where does WARSI rank in the most common names in the U.S.?
WARSI is identified by the U.S. Bureau of the Census as a surname with more than 100 occurrences in the United States for the year-2000 U.S. Census. In "Demographic Aspects of Surnames from Census 2000", the Census Bureau tabulated the surnames of all people who had obtained Social Security Numbers by the year 2000.
WARSI ranks # 108734 in terms of the most common surnames in America for 2000.
WARSI had 151 occurrences in the 2000 Census, according the U.S. government records.
Out of a sample of 100,000 people in the United States, WARSI would occur an average of 0.06 times.
For the last name of WARSI the Census Bureau reports the following race / ethnic origin breakdown:
3.97 percent, or 6 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only"
77.48 percent, or 117 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only"
18.54 percent, or 28 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races"
0 percent, or None reported total occurrences, were "Hispanic Origin"
Search the web for more on the name WARSI :
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Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images
D-League salaries rise, remain low
By Dan FeldmanAug 18, 2016, 6:03 PM EDT
At last check, D-League salaries were:
Tier A: $25,500
Tier B: $19,000
Tier C: $13,000
Good news for anyone in the NBA’s minor league next season, especially those on the fringe.
Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (hat tip: Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders):
A league source has told Upside & Motor the structure will be altered for the 2016/17 season. Now there will only be two tiers for salaries as the “C” has been eliminated. The new salary levels will be $19,500 (B-Level) and $26,000 (A-Level) and the salary cap will rise to $209,000 also.
To be clear, this is for players on D-League contracts. Players on NBA contracts who are assigned to the D-League continue receiving their NBA salary (minimum: $543,471).
Yes, these salaries are still low. But everyone on a D-League contract is an NBA free agent. NBA teams won’t pay a premium for someone without gaining exclusive control of his rights.
Expect a major shakeup in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. As the D-League grows to 30 teams and a one-to-one affiliate for each NBA team, it’ll be feasible for NBA teams to hold the NBA rights of D-League players. Then, D-League salaries will really take off.
Nike countersues Kawhi Leonard over “Klaw” logo
Claus Andersen/Getty Images
“My mind on my money and my money on my mind.”
Nike and Kawhi Leonard are going to court over control of his “Klaw” logo, and it’s all about money and brand.
Leonard left Nike last season, eventually signing with New Balance, and he wants to be able to market his Klaw logo as part of his line with his new company. Leonard and his representatives sued Nike for control of the logo, saying Leonard came up with it in his own drawings.
Nike has countersued and said Leonard did not design the logo. Tim Bontemps of ESPN had these quotes from the countersuit itself.
“In this action, Kawhi Leonard seeks to re-write history by asserting that he created the ‘Claw Design’ logo, but it was not Leonard who created that logo. The ‘Claw Design’ was created by a talented team of NIKE designers, as Leonard, himself, has previously admitted…
“In his Complaint, Leonard alleges he provided a design to NIKE. That is true. What is false is that the design he provided was the Claw Design. Not once in his Complaint does Leonard display or attach either the design that he provided or the Claw Design. Instead, he conflates the two, making it appear as though those discrete works are one and the same. They are not.”
TMZ posted the designs.
Nike Fires Back at Kawhi Leonard, 'Distinct Differences' In Klaw Logo https://t.co/AFsGWsQkZj
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) July 18, 2019
I’m not about to guess what a judge would decide in this case. Most likely, this gets settled one way or another.
Meanwhile, New Balance is trying to come up with a new slogan for Leonard and his gear. King of the North is now out after his move to the Los Angeles Clippers this summer.
Tags: Kawhi Leonard
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Home Director Hindi Hindi Director
Date of death: 09-06-1991
Star sign: Gemini
REVIEWS - 1
Kala Pani Movie Review
Raj Khosla was a director in the Indian film industry who worked mainly in Bollywood. He was among the top Indian director. He was also a producer and a screenplay writer. He was born on 31 May 1925 in Ludhiana which is in Punjab at the time of British India. He had a daughter named Sunita Khosla Bhalla. Earlier, Raj took the training of classical singing to become a singer. After his training was over, he migrated to Mumbai (Bombay at that time) to find work as a playback singer so firstly, he started to work at the All India Radio in the area of music as a music staff. His first work in the film industry was as an assistant to Guru Dutt which was given to him by Dev Anand who realized his other talents.
He made his debut as a director through the film named “Milap” whose main stars were Dev Anand and Geeta Bali which released in 1954 but, it did not become a box office hit. His second film as a director was C.I.D. that released in the year 1956 and became a big hit of the box office. It was a big break for his career as a director. He later also gave many hits and worked in a large number of films such as Kala Pani in 1958, Bombai Ka Baboo in 1960, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina in 1962, Do Badan in 1966, Mera Gaon Mera Desh in 1971, Nehle Pe Dehla in 1976, and many more. He also worked as a producer in the film Do Chor of 1972. He received many awards during his lifetime.
He won the “Filmfare Best Movie Award” for the film Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki in the year 1978. He also received a nomination in Filmfare Awards in the category of Best Director for the film “Do Raaste” of the year 1970 and “Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki” in the year 1978. A postage stamp was released on 3 May 2013 in his honor by the India Post on which his face was printed. He died on 9 June 1991 at the age of 66 years in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. His daughter established “The Raj Khosla Foundation” as his memorial after his death along with the famous Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha who became its chairman and several others who became a member of this foundation such as Kabir Bedi, Johny Bakshi, Manoj Kumar, Amit Khanna, Moushumi Chatterjee, and Mahesh Bhatt.
Charuvi Agrawal
Bio coming soon...
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⌂ / News Center / Making a Difference, With Heart
Making a Difference, With Heart
Garcia served as an official 2016 Olympic Games volunteer in Rio de Janiero for three weeks.
As an asylum officer, Montsé Garcia ’11 connects with applicants hoping to start a new life in the U.S.
by Carlos Anchondo '14
Each year, thousands of people come to the United States in search of asylum. In the application process, overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), noncitizens must demonstrate proof of prior persecution or a “well-founded fear” of future persecution if they returned to their home country.
This process includes an interview, where asylum officers such as Montsé Garcia ’11 meet with applicants to hear their stories. Under oath to tell the truth, people regularly “relive the worst days of their lives,” says Garcia, as they describe the reasons they left home and make their case for asylum.
“Every day, someone is crying or upset because they are sharing very personal stories with a stranger,” Garcia says.
As a Houston-based asylum officer, these interviews are an everyday part of Garcia’s job with the asylum division at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a DHS agency. Garcia knows the interviews can be emotionally taxing for applicants, so she does her best to make them feel more like a conversation and less like an interrogation.
This can be a difficult balance to strike, as Garcia works to verify an applicant’s identity and to better understand the circumstances why someone left their country. Inherent in every interview, Garcia says, is a skewed power dynamic. She tries to mitigate this imbalance by acknowledging its existence and by building rapport with applicants.
Garcia’s desire to establish a human connection with applicants stems from a mantra she learned as a Trinity student. Although she majored in political science and Spanish, it was courses with English professor and chair Claudia Stokes, such as “Introduction to Feminist Theory,” that taught her that “the personal is political.” Born of the feminist movement of the 1960s and ’70s, this idea argues that the personal sphere is intertwined with the political and that personal experience is impacted by political structures.
“There are political dimensions to one-on-one interactions, and by recognizing those dimensions you can act accordingly and change things,” Garcia says. “Even outside of the political science department I had professors who taught me strong political concepts that I take to heart today.”
Garcia recalls the mentorship of the late Mary Ann Tétreault, who taught her in courses such as “The Individual in World Politics.” Tétreault encouraged Garcia and her classmates to create a world focused on a “human security” paradigm and emboldened them to affect global change on an individual level.
Before moving to Houston in July to become an asylum officer, Garcia worked for three years as a field representative in El Paso for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In that capacity she worked on the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, ensuring that noncitizen students were lawfully engaged in study and that their visas had not been terminated.
Garcia references the terrorist events of 9/11, where one of the hijackers came to the U.S. on a student visa, and the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, where a friend of the bomber – charged with interfering in the investigation – had entered the U.S. illegally on a terminated student visa. In El Paso, Montse would meet with school officials twice a year to ensure the foreign student data they reported was legitimate.
And while DHS and ICE are frequently the subject of news reports, Garcia says all of the fellow government workers she’s met are dedicated public servants intent on doing their jobs well and professionally. One of the things that attracted Garcia to this line of work was the opportunity to make a difference and to help protect her country from possible terrorists.
“I myself am a third-generation Latina,” says Garcia, whose international family includes siblings who are Bolivian citizens and a stepfather who is a British citizen. “I was raised in an environment where I was taught diversity was a good thing. You know, to be an American is to be an immigrant, as I myself am a testament to. And every worker I know is like me, working hard and trying to do the right thing.”
At Trinity, Garcia nurtured this passion for diversity as an active member of the International Student Club. Her favorite events were the annual banquet and showcase, where students and faculty from around the world would showcase cultural treasures and global traditions.
More than one specific memory, Garcia says it was the people she met at Trinity that made the University such a special place. Presently, she occasionally works with Inessa Stepanenko, who was her supervisor as a student worker in the international students office, and is still close to Brigette Thompson, a former member of the study abroad office at Trinity. Thompson gave the vows at Garcia’s wedding in 2016, and Stepanenko was a bridesmaid.
Today, Garcia is a newly elected member of the Trinity Houston Alumni Chapter and enjoys exploring Houston’s restaurant scene with her husband and friends. Her first introduction to living in Houston came following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when she was deployed to the city with the DHS Surge Capacity Force and provided on-the-ground support to hurricane survivors. Her curiosity and appreciation for the city has only grown, and she also gives back as a mentor for Big Brother Big Sisters Houston.
Looking forward, Garcia hopes to stay with DHS in the long-term and credits the agency as a “dynamic environment” where she never gets bored.
“I feel like I can make a difference here,” Garcia says. “Trinity left me feeling like if you aren’t going to make a difference, then what are you doing? Whatever you do, you don’t have to be the best—but do it well and do it with heart. That is really all that can be asked of you, and so that’s what I try to do.”
Carlos Anchondo is a master's candidate in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a 2014 alumnus of Trinity, where he majored in communication and international studies. Find find him on Twitter at @cjanchondo.
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Film about the arts vs. Alzheimer's to be on PBS
Watercolor by HILDA GORENSTEIN (aka Hilgos), part of a series she did after developing Alzheimer's disease.
Note to southeastern New England readers: This movie discussed below will be shown at 10 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, on Rhode Island PBS.
I Remember Better When I Paint shows how the creative arts can enhance the quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s. The film will be shown on public television stations nationwide during November, which is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in the U.S.
Narrated by Academy award-winning actress Olivia de Havilland, this international documentary includes visits to a variety of care facilities, as well as leading art museums in North America and Europe, to demonstrate how creative activities such as drawing, painting and museum visits can reawaken a sense of identity, dignity and engagement among those with severe memory impairment.
Leading doctors and neurologists explain how parts of the brain can be spared and discuss the life-enriching benefits of these new approaches. Among these experts are Dr. Robert Butler, M.D., founding director of the National Institutes on Aging (NIH) and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Dr. Samuel Gandy, M.D., of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine; Dr. Robert Green, M.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Robert Stern, M.D. professor of neurology at Boston University.
Inspiring personal stories are featured, including that of Rita Hayworth, as told by her daughter, Yasmin Aga Khan, to highlight the transformative impact of art and other creative therapies and how they are changing the way we look at Alzheimer’s.
The inspiration for the film came from the artist Hilgos, who had severe memory loss. When her daughter, Berna Huebner, asked: “Mom, do you want to paint?” She unexpectedly responded, “Yes, I remember better when I paint.” Art students helped her regain a capacity for exchange and communication through painting.
The movie was written and directed by Eric Ellena and Berna Huebner, and is a French Connection Films and Hilgos Foundation production. The program is a presentation of WTTW National Productions in Chicago, and is distributed nationally by American Public Television (APT).
I have been following the saga of this movie for years, even before I wrote about it in an article in a fine magazine then called Miller-McCune and now called Pacific Standard.
-- Robert Whitcomb
Tagged: Alzheimer's, Dr- Robert Stern, Dr- Samuel Gandy, Eric Ellena and Berna Huebner, Hilgos Foundation, I Remember Better When I Paint, M-D, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth, Yasmin Aga Khan
Of factories, Florida and Alzheimer's
By Robert Whitcomb
rwhitcomb51@gmail.com
Many citizens wonder what to do with 19 acres of Providence land that have been made available for development by moving Route 195. What a huge opportunity!
The property is in the middle of New England’s second-largest city; alongside the East Coast’s “Main Street” — Route 95 — whose intersection with 195 created one of the East's big crossroads; next to internationally known academic institutions; spectacularly situated at the head of a great bay, and near a large hospital complex. And just down the road is Green Airport, which is being expanded to allow nonstop flights to the West Coast and Western Europe.
What to put on the property? Offices and academic facilities, especially those connected with medically related activities; design businesses (Rhode Island School of Design spinoffs?), restaurants, hotels and stores. But let’s not ignore manufacturing.
This would not be the “dark satanic mills” of yore, emitting thick pollutants into the air and water. Most American manufacturing is much, much cleaner these days. It also employs fewer people, as foreign factories and robotic systems here have taken over much of the work, though the factory workers we have are generally well paid. To make such high-end stuff as pharmaceuticals in plants on the 195 land is just common sense. Consider that the proximity of Routes 195 and 95 and Narragansett Bay’s ports makes shipping manufacturing materials into and finished products out of this part of Providence remarkably easy. And there’s lots of engineering expertise in the region.
And if you think that a factory can’t co-exist attractively with a thickly settled area, consider Genzyme’s plant in the Allston section of Boston.
But the area needs more and better mass transit to serve the neighborhood, whose warren of confusing streets could scare away car-based people. Eventually a couple of trolley lines (real ones, with rails) should run through the newly developed area to connect the old downtown, the medical complex to the south and College Hill. But let development be dense; sociological and other studies associate density with lower crime and higher urban energy. Planners for the land should keep out windswept parking lots.
All in all, the 195 land offers the biggest opportunity to raise the profile and thus the prosperity of Providence since the rivers were moved.
We just got back from Naples, Fla., where I worked and we saw relatives in one of the most demure parts of the peninsula. The overloaded airline system makes travel to and from the Sunshine State increasingly difficult. And the urbanization and suburbanization of much of Florida have tattered much of its semi-tropical beauty. Still, the warmth, the greenery and the ease of strolling compared with walking on New England’s icy streets, narrowed by inadequate snowplowing, made it seem paradisiacal. And the quiet was addictive; the sound of wind through the palms and the surf were the main background sounds as I typed in my brother-in-law’s office.
It brought back memories of a quiet, lush Florida from my childhood. I remember the smell of the orange groves, the roadside juice stands and the long stretches of unbuilt-on beach backed only with palmettos and dune grass. My first memory is of an old man throwing bread to pelicans on the beach in Siesta Key, near Sarasota. Later ones include discovering Key lime pie and stone crab, drinking from a coconut and enjoying the best roadside kitsch in America.
Parts of my family had been going to Florida for part of the winter since around World War I. Naturally they complained about its over-development. Of course, they helped start the problem. (However, they never took part in the sort of crazy land speculation immortalized in the Marx Brothers’ 1929 film “The Cocoanuts,” in which Groucho’s character keeps trying to unload swampland on unsuspecting investors. Not much has changed since then!)
When there’s something nice, we overuse it, which is what happened to Florida, especially after air-conditioning, interstate highways and jet travel made getting and staying there so much easier. The Florida that I briefly revisited the other week, just before its high season, evoked in me balmy nostalgia for a time before Florida became a mega-state.
Kudos to Cape Cod-based writer/editor/publisher Greg O’Brien, 64, who has been writing (as self-therapy) about Alzheimer’s disease since he was diagnosed with it, in 2009. One of his projects is his book “On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s.” Then there’s my friend Berna Huebner, whose movie and book, “I Remember Better When I Paint,” describe how her mother, a successful Chicago-based painter, regained some of her skills and energy after she was persuaded to return to painting after Alzheimer’s seemed to doom her to a life of, by turns, agitation and depressed passivity. We’d better be looking for many routes for relief for dementia victims — and their families -- as the number of victims swells in the next two decades.
(In 2010, I wrote a magazine piece about this.)
Robert Whitcomb (rwhitcomb51@gmail.com), a former editor of The Providence Journal's Commentary pages, is a Providence-based writer and editor and the overseer of www.newenglanddiary.com. He is also a director of Cambridge Management Group (cmg625.com).
Tagged: “The Cocoanuts, ”, Alzheimer's, Cambridge Management Group, cmg625-com, Fla-, Marx Brothers, Naples, Rhode Island School of Design, Route 195 and moving, Siesta Key
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Tournament Of Games
New Games Re:Play
The Purpose of New Games 1974
Publication from Tournament Of Games
Tournament Of Games Games
The Use Of Play
New New Networks
Model City: Rule of Innovation
Behaviors & Types
A New Games Timeline
New Games: From Counter Culture To Cyber Culture
The California Ideology
Robby Herbst
Through the restructuring of play, New Games is attempting to bring man into harmony with his environment, provide space for families to play together, and eliminate the barriers of age, sex, race and economics, from leisure time activities. Rather than the winning-at-all-costs attitude, New Games brings joy and self-expression to the play process.
– Pat Farrington, first director of the New Games Foundation, 1975
From the distance of 40 years, what are we to make of New Games? New Games came with a generosity of time for human-to-human contact, space to gather, and a belief that play could have a part in changing the world. The New Games books were published in the hundreds of thousands. Its trainers trained tens of thousands of people in alternative forms of recreation, spreading the idea of creative, physical, low-cost pleasure to the world – a very serious concept for fun.
Happenings emerged in 1950s New York by way of artists John Cage and Alan Kaprow. This art form emigrated west with artists like Stewart Brand (then associated with the proto-psychedelic art collective USCO), and transmogrified into psychedelic community spectacles of pleasure[1]. Coupled with a Digger-infused notion of “free,” the politics of Woodstock are understood as the pleasure of unhinged association in a post-scarcity society.[2] In the Bay Area, New Games and its large public tournaments can be seen in parallel with other large-scale public movement events of its time. In Citydance, for example, dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin created and publicized an open movement score for a dance that began at sunrise on San Francisco’s Twin Peaks and ended at Embarcadero Plaza. The score (the rules of the dance) evolved as it drifted through the city’s neighborhoods and transit systems. In 1975, the New Games Foundation held a tournament in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. It hoped to bring the whole diverse city together to play games that would erase social boundaries and be fun. Ten thousand people showed up.
New Games, its feet damp in the Bay Area avant-gardes of Stewart Brand’s communitarian set and the human potential posse of George Leonard’s Esalen Institute, had much to offer in terms of the significance of public recreation in the life of a city; as an active form of individual gestalt therapy, a notion that it keyed into the value of social creativity, generativity, and social cohesion. Today, New Games continues to foster joyful experiences for many people through youth groups, schools, college rec programs, theater classes, corporate retreats and development seminars, but few are aware of the downright utopian ideas that informed its genesis.
In the first New Games book, Stewart Brand (who was instrumental in supporting the first New Games Tournament and the New Games Foundation) contributed an essay called “Theory Of Game Change.” It is a key to understanding the broad changes to the perceived value of play in our society over the past 40 years. Brand’s writing strings together thoughts about a very early computer game called Space Wars; how his own history has informed New Games, including a zap at a War Resisters League meeting in 1966[3]; an extended quote from Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga’s pivotal book on the role of play in society; and the following statement regarding the evolution of games and society:
You can’t change a game by winning it, goes the formula. Or losing it or refereeing it or spectating it. You change a game by leaving it, going somewhere else, and starting a new game. If it works, it will in time alter or replace the old game.
The logic of this statement fits well in Brand’s two terrains of operation: the back-to-the-land movement and Silicon Valley techno-utopianism. In our era of networked culture, his statement can be read as a declaration of the value of “disruptive” technology.
“We are coming together to celebrate our culture, social, economic, and racial differences,” states a poster for the 1975 New Games Tournament in Golden Gate Park. Seen through the lens of pleasure, this come-on speaks to the values of sharing and free-association at the center of New Games. But looked at through a secondary lens, you might ask the obvious question, “why would someone want to celebrate their poverty in a wealthy society?” Who wins when the ease of temporary distraction supersedes the unpleasant work of confronting structural inequality? Posed only in the light of a 1970s-era pleasurefest the question is overwrought, but in the context of the Bay Area’s current techno-libertarian atmosphere the question is profound. Who gets to change the game?
The dubiously named “sharing economy” strips workers of their economic stability and agency. After offering tax breaks to technology companies, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee declares a fiscal deficit and demands budget cuts in public agencies. Airbnb destabilizes housing in the region. Everyone knows someone who’s been evicted. Innovation in public education is sought at the expense of public education and the profit of private innovators. Public space and public lives are metered on private devices. Civic spaces are recoded for the benefit of the wealthy, marginalizing those without access to game-changing tools. Creativity is put to the limited service of economic worth.
Play is rehearsal for all kinds of group behavior. We begin to learn its codes from birth: play hard, play fair, nobody hurt.[4] Group games model ways groups can be together in a society, thoughtfully or otherwise. With New New Games, I am exploring ways that we are together. Today, the up-with-people collective attitude that spawned New Games in the Bay Area is replaced by the techno-libertarianism which looks at profit as a means to generate social good. The connection between the 1970s human potential movement and the neo-liberal ideology of today is territory trodden by critical thinkers.[5] There is a bridge between the innovation economy, the rule-breaking attitude of creatively oriented competition, and the economy of self-improvement of the ‘70s. Today the Bay Area feels this most pronouncedly through the extreme income disparities taking hold. And while New Games appears mostly as something fun, one can’t help but wonder if New Games had a part in preparing everyone to embrace the ideology of personal play and freedom over that of community wellbeing.
[1] Anyone interested in learning about the context that formed New Games should consider reading Fred Turner’s critical autobiography of Stewart Brand called From Counterculture To Cyberculture (University Of Chicago Press; 2008).
[2] The San Francisco Diggers were a group of Anarcho-Communalists operating in San Francisco in the mid-to-late 1960s. They helped to coordinate a network of communal spaces, organizations, and associations that liberated capital from time, organizing free stores, free concerts, free auto mechanics, free housing and more. They refused the politics of scarcity, liberating “free” from the fat of a wealthy society.. Later in the decade, their politics and ecstatic ideas were advanced by the Yippies. Yippie “leader” Abbie Hoffman theorized that the Woodstock concert was a founding event for a culture of liberated youth existing on the currency of love, sex, drugs, and revolutionary rock-n-roll in a post-capitalist world.
[3] Brand refereed a game of slaughter. He suggests that his intent was to implicate the members of this peace group in the culture of violence that they rejected by enjoining them in a rough and hyper- competitive game.
[4] This is the New Games motto.
[5] For an example, view Adam Curtis’ essay film The Century of The Self.
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newpeoplenewspaper.com
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Repairing the road to peace in Palestine and Pittsburgh
By NewPeople Newspaper on May 1, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )
By Moriah Ella Mason
Editor’s Note: The author has recently returned from spending ten days in the Palestinian West Bank with other activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. The group engaged in learning and co-resistance work with Palestinian communities in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel, including planting and tending olive groves, rebuilding demolished livestock pens, renovating community gathering places, and repairing dirt roads.
On Friday May 3rd, I experienced my first sound grenade. A loud bang, a flash of light, and then a moment of disorientation in which linear time was suspended. Sound grenades, or flash bangs, are a crowd dispersal technique. They are designed to activate the fight or flight reflex; to make you panic and run away. One of the less-lethal strategies of crowd dispersal, they can still cause serious burns and puncture wounds if they explode too close.
Why the flash bangs? Why the fear and panic? I had gathered that day with 125 diaspora Jews, Israelis, and Palestinians to participate in a joint work project: smoothing out a rocky dirt road that leads to five Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills. For these villages this road is the key to everything. It’s how water, electricity, and food are brought to homes. It’s how people access education and healthcare. It’s how families visit relatives in other villages. But the road is full of potholes and large boulders. Water has to be brought in by tractor, which means families pay 10 times the cost of water in Jerusalem.
Because it passes near an illegal Israeli settlement, Palestinians cannot work on it without risking violent harassment. So a broad coalition of Palestinian organizations throughout the region came together and invited the Center for Jewish Nonviolence and the Israel-based All That’s Left: an Anti- Occupation Collective to spend the day breaking apart boulders and filling in holes with loose pebbles and sand. With such a large group of Israelis and internationals, we knew settlers were unlikely to interfere.
The military, however, was another matter. Throughout the first hour, jeeps of IDF soldiers and border police gathered at the road. Thirty minutes later, a soldier with a bullhorn walked down the road, declaring without explanation that the area was a “closed military zone”and that we had to leave. A few Israelis with us spoke to the soldiers, hoping to negotiate a compromise, while the rest of us continued working. Refusing to talk, the soldiers began making violent arrests – pushing people to the ground, dragging them over rocks, punching and choking, throwing sound grenades. I saw a soldier choking one of my Palestinian friends—his knee digging into his neck. I saw another soldier punch an American Jew in the head. Three days later he continued to struggle with post-concussion symptoms.
Within minutes that felt like hours, 17 people had been arrested, including two journalists with press credentials hanging around their necks. The soldiers then threw a barrage of sound grenades closer and closer to the feet of the remaining people at the work site, forcing us to back up and run away.
It was the most violent intervention by police or soldiers I’ve ever witnessed, and though I was luckily uninjured I spent the rest of the day struggling with a reawakening of my PTSD symptoms. Sitting in a patch of sunlight, trying to slow my breathing, I couldn’t stop thinking of the last time I felt so unsafe, the last time I felt so triggered – the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh.
I grew up in a small town near Pittsburgh and live close to Tree of Life. Like the rest of my community I was deeply shaken by the shooting and struggled with grief, panic, and deep sadness afterwards. But I was also unsurprised. I was the only Jewish child in my small town school and I experienced pervasive anti-Semitism, from ignorant comments to death threats. My Jewish community held one bright spot of hope amidst the bullying: Israel. Israel was a safe place to be a Jew.
In the communities I grew up in the strategies for Jewish safety were limited to two options: assimilation to whiteness or unquestioning support of Israel. The Tree of Life shooting and the rising tide of anti-Semitism across the U.S. demonstrates that clinging to whiteness is an illusory form of safety. To truly assimilate to whiteness and its ideals requires the erasure of Jews of color and the erection of artificial barriers between white Jews and other marginalized groups within the U.S.
Over the past six months of healing I have been bolstered by beautiful acts of solidarity among communities targeted by white supremacy. The Muslim community raised $200,000 for the victims of the Tree of Life shooting. Immigrant justice and Black Lives Matter activists turned out for our protests of Trump’s post-shooting visit. This past Purim, the Pittsburgh IfNotNow chapter canceled our spiel and fundraiser so we could spend the night marching in protest when the cop who shot Antwon Rose Jr. (an unarmed black teenager) was declared not guilty.
Today I am wrestling with the reality that Israel is only safe for Jews who support the Occupation, or at least agree to remain silent and complicit with the status quo. The soldiers who arrested my friends did not hesitate to use pain points, flash bangs, and physical violence on other Jews and Israelis who were nonviolently working to improve a road that serves as a lifeline for Palestinians in the region. For the Israeli military, Jewish safety is contingent on your politics.
Additionally it serves the Israeli state’s interest when Jews in the diaspora feel afraid. I see this in rhetoric that paints every Palestinian as a terrorist. I see it in the intentional triggering of Holocaust trauma to justify repressive policies. I see it in the racism leveraged against Mizrahi Jews and the pressure to distance themselves from non- Jewish Arabs.
It’s chilling to realize that the level of violence that we experienced that day was certainly softened by the presence of Israelis, diaspora Jews, and journalists. The soldiers were even rougher with our Palestinian friends and I feel afraid of the kind of repression they face when we cannot be there to stand beside them.
Despite this, when my breathing deepens, my heartbeat slows, and I am surrounded by my friends from all communities that oppose occupation and white supremacy, I am filled with joy and courage. I know we are creating the world we want to live in, a world that does not require Jews to be afraid or Palestinians to be broken. Both pathways held out as the key to Jewish safety – whiteness and Israel – are illusory. I know that real safety comes from solidarity, relationship, and co-resistance to the forces that keep us divided.
Moriah Ella Mason is an active member of the Pittsburgh hive of IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace-Pittsburgh, Ella is a dancer, an interdisciplinary artist and massage therapist.
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Goodbye to the Scott Brown Era
The blue state Tea Party was short—and traumatic
By Alec MacGillis
Well, now we know: the Scott Brown Era lasted almost exactly three years, from January 2010, when he upset Martha Coakley to win the “Kennedy seat,” and thereby robbed the Democrats of their filibuster-proof Senate majority, imperiled and greatly complicated the prospects for passing Obamacare, and set the stage for the Republican wave the following fall. It ended today, with the surprising word that Brown would not run for the state’s other Senate seat, vacated by John Kerry’s move to be Secretary of State.
And yes, it was an era unto itself. Nobody symbolized better than Scott Brown the dismay and anxiety that beset Democrats and liberals a year or so into Barack Obama’s presidency and has only recently started to lift, following his reelection. It is hard, even now, to overstate the shock of the victory by this back-bench state senator, a former nude Cosmo center-fold who had dared to mock the whole notion of a “Kennedy seat” in his debate against Coakley, who so brazenly flaunted an anti-intellectual, regular-guy shtick in a state that had prided itself on the caliber of its political elites.
The Tea Party in Massachusetts! Never mind that Brown’s late surge was driven more by a flood of Wall Street dollars than by tea-partier pluck; never mind that Candidate Coakley embodied the worst sort of upper-crust establishment-pol complacency. No, if Scott Brown had won in Massachusetts, then bad things surely lay ahead. And of course they did: a Democratic wipe-out in November 2010, the effects of which will be felt for the next decade to come in Congress and state legislatures, thanks to the wonders of decennial redistricting.
The surest sign of how deeply Brown’s win had cut was the recurrence of Democratic anxiety over Kerry’s aspirations to become secretary of state. Was the White House so foolhardy, went the cry, to create another opening in Massachusetts for the diabolical Scott Brown to seize? From the start, this panic struck me as somewhat overdone. First of all, Brown had just lost his seat, to a candidate who, while extraordinarily well-funded, had not exactly had the smoothest debut on the campaign trail. Yes, a special election would be different—with lower turnout among the Democratic base that came out in droves for the presidential election. What was overlooked by the worrywarts, though, was that the circumstances would also almost surely be different than they had been in the last special election, which arrived just as unease over Obama and the lousy economic recovery was starting to crescendo, and which, crucially, was set up to be such a perfect way to deliver a symbolic and consequential rebuke.
This will not be the case for the special election this June, even if things turn somewhat against Obama in the months ahead and even if the Democratic nominee (so far, Reps. Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch are vying for the spot) turns out to be less than scintillating. Times, quite simply, have changed. Not only did Obama win reelection, but it is the other party that is now on the wrong side of the general public mood on any number of issues, from the fiscal morass to guns. Democrats should never have worried so much about having to defend an open seat in a state where Obama won 61 percent against the state’s former governor. A longtime senator with a yen for being secretary of state should have been able to put himself forward for that without setting liberal alarm bells ringing about the fate of the seat he would leave open.
But that was the extent of the trauma caused by Scott Brown, and it’s only now, with his exit from the national scene—for a run for governor, or to cash in on his Dodd-Frank favor-currying for Massachusetts financial giants, or who knows what else—that traumatized Democrats can rest assured that it’s finally done with. It’s safe. The black GMC Canyon pick-up has left the building. You can come out now.
Follow me on Twitter @AlecMacGillis
Tea Party, Scott Brown, Massachusetts, Politics, Senate
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1 2 3 ... 290 291
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Redevelopment Project
Ontario is committing $105 million over six years to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) for the construction of a new six-storey children's treatment centre (approx. 234,440 sq. f...
Backgrounder | Children, Community and Social Services
Ontario's Actions to Combat Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a deplorable crime that robs the safety, livelihood and dignity of those who are being exploited and abused. The government is committed to strengthening access to supports ...
Ontario Renews Funding for Legends Mentoring Program For Children with Autism
June 14, 2019 9:00 A.M.
Ontario is renewing funding for the Legends Mentoring Program and providing $325,000 in 2019-20.
Cutting Red Tape to Drive Prosperity in the Auto Sector and Other Manufacturing Sectors
The Ontario government is making a series of regulatory changes to get out of the way of job creators in the auto sector and other manufacturing sectors. It is also preparing to launch later ...
Backgrounder | Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Federal and Provincial Governments Investing in Ontario's Craft Breweries
Today, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced an investment of more than $1 million towards 20 projects for Ontario Craft Breweries through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Inve...
Backgrounder | Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Promises Made, Promises Kept: Highlights from the Government's First Year in Office
June 7, 2019 12:50 P.M.
It has been one year since the people of Ontario voted for change. Here are some highlights from the past 12 months:
Backgrounder | Office of the Premier
David Lindsay Biography
June 7, 2019 11:00 A.M.
Mr. David Lindsay brings a wealth of public policy experience and a proven track record in the leadership of public sector organizations. He currently serves as President and CEO of the
Backgrounder | Environment, Conservation and Parks
More Choice, Convenience and Fairness for Beer and Wine Consumers
Allowing More Grocery Stores to Sell Alcohol Grocers are invited to submit entries to participate in a lottery process run by the LCBO. Eighty-seven grocers will be s...
Backgrounder | Finance
More Homes, More Choice: Ontario's Housing Supply Action Plan
Today, Ontario passed legislation to help people struggling to find a home they can afford. It lays the groundwork needed to tackle Ontario's housing crisis and help build more homes that meet the ...
Backgrounder | Municipal Affairs and Housing
Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019
Today, Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board, introduced the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019. The proposed legislation would prot...
Backgrounder | Treasury Board Secretariat
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Proposing a new way to present information about mortgages
July 9, 2012 NVRDC
After more than a year of research, testing, writing, and review, today we’re submitting a proposed rule to the Federal Register to create new, easier-to-use mortgage disclosures.
Take a closer look to learn more about the proposal.
www.consumerfinance.gov/knowbeforeyouowe
The proposal means different things to different people. For consumers, the proposed forms are simpler than the current forms and highlight certain key pricing information right on the first page. For industry, the forms are easier to explain to customers and the regulatory changes make the rule easier to comply with. And for everyone, the proposal offers a way to judge an experiment in public participation.
Early last year, we began a project to develop a more effective, and ideally simpler, set of mortgage disclosures. The Dodd-Frank Act mandates that the CFPB combine the Truth in Lending and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act mortgage forms. We believe that these new, combined forms would be better if they are designed with input from the people who will actually use them.
We called this participatory approach “Know Before You Owe.”
The proposed rule we are releasing today is in many ways the result of that idea. We’ve provided several types of information to help you explore our work:
A side-by-side comparison of the current and proposed disclosures
A timeline of the project, from the beginning through today
The proposed rule, including an annotated disclosure connecting what goes on page one to what we’re proposing in the rule
Summaries of what the proposal means for consumers and for industry, as well as reports on what we learned through this process
The input we’ve received from people like you – consumers, industry, designers, regulators, and more – has helped to shape the proposal we’re submitting today. Thank you. Now we need you to help us one more time.
Review the proposal. Then submit a comment to let us know what you think of it.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Protection, Disclosure Statements, Student LoansConsumer Financial Protection Bureau, Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Mortgage loan, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Truth in Lending Act, United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Week Ahead in Congress
June 11, 2012 June 11, 2012 NVRDC
The House is out all week, and the Senate is expected to spend most of its time on a five-year farm bill. But, other issues may surface, such as the Congressional response to alleged White House security leaks regarding terrorist “kill lists” and cyber-attacks against Iran’s nuclear program.
The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act (S 3240)
This is “the farm bill” (#10 on POPVOX), which would reauthorize and adjust U.S. farm policy for the next five years. While the Senate will officially start work on the bill this week, it’s expected to take several weeks to finish the job. Senators might spend several days and perhaps weeks behind the scenes working out an agreement on what amendments to the bill might be allowed.
Security Leaks
Republicans and Democrats alike are upset at leaks to news outlets about national security issues, from unnamed U.S. officials. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has said he would introduce a resolution calling for a special counsel to examine the incident, and will likely push for it to be considered.
other bills of interest
The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (HR 5882)
The House easily passed this bill (#1 on POPVOX) last week, with support from several Democrats. This bill was heavily commented on by people in favor of bulk access to legislative information. The bill establishes a task force “composed of staff representatives of the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service, the Clerk of the House, the Government Printing Office, and such other congressional offices as may be necessary, to examine these and any additional issues it considers relevant and to report back to the Committee on Appropriations of the House and Senate.” In addition, House Leadership issued a statement in support of these efforts.
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (HR 5855)
The House approved this bill (#8 on POPVOX) last week. The bill cuts spending by 1 percent from 2012 levels.
The Protect Medical Innovation Act (HR 436)
This bill eliminates the 2.3 percent tax on medical device companies that was passed as part of the 2010 healthcare law. The Obama Administration has threatened to veto the measure. (From Rep. Erik Paulsen [R, MN-3])
The Student Loan Forgiveness Act (HR 4170)
Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-Mich.) introduced this bill (#3 on POPVOX), which would significantly limit monthly payments on student loan debt. While House Leadership continues to negotiate ways to keep the interest rate on new Stafford loans low for another year, this bill is not expected to advance.
NEW BILLS
Check out the list of Newly introduced bills. (This list comes directly from POPVOX user requests!)
Missed a bill last week? Take a look at the list of bills POPVOX users found most important.
Budget-Federal, Congressional Activity, Homeland Security, Student Loans, Taxes
Under the Reading Lamp — 4/30/2012
April 30, 2012 April 30, 2012 NVRDC1 Comment
ALEC’s Comeuppance
Jim Hightower, Op-Ed: “ALEC’s operatives take these cookie-cutter bills from state capitol to state capitol, getting Republican governors and key legislators to introduce them. Then the organization helps organize astroturf campaigns to ram such ugliness into law. Gov. Scott Walker’s repressive agenda in Wisconsin is an ALEC product. So is Arizona’s war on Latinos, as is Florida’s murderous “stand your ground” shoot-em-up law.”
Putting Our Premiums Into Medical Care, Not Profits
Wendell Potter, News Analysis: “The recent news from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation that health insurers will have to send rebate checks totaling more than $1.3 billion to Americans this summer was especially gratifying to me. It more than justified my decision three years ago to clue members of Congress in on how insurance companies have systematically been devoting ever-increasing portions of our premium dollars to rewarding their shareholders and top executives.”
Top Republican Strategist Denies Women are Paid Less Than Men
Igor Volsky, Video Report: “Now we know, at least from both of your perspectives,” Maddow said, pointing to Castellanos and Romney surrogate Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), “women are not fairing worse than men in the economy that women aren’t getting paid less for equal work.” “It’s about policy and whether or not you want to fix some of the structural discrimination that women really do face that Republicans don’t believe is happening,” she added.
Five Tax Fallacies Invented by the 1%
Paul Buchheit , Op-Ed: “In 2009, the United States ranked 26th out of 28 OECD countries in total federal, state, and local taxes as a percent of GDP. Only Chile and Mexico had lower tax rates. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, ‘federal taxes on middle-income Americans are near historic lows.’ For taxpayers in the top 1%, the tax burden has fallen dramatically in recent years.”
AZ Lawmakers Lash Out at Imaginary United Nations Conspiracy With Assault on All Poverty & Environmental Laws
Ian Millhiser, News Report: “If this bill becomes law, Arizona’s government agencies would instantly be forbidden from doing anything to reduce poverty. Or to combat air pollution. Or to ensure that radioactive waste does not contaminate the environment. Or potentially to do anything at all to promote human health. Under this bill, Medicaid, state unemployment and welfare programs and nearly any environmental programs would need to cease, immediately.”
War, Money, and Moral Hazard
Thomas Magstadt, Op-Ed: “In the wake of the US bank-induced 2008 global financial crisis, policy makers, pundits, and economists suddenly rediscovered moral hazard in the under-regulated "free-market economy" both as a theoretical concept and as an existential danger. Nobody was more ardent in pushing this idea than then Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, who served in that position from 2006 to 2009.”
Don’t Let Congress Kick College Grads in the Teeth
Robert Borosage, Op-Ed: “The Republican chair of the House education committee says he has “serious concerns” about the bill. And the Republican budget — championed by Paul Ryan and embraced as “marvelous” by Mitt Romney — both calls for deep cuts in Pell grants and assumes that the interest rates on government sponsored student loans will double. What are the Republican “concerns”? They claim to be opposed to the $6 billion cost of keeping the rate low. But jacking up the rate simply shifts that $6 billion cost onto the next generation of students who are already crushed by debt.”
Trickle-Down Gulf Wreck-onomics
Robert S. Becker, Op-Ed: “‘BP’s toxic sludge inundation,’ or ‘BP’s fatal frothy flood,’ even ‘BP’s contagion of contaminated crude’ — crude and indiscriminate indeed when this glut of gunk continues its death march. Even bacteria called upon to consume oil slicks are nixed, slain by two million gallons of the solvent concoction Corexit. Keen observer of the Gulf tragedy, I’d be downright remiss to withhold scandalous news about oil stuck to human skin, eyeless shrimp, fish-scale infections, or rising mortality for marine mammals and previously endangered sea turtles.”
Feds File First Criminal Charges Related to BP Gulf Spill
Abrahm Lustgarten, News Analysis: “According to an FBI affidavit submitted to the court along with the indictment, Mix, who worked for BP until January 2012, was directly involved in BP’s efforts to understand how much oil was flowing out of the broken Macondo well. On April 21, 2010, Mix estimated that between 68,000 and 138,000 barrels of oil were leaking each day— far more than the 5,000 barrels that were estimated publicly at the time.”
Fracking Industry California Dreamin’: A Future California Nightmare?
Steve Horn, Op-Ed: “Yesterday, The Bakersfield Californian reported that another oil and gas industry giant is making its way to The Golden State: Hess Corporation. Hess has operations on six of the seven global continents and will be headed to California’s yet-to-be-fracked Monterey Shale basin, which contains some 15 billion barrels of proven recoverable shale oil, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.”
Chesapeake Energy Well Blowout in Wyoming Causes Evacuation, Methane “Roared” for Days
Brendan DeMelle, News Report: “Once again, the failure appears tied to a faulty casing job. The Douglas Budget reports that, “the horizontal part of the drilling had been completed. The drillers pulled out the bit and were going to run the casing into the horizontal leg of the well.” That’s when the blowout occurred, apparently. Tom Doll, a Wyoming State Oil and Gas supervisor, told local press that the state had no idea how much methane gas had spewed into the air following the blowout, and would rely on Chesapeake to supply an answer.”
Rights Groups Hold International Drone Summit in Washington, DC
News Report: “We’re dragging this secretive drone program out of the shadows and into the light of day,” said Medea Benjamin, one of the Summit organizers and author of the new book Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control. “It’s time for the American public to know the true extent—and consequences—of the killing and spying being done in our name.” Lawyers representing Pakistani drone-strike victims and journalists investigating the attacks shared their experiences of these events in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. New footage of interviews with victims was aired.
The Viet Nam Conflict and the Fabricated Lies of War
Javier Rodriguez, Op-Ed: “That war was no different than the occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, the war against that other colonial power, Spain, the recent coup de tat against President Manuel Celaya and the democratically elected government in Honduras, and this one in particular hits the veins, the war on Mexico, where we lost over half of the territory. Indisputably history says, they have all been fabricated. No exceptions.”
Burden of Proof: Geithner, Obama, and Wall Street’s Unpunished Crimes
Richard (RJ) Eskow, Op-Ed: “Now the President’s really cracking down on Wall Street, we were told. In the face of widespread criticism for his proposed foreclosure fraud settlement with five top banks, the President eventually accompanied that deal with a promise of tougher enforcement. He appointed New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who had been pursuing banks and resisting previous deals, to his previously lethargic mortgage fraud group.”
ALEC, Budget-Federal, Culture War, CultureWar, Defense/War, Education, Energy-Big Oil, Environment/EPA, Fair Pay, Financial Reform, Fracking, Gulf of Mexico, Health Care, Medicare, Misogyny, Oil Spill, Paul Ryan, Ryan Budget, Student Loans, Taxes, WarALEC, AZ Environmental Law, AZ Poverty Law, big oil, BP Gult Oil Spill, Chesapeake Energy Well Blow-out, College Loans, Crime, Drones, economy, Fair Pay, Fracking, Geithner, Lies of War, Medical Care Premiums, Shale Oil, Tax Fallacies, Tax Myths, United Nations, Vietnam Conflict, Wall Street, War, War on Women
Congressional Activity This Week
April 24, 2012 NVRDC1 Comment
Here’s the new weekly update from POPVOX.
From our Hill sources — the week ahead includes consideration of these bills:
The House will consider several bills dealing with cybersecurity this week, while the Senate will spend much of the week on a bill to save the U.S. Postal Service.
Four cybersecurity bills in the House on Thurs, Fri
— The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protect Act (HR 3523), from Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI-8), which would allow the government to share information with companies to help protect their networks. This was the fourth-most discussed bill on POPVOX last week.
— The Federal Information Security Amendments Act (HR 4257), from Oversight & Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA-49), is aimed at “improving the framework for securing information technology of federal government systems.”
— The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act (HR 2096), from Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX-10), is meant to foster coordinated research between federal agencies to help address cyber threats.
— The Advancing America’s Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Act (HR 3834), from Science, Space, and Technology Chairman Ralph Hall (R-TX-4), would reauthorize the government’s NITRD cybersecurity program. Bills in the Senate
— The 21st Century Postal Service Act (S 1789) (number 8 on POPVOX last week), is a bipartisan bill that would allow the U.S. Postal Service restructure its retirement payments in a bid to keep the USPS fiscally sound. Starting on Tuesday, the Senate is expected to start voting on up to 39 amendments to the bill.
— The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on SJRes 36, a Republican resolution that disapproves of a 2010 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board meant to speed up union elections. — The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (S 1925) should be debated later in the week.
— Highway funding: Also look for the House and Senate to start reconciling their differences over federal highway funding. Last week, the House passed an extension of highway programs through the end of the fiscal year, HR 4348. In March, the Senate approved a two-year extension, S 1813. Both bills have overwhelming negative comments on PopVox.
Also in the House this week
The early part of the week for the House will be filled with several non-controversial bills. On Tuesday, the House will consider six bills dealing with federal land use:
— To authorize the conveyance of two parcels of land in the Coconino National Forest (HR 1038)
— The Idaho Wilderness Water Resources Protection Act (HR 2050)
— To facilitate a land exchange in the Inyo National Forest (HR 2157)
— To release the U.S. interest in land conveyed to establish an airport in Minnesota (HR 2497)
— To modify the boundaries of the Cibola National Forest (HR 491)
— The Lowell National Historical Park Land Exchange Act (HR 2240)
And on Wednesday, the House will consider two others:
— The Small Business Credit Availability Act (HR 3336), which ensures the exclusion of small lenders from certain regulations of the Dodd-Frank Act
— The DATA Act (HR 2146), a bill aimed at increasing the transparency of federal spending
Other noteworthy bills
— The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act, (HR 4089), the most-discussed bill on POPVOX last week, passed the House on April 17.
— The Paying a Fair Share Act (S 2230), the second-most discussed bill on POPVOX, failed to advance in the Senate last week. The bill would impose a minimum tax on all income above $1 million.
— The Student Loan Forgiveness Act (HR 4170) sets up a program to ease the burden of student loans on students. This bill, the third-most discussed on POPVOX, is currently not being discussed in any of the committees to which it was referred.
(Find this on the POPVOX blog.)
Newly Introduced
The list of newly introduced bills is LONG, we’ve highlighted many of them at http://www.popvox.com/blog/2012/newly-introduced-bills-congress-week-april-16/ . (Keep in mind that these bills are so new that many don’t yet have bill text available online. So keep checking back.)
Recent Issue Spotlights
We developed Issue Spotlights to pull together bills by category, making it easier for individuals to find bills related to a particular issue. Spotlights have become popular among our users, and are often shared through email and listservs. (If you have an idea for an Issue Spotlight, please let me know.)
What about HR 4646 — the 1% tax on financial transactions?
“HR 4646” has consistently been a popular bill search term on POPVOX, even though no current bill numbered HR 4646 exists. Get the scoop.
The Research Works Act: The Research Works Act (HR 3699), which would prohibit Federal agencies from disseminating publicly-funded research without publisher consent, was withdrawn by its sponsors on Feb. 27, 2012. Learn why POPVOX users opposed the bill.
Vietnam Veterans Day
President Obama signed a proclamation declaring March 29 as “Vietnam Veterans Day.” The last American troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973.
According to the IRS, “the laws on Estate and Gift Taxes are considered to be some of the most complicated in the tax code.”
Given Tax Day, it seemed fitting to do a spotlight on tax bills!
Congressional Activity, CultureWar, CyberSecurity, Federal Land Use, Interior-Natural Resources, SBA-Sm Business Admin, Student Loans, Taxes, Transportation, USPS, Veterans Affairs, Violence Against Women#DontRaiseMyRate, Computer security, Culture War, Cyber Intelligence, Cyber Security, Federal Land Use, Small Business Credit, Student Loans, United States Postal Service, USPS, Violence Against Women Act
Making It Easier to Compare College Costs
— by Rohit Chopra, Student Loan Ombudsman, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Getting accepted to college should be cause for celebration, a point of pride for both students and their families. But with so much information to navigate about schools, grants, and loans, financing that education can sometimes be overwhelming.
We want it to be a little less daunting for people to figure out how they’ll pay for college.
Today, we take a big step in that direction with a new prototype Financial Aid Comparison Shopper.
Try it out: www.consumerfinance.gov/payingforcollege/
This year, millions of students and families will sift through college acceptances and student loan information. We want to help them make the best college financing choices for themselves.
Our goal is to give parents and students, especially high school seniors, an easy-to-understand view of how their decisions today will impact their debt burdens after graduation. This tool helps users make side-by-side cost comparisons between schools, tailored to their unique financial circumstances and estimated costs of attendance.
This is just our starting point, and we need your help to ensure that the Financial Aid Comparison Shopper addresses the needs of students and their families. Your feedback will directly impact the changes we make before our full launch.
So tell us what you think. Did you learn something? Did you find it useful? If you are already in school or a graduate, would this tool have helped you when deciding which school to attend?
Was the tool easy to navigate? What about it was difficult to understand?
Whether you want to help students and their families understand their financial choices or you want to get a bit of insight into your own family’s choices, we invite you to test the public prototype of our new Financial Aid Comparison Shopper.
www.consumerfinance.gov/payingforcollege/
Consumer Protection, Financial Reform, Student LoansCFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Student financial aid in the United States, Student loan
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Legal Advisories all OGE
Legal Advisories
Home | Legal Advisories |
Education Advisories
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The Legal Advisories page contains the DAEOgrams on substantive ethics issues published by OGE from 1992 to 2010, the Advisory Opinions published by OGE from 1979 to 2010, and the Legal Advisories, which OGE began publishing in 2011. On occasion, OGE will add notes to past guidance documents when that guidance is updated or superseded by law, regulation, or subsequent OGE guidance.
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Citation --Select-- 18 U.S.C. § 201 18 U.S.C. § 202 18 U.S.C. § 203 18 U.S.C. § 205 18 U.S.C. § 207 18 U.S.C. § 208 18 U.S.C. § 209 5 C.F.R. Part 2600 5 C.F.R. Part 2601 5 C.F.R. Part 2604 5 C.F.R. Part 2606 5 C.F.R. Part 2608 5 C.F.R. Part 2610 5 C.F.R. Part 2634 5 C.F.R. Part 2635 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart A 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart B 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart C 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart D 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart E 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart F 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart G 5 C.F.R. Part 2635, Subpart H 5 C.F.R. Part 2636 5 C.F.R. Part 2637 5 C.F.R. Part 2638 5 C.F.R. Part 2640 5 C.F.R. Part 2641 5 U.S.C. app. 4 §§ 101-111 5 U.S.C. app. 4 §§ 401-408 5 U.S.C. app. 4 §§ 501-505
Year --Select-- 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979
07x15: Elements of Basic Pay for Purposes of Senior Employee Determinations
Locality pay is excluded from an employee's rate of basic pay for purposes of determining whether an employee is a senior employee under the criminal post-employment statute 18 U.S.C. § 207(c).
DO-07-047: Widely Attended Gatherings
This comprehensive memorandum provides guidance on what types of events are covered by the widely attended gathering exception to the gift prohibitions in the Standards of Conduct.
07x14: Widely Attended Gatherings
DO-07-035: Suggested Format for Requesting a Certificate of Divestiture
OGE has prepared a format for ethics officials to use in requesting Certificates of Divestiture for their employees. Use of the format is optional.
DO-07-030: 2006 Conflict of Interest Prosecution Survey
2006 Conflict of Interest Prosecution Survey
07x13: Determining the Public Financial Disclosure Requirements for Non-Standard Pay Systems
Agencies with alternative pay systems should continue to designate executive-level employees as public filers if the lowest pay for their grade or range is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay payable for a GS-15. Seeking an equal classification is an option for other employees.
DO-07-029: Determining the Public Financial Disclosure Requirements for Non-Standard Pay Systems
DO-07-026: Summary of the Provisions of the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act" (S.1) that Affect the Executive Branch Ethics Program
The bill extends the cooling off period for very senior executive branch employees from one year to two and adds a criminal penalty for knowing and willful falsification or failure to report required information on a financial disclosure form.
DO-07-024: Opinion of Office of Legal Counsel on the Emoluments Clause and Service Advisory Boards
Where members of an advisory board are given access to classified information solely to help them perform their advisory function, this access alone does not constitute a delegation of Governmental, sovereign authority that would result in their advisory board service falling under the restrictions of the Emoluments Clause.
07x12: Training Services and the Intent to Influence under 18 U.S.C. § 207(c)
OGE discusses whether communication and appearances made during the performance of a training contract by a former senior official subject to 18 U.S.C. § 207(c) may involve the intent to influence on behalf of the contractor.
DO-07-023: Misuse of Federal Position to Help Another Person Get a Job
This memorandum outlines several factors that an executive branch employee should consider in deciding when it is appropriate to assist an associate, either another Government employee or a private party, in efforts to obtain private sector employment.
07x11: Misuse of Federal Position to Help Another Person Get a Job
07x10: Component Designations
OGE responds to whether certain positions in an executive branch agency may rely on component designations for purposes of the post-government employment "cooling off" period at 18 U.S.C. § 207.
DO-07-022: Presidential Recess Appointees — Modification of OGE Process
OGE will perform the final review and certification of recess appointees’ annual and termination public financial disclosure reports and will also track compliance with recess appointees’ ethics agreements.
DO-07-019: Expert Witness Outline
OGE prepares an outline of cases and issues pertaining to expert witnesses and the relevant ethical restrictions.
07x8: Executive Branch Employee Acceptance of Reimbursement of Travel Expenses and Training from an Outside Source
OGE provides general guidance on acceptance of reimbursement of travel expenses and training by executive branch employees provided by a non-profit speakers bureau.
07x9: Do Ethics Laws and Regulations Apply to Personal Service Contractors?
OGE provides a general overview of the issues related to determining whether a personal service contractor is an executive branch employee subject to the Standards of Conduct.
DO-07-015: Immigration Support Letters and 18 U.S.C. § 205
Generally, a Federal employee who writes an immigration support letter and submits the letter to an arm of the Federal Government would not normally be ""act[ing]as agent or attorney"" for another within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 205.
07x7: Immigration Support Letters and 18 U.S.C. § 205
DO-07-014: Guidance on Electronic Filing of Public and Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports
Although each agency may undertake the development of its own electronic filing process to use with either the public (SF 278) or confidential (OGE Form 450) reporting system, each agency must follow some basic guidelines.
DO-07-013: Agency Supplemental Regulations
OGE requests that agencies review their supplemental regulations to determine if any new or additional restrictions on prohibited holdings need to be added.
07x6: Acceptance of Cash Award from Program Administered by Non-Federal Entity
OGE provides guidance on whether receipt of cash awards by Government employees under an awards program administered by a non-federal entity is permissible under the gift rules.
DO-07-007: Clarification of Scope of Exception and Exclusion to Public Financial Disclosure Reporting Requirements
Travel reimbursements that are required to be reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) because they are for a Federal campaign or election are not required to be reported on public and confidential financial disclosure reports.
07x5: Clarification of Scope of Exception and Exclusion to Public Financial Disclosure Reporting Requirements
07x4: Waivers under 18 U.S.C. §§ 208(b)(1) and (b)(3)
This memorandum provides guidance on issues that Designated Agency Ethics Officials should consider when deciding whether to grant a waiver under 18 U.S.C. §§ 208(b)(1) or (b)(3).
DO-07-006: Waivers under 18 U.S.C. §§ 208(b)(1) and (b)(3)
DO-07-005: Opinion of Office of Legal Counsel on SGE Day-Counting
The Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, issued an opinion reaffirming the longstanding executive branch interpretation that service by a special Government employee for part of any day counts as service for a full day, for purposes of relevant limits on the number of days of service under the conflict of interest laws.
07x3: Opinion of Office of Legal Counsel on SGE Day-Counting
DO-07-003: Valuation of Gifts of Admission to an Event in a Skybox or Private Suite
The value of a gift of attendance in a skybox or private suite is determined by adding the market value of the most expensive publicly available ticket to the event to the market value of the food, parking and other tangible benefits provided in connection with the gift of attendance.
07x2: Valuation of Gifts of Admission to an Event in a Skybox or Private Suite
DO-07-002: Counting Days of Service for Special Government Employees
OGE clarifies the conditions under which an agency need not count a day of service solely on the basis of certain activities by special Government employees.
07x1: Counting Days of Service for Special Government Employees
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Pages of Hackney
Independent Bookshop, Hackney, since 2008
East London with Charles Saumarez Smith
« Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now? with Ian Dunt and Rafael Behr
Launch screening of The Adventures of Richard Spruce, an animated graphic novel by Gemma Burditt »
Charles Saumarez Smith, who has lived in the area since the early 1980s, will give a presentation of his explorations, which are both historical and geographical, describing the unique character of East London's spaces and places new and old. He guides the reader around shops, churchyards, parks, pumping stations and cemeteries, up the Regent's Canal and across Victoria Park. Each of the old villages and neighbourhoods that make up East London is shown, through photographs taken on his travels, to offer unexpected and fascinating discoveries, from Wapping in the south through Spitalfields and Bethnal Green to Hoxton, Haggerston and Hackney in the north.
Charles Saumarez Smith is a cultural historian and Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts, previously Director of the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery.
East London, Photography
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Causes of the Crisis in the Electricity Industry and Future Policy Directions
KDI Policy Forum 2013 Vol.252
12 Pages Posted: 3 May 2016
See all articles by Il-Chong Nam
Il-Chong Nam
Korea Development Institute (KDI) - KDI School of Public Policy and Management
Date Written: April 26, 2013
In 2001, South Korea restructured its electric power industry and introduced competition to the industry, but it has failed to establish an effective system of competition.
Since the restructuring took place in 2001, electric power is being produced and investment is being made in power generation facilities through competition between generation companies. However, due to structural problems in the market transaction system that determine the actual effectiveness of competition in the electric power industry, this competition is not taking place effectively.
Furthermore, the price regulation system for the transmission, distribution, and retailing of electricity, which remain under monopoly control, and the ownership structure of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and KEPCO’s subsidiary generation companies remain stuck in the mindset of the government monopoly system that preceded the restructuring.
As a result, KEPCO and its subsidiaries continue to experience internal inefficiency, and the distribution of resources within the power industry continues to be inefficient as well. The chronic supply crisis, the unending inadequacy of facilities, the excessive consumption of power, KEPCO’s large-scale accumulated deficit, the inefficient management of KEPCO and its subsidiary generation companies, and the frequent accidents that have occurred over the past few years are all caused by the failure of policies concerning management, regulation, and government-run companies in the power industry.
In order to normalize the power industry and increase its efficiency, it is necessary to strengthen policies governing competition in the power industry. It is also necessary to implement the kind of pricing and government-run company governance systems that are used in advanced countries, systems that are grounded in the profit motive and economic efficiency. In the wholesale power market, direct price competition should be permitted under a price cap, just as in the PJM market in the eastern US. In the capacity market, the current spot market format should be converted to a forward contract market that takes into account the time required for investment in facilities. The system must be changed to eliminate excessive profit, which violates market principles, without hampering competition. Vesting contracts should be introduced to base load plants and other power generation facilities that were constructed in the past; entrance limitations should be abolished for the construction of additional base load plants; and business operators should be chosen through competitive bidding in cases where there is some kind of entrance barrier resulting from location or environmental issues. After introducing optimal rate-of-return regulations in the respective categories of transmission, distribution, and retailing, these regulations should be converted to price cap regulations early on. In addition, the governance structure of KEPCO and its subsidiary utilities must be reoriented toward maximizing the profit motive and giving management more discretion so that these government-run companies can compete with companies in the private sector. The power industry as it exists today has dealt with instability for the 10 years that have passed since 2003. The structure of the industry must also be reoriented to maximize competition.
Nam, Il-Chong, Causes of the Crisis in the Electricity Industry and Future Policy Directions (April 26, 2013). KDI Policy Forum 2013 Vol.252. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2769705
Il-Chong Nam (Contact Author)
Korea Development Institute (KDI) - KDI School of Public Policy and Management ( email )
263 Namsejong-ro
Sejong-si 30149
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Sylvester Hosts Symposium on Preventing Cancer Among Firefighters
The names etched on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs underscore the grim truth about the leading cause of death among firefighters.
Dr. Erin Kobetz speaks at the symposium, with Dr. Alberto Caban-Martinez at right.
Over the past five years, 65 percent of the 944 firefighters whose names were added to the wall succumbed to job-related cancers.
This year will be no different, according to Patrick Morrison of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Of the 252 fallen firefighters who will be honored in Colorado this September, 201 died of occupation-related cancers, a reality that on Monday brought Morrison and more than 325 other firefighters, scientists, researchers, and other stakeholders from seven countries to the Shalala Student Center, where Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center hosted the inaugural State of the Science National Firefighter Cancer Symposium.
Their two-day mission at the University of Miami: to develop a scientific roadmap for controlling and preventing cancer for the nearly 350,000 career firefighters and more than 814,000 volunteers in the U.S. Fire Service.
“I haven’t seen the depth of this kind of science in one place,” said symposium co-chair Erin Kobetz, Ph.D., M.P.H., the director and principal investigator of Sylvester’s Firefighter Cancer Initiative, which is documenting the excess burden of cancer among Florida firefighters, and identifying methods for reducing the risks that, not long ago, were on the radars of few researchers or firefighters.
“If you has asked me four years ago when we started our work with the fire service I would never have anticipated that it would have culminated in a day like today, where we have leadership from across the globe, scientists and firefighters alike, here to help us think through the most challenging research questions about how we address the excess burden of cancer in the fire service,” said Dr. Kobetz, professor of medicine and Sylvester’s associate director for population science and cancer disparity.
Symposium co-chair Alberto Caban-Martinez, D.O., Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of public health sciences and deputy director of the Firefighter Cancer Initiative, expressed confidence that the collective knowledge and field expertise gathered for the first symposium of its kind will find answers.
“We are asking the bigger question of what is unknown, and what do we need to do in order to protect the men and women who come to our rescue when we need it most,” he said. “What happens here in these next two days can indeed change firefighter health and safety.”
Over the past decade or so, multiple studies began showing that firefighters have higher rates of many cancers, including multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and prostate and testicular cancer, than the general population, and the reasons began to emerge: Every time firefighters respond to a fire, whether in a house, a dumpster, a car, or in wild lands, they can be exposed to an ever-increasing array of known cancer-causing agents and often bring the contaminants back to the station or home with them.
David J. Lee, Ph.D., professor of public health sciences, speaks on the epidemiology of cancer in firefighters.
“Think about a simple dresser,” Dr. Caban-Martinez said. “Forty years ago it was probably built entirely from wood. Today it’s made of all these fancy things with all these plastics and synthetics. We think that’s part of the reason why we’re seeing higher rates.”
The other reason—the ingrained, tough-guy culture found in fire stations everywhere—brought Broward County Fire Rescue Lt. Lysander Rostow and Captain Alex Arreola, whose department recently lost two fellow firefighters to cancer, to the symposium. They came to learn the science that will help them convince their brethren to always wear their breathing masks and other safety equipment while fighting fires and to clean themselves, their truck, and their gear afterward, never storing it in their cabs, their sleeping quarters, or their homes.
“We are aggressively trying to change the culture of the fire service,” said Rostow, who, like Arreola, is a member of his department’s joint occupational safety and health committee. “Wearing dirty gear was a badge of honor. It showed you were a tough guy and worked hard. You would never wash your gear because you wanted everyone to see how salty you were.”
Fortunately, said Nathan J. Trauernicht, the fire chief for the University of California, Davis, and one of the symposium keynote speakers, firefighters can no longer ignore the data and the data is changing the culture.
“It’s making people have an aha! moment,” Trauernicht said. “There’s this really great movement now, and it’s going to be propelled by events like this, where we say, ‘This is not smart.’ We’re not any less because we clean stuff.”
Another, more personal change, he said, is how he reacted when the fire chief he replaced at Davis recently died of cancer.
“Five years ago, I would have said, ‘Oh, Joe died of cancer. How sad,’ ’’ Trauernicht said. “But when I hear cancer and firefighter I no longer think of genetics or general risk factors. I think, ‘What happened over the course of his career? What were the exposures? And how do we quantify that so we can prevent it in the future?’ ”
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Home » CitizenBlogger » The Harley-Davidson India launches a display area in Pink City!
The Harley-Davidson India launches a display area in Pink City!
Posted on March 1, 2014 by Manish K. in CitizenBlogger // 0 Comments
Established in the year 1903, the Harley-Davidson Incorporation is the parent company for the assembly of companies that functions as the “Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC)” & “Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS)” in the United States of America. At the moment, the Company boasts almost 9 endorsed dealerships in India. The current showrooms of Harley-Davidson are along the lines of the international standards and mutually they create a significant nucleus to display the renowned culture and existence of the product and connect with the clients and Harley fans all over the nation. Harley-Davidson, India started its operations in the year 2009 and prearranged its foremost dealership in the year 2010. Starting from the beginning of 2011, Harley-Davidson has been accumulating the motorcycles in India at the Completely-Knocked-Down (CKD) assemblage unit at the Bawal in the state of Haryana. India is the 2nd nation where Harley-Davidson boast CKD assembly operations outside America, subsequent to Brazil.
Harley-Davidson in India sells a variety of Harley-Davidson authentic parts & accessories in company with general products together with the motor clothes, clothing and figurines. The company also bestows “top-in-class” after-sales service. Also, every dealer is linked with a lively Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) chapter that organizes standard events and rides. At present, the Harley-Davidson endows a variety of 12 models from each of the five families” the Sportster, Softail, Dyna, Touring and V-Rod. Each of the 5 Harley-Davidson motorcycle household has a dissimilar character and supplies the wide-ranging responsiveness of a wide choice of clients.
New Showroom in Pink city of Jaipur:
Now, it is the right time to express the joy of Speed extremists in pink city as the Harley Davidson is launching a new showroom in Jaipur!! Having nearly 12 dealerships in India, the state of Rajasthan is the topical one to observe the commencement of the automobile showroom on 15th December, 2013. It is not a surprise that Harley Davidson is fascinating speeders with its incredible appearances of its motorcycles, that makes people watch and buy it.
Motivation for launch:
For over 3 years, Harley-Davidson has made its first appearance in the household souk. Placed in the Pink City of Jaipur underneath the umbrella of Dunes Harley-Davidson, the new showroom is launched with the notion of reinforcing the man-machine association in the Northern part of India. The dealership in the state of Rajasthan was a slow development as Harley-Davidson is a favorite brand in Rajasthan with a huge number of clients already existing in this city. The spokespersons of Harley-Davidson are pleased to unlock their doorways to the broad motorcyclist pedestal in Jaipur and greet innovative customers to their budding folks of Harley-Davidson proprietors.
Inauguration:
The Dunes Harley-Davidson has now launched a new showroom at the Felicity Tower, Sahakar Marg in Pink city. The innovative, high-tech, 7,000 sq ft showroom was installed in the attendance of Mr. Rajiv Vohra, the dealer and sales development director of the Harley-Davidson India, along with Mr. Sukhinder Singh & Mr. Utkarsh Baxi, the proud owners of Dunes Harley-Davidson. With the intention of making the commencement more unforgettable, nearly hundred proprietors of Harley-Davidson from all over the Northern part of the nation graced their presence on the occasion. The most recent dealership offers the total Harley-Davidson India array of eleven motorcycles begins from 6,04,133 INR.
Offerings for the owners:
The proprietors of Harley-Davidson can benefit from accessories like fog-lamps, crash guards, seat and much more from the showroom for their bikes. The new Dunes pink city showroom also bestows preservation merchandise like oils, polishes and filters for the new Harley-Davidson owners. Also, in an emblematic Harley way, a broad range of safety and apparel gears are also offered. The commencement of Harley-Davidson dealership in the state of Rajasthan has fetched a wave of enjoyment in the midst of its passionate supporters. All the exotic models of 2 wheeler Bike Company were displayed in the showroom with their costs ranging from 6.5 lakh INR 32 lakh INR.
Enormous Excitement:
The enthusiasm of bike owners from corner to corner of the nation was praiseworthy on the day of launch. The fans were so pleased that every single one of the hundred Harley-Davidson owners all over the Northern India conducted a procession on the streets of Jaipur. This was a great instant of delight for every speed-cruiser extremist, and Harley-Davidson is positive to build up its market enhancement in the nation with the arrival of innovative dealerships.
Harley – Davidson stepped into India with an elementary tactical frame of mind to offer the Indian customers a pragmatic product that would travel across the border line of the “product link” and offer the shopper an individual and tailored experience. The year of 2012 ends by leaving a strong note of a predictable number of 1200 motorcycles being driven on the Indian streets. This is other than thousand motorcycles which existed on the streets of India till the last part of the year 2011 that totals it to more or less 2200 motorcycles of Harley-Davidson brand in India.
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Finding Rejuvenation in Costa Rica
costa rica, costa rica inspiration, costa rica solo travel
I had finally done it. After months of searching, I had formally accepted a job offer that would mark a new chapter in my career and life. I was excited to leave behind an environment stuck in a continuous downward spiral of negativity and apathy. But before I could move onto the next, I wanted to shed away the layer of grime that had accumulated over the past year as I had survived multiple layoffs and restructures in a company I had started with 4 years ago. My spirit needed some TLC.
And with that, I gifted myself a free week to pause in between old and new. Always looking to satisfy my wanderlust, I wanted a change of scenery and the more exotic, the better. This trip would also be different in another way. Until now, I had been lucky to have traveled around the world in the company of friends and family. Hesitant about a solo trip outside of the country, I consulted my all-knowing friend, Google, for suggestions.
I couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect setting for a week of rejuvenation and soul searching.
Costa Rica transfixed me with its promise of wildlife, adventures, and Pura Vida lifestyle. Pura Vida, or “pure life”, defines the small country and its people to its core. Life is experienced with an awareness and appreciation for the simple, the beautiful, and the peaceful. I couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect setting for a week of rejuevnation and soul searching.
I hopped on a flight just two days later with a carry-on suitcase and a folder packed with the details of my full itinerary. It might have been a spontaneous decision to go to Costa Rica, but I was alone and a plan of when, where, and how comforted me. Even so, pura vida did not come easily as I landed in San Juan at midnight. The roads were desolate and a group of young men lingered in the shadows of my hostel when my taxi pulled up. I quickly checked in with the welcoming couple at the front desk and headed to the dorm to claim my bunk, where I uneasily drifted to sleep with my pillow resting on top of the backpack holding the little bit of valuables I had brought with me.
Morning brought a refreshing change as I took in my surroundings that sprung to life in the sunshine. I packed my bags and headed out to meet my adventure connection to La Fortuna with a stopover for white-water rafting. The driver, Alfredo, and I got to know each other over the next few hours as we talked about our families and friends, his brief stint living in New York City, and Costa Rica’s allure for locals and foreigners alike. We had only known each other briefly, but it was sad to part ways with a now familiar face as we reached the river where I joined the main group for some rafting.
Downstream Floating
Soon enough though, I was in a raft with a group of new friends, a German family visiting the country for a couple of weeks. We screamed “pura vida!” as we made our way downstream with our local guide, in search of the best rapids and waking up the sloths high up in the trees who turned their heads slowly to check out the commotion. Together, we jumped into the river when the rapids had disappeared and let the current float us towards an island of river rocks where we breaked for the sweetest pineapples and watermelons. By day’s end, the nervousness that had plagued the previous night had fully dissipated as I watched the sun set behind the massive Arenal Volcano and on my first full day in Costa Rica.
Rappelling Off A Waterfall
The following days spent in La Fortuna were a whirlwind of adrenaline and action as I rappelled down waterfalls, raced up mountains on horseback, and hiked up the volcano. Along the way, I shared these experiences with new friends that included a woman celebrating the payoff of her student loans and a couple of teachers taking advantage of the summer vacation. I worked through the awkwardness that comes with eating alone and realized how much we miss out on in our daily routine. It was such a simple joy of being completely present and savoring the food I put in my mouth.
I was perfectly proud of myself as I moved onto the second half of my trip and made my way up into the mountains of Monteverde. I had anticipated fatigue from the adventures in La Fortuna and planned to enjoy Monteverde at a slower pace. My inn located in Santa Elena was the perfect retreat situated high up and overlooking a valley filled with trees, waterfalls, and wild animals like the coati who stopped by and begged for bananas. The most special part of the inn was its deck, which stretched out, away from face of the mountain, and suspended over the open air for a panoramic view of the cloud forests of the region. Calm and peace enveloped me as I sat floating above the tree tops and enjoyed that very exact and present moment.
And with that thought in mind, I began to embrace the feeling of smallness so that it intimidated me less and less.
I spent portions of my days hiking and zip-lining, and left the rest for exploring the small town and immersed in introspection out on the deck. It felt good to pause and think of the myriad of things that made up my life, both past and present. There were moments of gratitude and love, but there were also thoughts of loneliness. One night was particularly rough as I struggled to fall asleep as the wind whipped against the mountain and battered the wooden walls of the inn. Not only was I fighting for sleep, but I was fighting against a feeling of insignificance as I lay at the top of a mountain thousands of miles from everything familiar.
But here I was in Costa Rica, a very small country that makes its mark with its unique serenity and natural beauty in a vast world of cultures. And with that thought in mind, I began to embrace the feeling of smallness so that it intimidated me less and less. As I boarded a plane back home to New York, I felt empowered and renewed as I anticipated a different kind of adventure that was about to begin.
Another Adventure Awaits
Top photo credit: Josh K
About Jenny Trinh
Born in Montreal and raised in NYC, Jenny strives for a life filled with wonder, silliness, and adventure. She has been lucky enough to play with tigers in Thailand, eat copious amounts of ice cream in Switzerland, and hike through the rainforests of Costa Rica. When she is not abroad, Jenny works in NYC and continues to explore its ever-changing landscape with bright eyes, a curious mind, and a hungry stomach.
View all posts by Jenny Trinh
Why I Decided to Quit My Job and Move to Costa Rica
5 Ways to Live La “Pura Vida” No Matter Where You Are
Travel Costa Rica: The Real Deal with Carolyne Whelan
Experiencing Costa Rica as a Vacation Nanny
Rafting Towards Happiness
Taking Chances on a Farm in Costa Rica
Fearless Living Retreat in Monteverde, Costa Rica (Jan. 25-29)
Waiting for the Wave: Part 2
Pearltect: The Ultimate Anti-Rape Bracelet
A City So Nice I Went There Thrice… And Then I Went Again
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by Sheldon Pearce
Black Flag Bassist Cel Revuelta Is Dead
He played bass with the iconic hardcore band in 1986—the end of their original run
C’el Revuelta pictured right; photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Cel Revuelta, who played bass with Black Flag, has died. The news was shared in a GoFundMe page set up by his family; his former bandmate Henry Rollins confirmed the news on Facebook. Revuelta had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in July 2016. “Today we lost a wonderful person,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Our hearts are broken Cel passed away this morning Wednesday May 3rd 2017, he was surrounded by his immediate family. He fought til his last breath.” Revuelta joined Black Flag in 1986, replacing Kira Roessler. He was the final bassist to perform with the band during their original run. He also performed with the band during their 2003 reunion. He does not appear on any of the band’s official recordings, but is featured in the tour documentary Reality 86’d.
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Terror Supporter Jeremy Corbyn Is the Monster UK's Liberal Establishment Deserves
By Mike McNally 2015-09-24T01:33:12
Forget the rise of Nigel Farage and UKIP. Forget the Scottish National Party sweeping Britain’s May general election north of the border. While those events were earthquakes rocking British politics at the time, they barely register on the Richter scale alongside the election of the virtually unknown, hard-left rabble-rouser Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.
To say Corbyn’s political views are out of touch with most of the British public is like saying Donald Trump can be a bit boastful. Ron Radosh and Rick Moran have outlined some of Corbyn’s more outrageous policy positions -- including his long history of “palling around with terrorists,” as a great lady once said of another left-winger who came from nowhere to lead his party.
Corbyn has been dogged by controversy since his election. He ran into problems as soon as he started putting together his “shadow” cabinet, when he handed the job of chancellor of the exchequer -- a fancy British term for finance minister -- to John McDonnell, a man who’s even more pro-IRA than Corbyn and who once “joked” about assassinating Margaret Thatcher.
Corbyn, an avowed champion of women’s issues, also came under fire for not appointing more women to top positions in his team; he who lives by the sword of identity politics dies by it, although he did at least appoint a woman as his agriculture spokesperson -- a vegan animal rights activist who wants to end the farming of livestock.
If Corbyn was hoping to win over skeptical British voters, he got off to a less-than-convincing start when he refused to sing the national anthem at a service to commemorate the Battle of Britain.
A couple of days later, he was forced to resign his position as chairman of the hard-left Stop the War Coalition after its website published a poem heaping abuse on Queen Elizabeth.
A top Labour donor has called for moderate MPs to either topple Corbyn in the next year or quit the party and set up a new one, which he’s offered to bankroll.
So far, so disastrous. Corbyn's victory means that in a matter of weeks, Labour -- one of the two parties that have dominated British politics for a century -- has gone from a party that was only an engaging leader and an economic downturn away from challenging for power in 2020 to one that’s likely to be out of office for much longer.
And Corbyn’s election is also a catastrophe for Britain's New Labour-loving, liberal-left establishment. This group is the numerically small but disproportionately influential body of Labour MPs, the BBC, the Guardian newspaper, NGOs and charities, moderate trade unions and professional bodies, and leading figures in the arts who are convinced they have an innate right to run the country. Ironically, the establishment left bears much of the responsibility for Corbyn’s election.
Corbyn’s name only appeared on the ballot paper because more moderate party figures felt the far-left’s “voice should be heard” in the wider debate about Labour’s future direction. The lunatic fringe represented by Corbyn has long been condescended to by the party’s leadership and by the liberal-left establishment in general; they were allowed to join in occasionally to foster the illusion of party unity.
When no one else volunteered, the veteran Corbyn stepped in, scraping together enough nominations from Labour MPs at the last minute. No one, least of all Corbyn himself, thought he had a chance of winning. Things started to go wrong, from the establishment point of view, very quickly thereafter. Once Corbyn started campaigning, he attracted the support of disaffected leftists who’d largely given up on mainstream politics. He drew large crowds to speaking events and persuaded thousands of people, including many young people, to join the Labour Party so they could vote for him.
The supporters Corbyn attracted are a different species entirely to the professional, metropolitan elite liberals of the establishment left. They’re a motley collection of trade union bullies, aging socialists from the “Ban the Bomb” era, and anti-American, anti-capitalist, Israel-hating, eco-fascist, perpetual activists. What they lack in numbers they make up for in self-righteous fury.
A great many of them are the same people who, after the Conservatives came to power in coalition with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, spent the next five years leading the “resistance” to David Cameron’s government. They regularly took to the streets of London to smash up banks and Starbucks coffee shops, to battle the police, and to vandalize public buildings and monuments. The defining moment of this movement came when, during one post-election riot, the words “F*** Tory scum” were daubed on a memorial to women who served during World War Two.
While the establishment liberals paid lip service to condemning the thuggery, the extremists served a useful purpose, creating the illusion of widespread social breakdown, popular opposition, and mass uprisings against a heartless and out-of-touch Tory government. Of course, it was the same few thousand activists at every rally and riot.
While they couldn’t possibly condone violence and vandalism, the elites explained more in sorrow than anger, this was the inevitable result of the divisions created by Cameron and his policies of austerity. These passionate young people sort of had a point, they were just going about expressing it in the wrong way and only a Labour government could heal the nation’s wounds.
Labour leader Ed Miliband played to the rabble in the run-up to the May election, thinking he could harness their energy to boost his faltering campaign. Once he was safely in office, he could revert to the elites’ preferred brand of respectable, don’t-frighten-the-horses brand of liberalism. As I wrote in the aftermath of the election, he made “Tory scum” politics respectable again.
It was the left’s good cop/bad cop routine, but it backfired.
The mob wasn’t supposed to get involved in actual party politics, but that’s what happened. The liberal left nurtured a monster it can no longer control. The lunatics have taken over the asylum.
Ron Radosh made the inevitable comparison between Corbyn and Bernie Sanders. Corbyn’s victory is the equivalent of Sanders being swept into the White House by Occupy Wall Street, Code Pink, the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and Planned Parenthood.
Now Labour is stuck with him. Remember, it took Tony Blair 18 years to make the party credible again.
For now, the only people happier than the Corbynistas are Cameron and his Conservative Party. Tory MPs can now look forward to taking a few days’ holiday ahead of the next general election in 2020, when they might otherwise have been fighting for their political lives.
https://pjmedia.com/blog/terror-supporter-jeremy-corbyn-is-the-monster-uks-liberal-establishment-deserves/
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Arctic Sovereignty: The Next Great Game – Recap of the Ford+SPPG Conference 2013
March 30, 2013 · by PPGR · in Canada, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment, Ford Conference, Foreign, Security, Defence & Military, The North, Trade, U.S.. ·
Natalia Segal
Due mainly to global warming, an environmental effect that has influenced the Arctic region faster than some other parts of the planet, the previously inaccessible Northwest Passage is opening up. The Northwest Passage, a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will (once we can navigate it) save valuable time and fuel for ships that now must travel through longer passages via Egypt or Central America. These previously inaccessible shipping lanes and exposed abundances of natural resources such as oil, natural gas, gold, and diamonds, stand to entice expanded Maritime activity, increase international political interest and raise pressing questions around Arctic sovereignty with regards to matters of resource extraction, trade and navigation, environment, and security. It was due to these tenacious questions and policy problems that Public Policy Masters students from the University of Michigan and the University of Toronto met for a two-day conference last weekend.
2013 marks the fourth year that the Ford+SPPG Conference brought together University of Michigan and University of Toronto policy students to tackle collective challenges faced by policy makers on both sides of the border. This year, I was fortunate to attend not only as a member of the planning committee but also as a conference participant.
We arrived at 5pm on Friday, March 22 and were greeted by warm and friendly faces, fabulous food and fantastic architecture. The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy is an awe-inspiring accumulation of gargantuan ceilings, immense chandeliers, expansive open communal spaces and comfortable couches and chairs.
Our introduction to the Conference consisted of the fantastic panel speakers and impressive Ford competition judges. Friday afternoon’s professional conference presenters included:
Henry Pollack, professor of geophysics at the University of Michigan, advisor to the National Science Foundation and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore – amazing! Mr Pollack has conducted scientific research on all seven continents and traveled to Antarctica on various occasions. Mr. Pollack spoke about how increased access to the Arctic’s treasures and the opening of the Northwest Passage affects intergovernmental relations and policy structures in terms of social policy, economic policy and others.
Tom Clynes, an award-winning magazine writer and photographer who covers the adventurous side of science and environmental issues, is a contributing editor for Popular Science and a University of Michigan Wallace Journalism Fellow. He has also authored the book Wild Planet. Mr. Clynes discussed his upcoming feature story in National Geographic about the mining boom in the Yukon.
Ford faculty participants, who we were introduced to on the Friday as well, were equally extraordinary. Alan Deardroff, Professor and Associate Dean, acted as conference judge and panelist; Shirli Kopelman, Professor, facilitated Ford+SPPG Conference value-added negotiations workshop; Mel Levitsky, Ambassador and Professor, held a panelist role; Barry Rabe, Professor, acted as panelist and policy recommendations competition judge; Pamela Bryant, Senior Fellow and familiar face at SPPG, acted as judge; and Michael Baker, SPPG Acting Director, also provided his time and expertise to sit as judge of the Ford+SPPG competition.
At the end of our long Friday evening, Ford students were divided into eight competing policy options presentation groups under the following four categories: resource extraction, trade and navigation, environment, and security. I landed security. As soon as I saw my topic I thought of Mr. Pollack’s presentation.
“National security is the protection of land, people and national treasure,” he said. “People cannot be thought of as collateral damage.” It seems to me then, that human rights are a national security issue. This realization and Mr. Polack’s words remained with me for the duration of the conference.
On the following day, we gathered for breakfast early in the morning and, soon enough, split into our competition groups. The presentations would be judged on the following criteria: feasibility of policy recommendations, creativity, clarity and organisation, strength of supporting evidence and the ability to handle questioning. By midday, each group was to present a slide demonstration and policy recommendations to the judges, panelists, and our fellow students.
As I watched the presentations unfold, it dawned on me how bright and inspiring the students were. Indeed, if these are the hands that will make future policy, I am assured we’re in good hands.
Environmental groups tackled issues of polar bear extinction, ice-melt due to accelerated rates of global warming, disappearance of Arctic fisheries, sea level increases, tundra and glaciers and changing weather patterns as well as pollution, changes to biodiversity and living conditions for Indigenous populations.
Natural Resources groups analyzed issues related to mineral extraction, energy and fisheries. In particular, how enhanced access affects the above and policy options to best inform future actions.
Trade and Navigation policy groups considered investment and trade challenges, Arctic trade routes, international shipping regulations, US regulations and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The Arctic Security groups, including my group, discussed strategic defense, US-Canada /US-Russia border disputes, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the status of the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route.
In the second half of the day, students attended a workshop on negotiation skills and insights into the latest research on rational choice theories: the idea of culture as a major component of how different people from different cultures approach rationality in order to make their rankings and decisions.
By the end of the second day, exhausted and well-fed, the students took time to enjoy each other’s company; we didn’t only participate in a fabulous competition, learn interesting new theories and facts, and meet inspiring professionals, we made friends. Friends are wonderful finds.
Natasha Segal is a 2014 MPP Candidate at the School of Public Policy and Governance. She also holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, a Bachelor Honours in Professional Communications and a Diploma in Social Services. Her interests include social policy, women’s rights, LGTB rights, creative non-fiction prose and photography.
Tags: Arctic sovereignty
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Home / News / Extended Stay America Launches First Ever Franchising Program
Extended Stay America Launches First Ever Franchising Program
Extended Stay America hotels (ESA) announced today the brand's next five-year growth strategy, anchored by its first ever franchising program and a return to new hotel builds, the first in a decade. ESA is combining its attractive and best-in-class operating model with a franchisee-friendly agreement and guest-inspired redesigns to catapult the brand, accommodating an ever-growing and underserved mid-scale extended stay audience.
In a United States industry comprised of 55,000 hotels and 5.2 million hotel rooms, approximately 22 percent of demand for those rooms comes from guests staying five nights or more at a time. Yet only 8 percent of the available inventory is considered extended stay. Seeing an attractive demand profile within the segment, limited supply growth, and a tremendous business opportunity, Extended Stay America is evolving to meet the needs of today's traveler for a reasonably priced, comfortable and friendly extended stay experience.
As part of the brand's previously announced ESA 2.0, Extended Stay America expects in the coming months to return to unit growth, with a target portfolio of 700 Extended Stay America branded properties by 2021, approximately 70 percent of which will be owned/operated and 30 percent franchised. The company will also adopt an asset merchant approach to its large real estate holdings – buying, selling, developing and improving real estate one site at a time.
"As we begin franchising at ESA for the first time, we're seeking partnerships with well-capitalized franchisees capable of developing their market areas, which might include buying the existing corporate-owned ESA hotels and converting them to franchised units. We would like to see our prospective owners 'cluster' operations for better efficiency and pricing power within their markets and match their local development and ownership expertise with the advantages of Extended Stay America's scale," said Extended Stay America EVP and Chief Asset Merchant Jim Alderman." The goal is for each franchisee to control multiple properties, with the potential of taking ownership of and facilitating our brand's presence in entire markets."
Extended Stay America's keen focus on serving extended stay guests, with sales, revenue management and operations strategies specifically catered to this audience, yields industry-leading margins and outstanding cash flow across its 625 owned and operated properties. By implementing a streamlined and effective operating model with only 12-13 associates at each property, workplace standardization and clear operating procedures, Extended Stay America has created consistency in guest experience across the brand's portfolio, eliminated waste and improved labor standards. With the launch of its franchise program, Extended Stay America will make its operating model available to third-party owners and operators for the first time.
By concentrating on fewer, but larger, franchisees, each can control more assets within their chosen markets and Extended Stay America can continue the consistency for which the brand is known, serve the increasing demand in new and growing suburban markets and provide scale opportunities for its franchisees. By 2018, Extended Stay America will be actively franchising, with interested partners having options to convert existing assets, buy and franchise existing hotels from Extended Stay America, or build new franchised properties.
Over the last five-plus years, Extended Stay America has invested over $1 Billion for portfolio-wide renovations and other capital improvements. These investments helped set the foundation for future growth and profitability, the plan now called ESA 2.0. With a footprint of 625 hotels and more than 68,000 rooms in 44 markets across the country, including all 25 of the nation's top markets, Extended Stay America is the largest mid-price extended stay hotel in the industry, and sees itself as uniquely qualified to take the next step in serving the unique extended stay audience.
"We like to say there are many reasons to stay with, or now to franchise with, Extended Stay America," commented Extended Stay America President and Chief Executive Officer Gerry Lopez. "Having completed the largest renovation improvement program in our company's history, we've set the stage for our next phase of development and design. We've always remained acutely focused on an extended stay audience and will continue to do so, evolving along with them."
Having studied how guests utilize the existing product, Extended Stay America has redesigned rooms to feature innovative guest-inspired improvements unlike anything else in the midscale extended stay segment. With 70 percent of the brand's guests staying for five-night or longer, and 42 percent staying longer than a month, Extended Stay America recognizes guests' desire for practical, home-like accommodations.
The brand's intuitive redesign features smart storage, reimagined common areas and an exclusive double-queen room layout, affording guests more privacy and answering the growing demand for accommodations suitable for double occupancy. Additionally, Extended Stay America will continue providing amenities key for guests' comfortable and frictionless stays, including fully equipped in-room kitchens, free in-room Wi-Fi and grab-and-go breakfast, onsite laundry facilities and pet-friendly accommodations.
In addition to growing the brand and attracting best-in-class partners, Extended Stay America is investing in well known, experienced and well-established talent to bring ESA 2.0 to life. Extended Stay America's Executive Vice President and Chief Asset Merchant Jim Alderman and Vice President of Marketing Strategy and Planning Rick Canale welcome a stellar team of industry professionals with more than 65 combined years of hospitality experience: managing directors of real estate, Judi Bikulege and Steven Scheetz; and managing director of real estate development, Stephen Miller.
Having joined the Extended Stay America team as managing director of real estate in March 2017, Judi Bikulege is responsible for value enhancement of ESA's eastern U.S. real estate portfolio. A 35-year hospitality veteran, Bikulege has a diverse background in finance, mergers and acquisitions, development, asset management, risk management, and operations. Prior to joining the team, she served as a private consultant with an emphasis on the hospitality industry; executive vice president of Capital Markets for Gencom; and senior vice president of business affairs at Morgan Hotel Group.
Also having joined the team as managing director of real estate in March 2017, Steve Scheetz is responsible for ESA's real estate, development, and growth in the western half of the USA. Scheetz brings over 25 years of institutional real estate private equity and deep hospitality investment experience to Extended Stay America and ESA 2.0. Over his career, Scheetz has had significant involvement with 12 different lodging companies, including six public NYSE companies, totaling over 1,450 hotels and $14 billion in value. Scheetz has also held senior executive roles at Gatehouse Capital, WMC Management / Olympus Real Estate Partners, The Hampstead Group LLC, and most recently at Heartland Capital & Affiliates.
Another long-standing industry veteran, Stephen Miller joins Extended Stay America as a Managing Director of Real Estate and Development. Most recently with Interstate Hotels & Resorts as Senior Vice President of Development, Miller was responsible for working with investors and capital groups in acquiring full-service and select service hotels throughout North America. Having held senior level positions with hotel companies including Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Interstate Hotels & Resorts and Embassy Suites, Miller brings his extensive knowledge of both hospitality and portfolio enhancement to ESA 2.0.
Source: June, 5 2017 / Extended Stay America / Hotel News Resource
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An exceptionally original Renault veteran car from 1913
Posted on 5. Juni 2015 20. Oktober 2018 Author M.H.
One wouldn‘t believe that discoveries like that are still possible: A more than a hundred years old Renault which never underwent a restoration and has stayed in the same family since it was built. A car where virtually everything is still in original condition and shows only slight traces of use – the paint, the leather upholstery, even the delicate fabric covering the interior of the passenger compartment. Also from a technical perspective all parts are in place and working.
Such an exceptionally find – a Renault 22/24hp coupé chauffeur from 1913 – was on offer on the 6th of February 2015 with the renowned French auction house Artcurial. The car’s truly unique condition is illustrated by numerous high-resolution images on the company’s website.
The Renault has spent all his life with the same family which lives on a chateau in the Languedoc area in Southern France. The great-grandfather of the current owner had bought the car without a body and commissioned Renaudin et Besson in Paris to build one. The passenger compartment was lavishly appointed with leather and damask lining whereas the chauffeur sat on a bench in front of it, albeit protected by a light hood. The dashboard was equipped with instruments made by Kirby Beard & Co. who also were suppliers to Rolls-Royce at that time.
As for the lighting a combination of different solutions was chosen. In order to keep the risk of short-circuiting low, only an electrical interior light was fitted which was supplied by accumulators beneath the floor. The brass head-lamps, however, use gas that is supplied by a pressure tank mounted on the running board, whereas the taillight is operated by oil. According to the owner, the head-lamps used to be sent ahead by train in case of longer journeys. This was to avoid damage by flying stones on the still unsurfaced roads.
Probably the toughest test of the car’s abilities came when the First World War broke out in August 1914. Back then, the owner’s father was on a language course in England. As England declared war on Germany a few days before France, the French embassy in London asked the family by telegram to collect the young man, immediately. Thus, the Renault was sent off to Calais with the chauffeur, laden with a whole set of spare tires. While driving at night was hardly feasible, the journey of almost 1,000 km was accomplished in only two days thanks to continuous driving from dawn to dusk.
Eventually in the late 1920s, the faithful Renault was decommissioned. Properly preserved it remained in its garage on the family’s estate, In order to take the load off the springs, blocks were put beneath the axles. The engine was turned over regularly, so that the moving parts would not seize.
Only at one occasion, the Renault experienced adventurous times again, as the German Wehrmacht retreated from Southern France in autumn 1944 and requisitioned all available vehicles in the area. The local headquarters of the occupying forces had ordered that also the Renault was to be made roadworthy. Perhaps the car was designated for an officer, but most probably the German soldiers had no idea how old the car actually was. At any rate, the Renault was put on its wheels again, which resulted in immediate failure of the fragile tires. As no replacements were at hand, the car escaped being requisitioned. It was put back on its blocks again and slumbered on without being disturbed again. Thus the Renault managed to survive untouched and with a splendid patina until today.
Unfortunately, the car has not yet found a new owner. It was offered on the same day as the spectacular Baillon collection was auctioned off by Artcurial, but it was not sold. This is probably not only due to the ambitious estimated price of 300-500,000 euros, but also to the much larger attention that the Baillon barn-find received thanks to worldwide press coverage. Apropos, the following link leads to an overview of the sold cars from the Baillon collection and the often breath-taking prices they fetched.
Let’s hope, the Renault will be acquired by a true enthusiast sooner or later, someone who is less interested in prestigious marques and potential price gains but wishes to preserve this unique witness of a bygone era for future generations.
Kategorie: Ancestor, English articles, Gastautoren, Michael Schlenger, Veteran, Vintage Schlagworte: 100 Jahre, Fahrzeugtypen
letzter BeitragSicherungstipps für klassische Fahrzeuge
nächster BeitragDer Traum vom Elektroauto 1900 bis heute
M.H. 20. Oktober 2018
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Pro-life group: Abortuary getting a pass, compliments of judge
The public is being kept in the dark about the history of Missouri's last abortion clinic.
A ruling by Federal Judge Michael Stelzer has forced Missouri health officials into allowing Planned Parenthood to continue operating in St. Louis without a license. Stelzer has also sealed all records showing shoddy practices at the abortuary.
"The fact that they're not complying [or] cooperating with the investigation is very dangerous," argues Cheryl Sullenger with Operation Rescue. "It's creating a dangerous situation for women because this Planned Parenthood is trying to put itself outside any kind of oversight from the state – and that means they can do whatever they want without consequence."
Sullenger points out that 74 ambulances in the last ten years have transported women to hospitals after botched abortions. In addition, subpoenas were issued to nine of the clinic's employees, seven to abortionists.
"Five of those abortionists are not cooperating with the state's investigation," Sullenger continues. "They won't allow themselves to be interviewed. So these subpoenas were issued and the judge quashed those subpoenas and then sealed the record."
Operation Rescue already had a copy of the sealed information and as posted it on their website. Meanwhile, the state has until Friday to submit results of its investigation to the court explaining why it has not renewed the license of the Planned Parenthood.
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Poole Museum Society Blog
Poole history and heritage link
Forthcoming Society Events
George Jennings and the Growth of Parkstone
Posted on 14/06/2014 by poolemuseumsociety
Parkstone with Poole in the background by J.M.W. Turner
In the early 19th century, Parkstone was still a mainly rural area with few inhabitants. Its indented coastline of lagoons and salt marshes provided a living for samphire gatherers and salt workers. Within living memory the famous Isaac Gulliver and other smugglers had regularly landed their goods on the uninhabited sand dunes of Haven (Sandbanks) and the sandy, chine-cut shore beyond. Inland from the coast was an area of hills, small farms, woods, marshes and winding country lanes, merging into the heath which stretched without a break ten miles to Christchurch. The only main route through Parkstone was the lonely coach road heading east from Poole, and it was beside the road at Brown Bottom and Ashley Cross that the small population of the area was centred. Some local people made woollen clothing, boots and shoes and fishing nets for export to Newfoundland. A few were tradesmen or inn-keepers and most of the rest were farmers and agricultural labourers.
Sandecotes and other houses
Like other approaches to Poole, Parkstone had once been dismissed as barren, dreary and desolate, but as the century progressed, ideas were changing. The varied landscape and harbour views appealed to those seeking a rural retreat and a scattering of well-to-do families gradually moved into the area. The Elms, Salterns and Lilliput House dotted the shore line, while The Castle, Belmont, Highmoor, Sandecotes, Castle Eve and other residences crowned the wooded slopes, enjoying delightful prospects of the harbour, Brownsea Island and the Purbeck hills.
Other changes were taking place. Parkstone acquired a church, St. Peter’s at Ashley Cross, built in 1833. The Newfoundland trade was in decline and salt working became thing of the past, but with the founding of Bournemouth and the growth of the suburbs came a demand for the sand and clay underlying Parkstone’s heathlands. Pits were opened up and in 1853, Sharp Jones & Co. set up the small Bourne Valley Pottery in Upper Parkstone, using clay dug on the site. A few years later George Jennings, the drainage and sanitary ware engineer, visited the area in search of sources of clay. Having found difficulty in interesting London potters in his new patented method of manufacturing stoneware drainpipes, he had resolved to enter the pottery business himself.
George Jennings
Enterprising, inventive and hard-working, George Jennings was the quintessential Victorian self-made man. He originated from Hampshire but it was in London that he had started his business and earned his reputation as an innovator. In 1851, he had supplied the sanitation arrangements for the Great Exhibition when over 800,000 visitors paid a penny to use his ‘monkey closets’ in the retiring rooms of the Crystal Palace’ (the first use of the phrase ‘to spend a penny’). Jennings was at the forefront of improvements in drainage and sanitation. He won a series of contracts to supply water and drainage systems to towns and institutions in Britain and on the outbreak of the Crimean War, was given the job of constructing the sanitary fittings for the hospitals at Varus and Scutari.
In Parkstone, Jennings bought a 70 acre plot, south of Ashley Cross near Blake Dene, previously occupied by Myrtle Farm and Malmesbury and Parsons’ model dairy farm. An old iron mill had once stood nearby. According to later descriptions, it was a barren place, ‘a bog or piece of marshland’ but it contained the all-important clay beds and space for pottery buildings. To protect his investment in the unfamiliar business, Jennings needed an experienced right-hand man on site and from the start he relied on the expertise of John S. Hudson (poached from Bourne Valley Pottery) who proved to be an able and energetic manager.
The South Western Pottery
Poole builder, Mr. Dunford started work around May 1855 and the South Western Pottery soon began to take shape. The main building was 3 storeys high, 120 ft long and 70 ft wide. The clay pits were 100ft. from the pottery and a horse-powered tramway was built to carry the clay to the pug mills and wetting cellars. By January 1858, when Mr. Hudson treated the nearly 90 employees to a festive dinner, there was reason for celebration. The pottery had been in successful operation for a year and had already been extended with the addition of three extra kilns. During that time they had turned out and sold great numbers of Jennings Patent Drainpipes and Saddles (a kind of drainpipe connector) using locally designed machines. The pottery was providing employment and even raising wages in the area. The road from Parkstone Mill to Blake Hill had been levelled and improved in a joint scheme between Mr. Hudson and local farmer Mrs Dorothy Solly at no cost to the rate payer. Altogether a bit of self congratulation was allowable.
South Western pottery clay workings
Pottery supporters argued that as the land was poor and barren, ‘if then the soil can be made productive in any way, there can be no doubt that incalculable benefits must result therefrom.’ Others probably resented the intrusion of industry into their rural idyll and felt like Mary Butts who grew up at Salterns at the beginning of the 20th century. She described the clay workings as ‘pale clay-pits; and behind these, nearest to the woods abandoned pits, half-filled with Chinese-blue water, and queer grey cliffs oozing and dripping; and everywhere a tangle of brambles and savage thickets.’ Mildred Holmes who played near the pottery as a child at about the same time, had happier impressions. She remembered the stretches of heathland, rich woods, streams and pools and ‘green leafy lanes’.
In the next few decades, the South Western Pottery extended their range of products to include bricks, chimney pots, stone and terra-cotta ware besides a wide range of drainage pipes and fittings. Their products were exported all over the world and at its height, the pottery had 12 kilns and 6 chimneys. John Hudson and his family moved to Holly Lodge, between Brown Bottom and Ashley Cross. On his visits to Parkstone, George Jennings was captivated by the place and purchased the Castle Eve estate on the slopes of Castle Hill, once the home of Robert H. Parr, solicitor and former Town Clerk of Poole. He planned to retire there but in the meantime, used the house as a summer retreat for his family. With characteristic energy he also continued to run the model farm and set up a school for the children of the pottery workers on the Sandbanks Road. Evening talks on various topics were provided for the workers themselves. As alternate entertainment, the Bee Hive Inn was opened by an enterprising local brewery conveniently close to the pottery.
The Bee Hive on the left and the school in the foreground on the right
The relative inaccessibility of Parkstone was a problem for the factory which needed to bring in quantities of coal and send out its fragile goods in bulk. In 1866, George Jennings appealed to the Board of Trade for permission to build a pier at Salterns to avoid the rough journey by road from Poole Quay. The question was going to be whether or not this would give Jennings exemption from paying harbour dues to Poole Corporation. Permission was granted and the pier was duly constructed in 1867. A narrow gauge railway led to the pier by a curving route.
Later that year William Walton, master of Jennings’ brig, Clyde, was summonsed for refusing to pay 7s boomage dues and £3 13s 6d harbour and quay dues, on a cargo of 294 tons of coal unloaded at Salterns pier. The case was heard at the Poole petty sessions and after a long debate the magistrates ordered the dues to be paid and the vessel to be seized.
The area in the 1920s
However this was not the end of the battle. Jennings continued to refuse to pay and the Trustees continued to take action against him as costs rose. In the end the case came before the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster which found in favour of the Trustees. Jennings had to pay their costs of over £2,700 as well as his own. Soon after, in 1874, circumstances changed when Parkstone station was opened. In anticipation, George Jennings had bought a standard gauge 0-4-0 saddle tank engine a couple of years before. Now a standard gauge line was laid from the station to the pottery thus connecting the works to the national rail network. Later, the narrow gauge line to the pier was replaced by a standard gauge, at least as far as the landward end. Pipes continued to be shipped from the pier while coal supplies now came in by rail through Parkstone station and the pottery spur.
Meanwhile, Parkstone continued to grow. The population of 851 in 1841 had swollen to over 2,000 by 1881. Development was greatest around Ashley Cross and north of Ashley Road where estates were laid out. The number of well-to-do private residents was increasing and more shops and inns were opening with butchers, bakers, ironmongers, tailors, drapers and other tradesmen to supply local residents. At one time the Britannia Inn at Ashley Cross had been one of the few inns in the district. By the 1880s there was the Bee Hive, the Station Hotel, the Sloop, the North Haven Hotel and the Woodman besides various beer houses and coffee taverns.
John S. Hudson
George Jennings died on 17th April 1882 at the age of 71, as the result of a carriage accident in London. He had married twice and fathered a family of 15 children. In a busy life of work he never managed to retire to his estate in Dorset. The pottery continued under the Jennings name for many years. It was not until 1967 that the site was finally sold off for housing development; the Conifer estate now occupies the area. John Hudson served as mayor of Poole in 1873 and later became a local J.P. There is no doubt that the success of the pottery was partly due to his energy and expertise.
Parkstone of course continued to grow and eventually merged into what Mary Butts called ‘the dreadful juncture of Poole industrialism and the suburban extension of Bournemouth. A place which has lost centre, character, distinction, hierarchy.’ Inevitably the influx of people into the area tended to destroy some of the qualities that they were looking for in the first place. Most people would say that it is still a very pleasant and scenic place to live even if the ‘ancient woods’ the ‘delicate drifting lanes’ and the ‘pale sand and couch grass wilderness’ of Sandbanks are gone for ever.
Sources included: Articles from the Poole and Dorset Herald, The Crystal Cabinet by Mary Butts, Rails to Poole Harbour by Colin Stone, Victorian Poole by John Hillier, Parkstone Recollections by Mildred Holmes
This entry was posted in People, Places, Social history by poolemuseumsociety. Bookmark the permalink.
19 thoughts on “George Jennings and the Growth of Parkstone”
Christopher R. J. Viner on 01/11/2015 at 16:22 said:
The piece relating to George Jennings is of particular relevance to me as my grandfather Mr Frederick James Viner was head gardener to the Crawshaws of Blake Mount, close to South Western Pottery. I was born in June 1939 and lived at that time & until the age of 5 with my grandparents at No 1 Blake Dene cottages. My parents lived in Arley Rd at Whitcliff . It therefore is obvious that for me and my pals, the clay pits were our playground. We loved the loco ” George Jennings * and the steam shovel served by the narrow gauge V tipper trucks. Adjacent to Blake Hill was “The Model Farm” and I am eager to know whether round about Victoria’s reign the farmers were named Muncer . Can you assist ?
David Gordon on 13/05/2016 at 12:29 said:
John Sidney Hudson was the uncle of my great grandmother’s sister.
Jacqueline Williams on 16/10/2016 at 12:05 said:
Very interesting piece of history. John Sidney Hudson Sr. was my great-great grandfather. I have photographs of the family at Holly Lodge. My great-grandmother Lizzie Anne Hudson lived there until her death in April 1945. Her husband John Sidney Hudson was an engineer. In the 1880s he worked for the Rio Tinto Mines in southern Spain and from there went to S. America to build railways in Uruguay and Argentina. He died in 1931 in a nursing home in Poole. My mother was born at her grandparents’ home in the Province of Buenos Aires in 1911.
poolemuseumsociety on 18/10/2016 at 15:49 said:
Thanks for your interesting comment. I had no idea about the story of the next generation. Jenny
Thanks for your comment. I will happy to share a photo of Holly Lodge if you are interested. I have good photos of John Sidney Hudson Sr and Jr. and Frank Hudson who also lived in Parkstone. His house was called Penarol after the HQ of the Uruguay Central Railway outside Montevideo, workshops etc. He was the general manager. Frank was a founding member and first president (1891-99) of the Uruguay Central Railway Cricket Club, which also had football and rugby teams. The name was changed to Penarol which became Uruguay’s number one football team, a World Cup Winner and much else. From small acorns grow great oak trees!
Jacqueline Williams
It’s interesting to hear about these exotic connections. I’d very much like to see a picture of Holly Lodge from the past before it was stranded beside a busy road. The only other snippet of information I have (which you may already know) is that John S Hudson was a member of the Poole Council and served as mayor of Poole in 1873. He is mentioned in John Hillier’s Book ‘Victorian Poole’, both in connection with the pottery and the council but as there is no index, it’s a difficult book to search!
David Reeks on 08/02/2017 at 16:28 said:
Like Christopher Viner, I used to play around the pottery. I well remember the steam shovel working in the clay pit near Parkstone station and the narrow gauge railway which took the clay down to the pottery.
A friend and I found the underframe of a narrow gauge tipper wagon in the brambles just below “George Jennings” shed. After the works had shut down for the day we would get the underframe out of the brambles and back onto the track. We then pushed it to the top of the hill and raced down the track to the pottery. We used a piece of wood levered between the frame and a wheel as a rudimentary brake.
Sometimes I used to cadge a ride on “George Jennings” up to the station. Also, after school, I often used to ride on the footplate of the Southern Railway engines which shunted in the station yard.
Christopher on 10/02/2017 at 10:18 said:
How cool is that ! I lived in Arley road and my cousin was in Elgin Road near the pottery . On the odd occasion we would persuade the driver to let us shovel coal into Georges fire box. christopherviner@btinternet.com
Christopher viner on 10/02/2017 at 10:20 said:
Jennifer Peacock on 22/03/2017 at 19:51 said:
I also am from Parkstone
Born in 1945, I lived in Ashley Road oposite the small park, and attended St.. Peter’s school in Ashley Cross. The quarry was also our playground.. We used to go blackberrying there and the lovely old gentleman who drove the steam engine, would often take us back to Parkstone station in “The George Jennings ” The model railway that still goes around the lake in Poole Park was also a favourite.
My Grandfathers name was Vine, and he lived in Salterns Road.
You mentioned the property on Castle Hill. I visited the gardens once, I remember a maze winding up the hill made from very tall rhododendron bushes.
I have lived in Jersey for many years now, but still return to my roots regularly. So interesting to read all of the stories above.
How nice to hear from you. Methinks our paths may have crossed back then. St Peters was such a great grounding for further education, and it propelled me to Poole Grammar and a successful career. Among my friends was one who might be familiar to you, Diana Hardy, whose father owned the Greengrocer in the village. They lived in Sherwood Avenue just round from me in Arley Road. Our other playground was The Dump now known as Whiteciff Rec. (christopherviner@btinternet.com)
cparkstone on 24/03/2017 at 14:55 said:
After building a model of Parkstone station, I am looking for any information on the coal merchants that operated out of Parkstone Station.If any one can help i would be forever gratefull
Viney and sons were dealers in most commodities and had two locations close to Ashley Cross. The one on the south side dealt in hay straw and coal . Chris.
C Parkstone on 24/03/2018 at 23:09 said:
Hi Christopher.
Thanks for the information. I have since been given photos of the goods yard at Parkstone, also of Viney & sons and of the pottery itself, some extremely rare. The model is now almost complete and has been to a few exhibitions locally. I have pushed the year on a bit but a model of George Jennings can be seen.
You may find this link interesting.
https://cpineroad.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/parkstone-goods-and-trip-to-eurotracks.html
Sue Thornton-Grimes on 26/07/2017 at 15:45 said:
Your piece on George Jennings is fascinating – the more so as I am researching past Commodores of Poole Yacht Club. George’s son, Frederick Herbert Jennings, is shown as Pottery Manager in the 1891 Census, living at Edenhurst, Salterns Road, Parkstone. He died in 1894 – the result of an accident perhaps? Do you happen to know if there are any pictures of Frederick in existence? I am trying to complete the Gallery of past Commodores at the Club. Most grateful for any help you – or anyone else – can give.
Sue Thornton-Grimes
I don’t know of a picture of him but I’ll keep thinking about it – see if I get any inspiration.
Susan meigh on 25/11/2017 at 17:12 said:
I read all these comments with much interest I live at parkstone cemetery lodge and would love to know anything about it sue Meigh
Hello Jenny thank you for yet another interesting piece on the Poole Pottery and the photograph of my GG-grandfather John S. Hudson in his mayoral robes. I haven’t forgotten that I was to send photographs of Holly Lodge. I do this before Christmas.
Pingback: Richard James (1860-1937) – People Places Past
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Current: About Isagenix
Isagenix is a trusted and respected organization that exists to inspire and empower individuals, families, and communities to live their best life through a journey of nutrition, health, and overall wellness.
What’s Your Vision?
Our vision is to impact world health and free people from physical and financial pain, and in the process, create the largest health and wellness company in the world.
But, we’re more interested in your vision. Whether it’s losing weight, building muscle, creating a healthier lifestyle, or simply reclaiming control of your own life, we’re here to support your aspirations with the products and systems and to help your goals become reality.
No Compromises
Isagenix Founder John W. Anderson dedicated his life to creating health and wellness products that could change lives, and his formulas were sought after by companies all over the world. But, when those companies wanted to settle for cheaper ingredients to mass produce John’s formulas, he refused to compromise and searched for a partner who shared his dedication to excellence.
That’s when John sought out the help of Jim and Kathy Coover, two of the most respected names in the direct selling industry with a story just like John Anderson’s. He wasn’t the first to approach Jim and Kathy, and like John, they refused to cut corners. They saw other companies that didn’t have their customers’ best interest and knew there was a better way. Together, they formed Isagenix in 2002 with the mission to create the world’s greatest health and wellness products and business opportunity that together would transform lives both physically and financially.
That same mission drives every product, every system, and every transformation to this day. That’s what no compromise means to us.
No Compromise Commitment
Our Leadership
Our co-founders, Jim and Kathy Coover, have more than 50 years of combined experience in the direct sales industry. They understand what it’s like to build a network marketing business. As Isagenix grows, the company continually invests in developing an internal leadership team that cares.
Meet the Team Leading the Way
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by Mike Yazigi October 20, 201710:21 am
Louisville/Florida State Preview, Prediction
63-20. 63-20. 63-20. That was the score of last year’s highly anticipated matchup between Florida State and Louisville. The two teams faced each other in week three of the 2016 season and FSU was ranked number two in the country, while Louisville was ranked number 10. College Gameday was there. It was supposed to a be a highly contested matchup between top 10 programs.
It was anything but.
Louisville controlled the game from the opening drive and never looked back. It was quarterback Lamar Jackson’s coming out party en route to a Heisman trophy. Jackson himself scored five touchdowns, four of them rushing in an absolute thrashing of the Seminoles, one of the worst in FSU history. The Seminoles will look to get revenge on the Cardinals this Saturday at 12 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida State is coming off a nail-biter of a win on the road over conference foe Duke 17-10, while Louisville is coming off a loss at home against Boston College, 45-42. Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is 2-1 against Louisville in his career since Louisville came into the ACC in 2014. The Cardinals are currently 4-3, and look to notch their second conference win, while the Seminoles are currently 2-3, and look to get to .500 on the season.
Let’s take a look at three storylines to watch in this one:
1. Keep running the ball:
In order to win football games, this Seminoles team needs to run and run often. That has been the key to success for Florida State this year. In its two wins this season, the running game for the Seminoles has averaged 188.5 yards, while in its two losses, the average dropped to 115.6. When the Seminoles have a great running game, it allows pressure to be taken off quarterback James Blackman, who has done a pretty decent job in running this offense since being rushed into play during the Alabama game. For the Seminoles to get revenge on the Cardinals for that dismantling last year, they need to hand the ball off to running backs Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick. Patrick and Akers can rip off long runs, but need to get the ball early and often, especially against a below average defense in Louisville. This is their time to shine.
2. Can the defense stop Lamar Jackson this time?
As mentioned earlier, Lamar Jackson took off last year while playing the Seminoles and did not look back. The young quarterback accounted for five touchdowns, four of them on the ground. Jackson made big play after big play last year and became a star. The Seminoles had no answer for Jackson that Saturday afternoon in 2016. The key for the Florida State defense is to try to contain Jackson and force him to make mistakes. Louisville has not really tried to run the ball as much with Jackson this year, and want to become a pass-first offense. Jackson and the Cardinals offense will want to make quick throws to move down the field quickly. A key thing to watch for is the amount of slants and crossing routes that the receivers will do to confuse the Florida State secondary. If the secondary can play positions correctly and prevent easy throws, it could spell success for the Seminoles on Saturday afternoon. The defense returns almost every starter from last year, and the players will need to play angry and show emotion. That anger could lead to success for the defense.
3. How will the crowd energy be?
It’s yet another noon kickoff for the Seminoles. The results this season have not been what Florida State fans expected. The Seminoles are a struggling team, and have lost the two games they have had at home this season, losing to NC State and Miami. The fans are clearly frustrated, and one has to wonder how the fan energy will be this Saturday. Tickets for the matchup have dropped to a low of $6 per ticket on StubHub. Noon kickoffs are a hard thing to sell to fans outside of Tallahassee, as many fans live two-plus hours away from Tallahassee. Not many fans want to drive as early as 5 a.m. for an early day kickoff. Another thing to note is how filled the student section will be. Students would much rather be tailgating than to deal with the heat in the stadium at noon. The energy level of the crowd will definitely be something to monitor.
The Seminoles need to find a way to get some emotion back into their players and their fans. This is the perfect opportunity. The Seminoles need to win at home. and get revenge from last year’s embarrassment. The Cardinals need to get back on track after losing at home to Boston College, where they blew a 21-7 lead. Expect the Noles to get a winning streak going as the running game for Florida State takes advantage of a weak Cardinals defense, and look for the Seminoles defense to make multiple plays against Lamar Jackson and company.
Florida State 27, Louisville 21
Mike Yazigi
Mike has an unhealthy obsession with following sports. He loves his Florida State Seminoles, Orlando Magic, and Jacksonville Jaguars, but also enjoys watching other sports. Other than watching sports, he usually uses his free time binge-watching Netflix and loves to spend time with his friends and family. Follow him on Twitter @Mike_Yazigi94
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Editors' Choice, Fibre2Fashion, খবর
Bangladeshi scientists devise eco-friendly textile tech
আপডেট সময় : জানুয়ারি, ৩, ২০১৯, ৬:১০ অপরাহ্ণ
Fibre2Fashion: Scientists at the Applied Chemistry and Engineering Department in Rajshahi University (RU) have developed an environment-friendly technology that can be used by Bangladesh’s textile industry. The technology will play a role in creating an environment-friendly apparel sector. The textile industry damages environment because its uses huge quantity of water.
The team was led by Dr. Mohammad Taufiq Alam.
In a study, Alam revealed that textile industry in the country consumes double the water used by the people of Dhaka city. The textile industry also pollutes the environment.
“We have invented a technology that is ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘environmentally friendly’. It will be less harmful for the environment and 45 per cent of water will be saved,” Alam said. Alam and his team had been working on the technology for the past four years.
The technology involves an “enzymatic method”. Enzyme is a protein molecule that works to increase the speed of production at any level.
“Once these proteins go into the environment they would be very useful both for the environment and fish. This is why it is ‘environment-friendly’. In this case, the quality of goods and prices will be taken care of,” Alam said and added that before the colouring of the clothes, a textile engineer’s first job is to remove the oil layer from the production line. For that, there is an enzyme for oil hydrolysis. Oil becomes fatty acid when it is hydrolysed. Fatty acids are very beneficial for animals and birds.
However, before the clothes are dried, the clothes have to be a little white. The device to measure the whiteness can be observed by researchers for a certain amount of time. Many researchers can carry such research work at 51.05 per cent to 51.75 per cent. “But, through our ‘Enzyme Activator’, we were able to go up to 90 per cent of the research work. Scientists think that this is the highest level achieved,” Alam said.
Regarding the weight of the cloth, Alam said, “If we lose less cellulose in clothing, the weight is also reduced. And in our ‘Enzymatic Method’, the weight of the clothes will be reduced. We hope the textile industries will be benefited from our technology.” He added, “Foreign buyers buy clothes from our textile industry by weight. Apart from this, many clothes have to be of light shades. If we do light shades, then the cloth gets a kind of yellowish look, which cannot be seen with naked eyes.”
As a result, foreign buyers do not want to take those clothes. “But if we use these enzymes (which is 90 per cent), then there would not be any yellowish tint in that cloth. In this case, they (the textile industries) will be benefited greatly,” he added.
Alam and his team have used the technology successfully in several textile factories of Bangladesh over the past few months. Apparel companies have expressed interest in testing the technology.
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Ranch, Rodeo, And Random News Outlet
China and American Trade Retaliations take a look Farmers!
05/23/19 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take several actions to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation and trade disruption. President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a relief strategy to support American agricultural producers while the Administration continues to work on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally. Specifically, the President has authorized USDA to provide up to $16 billion in programs, which is in line with the estimated impacts of unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and other trade disruptions. These programs will assist agricultural producers while President Trump works to address long-standing market access barriers.
“China hasn’t played by the rules for a long time and President Trump is standing up to them, sending the clear m…
WCRA PAYS OUT MORE THAN $500,000 TO ATHLETES IN FIVE DAYS
WCRA CONCLUDES MAY SEMI-FINALS AND PAYS OUT MORE THAN $500,000 TO ATHLETES IN FIVE DAYS
-- More Than $500,000 in Athlete Earnings During All Rounds--
More than $500,000 was paid out to rodeo athletes today as the World Champions Rodeo Alliance(WCRA) concluded their $500,000 semi-finals rounds in Guthrie, Oklahoma at the Lazy E Arena. The five-day event paid out more than $500,000 to cowboys and cowgirls from around the globe and out of more than 500 athletes, 76 athletes from the semi-finals advanced to the Title Town Stampede, a one-day $1 Million Major Rodeo June 1 at Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
During the semi-finals, eight athletes in each discipline (minus bulls) with the highest scores or fastest times along with the winners of the Days of ‘47 rodeo advanced to the Title Town Stampede. The one-night, $1 million rodeo will be held in conjunction with the Professional Bulls Riders (PBR) May 31-June 2 Unleash The Beast event, creating a full weekend of western lifestyle sp…
Top 10 Netflix Westerns do you agree?
It's 2019 and everyone seems to have logged inthe streaming entertainment world, lets see what western's your watching or missing out on. #NetflixAndWestern
We did a recent poll of top Netflix western and here are the results:
10. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 2018
Ranging from absurd to profound, these western vignettes from the Coen brothers
follow the adventures of outlaws and settlers on the American frontier.
9. The Hateful Eight 2015
Years after the Civil War, a bounty hunter and his captive are waylaid by a
Wyoming blizzard and hold up in a way station with six dicey strangers.
8. Gone Are The Days 2018
As a notorious outlaw comes to grips with his past, he reconnects with his estranged
daughter and gets one more chance to make things right.
7. Dead Man's Burden 2012
In 1870, a homesteader wants to sell her family farm in New Mexico and move, but
the return of her presumed dead brother derails her plans.
6. Strange Empire 2015
This dark western set in 19th ce…
PBR Global Cup Returns To AT&T Stadium on February 15-16, TICKETS!!
Tickets for the 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, on-sale Friday, May 17 After debuting in the U.S. in 2019 with one of the most exciting bull riding events in the sport’s history, the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Global Cup will return to the United States for the next edition of the five-nation tournament, bucking into AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas with the 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, on February 15-16. Tickets for the two-day event go on sale on Friday, May 17 and start at $10. Pre-sale for PBRewards will begin on Monday, May 13 and for AT&T Stadium on Tuesday, May 14. Tickets can be purchased at the AT&T Stadium Box Office, online at
ATTStadium.com or SeatGeek.com, or via the phone at (800) 732-1727.
The event in Feb. 2020 at the NFL’s largest stadium will mark the fourth edition of the PBR Global Cup. The home of the Dallas Cowboys hosted the first-ever edit…
Boots & Salutes benefiting Equest’s Hooves for Heroes in Dallas Texas
Report to Equest at Texas Horse Park at 7:30 PM for Boots & Salutes on Friday, July 19, 2019. Join Co-Chairs Carolyn Anderson and Norma Jean Schaltenbrand for a fun-filled, backyard picnic-style fundraiser benefiting Equest’s Hooves for Heroes program, which promotes the well-being and mental health of veterans and their families through equestrian therapies and counseling.
Boots & Salutes is a special evening of tributes to the men and women who have served our country to protect our freedom. Bring your dancing shoes because the backyard barbecue style affair will feature live, upbeat music by Ray Johnston Band. Cool down with casual gourmet food stations presented by top restaurants throughout the city, peruse the stellar silent auction items, pose for a photo with Equest’s Mini Ambassadors, two miniature horses under 36 inches tall, and many more surprises.
Sponsorships are available ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. Individual tickets are $75 for guests or to sponsor a vetera…
Pepper Stewart
🎙Talk Show Host🎙 RuralTV & Audio Podcaster #Actor #Announcer #CowboyModel #StreamingTv #TalkShow #TvCommentator #PepperStewart #Texas #Cattleman #Ranch #Media
China and American Trade Retaliations take a look ...
WCRA PAYS OUT MORE THAN $500,000 TO ATHLETES IN FI...
PBR Global Cup Returns To AT&T Stadium on February...
Boots & Salutes benefiting Equest’s Hooves for Her...
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Miscellaneous posts about my work in general
Something to watch out for; or, Info-feudalism? Not on my watch; or, Tricknology 2.0
14 February, 2018 14 February, 2018 PM1 Comment
Just over 10 years ago, as part of the Library 2.0 course (which I am ashamed to say I never finished; but I was mainly participating as support for less tech-savvy colleagues, and Library IT was even more understaffed then than it is now), I wrote a blog entry entitled Tricknology, in which I contended that technology inherently tips the scales towards falsehood.
My thinking was that, given that our approach to learning was evolved at a time when there was a pretty straightforward link between what we noticed and how it affected us, and therefore looks for repeated patterns, we are vulnerable to repeated false information – i.e. Hitler’s Big Lie, or Arendt’s argument from consistency.
Since technology is a tool for reproduction and transmission of information regardless of whether it’s true or false, and indeed IT is giving us the capacity to create false information which looks ever more plausible (up to and including computer-generated news footage, as I mentioned all those years ago), my argument was that technology, by dint of its purported neutrality, in fact serves to massively undermine the main advantage that truth has over lies: the relative difficulty of convincingly reproducing false experiences (the effort and cunning that goes into stage magic is an example).
Truth needs that advantage. If you don’t care about truth, you can play on all the cognitive weak spots of the human brain and create ideas and arguments that are near irresistible despite being demonstrable rubbish. We’ve seen that even in an age where evidence is hard to fake (indeed, corporations’ and politicians’ willingness to undermine notions of truth and evidence, and general standards of accountability, in order to negate inconvenient truths and the public’s willingness to listen to evidence has been a key driver in the development of the techniques now in play); how much more difficult is it going to be to resist manipulative crap when it has the ability to deceive not only our cognition but our empirical sensory processes as well?
Well, as we’ve all seen, that wasn’t a spurious concern. Here’s Aviv Ovadya, someone far better informed and better positioned to explore these ideas authoritatively (and a handy summary of the issues just popped up in his Twitter feed here). But for whatever it’s worth here are my thoughts, in particular as they relate to libraries.
Info-feudalism
We may be heading for an age of info-feudalism, where we are back to the Dark Ages in terms of having reliable empirical evidence of the wider world, and trust for such mediated information lies with hierarchical structures of authority (in the academic sense, i.e., the ability to make authoritative statements) that replicate the feudal system in form.
By this I mean there will be a roughly pyramidal system (or rather competing systems) of authority which delegates trust from to lesser bodies but reserves the right to overrule them, who in turn delegate to lesser authorities, etc. Individuals may pay particular credence to particular bodies within that arrangement, as a vassal might be more loyal to their local lord than to the king, but in the wider scheme of things the lord is dependent on the king. (The Catholic Church, with its various orders and lay movements which may be at loggerheads over questions of doctrine but which are all subject to papal edict and excommunication, offers an example of this.)
More egalitarian, mutual models are possible. For instance, entities such as Amnesty International, which has a demonstrable history of eschewing partisan politics and undertaking its own research, as well as member-elected oversight, already has tools for assessing the credibility of other bodies when considering partnerships and examining evidence for its reports. Such bodies may be willing to vouch for other organisations not as a function of control but as a way of incentivizing trustworthiness and expanding the sphere within which rational study, debate and decision are possible. Libraries should absolutely look to be part of these networks (provided of course that they are actually truthful organisations!) wherever possible.
Regardless of form, these structures may or may not bear and delegate decision-making authority as well. (Realistically, many will. Determining truth means determining the basis for action. But to my mind this is essentially eliding the press and the executive and is comparably dangerous to eliding the legislative and judicial functions.)
This all sounds like a nightmare to me too, but we live in an age of dawning nightmares, and what I’m describing here is not so far from the state of modern electoral politics and partisan media, so the library sector needs to think how it’s going to try to prevent such a scenario, and how to handle it if it arises.
The feudal library
I like to imagine libraries in such a world as something like abbeys for truth: communities of scholarship keeping the faith of free inquiry and quality information.
Realistically, like most actual historical abbeys, they will be constantly in tension with whichever other local powers hold sway; they will need some sort of external source of authority to keep such other powers off their back; and to the extent that they succeed in keeping to their mission, will be both an irritant and a tempting target to plunder. We will need to have each other’s backs and to have our community’s backs to the point where messing with us is clearly messing with them.
Regardless, here are the things that libraries dedicated to truth needs to be actively helping our communities to develop, something which we really should have been doing more of all along:
Info-literacy: helping people understand statements of scientific fact (how to comprehend the difference between generalisations and universal statements, probability, stats etc) and to distinguish them from hypotheses and theories, opinion, and articles of faith. Helping people understand the importance of controlling for bias in their experiments (double-blind techniques, etc.) and accounting for conflicts of interest and other motivating factors in reporting results, also including the fact that having a conflict of interest (especially one that’s openly declared) is not the same as being entirely unqualified to comment.
Critical thinking: techniques to spot elements of ideas and social structures that engineer compliance, complicity, complaisance. Stories of overcoming each.
Among other things, this will mean not exactly naming and debunking all cults, but stating plainly what the signs of cultic organisation are (social isolation from non-believers, extensive systems of monitoring and control, requiring surrender of individual autonomy at personal and economic levels, punishment for leaving, etc). This will make enemies; or more precisely, since these organisations were already enemies of free inquiry and freedom generally, will upset these pre-existing enemies.
Tech-awareness: what kinds of things can be faked? Which have demonstrably been faked? What are the signs that give fakes away? The role of privacy for preventing mass-manipulation and tools for creating/protecting privacy.
Psychological literacy: learning about cognitive bias and developing the skills to spot liars. (The game Werewolf is especially useful both for developing an instinct for deception and for demonstrating that it is possible to inch towards truth and the identification of liars in the absence of any certain knowledge.)
Self-awareness: as part of developing psychological literacy, making sure that people have direct experiences of their own cognitive bias, as one of the biggest cognitive biases we have is that we ourselves wouldn’t fall prey to the cognitive bias that afflicts everyone else. Games in general are incredibly powerful tools for this sort of education.
Undertaking and promulgating the study of power and corruption: there are patterns to how people become corrupted, and highlighting the danger points will either help people stay honest, or, if they fail to do so, stop them doing as much harm.
Human rights principles: in some ways, being fooled matters the most when it fulfills Voltaire’s dictum “any one who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices”. The surest antidote to that is to have unyielding boundaries to behaviour, such that whatever you believe, atrocities are never the result because they are simply not something you ever do. This was the wisdom of the survivors of World War 2 in 1948, and the principles have withstood the test of 70 years of malignment by despots of every stripe.
This means considering what we can do about the normalisation of torture in popular fiction. Everywhere I look – light-hearted crime drama (which in itself is a slightly weird phrase) like Castle, formerly highly ethical science fiction such as Star Trek, even superhero movies where the constraints of reality are entirely optional and the whole point is to be mythic and idealistic – torture is happening routinely at the hands of “good guys”, and routinely succeeding at getting the information needed. But torture doesn’t work. And it’s least likely to work in the scenarios where it’s most commonly “justified” – the ticking timebomb, the missing child – precisely because the person being tortured knows that there will come a point where even if they give up the information it will be too late, and so the torture will have no reason to continue.
I realise that this is outside our traditional purview, but I consider this not only a question of protecting human rights norms, but of informational literacy.
Information theory principles for freedom: the need to not lie and to visibly identify and penalise lies and confirmed liars, but conversely the danger for such systems to be manipulated (to “love truth but forgive error”, to quote Voltaire again); default boundaries of acceptable inquiry into and judgment of others’ personal lives, so that the requirement to be honest doesn’t become overly intrusive and oppressive; techniques and fora for allowing unwelcome and apparently-incorrect opinions to be expressed in ways that give them the chance to either prove themselves or be debunked, without spilling over and having harmful effects in the wider world.
Systems thinking and game theory to see how individual instances that might merely be dodgy become horrific in bulk.
Modelling a rethought morality that includes the results of that thinking and places the proper significance on lies as informational coercion and injury of a severity related to the importance of the question at hand; inadvertent repetition of incorrect information as a form of possibly negligent accidental injury; and the technology of generating convincing false images as something that needs to be highly regulated and its practitioners given extensive ethical training.
Developing and demonstrating the importance of structures of authority (in the academic sense) that are non-hierarchical and as easy as possible to verify independently and locally. This means supporting citizen science, the development of local and democratically accessible facilities that support people to verify at least the basic principles of the sciences and to begin to understand the value of experimental techniques, including reproducibility, and so on.
Note that these things not only protect individuals, they also serve to increase the systemic resistance to the spread of lies. Every little bit of friction everywhere along the way helps.
The other thing is that libraries need to start thinking about these things now. They’re not far away, as Ovadya makes clear. We need to step up our efforts to be known as places that will help people find facts. This not only benefits us in the current world, it means that if the infocalypse comes, we are in a position to keep serving our community.
This will mean hiring more knowledgeable folks in a broader range of disciplines on staff. It will also mean beginning to take seriously the skills and knowledge we already have on staff, and treating them as things that we can account for and make visible and available to the community. It makes little sense to me that my colleague’s encyclopaedic knowledge of modern European royalty is only available to the public if someone happens to ask them or someone who knows of their interest.
Lastly, it also means advocating for explicit commitments to truthfulness and standards of evidence, and to institutions like ours that make those things accessible to the public, from our leaders. Someone (preferably many someones) has to be the custodian of this ideal; and as the institution whose mission is literally to bring these things into our communities, if not us, then who?
P.S. GLAM Blog Club readers might feel this is a bit of a cheaty way to hit the theme of “Watch”. But I honestly believe this is something to watch, and in fact that we are watching happen right now. Hopefully we can do more than just watch…
Futurist musings, General, LibrariesAviv Ovadya, David Michaels, Doubt Is Their Product, GLAM blog club, Hannah Arendt, info-feudalism, Voltaire
Weighed down by the dead hand of success: toxic parelthocracy in libraries
10 February, 2018 10 February, 2018 PM2 Comments
There is a creative company in Seattle that has been steadily publishing content for a single project for the past 25 years in around a dozen languages to a global community of tens of millions of people who not only engage with it individually but actively gather specifically to enjoy this work. The experiences it creates with its extraordinary mix of narrative, visual art, and design, are an ongoing process of discovery and exploration shared by a community as big as a medium-sized nation.
The company is Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and the endeavour is the original collectible card game, Magic: the Gathering. For the past 25 years, aside from a couple of hiccups, Magic has been growing steadily to its current considerable size. What’s more, the average length people stay engaged with the game is nine years – the typical game lasts one or two – and many play once or more a week, as opposed to the typical more sporadic play. In commercial terms, in terms of the dedication of its audience and the people-hours spent engaged with the work, in terms of its ongoing longevity and engagement with the public, and in artistic terms (or design terms if you have trouble with the idea of game design as art), Magic is one of the most successful creative works in history.
On the topic of success, Mark Rosewater, Magic’s Head Designer, has a saying he uses often when interacting with the players of his game: “Success breeds repetition.”
Most often he says this to explain the straightforward commercial mechanism that informs WotC’s design processes: if people like some element of a particular expansion, and therefore buy a lot of it, WotC’s designers tend to make more of that sort of thing.
But sometimes, especially when discussing game design, Rosewater uses his dictum in a more nuanced way. He is a big believer in consciously examining the structures around creative work and engineering them to prevent stagnation and creation-by-default. For example, he takes considerable care to ensure that he approaches every game expansion he designs from a different starting point to the previous sets he has made. This may be why he has been making Magic for 22 years straight, has made nearly 100 such projects in that time, and since he became Head Designer a decade and a half ago has presided over a long run of both quality design and audience growth.
When Rosewater says “success breeds repetition” in this context, it is a caution against success leading us to repeat things unthinkingly. Magic has been so successful for so long that it is easy even for a team of dedicated, highly-trained innovators to miss obvious and easy improvements. (For a somewhat involved example of an embarrassingly obvious fix to a nagging systemic problem that was missed for over a decade, see the extended endnote Solving the Small Set Problem.)
The key takeaway from Magic’s experience is this: it feels difficult to justify questioning your own assumptions when you are clearly doing well. First there is the initial trap of thinking that your success means there is no improvement to be made, or at least none necessary. Even if you avoid that, if your services are popular, it will always seem like a smarter move to devote all your resources to keeping on doing the thing everyone wants you to do, rather than taking time out to wonder whether you should still be doing it in exactly that way.
In other words, success breeds repetition even if repetition is undesirable and will get in the way of further success. The author or actor whose breakout hit leaves them reprising the same material over and over understands this only too well.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe libraries do, and I suspect that we may be on the road to learning it the hard way.
Parelthocracy in the library
Public libraries, and the library sector generally, are examples of the best and the worst tendencies of parelthocracy.
Benign parelthocracy: the library and the living past
On the one hand, the past is vitally important, and libraries’ commitment to giving their communities access to the past through their non-fiction and fiction collections is at the core of what it means to be civilized.
Without freely accessible evidence of where we have come from, both in the form of important historical works and in the form of new collections and interpretations of information about the past, both at the global or national level and at the local level, the public is ill-equipped to understand the present day and to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
And there is undeniably value in the inherent history of the library itself as an institution. In the same way that walking into a library connects us with all the other libraries throughout the world, there are connections to libraries and by extension human communities throughout time as well. (Pratchett’s L-space gave us a magical metaphor for this.)
The profound significance of all these things – the pragmatic, the symbolic, and the emotional – is a living example of the very best of bringing the past into the present. An institution without these things would be a book depository rather than a library.
Toxic parelthocracy in libraries
But in terms of decisionmaking, libraries (public libraries in particular, as that is where my personal knowledge is broadest, but I have seen these same tendencies across the sector) are prone to both palaeocracy and notocracy.
The problem is that we are so popular in our current configurations that we feel that that means we must be doing our job pretty well. In some respects that’s true; there’s no doubt that we add tremendous value to the communities we serve, with a recent study of libraries in Victoria finding that we give value to the community over 6 times greater than we cost to run. As the rest of government increasingly moves online, and libraries become one of the few places people can come for internet access and support in using computers, this number can only have gone up.
But let’s be real here, overly relying on public satisfaction figures is pre-emptively letting ourselves off the hook. We are:
pretty much the only place left dedicated to genuine sharing, where people can get cool, useful stuff for free, with nothing asked except to return physical items on time and still in shareable condition (and an increasing amount of free electronic stuff as well),
pretty much the only enclosed public space which is freely accessible to all and not dedicated to specific pre-programmed activities,
pretty much the only place with a mandate to help people navigate the world of information and culture, in a time when vital services are moving online and becoming more bureaucratic as a result of automation,
doing all the above in a framework of genuine, all-inclusive, secular public service.
In this context, getting 95%+ satisfaction ratings in customer surveys isn’t a definite sign of exceptional good work. All we can be sure it means is we aren’t visibly doing anything to anger significant numbers of our community enough to offset everything in the bullet points above.
But that’s not immediately apparent when we’re contrasted against other public infrastructure bodies, whose ratings are often far lower, because their work is designed to be taken for granted (e.g. rubbish collection) or is unwelcome to some part of its users (e.g. parking inspectors). Both the external bodies from whom we receive funding (and through them ultimately the public who take an interest in these things), and we ourselves, can be fooled into thinking we’re doing our job that much better than other public servants, and that there’s no pressing need to be critical of our own work.
In other words, because what we do is so important and makes us so well-loved, in some important respects we are failing to do our job at all.
This seems like a shocking statement when we work as hard as we do with the limited resources we have, but let me explain.
My understanding of the role of the library is that we enable free sharing of and self-directed access to culture and information, as well as a community space amenable to these sorts of pursuits. Our job is to know what’s out there, think critically about it, and offer our community tools, expert guidance, and assistance in engaging with it. A century ago, the best way to do this was to buy a bunch of books, store them in one place, sort and index them to make them easy to find, and provide knowledgeable staff to help people learn how to use our systems and access the information they needed, as well as provide useful context and guidance about further research.
But in the networked age, the possibilities for ways to empower our patrons (and the creators who serve them) are far broader and more powerful than that.
As a community of so-called information management professionals, we have been shockingly complacent about our role in building the new information economies and ecologies, instead leaving that to engineers who all-too-often think that solving a technical problem such that the “good” numbers go up and the “bad” numbers go down is an ironclad guarantee that you’re actually making the world a better place (and that there are no thresholds that those numbers should never cross), and who are unambiguously building for profit and therefore power, rather than placing the public good above other considerations.
Libraries, with our commitment to universal humanistic ideals and our deep, rich, ancient knowledge of what constitutes a healthy community of truth-, beauty-, wellbeing- and joy-seekers, of weighing the rights of individuals against each other to maximise everyone’s freedom and wellbeing, could only have had a beneficial influence on the evolution of the internet. We could have… if we’d only rolled up our sleeves and mucked in, instead of sitting on the sidelines watching other people make the informational tools and processes that shape public discourse, grumbling to ourselves about their inadequacies, but nonetheless teaching people to use them with only token warning about their flaws and perils.
And that missed opportunity to make a difference matters. Given the prevalence of misinformation and divisive, inflated, disrespectful rhetoric, and their effects on the present state of the world, it is no exaggeration to say that if there had been just 1% more library in the internet from the early days, 1% more resistance to bullying and bulldust, global geopolitics would look radically different in 2018.
Not only that, but we are systemically biased against new models of funding, publishing and distribution that have sprung up. This sounds harsh, but how many libraries have systems in place to monitor these channels and acquire works through them, despite crowdfunding platforms supporting literally billions of dollars’ worth of creative and informational projects? How many of us do anything to help our patrons find the considerable volume of quality culture and information released under various free licenses, or to support the creators who are generous enough to freely share their work? We are even passing the buck on our responsibility to curate our own commerically-published collections to external suppliers, who take our funds and give us slush that doesn’t sell elsewhere, and then we act dismayed when it doesn’t get borrowed much either. Given the contrast between the ways we could be spending our collections budgets and the ways we actually do, it is not unreasonable to characterise the way many of us purchase collections as being a form of corporate welfare for publishing conglomerates.
Why is this? Are we lazy? Indifferent? Corrupt?
We are none of these things. I am proud to be part of a hardworking, passionate, principled profession. But, ironically for information management professionals, we are not looking at the big picture and thinking critically about what we measure and what questions we ask, and therefore what we could be doing to fulfil our timeless mission of empowering our communities by sharing and helping people navigate information and culture. As a result we are letting our passion for our communities and our immediate goals keep us working hard at tasks that only partly fulfil our mission – living by our principles, but not reflecting on them.
And that is not entirely our fault. As we’ve noted, our funds are consistently less than we need to meet existing demand. The funding bodies that give us money ask us to measure things that reflect those old ideas of what libraries are and do, and expect us to do more of those things but with the same or fewer resources. The public who love us do so for what we have already done and want us to do more of the same – and fair enough.
Success is breeding repetition.
The thing is, it’s hard to blame the funding bodies or the public for that.
The funding bodies see our overwhelmingly positive feedback from the public – why would they ask us to change things?
And the public are busy leading their own lives – they trust us to think about the worlds of information and culture. While of course we should be open to good ideas from anywhere, especially our communities, it isn’t for them, or the funding bodies, to imagine that we could be and steer our profession towards that.
We’re the professionals. It’s on us to resist the siren song of success and make sure we give ourselves room to not just repeat our achievements, but build on them.
And that’s where we’re failing.
Let’s look at the specifics of how, broken down into notocracy and palaeocracy.
Notocracy in the library
I’m starting with notocracy because, thankfully, notocracy among library staff themselves is relatively rare. Where it exists, it takes the form of active resistance to media other than books, regarding them as inferior or, more generously, “not a library thing”; and generally, the ”newer” the media to libaries, the greater the resistance. (By contrast, non-notocratic staff love books but are not hostile to other media per se.)
Literacy and books are absolutely core parts of the library mission, but to disparage other media rather than dispassionately recognise the strengths, weaknesses, and value of all media and help our communities engage accordingly is to live in denial of the full range of ways in which ideas and experiences can be expressed and shared. It’s hard to see how we can adequately discharge our duty to the public under those conditions.
Notocracy is more common among the ancillary industries who make their livings from libraries’ existing ways of doing things and are understandably reluctant to see competition for collections and library managament system (LMS) budgets. The vested interest there makes it not only easy but imperative to set aside their concerns: their job is to empower our work, not the other way around.
Palaeocracy in the library
As I hope the above makes clear, palaeocracy is the overwhelming majority of toxic parelthocracy in libraries.
It takes two forms: systemic palaeocracy, where our systems are designed in such a way as to leave little to no room for experimentation and innovation, especially of any substantive kind, and cultural palaeocracy, where the importance of the work we already do blinds us to the necessity of applying our core mission and principles to the culture as it currently exists, not as it was last century.
Both are driven by a sense of insufficient time and resources to do our jobs, and in some cases, particularly smaller rural library services, it’s hard to argue that.
But if your library service has a collections budget that is more than 10 times the wage of a single worker, and hundreds of linear metres of shelves which are regularly two-thirds full or more, you clearly have some wiggle room. And if you are routinely weeding large numbers of books that are still lendable in terms of both condition and currency (for example, a mint condition Windows 3.1 manual would not be current), either you have an incredibly neat and considerate community, or – I would argue – you are overspending on collections that your community isn’t using.
This is not a problem in and of itself (better a slight oversupply than an undersupply), but does suggest that you are underspending on other resources, staffing, and/or tools and programs to help your community make the most of the materials you do stock. Which in turn certainly means you are underspending on business intelligence, strategy development, and innovation.
Preventatives for palaeocracy
What does adequate spending on these things look like? Well, it involves actually having budget lines for them, for starters; I’m not sure many libraries do.
It requires looking for (and spending money getting) insights not only into the library trade but into the worlds of culture and information beyond. (It should not be so easy for a random solo punk like me to surprise heads of library services with facts about where and how the public are spending their cultural dollars, but in my consulting work I do – and not only when it comes to games.)
It means understanding that marketing is not just promotion. Marketing involves listening to the market and using that information to shape your offering as much as attempting to push your own product once it’s made. How many libraries spend much time monitoring their community on social media and sharing those insights with the staff body?
It means setting time and resources aside for staff to meet to share ideas, insights and tips more than a few hours of a highly structured and top-down-directed agenda every few months.
It certainly entails recognising and cultivating the staff who contribute ideas, looking into barriers that might prevent other staff from contributing too, and having a channel to meaningfully and visibly feed frontline staff ideas into decisionmaking and resource allocation conversations.
It means looking at examples like Google, which spends around 20% of its staff budget on innovation by giving staff one day a week to devise and work on their own personal ideas. That trust has given them Google Maps, Google Translate, Gmail and more. We’re never going to be able to match that share of our wages budget, but if nothing else, it highlights that an “innovation” budget that’s entirely predetermined by the same people who make the other budget decisions a year or more ahead of time is less effective than having some capacity to allow staff to follow interesting ideas as they arise.
It means understanding that only budgeting for innovation when you know ahead of time what the innovation is going to be is largely missing the point. Budgeting for innovation means being ready for opportunities and ideas when those ideas, and especially opportunities, arise – not a year and a half later after a budget submission and approval process. It also means being far more willing to make the case for varying budgets than libraries, public libraries at least, traditionally are.
It also requires that we recognise that part of our role is not just to offer things to the public but to tell the story of why they might matter. Underestimating the extent to which the public needs assistance to even recognise or understand your offerings, and how they might be useful to them, is a particular problem when it comes to new tech.
For example, I’ve heard complaints about 3D printers and makerspace tech generally being underutilised, but I’ve also seen library services whose communities make good use of them. Now, it is certainly true that there will be more interest in some communities than others, but there is always, always a strong correlation between uptake and the energy and visibility with which the devices have been promoted to the community. Maker tech is potentially relevant to DIYers, kids, STEM students, design students, designers, artists, crafters, tchotchke-makers, random tinkerers… the list goes on. But most people are still only dimly aware of them, and have no idea of the kinds of uses they can have. To judge the relevance of entirely new tech – and 3D printers are very new, and transformative in all kinds of ways – without first taking the time to ensure you’ve given the public plenty of opportunity to grok it is a highly palaeocratic move.
(And don’t even get me started on “online safety” classes. Fiddling with your Facebook privacy settings is a sick joke if you’re not first having a serious conversation about Facebook itself, and the hidden empires of profiling algorithms that chitter and scurry behind its façade – and much of the rest of the web as well.)
The wisdom of risk
But of course, what I’m arguing for here is devoting time and resources to things we don’t know will work, when there are so many things we know do work. It’s understandable to want to stick with the old reliables – doing anything else feels like a gamble.
Here I’m going to back to Magic Head Designer Mark Rosewater again. This may seem of dubious relevance, but hear me out: Magic, as I said in the introduction, is a game of discovery and exploration; and libraries are places of discovery and exploration.
From time to time, the Magic team make a misstep and put out a card that turns out to be so unexpectedly powerful in some way that it needs to be banned or restricted in tournament play. Rosewater always acknowledges the specific mistake, of course, but makes the point that if this never happened he would be more worried – because it would indicate that they were being too conservative in their card designs. Or as he puts it, “Never taking any risks is the biggest risk of all.”
In other words, human fallibility being what it is, Rosewater recognises that to achieve exceptional things you need to accept that failure is possible. Look to prevent it, and to minimise it where prevention fails, by all means, and to learn from it when it happens so that you don’t make the same mistake twice, but accept it as the inevitable price of the excellence and innovation that you are striving for.
Are lessons from a game design company applicable to a public institution like a library? Are we supposed to be as driven to innovate?
Well, I’m not actually arguing that we should be as driven to innovate, but I think the burden of proof is on those who argue that at least some of that drive shouldn’t be systemically built into what we do.
We know that the world is rapidly changing, especially in the spheres of information and culture, and the demands and opportunities it creates for our communities are changing with it. Our mission is to help our communities engage with the world’s information and culture. Given these two facts, we have two alternatives: either we expand the things we do, to ensure our mission keeps pace with those wider changes; or we curtail our mission so that it is only about doing the specific things we already do.
I am not inclined to agree that our mission is worth limiting in that way.
And given that, we have a clear need to foster innovation, not only to respond to the ceaseless stream of invention and creation in the wider world but in order to proactively promote the core library values of democratic inclusion; truth and wisdom; free inquiry and exploration; and beauty, fun, and joy.
If we were building a library for the first time now, without any baggage of historical assumptions, but with an eye to the needs of our community now and into the future, what would it look like? That’s the question we need to answer; and the answer is what we need to strive towards.
Endnote: Solving the small set problem
To understand this example, you need to know two things about Magic: the Gathering.
Magic is often played in a draft format, where the players take turns choosing cards from the same pool. In the most common draft format, each player is given three packs of cards which they open, draft a card they want to use in their deck, and then pass the remainder around. This pattern continues – draft a card, pass the pack on – until the pack is all drafted, at which point the next pack is opened. Once all three packs are drafted, each player takes the cards they drafted and builds a deck, with which they then compete in a tournament.
Magic releases new sets of cards regularly, and from about the third year of the game, these sets were made in “blocks”, groups of three sets in a kind of trilogy. The first, large set in the block provided baseline effects, established the gameplay themes and the narrative premise and setting, and was followed by a couple of smaller expansions that continued the narrative and evolved the mechanics of play.
For around the first 15 years of Magic, or more precisely of drafting and the block structure, drafting used to follow the same pattern as the block: start with one or two packs of the large set, then move on to one pack of each the small sets which evolved from the first. (So AAA when only the large set had been released, then AAB when the first small set was released, then ABC when the whole block was out.)
But WotC had a problem with the small sets: despite by their nature being interesting evolutions on the themes of the first set, they didn’t feel like they had enough impact on the draft, which made them feel less exciting to a sizeable contingent of players, which in turn reduced their sales and meant that, while the world in which the block was often well-known and -loved, players often had no idea of how the second and third parts of the blocks’ stories turned out.
It took over a decade before anyone suggested the simple expedient of opening the cards from the newest set first and allowing those to set the agenda for subsequent drafting. Exactly the same mix of packs, just change the order (from AAB to BAA or ABC to CBA), and all of a sudden the small sets are impacting the draft much more effectively.
Since breaking free of the old default, they have gone on to change the numbers of each set in the drafting mix (BAA became BBA), to change the default composition of blocks (1 large set, 2 small became 1 large, 1 small), and finally to do away with “blocks” altogether and just design large sets for each quarterly release. Escaping the grip of that legacy decision not only fixed the problem they could see, the “small set problem”, but freed them up to experiment and innovate to something that works far better.
Now, this is a company full of literal geniuses. The game was created by a professor of mathematics who went on to design many more smash hit games and to write a pioneering textbook about the history and design of games, and other designers have included accomplished writers, artists, biologists, ecologists, and an actual-no-jokes rocket scientist.
And yet although the problem I’ve described was clear in retrospect (though bear in mind that the simple fact of me having to explain the problem in a way that is comprehensible to readers with no knowledge of the game serves to make it even more readily apparent here than it was at the time), a solution that simple eluded them for years. Why?
Well, part of the problem was that – as we’ve seen – success breeds repetition.
At the time they made the change, Magic was a tabletop game with an international audience in the high millions. It has since grown into the tens of millions, which gives you an idea of both its growth trajectory at that moment and the success of these changes. The sets weren’t performing as well as WotC would have liked, but they weren’t exactly failing. And it’s not illogical to think that if you want something to succeed more, you just do more of the thing that’s making it succeed, namely design it as well as you can.
(The term for this particular trap is “local maximum”. The phenomenon is analogous to trying to climb the highest mountain in the world by always going upwards from wherever you are right now. Unless you’re lucky enough to actually be at the base of the mountain, and have a straight upward path to the top, at some point you will be at the top of a hill and be unable to go higher.)
And when you’re thinking about the sales outcomes of a particular set, the default is to look at the properties of the set itself. Magic’s designers were smart enough to also consider their small sets in the context of the design of the whole block, and even of the blocks either side, so they were already thinking more strategically than usual.
The other key part of the problem was that thinking about the draft order wasn’t really anybody particular’s job. It was the designers’ more than anyone else, but they had a whole slew of much bigger and more clearly defined responsibilities – namely, designing all the cards that would be printed – to tight deadlines every quarter… and then, as the popularity of the game grew and they started making more products, more frequently still.
So even at a company rightly famed for innovation and creativity, a combination of success and poorly-structured distributions of work can produce “innovation dead zones” – areas of work where defaults go unquestioned and cause systemic problems for years. Frankly, all things considered, I think it’s to WotC’s credit that they spotted the problem as soon as they did – though I have wondered if a helpful fan or two might have helped prompt the change (one of the benefits of having, and listening to, such a large community – the old open-source truism Linus’s Law, “given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”).
What are your institution’s blind spots? And to whom are you willing to listen to find them?
Futurist musings, General, Librarieshistory, L-space, libraries, Magic: the Gathering, Mark Rosewater, notocracy, palaeocracy, parelthocracy, past, Sir Terry Pratchett, success, Wizards of the Coast
One dead hand, and one living: examining the past’s grip on the present
9 February, 2018 9 February, 2018 PMLeave a comment
Empirical evidence of success has its limits as a way of selecting leaders, decision-makers, and philosophical frameworks.
Don’t get me wrong, a meritocratic review of past performance is far superior to claims of divine mandate, brute coercion, and/or the ability to weave appealing ideas and rhetoric without any grounding in reality.
But the problem is this: a track record of success is necessarily evidence of success under past conditions and past definitions of success. If those conditions have changed – or if our knowledge of those conditions and what constitutes success has deepened, possibly as a result of observing the effects of those past “successes” – what counted as success in the past may have no bearing on success in the future, or indeed may even indicate a predisposition to failure under the new circumstances.
In its neutral form, I call the tendency to make determinations based on influence (including but not limited to evidence) from the past parelthocracy, rule of the past. And as a historian and human rights advocate, I will gladly affirm that there are good reasons to attend to the lessons of the past! Fetishizing the new, and ignoring/trivializing/falsifying history, is, ironically, an age-old mistake.
However, there are two related terms which are less benign, for when parelthocracy turns inert or resentful:
palaeocracy (rule of the ancient) is the fossilized persistence of ideas past the point where they clearly no longer apply; and
notocracy (rule of the back, as in turning one’s back) where power is used to attempt to prolong or recreate past conditions for the sake of doing so rather than because of any objective good – or, just as often, create the conditions of an imagined or delusory past.
Palaeocracy
Consider the colossal carnage in WWI trench warfare, where generals who rose through the ranks due to successes in cavalry warfare collided with the realities of mechanised industrial death-dealing. This constituted palaeocracy, where outdated ideas simply happened to be prevalent among those in charge and to persist in the face of evidence.
Other factors, especially classism, nationalism, and vested economic interests, also played major roles in the butchery and bungling, of course. But the generals on both sides were not only misgoverning from our historical perspective, but failing on their own jingoistic terms, because they were simply unable to comprehend that, for all their extensive training and experience, their understanding of war was almost totally redundant.
Two key ingredients of this example of palaeocracy, and a common though by no means universal element of palaeocracy in general, were operational distance – the fact that those making decisions were rarely anywhere near the implementation of those decisions – and a hierarchy designed to centralise information and decision-making authority. These two things meant that the generals could go literally years without the fact of their own redundancy being apparent to them, ignorant of the reality their troops faced, and often not even asking the right questions about their strategic situation. In this light, the astonishing victim-blaming of their troops and the lower echelons of the hierarchy as inferior, inadequate, cowardly, excessively sentimental, treasonous, and so on, becomes both more understandable (though still completely unforgivable) and a clear symptom of palaeocratic bungling.
Notocracy
As an example of notocracy, see the ability of oil and coal fortunes to buy delay in otherwise self-evidently desirable changes to energy policy. These billionaires and corporations accumulated tremendous wealth and political influence by (along with the usual shenanigans) being exceptional providers of energy under old, less-informed understandings of the world. It isn’t their fault that those understandings predated the invention of more distributed, cheaper, egalitarian, secure, and sustainable forms of energy generation, and unwittingly ignored the climate-destabilising effects of mass fossil fuel use.
What is their fault is the way they are now using the power thus accumulated to intentionally obfuscate climate science (see Doubt is their product) and the scientific and popular mandate to change; and more importantly, to ensure governments continue to subsidise and support their outdated technology, while at the same time withholding from the newer, cleaner, fairer tech the same economy-shifting levels of support that underwrote and continues to underwrite the success of fossil fuels.[1]
This is not simply an inability to adapt mental models to new information. It is a wilful, aggressive attempt to preserve outdated arrangements in the face of abundant evidence that this benefits nobody but the owners of the fossil fuel industry – and ultimately, not even them. Hence, notocracy rather than palaeocracy.
As this example suggests, the extra effort involved in notocracy means that its advocates are highly motivated, both in their reasoning and in acting on that reasoning. That motivation is often financial or political, but can be purely emotional, based on the same psychological drives as nostalgia.[2]
Notocracy is not the same as resistance to change where change is (a) avoidable and (b) for the worse. A worker resisting the erosion of their wages and working conditions is not doing so out of notocracy, unless there genuinely is no other way to keep the business running and there are no other businesses present or likely to arise where the worker can find a job. The chief executive who fails to cut their salary and bonus packages before asking workers to take a cut in pay and conditions is driven by notocracy, and also a sense of entitlement (the two often go hand in hand).
A final key point about notocracy is that the “past” is not necessarily the actual historical past. In fact, I would argue that this kind of obsessive devotion to a past way of doing things, outside of overwhelming personal vested interest such as the fossil fuel example above, is quite often the result of a partial and selective, or even outright false, understanding of the past, often as mythologised through particular partisan lenses.
The qualities of parelthocracy
Both of these toxic modes of parelthocracy are almost always accompanied by denial and/or wilful blindness about the aspects of the past that were undesirable, or historically contingent and no longer applicable. (In some cases, the “past” for which palaeocrats and notocrats yearn never actually existed![3]) Active efforts to conceal, ignore, destroy evidence of, or shout down contradictory facts are more prominent in notocracy (palaeocracy tends to rely on incumbency to get away with just shutting its eyes to inconvenient truth) but can occur in either. Likewise, messengers can get shot in organisations or communities suffering either mode, but in palaeocracy this will usually take the form of social penalties such as labelling the person a troublemaker, overly ambitious, or otherwise too big for their britches, whereas a notocratic reaction is more aggressively punitive.
Parelthocracy (and its more malign subtypes) is of course a trait of any real endeavour; science itself is prone to these tendencies. Not only in the sense that “science advances one funeral at a time” – that’s not science per se but the social context around science. Rather, because science involves an incremental gathering of empirical data, those data need to be recognised as historically situated rather than somehow being magically representative of eternal truth.
A live contemporary example is the way machine-learning AI algorithms draw bigoted conclusions from empirical data… data which was of course generated by societies with centuries-long legacies of bigoted systems heavily impacting social outcomes, and gathered by fallible human scientists influenced by the unconscious assumptions of those bigoted systems.
However, as attested by the fact that these discussions exist relatively early in the development of machine learning, science is much better equipped – and far more predisposed – to identify and overcome these same tendencies than most other human institutions.
The dangers of palaeocracy and notocracy also exist at smaller, more local levels. Palaeocracy is more common, as lower stakes mean less likelihood of corrupt self-interest, but notocracy is driven as much by emotion as greed, so both can be found.
“Seniority” in employment and management tends to mean not only experience but also a tendency to devalue new ideas, especially those from junior staff, and new cultural forms. To the managers in question, this feels like sensible conservatism, the “wisdom of experience”, but from the outside – especially in service organisations where the decision-making is not technical – can objectively result in inferior outcomes.
A concrete example that I have personally verified follows. A staff member of a local not-for-profit institution became aware of a regional brainstorming call for ideas that related to one of their areas of interest and expertise. The staff member had an idea that was both relevant and practicable enough to at least discuss, but the process for submitting the idea required that it be submitted by someone more senior. The staff member in question passed on the idea to their manager, only to be told after the deadline for submission had passed that the manager had decided not to contribute anything at all to the call for ideas (thereby impoverishing the brainstorming process), rather than submit an idea that the manager “did not understand”. No attempt to contact the staff member for clarification had been made, and other people to whom the staff member showed the idea found it perfectly comprehensible and worth discussing.
In confirming this story, I also established that the manager in question is widely regarded as hard-working, talented, intelligent and collegial, and was legitimately very busy in that time. This incident is not intended by me or the person who reported it to me as a personal criticism of that manager. But clearly there were other options than simply doing nothing, such as:
trusting their staff member enough to submit the idea as-was;
delegating the work of clarifying and submitting the idea;
submitting the idea with an appropriate caveat;
or recognising the value of the kind of initiative the staff member was showing, and shuffling priorities for the few minutes necessary to clarify whatever had confused the manager.
The final irony is that the idea was a simple, elegant framework for fostering and supporting innovation.
This example shows that palaeocracy need not be the result of an explicit commitment to old assumptions and ideas. It can simply be the result of institutional pressures squeezing out the time required to evaluate and develop new ideas. Indeed, the non-profit and government sectors are particularly and increasingly prone to these pressures, thanks to relentless funding cuts and “efficiency” drives that characterise efficiency as “doing more of the same for less” – a definition which embodies palaeocracy in no uncertain terms.
Which brings me to my conclusion.
Avoiding toxic parelthocracy
The past is indubitably important in understanding and making the most of the present. Engaged awareness of our history and the causal systems within which we operate is the living hand of the past, a strong guiding and supportive force.
But the past can also lay heavy on us, a dead weight holding us back and dragging us down.
My hope is that by naming and briefly describing palaeocracy and notocracy I have given managers and planners tools to avoid or at least minimise these tendencies. I have not named healthy parelthocracy because it is simply part of wisdom.
(And technically it is not a “-cracy”. Where our relationship to the past is healthy, even the strongest traditions are viewed in terms of the value they offer to the living people who embody them, and are not treated as ruling impulses to be honoured at all costs. The ancestors who bequeathed us these traditions, assuming they did so out of love for their descendants, would not want them to be harmful.)
The key takeaway is that we need to redefine assumptions around leadership and power to better reflect this principle that past success is not always a guarantor of suitability for future success.
In particular, we need to build into our systems for making decisions and assigning responsibilities a repeated check-in about whether the environment (or our understanding thereof) has substantially changed, or for that matter whether the people involved have substantially changed in ways that affect their suitability for the role. If we find that there have been major changes in our operating context, we should probably expect to need similar changes, perhaps even radical ones, not only in our operations but in our decision-making processes.
We need to rethink our attitudes to leadership and past decisions, to recognise that the decision and/or leader that were selected in the past may have been perfectly correct at the time (or at least as correct as was humanly possible in the context) but may not be the best choices now – without this being in any way a negative reflection on anyone involved. (After all, in some cases it will be the exact same qualities that made a choice the correct one in the past that make it now incorrect!) Loss aversion makes the shift to a world where leadership is not a ladder to climb but a temporary mantle bestowed for particular purposes psychologically difficult to adjust to; but once it is established as a norm it will serve substantially better than current hierarchical modes of advancement.
(As a side benefit it also mitigates against the Peter Principle.)
But beyond specific choices and individuals, we particularly need to apply these principles to systemic frameworks such as budgets, procedures, and hierarchies. Humans have a natural capacity and even tendency to adapt to change, though not always consciously, and certainly with a countervailing conservatism. But the whole point of such official structures is to be a fixed reference point; metrics are compared to previous years’, procedures are designed to produce consistent outcomes and can go years without change, and even budgets, which are produced annually, tend to be templated on the previous year’s. Changing these frameworks requires actual effort, which in and of itself is a cost, even before we start considering implementing the concrete changes these bureaucratic changes reflect.
Of these three areas of change, the most important is probably the shift away from fixed hierarchies towards more flexible and inclusive decision-making processes. Giving a meaningful voice in the discussion to more people, especially to those closest to the actual interface between budgets/procedures/frameworks and the real world, makes it far more likely that outdated ideas will be confronted with relevant new facts. Other necessary changes will flow from this.
As a significant and closely related side benefit, it also fosters inclusion of a broader range of demographic voices in the decision-making process. This is self-evidently true on simple numerical grounds – where there’s room for more voices, you get a wider range of them. But just as crucially, the nature of privilege is such that dominant groups will be over-represented in decision-making positions, and subordinate groups will be concentrated at the operational, “lower” levels.
But all three aspects of systemic frameworks need to be examined, and in some ways the more so the more successful an institution has been in the past. My post tomorrow will discuss the parelthocratic perils of success, with particular reference to libraries.
[1] That they have the gall to fund think-tanks which purport to advocate a “free market” is especially insulting; if they are serious about a “level playing field”, they should either insist on their competitors and their competitors’ customers receiving the same subsidies as them and theirs, or reject all government subsidy and repay everything they have received to date, indexed to inflation if not at market interest rates throughout the period.
[2] In fact, I originally called notocracy nostocracy instead – but recent psychological research indicates that nostalgia can be a useful coping mechanism, and by definition this sort of denialism is unhealthy.
[3] One need only look at the quite recent idea that videogames are a masculine pastime. I am old enough to remember a time in my childhood when my sisters and I happily played PC games made by women without anyone thinking this was weird (well, not the gender aspects; the pastime itself was sometimes viewed as a bit strange, and I heard a few comments that it was unusual to see siblings collaborating as we did to beat the games). Yet some elements of the community have taken it upon themselves to treat women on the scene as interlopers. This is a clear case of false notocracy which has been consciously socially engineered by marketeers, and then further engineered and weaponised by outside forces – some of whom had previously been openly, viciously contemptuous of games and gamers – as part of a broader culture war.
General, Librarieshistory, notocracy, palaeocracy, parelthocracy, past, success
15 June, 2016 4 August, 2016 PMLeave a comment
As someone who advocates for tabletop games in libraries, I often have to talk about Monopoly. It’s one of the best-known and best-selling board games in the world, but (while I can get it at a discount for libraries if they want it) I don’t include it in my bundle of games, and I don’t recommend libraries spend their limited games budgets on it, except if they are planning on pursuing more advanced active games criticism activities. Why is this?
The answer is bound up in some really interesting broader questions about games and libraries, and also some of the more fascinating aspects of the history of Monopoly and of board games more generally.
Libraries – just for books?
Libraries exist to make the world of human thought, culture and information accessible and discoverable to our communities. This is why most libraries now include not only books but music, television, movies and videogames in their collections, and why we increasingly offer access to creative technologies as well.
In pursuing this mission, there is often a tension between quality and popularity: between giving our community what they know they want, and ensuring that they have access to the kind of high-quality material that our professional experience and judgment indicates they are likely to need as they develop their knowledge of and engagement with the wider world. In other words, to give them the intellectual room and resources to stretch their developing tastes and capacities.
To some librarians, those other collections – movies, music, and so on – are only bought at all because they fall under that “popular” rubric. However, most librarians now acknowledge that a picture of our culture that ignored media other than books would be woefully incomplete; while books are still a major focus, we do try to offer some sort of collection of other media according to the same mix of popularity and quality. So movie collections will include Casablanca, Citizen Kane and maybe some Kurosawa; popular music collections will include the Beatles; and so on.
When it comes to tabletop games, though, we generally just throw some dollars at a staff member and send them off to a nearby department store to buy with an eye to value. This has the same results for quality that would result for our book collections if that was how we did book-buying. We wouldn’t consider a small bundle of mass-market paperbacks of mixed age, some reprinted multiple times, an adequate collection – but that’s what we usually end up with in the tabletop game department. (One library service I know of recently opened an incredible new central library with the latest consoles and maker tech, and all the most up-to-date equipment you could want. Its board game collection? Scrabble, Twister – which seems to have been swiftly removed from public display – Monopoly… and Avengers Monopoly.)
The irony is that if there’s any single medium that most benefits from the kind of showcasing of excellence that libraries do, it’s games.
Games and the network effect
All creative works are subject to some sort of network effect – the more other people know about a work, the more likely it is that any given individual will hear about it and decide to take a look. But with tabletop games, this effect is magnified by two key facts: (a) that games are more easily learned in play than self-taught from instructions, making it more daunting to pick up a game cold than a book; and (b) they need other people to play with – so popularity affects not only recommendations and retail availability, but ability to engage with the work at all.
This means that the normal bias towards novelty is counterbalanced by conservative pressures that keep people playing games that are already widely known. In this context, libraries’ roles as discoverers and curators of excellence becomes even more important.
But surely this only matters if the most widely-known games are also not good games?
Yes. Well. Let me ask you: do you seriously believe that in the past 100 years, there have been no advances in the art of game design? That nothing has been learned about human nature and psychology, or the nature of fun? (And fun, again, is not trivial but the active aspect of joy.)
In fact, all these things have been rich veins of discovery, and games have been the single greatest area of cultural innovation in the 20th and 21st Centuries. This is true even setting aside the obvious originality of videogames, possible at all only thanks to recent technological advances. In the past 70-50 years, tabletop games alone have given us several major new subdisciplines, some of which were spawned during the modelling of existential threats such as nuclear war and ecological catastrophe, and others of which (roleplaying games, story games) are closely linked to libraries’ undisputed interests: narrative and literacy.
So obviously games will have improved in the past 100 years. But aren’t the classics classics for a reason? Mightn’t some old games be worth having too?
Some, yes. Chess unquestionably belongs in a library, for instance. But looking at Monopoly from any angle other than popularity or historical interest isn’t especially favourable.
A note to the reader: no disrespect intended
Before I continue, let me be 100% clear about one thing: I’m not saying that it can’t be fun to play Monopoly, or that those who find it enjoyable are wrong or bad people. If you enjoy it, good for you! I’m saying that what fun there is comes from the players themselves rather than the design of the game; it reflects well on your playgroup that you can enjoy it. And perhaps, if you were to try games that are actually better designed to produce fun, you might enjoy yourselves even more.
Certainly the evidence is that this is the case; international board games website boardgamegeek.com allows users (a diverse global crowd whose primary shared characteristic is to have played a wide range of games; BGG is the tabletop games equivalent of goodreads) to rank games on a few different scales. On its overall ranking, which at the time I checked (6 June 2016) contained 12,288 games with enough ratings to be able to sort them into a ranked order, Monopoly was #12,280 – the 9th-worst game of all of them. This isn’t just hobbyist snobbery; in its family game ranking, which contained 1481 family games, Monopoly was #1480. Clearly, people who have played with any kind of “breadth” (in the same way one might “read broadly”) think poorly of Monopoly.
Monopoly is bad, and that’s for a reason
Monopoly is widely known, but it’s as legendary for spawning bitter family fights and for dragging on interminably even though it’s obvious who’s going to win as it is for being widely played.
It’s also notorious among tabletop enthusiasts for making some people loathe the entire medium of board games; pretty much any tabletop game aficionado has at some time had to convince a potential player that actually, most board games are nothing like Monopoly in order to get them to even consider playing a board game.
The structure of the game is such that players lucky enough – and it is hugely dependent on luck – to secure an early advantage almost invariably find that it snowballs into more of the same. The only thing that offsets that early luck, other than extreme good luck later in the game, is the ability to persuade, manipulate or bully others into making the deals you want.
And this isn’t a coincidence.
The myth of Monopoly is that it was created during the Depression by an out-of-work salesman named Clarence Darrow. The truth is that the game Darrow sold Parker Brothers was stolen: it was invented in 1904 as The Landlord’s Game by a feminist and social campaigner named Lizzie Magie, as an educational tool to demonstrate why capitalism’s concentration of wealth is a bad idea. Her original game had an additional set of rules that produced a more balanced, sustainable outcome, modelled on her Georgist economic principles, designed to be played in contrast to the capitalistic rules of the game we all know, and to produce a steady increase in wealth for all players.[1]
Take a moment to absorb two points. First, far from being trivial, games were being used to deliver serious (though not necessarily correct) systemic arguments on pressing social questions over 100 years ago. Second, the game we’ve all played was actually designed to be tedious and divisive, to be increasingly unfun for most of its players, and to reward blind luck, bullying and conniving.[2] Magie clearly underestimated the appeal of schadenfreude[3] and of playing the role of being one of the lucky few at the top of the pile.[4]
If Monopoly was a book: literary equivalence
To translate this into literary terms, I’d hark back to the kind of sentimental pulp novels about poor but virtuous orphans exploited by rich and powerful people but saved at the last minute by marrying one of those self-same exploiters whose hearts they have suddenly melted through their patient, noble, non-resistant and above all steadfastly apolitical suffering (and never mind all the other employees who are still being exploited, maybe with a slight raise).
These schmaltzy novels were rip-offs of the kind of trenchant social critique offered by Dickens and similar authors, recognising the power of tugging on the heartstrings but doing so simply to sell copies without offering solutions to, or motivating change in, any of the broader structural social ills that occasioned the very real suffering they depicted.[5]
Now, these trashy poor-orphan-married-into-wealth novels were immensely popular in their time (Wodehouse readers may recall him sending up the type repeatedly), but were recognised as junk even then. Literature as an artform was taken seriously enough that, despite their popularity, the obvious unoriginality and implausibility of the novels meant they were (rightly) denied serious attention. They made their money and then they faded away. (Though it is worth noting that they are immediate ancestors of the Mills & Boon school of formulaic button-pushing.)
Imagine if one of those novels had spawned a vast fortune, and the possessors of that vast fortune had dedicated it to ensuring that that particular novel was regarded as The Novel, emblematic of the entire medium. They spent fortunes promoting it, made sure that everyone had read it, and that such reading was bound up with memories of family spending time together.
This wouldn’t actually work with fiction, of course. Novel-reading is solitary, so it’s less easily associated with family rivalries or fond family time together. Moreover, our hunger for novelty – pardon the semi-pun – militates against such endless repetition of a single work. But in board games, the network effects discussed earlier push us towards known works to a greater degree than in literature, and the injection of play from the audience means that outdatedness is less immediately obvious and repetitiveness is reduced. And the fact that games are not taken as seriously as literature has meant that the obvious flaws in the game have not been as widely noticed or critiqued, until now – though among aficionados of games they have been widely known for some time.
Why it matters that Monopoly is bad
To be clear once again, the problem is not that the game exists, nor that people enjoy it – indeed, more power to them!
Rather, the problem is that it’s considered emblematic of the medium. Again, this is a game which – by design – causes fights, is tedious, plays on negative emotions, and does little to exercise the brain (when engaged with as intended by its current publishers; clearly it’s fascinating as an object of critical study). It is such a bad example of its kind that it is known to frequently deter people from the entire medium of tabletop games.
Given a limited budget for books (or music or movies…), no sane librarian would spend it on a novel that was so antagonistic and tiresome that it caused a fair number of people who read it to give up on fiction altogether.
Of course, we might buy such a novel if it was requested enough, or if it was going to be used to study the medium. But given the kind of really limited budget for books that is typically on offer for board games, would we waste it in this way instead of buying something better? I submit that we would politely explain that our priority was to help people access the good stuff, and put a little effort into helping people find that. (My tabletop games bundle is designed as a decent start.)
And I further politely submit that, until such time as our board games budgets are more than the crumbs from our programs and collections budgets, we should do the same with Monopoly.
[1] This paragraph is a potted summary of an excellent book on the subject, Mary Pilon’s The Monopolists. I recommend it as a fascinating, well-researched piece of the best sort of cultural history, one that goes deep into its particular subject but maintains an eye for the wider connections and import of its topic.
[2] And one can’t help but feel that Magie would take it as further proof of her views about the worst of corporate capitalism, as an act of intellectual theft covered by brute-force legal and PR shenanigans, and a co-opting of a radically critical voice to make profit.
[3] Safely contained within the magic circle of play, of course; idealists don’t always anticipate how that can transform the subject matter they’re so earnest about.
[4] To be fair, the appeal of such roleplaying would have been even greater during the Great Depression, when Monopoly became such a massive hit, than it was during the age of robber barons that came before it.
[5] Note the parallel to the co-option of Monopoly from its intended purpose.
Follow-up to Libraries and the future of the audience contract
8 April, 2015 13 May, 2015 PMLeave a comment
Hey folks! I just added an additional heading, Embedding portals to creators in library catalogues/metadata, to the possible practical solutions part of my previous post on libraries and their role as mediators between creators and audiences.
I contemplated posting it separately, but it was always part of the idea, just one I originally took out because I wanted to think about it some more. But I’ve decided I like it, so it’s back in. If you’ve already read the original version of the post, click the link above to skip straight to the new stuff. If you haven’t, just read the whole thing 🙂
Futurist musings, General, Librariesconnections, copyright, creativity, creators' rights, crowdsourcing, free culture, libraries, piracy, publishing, sharing
Libraries and the future of the audience contract
25 March, 2015 13 May, 2015 PM1 Comment
Corporations who claim they speak for the creators we love are major driving forces in turning the internet into the largest mass-surveillance tool in human history.
The crux of the issue is the one-sided defense of copyright by powerful vested interests. (And, per Doctorow, the lack of countervailing powerful vested interests in the citizenry remaining free and unsurveilled.)
The one-sidedness of the policy conversation in this area is leading governments to act in ways that are inimical to freedom and the human rights of everyday citizens, through the imposition of excessive and disproportionate penalties for noncommercial copyright infringement and the enabling of a vast katascopocracy[1] to detect such infringements. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been making this argument for years, far more effectively than I could, so I’ll just link you to them. (The folks at Defective by Design and Chilling Effects also have some points to make about the problems of DRM and a heavily-surveilled internet.)
But the “content” industries have one incontestable point in their favour: we do love creative works.
Not only do the folks who create them inherently deserve some prospect of reward for doing so, but if creators aren’t rewarded for making them, they will be able to make far fewer. This is the crux of the audience contract: in exchange for people taking the time and effort to create something, and potentially making themselves vulnerable and the centre of attention by sharing it, the community will ensure that there is at least a hope that they will end up no worse off – or even better off. Without some expectation of a return on creative work from the audience of that work, dedicated creation becomes much less viable, and creation has to happen in time carved out of a life supported some other way. That makes certain creative forms and professions (those requiring large budgets, long periods of dedicated work, and/or large groups of collaborators) near-impossible without the patronage of the hugely wealthy, granting them a destructively disproportionate, quasi-feudal voice in the culture.[2]
The solution (in principle)
So how do we combine easy, effectively unlimited, and unmonitored copying of creative works with rewarding creators?
We shift the focus away from the creative work, and onto the act of creation and the creator(s) themselves. Rather than just an industrial, widget-based economy where a work is rewarded based on the number of reproductions sold, we move to an artistic, networked economy where audiences can express appreciation for a specific work or for its creator with equal facility in a wide range of ways – and sharing copies of a creator’s work, rather than robbing the creator, is actually helping spread their work and their reputation.
Purchases of artefacts will continue to be one major way to do this. Artefacts may of course be hard-copy reproductions of the work, whether generic reproductions such as mass-market books, or prestigious limited editions with fancy covers etc. They may also, as webcomics creators have found, be associated artefacts that declare an affiliation to or appreciation for the work or the creator, such as T-shirts or various tchotchkes. They may be entirely unrelated; some online creators derive significant income from goods that, aside from a common creator/publisher, bear no relation whatever to the works for which the creator is best known. Regardless, whatever the nature of the artefact, commercial production and distribution of those artefacts should of course require that the creator of the work(s) be rewarded for the use of their work.
Active recommendation/sharing of the creator’s work is another – after all, an audience is a potentially valuable thing for anyone, especially a creator. The creator can also derive income from the other side of this process: using affiliate links in online marketplaces, and similar technology, to capture a fraction of any sale triggered by their recommendations is much more lucrative if those recommendations have a substantial audience. And other as-yet uninvented modes of endorsement and support are still on the way.
However, direct payment from audience to creator will become – is already becoming – another substantial avenue of support for creators. The tools to support aggregation of mass support both for specific projects and directly for creators themselves – crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, Pozible, Flattr, and Patreon – are already in place and growing in popularity. (Note that these are not inherently hostile to existing production and distribution models – numerous successful crowdfunding beneficiaries have gone on to use existing channels for publishing completed works to a wider audience.)
By enabling popular/mass patronage to compete with that of a single wealthy entity, platforms like these substantially, though not entirely, mitigate the feudal tendencies alluded to above of historical models of patronage. In some respects they even go further towards democratizing culture, enabling niche audiences and creators to find each other who otherwise might be missed by publishing bureaucracies focusing on larger returns from larger market segments. After all, the additional costs imposed by such corporate apparatus means that an income which can viably sustain a creator is often not sufficient to sustain them plus the industry that supposedly supports them – making the bureaucracies that supposedly exist to help creators find sustainable livings, even if entirely honest and efficient, sometimes a barrier to that same sustainability.
Certainly in the games industry, the use of these services by independent creators and critics to fund work that otherwise would have gone unfunded has had a huge impact. Whether the colossal success of the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter in 2012 resulting in games propelling that service into the mainstream and becoming its #1 category ($300m of its $1.5b to date), or the breakout success of Anita Sarkeesian’s Feminist Frequency Kickstarter revealing the scope of both the audience for basic feminist critique of popular culture and the vitriol of the anti-feminist backlash, it is fair to say that crowdfunding has been central to the last few years of games culture. (Which is, of course, a large and growing part of mainstream culture.) But while games creators have been particularly quick to jump on the opportunities offered by these new models (gamers being trained to spot opportunity and advantage, and highly sensitive to network effects), no medium is ignoring them – or can afford to.
The library, however – the place that above all others has been about enabling the public’s right to access to culture and information in a systemic, sustainable way; that above all others is about connecting the public with what they love regardless of commercial considerations – has been sitting this transformation out.
I believe that this is a mistake: we have a key role to play in this. Further, I believe that if libraries take a more active interest in helping creators and their audiences find each other efficiently and make a living, the supposedly irreconcilable tensions between free (meaning unsurveilled as well as unrestricted) sharing of culture and the needs of creators start to look a lot less intractable. Finally, I believe that remaining blind to the tremendous ferment of creativity enabled by these new funding and publication channels is a great way to make ourselves irrelevant. If we are increasingly seen as supplying a representative sample only of corporate-approved materials rather than of the full range of contemporary culture, we both abandon our popular mandate and play into the idea that all we do is compete with retailers of commercial creative works.
Below are just a few suggestions for how we might make that shift. But before I close this theoretical section, let me address one key argument against free culture: the economic-rationalist view that once someone has something for free they will never pay for it. To me, this says more about the mean-mindedness of the theorists than it does about reality. The actual facts of piracy contradict this, with shows and movies that have been shared unauthorised still being heavily watched and purchased, and even some producers of such projects (the hugely successful Game of Thrones comes to mind) acknowledging the role that “piracy” (actually peer-to-peer sharing rather than industrial-scale commercial reproduction) has played in making their shows more popular and more successful. But more importantly, it also ignores the tremendous willingness people have to invest time, energy and money into supporting and celebrating the things they love. Fan culture, which has been on the rise alongside peer-to-peer sharing and, not coincidentally, has always been one of the major places such unauthorised copying occurs, is merely the most overt example. The correlation between library usage and book purchasing is another, less obvious demonstration of the fact that free access to culture – far from reducing interest and investment in it – only increases the time, energy and money people are willing to spend on the things they appreciate.
Some solutions (in practice)
Let me note at the outset that, while some of these suggestions may result in substantial changes to library practice and relationships, I don’t consider any of them to be particularly significant changes to the basic job of a library. My point is that for libraries to continue doing what they’ve always done – sampling and making available a wide variety of content to suit their particular patrons’ interests – they need to start considering these sorts of possibilities, because the old models for publishing and distributing creative works are being forced to make room for new ones.
Expanding the pool of publishing/distribution channels from which we buy
For various reasons, libraries have outsourced more and more of their collections and processing to companies who use economies of scale to lower per-unit costs.
Aside from any other effects of this trend, it locks libraries into materials that are available to be distributed (and processed) at those kinds of scales. And it does this precisely at the historical moment when original voices are less likely to make it through those filters (owing to the consolidation and resulting homogenisation of editorial voice into publishing megacorporations), and more likely to publish through the newer channels we are neglecting.
As these more direct creator-audience publishing models become more prevalent, there will be less reason for creators to have industrial-scale volumes of stock created and hanging around to be sold. Such creators will already know the size of their audience, and in some cases will have printed directly for their previously-measured demand. (For instance, a Kickstarted project might print only the number of copies of a work needed to fulfil the project’s obligations, plus a small percentage of spares in case of damage, shipping error, and so on.)
For this reason, libraries that rely on traditional print-then-sell publishers may miss out entirely on opportunities to acquire particular works which may be hugely influential. While such works are likely to find a reprint, past experience has shown that this can take some time, during which period the library is failing to supply the work to its patrons. And again, this assumes that the work finds a home with existing publishers – which many critical viewpoints may not.
Therefore, libraries need to consider allocating some budget to buying works from new crowdfunding platforms, and to as-yet-unknown publishing models, not just the 20th-century publishing models we’re used to.
Naturally, some of this purchasing will need to be done at patron request – just like regular collections. In fact, I’d suggest that in the interests of discovering the widest possible range of such works, you might want to actively cultivate patron suggestions in this area. The trend towards targeted promotion includes creators looking for their audience; you are unlikely to see interesting new authors advertising in the mainstream press or publishing trade journals.
In this connection, it’s worth noting that academic libraries are moving towards models where their catalogues will find items to which the library does not yet have lending rights, and acquiring those rights in response to demand from the academic populace they serve. Of course, this is partly a response to the outrageous prices and conditions being imposed by academic publishers, who are making sharing of research (research that is of course founded upon the intellectual commons) harder and more expensive at precisely the historical moment when doing so is actually getting easier and cheaper. Even so, the models exist, and may well have lessons for how to find the best purchases for a given library’s collection.
Engaging better with free content – including rewarding creators who contribute to the library’s collections and resources after the fact
As discussed above, part of the present shift in cultural production is moving away from the make-a-widget-sell-a-widget industrial model. If creators choose to make their content available in that way, we should by all means continue to use existing systems to pay for their work. But as more and more creators explore open culture publishing models, and rely on support from those who use their creations, I believe that libraries need to start considering their relationship to such creators and their work.
I’m only too well aware that library budgets are often a pittance compared to demonstrable need, and that it might be hard to justify paying for “free” resources. I’m also well aware that simply by having an item in the library’s collection, we are helping its creator find their audience – and therefore, in crude commercial terms, their market.
However, I believe that libraries need to not only take seriously the material that’s published free online and do more to explore it for our patrons, but to acknowledge the debt we have to the free online resources we use.
And, as a logical and moral extension of that point, to consider chipping in financially and practically accordingly – both as a matter of principle, and as a matter of modelling the appropriate relationship to creative and other original work to our patrons.
This is a complex and nuanced discussion – for instance, by having the library contribute to the costs of a creator, does that make our patrons feel they are absolved from doing likewise, causing them to donate less? It probably deserves a post of its own, really. But in the age of Creative Commons, copyleft, and the Free Culture movement, too few libraries are even considering these questions.
[But for the sake of clarity: yes, this does mean I am saying that libraries should consider both donating to Wikipedia and allocating some staff time to be made available to edit it. (Aside from any other considerations, this might go a long way to redressing the gender imbalance among Wikipedia editors.)]
One fact I feel needs to be central to these considerations is that as an institution with a considerable – though usually inadequate – budget, libraries are often better off than either individual creators or the project teams to which they are donating their time and effort. While I fully understand and even applaud libraries wanting to conserve budgets, the fact remains that however resource-poor we are, chances are that creators of free resources are also not well off – and unlike libraries, they actually feel hunger. It would once have gone without saying that we need to be willing to contribute to the costs of resources we include. This applies equally to resources for which we pay via non-conventional means as to those purchased under long-established models. To do otherwise is to discriminate against creators who are attempting to make it easier to share their work – in other words, people who share our values.
I’m not proposing carte blanche for anyone who publishes free stuff online. Given that these resources are free, it is not unreasonable to add them to the collection and see how they fare. However, I submit that we must be willing to consider paying creators at the point we are certain we want their work in the collection, whether that decision comes before they are added or after assessing our patrons’ response to the works.
I’m fully conscious that – budgets being directly affected by this idea – there are some key stakeholders who will resist it: organisational managers who will ask some pretty hard questions about why libraries should pay for something they already got for free. Those are valid, but answerable, questions – we should be able to demonstrate the value of the items to the collection, and therefore the need to sustain and reward creators. And answering them properly will also incidentally reduce the gameability of such systems (whereby library staff might corruptly dispose of library funds to the benefit of themselves or those close to them).
But let’s be clear: this will also inevitably involve a certain amount of managing up. We shouldn’t shy from that. Organisational managers are excellent at managing generic “resources”, but librarians are the experts in the collection and sharing of culture. It is right that managers ask questions about how resources are expended, but they are not qualified to offer leadership in making those decisions. Again, for library folks not to be in the forefront of engaging with a cultural shift of this magnitude is to voluntarily edge ourselves and our beloved libraries towards redundancy.
[Also: It’s not directly relevant to this paper, but crowdsourcing can help libraries too!]
Libraries cultivating support for creators as a moral and practical imperative if people like content
Libraries could do more to get people supporting the creators they love, and even those they don’t love, but benefit from, or think are interesting or important. This needn’t be restricted to newer crowdfunding-type channels; buying a book or a DVD is just as much an option for supporting creators as pledging to their next project (or a past one). That said, it is worth us helping our communities explore what share of the money spent on each option actually ends up with the people who created the work – and how clearly that support sends the signal people want it to send.
Most people, including most creators, certainly make the common-sense assumption that libraries already foster this kind of active appreciation and support of culture to a considerable degree. (And they are right to do so: both logic and evidence very much point this way!)
But we could do more both to celebrate what we already do and to find new ways to advance the principle of supporting creativity. (It helps that both these things would also give us further leverage in negotiations with recalcitrant publishers over price and terms of newer forms of published works, e.g. ebooks.)
For instance, we could (and should) act in an educational capacity – telling the story of what these new funding models enable. Not everyone will be interested, but just as we help people explore the world of books and then translate their tastes into purchases at the bookshop, there are genuine opportunities for us to support our communities in exploring these new channels – both as audiences engaging with original work, and as potential creators themselves.
We could also spell out the connection made at the start of this paper, between the need to protect privacy and the need to provide an alternative to the widget-sales model of cultural economics.
We could also do more to foster yet other ways for creators to engage their audiences, and for audiences to enable their creators to make a living, as some of the following suggestions outline. To this point I have largely focused on ways libraries can work in with existing or emerging systems that are independent of them. In the suggestions that follow, I will begin exploring ways in which our unique attributes and position enable us to offer opportunities unavailable elsewhere.
Libraries cultivating their own audience’s creative aspirations as a way to instil respect for other creators
As I’ve discussed previously, libraries are increasingly moving towards becoming libraries of their community as well as for their community, with a growing focus on supporting creativity among their patrons rather than simply gathering the best of what’s happening elsewhere.
There has always been an element of seeking to support local creators in libraries’ work; at the very least we are inclined to purchase their work, if not actively promote it to their community. After all, a work is more likely to be of interest to patrons if they have met its creator, and more likely to be relevant given the greater odds of a similar background.
Likewise, we have sought to foster new creators through programs like writers’ workshops, especially for young people. Similarly, as the internet has grown to greater social and economic prominence in people’s lives, we have sought to help our patrons learn how to navigate it.
I believe that we can fruitfully combine these two things and help new creators learn to navigate these systems to find support. Having done so, we can help our communities discover their local creators just as those creators are seeking their audience. And we can help those local creators to build on that audience and leverage it into wider success, and to network and support each other in making their way out to the wider world.
How does this translate into supporting creators? One necessary corollary of helping people create is that patrons who have attempted their own creative work, and to a lesser extent those who aspire to do so, will better appreciate the work involved, and the need for creators to have a sufficient income to continue to create. This is not entirely dissimilar to simply respecting those who make things we like, as in the previous point, but the respect is likely to be more nuanced and to include those who make things we don’t like but who make them exceptionally well.
Again, rather than leaving this as an implicit point of learning, libraries could make an effort to explicitly leverage these teachable moments to make this point. (As always, heavy-handedness can backfire, but the basic point is incontestible.)
Libraries as channels to contact creators/agents if their patrons are interested in work
If the library is to become a vector for the audience-creator relationship, clearly our greatest strength is on the audience side of that equation; it’s our relationship to creators that we will need to develop.
One possibility here might be to develop tools and protocols that enable our circulation and activity data – thoroughly anonymised, of course! – to become a resource for creators and their representatives.
One such option might be a standardised, automated interface for flagging that the library staff, on behalf of their patrons, are interested in the creator’s work, along with some capacity to suggest particular activities that might be of most interest, or to outline activities that are happening anyway that might offer opportunities for the creator to piggyback their own event onto. For instance, a library might report that their members would love a presentation from a particular creator, or might report that a book club are holding a cosplay event themed around a creator’s work.
There would be no expectation of a response – that would need to be up to the creator, who would have the information to dip into as their own interests suggest – but creators would have a potential insight into where their work was being appreciated… and where they might profitably be able to visit and engage their audience in whatever further ways they desire.
The obvious use of this is in finding hotspots for things like book tours, but creators who want to run things like workshops, or to engage with audiences in other ways (perhaps to gain audience input into new, more collaborative creative forms), could also use information from such an interface to target those efforts as well. In the book club cosplay event example above, the creator might get in touch with the library and offer to judge, plus hold a signing or a Q&A about the characters.
Such engagement need not take place within the library, though it is a logical venue for such things as creator talks, creative workshops, and so on. Local retailers (bookshops, music shops, etc) or other businesses might come on board to help organise, promote, and host the event. The creator might see sufficient demand in a region that they might hire out a larger public venue. The event might be a specialised activity requiring particular tech, furniture and/or spatial configurations, such as LAN gaming, a theatrical production, or an artistic installation.
In any case, the library could become both a channel for the creator to notice that demand exists, and a potential partner in letting the audience know about it. And it would provide a level of granularity in the detail as to where demand exists that is currently not possible – or at least not without invasive data mining. (I hope no library worker needs an explanation as to why supporting alternatives to mass snooping on the public is a good thing!)
Another (and related) option would be to have the library be the place where people learn how to reach out to the creators whose works they admire. A workshop on writing to creators and other public figures, where attendees can nominate who they want to contact, and which covers basic etiquette, reasonable expectations, understanding of the demands on public figures’ time, and maybe a little research into the specific creators’ preferred channels of communication and/or modes of relating to their audience, could potentially be a relatively easy way for individual libraries to start moving into this space. (I’m also quite sure it would be a remarkably popular program! Contact me if you’re interested in pursuing this further.)
Admittedly, the existence of celebrity stalkers means this could be somewhat fraught! But as with most situations, the conspicuously unbalanced individuals who make trouble for everyone are a tiny minority. In fact, by planting the seeds of reason at the beginning of someone’s engagement, libraries could do a great deal to avert the obsessive spirals such people fall into.
Enabling creators to routinely see stats on loans/access to their works through libraries
The basic idea here is that thoroughly anonymized loan stats are fed into a centralized system and then made available to creators (or their deputized agents), so they can see a global heat map of the public’s engagement with their works in libraries.
Not only does this potentially feed into marketing for their next creative work, it also allows them to plan book tours, and even potentially help fund a holiday by picking up a little public speaking work in the destination country. And for creators who are more interested in direct relationships with their audience, this sort of information could be invaluable.
To be genuinely useful, this would need to distinguish number of loans and number of borrowers so that creators can tell when a library has a single obsessive re-reader or when they have a genuinely wide audience there.
Given that libraries in many countries already track some such usage statistics as part of public lending right schemes, and therefore some such central reporting already takes place through national libraries, in some ways this is not that much of a stretch from current systems – especially if the trend towards centralising and amalgamating library services continues, and given that library loan records are all electronic anyway.
In other respects I can see it being a political nightmare, on the one hand used by creators (and the megacorporations who benefit disproportionately from managing their rights) to lobby for higher lending payments or more restrictions on libraries, and on the other hand pushing for greater violations of privacy in the form of more detailed access to more-poorly-anonymized lending information. Certainly libraries would need to value this information appropriately as the tremendous resource it is, rather than simply giving such information away without a substantial tradeoff.
Just as crucially, libraries would need to recognise that such data is held in trust from the public, both as individuals and collectively. It is not an asset libraries own and are free to dispose of in their own interests, without regard to the interests of those from whom it is derived.
Lastly, this need not be limited to loans or other access data. As above, it could include information about activities (including those outlined below) taking place in the library relevant to a particular creator. Given that we also report on this sort of thing already to some degree, once again it’s just a case of making sure that the information is sufficiently detailed (specifically, that we are reporting on the subject of activities, rather than just aggregating headcounts under general headings like “story times” etc) and goes where it can be used.
Embedding portals to creators in library catalogues/metadata
[For those who read the post early and are just wanting to find the new stuff, this is the section that was added after publication.]
Given that we already have independent authority records for creators, and even have value-added subscription services such as Syndetics and OCLC providing expanded content for our records, to simply add a link from a work or a creator’s authority record to a URL they nominate seems pretty simple. All we need is some sort of central authority to track authors’ official “home pages” – something that could largely be automated and built into library deposit or public lending right schemes – and we’re already helping people connect with creators.
But this is only the least of the possibilities. We might for instance allow similar creator-controlled fields within bibliographic records, to take people to the official URL for a particular creative work, rather than just a standard link for the creator. The tools to manage this would be slightly more complex technically, and more work to manage, but would still be well within the realms of possibility.
Taking this even further, I can imagine a third-party service that provides (moderated!) embedded content to library catalogues directly from creators. As an example, when the publication date of the next installment of a beloved series is revealed, one of the channels for that announcement might be the catalogue pages of the previous installments. Obviously this sort of thing would need moderation – nobody should have unrestricted anytime access to the pages of the library catalogue – but a trusted third party working within agreed frameworks and standards could very easily make something like this a valuable tool for audiences, libraries, and creators.
We could even allow creators to post links to purchase copies of their work in ways that the creator feels best supports them. This might be referral links to online stores like Amazon, or it might be a service that lists local booksellers that stock particular works, or it might be a print-on-demand service. Simply putting this decision in the hands of creators would give them additional leverage in the creative economy – leverage that at present is very much with publishers and distributors – without the library being seen to misuse its position to favour one particular local (or other) business.
And naturally such things need not be limited to widget purchases. We might also – especially for works that we have included in the collection unpaid – allow crowdfunding links, such as those from services like Flattr or Patreon. These might be general “fund the creator” links, or they might be more specific “reward this particular work” links. Either way people who have found the work worthwhile can support the creator – and everyone is completely clear that the sharing of the work was beneficial to the creator.
In the interests of privacy, we might even consider becoming an anonymous channel for such support. One downside of direct patronage for some members of the public will be that such systems involve putting their support or appreciation for particular ideas or works on the record in ways that are not visible or accountable to them. Just as we are channels for anonymous reading, we could become channels for anonymous patronage. It would be a politically fraught process, with only the imperfect anonymity our readers enjoy; and it would be tremendously open to corruption (anonymity and money are never a good combination!), but it’s certainly a conceivable role for libraries to play.
Libraries as places to build community – and for communities to build themselves
We like to talk about libraries as the new village square, but it’s remarkable to me how little we do to enable public-driven usage of the space. I understand why: there are custodial obligations to our collections, spaces, and patrons that rule out or at least complicate a number of public activities. But in a true village square, activity is not predominantly programmed by public employees but often emerges organically from the interests of the people in the space at any given time.
Given those custodial obligations, which are real and too important to abandon, we can’t aspire to that level of unsupervised, unstructured public usage. But as I’ve touched on earlier in my two-way libraries paper, we could be doing a lot more to provide a degree of structure and mutual accountability that would allow more of this self-directed usage.
One such usage could be to encourage people to think of the library as a safe neutral (and somewhat anonymous) venue for shared cultural interests. We do this somewhat with book clubs, but rather than organising them ourselves and fixing the topic and activity, we could quite easily create tools based on pledgebanking systems that would allow the public to propose their own (suitably moderated) shared uses for our public meeting spaces and discover if there were interest for their ideas.
I think it’s quite likely that some such uses would include fan clubs for the various media we enable people to access – and this would be very much to the benefit of creators, especially in combination with the above reporting.
It is not a coincidence that the media that most require this sort of co-ordinated physical copresence, in this case to experience it at all not only to share appreciation, are the various forms of interpersonal play, especially social and tabletop games.
Libraries to host networked meeting/lecture spaces to connect communities all over the world
Technologies to connect multiple groups in different locations into a single larger group have largely been the domain of corporate meetings. But they do already exist, and could provide some remarkable opportunities for libraries to connect their communities not only indirectly through the shared world of learning and culture that we enable our patrons to access, but by directly allowing them to share experiences.
This could – and should – include homegrown experiences such as local history events, talks by local creators, and so on. (“Sister City” arrangements could particularly benefit and be strengthened.) There is a lot to be said for horizontal grassroots sharing of this sort, though that’s another post.[3]
But it could also allow numerous libraries with smaller budgets to pool funds to pay for creator talks by famous creators, or other more-expensive-but-relatively-simple events, that would then be shared live throughout all contributing libraries. (In my view, any library worth its salt would talk to the creator about then posting such talks on the internet under some sort of free culture license, but having the chance to be in the live audience – and potentially interact with the public figures in question – would be the preserve of the participants in the actual libraries at the time.)
It would even make such events cheaper, since travel costs would be reduced to the distance to the nearest participating library – or the nearest other facilities capable of streaming such events.
And of course, combined with the above patron-driven approach to the use of spaces and facilities, new uses for this sort of capacity would be quick to emerge.
(Once again, I confess a non-personal vested interest, this time in the possibilities for International Games Day @ your library and especially my own volunteer project, the Global Gossip Game.)
Libraries supporting lobbying for more creative funding
Finally, I fully realise that libraries have plenty of lobbying to do for our own budgets. But if we’re going to be helping audiences and creators engage more anyway, we’re going to be de facto supporting one common cause that is likely to draw broad support from the creative sectors: improving funding for the creative sectors.
While limited public funds mean that ultimately there is a degree of rivalry or tension between funding creation and funding libraries, both are clearly essential, and proponents of both should be vigorously supporting each other. And it would certainly cement the library as a key ally to the creator.
This is a point worth stressing. The reason that the corporations of the “content industry” have so successfully imposed their clearly disproportionate demands on the internet is because they have portrayed themselves as the champions of the creators who make the cultural and intellectual works that we love and need. And, to be fair, they have enabled some truly astonishing work.
But publishing corporations are not the only ally to creators. (Indeed, in some cases, the relationship has not been an alliance but rather profoundly exploitative.) And the corporations (and the lobbying groups that represent them) have clearly abandoned any respect for the interests – let alone the rights – of the public, except insofar as those rights are the right to purchase their product.
As the institution that has always been about the public freely engaging with culture, the library can and should step up. We are here for our patrons, and because our patrons (and we) love culture, we are here for the people who create it as well. Perhaps we can even help publishers let go of the obsessive need to monitor and monetise every possible engagement with a creative work, and go back to their core job: finding and supporting original, amazing creators. There are wider social forces at work here, of course, but most publishers are already keenly aware of how despotic and bureaucratic they look at times (and how much money is wasted on their attempts to assert oligopolistic control over the Internet). They need only a sense that there is another way to make a living, that they are not abandoning their responsibilities to shareholders and creators, and it suddenly makes sense to simply walk away from the worst excesses of the widget-selling model of culture.
But they won’t do this without creators taking a lead, and creators too need to know that they can find a living elsewhere. That sense of tension, of competition for limited funds, evaporates when you look at the bigger picture of what the point of libraries and of creating original works actually is. This is why it’s important for libraries to advocate for funding not only for themselves and the audiences they serve, but for the creators they serve as well.
In this regard, it doesn’t hurt that – if the suggestions above and in that two-way library piece linked earlier gain traction – libraries will be directly supporting creation to a greater degree, such that funding one is funding the other!
We in the library business are deeply committed to creators, and always have been. Our whole reason for being is to help the communities we serve find the created works (whether artistic or referential) that most meet their requirements – a function that, while public-facing, also serves creators. Far more than a mere recommendation engine or discovery interface, we enable our patrons to explore and develop their own tastes rather than merely throwing back at them endless iterations on themes they already like. In doing so, we serve creators of both excellence and originality – and most of all those creators who offer both at once. In other words, we both broaden and deepen the market for culture.
But because we are public-facing, we are also custodians of the bigger picture of culture: that created works exist to serve a greater good. That’s the reason that copyright and similar elaborate legal mechanisms have been created and operate at such vast expense to the public – original work is important enough that we recognise the imperative to reward it.
However, creative/original thinking isn’t the only public good, and material incentives aren’t the only way to encourage it.[4] The right to access culture and information unmonitored, and the right to freedom of expression, are both central pillars of the kind of intellectual freedom fosters genuinely original thinking. And both are threatened by measures actively proposed by the corporate industrial interests supposedly speaking on behalf of creators.
Privacy is under assault by corporate forces that seek to prevent unauthorised copying by spying on everyone to make sure that only authorised – which is to say, remunerated – consumption of culture occurs. (To be fair, they are strongly supported in this by others who seek to spy on us for other reasons.) It is not possible technically to prevent copying the “wrong” data, but it is possible to combine the threat of ridiculously disproportionate penalties (tens of thousands of dollars and a criminal record for watching a TV episode without paying?) with highly visible, seemingly state-endorsed (and increasingly state-run) surveillance schemes to scare people into compliance. The fact that these systems can be – and are – abused to breach privacy is bad both for humanity generally and for creators specifically. Without privacy, creators are discouraged from exploring experimental, challenging, and/or personal works; these render creators vulnerable in different ways, but the hope of privacy can mitigate some of that disincentive. And of course in the bigger picture, lack of privacy fosters a climate of self-censorship and self-moderation which puts a system-wide brake on effective peaceful dissent against those in charge of these systems.
Freedom of expression is, of course, inherently inhibited by copyright laws around use of fictional characters and settings – that’s more or less its point, to prevent people other than the creator of a work from making free with it! And that’s fine – I’ll be the first to admit the undeniable benefits, both economic and intellectual, to allowing the originator of an idea or work to maintain a voice and a financial stake in how it is published, and further developed and explored. But the system we have in place now stifles genuinely original reworkings of past culture under mountains of licensing and permissions red tape (making the use of, for instance, music samples prohibitive to most people not already signed up to one of the labels with the legal departments who run the show).
It makes it impossible for scholars and archivists to preserve our legacy, by criminalising digital preservation of works without clear permission from a creator who may be untraceable – or entirely unknown. (And even if you throw principle aside and argue that a work being abandoned in this way makes it a safe bet that you can get away with unauthorised copying, there are people who would consider it just as safe a bet that they can falsely claim to own the copyright and sue.) I’ve read a number of statistics about the percentage of works from the early days of the current copyright period – which is to say, the earlier part of the 20th Century – being lost to posterity because of this. They vary, but all are shockingly high.
And it has created a remarkable new tool for censorship: simply allege copyright infringement through an automated online tool and you can get even private companies to take down material they host, pending a counter-complaint by the original poster. This has already begun to be used as a tool for removing – even if only temporarily – material that is unwelcome to some unaccountable soul at some particular moment. Governments and corporations have attempted to claim copyright in the material their critics are using to criticise them. Antagonists in various culture wars have targeted each other with false copyright claims. Far from encouraging reasoned discourse or promoting the development of cultural works, copyright has become a tool to suppress unwanted views.
Controlling the reproduction of created works in these ways is only justified if this is our mechanism for rewarding creators. If we can achieve that goal of offering incentives to creators to create in some other way, what is now seen as theft (enabling others to access a creator’s work) becomes a supportive act, an act of endorsement – which is how many people actually experience the act of sharing the works they love.
By reaffirming our commitment to supporting creators (and taking the lead in exploring new ways to do so), libraries can help break the industrial-age connection between reproduction and remuneration, helping creators to continue to prosper from their work without having to endorse – and divert ridiculous amounts of resources into – these oppressive, wasteful, and anti-creative systems.
And of course, it frees up the infosphere for us and our patrons too.
— Footnotes ——-
[1] ‘Rule by spies’. Technically, there is no effective way to encrypt something that ultimately has to be human-readable. So the only way to prevent unauthorised copying of content is to scare people into not doing it – and that can only happen if they have a reasonable expectation of their private activity being watched and recorded while online, or even by their own personal property.
[2] One could quite plausibly argue that this is already somewhat the case (*cough*Murdoch*cough*Walden Media*cough*), but at least under the current system there is some mechanism for finding support from a mass audience – even if that support is typically funnelled through (and heavily taxed by) a large number of institutional middlemen who contribute nothing to the actual creative work.
[3] Briefly: by encouraging people to pay attention not to the centralised culture industry with its necessarily skewed perceptions and priorities but to other everyday folks, we get a counterbalance for the mass-produced monoculture that distorts our sense of ourselves and our place in the world… though of course until EVERYONE has access to the networks this would create, distortions will still be built into the system.
[4] In fact I would argue that there is an inherent human drive to create, one which (history shows) finds expression regardless of such incentives. Further, the massive external incentives we’ve created for the creation of culture have – as external incentives typically do – distorted the activity they’re supposedly incentivising. Rather than becoming a tool to remove daily survival pressures and free people to express the burning truth or beauty inside them, it’s become a prize to be won by creating experiences that compel attention – regardless of whether it’s worth creating for its own sake, or whether that experience (or the compulsion) is healthy. Of course, it has also enabled a great deal of extraordinary work, and even more research into why people like what they like – I’m not saying it’s all bad. Just something to consider.
Futurist musings, Games in libraries, General, Librariesconnections, copyright, creativity, creators' rights, crowdsourcing, Electronic Frontier Foundation, free culture, Global Gossip Game, International Games Day @ your library, libraries, piracy, publishing, sharing
Games and real life: economics edition
30 January, 2015 30 January, 2015 PMLeave a comment
I’ve spoken elsewhere about how games companies are now not only creating virtual economies but are hiring actual economists to help manage them. Valve, one of the first to do this, has just had economist-in-residence Yaris Vafoukaris headhunted – to serve as finance minister of Greece.
Let’s be clear – Vafoukaris already had solid credentials, which is why he got the Valve gig. It’s also true that Greece is a small country and that Syriza’s left-wing politics make their economic ideas unconventional. But it’s also clearly true that his time working in the virtual economies of Valve’s games and Steam client, and their conversion to and from real-world economics (which some would say are themselves increasingly virtualised), hasn’t been seen as hurting his ability to manage one of the more troubled economies in the Eurozone.
Once again: games=fun, right; fun=trivial? not so much.
Up for air! (Briefly)
12 December, 2014 17 December, 2014 PMLeave a comment
Hey folks! Just a quick post to say that International Games Day 2014 is over and was a huge success – so that’s off my plate – but thanks to increasing family responsibilities I will continue to be sporadic in updating this blog.
I’m updating the site a bit more frequently as I add more details on services that I offer (and sometimes new services!) but those are largely incremental updates. The big things that I’ve added and will be working on in 2015:
I’m selling a bundle of tabletop games for libraries that also comes with a substantial discount on training – and the discounts are stackable across library services, meaning if you buy enough bundles the training is potentially free!
I’m offering Australian libraries access to a service called OnePlay which enables ebook-style e-lending of PC and Android games. It’s a promising start on lending for media we struggle to enable our users to access!
Contact me if either of these, or any of my services, interest you. And to be updated when I do get a chance to post more substantive articles – which are coming – please follow me (using the button at the bottom right of your browser window, or by signing up to the RSS feed).
Otherwise, all the best for the end of this year and all of next!
GeneralAndroid games, e-lending, IGD14, International Games Day @ your library, OnePlay, PC games, tabletop games
1 June, 2014 4 June, 2014 PMLeave a comment
Sometimes it’s just SO interesting you can’t tear yourself away!
(And sometimes the grind just won’t let up…)
Aside from International Games Day @ your library, which I’m helping run again this year (and yes, the Global Gossip Game is part of it again), I’ve also been working on a semi-original design, attempting to put… something… together to give games a boost here in Oz, helping out a little with James Portnow’s Games for Good, and having an attack of Real Life (entirely too Real in some cases) on a few different fronts.
More substantive (and hopefully exciting!) posts soon, I think. But meanwhile, if you’re interested in helping to share games and play with your local community, IGD@yl has pages for librarian and non-librarian gamers who might want to get their local library participating. I encourage you to support your libraries’ forays into games and play!
GeneralGames for Good, International Games Day @ your library, James Portnow
Talking Points: Play, happiness, and health
19 February, 2014 13 March, 2014 PMLeave a comment
You wouldn’t know it to look at our arts or health or archival policies – or even, to a lesser extent, education – but a tremendous amount of research has been undertaken on play and health in numerous dimensions: physical, mental, emotional, social. There are numerous practitioners in each of these disciplines battling away to get better recognition of play and games, but the policy framework – and particularly the funding framework – for the playful arts is still negligible. (There’s an interesting post on why this is to be had… another time!) Changing this and enabling the community to better tap into and explore the world of play is one of my key objectives in writing this blog, and indeed in the work that I do generally.
I could cite numerous papers on the health effects of play for body (strength, health, flexibility, dexterity, speed, senses, reflexes), mind (memory, perception, comprehension, analysis, intuition), soul (motivation, happiness/pleasure/joy, creativity, assumptions that problems can be solved, capacity for reflection-in-action, drive to learn, ability to centre oneself), and what you might call intersoul – the part of us that inhabits and thrives in our connection to others – and at some point I’ll do that. But this is just a Talking Point and I’m short of time, so I’m going to argue from first principles instead and leave you to seek out the evidence yourself.
It follows logically from the previous discussion about the nature of play as a concept (that it is fundamentally about acting according to one’s nature) that play promotes activity. Given that we know that all of our faculties grow in response to moderate, unforced exercise – and dwindle with neglect – it makes sense that play in and of itself tends to be (though as always, subject to the complex interaction of specific activities and circumstances) a force for health in whichever elements of ourselves we allow to play.
The obverse is also true. Where people – and indeed mammals – are actively restricted from play, there are immediate effects on their health in all the above dimensions. Indeed, and this is one of the studies I’d link to if I had time, some experimental animals completely deprived of play became terminally miserable and died.
(The parallels to the links between freedom and health should, of course, be obvious.)
These findings have been behind the efforts of numerous educators to see play reinstated as central to education, but just as I believe that learning needs to be lifelong, I think play needs to be as well. An adult life deprived of play – whether actively or through passive exclusion – leads to that adult being less happy and healthy, and therefore – counterintuitively, if you’re a beancounter who insists that only the readily quantifiable should inform decisionmaking – more of a burden both to themselves and to others. This has ramifications that go beyond the cultural and medical, and include the political, economic, and industrial.
Still think play is fundamentally trivial?
(Click here to read the next post in the series: Play and learning.)
General, Play, Talking Pointsarts, economics, education, freedom, health, health effects, industry, mental health, physical health, Play, play deprivation, policy, politics
30 December, 2013 6 January, 2014 PMLeave a comment
Hello! Welcome to the blog of Philip Minchin (or Phil Minchin, I answer to the nickname too – as the title of this blog suggests 🙂 ).
For the last few years, I’ve been advocating for games and play as essential parts of culture, particularly in a library context. (For an outline of why I hold this view, read this series I wrote for the International Games Day @ your library blog.) I’ve also been exploring new opportunities for libraries in the online world, moving from the old one-way, broadcast models of publishing to more two-way, networked one. And I’ve been writing and designing for games, both electronic and tabletop.
If you need to contact me, I’m available via Gmail – I’m euchronic there.
I’ve been happily working in the background, but it’s getting to the point where I need a central online location for all my various bits and bobs so people can find me easily. So here it is! More to come soon.
I’ve presented at numerous conferences, conventions, and library services; those with public links are:
VALA 2012
Cracking ‘the hard nut’: creative approaches to teen and adult literacy
Connecting the dots: people, libraries and technology
Penny Arcade Expo 2013
Upcoming APILI conference
I’ve also written a paper on libraries in the age of interactivity, which touches on questions of play but focuses more on the structural role of libraries.
I’ve had blog posts selected as weekly Feature posts on game designer site Gamasutra.
In 2011, I was instrumental in getting the ALA to recognise that its National Gaming Day @ your library was in fact an International Games Day @ your library, in 2012 I founded the Global Gossip Game to link libraries worldwide for the event, and in 2013 I ran the IGD@yl blog and took the GGG to all seven continents.
I’ve been a consultant to various games companies on working with libraries to share their games with audiences. I also do freelance creative writing and worldbuilding work; in the last couple of years I’ve contributed to numerous tabletop RPG books, including an Adventure Path, half-a-dozen Player Companions and the Bestiary 4 for Paizo Publishing’s Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
I’ve been a consultant to libraries around games, as an important part of culture in themselves, as the basis for interesting new forms of literature, as tools for promoting both traditional and new modes of literacy, as promotional tools to bring people into the library, and as a simple source of fun. Most notably, I prepared a Games & Interactivity Strategy for Melbourne Library Service around their new Docklands Library (opening in mid-2014).
I’m a contact point for library e-Game lending – I’ve been advocating for a few years now that libraries need to work with vendors (I particularly recommend Valve Software’s Steam product) to develop an e-lending solution for electronic games, and one of my current projects is acting as a central clearinghouse for people interested in that prospect.
And I’m currently beginning the work of establishing APILI, an institution that will be to play and games what the National Library of Australia is to the archived written word, ACMI is to the moving image, and the National Gallery is to the visual arts… only with key parts of its work being (a) more fun and (b) more readily accessible through local communities’ own libraries and schools.
Here’s my standard intro blurb if you need it:
Trained in history, literature, classics and archaic languages, Philip Minchin has worked in publishing, arts production, NGO governance and campaigning, and library IT in Melbourne, Australia. There he got interested in the evolving relationships between libraries, communities, games, interactivity, systems and UI design. He now presents and consults to libraries on these issues, helping to develop games & interactivity strategies that blend the best of old and new media to support intelligent, literate engagement across the full range of modern culture. He also writes game content for Open Design and Paizo Publishing, among others, and volunteers for International Games Day @ your library (Saturday November 15 in 2014) – including running the Global Gossip Game, a not-so-little exercise in information theory and silly community-building fun.
GeneralAPILI, Games, intro blurb, libraries, Welcome
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North Penn girls’ lacrosse team gives back by delivering baked goods to people in need
Wednesday, 30th December 2009
Categories Features, Girl's/Women's, High School
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/30/09
Courtesy of SuburbanOneSports.com
If the North Penn girls’ lacrosse team was looking for a way to catch the true spirit of Christmas, it recently found it.
Two Saturdays ago – the day of the year’s major snowstorm – the Maidens’ players and coaches took part in a community service project for those less fortunate when they delivered baked goods to Manna on Main Street in Lansdale. Manna is a soup kitchen and food cupboard that provides services to those in need.
“(Coach Jami) Wilus and Pops (assistant coach Joe Wilus) came up the idea of contributing not just on the field but off the field as well,” senior Brittany Hanrahan said.
Jami Wilus said she wants her players to learn the value of service.
“Our team has become such a family,” the Maidens’ coach sai d. “Lacrosse is very important, but we want to teach our players there are other things in life, and there are people who are less fortunate.”
The idea was discussed last fall, and when plans to initiate a service project for Thanksgiving fell through, the players opted to do a Christmas project instead. “We knew we wanted to do something as a team to give back to the community,” senior Halie Lear said.
Joe Wilus, the Maidens’ goalie coach, made the initial contact with Manna on Main Street..
“They said around the holidays they have a lot of help, but they were in need of desserts for Christmas dinner,” coach Jami Wilus said. “We ran it by the girls, and they seemed enthusiastic, but we weren’t sure how they would follow through.”
While “Pops” coordinated the project, the seniors assumed a leadership role.
“We sent out an e-mail saying we wanted to do something as a team,” Lear said. “Anyone willing who wanted to could help out.”
Wilus promised Manna on Main Street that her team would come up with 10-15 desserts. They did much better than that, delivering between 20 and 25.
“It was really cold, and I didn’t think a lot of people would be able to come because of the snow, but everyone showed up,” Lear said. “They didn’t have enough room to keep all our stuff in the house, so we had to put it in the church next door. It was really fun. We knew we were helping out.”
The wide array of desserts included different types of cookies, pies and cakes.
“We had just about everything you could imagine,” Hanrahan said. “A lot of the girls baked what they liked the most.
“Someone made Italian cookies, and one of the underclassmen baked this huge apple pie. It wasn’t just little Christmas cookies and Santa things – everyone came up with their own thing that they love, and they just contributed.”
Sometimes, according to Wilus, it’s the things that happen off the field that set the stage for a team’s success on the field.
“You lose seniors, and your first thought is, ‘Okay, we need to fill this position and that position,’ but sometimes it’s more about off the field stuff and building chemistry and bonding as a team,” Wilus said.
The underclassmen on this year’s squad have had the opportunity to watch the seniors initiate a service project that turned out to be every bit as gratifying as winning a lacrosse game.
“It was great doing something as a team that we knew would help the community and also bring us together as a team,” Lear said.
“We were really excited to be able to give back to such a good cause,” Hanrahan said. “It made us feel really good that we could help other people in the community, and it was so perfect with the snow falling.”
It also made Christmas just a little bit better for everyone involved.
For all the news on the Suburban One League, log onto www.suburbanonesports.com
Tags: North Penn
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 7:28 pm and is filed under Features, Girl's/Women's, High School. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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India’s First TISC in Punjab | PIB Summary
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, signed an Institutional agreement with the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology in New Delhi today to establish India’s first Technology and Innovation Support Centre (TISC) at Patent Information Centre, Punjab, under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program.
The objective of the Technology and Innovation Support Centre is to stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and innovation, thereby promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing social, economic and cultural development by establishing a network of Technology and Innovation Support Centres in India.
Services offered by Technology and Innovation Support Centre include
Access to online patent and non-patent (scientific and technical) resources and IP-related publications;
Assistance in searching and retrieving technology information;
Training in database search;
On-demand searches (novelty, state-of-the-art and infringement);
Monitoring technology and competitors;
Basic information on industrial property laws, management and strategy, and technology commercialization and marketing.
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) is designated as the National Focal Point for the TISC national network.
As the national focal point, CIPAM shall identify potential host institutions, assess their capacities and support them in joining the TISC program.
CIPAM will also act as the main intermediary between WIPO and TISC host institutions and coordinate all the activities of the national TISC network.
WIPO’s Technology and Innovation Support Centre program provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect, and manage their Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).
Over 500 Technology and Innovation Support Centres operate worldwide and establishing TISC in India will give the host institutions an access to the global network. In upcoming years, CIPAM is planning to establish TISCs in Universities, State Science Councils, R&D institutions etc. TISC will give an impetus to knowledge sharing, sharing of best practices among the TISCs, capacity building, generation and commercialization of IPs.
Cruise Tourism Reforms
The Ministry of Shipping, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism, has announced reforms to the regulatory processes governing the Cruise Tourism industry in the country.
Objective – Cruise Tourism
The objective is to revolutionize this industry which has a high employment generation potential, by simplifying the rules and procedures pertaining to various aspects of cruise port operations like security, immigration, and customs.
The promotion of cruise tourism requires not just improvement in infrastructure but also uniformity, transparency and predictability in the procedures followed by multiple government organizations. In other words, Ease of Doing Business is critical for the success of cruise tourism.
Details – Cruise Tourism
The reforms are based on the recommendations of a global consultant engaged by the Ministry to draw up an Action Plan for providing a customer friendly and hassle free logistics process for the cruise tourism industry and develop an enabling ecosystem necessary to promote and sustain cruise shipping in India.
Recommendations of consultant to streamline Cruise Tourism
Single window system for all pre cruise requirements for cruise operators like entry of vehicles, personnel and guides electronically doing away with checking of registration, license papers of vehicle at each time.
Create a separate dedicated approach road and entrance to the cruise terminals.
A uniform and consistent security procedures by CISF at all ports.
Providing adequate security and access to the port for passenger over-night and visiting local venues.
No face to face check after dis-embarking formalities.
Security checks for embarking passengers would be done only once.
Joint collaboration between the Bureau of Immigration and CISF and redesign the existing procedure to give a pleasant experience to the cruise tourists visiting India.
Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) to be framed for training and education of the personnel carrying out the process for better handling of passengers.
Use of technology for clearances, providing passenger manifest to CISF and doing away with manual time consuming process.
Implementation of green lane/red lane at existing terminals with random custom checking as is done in the airport.
Declaration of only limited items of inventory of the cruise ships in place of the existing requirement of having the complete inventory for all the stocks in the ship.
A committee has been set up to work out the modalities and requirements for implementing the above recommendations in a time bound manner.
Creative India Innovative India Scheme
Taking forward the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016, a Scheme for IPR Awareness – Creative India Innovative India was launched by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
Creative India Innovative India | Details
The Scheme aims at raising IPR awareness amongst students, youth, authors, artists, budding inventors and professionals to inspire them to create, innovate and protect their creations and inventions across India including Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 cities as well as rural areas in the next 3 years.
The Scheme for IPR Awareness aims to conduct over 4000 IPR awareness workshops/seminars in academic institutions (schools and colleges) and the industry,including MSMEs and Start-ups, as also IP training and sensitization programmes for enforcement agencies and the judiciary.
Workshops will cover all vital IP topics including international filing procedures, promotion of Geographical Indications and highlighting the ill effects of piracy and counterfeiting.
The Scheme for IPR Awareness would be implemented through partner organizations to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
Highlights of National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, 2016
The new policy calls for providing financial support to the less empowered groups of IP owners or creators such as farmers, weavers and artisans through financial institutions like rural banks or co-operative banks offering IP-friendly loans.
The work done by various ministries and departments will be monitored by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), which will be the nodal department to coordinate, guide and oversee implementation and future development of IPRs in India.
The policy, with a tagline of Creative India: Innovative India, also calls for updating various intellectual property laws, including the Indian Cinematography Act, to remove anomalies and inconsistencies in consultation with stakeholders.
For supporting financial aspects of IPR commercialisation, it asks for financial support to develop IP assets through links with financial institutions, including banks, VC funds, angel funds and crowd-funding mechanisms.
To achieve the objective of strengthening enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms to combat IPR infringements, it called for taking actions against attempts to treat generic drugs as spurious or counterfeit and undertake stringent measures to curb manufacture and sale of misbranded, adulterated and spurious drugs.
The policy will be reviewed after every five years to keep pace with further developments in the sector.
IPR friendly loans to less empowered groups like artisans, weavers etc.
Motivating industries to use CSR funds to support IP development.
Income Tax Tribunal Reforms | Live Mint
The Income Tax Tribunal (ITAT) is the first independent forum where tax disputes are examined and where excesses of the state, if any, are remedied. In 2016, the Comptroller and Auditor general of India reported that 32,834 disputes were pending at the ITAT level, with Rs 1,35,984 crore of disputed amount.
Income Tax Tribunal | Draft 2017 ITAT rules
The draft 2017 ITATrules seek to make the tribunal more time-efficient by limiting the number of times a hearing can be adjourned.
The draft rules also include provisions to ensure that time-sensitive matters are dealt with swiftly: stay applications must be listed the same week they are filed and disposed of within a few days after hearing; and rectification petitions have to be heard within four weeks of filing.
It also seeks to incorporate modern technology into the daily functioning of the ITATby allowing e-filing of appeals, communication of notices, pronouncements and adjournments via e-mail and text messages, and carrying out hearings through video-conferencing.
Income Tax Tribunal | Amendments
Perhaps the biggest problem with the way ITAT benches currently function is the delay in timelines. This is a serious problem given that the ITAT is not the first level at which a tax dispute is raised. The proposals relating to adjournments stay applications and rectification petitions will go some way towards improving this situation. However, there are ambiguities in the draft rules regarding the sitting of the benches which could lead to the status quo continuing.
The draft rules, despite providing a limit of five adjournments, permit benches nonetheless to accept more adjournments at their discretion without providing any criteria for this. Even when it comes to the timelines for rectification petitions, the current draft rule only includes a time frame for hearing the petition, not disposing it off.
The rules also allow the ITAT to remand cases for adjudication as a whole to lower authorities, which high courts have previously held to cause severe prejudice to the parties, and urged against at all costs.
Income Tax Tribunal | Suggestions for improvement
The rules should ensure that the present ambiguities are ironed out by specifying detailed timings for the ITAT and ways of enforcing them, providing more detail on the number of adjournments and reasons for these, providing a time frame for disposal of rectification petitions, and preventing benches from remanding cases entirely to lower authorities, or, in the alternative that they be exercised only in exceptional cases and with time limits.
The committee has an opportunity to truly reimagine the ITAT by introducing the principles of case-flow management in the rules. Different kinds of cases currently take on an average the same duration of time to be disposed. An empirical study should be carried out to develop disposal timelines, and limit the number of cases listed per day (some benches have listed more than 100 cases per day) to minimize adjournments.
An empirical study should be carried out to develop disposal timelines, and limit the number of cases listed per day (some benches have listed more than 100 cases per day) to minimize adjournments.
The hearing process could also be streamlined by requiring the parties to engage in a pre-hearing meeting to determine a schedule for hearings.
The ITAT should also consider publishing periodic reports about its functioning. This will provide a valuable resource for reinforcing trust in the institution by allowing for introspection within the institution and feedback from the public.
The redrafting of the rules provides an opportunity for the ITAT to demonstrate its ability to be one of the leading dispute-resolution forums in India and take the lead in introducing global best practices in the Indian judiciary. Whether they will take up this challenge remains to be seen.
National Biopharma Mission
The first ever Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in India will be formally launched in New Delhi on 30th June 2017.
Details | Biopharma
The program named Innovate in India (i3) will witness an investment of USD 250 million with USD 125 million as a loan from World Bank and is anticipated to be a game changer for the Indian Biopharmaceutical industry.
It aspires to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the sector.
i3 is committed to addressing these gaps with a Mission to make India a hub for design and development of novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products and solutions.
The Mission to be implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Undertaking of Department of Biotechnology will bring together expertise from national and international corridors to provide strategic guidance and direction to move promising solutions through the product development value chain.
Aim | Biopharma
The aim of the Mission is to “Enable and nurture an ecosystem for preparing India’s technological and product development capabilities in biopharmaceuticals to a level that will be globally competitive over the next decade, and transform the health standards of India’s population through affordable product development”
Significance | Biopharma
As a flagship program of the Government of India in collaboration with World Bank, it promises to boost the growth curve for domestic biopharma in India by accelerating the translation of research concepts into viable products, supporting clinical validation, enabling sustainable networks for collaboration between industry and academia, and supporting entrepreneurial ecosystem amongst many others. Currently India has only 2.8% share in the global biopharmaceutical market, the program would elevate this to 5% resulting in an additional business opportunity of 16 Billion USD.
The Mission will provide a holistic and integrated approach to strengthen and support the entire product development value chain for accelerating the research leads to product development. This will help not only in immediate product development addressing public health needs, but will also help to create an ecosystem which will facilitate development of a continuous pipeline of products.
Posted on July 4, 2017 April 22, 2019
Disinvestment of Air India CPSE
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to fourth tranche recommendations of NITI Aayog on strategic disinvestment of CPSE (strategic disinvestment of Air India and five of its subsidiaries) based on the recommendations of Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD).
‘In principle’ approval for considering strategic Air India disinvestment and five of its subsidiaries.
Constitution of an Air India-specific Alternative Mechanism headed by Minister of Finance including Minister for Civil Aviation and such other Minister(s) to guide the process on strategic disinvestment from time to time and decide the following –
Treatment of unsustainable debt of Air India;
Hiving off of certain assets to a shell company;
Demerger and strategic disinvestment of three profit-making subsidiaries;
The quantum of disinvestment; and
The universe of bidders.
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'Make In India' In Government Procurement
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved a policy for providing preference to ‘Make in India’ in government procurements.
The new policy will give a substantial boost to domestic manufacturing and service provision, thereby creating employment.
It will also stimulate the flow of capital and technology into domestic manufacturing and services.
It will also provide a further thrust towards the manufacture of parts, components, sub-components etc. of these items, in line with the vision of ‘Make in India’.
The new policy is the reflection of the Government of India to encourage ‘Make in India’ and promote manufacturing and production of goods and services in India with a view to enhancing income and employment.
Procurement by the Government is substantial in amount and can contribute towards this policy objective. Local content can be increased through partnerships, cooperation with local companies, establishing production units in India or Joint Ventures (JV) with Indian suppliers, increasing the participation of local employees in services and by training them.
The policy will be implemented through an Order pursuant to Rule 153(iii) of the General Financial Rules, 2017 to provide purchase preference (linked with local content) in Government procurements.
Under the policy, preference in Government procurement will be given to local suppliers. Local suppliers are those whose goods or services meet prescribed minimum thresholds (ordinarily 50%) for local content. Local content is essentially domestic value addition.
In the procurement of goods for Rs. 50 lakhs and less, and where the Nodal Ministry determines that there are sufficient local capacity and local competition, only local suppliers will be eligible.
For procurements valued at more than Rs. 50 lakhs (or where there is insufficient local capacity/ competition) if the lowest bid is not from a non-local supplier, the lowest-cost local supplier who is within a margin of 20% of the lowest bid, will be given the opportunity to match the lowest bid. If the procurement is of a type that the order can be divided and given to more than one supplier, the non-local supplier who is the lowest bidder will get half of the order and the local supplier will get the other half if it agrees to match the price of the lowest bid. If the procurement cannot be divided, then the lowest cost local supplier will be given the order if it agrees to match the lowest bid.
Small purchases of less than Rs.5 lakhs are exempted. The order also covers autonomous bodies, government companies/ entities under the government’s control.
The policy also requires that specifications in tenders must not be restrictive e.g. should not require proof of supply in other countries or proof of exports in respect of previous experience. They must not result in the unreasonable exclusion of local suppliers who would otherwise be eligible, beyond what is essential for ensuring quality or creditworthiness of the supplier.
The policy lays down a procedure for verification of local content relying primarily on self-certification. There will be penal consequences for false declarations. In some cases, verification by statutory / cost auditors etc. will be required.
A Standing Committee in Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion will oversee the implementation of this order and issues arising therefrom, and make recommendations to Nodal Ministries and procuring entities.
The policy has been developed keeping in view the core principles of procurement including competitiveness and adhering to sound procurement practices and execution of orders. The policy would continue to maintain the balance between promoting ‘Make in India’ and ensuring timely, value-for-money products for the procuring entities.
Make In India Gets Metro Boost: Click Here to Read the Article
Restructuring Plan For Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a restructuring plan for Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd. (HOCL), a loss-making and sick Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals.
About the company | Hindustan Organic Chemicals
The company, having units at Rasayani (Maharashtra) and Kochi (Kerala), has been making continuous cash losses since 2011-12 resulting in acute shortage of working capital.
Most of its plants have remained shut down during the last few years. It could not pay regular salary and statutory dues to the employees since February 2015.
Restructuring | Hindustan Organic Chemicals
The restructuring plan involves closing down the operations of all the non-viable plants at Rasayani unit of HOCL except Di-Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4) plant which is to be transferred to ISRO on ‘as is where is’ basis, with about 20 acres of land and employees associated with the plant.
The N2O4 plant is of strategic importance as it is the only indigenous source of N2O4 which is used as liquid rocket propellant by ISRO in the space launch vehicles.
Financial implications | Hindustan Organic Chemicals
Financial implications of the plan isRs. 1008.67 crore (cash) which is to be met partly from the sale of 442 acres HOCL land at Rasayani to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (Rs.618.80 crore) and the balance (Rs.365.26 crore) through the bridge loan from the Govt.
The funds will be used to liquidate the various liabilities of the company, including payment of outstanding salary and statutory dues of employees and repayment of Govt. guaranteed bonds of Rs.250 crores due for redemption in Aug.-Sept. 2017.
The bridge loan amount, along with other Govt. liabilities of the company, is proposed to be repaid to the Govt. from the disposal of remaining unencumbered land and other assets of Rasayani unit.
Impact | Hindustan Organic Chemicals
Implementation of the restructuring plan will enable HOCL to close down the operations of non – viable plants at Rasayani unit while transferring the strategically important N2O4 plant to ISRO to ensure continuity of manufacture and supply of N2O4 for ISRO’s space program. Interest and welfare of employees will be addressed by payment of all their outstanding salary dues.
Disposal of land assets, initially through the sale of 442 acres to BPCL and subsequently of the remaining unencumbered land, will unlock the land assets for being redeployed for economically productive investments and thereby creating new employment generation opportunities.
Boost To Transform Domestic Nuclear Industry
In a significant decision to fast-track India’s domestic nuclear power program, and give a push to country’s nuclear industry, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for construction of 10 units of India’s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). The total installed capacity of the Plants will be 7000 MW. The 10 PHWR project will result in a significant augmentation of nuclear power generation capacity.
Focus – Cabinet approves construction of 10 units of India’s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR)
India has current installed nuclear power capacity of 6780 MW from 22 operational plants.
Another 6700 MWs of nuclear power is expected to come on-stream by 2021-22 through projects presently under construction.
In a first of its kind project for India’s nuclear power sector, the ten new units will come up in the fleet mode as a fully home-grown initiative. It would be one of the flagship “Make in India” projects in this sector.
With likely manufacturing orders of close to 70,000 crores to the domestic industry, the project will help transform Indian nuclear industry by linking our goal of a strong nuclear power sector with our indigenous industrial capacities in high-end technologies.
This Project will bring about substantial economies of scale and maximize cost and time efficiencies by adopting fleet mode for execution. It is expected to generate more than 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment. With manufacturing orders to domestic industry, it will be a major step towards strengthening India’s credentials as a major nuclear manufacturing powerhouse.
The ten reactors will be part of India’s latest design of 700 MW PHWR fleet with state-of-art technology meeting the highest standards of safety.
The approval also marks a statement of strong belief in the capability of India’s scientific community to build our technological capacities. The design and development of this project is a testament to the rapid advances achieved by India’s nuclear scientific community and industry. It underscores the mastery our nuclear scientists have attained over all aspects of indigenous PHWR technology. India’s record of building and operating PHWR reactors over the last nearly forty years is globally acclaimed.
The Cabinet’s decision reflects the Government’s commitment to prioritize the use of clean power in India’s energy mix, as part of low-carbon growth strategy and to ensure long-term base load requirement for the nation’s industrialization.
It also supports India’s commitment to sustainable development, energy self-sufficiency and bolsters global efforts to combat climate change.
Tax Treaty Related Measures | PIB Summary
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.
The Convention is an outcome of the OECD / G20 BEPS Project to tackle base erosion and profit shifting through tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity, resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid.
The Final BEPS Project identified 15 actions to address BEPS in a comprehensive manner. Implementation of the Final BEPS Package requires changes to more than 3000 bilateral tax treaties which will be burdensome and time-consuming.
In view of the same, the Convention was conceived as a Multilateral Instrument which would swiftly modify all covered bilateral tax treaties (Covered Tax Agreements / CTA) to implement BEPS measures.
For this purpose, the formation of an Ad-hoc Group for the development of such multilateral instrument was endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in February 2015.
India was part of the Ad Hoc Group of more than 100 countries and jurisdictions from G20, OECD, BEPS associates and other interested countries, which worked on an equal footing on the finalization of the text of the Multilateral Convention, starting May 2015.
The Convention implements two minimum standards relating to prevention of treaty abuse and dispute resolution through Mutual Agreement Procedure.
The Convention will not function in the same way as an Amending Protocol to a single existing treaty, which would directly amend the text of the Covered Tax Agreements. Instead, it will be applied alongside existing tax treaties, modifying their application in order to implement the BEPS measures.
The Convention ensures consistency and certainty in the implementation of the BEPS Project in a multilateral context.
The Convention also provides flexibility to exclude a specific tax treaty and to opt out of provisions or parts of provisions through the making of reservations.
The Signing of the Multilateral Convention will enable the application of BEPS outcomes through modification of existing tax treaties of India in a swift manner.
It is also in India’s interest to ensure that all its treaty partners adopt the BEPS anti-abuse outcomes.
The Signing of the Convention will enable curbing of revenue loss through treaty abuse and base erosion and profit shifting strategies by ensuring that profits are taxed where substantive economic activities generating the profits are carried out and where the value is created.
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The Strongman
About Park Jung Hee
Developmental Dictatorship
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Developmental Dictatorship and Yushin Regime
“There must be certain levels of economic and social development, before establishing democracy” (Park, 1979, p. 42).
“We may accept Western rationalism, but not the ills of individualism; we may accept the concept of the rule of law, but not strict formalism” (Park, 1979, p. 65)
Effect on Population
Poster for the October Yushin Regime, emphasizing a "fruitful tomorrow" ($10 billion of exports, $1000 gross Income) and developed rural areas (farmland)
President Park’s developmental dictatorship showed the combined characteristics of political dictatorship and accelerated industrialization.
Because industrialization was, in effect, accepted as the route by which the Korean people’s desire for modernization could be achieved, extraordinarily long working hours and appalling working conditions became the norm, and state support of the chaebols met with the general acceptance of the populace. To maintain a minimum level of political support, the regime needed to find some level of compromise with the wishes of the people or at least appear to be conceding to them. The “Growth first, distribution later” slogan was a prime example of the government dividing political and economic assignment across a time frame.
In peoples’ minds a national consensus to build a self-supporting economy and break free from poverty was formed. With this positive cycle as a background in South Korea, the labor force and the wider general public were able to maintain a positive outlook on the future. The Korean people recognized that with an economic structure so heavily dependent on foreign aid, they could not realize a self-supporting economy. For this they needed heavy and chemical industries that could be fostered not by the free market, but only by strong government intervention and support.
Thanks to the recent changes the Korean people began to appreciate the importance of establishing a self-supporting economy. According to the self-supporting economy and intensive industrialization strategy, the military government consistently fostered the heavy chemical industry subsequent to the 5-Year Economic Development Plan.
Scholars Debate: Brutal Dictatorship or Great Leadership
Professor Lee Joung-woo, Harvard University
"Attempts should not be made to validate the argument that the long dark shadows cast over the Korean people during the developmental period were an inevitable consequence of leading the country onto the right path. Although industrialization was successful, the dictatorial regime used it as a means of consolidating its Cold War ideology of anti-communism, reinforcing its political power, and aggravating the hostile confrontations between the South and the North on the Korean peninsula. The flower of the so-called miracle on the Han River bloomed amidst the compounded tragedies of national division, political oppression, popular revolt, and the Cold War" (Lee. 2003).
Ko Song-guk 1980(ok)
"It is no exaggeration to say that developmental dictatorship is a core concept integrating the Korean experience of modernization in the era of extremes, as well as a key notion characterizing the Jung-hee Park regime. The conventional definition of developmental dictatorship is that it is “a system used to justify a dictatorship that restricts the people’s participation in politics based on the reason that political security is a prerequisite to economic growth” (Ko Song-guk 1980).
Edward 2003(ok)
"During the early years of military government there was an intellectual debate on national reconstruction. The Park administration concentrated on this issue and tried hard to gain the trust of the Korean people. His speeches inspired people to unite and fight against the poverty and sluggishness that had captured the nation for many years"
Mason 1980(ok)
In order to make the revolution for modernization possible and to create a sustainable growth regime for industrialization there needed to exist a dominant power bloc and a collective will. Park’s political regime was equipped with competent bureaucrats. To his relief, the developmental bloc was not like a predatory coalition that could have rendered detrimental outcomes for the general population. Instead, it formed an industrialist and protectionist partnership that helped the nation go into the global arena. Two key policies provided this success. One is the industrial policy of combining export promotion and import substitution. The second is the capital accumulation regime based on institutional forms called chaebols (Mason, 1980)
Pollster Yoon Hee-woong, Korea Society Opinion Institute
"It is as simple as that everybody won as a result of economic growth during the industrialization period. All socio-economic classes experienced their living standards going up. So there was no such thing as a winner-or-loser debate at the time"
Jaewon Choi, Andy Kwak, Albert Kim
Senior Website
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Book review: “A History of Loneliness” by John Boyne
Book review: Two very different books about the history of paper — “The Paper Trail: An Unexpected History of a Revolutionary Invention” by Alexander Monro and “Paper: Paging Through History” by Mark Kurlansky
Meditation: Haggling with God
John Boyne’s 2015 novel A History of Loneliness was a difficult book for me to read, mainly because it deals with the crimes of hundreds of pedophile priests who preyed on young boys and teens, but also because it is a flawed book.
Given the subject, I don’t think it is inappropriate for me to start this review with an apology.
I apologize to all the victims of molester-priests and their families. I am ashamed that these men corrupted their positions of trust in the Catholic Church. I am ashamed that hierarchical leaders of the Catholic Church turned a blind eye to their crimes for so long. I am ashamed that my church which teaches love, compassion, community and strength of character was the setting where these men carried out violence on innocent children.
These men sinned, and, because I am a member of a church in which they operated, I am a sinner, too.
These crimes, as committed by rogue priests in Ireland, are the subject of A History of Loneliness. Its central character is Father Odran Yates, He is not one of the pedophiles, but he goes through more than three decades of his priesthood ignoring all of the signs of what men he knew, including his best friend, were doing. Indeed, refusing to face his own one incident of being molested by a priest.
Boyne focuses tightly on Yates until, near the end of the book, he has a variety of characters, including victims, express their white-hot fury against the molesters and the Catholic Church.
This is the core of the book. It is an indictment.
A metaphor and a flaw
Boyne uses Yates as a metaphor for the Irish Catholic Church, and that, for me, is the central flaw of his novel.
Boyne isn’t writing about black and white questions, but about black and black people. There are the blackest — the pedophiles. But, then, also black are the bad priests and bad leaders, often enablers of the molesters. Similarly black are the priests such as Yates who refuse to see.
That’s the church world he has put on his pages.
This is clear from the beginning of A History of Loneliness, and it carries all the way through. And, certainly, all of these — the pedophiles, the enablers and the ignorers — have sinned greatly.
As the central character, Yates is far from attractive. Boyne gives him a back story in which his failed actor-father drowns a younger son and then swims out to his own death. He also gives him an infatuation with an Italian woman in Rome that involves a great deal of skulking and apparently little actual lust. And a connection with the short-lived Pope John Paul whose death after just a month in office is made, by Boyne, to look sinister.
Really, though, Yates is a milquetoast. He’s smart enough to be the one member of his seminary class who is sent to Rome to study, but he makes no use of the opportunity. Indeed, he makes little use of the opportunity to live, as opposed to get through, his life.
He is innocent of ambition. I use “innocent” on purpose here because, throughout the novel, he is described as “innocent” as in “clueless.” “Aimless” would also be a good word.
As a teen, he has a flirtation with a girl his age, but, really, he’s just letting it all happen to him. And, when his mother discovers them fooling around, it’s no loss to him not to see the girl again. And he’s fine — grand! — when his mother tells him that she’s had a vision that he is supposed to go into the seminary. Grand!
After ordination in Rome, he returns to Ireland, but doesn’t do parish work. Instead, he’s assigned to teach English and oversee the library at an elite high school where, for a quarter of a century, he is happy — and energetic — as a clam.
What I don’t agree with
I have been a Catholic for 66 years. I studied for nine years to be a Catholic priest, leaving the seminary four years short of ordination. (That celibacy thing, you know.)
I was never molested, but I did know priests who, later, were convicted of pedophilia.
It was wrong, it was sinful, it was evil for those priests and all the others to prey on young boys and teens, to use their positions of authority and trust to do violence to those children.
That’s Boyne’s indictment. And I agree with him.
What I don’t agree with is his depiction of the Catholic Church as an organization made up solely of predators and their enablers.
True, Boyne does mention in passing a couple of priests who seem to Yates to be good priests. But they are blips on the screen. Instead, there are craven bishops, and rapacious seminarians, and all those ordained pedophiles.
Doing priestly work
True, Boyne does make the central character a non-molester. Yet, as far as I can tell, he does little or no priestly ministry whatsoever, at least none that’s depicted.
Nowhere in A History of Loneliness is there an important or even secondary character — one with a few lines, at least — who is doing priestly work. Who is preaching. Who is counseling. Who is baptizing babies. Who is celebrating Mass. Who is celebrating a funeral.
OK, yes, there is one funeral Mass. It’s for Yates’ mother. Yates concelebrates iwith his best friend — the pedophile.
What I’m saying is that the Catholic Church of which I’m a member — for all the shame we all have for what the molester-priests have done — has many good men who are called Father.
There are good men who are compassionate activists for social justice, challenging and consoling preachers, nuanced spiritual guides and morally principled, warmly human people.
As Yates realizes — duh! — at the end of the novel, he isn’t one of these guys. He’s self-centered and afraid of life. A walking vacuum.
Yes, there are priests like that.
But I know a lot who aren’t.
I wish Boyne had found room for them in A History of Loneliness.
‘but about black and black people’ – don’t get this at all !!
That term “black and black people” is in contrast with “black and white questions.” It was perhaps inelegant, but I was trying to make a point that Boyne wasn’t seeing things in black and white. Normally, if you’re not seeing things in black and white, you’re seeing them in a more nuanced way….with all the gray shades. That’s good. In this case, though, I felt that Boyne went beyond the starkness of “this is a good guy” and “this is a bad guy” to paint everyone as a bad guy, everyone was black. That’s what I meant. I’m sorry it wasn’t clear. Pat
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Home / Education Tutors / Aiou Solved Assignments 1 & 2 code 402 Spring 2019
Tanveer March 2, 2019 Education Tutors Leave a comment 641 Views
AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 402 Spring 2019. Solved Assignments code 402 econimics 2019. Allama iqbal open university old papers.
Course: Economics
Code: 402 Level: B.A autumn 2018
Questions are may be some changed but answer are same.
Assignment No: 01
Q NO: 1 Explain different definitions of economics. Also differentiate micro and macroeconomics.
There are a variety of modern definitions of economics. Some of the differences may reflect evolving views of the subject itself or different views among economists.
The branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth.
The condition of a region or group as regards material prosperity.
-Ahmedul.
The earlier term for ‘economics’ was political economy. It is adapted from the French Mercantilist usage of économie politique, which extended economy from the ancient Greek term for household management to the national realm as public administration of the affairs of state. Sir James Steuart (1767) wrote the first book in English with ‘political economy’ in the title, explaining that just as:
Economy in general [is] the art of providing for all the wants of a family, [so the science of political economy] seeks to secure a certain fund of subsistence for all the inhabitants, to obviate every circumstance which may render it precarious; to provide every thing necessary for supplying the wants of the society, and to employ the inhabitants … in such manner as naturally to create reciprocal relations and dependencies between them, so as to supply one another with reciprocal wants.
Economics can be confusing and finding a clear definition of economics can be a challenge. Most simply put, economics is the analysis of how people use the resources that are available to them.
According to the American Economic Association, those resources include the time and talent people have available, the land, buildings, equipment and other tools on hand and the knowledge of how to combine them to create products and services.
Economics is the social science that studies the choices that individuals, businesses, governments, and entire societies make as they cope with scarcity and the incentives that influence and reconcile those choices.
The word ‘Economics’ originates from the Greek work ‘Oikonomikos’ which can be divided into two parts:
(a) ‘Oikos’, which means ‘Home’,
b) ‘Nomos’, which means ‘Management’. Thus, Economics means ‘Home Management’. The head of a family faces the problem of managing the unlimited wants of the family members within the limited income of the family. In fact, the same is true for a society also. If we consider the whole society as a ‘family’, then the society also faces the problem of tackling unlimited wants of the members of the society with the limited resources available in that society. Thus, Economics means the study of the way in which mankind organises itself to tackle the basic problems of scarcity. All societies have more wants than resources. Hence, a system must be devised to allocate these resources between competing ends.
Economics is the science that deals with production, exchange and consumption of various commodities in economic systems. It shows how scarce resources can be used to increase wealth and human welfare. The central focus of economics is on scarcity of resources and choices among their alternative uses. The resources or inputs available to produce goods are limited or scarce. This scarcity induces people to make choices among alternatives, and the knowledge of economics is used to compare the alternatives for choosing the best among them. For example, a farmer can grow paddy, sugarcane, banana, cotton etc. in his garden land. But he has to choose a crop depending upon the availability of irrigation water.
What’s the difference between microeconomics and macroeconomics?
Macroeconomics and microeconomics, and their wide array of underlying concepts, have been the subject of a great deal of writings. The field of study is vast; so here is a brief summary of what each covers. Microeconomics is generally the study of individuals and business decisions, while macroeconomics looks at higher up country and government decisions.
Microeconomics is the study of decisions that people and businesses make regarding the allocation of resources and prices of goods and services. This means also taking into account taxes and regulations created by governments. Microeconomics focuses on supply and demand and other forces that determine the price levels seen in the economy. For example, microeconomics would look at how a specific company could maximize its production and capacity, so that it could lower prices and better compete in its industry. (Find out more about microeconomics in How does government policy impact microeconomics?
Micro and Macro
While these two studies of economics appear to be different, they are actually interdependent and complement one another since there are many overlapping issues between the two fields. For example, increased inflation (macro effect) would cause the price of raw materials to increase for companies and in turn affect the end product’s price charged to the public.
Microeconomics takes what is referred to as a bottoms-up approach to analyzing the economy while macroeconomics takes a top-down approach. In other words, microeconomics tries to understand human choices and resource allocation, while macroeconomics tries to answer such questions as “What should the rate of inflation be?” or “What stimulates economic growth?”
Regardless, both micro- and macroeconomics provide fundamental tools for any finance professional and should be studied together in order to fully understand how companies operate and earn revenues and thus, how an entire economy is managed and sustained.
Microeconomics is the study of particular markets, and segments of the economy. It looks at issues such as consumer behaviour, individual labour markets, and the theory of firms.
Macro economics is the study of the whole economy. It looks at ‘aggregate’ variables, such as aggregate demand, national output and inflation.
Microeconomics vs. macroeconomics
The difference between micro and macro economics is simple. Microeconomics is the study of economics at an individual, group or company level. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, is the study of a national economy as a whole.
Microeconomics focuses on issues that affect individuals and companies. This could mean studying the supply and demand for a specific product, the production that an individual or business is capable of, or the effects of regulations on a business.
Macroeconomics focuses on issues that affect the economy as a whole. Some of the most common focuses of macroeconomics include unemployment rates, the gross domestic product of an economy, and the effects of exports and imports.
Does this make sense? While both fields of economics often use the same principles and formulas to solve problems, microeconomics is the study of economics at a far smaller scale, while macroeconomics is the study of large-scale economic issues.
Aiou Solved Assignments code 402 Autumn 2018
Q NO: 2 (a) Explain the measurement of utility and its different concepts.
(b) What are the assumption and exceptions for law of diminishing marginal utility.
What are the different ways that utility is measured in economics?
It’s difficult to measure a qualitative concept such as utility, but economists try to quantify it in two different ways: cardinal utility and ordinal utility. Both of these values are imperfect, but they provide an important foundation for studying consumer choice.
In economics, utility simply means the satisfaction that a consumer experiences from a product or service. Utility is an important factor in decision-making and product choice, but it presents a problem for economists trying to incorporate it into microeconomics models. Utility varies among consumers for the same product, and it can be influenced by other factors, such as price and the availability of alternatives.
Cardinal utility is the assignment of a numerical value to utility. Models that incorporate cardinal utility use the theoretical unit of utility, the util, in the same way that any other measurable quantity is used. In other words, a basket of bananas might give a consumer a utility of 10, while a basket of mangoes might give a utility of 20.
The downside to cardinal utility is that there is no fixed scale to work from. The idea of 10 utils is meaningless in and of itself, and the factors that influence the number might vary widely from one consumer to the next. If another consumer gives bananas a util value of 15, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he likes bananas 50% than the first consumer. The implication is that there is no way to compare utility between consumers.
One important concept related to cardinal utility the law of diminishing marginal utility, which states that at a certain point every extra unit of a good will provide less and less utility. While a consumer might assign his first basket of bananas a value of 10 utils, after several baskets the additional utility of each new basket might decline significantly. The values that are assigned to each additional basket can be used to find the point at which utility is maximized or to estimate a customer’s demand curve.
An alternative way to measure utility is the concept of ordinal utility, which uses rankings instead of values. The benefit is that the subjective differences between products and between consumers are eliminated and all that remains are the ranked preferences. One consumer might like mangoes more than bananas, and another might prefer bananas over mangoes. These are comparable, if subjective, preferences.
Utility is used in the development of indifference curves, which represent the combination of two products that a certain consumer values equally and independently of price. For example, a consumer might be equally happy with three bananas and one mango or one banana and two mangoes. These are thus two points on the consumer’s indifference curve.
What is the concept of utility in microeconomics?
Utility is a loose and controversial topic in microeconomics. Generally speaking, utility refers to the degree of removed discomfort or perceived satisfaction that an individual receives from an economic act. For example, a consumer purchases a hamburger to stop the discomfort of hunger and to enjoy eating.
All economists would agree that the consumer has gained utility by eating the hamburger. Most economists would agree that human beings are, by nature, utility maximizing agents; human beings choose between one act or another based on each act’s expected utility. The controversial part comes in the application and measurement of utility.
Cardinal and Ordinal Utility
The development of utility theory begins as a logical deduction. Voluntary transactions only occur because the trading parties anticipate a benefit (ex ante); the transaction wouldn’t happen otherwise. In economics, “benefit” means receiving more utility.
Economists also say that human beings rank their activities based on utility. A laborer chooses to go to work rather than skip it because he anticipates his long-run utility to be greater as a result. A consumer who chooses to eat an apple rather than an orange must value the apple more highly, and thus anticipates more utility from it.
The ranking of utility is known as ordinal utility. It is not a controversial topic; however, most microeconomic models also use cardinal utility, which refers to measurable, directly comparable levels of utility.
Cardinal utility is measured in utils to transform the logical to the empirical. Ordinal utility might say that, ex ante, the consumer prefers the apple to the orange. Cardinal utility might say that the apple provides 80 utils while the orange only provides 40 utils.
Even though no economist truly believes that utility can be measured this way, some still consider utility a useful tool in microeconomics. Cardinal utility places individuals on utility curves and can track declines in marginal utility across time. Microeconomics also performs interpersonal comparisons with cardinal utility.
Other economists argue that no meaningful analysis can come out of imaginary numbers, and that cardinal utility – and utils is logically incoherent.
Question No.3:-
What is meant by point elasticity and arc-elasticity? Explain with the help of diagram and formula
With the increase in price of tomato from Rs 50 per kg to Rs. 100 per kg in blue market, the demand for tomato has gone down from Rs. 40 per kg to Rs. 30 per kg. Calculate the demand elasticity.
Answer:-
When calculating elasticity of demand there is two possible ways:
Point elasticity of demand takes the elasticity of demand at a particular point on a curve (or between two points)
Arc elasticity measures elasticity at the mid point between the two selected points:
Point Elasticity
Formula for point elasticity of demand is:
PED= % Δ Q / Q
-% Δ P / P
To get more precision, you can use calculus and measure an infinitesimal change in Q and Price ( where ð = very small change) This is the slope of the demand curve at that particular point in time.
Arc Elasticity
Arc elasticity measures the midpoint between the two selected points:
Example of Difference between Point and Arc Elasticity A to B
Point elasticity A to B
Quantity increase from 200 to 300 = 100/200 = 50%
Price falls from 4 to 3 = 1/4 = -25%
Therefore PED = 50/ -25 = – 2.0
Mid Point Elasticity A to B
Mid point of Q = (200+300) / 2 = 250
Mid Point of P = (3+4) / 2 = 3.5
Q % = (100/250) = 40%
P % = 1/3.5 = 28.57
PED = 40/-28.57 = – 1.4
(or ( 3.5/250) * 100/1 = – 1.4)
Using Arc elasticity of demand
we get a different elasticity of demand
Firstly we find the midpoint of Q and P. For Q This is (10+20)/2. For P this is 1(0+5)/2 = 7.5
QD = 10/15 = 66% increase in quantity
Price = 5/7.5 = 66% fall in price.
Therefore PED = 66/66 = 1.0 This explains why the revenue remained the same.
Elasticity and Revenue
The thing with a straight line is that the elasticity varies. At the top left, quantity is showing a big % increase, compared to price.
Therefore, it makes a big difference whether we use point elasticity of arc elasticity.
Price Elasticity of demand = % change in Q.D. / % change in Price
Calculating a %
The price increases from Rs. 50 to Rs 100. Therefore % change = 50/ 50 = 1
1 = 100% (0.1 *100)
Quantity fell by 10 / 40 = – 0.25 (25%)
Therefore PED = 25 / – 1
Therefore PED = -25
Therefore Demand is elastic. Elastic demand occurs when % change in Quantity is greater than % change in price; when PED >1
Differentiate between average cost and marginal cost with the help of a table and diagram
Differentiate between the concepts of average revenue and marginal revenue in case of perfect competition and imperfect competition with the help of a table and diagrams.
A producer or seller of good is also very much concerned with the demand for a good, because revenue obtained by him from selling the good depends mainly upon the demand for the good.
He is, therefore, interested in knowing what sort of demand curve faces him. The demand curve of the consumers for a product is the average revenue curve from the standpoint of the sellers, since the price paid by the consumers is revenue of the sellers.
Average Revenue:
Price paid by the consumer for the product forms the revenue or income of the seller. The whole income received by the seller from selling a given amount of the product is called total revenue. If a seller sells 15 units of a product at price Rs. 10 per unit and obtains Rs. 150 from this sale, then his total revenue is Rs. 150.
Thus total revenue can be obtained from multiplying the quantity of output sold by the market price of the product (P.Q). On the other hand, average revenue is revenue earned per unit of output. Average revenue can be obtained by dividing the total revenue by the number of units sold. Thus,
Average revenue = total revenue/total output sold
AR = TR/Q
Where AR stands for average revenue, TR for total revenue and Q for total output produced and sold. In our above example, when total revenue Q equal to Rs. 150 is received from selling 15 units of the product, the average revenue will be equal to Rs. 150/15 = Rs. 10. Rs. 10 is here the revenue earned per unit of output.
Marginal Revenue:
On the other hand, marginal revenue is the net revenue earned by selling an additional unit of the product. In other words, marginal revenue is the addition made to the total revenue by selling one more unit of a commodity. Putting it in algebraic expression, marginal revenue is the addition made to total revenue by selling n units of a product instead of n – 1 where n is any given number.
If a producer sells 10 units of a product at price Rs. 15 per unit, he will get Rs. 150 as the total revenue. If he now increases his sales of the product by one unit and sells 11 units, suppose the price falls to Rs. 14 per unit. He will, therefore, obtain total revenue of Rs. 154 from the sale of 11 units of the good. This means that 11th unit of output has added Rs. 4 to the total revenue. Hence Rs. 4 is here the marginal revenue.
Total revenue when 10 units are sold at price of Rs. 15 = 10 x 15 =Rs. 150
Total revenue when 11 units are sold at price of Rs. 14 = 11 x 14 = Rs. 154
Marginal revenue = 154- 150 = Rs. 4
The word net in the first definition of marginal revenue given above is worth noting. The full understanding of the word ‘net’ in the definition will reveal why the marginal revenue is not equal to the price. The question is, taking our above numerical example, why the marginal revenue due to the 11th unit is not equal to the price of Rs. 14 at which the 11th unit is sold. The answer is that the 10 units which were sold at the price of Rs. 15 before will now all have to be sold at the reduced price of Rs. 14 per unit.
This will mean the loss of one rupee on each of the previous 10 units and total loss on the previous 10 units due to price fall will be equal to Rs. 10. The loss in revenue incurred on the previous units occurs because the sale of additional 11th unit reduces the price to Rs. 14 for all.
Average and Marginal Revenue under Imperfect Competition:
The meaning of the concepts of total, average and marginal revenues under conditions o’ imperfect competition will become clear from Table As has been stated above, when imperfect competition prevails in the market for a product, an individual firm producing that product faces a downward sloping demand curve. In other words, as a firm working under conditions of imperfect competition increases production and sale of its product its price falls.
Now, when all units of a product are sold at the same price, the average revenue equals price. How marginal revenue can be obtained from the changes in total revenue and what relation it bears to average revenue will be easily grasped from looking at Table.
Table; Total, Average and Marginal Revenues:
It will be seen from the Col. Ill of the table that price (or average revenue) is falling as additional units of the product are sold. Marginal revenue can be found out by taking out the difference between the two successive total revenues. Thus, when 1 unit is sold, total Y revenue is Rs. 16. When 2 units are sold, price (or AR) falls to Rs. 15 and total revenue increases to Rs. 30.
Marginal revenue is therefore here equal to 30-16 = 14, which is recorded in Col. IV. When 3 units of the product are sold, price falls to Rs. 14 and total revenue increases to Rs. 42. Hence marginal revenue is now equal to Rs. 42-30 = Rs. 12 which is again recorded in Col. IV.
Likewise, marginal revenue of further units can be obtained by taking out the difference between two successive total revenues. Marginal revenue is positive as long as total revenue is increasing. Marginal revenue becomes negative when total revenue declines. Thus when in our table 22.3 quantity sold is increased from 9 units to 10 units the total revenue declines from Rs. 72 to 70 and therefore the marginal revenue is negative and is equal to -2.
It may be noted that in all forms of imperfect competition, that is, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly, average revenue curve facing an individual firm slopes downward as in all these market forms when a firm lowers the price of its product, its quantity demanded and sales would increase and vice versa.
The case, when average revenue (or price) falls when additional units of the product are sold in the market is graphically represented in Fig.. In Fig. it will be observed that average revenue curve (AR) is falling downward and marginal revenue curve (MR) lies below it.
The fact that MR curve is lying below AR curve indicates that marginal revenue declines more rapidly than average revenue. When OQ units of output are sold, AR is equal to QH or OP and MR is equal to QS. When OM units of the product are sold, marginal revenue is zero. If the quantity sold is increased beyond OM, marginal revenue becomes negative.
Average and Marginal Revenue under Perfect Competition:
When there prevails perfect competition in the market for a product, demand curve facing an individual firm is perfectly elastic and the price is beyond the control of a firm, average revenue remains constant. If the price or average revenue remains the same when more units of a product are sold, the marginal revenue will be equal to average revenue.
This is so because if one more unit is sold and the price does not fall, the addition made to the total revenue by that unit will be equal to the price at which it is sold, since no loss in revenue is incurred on the previous units in this case Consider the following table:
TABLE Average and Marginal Revenues under Perfect Competition:
In the above table, price remains constant at the level of Rs. 16 when more units of the product are sold. Col. Ill shows the total revenue when various quantities of the product are sold. Total revenue has been found out by multiplying the quantity sold by the price.
It will be found from taking out the difference between two successive total revenues that marginal revenue in this case is equal to the price i.e., Rs. 16. Thus, when two units of the good are sold instead of one, the total revenue rises from Rs. 16 to Rs. 32, the addition made to the total revenue i.e. marginal revenue will be equal to Rs. 32 -16 = Rs. 16.
Similarly, when three units of the product are sold, the total revenue increases to Rs. 48, and the marginal revenue will be equal to Rs. 48 -32 = Rs. 16 Likewise, it will be found for further units of the product sold that marginal revenue is equal to price. The case of perfect competition when for an individual firm average revenue (or price) remains constant and marginal revenue is equal to average revenue is graphically shown in Fig. 21.2 Average revenue curve in this case is a horizontal straight line (i.e., parallel to the X-axis).
Horizontal-straight-line average revenue curve (AR) indicates that price or average remains the same at OP level when quantity sold is increased. Marginal revenue (MR) curve coincides with average revenue (AR) curve since marginal revenue is equal to average revenue.
Marginal Cost
In economics, marginal cost is the change in the total cost when the quantity produced changes by one unit. It is the cost of producing one more unit of a good. Marginal cost includes all of the costs that vary with the level of production. For example, if a company needs to build a new factory in order to produce more goods, the cost of building the factory is a marginal cost. The amount of marginal cost varies according to the volume of the good being produced. Economic factors that impact the marginal cost include information asymmetries, positive and negative externalizes, transaction costs, and price discrimination. Marginal cost is not related to fixed costs. An example of calculating marginal cost is: the production of one pair of shoes is 40. The marginal cost of producing the second pair of shoes is $10.
Marginal cost is the cost of producing one extra unit of output. It can be found by calculating the change in total cost when output is increased by one unit.
OUTPUT TOTAL COST MARGINAL COST
It is important to note that marginal cost is derived solely from variable costs, and not fixed costs.
The marginal cost curve falls briefly at first, then rises. Marginal costs are derived from variable costs and are subject to the principle of variable proportions.
The significance of marginal cost
The marginal cost curve is significant in the theory of the firm for two reasons:
It is the leading cost curve, because changes in total and average costs are derived from changes in marginal cost.
The lowest price a firm is prepared to supply at is the price that just covers marginal cost.
The average cost is the total cost divided by the number of goods produced. It is also equal to the sum of average variable costs and average fixed costs. Average cost can be influenced by the time period for production (increasing production may be expensive or impossible in the short run). Average costs are the driving factor of supply and demand within a market. Economists analyze both short run and long run average cost. Short run average costs vary in relation to the quantity of goods being produced. Long run average cost includes the variation of quantities used for all inputs necessary for production.
Average total cost (ATC) is also called average cost or unit cost. Average total costs are a key cost in the theory of the firm because they indicate how efficiently scarce resources are being used. Average variable costs are found by dividing total fixed variable costs by output.
OUTPUT AVERAGE FIXED COST (£000) AVERAGE VARIABLE COST (£000) AVERAGE TOTAL COSTS (£000)
3 33.3 33.3 67
4 25 27.5 52.5
6 16.6 36.7 53.3
7 14.3 50 64.3
Average total cost (ATC) can be found by adding average fixed costs (AFC) and average variable costs (AVC). The ATC curve is also ‘U’ shaped because it takes its shape from the AVC curve, with the upturn reflecting the onset of diminishing returns to the variable factor.
Differentiating Total Cost and Marginal Cost
Average total cost and marginal cost are connected because they are derived from the same basic numerical cost data. The general rules governing the relationship are:
Marginal cost will always cut average total cost from below.
When marginal cost is below average total cost, average total cost will be falling, and when marginal cost is above average total cost, average total cost will be rising.
A firm is most productively efficient at the lowest average total cost, which is also where average total cost(ATC) = marginal cost (MC).
Q NO; 5 Write note the following;
Income effect on price changed.
Law of equi-marginal utility
Can substitution effect be positive
Relation between production and cost
Income substitution effect
If the price of a good increases, then there will be two different effects – known as the income and substitution effect.
If a good increases in price.
The good is relatively more expensive than alternative goods, and therefore people will switch to other goods which are now relatively cheaper. (substitution effect) –
The increase in price reduces disposable income and this lower income may reduce demand. (income effect)
The substitution effect states that an increase in the price of a good will encourage consumers to buy alternative goods. The substitution effect measures how much the higher price encourages consumers to buy different goods, assuming the same level of income.
The income effect looks at how the price change affects consumer income. If price rises, it effectively cuts disposable income, and there will be lower demand.
If the price of meat increases, then the higher price may encourage consumers to switch to alternative food sources, such as buying vegetables.
However, with the higher price of meat, it means that after buying some meat, they will have lower spare income. Therefore, consumers will buy less meat because of this income effect.
If a good like a diamond increases, there will be little substitution effect because there are no alternatives to diamonds. However, a higher price of diamonds will lower demand because of the income effect.
Income and substitution effect for wages
Law of Equi Marginal Utility:
The law of equi marginal utility was presented in 19th century by an Australian economists H. H. Gossen. It is also known as law of maximum satisfaction or law of substitution or Gossen’s second law. A consumer has number of wants. He tries to spend limited income on different things in such a way that marginal utility of all things is equal. When he buys several things with given money income he equalizes marginal utilities of all such things. The law of equi marginal utility is an extension of the law of diminishing marginal utility. The consumer can get maximum utility by allocating income among commodities in such a way that last dollar spent on each item provides the same marginal utility.
“A person can get maximum utility with his given income when it is spent on different commodities in such a way that the marginal utility of money spent on each item is equal”.
It is clear that consumer can get maximum utility from the expenditure of his limited income. He should purchase such amount of each commodity that the last unit of money spend on each item provides same marginal utility.
Assumptions of the Law of Equi Marginal Utility:
There is no change in the prices of the goods.
The income of consumer is fixed.
The marginal utility of money is constant.
Consumer has perfect knowledge of utility obtained from goods.
Consumer is normal person so he tries to seek maximum satisfaction.
The utility is measurable in cardinal terms.
Consumer has many wants.
The goods have substitutes.
The substitution effect is both positive and negative for consumers. It is positive for consumers because it means that they can afford to keep consuming products in a category even if their incomes decline or some products rise in price. It is also negative because it can limit choices. The substitution effect is negative for most companies that sell products, since it can prevent them from raising their prices and earning higher profits.
The substitution effect is a concept holding that as prices increase, or incomes decrease, consumers replace more-costly goods and services with less-expensive alternatives. When used in analyzing price increases, it measures the degree to which the higher price spurs consumers to switch products, assuming the same level of income.
For example, if the price of a premium brand of fruit cocktail rises, consumer spending will increase for supermarket house brands of fruit cocktail. The substitution effect also applies to buying patterns across brands and even across categories of consumer goods and services. If the price of all fruit cocktail brands goes up, some consumers will buy a less-expensive type of canned fruit instead, such as peaches. If the prices on all canned fruit start to soar, some consumers will switch to fresh fruit.
It is positive for consumers that they can continue to enjoy fruit if they lose their jobs or a major producer in the category raises its prices. However, in testing the substitution effect, a company might be dissuaded from going to market with an innovative new canned mixed fruit product. This would be negative for consumers because it would limit their choices. Moreover, sometimes but not always, lower-priced alternatives are lower in quality, also limiting consumer choices.
The substitution effect is negative for companies that sell products except for certain types of businesses, such as discount retailers and manufacturers specializing in low-end merchandise. During years when the economy is lean, discount retailers often tend to hold up relatively well.
In the short run we are interested not just in costs, but in average costs of production (AC) and shape of AC curve, which depends on the shape of AVC curve (note: AFC always diminishes). However, dynamics of AVC depends on the relationship between average and marginal products of labor (variable factor).
So, we should consider three cases:
Constant return to variable factor: MPL = APL, then AVC stays constant, hence AC decreases as Q increases. We have negative dependence between production and average costs.
Decreasing return to variable factor: MPL < APL, then AVC increases, hence AC decreases at small Q and increases at large Q. We have undefined dependence.
Increasing return to variable factor: MPL > APL, then AVC decreases, hence AC decreases as Q increases. We have negative dependence.
Tags Aiou Solved Assignments code 402
Previous AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 8601 Spring 2019
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Journalists & Writers
Journalism and mass media have undergone profound changes with the advent of digital technology and the 24 hour, instantaneous news cycle on the Internet, as people increasingly consume news through e-readers, smartphones, and other electronic devices. Today, news organizations are constantly challenged to get accurate information to the masses quickly and efficiently. The Journalism Speakers and media experts at our speakers bureau include distinguished veterans and iconic figures from print, broadcast and electronic media outlets: major network anchors, award-winning newspaper and magazine columnists, commentators, and reporters who deliver insight and perspective on current events and topical issues. Celebrities in their own right, our Journalism Speakers are guaranteed to lend gravitas to a panel, cachet to a conference keynote and excitement to a university lecture.
Result: 270 Speakers Found
DJ Spooky
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Dr. Yonah Alexander
Serves as a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and Director of its International Center for Terrorism Studies
One of the world's leading authorities on terrorism, Professor Alexander was the founder and editor of Terrorism: An International Journal and has published fifty books on the subject of international affairs, terrorism, and psychological warfare. He is the director of the Terror...
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Aida Alvarez
Award-Winning Journalist, a successful investment banker, and a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet
The Honorable Aida Alvarez has been an award-winning journalist, a successful investment banker, and a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet. She currently serves on the boards of Oportun, Zoosk, and Hewlett Packard, Inc. Alvarez was a Director on the boards of Pacifi...
Ghanaian Undercover Journalist; Founder, Tiger Eye Media. Zanetor Voted 2016 Most Influential Ghanaians
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Maria Arita
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Emmy Award-Winning Maria Arita is a prolific talent, actor, television and news personality and producer. To her credits are, among many – the Emmy, the Katie Award and the National Latina Communicators Award, NY – for her excellence in journalism and comm...
Jim Avila
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Award-winning journalist Jim Avila is the Senior National Correspondent and 20/20 Correspondent based in Los Angeles. In this role, he specializes in law and justice and consumer investigations.
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Rudi Bakhtiar
Producer for Reuters in Washington, D.C. She is likely best known for anchoring CNN Headline News Tonight, a prime-time national three-hour news cast in the United States
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Adrienne Bankert
ABC News Correspondent, Speaker, Mentor and Connector
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Michael Bassin
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Robert Bazell
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Robert Bazell is the nonresident fellow in science and technology policy at the Baker Institute, as well as an adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University. He was previously the chief science and health correspondent at ...
Joe Benigno
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Len Berman
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Jane Brody
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Peter Brookes
Senior Fellow, National Security Affairs and Chung Ju-Yung Fellow for Policy Studies
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The US Role in NATO’s Survival After the Cold War
Julie Garey
Part of the Palgrave Studies in International Relations book series (PSIR)
Alliances, NATO, and the Post-Cold War Era
The 1999 Kosovo Intervention
September 11, 2001, and the War in Afghanistan
The 2003 Iraq War
The 2011 Libyan Intervention
The Evolution and Persistence of NATO
The United States and Multilateralism
This book takes a new approach to answering the question of how NATO survived after the Cold War by examining its complex relationship with the United States. A closer look at major NATO engagements in the post-Cold War era, including in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, reveals how the US helped comprehensively reshape the alliance. In every conflict, there was tension between the United States and its allies over mission leadership, political support, legal precedents, military capabilities, and financial contributions. The author explores why allied actions resulted in both praise and criticism of NATO’s contributions from American policymakers, and why despite all of this and the growing concern over the alliance’s perceived shortcomings the United States continued to support the alliance. In addition to demonstrating the American influence on the alliance, this works demonstrates why NATO’s survival is beneficial to US interests.
Julie Garey is an Assistant Teaching Professor of political science at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
NATO US Military Alliances conflict post-Cold War NATO criticism American influence on alliances legitimacy multilateralism US-NATO relations Kosovo intervention War in Afghanistan Operation enduring freedom Iraq war Arab Spring Libya intervention intelligence terrorism coallition unipolarity
1.Department of Political ScienceNortheastern UniversityBostonUSA
Copyright Information The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Publisher Name Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
eBook Packages Political Science and International Studies
Oil, Gas & Geosciences
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3.00 / 3.00 Keava Campbell
Does the institution have a publicly posted non-discrimination statement? :
The non-discrimination statement, including the website URL where the policy is publicly accessible:
Oregon State University, in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status in any of its policies, procedures, or practices.
Oregon State University policy prohibits any act that either in form or operation, and whether intended or unintended, unreasonably differentiates among persons on the basis of a protected status. This definition reserves to the University, in furtherance of its educational mission, the right to address conduct that would not necessarily be unlawful. It is not intended to create individual or group rights, whether contractual or otherwise, that do not exist under existing law.
Oregon State University policy prohibits behavior based on another's protected status that is sufficiently severe or pervasive that it has the effect, intended or unintended, of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance because it has created an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment and would have such an effect on a reasonable person of that individual’s status.
This policy is not intended to and will not be applied in a way that would violate rights to academic freedom and freedom of expression.
http://eoa.oregonstate.edu/discrimination-and-harassment-policies#protected status
Additionally, OSU Extension services have their own statement which can be found here: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/equal-opportunity-and-accessibility
Does the institution have a discrimination response protocol or committee (sometimes called a bias response team) to respond to and support those who have experienced or witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or hate crime?:
A brief description of the institution’s discrimination response protocol or team (including examples of actions taken during the previous three years):
The process of reporting incidents of bias begins with submitting a bias incident report. After submitting a bias incident report, the Bias Response Team will evaluate the report and work collaboratively to develop an appropriate responses. Responses include providing care and support to community members negatively affected, learning more about the incident, engaging in educational conversations and interventions, providing access and referrals to campus resources and coordinating efforts to restore individuals and groups negatively affected.
A bias incident report may submit an incident report anonymously. The Bias Incident Team takes seriously all reports of bias incidents, however, its ability to investigate and respond to an incident may be limited if it is reported anonymously.
http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/diversity/bias-incident-response/report-bias-incident
In response to a "Speak Out" event in November of 2015, President Ed Ray announced the creation of the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID), which launched on February 1st, 2016. This began the process of overhauling OSU's incident reporting system, developed throughout FY16.
Additionally, the new Office of Institutional Diversity runs Community Town Halls once per term, beginning Winter FY16. Community Town Halls provide an opportunity for Oregon State leaders to present updates regarding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and a venue for community members to share questions, comments and concerns.
Throughout FY17, the first initiatives were began by the OID. One example is the Name-in-Use Policy, allowing community members to choose a first name, for university purposes, that aligns with their gender, gender identity or expression, or other identity, rather than your given name. A second pilot program was the Faculty and Staff Social Justice Education Initiative (SJEI), aimed at building knowledge about equity and inclusion, and developing intercultural competency for faculty and staff (including graduate students).
http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/diversity
Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit students from underrepresented groups?:
Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit staff from underrepresented groups?:
Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit faculty from underrepresented groups?:
A brief description of the institution’s programs to recruit students, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups:
The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program at Oregon State, funded by the National Science Foundation, is dedicated to increasing the number of traditionally underrepresented students successfully completing STEM baccalaureate degree programs. Programming includes a residential bridge program for incoming freshman and the Second-year & Transfer Experience Program, focusing on increasing the retention rate of these students and getting them engaged in their academics at OSU. The program also offers financial scholarships to make college more attainable for low income and minority groups.
http://lsamp.oregonstate.edu/
The College of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering offers a one-week summer program, Summer Experience in Science and Engineering for Youth (SESEY). The program targets high school girls and minorities with an aptitude for math and science, allowing them to gain experience in the world of engineering. It takes place at Oregon State University, exposing high school students to the opportunities they may have at OSU.
http://cbee.oregonstate.edu/sesey
Financial support for underrepresented groups is provided by the Diversity Achievement Award. It is a competitive award offered to entering undergraduate freshman and transfer students aimed at building upon the diversity and educational goals of the university. Evaluation of award application and financial need are also factored into selection process.
http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/sites/default/files/AcademicScholarships.pdf
The university’s Tenured Faculty Diversity Initiative is designed to help enhance the culture of racial and ethnic diversity at OSU through hires that promote positive changes to the academic climate. Faculty members will be selected for academic excellence and for their ability to positively impact the hiring unit’s (and/or the university’s) organizational culture to be more inclusive of and accommodating to students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds. Preference will be given to faculty appointments that meet the requirements to be hired with tenure, though strong candidates who meet all other criteria will be considered for hire at the advanced assistant professor level.
http://academicaffairs.oregonstate.edu/tenured-faculty-diversity-initiative
Established in 2008, OSU’s Search Advocate program enhances equity, validity, and diversity in the university’s hiring practices. Search advocates are OSU faculty, staff, and students who are trained as search and selection process advisers. Their preparation includes a two-part workshop series addressing current research about implicit bias, diversity, the changing legal landscape in hiring, inclusive employment principles, practical strategies for each stage of the search process, and effective ways to be an advocate on a search committee. As a quality assurance measure, advocates who wish to remain eligible beyond the first year must engage in relevant continuing education that is recorded and approved through the Search Advocate program.
http://searchadvocate.oregonstate.edu/about
Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support, academic support, or other programs to support students from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support staff from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support faculty from underrepresented groups on campus?:
A brief description of the institution’s programs to support students, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups:
The Office of Diversity & Cultural Engagement (DCE) consists of several programs and seven Cultural Resource Centers (CRCs) which provide students, staff and faculty with opportunities to critically explore the world we live in, engage in transformative learning experiences, and advance scholarly research and personal goals. Though primarily geared towards students, many of the services and programs are available for staff and faculty as well.
http://dce.oregonstate.edu/programs-initiatives
The CRCs provide support services to students, as well as opportunities for all members of the OSU community to learn about different cultures and communities in a safer environment. Events and activities at the centers include national history and heritage month programs, social justice workshops (retreats), cultural holiday celebrations, cooking demonstrations, craft nights, and many other programs. Several of the social justice retreats are targeted towards faculty and staff, while others are aimed for students. Current retreats can be found at the link provided below. Retreats last year centered around similar topics. http://dce.oregonstate.edu/retreat
At Oregon State University, Counseling and Psychological Services provides mental health counseling to students, and consultation, outreach and education to all OSU community members. They do this in order to (1) facilitate student’s academic success, mental health, and personal development and (2) promote a culture of positive mental health at OSU. http://counseling.oregonstate.edu/
OSU's Transgender Care website includes links to a variety of resources: http://studenthealth.oregonstate.edu/clinical-services/transgender-care
PROMISE is an annual, 10-week program that has been part of the Oregon State University community since 1992. PROMISE is a developmental internship program designed to provide professional, managerial, or technical paid work experience and mentoring in state and local government agencies for Oregon State University juniors and seniors. The program's purpose is to increase the potential pool of applicants currently underrepresented in state and local government agencies. Interested students from historically underrepresented backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply. It is expected that interns will emerge from the program ready to navigate the employment process, be well connected and be confident in the workplace. http://dce.oregonstate.edu/promise-internship-program/
Campus Coalition Builders are a diverse group of students, staff, and faculty committed to work together to make a positive difference in the community, and to eliminate the negative effects of oppression for all people. By listening to every voice, seeking to understand others, and engaging in transformational learning and teaching, we will build strong relationships and lasting alliances with those with whom we work and live. The group is available to facilitate conversations or can work with you to design a workshop or session to fit the needs and time restraints of a small staff or large group of people. The sessions are designed to build community which celebrates diversity for various groups of people, including co-workers, conference attendees, program participants, classes of students etc.
http://oregonstate.edu/studentaffairs/campus-coalition-builders-our-story-continued
The President's Commission on the Status of Women actively advocates for and promotes a positive climate for all university women including students, staff, faculty, and administrators. Now in its fourth decade, PCOSW gives voice to women's experiences and perspectives by advocating for gender parity at our university. Rooted in feminist principles, the Commission works to identify and address the changing needs of all women in our university community. By building partnerships and collaborating with others from historically underrepresented groups, PCOSW now seeks to improve the collective status of all who have been silenced or excluded by unexamined norms, beliefs, and practices of the OSU community. http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/pcosw/
For faculty, OSU offers ADVANCE Faculty Fellowships. OREGON STATE ADVANCE is part of the National Science Foundation's ADVANCE program, which is aimed at increasing the participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby developing a more diverse science and engineering workforce. Oregon State is the recipient of an ADVANCE Institutional Transformation (IT) award, which is intended to produce large-scale comprehensive change within our university. The primary goal of OREGON STATE ADVANCE is to serve as a catalyst for advancing the study and practice of equity, inclusion, and justice for women and others from historically underrepresented groups in the academy. The purpose of the one-year ADVANCE Faculty Fellowships is to support the work of tenure-line faculty to embed our commitments to equity, inclusion, and justice throughout the university. http://advance.oregonstate.edu/faculty-fellows
For staff and faculty, the Association of Faculty for the Advancement of People of Color (AFAPC) works to recruit, retain, build community, and provide support (nourishment, enrichment, and inspiration) for faculty and staff of color, and indigenous, and mixed-heritage identities at Oregon State University. The group provides a climate of acceptance and promotes the principles of diversity and inclusion. AFAPC strives to be a community of committed individuals who support and sustain each other professionally and personally, who affirm and hold close shared identities, who embrace and bridge the unique identities within each of us, and who affirm the importance of building and maintaining a robust community to positively influence the entire Oregon State University community. http://afapc.oregonstate.edu/
Does the institution have training and development programs, teaching fellowships and/or other programs that specifically aim to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members?:
A brief description of the institution’s programs to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members:
The Graduate School at OSU offers several scholarships targeted towards typically underrepresented groups to encourage them to pursue graduate programs, which may allow for a career as a faculty member.
The Diversity Scholar Recruitment Award is designed to support inclusiveness in graduate programs, to recruit and retain students from divergent and non-traditional backgrounds, and to enrich the academic environment by embracing a broad range of perspectives.
http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/awards/diversity-scholars
The Graduate Diversity Recruitment Bonus is designed to augment recruitment-based assistantship and fellowship offers to incoming graduate students with meritorious records and demonstrated potential for graduate study by offering bonuses to students from divergent and/or nontraditional backgrounds.
http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/awards/diversity-recruitment-bonus
The Diversity Advancement Pipeline Fellowship is intended to create support opportunities which enhance campus efforts to recruit and retain meritorious domestic graduate students from divergent and/or nontraditional backgrounds who have an expressed interest in a career in university teaching and/or research.
http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/awards/diversity-pipeline-scholarship
Does the institution produce a publicly accessible inventory of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus?:
Does the institution offer housing options to accommodate the special needs of transgender and transitioning students?:
http://uhds.oregonstate.edu/roommate-matching-and-gender-identity
Because there is not a specific field for a link in the Optional Fields section below, the following link is provided here.
Inventories of gender neutral bathrooms:
http://osugis1.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=35d03d44242147ffb9b5cf458dbe68fe
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Ionic interactions in the oligoviologens–K4Fe(CN)6 system
Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry. 2016. Vol. 773. P. 43-52.
Vitalii Yu. Kotov, Zhidkova M. N., Birin K. P., Laurinavichyute V. K., Pugolovkin L. V.
Various oligoviologen derivatives were synthesized by Menshutkin reaction of 4,4'-bipyridine (BPy), with alpha,omega-dibromoalkanes (alpha,omega-CnH2nBr2) in acetonitrile medium. 1H NMR analysis demonstrated that the degree of polymerization increases with alkyl chain length and reaction time, reaching its maximum at the molar reagent ratio (alpha,omega-CnH2nBr2/BPy) of 1.2: 1. The obtained oligomers and their interaction with [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) anions were characterized by 1H NMR, cyclic voltammetry, electronic absorption spectroscopy and EDX analysis. Two principally different types of interaction between low molecular weight oligoviologens and hexacyanoferrate ions were established: 1) fast reversible outer-sphere charge transfer complex formation and 2) slow irreversible reaction, presumably corresponding to the inner-sphere complex [Fe(CN)(5)L](q +/-) formation. Oligoviologens with medium molecular weight were found to form a poorly soluble product with [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) ions, which can be redissolved again by the addition of halide ions.
Research target: Chemistry
Keywords: Chemical polymerizationHybrid hexacyanoferrates
Synthesis and electropolymerization of bis (4-cyano-1-pyridino) alkanes: effect of co-and counter-ions
Vitalii Yu. Kotov, Zhidkova M. N., Aysina K. E. et al. Electrochimica Acta. 2016. Vol. 219. P. 673-681.
The six new bis(4-cyano-1-pyridino)alkanes derivatives with different alkyl chain length (n = 2-6) and cyanometallate anions ([Fe(CN)(6)](3) , [Co(CN)(6)](3) , [Fe(CN)(4)(CNH)(2)](2) and [Fe(CN)(6)](4) ) have been synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR, single-crystal X-ray analysis and UV-vis spectroscopy. The electroreduction of the obtained compounds under potentiostatic conditions (E-1 = -0.75 V) and further electrode stabilization at E-2 = 0V resulted in the deposition of polyviologen films. The current efficiency of electropolymerization was found to increase with varying the counter anion in the row: [Fe(CN)(6)](3) < Br < [Co(CN)(6)](3) similar to [Fe(CN)(6)](4) . Analysis of cyclic voltammograms and EDX data demonstrated the simultaneous incorporation of [Fe(CN)(6)](4) and K+ ions into poly(pentyl-viologen) film during electropolymerization, and further expulsion of K+ ions during the film stabilization at E-2 = 0V. The electropolymerization efficiency was found to increase with increasing the alkyl chain length, resulting in the formation of polyviologen film with higher content of dimer form of viologen cation radical.
Новая российская энциклопедия
Т. XVII. Ч. 2: Франкское - Цзинту. М.: Энциклопедия, Инфра-М, 2017.
The New Russian Encyclopedia is a fundamental reference publication in 18 volumes that characterizes nature, population, economy, history, science, art, technology and other important aspects. Contains about 60,000 articles, about 30,000 biographies, about 15,000 color illustrations, maps, charts, diagrams, tables. Leaves since 2003.
Т. XVII. Ч. 1: Ультразвук - Франко-Прусская. М.: Энциклопедия, Инфра-М, 2017.
Dichotomy of Atom-Economical Hydrogen-Free Reductive Amidation vs Exhaustive Reductive Amination
Chusov D., Muratov K., Usanov D. et al. Organic Letters. 2017. Vol. 19. No. 20. P. 5657-5660.
Rh-catalyzed one-step reductive amidation of aldehydes has been developed. The protocol does not require an external hydrogen source and employs carbon monoxide as a deoxygenative agent. The direction of the reaction can be altered simply by changing the solvent: reaction in THF leads to amides, whereas methanol favors formation of tertiary amines.
Логистика и экономика ресурсоэнергосбережения в промышленности (МНПК "ЛЭРЭП-11-2017"). Сборник научных трудов по материалам XI Международной научно-практической конференции ЛЭРЭП-11-17 15 ноября - 16 ноября 2017 года
Edited by: В. П. Мешалкин, А. Большаков, В. Панарин Тула: Саратовский государственный технический университет им. Гагарина Ю.А., 2017.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to Reductive Amination
Afanasyev O., Tsygankov A., Makarova M. et al. Synthesis. 2019. Vol. 51. No. 13. P. 2667-2677.
A comparative study of various widely used methods of reductive amination is reported. Specifically, such reducing agents as H2, Pd/C, hydride reagents [NaBH4, NaBH3CN, NaBH(OAc)3], and CO/Rh2(OAc)4 system were considered. For understanding the selectivity and activity of the reducing agents reviewed herein, different classes of starting materials were tested, including aliphatic and aromatic amines, as well as aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes and ketones. Most important advantages and drawbacks of the methods, such as selectivity of the target amine formation and toxicity of the reducing agents were compared. Methods were also considered from the viewpoint of green chemistry.
Comparative analysis of esterase and paraoxonase activities of different serum albumin species
Goncharov N. V., Terpilovskii M. A., Shmurak V. I. et al. Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology. 2017. Vol. 53. No. 4. P. 271-281.
Enzymatic activities of three types of serum albumin—rat, bovine and human—were analyzed comparatively using a mathematical model. Kinetic and equilibrium constants of carboxylesterase and paraoxonase activities of albumin in Sudlow’s sites I and II were determined. The effects of specific ligands, ibuprofen and warfarin, on enzyme kinetics in these sites were studied. Ibuprofen was found to have an inhibitory effect both on carboxylesterase and paraoxonase albumin activities, whereas warfarin specifically inhibited only carboxylesterase albumin activity.
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Aquaman Director James Wan Teases Underwater Speaking
by Amy Giardiniere
in Movie News, Comics News
Speaking underwater is fairly simple to portray on a page, but does pose quite the challenge on actual film. We first met the DC Extended Universe's version of Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) in a short cameo in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - as he's swimming into the light from the depths of the ocean, without speaking a single word. Some expected to hear at least a gurgle, a blub, or even a few air bubbles. The Comic-Con teaser trailer for Justice League, Aquaman's next appearance, didn't give us any hints either. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) approaches him on land in a local pub in a sea-fairing village, where the King of the Seven Seas only grumbles one word under his breath,"Talk," before smashing Bruce up against the wall.
We've already seen plenty of characters speaking underwater; however, most of these films are animated. The recent box-office hit, Finding Dory comes to mind, where every character that speaks underwater is a sea creature and the humans only speak on land. Using underwater voices is fairly easy for animated features, but live-action movies are a completely different story. Considering we have yet to see Aquaman talk while submerged in the sea, fans are eager to hear what his voice will actually sound like. Will we be able to understand the menacing King of Atlantis or will his language be communicated through captions?
In an interview with IGN, Aquaman director, James Wan, attempted to explain how the merman speech aspect of his character would work:
"Yeah, speech bubbles, right?! Maybe it'll be speech bubbles. [Laughs] I never thought about that... Words come out of the bubbles. It's brilliant! That's a cool visual."
That was just a joke. Wan goes on to explain how he will determine the final voice after he see's what works and what doesn't in Zack Snyder's Justice League:
"No, here's the thing I always say, if you have water in your lungs, like these characters do, there's no air bubble. So I don't know... I just think in my movie, I want to kind of create... I love the idea of underwater speaking but with a real sort of sonic, aquatic quality to it. So there's this sort of aquatic, almost sonar/whale thing. Even though it's in a human language, there’s this slight sort of underlay to it, this ping to it, which I think would be interesting for us to design from a sound design perspective. Yeah, it will be fun. Also, Zack has some ideas that he'll be doing in Justice League.
"Listen, I'll be honest, in some ways, JL will be an experiment for me to see what works and what may not work as well. And then kind of go, okay... Here’s the great thing, with all these superhero movies, you watch from one movie to another, and they always sort of slightly change things along the way. You kind of have to do that to make what's best for your film."
Now, here's an acclaimed film director (Wan) openly saying that if another director's (Synder) ideas for Aquaman don't work, he will fix it. Interesting approach, right? Wouldn't it make more sense if Wan's ideas were put forth in all of Aquaman's live-action appearances to maintain consistency throughout the DCEU? Either way, Wan knows what he's doing and will no doubt give us the Aquaman we want to see; even if he does sound a bit like a whale.
NEXT: James Wan Explains Why Aquaman is DC's Wolverine
Suicide Squad is in theaters now. Wonder Woman opens on June 2, 2017; Justice League on November 17, 2017; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; an untitled DC Film on October 5, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League 2 on June 14, 2019; an untitled DC film on November 1, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020. The Flash, the Batman solo movie and Man of Steel 2 are currently without release dates.
Tags: aquaman
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What is a “Biological Material Transfer Agreement” and When to Use It
A biological transfer agreement is a written contract between a provider of biological material to another, generally an entity engaged in biomedical research. The agreement is designed to govern the rights and obligations of the parties in connection with biologic materials such as cells, reagents, and plasmids, although these types of agreements sometimes govern other materials such as chemical compounds. They are typically used by educational institutions and others engaged in research for medical purposes.
Most biological material transfer agreements restrict the user of the materials transferred to use those materials for specific purposes and by specific individuals. They also generally require that the materials transferred be utilized for academic and scientific purposes as opposed to commercial uses. While the materials transferred under the agreement cannot be sold for profit, some agreements permit the derivatives of the materials transferred to be sold or transferred for commercial purposes.
Any time biological materials are transferred from their owner to a recipient, it is extremely important to ensure the transfer is the subject of an agreement. To highlight how important the need for an agreement is, consider the California Supreme Court opinion in Moore v. Regents. University of California, 51 Cal.3d 120, 793 P.2d 479 (1990). In the Moore case, a physician employed by the University of California, Los Angeles, treated Mr. Moore for hairy-cell leukemia. During the course of that treatment, the physician removed Mr. Moore’s spleen after informing him that it was necessary to slow the progress of his disease. Mr. Moore signed a consent for the splenectomy but was not told that the physician and another researcher of the Regents of the University of California (“Regents”) intended to utilize portions of the spleen for research purposes.
Several other samples of Mr. Moore’s tissue was taken by the physician and used for research purposes, and the Regents assisted with the physician in negotiating agreements for the commercial development of a “cell line and products derived from it” to produce lymphokines with The Genetics Institute, Inc. Mr. Moore sued UCLA, the Regents, the physician and the researcher, and The Genetics Institute, Inc. for thirteen causes of action, including breach of fiduciary duty, lack of informed consent, and conversion of the spleen for profit and sought damages.
In the Moore case, Mr. Moore essentially claimed that there was no agreement with him by any of the defendants for the transfer or use of his organ and tissue and claimed that he had the right to recover his property (his spleen) as well as any profits (which were expected to be sizeable) derived from those tissues. This case presents a classic case which could have been completely avoided had the doctors, as well as the Regents, simply disclosed their intentions to Mr. Moore and gained his agreement for the use of his tissue.
If you are engaged in any aspect of biomedical research in California, before you agree to any use of human tissue for commercial or academic purposes, you must obtain the services of a qualified and experienced attorney. With a background in biology, chemistry and mathematics, Michael Leonard, Esq. of San Diego Corporate Law is just such an attorney. To schedule a consultation with Mr. Leonard to discuss any business-related matter, you can visit San Diego Corporate Law or call (858) 483-9200.
Do you need biotechnology agreements?
By Corporate Attorney Michael J. Leonard, Esq.|2017-10-07T22:22:02-07:00February 10th, 2016|
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Wednesday, October 31 2018 / Published in General
Boyd and Tsetserleg competing at the 2018 World Equestrian Games
Photo by Amber Heintzberger
Well known for both his fun-loving approach to life and his indefatigable work ethic, Boyd Martin has represented the U.S.A. in three-day eventing at two Olympic Games and two World Championships, and was on the gold-medal-winning Pan Am Games team in 2015. Boyd’s wife, Silva Martin, is a grand prix dressage rider and they have a son, Nox. Boyd and Silva train out of their own farm, Windurra USA in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, and spend winters at Stable View Farm in Aiken, South Carolina.
Can you break down your World Equestrian Games performance with Tsetserleg?
It’s always an honor and a privilege to represent the U.S.A. at a world championship, and I believe that our selectors chose a good team and we had excellent preparation, but things just didn’t work out on the weekend when it mattered.
My dressage test with Tsetserleg couldn’t have gone better; we’ve been working hard under the supervision of my wife Silva, dressage trainer Scott Hassler and U.S. Chef d’Equipe Erik Duvander, and it paid off with a beautiful test. He even got the flying changes right, which comes down to Silva’s hard work.
Obviously we had a disappointing performance on cross-country, where Tsetserleg ran out at one of the boats in the water complex, and again in show jumping where we had three rails down. I felt like I rode pretty well in the show jumping, but Tsetserleg felt a bit green and overwhelmed by the crowds and atmosphere.
I love Tsetserleg; he’s a tough, sound little horse and he still has a lot of room for improvement. With Shamwari taking an unexpected early retirement after Luhmuehlen this summer, Tsetserleg had to really step up to the plate with his selection to the WEG team. It was a lot to throw at him and he handled it well considering his inexperience; he’s still young and I think that in a couple of years, with more training and more experience, he’ll be hard to beat. I really feel that his best years are still ahead of him.
How do you cope with a disappointing result at a major championship like WEG?
While there are disappointing aspects of the WEG, I feel like it gives me the motivation to keep improving to be more competitive amongst the best riders in the world. I’m grateful to Tsetserleg’s owner, Christine Turner, and all of the sponsors, coaches, grooms and help back at the farm who contributed to making it possible for me to compete in Tryon. I also have to give a “shout out” to my wife, Silva, who left our newborn with the sitter to drive overnight with our 2-year-old son, Nox, to cheer me on Saturday, then drove straight home to feed the baby. Her support of my riding and love for our family means the world to me.
Eventers are a tough bunch and I was not the only member of the U.S. team who was right back at it the weekend after Tryon, competing multiple horses at the Plantation Field International. We’re all constantly striving to produce the next generation of horses and improve our own riding and performance. We might take a few hours or even a day to reflect on our performance, think about where things didn’t go well and how to do better next time, and then we’re back in the saddle and looking forward to the next opportunity or challenge.
How does a WEG compare to an Olympic Games?
As a professional event rider, every two years becomes a huge focus on either the World Equestrian Games or the Olympic Games; to people slightly outside the bubble of equestrian sports, this is sometimes the only time in which the result of a competition is very important. As riders, owners and supporters, it becomes an incredibly important contest, where you feel like everyone is watching you and any result will be regarded as standing of your nation on the international stage.
Selection for the Olympics and WEG are virtually the same: The horses and riders appear on the radar of the selectors about a year prior to the championship, there is usually a group of 15–20 horses and riders, and as the championship draws closer, that list gets thinned out. For eventing, it really comes down to your performance at the Kentucky or Badminton CCI4* and usually the best-performing, sound competitors make their way to the U.S. team.
Even though the competition is virtually the same — similar faces, team management, farriers and vets and so on — it does have a slightly different feel; at the Olympics there are athletes from more countries from a huge variety of sports and it feels like the whole world is watching. I suppose it carries a bit more prestige to be referred to as an “Olympian” – you’re not called a “Weggian” after you compete at a WEG!
That said, I do believe the winner of the WEG is the world’s best rider and horse in that moment in time. As a U.S. rider the WEGs I’ve experienced, at Lexington, Normandy and Tryon, the ultimate horse-and-rider combination did win the competition. I feel like the courses are sometimes more challenging at WEG and the field of horses and riders are more seasoned, generally speaking. Being at WEG is a little bit more relaxed; even though there’s security, you have a little more access to your owners and family members. There’s still a huge feeling that you’re competing at more than just a typical four-star.
The Olympics I’ve experienced, London and Rio, have more of a close-knit team feeling: You live in the athlete village, eat meals with your team, then take the bus to the venue — there are no sponsor signings, owner meetings or any of that; you’re locked in a bubble and focused on giving the best performance that you can.
Lastly, I’ll say the final result of a WEG or an Olympics is remembered for a lifetime. To me, winning an Olympic medal or World Equestrian Games medal is still above winning a regular four-star event, of which there are only five in the world.
Cassidy Sitton – Thoroughbreds in Her Blood
Dog of the Day – Seymore
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January 11th, 2006 (04:21 pm)
This is just really freaking funny. Random House is offering refunds on all copies of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces, because Frey made it up.
I have a couple of questions here.
a.) How accurate do people really expect memoirs to be? I mean, true-to-the-exact-happenings-of-a-person's-life accurate?
b.) How much do people *care* whether memoirs are accurate? Is the average Joe Schmoe who picked A Million Little Pieces up off a Barnes and Noble Paperback Favorites table really flipping out about this, or does it all begin and end with a bunch of bored journalists who've been twiddling their thumbs and playing canasta since Jayson Blair got kicked out of New York?
Maybe it's because I'm a fiction whore first and foremost, but when I'm reading a memoir I'm not that worried about whether these exact events happened exactly as they were described in the memoir. Memory is extremely subjective, and I resigned myself a long time ago to the idea that "facts", as such, are rarely the point. It's what the facts reveal about the person telling them and about the life they were lived in. I don't have terribly dissimilar standards for memoirs and for fiction, and that's why: they're both storytelling, and to tell a story well you have to tell it so that it is more than the sum of its parts.
The thing about the Frey memoir that sounds so problematic is this. I haven't read the book, but I've read summaries and excerpts and I can tell you this*: that book doesn't portray anyone's reality. It's a fiction that doesn't get to the heart of anything except the author's egomania and self-aggrandizing ambition. As such, it isn't just a bad memoir, it's a bad book, and it would be just as bad if it were published as straight fiction.
Frey tried to publish that book as fiction, and it was rejected dozens of times. Now, plenty of books get rejected dozens of times (A Wrinkle in Time, Gone with the Wind, go ahead, name your favorite), but in this case I would guess that that series of rejections stemmed from the reality that this just *wasn't* a good book. I would guess it got rejected because it didn't feel real. So he submitted it as a memoir, and then they went for it, because it's the sort of portrayal that people want to believe in. They wouldn't buy it as fiction, because, well, because it's crap. But people like the gutsy trailblazing individualist who gave every Twelve Step group on earth a swift kick in the ass and won rounds of applause for it. Many people don't like to believe that when you screw up your own life, un-screwing it up requires eating a whole lot of humble pie, and so they'd embrace the idea that someone really, really managed to do it without all that! Look! It says so! In a memoir! Which is factual! And then many other people just like reading lurid stories about bloody dentist visits sans anesthesia and people screwing in a rehab center. Regardless, the reason the book got greenlighted was that some editor figured that the story, which does not resonate as truth when acknowledged as a piece of fiction, could bypass that requirement if the publisher said at the start that it was comprised of Facts. But really, whether you're writing facts or whether you're writing fiction, you can't bypass that requirement. Try, and you wind up with a lousy book.
Basically? This whole hullabaloo, to my mind, misses the whole point. The point of a memoir is not whether every event recorded therein can be verified by a team of dedicated nonpartisan investigators. It's about whether it gives you a new bit of insight into yourself, or into the people around you, or into, well, into life itself. A memoir without that element of universality is not a good memoir, for my money. That's the kind of truth I care about. If Frey's memoir never had that, and from all accounts it did not, then this scandal could just as easily have erupted the day it was published for all the difference it makes in my mind.
*Acknowledging my own egomania here, and feel free to smack me if you disagree. You'll certainly have the upper hand in the argument if you do. But I don't think you will, as I don't know a single person who liked the book even before it was revealed that he made it all up.
Posted at: January 12th, 2006 02:33 am (UTC)
MSNBC, WTF? It definitely said what I said it said when I posted it - currently has another link to that same story - but it looks like Random House refuted it, and instead of writing a correction MSNBC just changed the whole story. Photographic proof in case CNN decides to follow suit:
My guess is that some harassed underpaid drone at Random House said "well, yeah, you can return it", and it turned into a news story.
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socialjusticelibrarians
Serving communities with empathy and passion
Diversity in Libraries, Diversity on the Bookshelves by Alexa Hight
September 30, 2017 marystansburyLeave a comment
How can we claim that our libraries are diverse, if the books and other resources do not reflect said diversity? This month, in preparing for Banned Books Week for my library, I was perusing the American Library Association’s website for lists of challenged books from this year and found a list that I had not seen before: Books with Diverse Content. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) found that “out of the 2015 Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books, nine of them contained diverse content” (2017).
The complete list of books challenged with diverse content contains 86 books that include content “by or about people of color, LGBT people and/or people with disabilities” (ALA, 2017). ALA additionally explains their definition of diversity, citing their own policy manual: “The American Library Association (ALA) promotes equal access to information for all persons and recognizes the ongoing need to increase awareness of and responsiveness to the diversity of the communities we serve. ALA recognizes the critical need for access to library and information resources, services, and technologies by all people, especially those who may experience language or literacy-related barriers; economic distress; cultural or social isolation; physical or attitudinal barriers; racism; discrimination on the basis of appearance, ethnicity, immigrant status, religious background, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression; or barriers to equal education, employment, and housing” (2017).
The OIF mentions the work of Malinda Lo, who stated that diverse content means “books by and about people of color, LGBT people, and/or disabled people.” (2014). In her article, Lo breaks down the demographics of books banned because of diverse content, and books banned or challenged written by diverse authors. It may seem appalling to many readers that the books that are getting challenged are arguably the books we should be reading the most, in order to become a more just and equitable society.
What can we, as librarians, do? Apart from ALA, there are organizations, authors, and librarians doing the work towards diversifying library materials. We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) has a mission to put more books that feature diverse characters into the hands of children; they envision a world where all children can see themselves in the books that they read. As a grassroots organization, WNDB is made up of children’s book lovers that advocate essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people, and as such, all people (2017). We Need Diverse Books not only advocating for libraries and schools to hold and teach books of diverse content, but they go to the root of the issue by advocating for publishers to produce literature written by and containing diversity. Getting children to read books with diverse content is one thing, with the traditions of Dr. Seuss books and fairy tales, not to mention the fact that the majority of banned books have diverse content, so getting parents to allow their children to read and enjoy diverse books will be a challenge. Recently, a librarian rejected First Lady Melania Trump’s gift of Dr. Seuss books, citing not only issues with the administration, but the racist content of the books themselves (Chason, 2017). Not only do we have to advocate for books with more diversity, but we must question so-called “childhood classics.” Now, any librarian can comment on the reverse effect of refusing books for containing racist, or other non-PC content. If we advocate for Intellectual Freedom, should we advocate for all points of view?
Last spring, I attended the conference held by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). One of the keynote speakers was Roxane Gay, a feminist and African American author. Gay had recently pulled her book from the publishing house Simon and Schuster over the fact that the publishing house had given the controversial figure Milo Yiannopoulus an advance (Jamieson, 2017). During the Question and Answer portion of the keynote, Martin Garner, co-chair of ALA’s Task Force for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, asked Gay what her advice was around the issue of libraries holding Yiannopoulus’s book. As a non-librarian, her response was simple: don’t buy it. As a librarian-in-training, I struggled with this idea. If librarians are supposed to promote equal access to information for all persons, does that include the writings of people like Yiannopoulus? If we want diverse content, can that include content that may be considered sexist, racist, homophobic, etc.?
Continuing the idea of access, at the university where I work, the center for culture, identity, and social justice (or cultural center for short) has its own library branch. The collection reflects the university’s commitment to social justice. The separate branch exists in order to further the community’s understanding of systems of oppression and privilege. The collection offers a diverse array of reading materials and films on subjects including race, class, sexual orientation, and ethnicity, written by diverse authors. The aim of the collection is to shift the normative story by centering the voices and perspectives that are often marginalized in society. This library is amazing in theory; however, issues have come up from library staff and students. For example, the cultural center is not staffed the same number of hours as the main library. As such, the books are kept locked within the cultural center. If a student wants a book from the cultural center, the main library staff has to walk over and unlock the cases to get the item(s). This is frustrating because the idea of the separate collection was to have a space where students could look for books on sensitive subjects without having to draw attention to themselves or the item(s) they were looking for. Now, rather than having all the books in one library, they have been removed to a separate building that has limited hours. Additionally, while some of the items transferred to the cultural center were duplicates, a lot of the items that made the main library’s collection diverse is gone, creating disproportionate collections. Whereas the university had one diverse collection, now it has one extremely diverse collection and one that appears to lack diversity all together. Is creating a separate collection the answer? How do we make our libraries diverse and yet accessible, as well as welcoming environments for students and patrons from every demographic? Are we on the right track?
About Us. (2016, September 28). We Need Diverse Books. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from http://weneeddiversebooks.org/mission-statement/
ALA. (2017, July 18). Defining Diversity. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/diversity
ALA. (2017, July 18). Frequently Challenged Books. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
Allen Ginsberg Library. (2017). Retrieved September 29, 2017, from http://www.naropa.edu/academics/ginsberg-library/
Book Challenges Suppress Diversity. (2014, September 18). Retrieved September 29, 2017, from http://www.diversityinya.com/2014/09/book-challenges-suppress-diversity/
Chason, R. (2017, September 28). ‘Racist propaganda’: Librarian rejects Melania Trump’s gift of Dr. Seuss books. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/09/28/racist-propaganda- librarian-rejects-melania-trumps-gift-of-dr-seuss-books/?utm_term=.4160bf48fbee
Jamieson, A. (2017, January 25). Roxane Gay pulls book from Simon & Schuster over Milo Yiannopoulos deal. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/25/roxane-gay-simon-schuster-milo- yiannopoulos
How White Neutrality Affects the Library and Information Science Profession and What We Can Do to Change It by Karna Southall
This blog is for library science students, librarians, and archivists who want to learn about social justice issues. We hope that you’ll find some thought provoking content, as well as ideas for action. Content created by students in the Library Information Science Program at the University of Denver.
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Our population is growing. But more and more people are leaving Greater Washington. What gives?
From The Washington Business Journal:
Greater Washington has seen massive growth over the last six years, a result of people flocking to jobs and economic security during hard times. But now the region is competing with other up-and-coming metro areas, and people are making the decision to move.
While population news for the area has generally been rosy, a recent avalanche of data paints a more complex picture. More and more people are leaving Greater Washington, slowing its growth rate and making the region highly dependent on international immigration and births, according to newly released data.
The D.C. metro region grew by 53,508 people in 2016, to 6,131,977. But that growth came entirely from net positive international immigration and natural growth (births minus deaths). Meanwhile 31,010 more people left the region than moved here from within the country.
The D.C. metro area saw 40,581 more people immigrate to the region from other countries than leave, along with 43,886 from natural growth, which explains the positive growth overall. But that growth rate has slowed, dropping from 1.9 percent in 2011 to 1.5 percent in 2013 to just the 0.9 percent recorded in 2016, according to data from the Census Bureau and parsed by the Stephen S. Fuller Institute at George Mason University in a new report.
More and more people are packing up and moving too, with the outflow increasing from the 27,900 people who left the region in 2015 and the more than the 25,200 who left in 2014. Domestic migration used to be a net positive — 23,000 more people moved here from within the country than left in 2011.
“The times when our region grows more quickly is primarily due to jobs growth,” said Jeannette Chapman, the deputy director and senior research associate at the institute. “Our region has not been growing as many jobs as it has largely due to the sequester and other issues.”
She said Greater Washington was attractive during bad times because its economy was still growing and more resilient to the downturn, but more people started leaving during the period of automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, and continue to do so as jobs growth slows. Our region created fewer jobs than we originally thought last year, as I wrote recently.
Greater Washington’s problems echo similar metro areas that see more people leave than arrive, such as Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia, which have experienced even more anemic population growth. But some metro areas are bucking the trend with an influx of domestic migration and more robust population growth overall, including Phoenix, Dallas, Seattle and Houston.
The challenge for Greater Washington is there are other metro areas that offer jobs and high quality of life, and are also far less expensive — driving people away for what they see as greener pastures. Meanwhile international immigration has been steady, and the natural population growth is built upon the inexorable forces of people wanting children.
Take Fairfax County’s massive exodus in 2016, with 17,820 more people leaving the county than moving there domestically. But it still eked out positive net growth of 393 people that year. Births and international immigration made up the difference.
The report covers the Greater Washington metropolitan statistical area, which includes D.C. and parts of Maryland and Virginia, along with a small portion of West Virginia. The most recent data spans from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.
The District did well in comparison with a significant influx of people from other parts of the country, a net total of 2,276. It welcomed 4,116 immigrants and another 4,324 in net births.
Loudoun County also did well, growing by 11,386 — spread between natural growth, international migration and people moving there from within the country.
About 8,677 people left Prince George’s County, while it received 5,525 international immigrants and an additional 5,665 from natural population growth. In total, its population grew by 2,046.
The City of Manassas actually saw its total population decrease by 120 over the last year, as 1,000 people left for other destinations, and natural births and international immigration failed to close the gap.
View the full story ›
Copyright Washington Business Journal, reprinted with permission
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Of Love & Marches
January 22, 2017 by James Joiner
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined. -Isaiah 9:2
“Nothing can quite replace your first love or your first march.” Gloria Steinem said that yesterday to a crowd of more than half a million women and their supporters who had gathered from across the world at the nation’s capitol. They had gathered to register their formal protest of a man and an administration which represents a greater threat to women’s rights and human dignity than has ever been explicitly made in our nation to date, though it reeks of the implicit bias and hidden violence many have confronted all their lives. The difference is it’s on the surface now, it’s come to light, shameless, flaunted even, waved about in a tweet. In reply, a resistance has come to light as well. More bodies than have ever gathered for such anti-inaugural displays. Many found themselves marching for the first time yesterday, as evidenced by signs such as, “I’m not usually a sign person, but jeez,” or “So bad even the introverts are here,” and “Now you’ve pissed off grandma.” Yesterday, many experienced for the first time the unique camaraderie which can only be found in a crowd of thousands of people who are like you in at least some small political agreement. And this is a blessing. And it will not be soon forgot. As Steinem said, “Nothing can quite replace your first love or your first march.” But what in the world do those two things have to do with each other? Better yet, what do they have to do with Jesus?
My first love was a disaster. I was fifteen, and following the bankruptcy of our family business my parents had drug me and my sister all the way up from the bucolic hills of North Carolina to the unrelenting darkness and bitter cold of suburban Columbus, Ohio. It was the middle of December, and when my father opened the back door of our car to a temperature lower than any I had thought possible I wondered what strange hell he had delivered us to. I was a painfully shy young man and had barely managed to make any friends at my last school, and this one was larger and even more daunting. Each day at lunch I sat alone in silence unable to touch the food my mother had packed for me, paralyzed by fear. There was one kid, though, who sat next to me in Algebra. He was seventeen, and confident, and popular, and I had no idea why he was talking to me. After school one day shortly after we’d met he walked me down the busy hallways to the bus and I asked him if he had a girlfriend. “No, I’m gay,” he said, nonchalantly. I almost threw up a bit. “Oh, yea, me too,” I replied, totally cool. But the whole world was spinning. And the whole world changed. Poetry followed, and dates at the mall, and a long litany of first things which usher fifteen-year-olds into worlds they’d only prior dreamed of towards all the things no one thinks to expect. Like total heartbreak. It only took a few weeks before he turned his interest to someone new, and I was left alone in the cafeteria again. I was also now awake to myself, to who I really was. Love, even when it’s painful, can have that effect. He had seen something in me I hadn’t caught yet, and had given me the space to name it to another human being. Heartbroken as I was, I now knew that I was not the only one like me, I now knew that I was not alone. In the land of my deep darkness, a light had shined.
By contrast, my first march was glorious. Now I was seventeen and we’d moved back to Carolina and a carload of my newfound friends and I were driving up to Washington DC for Pride. I remember coming up the escalator at DuPont circle and watching as a stream of exotic creatures filed past us. I had never seen so many gay people before in my life. I don’t think I realized that many gay people existed in the world, so accustomed had I grown to a myopic High School where I and one other student had come out. There, we were anomalies trying to blend in. Here, suddenly, we were a people. Not only a people, but a beautiful, costumed, glittering, shirtless people dancing in the streets. The whole world was spinning. I listened as speakers spoke of rights I hadn’t thought to ask about before. I watched as bands of friends stormed the streets with a confidence and joviality I hadn’t thought possible in public places. I recognized myself, not as some soul left to work with some strange identity alone, but as a member of a band, someone who belonged. There was a quality to our celebration which I recognized. These were the kind of shouts which could only come from people who knew what it was to be silent. I realized I was one among a people who knew what it was to walk in darkness for a spell, and there in the faces and bodies of one another, 100,000 strong, we saw a great light at last.
The same thing happened when the disciples first saw Jesus, the same recognition, the same epiphany. They were fishermen, but they were fishermen only in the same way that I was ever straight, it was a mundane disguise over a life which they could not comprehend until they saw it in an other. They were meant to be healers, and preachers, organizers of widows and orphans, workers of miracles, but until they caught sight of Jesus they were holding the same nets in their hands which their fathers had held and their fathers before them. When Jesus walked by they dropped the nets. There’s this venerable tradition of cheesy Christian praise songs which make Jesus sound like he’s supposed to be our spiritual boyfriend, like I’m saving all my love for Jesus, and giving all my heart to Jesus, but there’s a way in which the life Christ calls us to really is like falling in love. It really is like falling in love if falling in love is recognizing yourself in another human being and learning about who you are through their eyes. Seeing Jesus is like falling in love if love is that thing which wakes you up to the infinite possibilities of the world and gets you out the door, which has you hoping for all the amazing things yet to come, a life worth living together, the world with someone else in it who knows you and cares. And if that’s what love is like then a march can be like love. Yesterday as the Max trains filled with women in pink hats bearing signs perfect strangers were for a moment friends. People who might have rode the same train together side by side on any given day already anyway had a reason to speak to one another and show kindness and to know that we were not alone in the horror we’ve been feeling and that small thing was enough to turn our horror into hope. Andrew, Peter, James and John followed Jesus but soon became a crowd, soon became a sea of women and men and children traveling together because they saw what they wanted to be in Jesus, they saw a world that could be good in Jesus. It is still what we see in one another. And there are still many more people to bring into the fold, ourselves, at times, included. Turning our gaze away from fear and lies and towards our hope and strength and joy we caught a glimpse of the light which will sustain us, which will strengthen us for the walk ahead. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.
Christmas 2016: Too Fleshed to Be Stressed
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storiesbywilliams in Books, Movies, News, Sci-Fi July 19, 2013 July 19, 2013 1,081 Words
The Ender’s Game Controversy…
If you’re the kind of person for whom science fiction is irrelevant, or if you’ve just been living under a rock for the past few months, it might come as a surprise that there are people who are looking to boycott the release of Ender’s Games. Granted, Card has been an opponent of gay marriage for some time, but its really only been with the release of the movie adapted from his 1984 novel that this has become an issue.
In response to the upcoming release, groups like Geeks OUT! have started the campaign called “Skip Ender’s Game”. Citing Card’s views, and his involvement with the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) – which supported the Defense Of Marriage Act – Geeks OUT and others like them are hoping to prevent Card from benefiting financially from the movie’s release.
Of particular concern is a statement made by Card in 1990 in an essay entitled “The Hypocrites of Homosexuality”:
Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society’s regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.
In 2009, he stated that homosexual individuals “suffer from tragic genetic mixups,” and that the term “homophobe” is used in order to imply that opponents of the “homosexual activist agenda” are mentally ill. Card stated in 2008 that “[t]here is no branch of government with the authority to redefine marriage.” On July 8, 2013, Card wrote in Entertainment Weekly that the gay marriage issue is “moot” due to the Supreme Court decision on DOMA, and that eventually, gay marriage would be legal in all fifty states
All of this has generated its fair share of controversy and has led to some degree of distancing and disavowal. For starters, Lionsgate Films – the studio responsible for the movie – announced that Card would not be taking part in the Ender’s Game film panel at San Diego Comic Con in July 2013 with the other principal cast and crewmembers of the film.
In addition, hoping to dampen the flames of controversy, Lionsgate released the following statement:
As proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community, champions of films ranging from GODS AND MONSTERS to THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER and a Company that is proud to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card and those of the National Organization for Marriage. However, they are completely irrelevant to a discussion of ENDER’S GAME. The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the film not only transports viewers to an entertaining and action-filled world, but it does so with positive and inspiring characters who ultimately deliver an ennobling and life-affirming message. Lionsgate will continue its longstanding commitment to the LGBT community by exploring new ways we can support LGBT causes and, as part of this ongoing process, will host a benefit premiere for ENDER’S GAME.
This is an argument that many have made, that since Card’s views on homosexuality don’t appear in the book itself, that it is not relevant to either it or the movie.
And Card himself even made a statement in response to the proposed boycott, claiming the his story and his stances on gay marriage are two entirely separate issues:
Ender’s Game is set more than a century in the future and has nothing to do with political issues that did not exist when the book was written in 1984. With the recent Supreme Court ruling, the gay marriage issue becomes moot. The Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution will, sooner or later, give legal force in every state to any marriage contract recognized by any other state. Now it will be interesting to see whether the victorious proponents of gay marriage will show tolerance toward those who disagreed with them when the issue was still in dispute.
Once again, Card has declared the issue open and shut and has asked for tolerance for his past stances. Personally, I can’t help but feel that the studio has missed the point entirely, and the Card himself is taking a rather hypocritical stance. Asking for tolerance for your opinions and beliefs are one thing, but he and his colleagues actively campaigned to deny equal rights to others.
And though plenty of people have questioned whether or not a boycott is even likely to be effective, the issue seems to be snowballing. Not only is the studio taking notice, but Card’s own statements have only seemed to add fuel to the fire. And of course, a studio needs to reach beyond fans of the franchise and genre when doing adaptations, but given the way the controversy is growing, it’s not unreasonable to suspect they will have a hard time drawing people in.
And I admit to being heavily conflicted. While Card’s views were known to me before the movie was announced, his involvement with NOM and the many statements he’s made, not to mention his perception of the issue as being “moot” and over with, have led me to seriously reevaluate my opinion of the man. Like many sci-fi readers, I read and enjoyed Ender’s Game thoroughly. Had I know where the man stood at the time, would I have still bought it or enjoyed it nearly as much?
Not an easy question to answer, and it raises the uncomfortable specter of multiple, overlapping issues. Amongst them are censorship, free speech, hate speech, endorsing intolerance, and precedent. Personally, I think I’m going to skip the movie now. Too bad too, I was interested in seeing what they did with it. And as you can see, I can’t resist posting some of those stunning visuals! But on certain matters, I am just not flexible where intolerance is involved.
And given the way Card espoused tolerance and humanity in his classic book, even towards one’s enemy, I think it would be reasonable for him to reconsider his past involvements. After all, tolerance is about accepting the things you don’t approve of. If you expect people to extend that acceptance to you, you better be willing to show some yourself.
Sources: blastr.com, (2), IO9.c0m, skipendersgame.com
boycott enders game
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News from Space: Smile for the Space Probes!
The Future is Here: The Telescopic Contact Lense
12 thoughts on “The Ender’s Game Controversy…”
lanceschaubert says:
All I can say is Card’s blog was probably the biggest turn-off I’ve ever seen in the literary community. I’ve never seen so much vitriol spit. I love his work, I even enjoy him as a person, but reading that kind of hostility was disheartening.
storiesbywilliams says:
Right on. I could understand a man of his background finding the issue difficult or even unpleasant, but he’s a full-on bigot.
What’s his background?
Mormon, American South, but I don’t buy the argument that this has had a deterministic effect on him. Not only did he express admiration for men like General Grant in the Civil War, he also displayed acceptance of Islam and other religions in Enders Game, and condemns the modern GOP for its stances on immigration. But when it comes to homosexuality, its a blind spot.
Huh. Didn’t know that about him.
I personally could care less. I’m only reading the book for a class. I probably won’t be seeing the movie afterwards.
That is good. Education is one thing; I approve of reading Kipling and Dickens for English, but if they were alive today and in a position to benefit financially for it, I’d have second thoughts.
Michelle Proulx says:
I loved the book, and I’m going to see the movie. I’m not thrilled that that will involve financially supporting Card’s anti-gay nonsense, but … well, I like to think that the vast majority of humans are better people than him, and if that’s the case, then equality will eventually become a real thing in the USA, regardless of how much money Card throws at the issue.
Writerlious says:
Interesting…I never knew this about Card.
Kevin Roussy says:
I’m not sure what the movie deal with Card was, but most likely he’s already gained as much financially as he’s going to from the deal.
Also I think the movie will be a success regardless or perhaps even more so because of the controversy and media around it.
I’ll probably watch it, but not pay for it…
He’s definitely gotten a deal, but the less the movie brings in, the less he’s likely to see in any bonuses. But mainly its a drive to make the studio own up to endorsing him, and to inform the public of what he really stands for.
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(Review) BtVS 8.39 'Last Gleaming' Part 4
4th December 2010 (01:10)
Tags: buffy, season 8, season 8 review
I had to struggle through snow that came halfway up to my knees to get this issue of Season 8. I hope you all appreciate my sacrifice. :-)
So - now we know who dies and who is betrayed.
The episode starts with a grand climactic fight scene with both Slayers and soldiers dying in gruesome ways at the hands of demons, while Faith i kicking ass in the middle of it all. I thought it was a good touch to show that before cutting to the more personal confrontation between Buffy and Angel, and Willow's all-too-brief moment of apotheosis.
When Buffy says "It's different than before. Now we can hurt each other." I take it she's referring to when they fought back in 8.34, before the destiny sex. Her words have a double meaning, of course, because the hurt that Angel's going to inflict on her in this episode wll be worse than physical.
Interesting character dynamics at work in the scene where Spike intervenes. He's coming to help Buffy, as you'd expect, but I think he's also a little bit glad to get a decent excuse to pummel Angel. "Chosen a side" isn't really accurate, of course, given that Angel is, we assume, possessed, but why let that get in the way of a good brawl?
Angel, on the other hand, demonstrates why he can be so scary. It's not enough for him to simply kill Spike: he wants to watch him die slowly as the sun burns him. This form of death parallels Spike's previous death in 'Chosen', of course - and the mischevious part of me notes that Angel wants Spike to die in his arms. His actions here foreshadow what he does to Giles too, of course.
The question can be asked as to why Angel does this. We're assuming he's possessed and controlled by his New Universe daughter - but presumably Kitty Twilight's aim is simply to get possession of the Seed using him as her agent. That certainly means removing any obstacles in their path, such as Buffy herself, but surely not taking time out to watch Spike fry. That surely has to come from Angel himself, or at least from the Angelus part of his character. So what happened to Angel's soul?
The answer, I think, goes as follows. Angel is indeed possessed by Twilight, and seeks to do her (/his/its) bidding. He's not a mindless automaton, though; he still has his own personality if not his own will. But - Twilight is currently soulless, because the Seed of Wonder is her soul and she doesn't currently have possession of it. So Angel is possessed by a soulless creature; therefore he acts as though he were soulless himself.
Buffy, meanwhile, is in emotional turmoil even though on the surface she's still striving to maintain her usual air of insouciance. "Oh God. I liked it better when you were kissing" sounds more exasperated than anything else; she has to intervene, like a parent, between the boys and their antics. And incidentally, save Spike's life by knocking him to safety. I'm taking it she wasn't anticipating the spaceship catching him, simply that he'd fall down out of the sunlight once Angel had to let go of him.
The kissing line is a back-reference to her dream in 'Always Darkest' (and quite possibly to many other dreams she's had); Spike's muttered "I'm fairly certain I never mentioned..." is both extremely funny, a nice call-back to 'Power Play', and proof that even in such a crisis, he can retain his cool.
Buffy apparently wasn't very impressed by Angel's 'Twilight' act earlier in the season, and now she blames herself for everything that's going wrong. "Some cosmic vengeance that I had coming." Of course, there are a lot of people in fandom who would agree with her on that. There are also a lot of people who think that we're supposed to agree with her, and are currently getting all angry with Joss Whedon for writing a story with that as its theme. Personally, I think this is just Buffy being completely in-character and shouldering all the blame herself - but not, you'll notice, letting it get in the way of doing her duty.
As for whether she is to blame for what's going on - I'd say yes, kind of, in the same sense that Duchess Sophie von Hohenberg was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War. (*Wonders how many people will get that reference.*)
When Spike says "Angel gets the girl" I understand that as being "He kills her" but deliberately alluding to the language of romance novels, of which Season 8 is a parody. As for "finally happening", in a sense there's a meta-fandom context to it. Buffy and Angel went off to be stars of their own TV shows, and later comics series, so in a way it as kind of inevitable that they'd have to get together in some sort of huge knock-down fight to see who would win.
Flash to Xander for a moment - but also a scene of Slayers (specifically, Kennedy) and soldiers fighting side by side, to emphasise that this crisis has brought all the humans together. Dawn appears to be on her feet again, so she isn't dead (unless that's the surprise twist in the final issue.) Xander has lost hope that Buffy will win this time, which could be described as a betrayal of her.
At this point, enter Giles and the cavalry. Alongside the Slayers and the soldiers, now even demons have joined the fight to save the Earth. A very nice touch is that these specific demons are the same species Buffy was fighting way back in 'The Long Way Home' - and the ones Giles went to negotiate with to ask if they knew anything about the Twilight symbol.
This can be seen a couple of different ways. Either it's uplifting - all the races of Earth uniting to fight the common enemy - or it's worrying: Giles is willing to do a deal with the devil, or at least with demons, to achieve his goals. Or it's both, of course.
Andrew gets a cameo too; he saves Leah's life when a fire-breathing dragon incinerates a group of Slayers. It's a neat but nasty touch that the demons the Slayers were fighting are unharmed by the fire, but can be seen standing there amidst the charred skeletons when the flames die down. They're also apparently bio-mechanical in nature, with technological rather than organic wings.
Now it's Willow's turn. Back when the preview was released questions were asked as to why the Master was in chains; we see here that it's simply that Willow chained him up because she thought she would make a better Guardian of the Seed than him. All the elements of her character are in full force here: her playfulness and love of language, her arrogance, her sense of wonder, the way she can go from adorable to scary in half a second. Specifically, notice that the spells she casts kill the dragon and the demons who just wiped out Leah's squad of Slayers (and were about to wipe out her and Andrew, by the looks of things.)
Willow sees herself as Guardian of the Earth now, embodying its "soul and life". It's quite disturbing, however, that the living creatures on the Earth are dismissed by her as "little things that crawl" - that's us you're talking about, Willow! Becoming a goddess means losing your connection to humanity; something that stands as one of the themes of the entire season.
At this point Willow is attacked by a giant vagina monster. I, um, don't know if the visual reference is deliberate... although the monster does appear just as she says "You attacked Mother" which might imply that it is. Willow has bonded with the Earth Mother of this plane in her defence; and is facing off against a giant distorted parody of femininity.
Here Angel comments that Willow "Thinks she can win this fight" - he doesn't comment on whether her belief is realistic, because according to him that's not the point. Willow is trying to defend the Seed and the world; Angel's aim is to take the Seed to the new universe, at which point it won't matter what happens to the Earth.
Giles comes to get the Scythe from Faith so he can give it to Buffy... the fact that Faith hands it over without demur is actually a pretty big deal for her. It's not really been explained why she had it in the first place; was it just a coincidence, because Buffy dropped it when she was zapped by the vengeful earth goddess, and Faith was the one who picked it up? Or were Faith and Giles trying deliberately to keep it out of Buffy's way until they knew which way she'd turn on the whole "Twilight wants the Seed" question?
The demon melting the bodies of those Slayers is a particularly nasty one. Faith presumably survives because she's got main-cast character privilege, the same way Spike and Angel can withstand sunlight for longer than a no-name no-dialogue vampire can, so all she gets is a bloody nose. I wonder if the other Slayers are dead now, or somehow zombified?
And now we see that Amy and Warren have skedaddled from the fight, and are enjoying a light lunch and bottle of red wine at an open-air café in St Mark's Square in Venice. I assume Warren's cowboy outfit is supposed to be some sort of disguise. Amy comes across as rather more sympathetic than he does here; she's feeling a little guilty about leaving the others, and seems wistful when she comment on how Andrew has found a place with the Scoobies now. Warren is merely dismissive and contemptuous of the man he once called a friend. The scene also reminds us of the detail of Amy's magic acting as Warren's skin, so we won't be surprised by what's about to happen to him.
Incidentally, there's been a big argument the past month or two on how extensive the devastation has been due to Buffy and Angel bonking in 8.35. We saw Andrew and Dawn reporting on volcanoes and seaquakes erupting all over the world, then we saw demons pouring out of rips in the sky, and several scenes of battles raging and cities laid waste. Many people concluded from this that the destruction must have been immense: a poll on Buffyforums showed the majority of people there were guessing the human deathtoll was in the millions or even hundreds of millions.
Set against that was the fact that with very few exceptions, the comic never actually showed innocent people being killed. The battles were all Slayers fighting demons, not demons slaughtering helpless civilians. In fact Buffy herself assumed that the demons would be specifically targetting Slayers. The question is, were we not being shown scenes of the wider effects of the crisis because the writers and artist didn't think to include them, or because in fact the destruction *was* only affecting Slayers and the army and a few unfortunates caught in the cross-fire, rather than being total?
And now we get this scene. A peaceful piazza in Venice with tourists and locals calmly going about their business. A woman is sitting at a table in the cafe reading a book; a couple of tourists are taking a photograph of the Campanile (I assume, based on the angles). If the world is ending, the news clearly hasn't reached Italy yet. Setting the scene in Venice is particularly clever, because if the seaquakes in the Arctic Ocean had really triggered a series of tsunamis laying waste to all of Europe, I imagine St Mark's Square would have been underwater by now.... In other words, this scene proves that the more exaggerated guesses about the death toll were just that - exaggerated.
Willow's spell she's about to cast at the vagina monster and its friend sounds to me vaguely like Ancient Egyptian - in fact, 'neteru' is Egyptian for 'god' or 'goddess'. I don't suppose anyone on my highly erudite flist actually speaks Ancient Egyptian, do they, and can confirm? :-)
Andrew says "All the planes are down" - effectively, that's the same thing that would have happened in 'The Gift' if Buffy or Dawn hadn't jumped off the tower. Back then, it took a death to stop the apocalypse; it will here too. I wonder how badly hurt he was by the demon punching him? Also, nice to see Kennedy being concerned about him. Where's all the Kennedy-Andrew buddyfic and bonding stories, hmm?
On a side-note, if I were Willow and had the power of flight, I'd probably choose to wear trousers rather than a skirt all the time. Just saying. :-)
And the fight shfts to the Seed chamber. When Angel tells Buffy "You created a world. You can't turn away from it" did everybody else get the impression that this was talking metaphorically about Joss and the Buffyverse? (Especially given that it's Dark Horse's editor-in-chief who wrote this particular issue; maybe Angel was expressing Scott's thoughts to Joss. :D ) Though from the violence in the scene and the way Angel is kicking Buffy around, it's clear that Joss's relationship with the world he created is not exactly a smooth one either...
Angel kills the Master, and the way Buffy takes a moment to congratulate him for doing that mid-fight is adorable. I wonder if it's significant that Angel kills his grandsire the same way that Connor killed his daughter?
Xander is watching the fight. In one sense, it's perhaps disappointing that he doesn't get a moment of cool heroics here at the climactic moment; but from another point of view, that's never bene his role on the show. He's the Everyman, or the Chorus in the Shakespearian sense, there to give us a point of reference and the ordinary person's perspective on the things going on around him... plus to give emotional support to the hero, which is what Iimagine his big moment will be next issue.
This is Giles's moment, however. He's brought the Scythe to give it to Buffy, because while her power is limited in the presence of the Seed, the Scythe instead is enhanced by it. We were told earlier that Giles was looking for a weapon to kill a God; it seems he's found it.
The trouble is, he doesn't think Buffy will be willing to use it. She won't kill Angel, or at least she'll hesitate - and presumably, with Angel being a powerful as her and actively fighting her, he'd use the moment of hesitation to grab the Scythe? And so he goes to "get between those two".
I think this is a quite deliberate and knowing moment of self-sacrifice. He believes that only by this action will Buffy be sufficiently motivated to end the battle, without further hesitation. Which, indeed, is exactly what happens.
We've come full circle from 'The Gift'. In that episode, Giles took it upon himself to kill Ben because he didn't think Buffy could bring herself to do it. Here, he lets himself be killed because, again, he doesn't think she'd otherwise bring herself to kill Angel. It's kind of a karmic return, seen in that sense.
It's also, of course, an extremely heroic, noble and self-sacrificial deed... and one that's not unproblematic. Giles is manipulating Buffy into doing his will, the same way Angel has been doing all season, "for her own good" - though the difference of course is the price Giles is willing to pay in return.
The problem is, Buffy doesn't kill Angel - she breaks the Seed. I honestly don't know if that was part of Giles's plan, or if it was the exact opposite from what he hoped to achieve. In which case, his attempt to manipulate Buffy was foiled by her exercise of free will - although she isn't exactly acting in a clear-headed manner here, understandably enough. I don't think she knew what effect breaking the Seed would have, personally - I think she just saw it as the cause of all her problems. She was lashing out in pain and rage.
A thought occurred to me that back in 'The Long Way Home', Ethan Rayne was killed. Now Giles is dead too. People who believe in an afterlife can draw comfort from that; they're reunited again. :-) Was it foreshadowing?
So what happens when the Seed of Wonder is broken? It has one good effect: the demons are dragged back up into the sky and out through the dimensional portals again. butthe overall effect is presented as being destructive. Buffy says something wordless, perhaps a call-back to the notorious space sex scene?
As Willow clutches her head and screams, we get a montage of 13 shocked-looking young women. I don't know if they're reacting to seeing Willow, but I interpret it differently. This is the Season 8 equivalent in reverse of the montage in 'Chosen', but these are Wiccans all over the world suddenly losing all their powers. We see a specific scene too, in what appears to be New York - showing that not all the Slayers were either killed or took refuge in Tibet. *waves to Vi*
As I predicted, the end of magic results in Warren's immediate and extremely messy death. (In as much as he was alive before, of course.) I can't say I'm heartbroken, though, although Amy seems to be.
Willow, on the other hand, is looking at the end of her world. From her perspective, they just lost the battle; and it's hard to see a scene where a whole group of women are disempowered as being any kind of victory. She may have lost more than that too, given how far she fell and Kennedy's "Baby-- baby, lie still, I think you broke--" Broke what?
I've a nasty feeling, given the twisted way she's lying with her legs stretched out uselessly along the ground, that the answer his 'her spine' and without magic she's looking at spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair. But we'll see next issue. (Obviously by the time of 'Fray' she's fully mobile, not to mention 200 years old, but that might not be 'this' Willow.)
I don't imagine a crippled and powerless Willow will be very happy when she discovers it was Buffy who broke the seed... Kennedy comes off extremely well in this scene, though. Concerned and supportive.
Willow is crying out franticly for Aluwyn when Kennedy finds her, because the bond has been broken and Aluwyn won't be able to contact the Earth again. I know some people have interpreted theri relationship as an illicit love affair, which makes it rather tactless of Willow to be calling for Aluwyn in front of Kennedy. I don't really interpret it that way, though: I think it was much more a mentor-student relationship. (Which, as the ancient Greeks would tell you, could well be sexual, but sex wasn't the purpose of it.)
The obvious parallel here is that both Willow and Buffy have lost their primary mentor figures, and will have to go forward into the rest of their lives without their support. It's all bvery symbolic of coming of age - the nasty part of it, compared to the empowerment part that was Season 7's metaphor.
Spike gets to be all admiring of Buffy's achievement - of course, he never doubts for a moment that Buffy was the one to save the world, and makes sure his crew understands that too. Then just like in 'Chosen' he leaves to "do the clean-up" - chase after one of the giant demons which slipped away instead of getting called through the portal. Since he's flying after the giant vagina monster that Willow was fighting earlier, if I were crude I might say that Spike left to chase pussy instead of sticking around - but I'm not (and this isn't an IDW comic) so I won't. :-) I'm sure much has already been written arguing over whether Spike is "leaving to be his own man and do something heroic" or "leaving Buffy in the lurch because Joss hates Spuffy". Or, in fact, whether he might show up in the next episode all pleased after having killed the monster. :-)
The final page shows us the scene from the prophecy in 'Anywhere But Here', and now we know why Buffy is crying. What's new is that Xander is there to go to her and try to comfort her - which, really, is Xander's distinctive brand of heroism. There's a strong reminder of 'Prophecy Girl' here - not only the set-up but the architecture, the dry ice, and the fact that Angel is being useless.
I actually feel really sorry for Angel here, going by his imploring expression. It's clear that breaking the Seed returned him to his normal self, and he bitterly regrets what he's done. But given Xander's reaction, I don't think the forgiveness he wants will be quick in coming, from anybody.
I know a lot of people have said that Joss has "ruined Angel" this season - but in a way, I think what this does is distill him down to his purest essence. Angel is the monster who tries to walk like a man. He's the sinner seeking redemption; the one who did great evil but now tries to help the helpless, not in a crude 'balancing the scales' way but because as someone with a conscience, what else can he do?
But the problem is, his crimes were mostly all off-camera and abstract. We saw occasional flashbacks where he was dressed in a bad wig doing an worse Irish accent, and we were *told* how rotten and mean and nasty Angelus used to be, but we were never really shown it. Season 2 tried to up the scales, and by Early-Buffy standards it did to an extent - but for all she was a sympathetic character, Jenny was still only a recurring part. Now Angel has killed one of the Core Four, someone loved by (almost) everyone - and he killed him in a way which we in the audience will instantly recognise as the same way he killed Jenny, even down to the circular motif in the architecture behind him.
So before now, the question "Can we forgive Angel for his past crimes, now he's trying to be a good man?" was easy to answer. Yes of course; his evil past wasn't really dwelt on much, we never saw him doing anything really unforgiveable, it was mostly just talk. And killing Willow's goldfish, mustn't forget that. But now? Both the audience and the characters are going to have a really hard time forgiving him. And that, I respectfully submit to you, is the whole point of Angel's character arc. Winning redemption is no achievement if everybody would be happy to offer it to you.
Buffy's Scythe is broken. It was the Scythe that symbolised the empowerment in Season 7, so seeing it broken here, coupled with the depowered Wiccan montage, really rubs in the idea that we're meant to see this as a defeat. There's only one episode left in the season, and it's called 'Coda' which doesn't imply that there'll be many more plot developments, just reflection, reaction and tying up loose ends. (Though that may be a mislead.) Most of the show's season finales were deliberately designed to work as series finales as well if the show wasn't renewed; if things end like this, it will be a pretty depressing end toth show. But (a) the mood might be reversed in the final issue, (b) we already know there's going to be a Season 9, so this isn't the end. It is, rather, the Empire Strikes Back of the 'Buffy' franchise.
Let's just hope there are no Ewoks in season 9.
Posted by: Chani φ ( frenchani)
Posted at: 4th December 2010 10:38 (UTC)
I don't believe in afterlife. :-(
But I will forgive Joss for this mess, because of Giles' best line on the show:
"To forgive is an act of compassion, Buffy. It's not done because people deserve it. It's done because they need it."
Well, in real life neither do I - but in the Buffyverse, it seems things are different. Certainly they were for Buffy. (I didn't know you were reading these reviews, but I did think of you when I wrote that particular line ;-) )
Well, depressed Buffy thought she was in heaven before they brought her back to life, but it doesn't mean she was.
(I don't usually read them but for some reason I felt compelled to read this one...you must have thought of me very hard! ;- ))
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Tag Archive: provocation
Heathrow Terminal 5, Tuesday Morning 10th January 2012
Filed under: Christianity, Ethics, Free Speech, Uncategorized, Veganism — 1 Comment
Monday, 23rd January, 2012
Continued from ‘Police Stop and Search Slashed’ post.
Some time after 6am I found myself confronted by two police women asking me what I was doing there and, as I tried to explain, they talked me down and I thought they were rude, so I persisted in trying to explain until I got upset and they said I wasn’t being very nice. They said they were trying to help me, all I could see was that they wanted to move me on, and I felt as if I had been a specific target. I just thought they were really rude and unintelligent in the way they communicated and I was trying really hard to make them understand how I was feeling and how this was not a permanent or particularly chosen situation for me to be in, that I had tried to get a crisis loan and the systems had been down, and everything else I said in the post I referred to in my opening line. They were pointing at me and being really provocative and aggressive. Not violent, aggressive.
The next thing I knew they were calling backup, and 2 male officers arrived. The way they looked at me and treated me and teased me about the way I was behaving, I lost it.
There was a male member of airport staff with a white shirt sitting opposite me, he had been there for about half an hour. He had been speaking, it seemed to me, for my hearing, even though he must have been about 25 feet away. He was lounging backwards and eyeing me and his body language was challenge and domination. He continued to watch and listen intently, almost as if he was theatre audience or in a court room, while these police women were talking to me, and he was freaking me out. I told the police I wasn’t going to talk to them anymore while he was sitting there doing what he was doing and until he was removed. He was just eyeing me determinedly, but they refused to deal with him.
One of the male officers said loudly at some point, ‘all women are crazy’ and I wanted to make it stop and make it unsaid and take him to task but there seemed to be no way to do it. I didn’t know how to handle it. I was horrified and couldn’t believe he had said it. Eventually they were dragging me out of the airport and he was continuing to be provocative. I was objecting and he was saying ‘no one cares’, and it felt like a personal and emotional invalidation. I had recently heard on The News Quiz on Radio 4 that 700-900 officers in the Metropolitan police have criminal records, including GBH. Someone has told me since this incident that people with criminal records are not allowed to join the police and the records might have been gained while with the police, but I don’t know.
Anyway, I was wound up and swearing, and the same man said ‘if you swear once more I will put you under arrest’. So I said, not feeling able to back down at that point, ‘OK then, fuck off’. It was funny, he should have laughed and seen how inappropriate he was being himself. The woman officer at the station I told as i was leaving laughed when I recounted it, and that felt like a real relief. But instead he just said straight away, ‘right, you’re under arrest’. At some point he put handcuffs on me. My right wrist was black and purple for almost a week afterwards.
I said they were acting illegally, and that while I might be on the wrong side of the police, the police were on the wrong side of the law. I said they were illegal, he said contemptuously ‘we all know what you are. I asked him what and he wouldn’t answer. I kept pressing him for an answer and he wouldn’t say. I started shouting the odds again about the figures for police with criminal records, addressing the people around me, and he kept saying ‘no one cares’. I said that wasn’t true. I get one incident mixed up with another so I’m not sure how much I said on that occasion. So I won’t make it up as if I can.
Every time I spoke they were speaking into and over me, if that makes sense to people. I said they had killed my father, that he had committed suicide, but that I wasn’t going to commit suicide, I was going to blog. At the same time that I was saying I was only 11 years old when my father committed suicide, he was saying, ‘I bet he killed himself because of you’. I’ve heard that only one other time in my life, from a class mate straight after his death. I was outraged, like an animal in pain. He had no right to say that, but no matter how much I objected and kept trying to say they had no right to do what they were doing, they just kept mocking me and talking me down.
When they took me out of the van they gave a skewed account to the desk sergeant about what had happened and I said it was a misrepresentation. They were being strict and confrontational, I said I had an appointment with the housing people about getting emergency housing at 11am (it was between 7.30 and 8am) and the sergeant said ‘I think you are going to miss it’. I said ‘I bet you’re going to keep me here until it is too late for me to get a crisis loan today as well, aren’t you, so I will have no money tonight either, so what do you expect me to do and what good do you think you are doing?’
I felt I was being treated unfairly throughout and was angry and trying to be heard, but they were deliberately ignoring me. I’m not sure if I had mentioned the harassment and vigilantism at this point or not. But somehow it came about that the man who had been saying the things I have written started saying with seething anger, ‘she is going to come up to the desk and talk to you like a lady’. I said ‘I will start acting like a lady when you start acting like a decent man’.
They insisted I take my watch and therapeutic magnet off. I said I didn’t want the disorientation of not even knowing what time it was, but in the end I relinquished them, and my necklace which I won in a Crisis at Christmas raffle, because the way they grabbed my hands it felt as if they might break my fingers if I didn’t.
At 8.10am they put me in a bare cell with a bed shelf and mattress, a blanket and a toilet. There was no toilet paper. They said they would get me some breakfast but I got nothing until lunchtime, by which time I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything or been to the toilet for over 12 hours. I had not been offered a drink during this time.
They told me at the beginning of the morning that I could see a duty solicitor. I left without having seen one. They were reading something at the beginning while I was upset and shouting and they said ‘that’s a no, then’ to something I didn’t hear.
Soon, after not having slept all night, I started to fall asleep on the bench. As soon as I did I heard a male voice shout out, and they were banging. This happened several times, that one of them shouted out as soon as I began to fall asleep. I felt desperate. I later saw that there was a camera on the ceiling pointed straight at my bed. I wondered how closely they had it trained on me. Over the last 2 days I have thought seriously that they were deliberately using sleep deprivation and I believe I am right.
Their idea of a vegan lunch was chips and some vegetables, no protein. I gave up trying to eat it, I was so upset. I asked if i could have a cup of tea with my soya milk, but they said no, I couldn’t have anything which had come from outside the station, even though they had no soya milk and didn’t offer to get any for me.
Several times, at least through the afternoon, a male officer would walk up to my cell door, stop outside and cough hard and significantly, and walk away again. It frightened and angered me. I kept feeling screaming and hysteria rise into my throat which I had to control, because I knew expressing it would do no good. I kept wanting to speak to them like friends and ask for their help.
On the ceiling inside the door there was a sign that said there could be a monetary reward for anonymous information leading to crime. When I saw it I said something about bribery and corruption.
I have felt over the last couple of days that they had me there expecting me to ‘talk’. But they never asked me any questions.
Later in the afternoon I said something about a cup of tea and that I was a vegan and didn’t drink dairy milk. The officer was angry and rude and dismissive. He brought a cup of tea, even though I had said i didn’t want black tea, and I also didn’t want water, which was all they would offer me instead. So when he turned up with this I wondered what it was and asked him if it was black or if it had milk. He said it was powdered milk, and put it down on the floor rudely saying ‘it’s tea, do you want it or don’t you? You either want it or you don’t’. I ‘said’, ‘I’m a vegan and have been for 4 years. That is my life choice and you are being abusive and disrespectful’.
There were no books, nothing to write with, nothing was offered, and I was harassed constantly and not allowed to sleep. I was a wreck. After all that and everything they had put me through in the morning, I think at some point I asked them when the solicitor was coming and what we were waiting for, and the officer said we were waiting for a doctor, because they thought I needed a mental health assessment. I started shouting angrily and hysterically, saying after everything they had done to me and without having seen a solicitor, they wanted to subject me to a mental health assessment, and I said all they were really interested in seeing from me was naked fear.
When the doctor came I was taken to an office with an open door, and as we were talking the police started to interfere again in the same way as they had been doing before when I was speaking, but pretending it had nothing to do with me. I had asked for the door to be closed for privacy, but the doctor had refused and said it wasn’t necessary. When the interventions came I started to be afraid and panic, and they kept them coming until I was unable to control my fear. The doctor refused to recognise what was happening, and he ended the interview telling the police, after I had gone, that he thought I needed a mental health assessment.
I didn’t find this out until several hours later when I asked again what we were waiting for and when the solicitor was going to arrive. All day I was not told that I would not be seeing a solicitor. They said we were waiting for a mental health team because the doctor had believed I needed an assessment. Again I became angry and hysterical.
Before my father died we had a dog, which survived his death by a few years. When he was alive my dad used to take him out with a big stick. I think there was a nail in the stick at one point. I used to tease my dog with the stick and thought it was really funny when he went running under the settee screaming. I have realised in recent years he was terrified and been really upset at myself for what I did. He would come out all docile and upset and exhausted, qlmost as if he was crying and telling me he was upset. Loving and trusting me and telling me, his tormentor, that he was upset and frightened and taking comfort from me.
That is how I felt when they started talking about mental health teams. I thought they did it to make me scream, and they got that much, at least.
The mental health team decided I didn’t need to be in hospital and told me the offciers were going to try to find me somewhere to stay that night.
When the evening shift took over a woman came to my cell. She seemed nice and sympathetic, and when I told her what the offcier had said about my father killing himself because of me, she seemed genuinely shocked and said he shouldn’t have said that.
I can’t remember all the order of how the last part of the day happened, but she told me that, because I had been arrested, they had the power to take my DNA and fingerprints. I believed that saying she had the power was not the same as saying it was something they HAD to do, so I asked her if she was going to do it. She said a male officer was going to do it. She said he was a ‘good lad’, and I wondered what that counted for with people like the police. What would this ‘good lad’ do with people who were not me?
I didn’t believe there was any point trying to resist or persuade, and I don’t know how I let them do it. I knew throughout that it was unjust and an assault and although she kept trying to keep it light, I felt as if I was standing there having to pretend it was OK for them to rape me and believe the people doing it were ‘good’. I couldn’t lash out. They forced it through knowing as well as I did, I believe, that they had no right to be doing it and it wasn’t OK. It was all a pretence and they were demanding a pretence of me. I was not at liberty to say how repulsive and abusive it was, although we all knew it. I had to stand there and pretend that this enormity was a small and inconsequential thing, not an act of illegal subjugation and domination.
Afterwards, when I was standing at the desk, I saw a male officer behind a glass screen sitting in front of a computer. I wasn’t sure if he had been there all day, he was acting as if he was part of the next shift. I started watching him while he was watching his screen, and wondering what he was doing or reading or looking at. My attitude was open, and as I watched, I saw him begin to smile and his smile got bigger and happier. I thought he was reacting to me and I looked around and saw a camera immediately above the desk. I realised he was watching me and immediately switched him off and turned away from the camera. As I did his features darkened. His number was ID 24. A few minutes later he came out and said he was leaving and finishing his shift. But I realised he was observing me at the desk through the camera.
After he went the woman officer tried to contact the out of hours crisis loan office, but there wasn’t one in that area, and no loan could be arranged. Also they couldn’t arrange somewhere for me to spend the night. Before I left she started talking with her colleague who was going to run me to the bus station. She was talking in ways I felt I recognised, about ‘her 2 year old’ and that she was ‘vain’. She seemed to be commenting on my bodily reactions that she could see from behind. She talked about something being ‘back breaking’.
I had already talked to her about people talking in code. I believed she was talking about me. I thought she must be, she couldn’t possibly be calling her own child ‘vain’. I couldn’t, at that time, believe she would do that.
Her colleague ran me to the bus station in a van exactly the same as the one I had been brought to the station in, and I sat in the back, exactly the same as before. I felt it was a deliberate re-enactment, reversed, of what I had been through in the morning. I almost felt as if they were saying that, if I had responded differently, I could have received (more) help. I thought they had said I could hang around the bus station with everyone else, because there were people there all night. But when I sought to clarify this as I got out of the van she said she hadn’t said any such thing and that I could be picked up for doing so, that it would be best if I didn’t. But she knew I had no money and nowhere to go. I wondered if she had been trying to get a last second capitulation from me. I wanted to go back to the airport, it felt like the right thing to do and my right, but I was afraid and didn’t, I got on the tube. I was upset and disorientated.
They had held me for 14 hours in sensory deprivation conditions, constantly harassed and banged at and coughed at and deprived of sleep, deliberately, I believed, and subjected to mental cruelty and torture. In all that time I never saw the solicitor I had been told I would see.
Tags: Abuse, Abuse of Power, Antipsychiatry, Baiting, boundaries, community, Corruption, Fear, harassment, Heathrow Airport, Homelessness, Human Rights, Hysteria, Injustice, Intimidation, law, Mental Cruelty, Mental Health, Outrage, police, provocation, Sexual Harassment, verbal assault, Violence, women
Post For ‘Violence Against Women’ Tag
Filed under: Bulgaria, Free Speech, Media Harassment, Uncategorized — 1 Comment
Saturday, 9th April, 2011
Please read my last post. It was tagged but WordPress has not allowed it in this category. Thanks. Sorry it rambles a bit. Since writing this they have put a link at the bottom of my post to another called ‘A Couple of Technical Questions’. They say it is automatically generated, but everyone does this and I know what they have in mind, whatever they mean by it or intend, and those questions are matters for the police, not stalking and harassment. I suggest they should shut up or put up. They should go to the police. I am not afraid, in fact I wish they would. I’ve already talked to the police. They won’t be telling them anything they don’t know already.
Tags: Antipsychiatry, Belittling, Blackmail, Censorship, Christianity, Corruption, Customer Service, Cyber attack, Dehumanisation, Featured Posts, Freedom of Speech, Games People Play, harassment, Have A Go Heroes, Human Rights, Interrogation, Intimidation, Invalidation, law, Narrowcasting, Occult, organised stalking, police, provocation, Psychological Violence, Quizzing, Taunting, Torture, Violence against women, WordPress
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Respiration is the essential metabolic process whereby energy is created in the form of ATP. There are two types of respiration, aerobic respiration and anaerobic respiration. In aerobic respiration, there is a reaction between oxygen and glucose, resulting in the generation of 38 ATP, with carbon dioxide and water being produced as waste products. There are a number of steps in this process, which involve a series of complex reactions. Anaerobic respiration is the process whereby ATP is generated in the absence of oxygen. Glucose is broken down into 2ATP and lactic acid as a waste product.
Aerobic respiration goes through complex stages (phases) in the next order:
Glycolysis: Where one glucose molecule (6-Carbon molecule), is transformed to two pyruvate molecules (3-Carbon molecules), and four ATP molecules.
Link Reaction: One pyruvate molecule is changed to one acetyl-CoA molecule (2-Carbon molecule) by releasing one carbon atom in the form of carbon dioxide.
Krebs Cycle: Also called the TCA (tricarboxylic acid) Cycle, occurs twice for one glucose molecule (because each glucose molecule is split into two pyruvates which produce one Acetyl-CoA each) producing: 2 ATP molecules, six NADH molecules, two FADH2 Molecules and four CO2 molecules
Electron transport chain: Where electrons pass from one carrier to the other, with O2 as the last carrier, producing 32 ATP molecules, using ATP_synthase.
Retrieved from "https://teaching.ncl.ac.uk/bms/wiki/index.php/Respiration"
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Digital Millenium Copyright Act
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飛劍
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02-07-2019: - Korean section of the site was updated to the latest version of the game.
11-06-2019: - US section of the site was updated to the latest version of the game.
31-05-2019: - All language sections were updated to the latest version of the game.
30-04-2019: - English (Gameforge), German and French sections were updated to the latest version of the game.
27-04-2019: - Added the "Pets" and "Pet level up items" sections (JP/KR/TW/RU versions only, other versions of the game don't have pets yet).
03-04-2019: - Russian section of the site was updated to the latest version of the game.
29-03-2019: - English (Gameforge), German, French, Taiwanese and Japanese sections were updated up to the latest version of the game.
19-01-2019: - Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese sections of the site were updated to the latest version of the game.
15-01-2019: - US section of the site updated up to the latest version of the game.
14-12-2018: - All language sections updated up to the latest version of the game.
- Added the "EP Enhancements" section.
- Added the "Fish" and "Fishing rods" submenus into the "Items" menu.
13-11-2018: - US, English (Gameforge), German, French, Korean and Japanese sections were updated to the latest version of the game.
13-10-2018: - I would like to present to you my latest database site - MapleStory 2 Codex. It already has quite a lot information on the game and you can expect a lot of new features to be added in the future.
So if you are going to play MapleStory 2, check my site as well. Maybe you'll find it useful.
01-06-2018: - I would like to present to you my latest database site - Bless Core. It already has quite a lot on information on the game and you can expect a lot of new features to be added in the future.
So if you are going to play Bless Online, check my site as well. Maybe you'll find it useful.
16-05-2018: - US, English (Gameforge), German, French and Russian sections were updated up to the latest version of the game.
- Added the links to the related quests for the skills, which are obtained through such quests.
- Updated the skill pages for all classes with Apex skills.
14-03-2018: - Russian section updated up to the latest version of the game.
10-03-2018: - English (Gameforge), German, French and Japanese sections were updated up to the latest version of the game.
27-02-2018: - Hey guys! As you might have noticed, the site is very slow, unstable or even unreachable since last Friday. At that day a guy messaged me in the Discord saying that he will ddos the site, if i don't pay him ransom in bitcoins. Of course i have no intentions to pay him, and now working with my hoster's support team on the mitigation of the attack.
To this moment the support guys were able to decrease the effects of the attack, but the next wave of the attack can return anytime. The attack is quite powerful, it sends about 1.5Tb of traffic per day to my server with more than 10 millions of requests. Until it ends, please have some patience guys. The site is not going anywhere, i'll continue to improve it and fullfil your requests as usual.
- Added an Instances list with possible drop for each instance.
05-01-2018: - Forum was upgraded up to the latest version. All user accounts were preserved, but there is a possibility of forum access problems after the upgrade. If you have any problems with forum's functionality, please write me an email (Check Community->Contacts menu).
25-10-2017: - Japanese section of the site was updated up to the latest version of the game.
09-10-2017: - Today we've launched a new database site for MMORPG Lineage 2 Revolution. If you are already playing this game or only thinking to try it, please check out our site L2Rdatabase.com. We hope, you'll find it useful.
10-05-2017: - US section updated up to the latest version of the game.
11-11-2016: - English (Gameforge), German and French sections were updated up to the latest version of the game.
19-10-2016: - Japanese and Russian sections updated up to the latest version of the game.
07-07-2016: - US and Russian sections updated up to the latest version of the game.
19-05-2016: - Russian and Korean sections were updated up to the latest version of the game.
18-05-2016: - Japanese section updated up to the latest version of the game.
10-10-2015: - Thanks to our contributors we've updated our drop tables, shop lists and npc/gatherables spawn locations.
28-09-2015: - Updated the drop lists for the chests/boxes.
- Thanks to our contributors we've updated our drop tables, shop lists and npc/gatherables spawn locations.
07-08-2015: - Fixed stats for some crystals/niveots.
- Added full texts for books/documents.
- Imported drop table updates by our contributors.
15-06-2015: - One week has passed and another pack of data, collected by our contributors by using the TeraDb Tool, was imported into the database. Drop tables were updated with more then 4k of items. Thank you guys!
Please, take note. If you want to see your stats in the Contributors table, your nick in the TeraDB Tool has to be the same as your nickname on our forum. Otherwise collected data will be added to Anonymous user.
08-06-2015: - Thanks to our contributors we've updated our drop table. Now it's almost twice bigger then it was before. Keep them coming guys!
02-06-2015: - Fixed the display of the rewards for Vanguard Initiative quests.
21-05-2015: - Added Glyph Calculator (Community->Glyph Calculator).
- Added Popular builds list (Community->Popular glyph builds). Builds can be sorted by popularity, class, rating etc.
23-05-2015: - Added contributors table (Community->Contributors table). There users, who added some drop data (manually or by using TeraDB Tool), can see statistics of their work.
- slight changes in the site's main menu. "Forum" and "TeraDB Tool" items were moved to the "Community" menu.
- added display of stackability for enchantment crystals.
21-05-2015: - Our data mining tool brings first results. We've updated drop tables and NPC/Gatherables locations. Gatherables with the same name but different ids are now merged into one. Now you can see all possible locations of the gatherable on the single page.
19-05-2015: - We've released our Tera data gathering tool. Please see this thread for full description.
06-05-2015: - US section updated up to the latest version of the game. Gunner's skills will be updated soon.
29-04-2015: - added display of Awakenable status/stats for corresponding equipment.
- added Enchantable/Masterwork/Awakenable columns to the equipment lists.
29-04-2015: - added division of NPCs/Quests by zones/instances.
16-04-2015: - added maps with locations of some NPCs;
- added dialog texts for NPCs;
- added more sell lists for vendors.
08-04-2015: - fixed display of zones for NPCs and quests;
- fixed descriptions of Reaper's skills;
- added display of equipment set bonuses;
- added Items->Equipment sets section;
- added lists of goods for vendor NPCs.
17-03-2015: - added ablity to add drop items for NPCs (registered users).
- added filtration of equipment by tier and crystal slots.
15-03-2015: - added "Quests", "NPCs" and "Gatherins" sections.
08-03-2015: - added "Skills" section.
03-03-2015: - added "Achievements" section.
19-02-2015: - added "Сraft" section.
- Added craft calculator on each recipe's page.
16-02-2015: - site launch
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Tanec Praha
TANEC PRAHA - festival
Czech Dance Platform
PONEC - dance venue
About the 31st edition
Rules for Visitors and Terms & Conditions
By purchasing a ticket, the participant (hereinafter referred to as the "viewer") and the organizer Tanec Praha z.ú., Husitská 899/24a, 130 00 Prague 3, identification no.: 44268211, enter into a contract on participation in the TANEC PRAHA 2019 festival. Under this contract (by purchasing a ticket), the viewer undertakes to comply with the following Terms & Conditions of Participation in the TANEC PRAHA 2019 festival (hereinafter referred to as the "festival").
1. By purchasing a ticket, the viewer agrees with the rules for visitors and the terms & conditions of the theatre. All tickets can be purchased online at the theatre's website, at goout.cz (by card / bank transfer) or at the box office. Purchased tickets cannot be exchanged or returned. When purchasing, check the accuracy of the information on the ticket.
2. Every person entering the theatre is required to present a valid ticket. Visitors less than 15 years of age can only enter the theatre accompanied by an adult. Pupils/students must be supervised by their teachers or another escort.
3. The program is subject to change.
4. Unless otherwise stated, the price of admission will be refunded only in the case of a cancelled performance. Information will be provided by the festival's sales department. Tickets can only be returned where they were purchased, unless otherwise stated. Tickets purchased through bulk orders can be exchanged or returned if the performance is changed or cancelled only in the festival's sales department.
5. Upon cancellation of a performance, tickets will be returned or exchanged for another date according to the instructions of the festival's sales department.
6. Lost tickets will not be refunded. In exceptional cases, it is possible to ask the festival's sales department to issue a duplicate, which is subject to a fee of CZK 50 per ticket.
7. The viewer is obliged to collect clothes and bags stored in the PONEC theatre's cloakroom immediately or no later than 30 minutes after the performance. If a viewer wishes to stay in the theatre café, they must first collect their belongings from the cloakroom.
8. The ticketholder acknowledges that an audio-visual record can be made during or in connection with the performance. In connection with this, the ticketholder agrees that his or her image may be recorded. At the same time, the viewer provides the festival and third parties the right to use such audio-visual recordings for promotional purposes.
9. Making audio-video recordings during performances in any way, including the internet and mobile phones, is prohibited.
10. Entry to the theatre is not allowed after the start of the performance.
11. It is forbidden to make noise or to otherwise be disruptive during the performance.
12. Festival visitors may only enter the areas designated for them (foyer, auditorium, festival cafes and bars).
13. Everyone enters the theatre at their own risk.
14. Every person entering the theatre is obliged to behave in such a way as to avoid damage to the theatre or its equipment and is obliged to maintain cleanliness and order in the vicinity of the theatre.
15. The festival organizer and operator reserves the right to refuse entry or expel anyone who is under the influence of alcohol, drugs and other psychotropic substances, as well as anyone whose behaviour is deemed to be inappropriate.
16. Visitors may not bring animals into the theatre, except for assistance dogs for the physically disabled.
17. The festival organizer only allows the consumption of food and beverages purchased in the theatre and only in reserved places. Drinks can be brought into the auditorium only with the permission of the organizer. The theatre strictly forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 18.
18. If personal items are forgotten in the theatre during the performance, please contact the authorized person at the venue.
19. The theatre operator and event organizer assume no liability for the loss or theft of items, except for those items that the theatre operator has taken into custody in a specially designated area for this purpose (cloakroom).
20. Smoking in the theatre and other festival venues is strictly forbidden as is using an open flame.
21. In the event of the evacuation of the theatre, everyone in the building is obliged to follow the evacuation plan and the instructions of the people authorized to manage the evacuation.
22. Anyone who notices a defect in the premises or the equipment of the theatre that threatens the safety of persons or a defect that could lead to property damage is obliged to report the defect immediately to an authorized person.
23. In the event of an injury to any person, witnesses are obliged to notify the authorized person or staff of the theatre. The theatre operator is not responsible for damages to property and health of visitors if they are caused by the irresponsibility of other people present.
24. For more information about barrier-free access to the theatres, please contact the festival sales department michaela.danova@tanecpraha.eu.
#tanecpraha
PONEC – dance venue
TANEC PRAHA Festival
M +420 724 123 882
E ponec@tanecpraha.eu
Drupal web od Drupal ᐬrts
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How to Save CNN (That is…if it deserves saving) >>
CNN is bleeding ratings and laying off employees. And yes, I take particular delight in that. But I’m not an unreasonable man, and I do know an opportunity when I see one…so I’ve come up with a plan that would save CNN and benefit Conservative Americans…but there’s no way they would ever go for it. Also, the media has gone radio silent about the Denver STEM shooting–and I think I know why. I give you some facts about the shooters and their families that mainstream “journalists” just can’t be bothered to mention.
website: www.outlawthedemocrats.com
MORE FROM America's Evil Genius >>
We Don’t Need Content Monitors or Community Standards
This week’s program begins with a brief tribute to the first man I ever cast a Presidential ballot for, Ross Perot. From there, we discuss the story of a Facebook Content Moderator who died on the job…and how it was so unnecessarry…because humanity would be better off if Social Media sites didn’t have any “community...
No More Excuses for Urban America
How a recent execution of a police officer in the St. Louis area drives home the uncomfortable point about the toxic culture existing in Urban America. As the body count and cost of violent crime rises, it is time for our society to hold this culture accountable for their attitudes which are causing this crime....
Democrats, Polls, and Guns
Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen Democrats trumpeting lots of polls and gun legislation…all while showing a horrible lack of understanding of either! Also, one of the most dangerous cities in America just celebrated a professional sports championship…with no incidents of crime or violence. How is this possible? I have the answer…but...
An Honest Look At Gay Pride Month
June is Gay Pride Month (or, as the more modern terminology would refer to it, “LGBTABCDEFG Pride Month”). We are told this month–and the actions of the LGBT leadership in general–is about the constant pursuit of equality. But do they really want equality, or do they want something far more nefarious? Also, we make the...
Those enslaved NBA Millionaires…
Just when you thought SJW’s couldn’t be any more disconnected from reality…the NBA is evidently moving away from the term “team owner” because some view it as problematic that a White owner would own the labor of Black men. Yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds, and we discuss what this says about Social Justice...
War, Bubonic Plague, & Fanny Packs
A wide range of subjects on tonight’s show. First, we discuss America’s “War Weariness” after the last 18 years, and whether or not this is preventing us from resolving some important issues with some of our enemies around the world. Then, we bring back “That Was The week That Was” with stories of people in...
ALL SHOWS BY America's Evil Genius
SUPPORT America's Evil Genius >>
Become a TFR Supporter through this link and 50% of your subscription will go to support America's Evil Genius until you cancel. Sign up now and get:
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ROLLING LOUD FESTIVAL MIAMI 2019
TRAVIS SCOTT, KID CUDI, MIGOS, CARDI B, LIL WAYNE & MORE TO HEADLINE
Iconic Festival To Celebrate Fifth Anniversary
Rolling Loud, the World’s Largest Hip-Hop Festival, has announced today that Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Migos, Cardi B, & Lil Wayne will be the top headliners for the three day music festival’s fifth anniversary celebration in May. Other performing acts include Lil Uzi Vert, Rae Sremmurd, 21 Savage, Wiz Khalifa, Playboi Carti, Lil Pump, Kodak Black, Gucci Mane, YG, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Rick Ross, Juice Wrld, Young Thug, Kevin Gates, Sheck Wes, Trippie Red, Lil Skies, Tyga, and over 100 more artists. The festival will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium festival grounds in Miami Gardens, Florida on May 10 – 12. Tickets will be going on sale on Friday, February 1st and are available here.
“Rolling Loud was all just a dream, the fans made it into a reality. Thank you so much for all the support and helping create a brand that will live on forever. Can’t wait to show you what we have in store for you on site this year in Miami” said co-founder Matt Zingler.Co-founder Tariq Cherif stated, “After a year of touring the festival around the country and world, we are excited to return home to Miami to produce what will be our biggest and best show to date.”
About Rolling Loud:
Rolling Loud was launched by co-founders, Matthew Zingler and Tariq Cherif five years ago in Miami, Florida. Rolling Loud is the World’s Largest Hip-Hop Festival and is one of the premier destinations for hip-hop and music fans in the United States and abroad. Since organizing its inaugural event as a single-day festival in 2015, Rolling Loud has expanded into an annual world-class festival in Miami (2015), as well as culturally rich countries and cities, both domestically and abroad, including Oakland, California (2017), Los Angeles, California (2017), and Sydney, Australia (2018). In 2018, Rolling Loud’s flagship event, Rolling Loud Miami, hosted 180,000 attendees over three days with more than 120 artists performing on three stages. Celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2019, Rolling Loud Miami will, as always, feature the biggest names and up-and-coming superstars fans have come to expect, with an extraordinary and diverse array of hiphop artists performing across the three-day event. Rolling Loud will continue its worldwide expansion in 2019 with new locations to be announced later this year.
About The Founders:
Matthew Zingler and Tariq Cherif are the co-founders of Rolling Loud and have been booking premier hip-hop shows throughout the State of Florida since 2010 and have been featured in Billboard Magazine’s annual list of the Who’s Who in Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop Power Players Edition consecutively since the inaugural list in 2017.
This entry was posted in Fashion + Music and tagged 21 savage, 360, 360 Magazine, California, cardi b, Gucci Mane, Hiphop, Juice WRLD, Kevin gates, Kid Cudi, Kodak Black, Lil Baby, lil pump, Lil Skies, lil uzi vert, Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, Matthew Zingler, Miami, migos, Oakland, playboi carti, pop, Rae Sremmurd, rap, Rick Ross, rolling loud festival, Sheck Wes, singer, Tara McDonough, Tariq Cherif, Travis Scott, Trippie Red, tyga, Vaughn Lowery, Wiz Khalifa, YG, Young Thug on January 28, 2019 by wp360mag.
DeChambeau Dominates in Dubai Dallas Stars Acquire Jamie Oleksiak From Penguins
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thebookjacket
My Shelves
Contemporary, Fiction, Young Adult
5) 13 Little Blue Envelopes
By: Maureen Johnson
Date Finished: 02.18.12
“I always thought that I could only do things with you, that you made me more interesting. But I guess I was wrong.”
A shy high school girl is led across Europe by thirteen letters, to be opened at specific points along the way. The adventure is orchestrated by Ginny’s “Runaway Aunt” who is the quintessential free-spirited artist. Ginny’s journey is a string of random encounters that carry her far from her comfort zone, but she follows the instructions as faithfully as she can. As it turns out, Ginny is retracing the steps her aunt Peg took some months earlier.
There’s so much good stuff in this book, it’s hard to know what to talk about. I found the characters extremely relatable — which wasn’t difficult for me since I’m a rather shy member of the theatre community and therefore saw quite a bit of myself in both Ginny and Aunt Peg. I trust an outgoing athlete or engineer could enjoy the story, but not to the same extent. Plus, the whole concept is exhilarating. How exciting would it be to take a vacation where your only guide is a set of letters? How much fun would it be to do that for someone else? There’s something inherently magical and terrifying in actually following such a plan, and Johnson brilliantly captures both aspects. Yes, the idea of wandering around Europe is romantic, but Johnson never lets us forget the reality of the situation. On your own, it can be downright scary, and Ginny has to tackle some pretty big (and reasonable) insecurities to do what she does.
The writing is smart and honest. Johnson doesn’t waste a word or an image or the reader’s time. Everything matters. It’s thrilling to see that kind of writing in action. What I liked best (even though it sounds a bit mundane) are her character descriptions. As a necessity of the plot, Ginny meets many strangers in a succession of cameos. Each new person has a short paragraph, a snapshot really, dedicated to their looks and demeanor. The introduction is brief, yet you knew the person immediately. It’s sheer craftsmanship.
I try to talk about the book, but my thoughts keep spinning off toward more grandiose topics (such as The Role of Art in Daily Life or the Practicalities of Life As an Artist). I think the simplest review is this: I am the target audience. Maybe less in the archery sense, but more in a Venn Diagram sense — Johnson’s audience could be in any of three circles and I happen to touch all three (something like that). I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for a book club or anything, but it sure provoked a lot of thought in me.
At the end of the day: For me.
Adult, Fiction
4) Life of Pi
“A boy of many faiths. A 450-pound Bengal tiger. A shipwreck. A lifeboat. The Pacific Ocean.” That is the full description on the back of the book. Word of mouth speaks favorably of the book, so I suppose there’s not much more to be said.
I’d say Life of Pi has been romanticized (and understandably so) where most people have forgotten the experience of reading this book. For a long time I worried that I would reach the last page and not know where the exposition had stopped. Then, like flipping a switch, the story began. And the actual boy-tiger-shipwreck-lifeboat-ocean story was a pretty good one. To be fair, I was grateful for a degree of the background information, but it takes resolve to make it through the slow opening. In contrast, the last page did not provide much of an ending. The front cover features a quote from the San Francisco Chronicle that says, “It’s difficult to stop reading when the pages run out.” In the early days of my reading, I scoffed at the idea, but it’s true. Nothing about the last lines feel final.
Other than the dragging exposition and the abrupt ending, I truly enjoyed the writing . Pi’s voice is distinctive and comfortable to listen to. His storytelling is just the right mixture of linear antidotes and leaps from one thought to another. I loved the way the chapters are laid out — a patternless cadence of short, moderate, and very long chapters. My favorite is “CHAPTER 97 The story.” Only one other chapter is a single sentence, a thought outside the immediate situation, yet vitally important — it is the most profound chapter in the book. This unsteady rhythm and the shifts in subjects kept me engaged in the story.
Is it possible for pacing to both kill and save a book?
Reading this, I discovered that I don’t care much for survival stories. Give me magic, fantastical beasts, or even a useless fairy. If nothing else, give me a nice mystery with funny and/or clever people. But the necessary components of a survival story — particularly the alone-ness of the protagonist and the monotony of the circumstances — simply do not appeal to me.
At the end of the day: A one-time read
Fairy Tale/Mythology
Fantasy/Paranormal
12) The Girl Who Drank the Moon
11) Stars Above
10) A Conjuring of Light
09) Spindle
08) Inside Out & Back Again
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Opinion, Vernuccio's View
Vernuccio’s View: Tiananmen Square: 30 Years, No Improvement
June 17, 2019 10:12 AM·
Thirty years ago this month, the hopes for freedom of nearly a billion people were dashed. Their dreams were crushed by a tyrannical governing system that had already taken the lives of a hundred million in their own homeland, as well as in Russia, Cambodia, and elsewhere across the globe. An enduring symbol, of a courageous man standing in front of a tank, failed to inspire world leaders to take a firm stand against the evil regime that destroyed any hope of personal liberty.
The bloody repression of the Chinese people at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, ended a move towards freedom. In up to 400 cities across China, protests, hunger strikes, sit-ins and the occupation of public squares failed to move the Communist Party leaders towards any meaningful reforms.
According to the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Historian, “The demonstrations began on April 15, when Chinese students gathered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where so many student and mass demonstrations had taken place since the early 20th century, to mark the death of the popular pro-reform Chinese leader Hu Yaobang. The demonstration became a forum to protest corruption and inflation, and call for broader political and economic reforms to build on the reforms that had already transformed China considerably in the post-Mao era… On the night of June 3 and 4, the People’s Liberation Army stormed the Square with tanks, crushing the protests with terrible human costs. Estimates of the numbers killed vary. The Chinese Government has asserted that injuries exceeded 3,000 and that over 200 individuals, including 36 university students, were killed that night. Western sources, however, are skeptical of the official Chinese report and most frequently cite the toll as hundreds or even thousands killed. Similar protests that had taken place in other Chinese cities were soon suppressed and their leaders imprisoned…In the aftermath, President George H.W. Bush denounced the actions in Tiananmen Square and suspended military sales as well as high level exchanges with Chinese officials. Many members of the U.S. Congress, the American public, and international leaders advocated broader economic sanctions, some of which were implemented. U.S. leaders met with Chinese nationals studying in the United States as a symbolic gesture of commitment. Questions of relations with China, in particular the granting of Most-Favored-Nation trading status, were controversial questions for the remainder of President Bush’s term and into the term of President Bill Clinton.”
Washington’s reaction was short-lived. President Clinton permitted the sale to the Chinese government of a Cray “supercomputer” which allowed Beijing’s military to make extraordinary strides forward. Clinton also signed legislation giving China full and permanent trading privileges in the U.S. Millions of U.S. jobs were subsequently lost.
China’s cash diplomacy towards western politicians continued. Peter Schweitzer, writing in the New York Post notes that Democratic primary contender and former Vice President Joe Biden’s bizarre denial of China’s danger to the U.S. may be the result of his family’s business contacts. “In 2013, then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Less than two weeks later, Hunter Biden’s firm inked a $1 billion private equity deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China.”
Far too many elected officials in both parties have benefited from financial ties to Beijing.
President Trump’s current trade battle with China attacks Beijing’s rapacious practices of intellectual property theft, espionage, product dumping, forced technology transfer, industrial subsidies, and various barriers against American goods. However, the same conflict-of-interest problems that have occurred previously has limited support for his initiative. That same issue limits what should be significant international support for the end of the repression of Chinese citizens.
Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr., J.D. is the president of the American Analysis of News & Media, Inc.
Vernuccio’s View: Civil Defense Neglected China’s Hollywood Takeover Vernuccio’s View: Russia’s Naval Threat Vernuccio’s View: Is the U.S. Military Strong Enough?
Tags: Chinese repression of its own citizens, political corruption, Tiananmen Square
Author: Frank Vernuccio, Jr. Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr., J.D. is the editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government and the co-host of the popular WVOX weekly radio show, “And Nothing But The Truth.” He is a regular columnist and contributor for a number of newspapers and other news outlets, and previously was an editor of legislative affairs for a major publishing company. Before moving to writing and broadcasting full time, he served in both Democrat and Republican administrations within New York State.
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Borderlands 2 – PlayStation Vita Torrent Free
Borderlands 2 is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game, developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games on September 18, 2012. It is the second game in the Borderlands series and the sequel to 2009’s Borderlands. The game was released for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and OS X platforms. It was ported to the PlayStation Vita on May 13, 2014, and released for Linux on September 30, 2014.
As with the first game, Borderlands 2 allows players to complete a campaign consisting of central quests and optional side-missions as one of four treasure seekers, “Vault Hunters”, on the planet Pandora. Key gameplay features from the original game, such as online collaborative campaign gameplay; randomly generated loot, such as weapons and shields; and character-building elements commonly found in role-playing video games are in Borderlands 2.
The game was well received by critics and was a financial success, selling 8.5 million copies. Downloadable content for the game has been released, including new characters and storylines. The Game of the Year Edition of the game was released in October 8, 2013 in the U.S. and October 11 internationally, including all the previous downloadable and upgrade packs except for the new campaign. A PlayStation Vita version was released in May 2014, and was developed by Iron Galaxy Studios in collaboration with Gearbox. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ports of Borderlands 2 and its DLC were released as part of Borderlands: The Handsome Collection on March 24, 2015. It was announced by Randy Pitchford, Gearbox CEO, that the game sold over 12 millions units by March 2015 on all platforms.
Project Sonic – PS3 Torrent Free
Dark Souls II – XBOX360 Torrent Free
Bloodstained Ritual of the Night – PS3 Torrent Free
Bloodstained Ritual of the Night – PC Torrent Free
PAYDAY 2 – PC Torrent Free
Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus – PS Vita Torrent Free
Farming Simulator 2013 – Xbox360 Torrent Free
FIFA 11 – PSP Torrent Free
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Tom Blazier Fine Art
About Tom Blazier
Tom Blazier is a New Mexico-based oil painter whose work is inspired by the dramatic light of the Southwest landscape. Skies, the source of light, figure prominently in his paintings, and an ethereal quality can be observed in many of his pieces. His studio and plein air works have garnered many awards, and recent exhibits include Oil Painters of America Annual Juried Show, Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art and ArtsThrive at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. Tom conducts workshops and classes at the New Mexico Art League in Albuquerque and other locations in the Southwest. His oil paintings are represented by Big Horn Gallery in Tubac, AZ and Purple Sage Gallery, Albuquerque, NM. His work is also available by commission. Tom is a member of Oil Painters of America and Rio Grande Art Association, and he is a signature member of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, where he served as president in 2017.
Tom received a BFA in studio painting at Northern Arizona University, and he has attended workshops with Matt Smith, Irving Shapiro, Ted Goerschner, Ned Jacob, Peter Nisbet and Cody DeLong. In addition, he earned a MS in journalism at the University of Oregon, and he has worked as an illustrator, newspaper travel page editor and features page designer.
Copyright © 2019 Tom Blazier - All Rights Reserved.
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The European Union Has Banned the 737 MAX; the US Holds Out
by Alberto Riva
The United States continues to hold out as nation after nation, and finally the entire European Union, banned the Boeing 737 MAX from flying in their airspace. At 1:30pm on Tuesday, the news came that the European Union’s aviation regulator had grounded all MAXes in, and prohibited them from entering, the airspace of 28 nations, stretching from the Azores Islands in the Atlantic to the Russian border. But the US Federal Aviation Administration stood fast, allowing a plane involved in two crashes in five months, killing more than 300 people, to continue carrying passengers.
The day began with more than 30% of all 737 MAX models worldwide grounded, as China, Indonesia and several smaller nations and individual airlines took action. The United Kingdom followed, shutting the newest Boeing airplane out of one of the world’s biggest aviaton market and setting the stage for the eventual Europe-wide ban. The two crashes, one in Indonesia in October last year and one on Sunday in Ethiopia, are as yet unexplained, but the investigation into the former has uncovered that an automatic system that forces the plane’s nose down in certain conditions had activated without the pilots’ knowledge. Both crashes occurred shortly after takeoff and resulted in the plane impacting in a nosedive.
EASA, the European Union’s aviation-safety agency, pointed out that “it is too early to draw any conclusions as to the cause of the accident” in Ethiopia on Sunday that killed 157 and spurred the groundings. But two fatal crashes of brand-new airplanes of the same model, in similar circumstances and just five months apart, are unheard of in modern commercial aviation.
American Airlines, Southwest and United, as well as Air Canada, are still flying the 737 MAX on routes all over North America. Prominent US politicians, however, are calling for a grounding of the aircraft in the US pending investigation. Boeing announced Tuesday a software update for the 737 MAX, without however tying it directly to the accidents.
Boeing is the largest individual exporter in the entire US economy, and the 737 is its most successful product, selling thousands of units all over the world. Taken cumulatively, all versions of the 737 are the most widely sold jetliner of all time, and have a very good safety record. Just after the EU’s announcement on Tuesday, Boeing shares were dropping more than 5 percent on Wall Street. Boeing shares are up 24 percent for the year to date, though, even after the sharp drop on March 11, the first day of trading after the 737 MAX accident on Sunday.
Featured photo of a TUI Boeing 737 MAX 8 parked at Manchester Airport on March 12, 2019 by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Alberto Riva As managing editor, Alberto runs the newsroom’s daily operation. Before TPG he was managing editor of Vice News and worked at Bloomberg and CNN. He speaks Italian, French, Spanish and terrible German.
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You can't win a fight with someone who likes fighting.
Maiden Aunt Takes Up Expensive, Time-Consuming Hobby
By Lauren O'Neal
“How did a woman from a small village in Hampshire come to write six of the most beloved novels in the English language?”
Humanities seeks to answer that question with a thorough sketch of Jane Austen’s life as she worked to become a writer. Read it to learn about her family’s struggles with money, her obsession with guarding the secret of her authorial identity, and “everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together” with an Irish boy.
Unexpected bit of trivia: Austen’s first novel, Sense and Sensibility, came to the world through a process that looks to the modern eye a lot like self-publishing.
Lauren O'Neal is an MFA student at San Francisco State University. Her writing has appeared in publications like Slate, The New Inquiry, and The Hairpin. You can follow her on Twitter at @laureneoneal. More from this author →
Tags: humanities, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #185: Lisa Taddeo
Wanted/Needed/Loved: Snail Mail’s Beloved Books
Rumpus Original Poetry: Four Poems by sam sax
Rumpus Original Fiction: Sabbath
Voices on Addiction: Advice
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Vague policy on Afghan nationals
The deadline for the stay of registered Afghan refugees expires on 30th June and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa government has asked the federal government that further extension in their stay should not be granted. There are genuine reasons for this tough stance if the frontline lines status of the province and periodicity of terrorist attacks on its soil are taken into account. Both frontline provinces Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Baluchistan are the worst hit by a variety of terrorist attacks in the form of suicide bomb blasts to the incidents of mass shooting. With fencing of Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa the occurrence of terrorist attacks have significantly decreased but in Baluchistan the security situation is far from satisfactory.
In Khyber Pukhtunkhwa the estimated population of Afghan nationals is 2.5 million which include 1.6 million registered Afghans and 0.9 million unregistered ones. In the past the provincial government had started the arrest and deportation of Afghan nationals who were staying illegally but each time the campaign lost its steam for the reasons not told to the people who want total repatriation of Afghan refugees both registered and unregistered. As the expiry of deadline for the stay Afghan refugees is drawing near and hardly two weeks remain police has arrested 1000 illegally staying Afghans and a large number of them have been deported. After the APS terrorist attack, the demand for refugee repatriation had gained momentum from the provincial government and the people of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. But the PML-N government in the center did not seriously consider it because the leadership of its allied party Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party wanted to keep the Afghan nationals in Pakistan indefinitely. In the aftermath of recent attack on a checkpost of security forces in North Waziristan, federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed alleged that Mahmood Khan Achakzai had made 25000 CNICs for the Afghan nationals.
It was reported in the print media in February last year that National Security Committee had differed with proposal of Ministry of SAFRON for extension of one year in the deadline for the stay of registered Afghan Refugee beyond 31st January, 2018. Since then extensions of three months are being given pending the completion of voluntary repatriation process which is going on with snail pace because few refugee families turn up at the UNHCR Peshawar center and none of them at Quetta center. This is due lack of interest of the Ministry of SAFRON in working out a comprehensive repatriation plan in consultation with the UNHCR. Once last year, an official of this ministry hinted at the formulation of repatriation plan but no progress was made or even spadework was done then. However, it did invite a sharp response from the then Afghan ambassador Umer Zakhelwal. He told a Jirga of Afghan refugee elder to be mentally prepared for mass repatriation to their motherland to undertake the gigantic task of its reconstruction, although he lambasted Kabul government for not providing proper relief assistance to the Afghans who have returned to Afghanistan. This seems to be the major reason which compels the repatriated Afghan nationals to reenter Pakistan illegally through the porous border of Baluchistan with the connivance of Pakistani officials on the Pak-Afghan border. This practice not only undoes the extremely slow refugee repatriation process but also encourage the illegal entry of more Afghan nationals into the country.
In his analysis on the rising wave of terrorist attacks during last month, Home Minister of Baluchistan Laiqat Shahwani described the presence of over one million Afghan Refugees in the province as a major risk factor for national security and strongly advocated their fast track repatriation and putting in place a mechanism of strictly regulating their daily movement by keeping them under strict surveillance. The risk factor connected with the extremely prolonged stay of millions of Afghan nationals and their reentry into Pakistan after repatriation without travel documents through border in Baluchistan need utmost attention of the federal government.
Posted in Editorial
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NOUGHT TO WHATEVER… PART 2
I’ve been on a mission to play as many songs as I can with numbers in the title. But the real challenge has been to play them in numerical sequence. Last week we successfully navigated our way from Elvis Costello’s Less Than Zero all the way to Edwin Starr’s Twenty Five Miles . So, this week we were off again, starting with our opening number, OCTOBER 26 (REVOLUTION) from The Pretty Things. This is a great track from what I consider a grossly under recognised band of the 60’s. It’s from their 1970 album Parachute.
TWENTY SEVEN STRANGERS is from The Villagers, who put out one of the best albums of last year – Becoming A Jackal. Here’s the band’s singer and songwriter, Conor J O’Brien, performing solo. Beautiful song. Perfect in its simplicity.
A band called Why? gave us our #28 song, (called exactly that, 28). Ryan Adams’ contribution was the track TWENTYNINE from the album 29 and the #30 spot was filled by Aussie band The Lucksmiths. The song, $30 is a very cute proposition: They know that they owe you $30 but how about they write you a song instead? Cheeky!
Aimee Mann thought her life would be different somehow, when she turned 31. Check out this live performance of 31 TODAY in Studio Q.
Another brilliant singer/songwirter is Ani DiFranco . Here she is performing live in 1997. The song: 32 FLAVOURS.
We don’t often play instrumental tracks but funky jazz outfit The New Mastersounds certainly livened things up with THIRTY THREE. We followed with little known, (well to me anyway), American band Promenade with 34 from their Save the Radio album. Then it was Joe Pug with a decent Bob Dylan impression on HYMN #35 and Bobby “Blue” Bland with his favourite numbers 35:22:36.
Then another excellent double : STRAIGHT IN AT 37 from The Beautiful South, now called simply South, and 38 YEARS OLD from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
Hip Hop producer Re-animator has a great track called SYMPHONY NUMBER THIRTY-NINE on his album, evocatively titled Music to Slit Wrists. Dido has got to have one of the most beautiful voices of recent times, and she uses it to perfection on SEE YOU WHEN YOU’RE 40:
Gregory Hoskins gave us his track 41 and then it was Aussie and, Hunters & Collectors with 42 WHEELS. On 43 Mary Lou Lord justifies seeing a younger man by the fact that he’s 17, going on 43. And talking of excuses, I love any reason to go back to the 60’s so the Zombies were in with CARE OF CELL 44. Terrific band, still performing too.
An artist I’ve only just discovered, but like very much is Todd Snider . Here he is performing FORTY FIVE MILES in December 2010 in Tampa, to a very appreciative audience I might add. It’s an amateur video, but worth watching. He’s supported by Will Kimbrough.
If you’re after some good old fashioned Blues then check out Memphis Slim, Jump Jackson and Arbee Stidham. They gave us a fast version of 46TH STREET BOOGIE to fill our #46 spot. Number 47 was looking tough until I found a real cutie: Andy Kirk & His Orchestra, featuring June Richmond on vocals. She was one of the first black women to front an all white band. The song is 47th STREET JIVE.
Enough with songs named after New York streets (surely that’s another show!). A complete change of tone followed with the amazing, enduring, Suzi Quatro with 48 CRASH. I had to play this original clip from 1973, as she looks so great (still does actually). The ultimate rock chick.
Our number 49 song was for Des who presents BayFM’s Colours of Byron every Sunday morning. He’s a big Dylan fan, so DAYS OF 49 was especially for him and all the other Dylan fans. Number 50 couldn’t be anything but Simon & Garfunkle’s FIFTY WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER, which wasn’t dedicated to anyone in particular, because I don’t want to get myself in any trouble in that department! Here’s a live performance by Paul Simon with legendary drummer Steve Gadd:
Well we got all the way to #50 with time to spare. We closed the show with a #51 song that also previews next week’s show: Pink Floyd’s COME IN NUMBER 51, YOU’RE TIME IS UP from the soundtrack to the film Zabriskie Point. As one of the comments on YouTube states: it’s the film that inspired countless people to lose their virginity to Pink Floyd. (The music that is, not the actual band members). Here’s the trailer, featuring that music, with some of the worst promotional jargon I’ve ever heard!
So, next week I’ll be hosting an Oscars special. I’ll be playing lots of songs that were recorded especially for films. Some will have won Oscars, some should have but didn’t. I’d love to have your suggestions and requests. And, of course, your company 4-6pm Tuesdays on www.bayfm.org.
Here’s this week’s full playlist:
October 26 (Revolution) – The Pretty Things, Unrepentant [Disc 1]
Twenty Seven Strangers – Villagers, Becoming A Jackal
Twenty Eight – Why? Alopecia
Twentynine – Ryan Adams, 29
$30 – The Lucksmiths, Spring a Leak
31 Today – Aimee Mann, Smilers
32 Flavors – Ani DiFranco
Thirty Three – The New Mastersounds, 102% Funk
34 – Promenade, Save the Radio
Hymn 35 – Joe Pug, Nation of Heat EP
36-22-36 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, Bobby “Blue” Bland: The Anthology
Straight In At 37 – The Beautiful South, Welcome to the Beautiful South
38 Years Old – The Tragically Hip, Up to Here
Symphony Number Thirty-nine – Reanimator, Music To Slit Wrists By
See You When You’re 40 – Dido, Life For Rent
41 – Gregory Hoskins, The Beggar Heart
42 Wheels – Hunters & Collectors, Under One Roof
43 – Mary Lou Lord, Baby Blue
Care of Cell 44 – The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle
Forty Five Miles – Todd Snider, Happy to Be Here
46th Street Boogie (Fast Boogie) – Memphis Slim, Jump Jackson and Arbee Stidham
47th St Jive – Andy Kirk & His Clouds of Joy, Jukebox Hits 1936-1949
48 Crash – Suzi Quatro, Suzi Quatro: Greatest Hits
Days of 49 – Bob Dylan, Self Portrait
Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover – Simon & Garfunkel , The Concert in Central Park
Number 51, Your Time Is Up – Pink Floyd, Zabriskie Point (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
Next week: SONGS RECORDED FOR FILM
Posted in Australian Classic Rock, Australian music, Blues, community radio, Electronica, Funk, Funny songs, general, hip-hop, jazz, music, Music - New Wave, music - nostalgia, music, blues, music, country, music, r&b, music, soul, pop, punk, Radio Program, rock, soundtracks, Uncategorized
Tags: Aimee Mann, Andy Kirk & His Orchestra, Ani DiFranco, Arbee Stidham, Bob Dylan, Bobby Bland, Conor J O'Brien, Dido, Edwin Starr, Elvis Costello, Gregory Hoskins, Hunters & Collectors, Joe Pug, Jump Jackson, June Richmond, Mary Lou Lord, Memphis Slim, Paul Simon, Pink Floyd, Promenade, Reanimator, Ryan Adams, Simon & Garfunkle, Songs with numbers, South, Steve Gadd, Suzi Quatro, The Beautiful South, The Lucksmiths, The New Mastersounds, The Pretty Things, The Tragically Hip, The Zombies, Todd Snider, Villagers, Why? (band), Will Kimbrough
FROM NOUGHT TO WHATEVER…
I decided to be more playful than usual this week as I set out to compile a playlist of song titles that mentioned numbers. Easy-peasy, you’re thinking. Sure, but there was a condition. The songs had to be played in numerical sequence. I got to choose from pop, rock, country & jazz so it couldn’t be that hard, right? Right.
The show kicked off with LESS THAN ZERO by Elvis Costello and moved right into a beautiful track from Lamb, ZERO. Numero Uno was a piece of cake as I have already done a whole show just on the #1 so plenty to choose from there. I decided that should go with my #1 favourite artist, Roy Orbison with a song from the album, Mystery Girl, THE ONLY ONE. Another fave took over the #2 spot: Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston with IT TAKES TWO. And for #3 it was none other than the great Sarah Vaughan who, like a lot of us, only needs THREE LITTLE WORDS.
FOUR STRONG WINDS is a classic Canadian song by the legendary Canadian singer Neil Young. The perfect follow-up came from the adorable Nanci Griffith with LOVE AT THE FIVE AND DIME. Here she is performing live at the BBC:
The great reggae artist Gregory Isaacs, known as the ‘Cool Ruler’ sadly passed away late last year. His song SIX MONTHS filled the #6 spot and for #7 it had to be The White Stripes with SEVEN NATION ARMY. Such a shame that they’ve gone their separate ways.
There was only one #8 for this baby boomer: The Beatles with EIGHT DAYS A WEEK. And, for #9 Wilson Pickett with ENGINE NUMBER NINE, of course. Pure funk.
Brothers, by the Black Keys, was one of my album picks of 2010 so including TEN CENT PISTOL from that album was a no-brainer. Here they are performing live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Excellent.
Cyndi Lauper features on David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s concept album Here Lies Love which is based on the lives of Imelda Marcos and her nanny Estrella Cumpas. The official video clip of ELEVEN DAYS is set against a Philippine movie of 1965 “Iginuhit ng Tadhana: The Ferdinand E. Marcos Story”, starring Gloria Romero and Luis Gonzalez.
I do love a bit of gospel singing, so Buddy Greene was in with TWELVE GATES TO THE CITY. Dickie Thompson is also evangelical, but not in the usual sense. He sings about THIRTEEN WOMEN and only one man in town. Now if I was a bloke I’d say he was a lucky b…..d! But being a woman, living in a small town, it sounds irritatingly familiar!
Next up, it was the genius that is Tiny Tim with all kinds of things to say about the number FOURTEEN. Not the usual Tiny Tim we’re used to hearing. I, for one, miss the ukelele I must admit. And I miss Tiny Tim who died of a heart attack in 1996 at the age of 64.
Number 15 in our playlist was another no-brainer: the almighty Radiohead with 15 STEPS. Here they are peforming live for their VH1 special:
We kept moving through the teenage years with gusto as Chuck Berry took the #16 spot with SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN. And then Janis Ian calmed everything down with her incredibly insightful tune, AT SEVENTEEN.
The Stellas took the 18th spot with 18 from their 2008 album Cry Baby Cry. Time then for another classic: Steely Dan’s HEY NINETEEN. “Way back in 1967….”
For all the Bluegrass fans, I had to include Jimmy Martin’s 20:20 VISION and then it was a nice piece of rockabilly, suggested by Andy, Eddie Cochran’s TWENTY FLIGHT ROCK.
Rappers 50 cent and Nate Dogg have 21 QUESTIONS for their girlfriend. Not sure us girls need that much interrogation, but hey what do I know? This video has already gathered over 35million hits on You Tube! With lines like “I loves you like a fat kid likes cake”. Go figure!
Lily Allen knows how to churn out pop tunes and 22 is a good example. We followed that with the wonderful Brothers Johnson and another soul standard, STRAWBERRY LETTER 23.
Our two hours was almost up so only time for two more tunes in our attempt to get from zero to infinity. The #24 spot was filled by Bobby Bland’s TWENTY FOUR HOUR BLUES and the finale was handed to Edwin Starr’s TWENTY FIVE MILES. OMG what a voice! Brilliant. Wish I’d been at this particular concert.
We’ll continue our numerical exercise next week, starting at #26. So why not send me a message with suggestions for that list which should probably limit itself from 26-51. Let’s see how we go.
Until then, here’s this week’s full playlist:
Less Than Zero – Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True Pop
Zero – Lamb, Lamb
The Only One – Roy Orbison, Mystery Girl
It Takes Two – Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, Ready Steady Go! The Sixties Sound Of Motown [Disc 1]
Three Little Words – Sarah Vaughan, The Mercury Jazz Story [Disc 1]
Four Strong Winds – Neil Young, Comes a Time
Love at the Five and Dime – Nanci Griffith, The Last of the True Believers
Six Months – Gregory Isaacs, Brand New Me
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes, Elephant
Eight Days A Week – The Beatles, Beatles For Sale
Engine Number Nine – Wilson Pickett , Chronicles
Ten Cent Pistol – The Black Keys, Brothers
Eleven Days – David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Love
Twelve Gates To The City – Buddy Greene, A Few More Years
Thirteen Women – Dickie Thompson, Ultimate Rhythm & Soul Collection [Disc 1]
Fourteen – Tiny Tim, Girl
15 Step – Radiohead, In Rainbows
Sweet Little Sixteen – Chuck Berry, Yesterdays Gold Vol 07
At Seventeen – Janis Ian, Echoes Of The Radio [Disc 1]
18 – The Stellas, Cry Baby Cry
Hey Nineteen – Steely Dan, A Decade Of Steely Dan
20:20 Vision – Jimmy Martin
Twenty Flight Rock – Eddie Cochran, Big Artist Selection – Eddie Cochran
21 Questions – 50 Cent & Nate Dogg
22 – Lily Allen, It’s Not Me, It’s You
Strawberry Letter 23 – The Brothers Johnson, Strawberry Letter 23/The Very Best Of The Brothers Johnson
Twenty-Four Hour Blues – Bobby “Blue” Bland, Dreamer
Twenty-Five Miles – Edwin Starr
Next week: FROM NOUGHT TO WHATEVER (Part 2)
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Tags: 50 Cent, Black Keys, Bobby Bland, Brothers Johnson, Buddy Greene, Chuck Berry, Cyndi Lauper, David Byrne, Dickie Thompson, Eddie Cochran, Edwin Starr, Elvis Costello, Fat Boy Slim, Gregory Isaacs, Janis Ian, Jimmy Martin, Kim Weston, Lamb, Lily Allen, Marvin Gaye, Nanci Griffith, Nate Dogg, Neil Young, Radiohead, Roy Orbison, Sarah Vaughan, Songs with numbers, Steely Dan, The Beatles, The Stellas, The White Stripes, Tiny Tim, Wilson Pickett
FOREVER YOUNG: Rock n roll’s survivors
This week’s theme is inspired by the fact that Iggy Pop is headlining our major youth concert, The Big Day Out this month. And Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Jethro Tull will all be here in April for the Byron Blues Festival. I’m a baby boomer, so I’m ecstatic to be able to see all my heroes from the 60’s still performing. But, I have to ask: what is it about the first generation of rock n rollers – what keeps them going?
The reality is that from the moment rock music arrived on the scene it was a young person’s game: music made by young people for young people. It never intended to grow up or grow old. But it did. So what happens when rock’s youthful rebelliousness is delivered wrapped in wrinkles?
Lemmy from Motorhead has a formula for staying alive. He reckons you just breath (at all times). Lemmy, like Keith Richards, is one of the all time rock n roll survivors and therefore much revered by fans of a similar vintage.
Much to the dismay of our children, we baby boomers have carried on being the oldest swingers in town. We haven’t shown any sign of giving up on rock concerts, taking recreational drugs, (if we want to), and staying up all night. It’s why the biggest earners for rock concerts aren’t the Lady Gagas of the world, but veteran performers like AC/DC, The Eagles, Paul McCartney and The Who.
On MY GENERATION The Who were actually saying that they hoped they’d die before they got old. Hey, hold on a minute, they’re still singing it and they ARE old. What happened?
What happened started in the 50s when an entirely new species emerged with its very own music. They were called teenagers. And their music was called rock n roll:
Rock n roll created something special: The joy of hearing your parents shout out: “Turn that bloody racket down!” Because one of the social functions of rock has always been the defiance of the older generation. For performers like Elvis every gesture, every note was all about social disenfranchisement and rebellion. Elvis hit the scene wearing pink and black and leather outfits. He looked more like a pimp than a musician. “Outrageous!” reeled the grown-ups. But to the teenagers, he represented an escape from the stuffiness of the post-World War Two era.
No-one, even the musicians themselves, took rock and pop seriously, though. It was seen as a novelty, something that wasn’t meant to last. As the soundtrack to growing pains, it was temporary and disposable just like the people who made it.
By the early 60’s Beatlemania was gripping youth’s attention. The Establishment, however, remained doubtful that it was a fever that would last. Even the Beatles accepted the idea of their own inbuilt obsolescence.
With Beatlemania, and the British Invasion in general, many of the young established groups were being left behind. The tyranny of youth dictated that if you didn’t change with the times, you were old hat. One of the new incumbents was the band Manfred Mann.
In 1965 The Who recorded one of the ultimate anthems to youth, one that damned growing up and growing old. The young went on the offensive claiming their territory through guitar, bass and drums. The older generation were still recovering from a World War and all they wanted was some peace and quiet. To the younger generation old age just seemed really boring.
Ironically, the British Beat boom of the mid 60’s was based on music that was already old. Bands like the Stones, The Animals & Manfred Mann worshipped American Blues of the 20s 30s and 40s. Their recording heroes were still alive, but by rock roll’s new standards they were old men. Charlie Parker was born in 1920, Miles Davis in 1926 & Muddy Waters in 1913.
The self-absorbed rebelliousness of rock n roll gathered speed with the Rolling Stones. While the Who were busy burying the older generation, the Stones were singing about finding their satisfaction in sex.
The arrival of album culture in the late 60s proved that rock n roll was now thinking more in the long term. It didn’t sound disposable anymore. It was growing up, just like the people who made it. The Beatles Sgt Peppers album dared to imagine what life would be like at SIXTY FOUR. Up until now that was completely unthinkable for the baby boomer generation.
In the same year that the Beatles released the Sgt Peppers album, Procol Harum had a hit single with WHITER SHADE OF PALE. Things had started to get serious. The more experienced young musicians began wondering how far they could take their music. And they took their diehard fans with them. In many cases the fans had grown up with these bands and, along the way, they’d developed an appreciation of lyrics and music with more depth.
The end of the sixties saw the beginning of the rock n roll casualty list. The death of Brian Jones in 1969 seemed to crystalise a ‘live fast, die young’ attitude and brought a new reality to “I hope I die before I get old.” Janis Jopliin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix all died at 27, confirming the myth that if you wanted to be a rock legend you had to die young.
The Stones, however, seemed determined to mature. After the death of Brian Jones they picked themselves up and went back on the road. For the band, it wasn’t over yet.
By the end of the 60’s the Stones had discovered the secret of survival, at least for now. Unfortunately, the Beatles didn’t. As if to prove that longevity and rock n roll was difficult for a group of young guys growing up together, they split in 1970. The Fab Four would go on to enjoy successful solo careers for many years to come but the surge of creativity that fed them in their youth proved more elusive for them and their generation as they grew older.
Today, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Pete Townsend can play arenas 45 years after they first had hits. Which is great. But the real question is: are they writing great songs? Or is the outpouring of creativity that launched their careers a factor of youth?
Herman’s Hermits got together in 1963 when lead singer Peter Noone was only 16. Their very first release, I’M INTO SOMETHING GOOD, was a #1 hit and although future recordings would get into the top ten, they were never to have a UK #1 again. The band, without Noone, continue to perform to this day and Peter Noone has gone on to have a successful career as both a singer and actor.
In the early 70’s, no performer demonstrated rock n roll’s reliance on youthful invention and raw power more than Iggy Pop. Here’s a great little doco that illustrates why he is known as the “Godfather of Punk”:
Not all rock n roll of the early 70’s was an expression of sexual energy and youthful physicality. By now prog rock was plundering the classical music collections so beloved of its middle class parents, as proof of its intention to last. It’s perpetrators, bands like Yes & Jethro Tull, seemed to be contemplating careers beyond the age of 30.
Performers found themselves living with their songs and growing into their material. One of the most requested songs from troops serving in Vietnam was I GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE by Eric Burdon & The Animals. Burdon continues to perform this song today when he entertains servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, it’s written into his contract. That’s what they call an anthem, folks.
In 1976, before the 60’s generation had a chance to mature, they were rudely cast aside by punk. It was a three-chord reign of terror, the ultimate Oedipal act. Snarling, spitting and clawing its way to the stage.
These weren’t the kids of the optimistic 60’s but a new young generation who felt abandoned. Everyone was in their way and, as always, no one understood them.
The bands of the post-punk era, like the Specials and Madness, while less dismissive of the past, still believed that rock and pop music were part of an essentially young experience.
In the early 80’s the Stones were back, yet again, having been absent from the stage for 6 years – while punk and its aftermath were the centre of attention. They were proving that they were in for the long haul.
In July 1985 the benefits of hanging in for the long term reached unexpected and unprecedented heights, with Live Aid. The international event sometimes looked like a version of Dad’s Army with acts like Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, The Who, and the Beach Boys joining pop stars of the 80s on stage. Watched by more than 400 million viewers in 60 countries, this was the rock n roll survivor’s finest hour. Suddenly being 40 didn’t seem so uncool. These were the masters, the legends, the acts deemed capable of feeding the world.
A lot of young people heard some of the older bands for the first time, saying “These bands are fantastic.” And then, the most hated people in their musical vocabulary, their parents, responded with “Yeah, we know, we love them too!”
What had begun with Live Aid in the 80’s continued into the 90s with projects like War Child. Performers from three generations of rock n roll – Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher recorded COME TOGETHER, in the new spirit of multi-generational tolerance. It was no longer a case of ‘My Generation’ but ‘Your Generation too”. Just as importantly, audiences for the music also started to span generations.
The new millennium witnessed an entirely new phenomenon: the revival and the comeback. Leonard Cohen, already in his 70’s, had decided to stop performing and recording altogether. At least that was the plan. But after having all his money misappropriated by a crooked manager, he had to go back on the road. And guess what, he loves it!
Audiences who had grown up and grown old with their heroes wanted them back. Age had invested their favourite bands with a new authenticity. Performers couldn’t believe their luck. Even Brian Wilson returned from the wilderness to be a Beach Boy once again.
Rock n roll is now revelling in a long life. What was about risk and youth is now about enjoying a grand old age. It’s about longevity, survival, nostalgia. Refusing to grow up, give up or shut up. The whole point of the baby boomer generation is that we made it up from the beginning and we’ve been making it up ever since. We’ve been pushing the boundaries, and unlike our parents, we’ve refused to accept old age.
Many thanks to BBC and You Tube community for the wealth of material, without which this week’s show would not be possible.
Next week, my special guests will be The Fridays, performing live in the studio, plus lots of songs about RESOLUTIONS. Any suggestions/requests, please leave me a message here.
In the meantime, here’s this week’s complete playlist:
Lust For Life, Trainspotting soundtrack, Iggy Pop
Lemmy/Motorhead quote
My Generation, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack, The Who
Johnny B. Goode, Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues, Chuck Berry
Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley
Get A Job, Get a Job, The Silhouettes
Paul McCartney quote
Twist And Shout, Please Please Me, The Beatles
Paul Jones quote
Come Tomorrow, The Five Faces of Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann
(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man, Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues, Muddy Waters
Let’s Spend The Night Together, Hot Rocks 1964-1971, The Rolling Stones
When I’m Sixty-Four, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
She’s Leaving Home, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
A Whiter Shade Of Pale, The Big Chill soundtrack, Procol Harum
Brown Sugar, Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones
Peter Noone quote
I’m Into Something Good, The Original 60’s Summertime album, Herman’s Hermits
Iggy Pop i/view
Search And Destroy, Raw Power, Iggy Pop & The Stooges
Too Old To Rock ‘N’ Roll, Too Young To Die, Jethro Tull
We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place, The Most of the Animals, The Animals
God Save The Queen, Never Mind the Bollocks, The Sex Pistols
Too Much Too Young, The Singles Collection, The Specials
Baggy Trousers, Complete Madness, Madness
Mick Jagger quote
Start Me Up, Tattoo You, The Rolling Stones
Rockin’ All Over The World, Rockin’ All Over The World, Status Quo
Surfin’ USA, Endless Summer Legends, The Beach Boys
We Will Rock You, News of the World, Queen
Come Together, Help (War Child Benefit), Paul Weller & Friends
1969 (with i/view), Iggy Pop
In My Secret Life, Ten New Songs, Leonard Cohen
God Only Knows, Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys
Forever Young, Napolean Dynamite soundtrack, Alphaville
Next week: RESOLUTIONS
Posted in Broadcasting and media, community radio, Doo Wop, general, music, music - nostalgia, music, blues, pop, punk, Radio Program, rock, rock 'n' roll, Rock n roll survivors, rock'n'roll, ska, Uncategorized
Tags: AC/DC, Alphaville, Baby boomers, Beatlemania, Bob Dylan, Brian Jones, Charlie Parker, Chuck Berry, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Eric Burdon, Herman's Hermits, Iggy Pop, Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Lemmy, Leonard Cohen, Live Aid, Madness, Manfred Mann, Mick Jagger, Miles Davis, Motorhead, Muddy Waters, Noel Gallagher, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, Pete Townsend, Peter Noone, Procol Harum, Queen, Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, The Animals, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Silhoettes, The Specials, The Who, Yes
SONGS ABOUT EYES
This week the EYES had it as I created a playlist about what poets call the ‘window of the soul’. Our 100TH PROGRAM showcased a diverse range of artists, from the 50’s right through until some more recent releases. We also celebrated this important milestone with a couple of fantastic giveaways for our loyal listeners: tickets to a private screening of the new David Fincher film, The Social Network, courtesy of the Dendy Cinemas, and a copy of the Red Army album from hot reggae band The Red Eyes, courtesy of Ku Promotions. Thanks to everyone for listening (and reading!) during this period. Here’s to the next 100!
In 2001 the list of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included such superstars as Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, and Aerosmith. Further down the list in terms of public recognition were The Flamingos, who were best known for their 1959 hit I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU. They are rightfully ranked as one of the most sophisticated doo wop groups in American popular music.
Charles Edward Anderson Berry, otherwise knows as “Chuck” turned 84 on October 18. I don’t think anyone would argue when I claim that he is one of the most influential musicians of his time. He contributed BROWN EYED HANDSOME MAN to the mix. Elvis Costello, surely one of Chuck’s disciples, had his first hit single in 1977 with a song about a girlfriend who couldn’t stop watching television. The song, of course, is WATCHING THE DETECTIVES. “She’s filing her nails while they’re dragging the lake”. Brilliant.
The Chi-Lites also had a huge hit in 1971 with HAVE YOU SEEN HER. Check out this clip for a PBS special featuring guest artist Eugene Record. Loving the zoot suits!
Jazz singer Ernestine Anderson has some good advice on KEEP AN EYE ON LOVE. She reckons that you just have to keep looking for it and eventually it turns up. I’d be careful if I was her though. If the Hall and Oates song PRIVATE EYES is any indicaton, there are a few stalkers out there ready to pounce. These boys are continually watching the object of their affection. But we already know that love makes you do silly things. Right?
LOOK AT THE FOOL is from Tim Buckley’s album of the same name, his ninth and final album before his untimely death in 1975. Jackson Browne’s DOCTOR MY EYES was featured on his debut album Jackson Browne, released in 1972. Here he is singing live, with an awesome band, in 2009. As well as DOCTOR MY EYES, this clip includes ABOUT MY IMAGINATION. Browne is still a great performer and his looks don’t seem to have diminished either!
We followed the terrific 1967 funk track, I SPY FOR THE FBI, from Jamo Thomas, with (See) HOW FAR WE’VE COME, from Matchbox 20’s Exile on Maintream album, released in 2007. The song has been used to promote everything under the sun. But we won’t hold that against them.
Jamesetta Hawkins is better known to us as Etta James. This rendition of I’D RATHER GO BLIND, where she duets with Dr. John, practically brought me to tears. See if it has the same effect on you:
And as Etta would say ‘At Last!’ we have some nice weather up here in the Northern Rivers, after months of rain. (Although as I write this the rain is back…..aarrggghhhhh). Nevertheless, I had to celebrate a couple of days of brilliant sunshine with I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW from Jimmy Cliff.
Let me ask you this: What do David Bowie, George Washington and Louis Pasteur have in common? Well they have what’s called heterochromia: i.e. each of their eyes is a different colour. In Bowie’s case one eye is blue and the other brown. Aren’t you glad to know that?
When it comes to songs about eyes, you can’t go past 60’s soul, and our next triple play more than proved the point: Doris Troy was seduced with JUST ONE LOOK, The Contours went gold-digging on FIRST LOOK AT THE PURSE and The Temptations sang I WANT A LOVE I CAN SEE.
Van Morrison’s 1967 single BROWN EYED GIRL would prove to be the impetus for his whole career as a solo artist. It was to be his first single after leaving the band Them and it led to his relocation to the United States and an eventual contract with Warner Brothers Records where he would record his career-defining album Astral Weeks. In the same year The Who released I CAN SEE FOR MILES AND MILES, the only single from the The Who Sell Out album. Recorded in several separate sessions in studios across two continents, the recording of I CAN SEE FOR MILES exemplifies the increasingly sophisticated studio techniques of rock bands in the late 1960s. The backing tracks were recorded in London, the vocals and overdubbing were performed in New York at Talentmasters Studios, and the album was mastered in Los Angeles at the Gold Star Studios.
The Beatles 1965 hit I’M LOOKING THROUGH YOU was written mainly by Paul McCartney and it first appeared on their Rubber Soul album. It was written about Jane Asher, McCartney’s girlfriend of five years: “You don’t look different, but you have changed,” the lyrics declare, reflecting his dissatisfaction with their relationship.
When I announced that this week’s theme was to be EYES, I was inundated with requests for the Platters version of SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES. Well, of course, it had to make the list – an absolute classic.
Winonie Harris reckons that he can tell all sorts of things from looking into a set of BLOODSHOT EYES while Little Milton was out to prove that you can’t always judge a book by its cover on JUST BECAUSE YOU SEE ME SMILING
Billy Idol’s EYES WITHOUT A FACE is from his 1983 album Rebel Yell. Reportedly filmed in a marathon 30-hour session, the video’s extensive filming used fog machines, lighting, and fire sources that nearly fused Idol’s contact lenses. At the conclusion of filming, Idol attempted to leave, and promptly passed out on the studio lawn from exhaustion. Initially mistaken for a vagrant, a police officer who roused Idol was alarmed at his reddened eyes. The officer immediately brought Idol to a local hospital, where doctors were able to coax out the lenses, saving his vision. OMG.
Captain Beefheart was unusually restrained on HER EYES ARE A BLUE MILLION MILES and we followed with Sinead O’Connor’s DAMN YOUR EYES from her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. No matter what you think of her political viewpoints, there is no denying the power in her voice.
Being our 100th show, I gave myself a gift and closed the show with two of my favourite artists: As regular listeners know, according to me Roy Orbison can do no wrong. And how could I resist when he tells me “One look from me and he drifts away”, on YOU GOT IT.
Tim Buckley is also a favourite and we said goodbye with DEVIL EYES from the outstanding album Greetings From LA.
Next week’s program will be on CARNIVALS, CIRCUSES AND FUNFAIRS. Ooh I’m really looking forward to this one. Let me know if you have any suggestions for the playlist. I can always do with your help!
Until next week, remember what Gandhi said: “An eye for an eye turns the whole world blind.”
Here’s this week’s complete list:
I Only Have Eyes For You – Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll: 59, The Flamingos
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – The Missing Chapters Vol. 5: Glenn Miller Orchestra
Brown Eyed Handsome Man – 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection, Chuck Berry
Watching The Detectives – My Aim Is True, Elvis Costello
Have You Seen Her – Greatest Hits, The Chi-Lites
Inside Out – Red Army, The Red Eyes
Keep An Eye On Love – Testify, Ernestine Anderson
Private Eyes – Top Hits Of The 80’s, Hall and Oates
Look At The Fool – Twentyfourseven, Tim Buckley
Doctor My Eyes – The Next Voice You Hear: The Best Of Jackson Browne, Jackson Browne
I Spy For The FBI – Soul Cargo Vol. 1 (The Early Years Of “Groove”, Jamo Thomas
How Far We’ve Come – Exile On Mainstream, Matchbox Twenty
I’d Rather Go Blind – The Sweetest Peaches – Part Two (1967-1975), Etta James
I Can See Clearly Now – Definitive Collection, Jimmy Cliff
Just One Look – Mermaids, Doris Troy
First Look At The Purse – This Is Soul, The Contours
I Want A Love I Can See – My Girl: The Very Best Of The Temptations, The Temptations
Brown Eyed Girl – Best Of Van Morrison, Van Morrison
I’m Looking Through You – Rubber Soul, The Beatles
I Can See For Miles – The Who Sell Out, The Who
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – Easy Listening Gold: 1958-1959, The Platters
Bloodshot Eyes – The Best of Wynonie Harris, Wynoni Harris
Just Because You See Me Smiling – Movin’ to the Country, Little Milton
Eyes Without A Face – Top Hits Of The 80’s, Billy Idol
Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles – Clear Spot, Captain Beefheart
Damn Your Eyes – I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (Special Edition) Sinéad O’Connor
You Got It – Mystery Girl, Roy Orbison
Devil Eyes – Greetings From L.A., Tim Buckley
Next week: SONGS ABOUT CARNIVALS, CIRCUSES & FUNFAIRS
Posted in Australia, Blues, Broadcasting and media, community radio, Funk, jazz, Motown, Movies & Music, music, Music - New Wave, music - nostalgia, music, blues, music, r&b, music, soul, pop, Radio Program, reggae, rock, rock'n'roll, Songs about eyes, Uncategorized
Tags: Aerosmith, Australia, Barack Obama, Beatles, Billy Idol, Blues, Byron Bay, Captain Beefheart, Chi-Lites, Chuck Berry, country, David Bowie, David Fincher, Dendy Cinemas, Doo Wop, Doris Troy, Dr John, Elvis Costello, Ernestine Anderson, Etta James, Eugene Record, Funk, Gandhi, George Washington, Hall & Oates, Jackson Browne, Jamo Thomas, Jimmy Cliff, Ku Promotions, Little Milton, Louis Pasteur, Michael Jackson, Motown, music, Paul Simon, pop, R&B, radio, Red Eye, rock, rock 'n' roll, Roy Orbison, Sinead O'Connor, songs about eyes, soul, The Contours, The Flamingos, The Platters, The Social Network, The Temptations, The Who, Theme music, Tim Buckley, Van Morrison, Wynonie Harris
This week’s theme is ostensibly about shelter which in the dictionary sense is a building. But it’s hard to express a real sense of bricks and mortar in a song. Let’s face it, do you learn anything about being in jail from Jailhouse Rock? Convincing songs about buildings, or shelters, are really songs about the people who find themselves in them, by design or not.
We started this week’s playlist with music’s most famous home away from home – Elvis Presley’s HEARTBREAK HOTEL. You’ll find it down at the end of Lonely Street. We followed with Lucinda Williams who gets a little bit of help from Elvis Costello. He’s a three-time loser and consequently she’s got a case of JAILHOUSE TEARS. The track is from the very excellent ‘Little Honey’ album.
The Rolling Stones’ GIMME SHELTER is usually associated with the Vietnam War (it was released on the 1969 album Let It Bleed). The lyrics, which speak of seeking shelter from a coming storm, painting a picture of devastation and disaster but it also talks of the power of love. We followed with a fantastic Irish singer, Mary Coughlan with a song about prostitution: THE HOUSE OF ILL REPUTE.
Aretha Franklin funks up Hal David’s lyric, “a-house-is-not-a-home” on THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT and we followed with The Temptations, who prove that even Motown wasn’t immune to the Psychadelic era with PSYCHEDELIC SHACK.
Can you believe that Bob Dylan has turned 69? Yikes. We wished him happy birthday for May 24 with SHELTER FROM THE STORM. The Housemartins’ swansong was a song called BUILD, about the widespread construction in the 1980s that spelt disaster for working-class communities.
A nice change of tone came from the gorgeous Julie London who wants you to COME ON A MY HOUSE. And she’s got candy. How good is that?
MANSION ON THE HILL is a Neil Young song from his 1990 album ‘Ragged Glory’. The clip is an absolute hoot. Enjoy.
Norwegian singer/songwriter, Ane Brun, who recently toured Europe with Peter Gabriel, sings a great song about shelter called THE TREEHOUSE SONG. The Basement Jaxx song TAKE ME BACK TO YOUR HOUSE first appeared on their 2006 album ‘Crazy Itch Radio’. The album features Swedish popster Robyn among the guest vocalists. Another interesting video too:
Irma Thomas sent us a great message about the emotional refuge that a true friend can give you during hard times in the song SHELTER IN THE RAIN. Jimi Hendrix sings about his house on the hill; He’s got a bad, bad feeling his baby don’t live there no more. But, as he so eloquently puts it, ‘That’s Ok cause I’ve still got my guitar”. The song is RED HOUSE.
Blur had a big hit with a song that tapped into a common ideal of escaping the rat race and living in a COUNTRY HOUSE.
A SUGAR SHACK refers to a small building n which maple syrup is processed. Its also the name of a song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack and his aunt Fay Voss. It was a hit for Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs but I preferred to play the Ricky Nelson version.
Two songs that link houses with fire, at least metaphorically, are Natalie Merchant’s THIS HOUSE IS ON FIRE and BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE by Talking Heads.
Arguably the most idiosyncratic song in the playlist this week would be Mmmmm… SKYSCRAPER I LOVE YOU by Underworld, otherwise known to their Mums as Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. Not quite Kraftwerk, but still lots of fun.
The Rapture put a cowbell to good use in their very catchy dance-punk number, HOUSE OF JEALOUS LOVERS:
Elvis Costello celebrated the amazing art deco Hoover factory, that welcomes drivers entering London on the Western Avenue, in HOOVER FACTORY. While David Byrne, revisiting themes from his Talking Heads days, gave us GLASS, CONCRETE & STONE. It’s about a weary worker whose residence is “a house, not a home”. There’s that Hal David lyric again.
The ultimate shelter song for Byron Bay, with our own iconic lighthouse is, of course, THE LIGHTHOUSE SONG from Josh Pyke.
We finished the show on an upbeat note with the B-52s and LOVE SHACK. The song’s inspiration was a cabin in Georgia, complete with tin roof, where the band conceived “Rock Lobster”, a single from their first album. B-52’s singer Kate Pierson lived in the cabin in the 1970s, and the cabin existed until 2004, when it burned down in a fire.
The topic for next week’s show was requested some time ago by Nicole, but I’ve been waiting until I’m in the right mood. The theme is SEXY SONGS. Now I’m not suggesting that this is a playlist to have sex to. To be honest I don’t think I want to know what other people listen to in bed! Not all the songs will even be about sex, but they will have an erotic charge to them. And, yes, I know its all incredibly subjective but, hey, every week’s show is. And I may just have a very interesting giveaway for you too. This is one that shouldn’t be missed!
Here’s this week’s complete playlist:
Heartbreak Hotel – The 50 Greatest Hits (Disc 1), Elvis Presley
Jailhouse Tears – Little Honey, Lucinda Williams (with Elvis Costello)
The House of Ill Repute – Mary Coughlan
The House That Jack Built – 20 Greatest Hits, Aretha Franklin
Psychedelic Shack – My Girl: The Very Best Of The Temptations [Disc 2], The Temptations
Shelter From The Storm – Blood On The Tracks, Bob Dylan
Build – The Beautiful South & The Housemartins, The Housemartins
Come On -A My House – Swing Me An Old Song, Julie London
Rock House – Ultra Lounge, The Ernie Freeman Combo
Mansion On The Hill – Ragged Glory, Neil Young
The Treehouse Song – Ane Brun
Take Me Back To Your House – Triple J 14, Basement Jaxx
Shelter in the Rain – After the Rain, Irma Thomas
Red House – Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues, Jimi Hendrix
Country House – Blur
Sugar Shack – Ricky Nelson
This House Is on Fire – Motherland, Natalie Merchant
Burning Down The House – Classic MTV – Class of 1983, Talking Heads
Mmm.. Skyscraper I Love You – Underworld
House of Jealous Lovers – Echoes, The Rapture
Glass, Concrete & Stone – Grown Backwards, David Byrne
Hoover Factory – Get Happy!! Elvis Costello
The Lighthouse Song – Triple J Hottest 100, Vol. 16 [Disc 2], Josh Pyke
Love Shack – B-52s
Next week: SEXY SONGS
Also streaming on http://www.bayfm.org
Tragically also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maccalyn
Posted in Broadcasting and media, community radio, music - nostalgia, music, blues, music, r&b, music, soul, Radio Program, Uncategorized
Tags: Ane Brun, Aretha Franklin, Australia, B-52s, Basement Jaxx, Blues, Blur, Bob Dylan, Byron Bay, country, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Irma Thomas, Jimi Hendrix, Josh Pyke, Julie London, Lucinda Williams, Mary Coughlan, Motown, music, Natalie Merchant, Neil Young, pop, R&B, radio, Ricky Nelson, rock, rock 'n' roll, Rolling Stones, Shelter, soul, Talking Heads, The Housemartins, The Rapture, The Temptations, Theme music, Underworld
Memories can haunt us, no matter how much we want to escape them. There are false memories, conflicting memories of the same event and memories that clash with the reality of the present. Thanks to mass media, memory isn’t something that only belongs to us as individuals. When we see scenes at the cinema or television or on DVDs over and over again, they become part of our collective memory. Even if you’ve never seen the film King Kong you know that there’s a scene where a big gorilla climbs up the Empire State Building with a human girl in his hand. And whenever a comedy show or film features a scene where someone is killed or threatened in a shower most people understand it’s a parody of Psycho. So mass media, film and television in particular, have contributed hugely to a memory that we share with millions of other people.
Unfortunately, we remember melancholy and pleasure in equal measure. The concept of looking back in hindsight is also a bit complicated. It’s easy to write off youthful idealism as simply being naïve as Stevie Wonder did in our opening number YESTERME, YESTERYOU, YESTERDAY. According to Stevie it was all “a cruel and foolish game we used to play”. Well that’s how he remembers it anyway.
And talking of cruel, I can’t imagine anything worse than getting Alzheimer’s disease and Elvis Costello’s song VERONICA is all about that. It tells the story of an old lady who lives in a nursing home and is gradually losing her memory. It was inspired by Costello’s grandmother.
The Ramones want to know DO YOU REMEMBER ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RADIO? Has it ever gone away?
Collecting objects that remind us of old times should bring back good memories, but that’s not always the case as Soft Cell tell it in MEMORABILIA. Sarah Vaughan would rather experience something that didn’t work out than never do anything at all in I’D RATHER HAVE A MEMORY THAN A DREAM. The real classic of this triple play, however, was the Shangri-Las with their ode to a lost love affair: REMEMBER (WALKIN IN THE SAND). Here’s a great clip from the excellent “Songmakers Collection” DVD, with interviews with Mary Weiss and writer producer George ‘Shadow’ Morton about this track and their other hit, LEADER OF THE PACK.
Jurassic 5 dug deep into their memory banks for REMEMBER HIS NAME. As did Fall Out Boy for THNKS FR TH MMRS . The Zutons, REMEMBER ME is about those kind of friends who seem to forget you once they are entrenched in a romantic relationship. Don’t you just hate that!
THOSE WERE THE DAYS is from Cream’s 1968 album Wheels of Fire. The album cover was designed by Australian artist Martin Sharpe and it won the the New York Art Directors Prize for best album cover in 1969. The sound on the album was characterised by a hybrid of blues, hard rock and psychdelic rock, combined with Eric Clapton’s blues guitar, Ginger Baker’s jazz-influenced drumming and the basslines and voice of Jack Bruce.
One of the most beautiful voices I’ve heard belongs to Sarah McLachlan. And one of my favourite songs of hers is one that I first heard on the soundtrack to the film The Brothers McMullen. It’s called I WILL REMEMBER YOU.
Otis Redding’s name is synonymous with the term ‘soul’ and we had to include his classic with I’VE GOT DREAMS TO REMEMBER. Redding died at the very early age of 26 but his memory is kept alive with the Youth Educational Dream Foundation and a very good website. Go to: http://www.otisredding.com/
British group Bloc Party look back regretfully on an opportunity for love that wasn’t realised in I STILL REMEMBER:
The Kinks wonder what ever happened to their childhood friend in DO YOU REMEMBER WALTER? It’s from their album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.
The Supremes reflected on the good and bad memories of a love that used to be in REFLECTIONS while Jimi Hendrix had only good memories of a past love, (he even wants her back!), in REMEMBER.
Relationships that survive depend partly on shared memories, but those memories need constant topping up. Indie rockers, Yo La Tengo document this well in OUR WAY TO FALL.
There was a fair bit of nostalgia in this week’s show, (well what did you expect?) and one of my faves was The Platters with REMEMBER WHEN. Also fitting the bill was Elvis Presley who seems somewhat confused in I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET.
Memories, daydreams, disconnected thoughts – they fill our minds in a never-ending rush. Our next song, THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND, evoked this beautifully, conveying the incredible weirdness of our thought processes. If you’re after nostalgia then what about Noel Harrison with the original version of the song that served the film The Thomas Crown Affair so well.
Ok back to recent memories. Jack Johnson wonders DO YOU REMEMBER? and P.M. Dawn are SET ADRIFT ON A MEMORY. Thanks to Lynden for suggesting that one and several others on our list today.
One of my favourite films deals with amnesia. Memento, starring Guy Pearce, and directed by Christopher Nolan, is a fascinating story about someone who can’t store new memories. A song about about the subject is I DON’T REMEMBER by Peter Gabriel.
Bob Dylan’s memory song is a love ballad from the Empire Burlesque album: I’LL REMEMBER YOU. And if its nostalgia that you’re after, consider MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS from Dean Martin. An oldie but a goodie, as they say.
I’ll never forget Michael Jackson with REMEMBER THE TIME from the Dangerous album. Another sad memory for me is Freddy Mercury singing THOSE WERE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES which many think was the song he dedicated to his fellow Queen members when he knew that he was dying.
Back to the 70’s and some Aussie based punk rock: remember The Saints and MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS?
We closed the show with a cover of a song that I swore I wouldn’t play this week, but this version is so sweet it had to make the cut: The Waifs with a little help from Clare Bowditch. They’re singing Frank Ifields I REMEMBER YOU.
This week’s theme on MEMORY segues nicely into next week’s topic. My computer crashed last week and I had to invest in a drive with a lot more memory to cope with all the songs that I collect for these shows. So next week its MACHINES, ROBOTS AND COMPUTERS. No Television or Radio songs please because you know they are a whole theme to themselves. and no modes of transport, for the same reason. But any other gadget or gizmo is up for grabs.
Here’s this week’s complete playlist. All songs available on iTunes.
Yesterme Yesteryou Yesterday – Stevie Wonder
Veronica – Elvis Costello
Do You Remember Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio – The Ramones
Memorabilia – Soft Cell
I’d Rather Have a Memory Than a Dream – Sarah Vaughan
Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand) – The Shangri-Las
Remember his name – Jurassic 5
Thnks fr th Mmrs – Fall Out Boy
Remember Me – The Zutons
Those Were The Days – Cream
I Will Remember You – Sarah Mclachlan
I’ve Got Dreams To Remember – Otis Redding
I Still Remember – Bloc Party
Do You Remember Walter – The Kinks
Reflections – Diana Ross & the Supremes
Remember – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Our Way to Fall – Yo La Tengo
Remember When – The Platters
I Forgot to Remember to Forget – Elvis Presley
Do You Remember – Jack Johnson
The Windmills Of Your Mind – Noel Harrison
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss – P.M. Dawn
I Don’t Remember – Peter Gabriel
I’ll Remember You – Bob Dylan
Memories Are Made Of This – Dean Martin
Remember The Time – Michael Jackson
Memories Are Made of This – The Saints
Those Were The Days Of Our Lives – Queen
Remember You (feat. Clare Bowditch) – The Waifs
Next week: MACHINES, ROBOTS & COMPUTERS
Posted in Broadcasting and media, community radio, Memory, music - nostalgia, music, blues, music, country, music, r&b, music, soul, Radio Program, Uncategorized
Tags: Australia, Bloc Party, Blues, Bob Dylan, Byron Bay, Christopher Nolan, Clare Bowditch, Collective memory, Cream, Dean Martin, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Freddy Mercury, Ginger Baker, Guy Pearce, hip-hop, Jack Bruce, Jack Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Jurassic 5, Martin Sharpe, Memory, Michael Jackson, Motown, music, Noel Harrison, Otis Redding, P.M.Dawn, Peter Gabriel, pop, Queen, R&B, radio, rock, rock 'n' roll, Sarah Mclachlan, Sarah Vaughan, Shangri-Las, Soft Cell, soul, Stevie Wonder, The Kinks, The Platters, The Ramones, The Saints, The Waifs, The Who, Theme music, Yo La Tengo
GOING OUT AND PARTYING
As a tribute to all the Capricorns celebrating their birthdays at the moment, (including me!), the theme this week was GOING OUT AND PARTYING. Some famous Capricorns include Elvis Presley, who would have turned 75 this week, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Patti Smith, Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton… the list goes on. Oh, what amazing company I’m in!
We opened the show Pink’s GET THIS PARTY STARTED and if that song can’t get you in the party mood I don’t know what will. If you’ve never seen Pink perform live, you are really missing out. Here’s some footage from her show at the Wembley Arena. Enjoy.
Wanda Jackson also has the right attitude. Her song LET’S HAVE A PARTY was a hit for her in 1959, a year after Elvis Presley released it. I totally adore Louis Jordan and included two of his tracks this week. The first has a great clip to show you. Have a look at LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL :
The Theme Park party was off to a great start and the party continued with Santana’s INTERPLANETARY PARTY from the 2007 album, Ultimate Santana. But, I ask you, what’s a party without James Brown? One thing you can count on, he’s GONNA HAVE A FUNKY GOOD TIME. Joe Jackson was also STEPPIN OUT and, as the Showstoppers explained, with their hit of 1968, it AIN’T NOTHIN BUT A HOUSE PARTY.
Loved Sam Cooke’s smooth rendition of WE’RE HAVING A PARTY but I have to admit that I was totally intrigued by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles song title, GOING TO A GO-GO. I have no idea what a Go-Go is, but the song is a sure fire dance floor filler, so it has to be about a party, surely.
The Irish Rovers sound as if it was one hell of a get-together with their ditty WASN’T THAT A PARTY. It’s hard to find a full clip of the Rovers singing any song but here’s one that includes this catchy tune, which they used to open their 80’s television series “Party with the Rovers”. Take a peek:
Claudine Clark’s one-hit wonder of 1962, PARTY LIGHTS, stands out because she wrote the music and the lyrics herself, which was unusual for a female performer during that time. Sung from the point of view of a teenage girl ordered to her room while her friends were out having a good time, “Party Lights” struck a chord and shot into the Top Five on both the pop and R&B charts.
What’s the purpose of a party? Well, let’s face it life can be pretty serious a lot of the time, so getting together with your friends and celebrating the positive things in life can be a lot of fun. Although I can testify that the after effects don’t always make it worth the effort. But that’s just my hangover talking. I’m sure the wonderful Amos Milburn wouldn’t agree and he has a great song to prove it – LET’S HAVE A PARTY.
Friday night seems to be the favourite night of the week to go out, so I thought it was appropriate to include Lily Allen’s FRIDAY NIGHT and The Specials’ FRIDAY NIGHT, SATURDAY MORNING. Then Three Dog Night claimed that their MOMMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME. They had to find out the hard way that “This is the craziest party there could ever be”. Check out the clip from 1970:
We played PARTY TRAIN by the Dazz Band on our Train show but it deserved a second listen. Smiley Lewis followed with CALADONIA’S PARTY. Now anyone with a name like Caledonia deserves to have a party in her honour, don’t you think?
Bobby Darin was just sitting in his bath, minding his own business and gets out of the bath with just a towel around him. Now how did he know there was a party going on? That’s how he tells it anyway in SPLISH SPLASH.
ZZ Top know how to do party. They’re turning up the radio and having a PARTY ON THE PATIO. Lesley Gore, on the other hand, needs a bit of sympathy. As she tells it, ITS MY PARTY (and I’ll cry if I want to).
The Donnas give short shrift to gatecrashers on WHO INVITED YOU? And for my guilty pleasure it was Kiss: “and you say you wanna go for a spin, the party’s just begun, we’ll let you in, you drive us wild, we’ll drive you crazy.” Yes, indeed, I WANNA ROCK AND ROLL.
Maybe the party lifestyle isn’t what its all cracked up to be. Not according to Elvis Costello and the Attractions, anyway, with PARTY GIRL or Marc Almond and Soft Cell with their reality check of a song, BEDSITTER.
I’m not convinced. Give me the optimisim of Michael Jackson’s OFF THE WALL or anything from the disco era, like Kool and the Gang’s CELEBRATION or Alicia Bridges with the party girl’s anthem, I LOVE THE NIGHLIFE. The song will forever be associated with the film, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and who am I to change that? Check out the clip:
The Beastie Boys are ready to FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY. Excellent. Even Bob Dylan had a song for us about parties – MILLION DOLLAR BASH.
Time to finish the show and what better way than with the brilliant Blossom Dearie with THE PARTY’S OVER followed by the Beatles’ BIRTHDAY. Here’s a cute piece of animation created by Mery, for all the Capricorns out there.
I thought next week I might have to work off some of the birthday cake, so it’s a show more for the walkers, than the talkers. The theme is WALKING AND RUNNING. Any suggestions?
Here’s this week’s playlist:
Get This Party Started – Pink
Let’s Have A Party – Wanda Jackson
Let The Good Times Roll – Louis Jordan
Interplanetary Party – Santana
Gonna Have A Funky Good Time – James Brown
Steppin’ Out – Joe Jackson
Ain’t Nothin’ But a House Party – Showstoppers
Party Time (Soca Steel Drums) – Jimmy Buffett
We’re Having A Party – Sam Cooke
Going To A Go Go – Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
Wasn’t That A Party – Irish Rovers
Party Lights – Claudine Clark
Let’s Have A Party – Amos Milburn
Friday Night – Lily Allen
Friday Night, Saturday Morning – The Specials
Momma Told Me Not To Come – Three Dog Night
Party Train – The Dazz Band
Caldonia’s Party – Smiley Lewis
Splish Splash – Bobby Darin
House Party – Louis Jordan
Party On The Patio – ZZ Top
It’s My Party – Leslie Gore
Who Invited You – The Donnas
I Wanna Rock & Roll All Night – Kiss
Party Girl – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Bedsitter – Marc Almond & Soft Cell
Off the Wall – Michael Jackson
Celebration – Kool and the Gang
I Love the Nightlife – Alicia Bridges
Fight For Your Right To Party – Beastie Boys
Million Dollar Bash – Bob Dylan
The Party’s Over – Blossom Dearie
Birthday – The Beatles The Beatles
Next week: WALKING AND RUNNING
Listen to Lyn McCarthy at the Theme Park on BayFM, Tuesdays 2-4pm, Sydney time.
Posted in Broadcasting and media, community radio, music, music - nostalgia, music, blues, music, country, music, r&b, music, soul, pop, Radio Program, rock'n'roll, Uncategorized
Tags: Alcia Bridges, Amos Milburn, Annie Lennox, Australia, Beatles, Blossom Dearie, Blues, Bob Dylan, Bobby Darin, Byron Bay, Capricorn, Claudine Clark, David Bowie, Dazz Band, disco, Dolly Parton, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, James Brown, Janis Joplin, Joe Jackson, Kiss, Kook & The Gang, Lesley Gore, Lily Allen, Louis Jordan, Marc Almond and Soft Cell, Michael Jackson, Motown, music, Party, Patti Smith, Pink, pop, R&B, radio, rock, rock 'n' roll, Sam Cooke, Santana, Showstoppers, Smiley Lewis, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, soul, The Beastie Boys, The Donnas, The Irish Rovers, The Specials, Theme music, Three Dog Night, Wanda Jackson, ZZ Top
AGE AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT A NUMBER!
We Baby Boomers, in particular, seem to be obsessed with aging so I thought it was time to dedicate a show to the older generation. It was also Seniors week – not that you would know it, as there wasn’t one thing organised to celebrate seniors up here in Northern New South Wales, that I could make out. Now I know that we live in the youth obsessed tourist town of Byron Bay, but come on! One day it will be you and I that will be shuffled into the old people’s home (if we can afford it!). Ah well, there’ll always be the music….
Even Barbie, who turned 50 last week, has fallen prey to a mid life crisis: ‘Totally Stylin Barbie’ has landed in the toy stores, complete with trendy threads and several temporary tattoos. Help!
I started the show with the Who’s ‘My Generation’. Roger Daltrey sang “I hope I die before I get old” when he was a 21 year old, in 1965, and he’s still singing it 44 years later! Rock’n’roll has always been devoted to a cult of youth and beautiful corpses. Meanwhile our musical heroes and heroines have turned into reunion tour veterans. Being an aging rocker comes with a lot of irony and a smidgeon of indignity along with the continuing glory, or so it seems.
Aging, mortality, hard-done by women and dirty old men – the themes aren’t confined to rock. Other musical genres covered it all long ago. Pop, Blues, Soul and, not to forget, country – those cowboys have been churning out hits about the sunset years for decades. So it was a fairly eclectic playlist this week – Jazz, Blues, Rock’n’Roll, Country and even some Hip-Hop! Songs dedicated to our older relatives, philosophical musings on time’s passage and a couple of anxious songs about diminished potency. There were a couple of cheeky songs and some very touching music recorded, perhaps not surprisingly, by some of our older musical icons. It turns out that, dying after you get old does have some advantages!
Fats Waller and Bill Withers sang a song dedicated to their Grandad and Grandma, respecitvely, and then it was onto Elvis Costello with a song that Paul McCartney co-wrote, ‘Veronica’. This is quite a brilliant number from 1989 about an elderly woman slipping into senility. Sassy songstress Lily Allen followed with her 50cent cover ‘Nan, You’re a Window Shopper’ and how could we miss out on ‘Little Old Lady From Pasadena’ from the Beach Boys? That’s Elvis C. in the pic above, in 2005, still rockin it out. Bless.
Steely Dan’s ‘Hey Nineteen’ struck a note with more than one of my girlfriends! As the song goes, as hot as it is having a girlfriend 30 years your junior, it’s kind of a reality check when she’s never heard of Aretha Franklin: “We’ve got nothin’ in common, We can’t talk at all”. No kidding. So here’s a video of a live concert in 2006, for all those old guys still chasing young skirt….. listen well!
We played a quite a bit of the Beatles today. Sad when you think about it. They wrote quite a few songs about aging and both George and John died relatively young. ‘When I’m Sixty Four’ and ‘In My Life’ are both classics. Buddy Guy and Junior Wells gave us a great rendition of ‘In My Younger Days’, followed by my new favourite, Seasick Steve, with ‘Rockin’ Chair’. We couldn’t leave out Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ with James Taylor on banjo (tuned like a guitar) and Linda Ronstadt on back up vocals. Here is a video of a concert Young did in London, in 1971, where he explains the origins of the song. He looks so young here – well it was nearly 40 years ago!
My Roy Orbison song this week was quite poignant: ‘Life Fades Away’. And so was ‘End of the Line’ by the Travelling Wilburys. I happily sent out birthday wishes to several of my listeners with the Beatles recording of ‘Birthday’, and then finished the show with the amazing Jimmy Durante singing ‘Young at Heart’. Yep, age ain’t nothin’ but a number.
Here’s the complete playlist:
My Generation (1965) – The Who
Grand Old Dad (1941) – Fats Waller
Grandma’s Hands (1971) – Bill Withers
Young Fashioned Ways (1947) – Muddy Waters
Veronica (1989) – Elvis Costello
Nan You’re A Window Shopper (2006) – Lily Allen
Old Lady from Pasadena (1964) – Beach Boys
Older Guys (1970) – Gram Parsons & The Flying Burrito Brothers B
As Good As I Once Was (2005) – Toby Keith
Hey Nineteen (1985) – Steely Dan
When You Are Old (1953) – Tom Lehrer
When I’m Sixty-Four (1967) – The Beatles
In My Younger Days – Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
Rockin’ Chair (2004) – Seasick Steve & The Level Devils
Old Man (1972) – Neil Young
Touch of Grey (1987) – Grateful Dead
Golden Years (1975) – David Bowie
In My Life (1965) – The Beatles
Life Fades Away – Roy Orbison
Losing My Edge (2002) – LCD Soundsystem
1985 (2004) – Bowling for Soup
Surrender (1977) – Cheap Trick
Forever Young (1984) – Alphaville
Can’t Forget About You (2006) – Nas Hip
Against The Wind (1980) – Bob Seger
End of the Line – Travelling Wilburys
Young At Heart (1963) – Jimmy Durante
Birthday (1968) – The Beatles
Next week I’ll be tackling the theme of Communication. Suggestions for songs always apprecicated.
Listen to Lyn at the Theme Park Tuesdays 2-4pm Sydney time on BayFM 99.9. Also streaming via http://www.bayfm.org
Posted in Beatles, Broadcasting and media, community radio, Jimmy Durante, Lily Allen, music - nostalgia, music, blues, music, country, music, r&b, Radio Program, rock'n'roll, Roy Orbison, The Who
Tags: Australia, Barbie, Beach Boys, Beatles, Bill Withers, Blues, Buddy Guy, Byron Bay, country, Elvis Costello, Fats Waller, Jimmy Durante, Lily Allen, music, Neil Young, Old age, R&B, radio, rock 'n' roll, Roy Orbison, Seasick Steve, Steely Dan, The Who, Theme music
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Kim Says He’s Open to Third Summit With Trump
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to make a “courageous decision” on stalled nuclear talks, warning of “very bleak and very dangerous” consequences if Washington does not change its approach.
Speaking to a session of North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament, Kim also said he is open to meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump “one more time,” but only if the U.S. changes its attitude, according to North Korean state media.
President Trump responded Saturday morning via Twitter.
“I agree with Kim Jong Un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand. North Korea has tremendous potential for extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman Kim. I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!”
Trump this week said he is considering another meeting with Kim, but insisted the U.S. will not relax sanctions until North Korea gives up its nuclear arsenal.
The talks have been stalled since a February Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi ended in no deal. North Korean officials have since threatened to pull out of the talks and restart nuclear and missile tests.
Kim said his relationship with Trump remains “excellent.” But he said the failure of the Hanoi summit raised doubts about talks with the U.S. and whether Washington is really interested in improving relations.
The U.S. “was not ready to sit face to face and solve problems,” Kim said, adding that he does not “desire to see another Hanoi summit.”
Positive message?
“It seems like a positive message from the standpoint of possibly resuming the talks,” said Dong-Yub Kim, a North Korea specialist at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies. “But it is difficult to get a good opportunity like in Hanoi.”
Kim’s statement doesn’t necessarily move the talks forward, but it does suggest he remains invested in the diplomatic process, says Mintaro Oba, a former State Department diplomat who focuses on Korea.
“He recognizes the benefits of continuing diplomatic action, especially for potential sanctions relief, but wants to put the burden of the action on the United States,” Oba says.
South Korea’s government cautiously welcomed Kim’s statement.
“Our government will do what we can in order to maintain the current momentum for dialogue and help negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea resume at an early date,” said an official at Seoul’s presidential Blue House.
A small deal?
Speaking alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump on Thursday expressed openness to “smaller deals” with the North. But Trump said he is still looking for a wide-ranging agreement under which North Korea commits to completely dismantling its nuclear weapons.
At their first summit last year in Singapore, Trump and Kim signed a vague statement to work toward the “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” However, U.S. officials have since conceded the two sides do not agree on what that phrase means.
North Korean officials have traditionally insisted that denuclearization means the U.S. reducing or eliminating its security commitment to South Korea, including removing nuclear-capable assets from the region.
The U.S. insists North Korea must unilaterally give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which violate United Nations resolutions.
North Korea has spent decades building up its nuclear program, which it views as a deterrent against the U.S.
News, UncategorizedDonald Trump, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, United States
Notoriously Liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Sides With Trump on Immigration
Commentary: Game of Thrones Might Be the Greatest Advertisement for Capitalism Ever Written
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Home News Science Tiangong-1 breaks up over South Pacific on re-entry
Tiangong-1 breaks up over South Pacific on re-entry
A few days ago, scientists informed that the uncontrolled Chinese space station will hit the earth during the first week of April and that became true. The massive space station Tiangong-1 re-entry into earth’s atmosphere on Monday. Well, most of its part burned up over the central South Pacific Ocean. This has informed by Chinese space authorities. The authority stated, “Most of the parts were burned up in the re-entry process.” The Tiangong-1 re-entered into the atmosphere at around 8:15 a.m. in Beijing time. Scientists who were monitoring the space station had previously forecasted that Tainagong-1 will burn up and will bring slight risk to humans. But, it had mostly burned up without harming anyone.
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Center of Astrophysics stated “It did exactly what it was expected to do. The predictions, at least the past 24 hours’ ones, were spot on and as expected it fell somewhere empty and did no damage.” Leroy Chiao, a former U.S. astronaut who has participated in four space mission has stated that it will be surprised if major pieces survived during re-entry. Because it was not a big spacecraft and didn’t have any heat shields.
The re-entry of Tiangong-1 was successful, but it would have been better if that had not been hurtling toward Earth. Commenting on this, an astrophysicist at Australian National University, Brad Tucker stated “It could have been better if it wasn’t tumbling. But it landed in the Southern Pacific Ocean, and that is the kind of where you hope it would land.” Tucker further added that when a thing starts to come down while tumbling, it is difficult to predict what will happen next. For example, if a plane that is shaking around and tumbling, its more difficult to evaluate its landing zone.
Tiangong-1 was the China’s first space station which was launched in 2011. It worked as a platform which supported a bigger project like Taingong-2. It was launched in September 2013 and it is the permanent space station of China. It is expected that this spacecraft will help when the Congress will stop funding for the International Space Station. Last week, China informed that training for astronauts is under process. Its assembling process will be finished by 2020 and will be ready to function in 2022. As per the report, Tiangong-1 was las used in 2013 and during that time three team spent 12 days in the space station. Before 2016, it docked with three spacecrafts. Wang Yaping, a Chinese female astronaut had delivered a lecture from the space station to Earth. In March 2016 Chines space authority officially confirmed that it has lost control over the space station.
Some scientists previously predicted that around 10 percent of the 8.5-ton space station will survive the re-entry, like the heavier components- engines. When it was launched, the original plan was after the duration Chinese authority will guide the space station in a controlled way, like the Mir Space station. Normally there is a specific location for every debris from satellites and spacecraft generally. That place is called as that spacecraft graveyard and the space station has just fallen into that.
Well, there is nothing new in debris stages to fall to Earth. In 1979, the 77-ton Skylab, U.S.’s first space station crashed through the earth in an uncontrolled manner. Some of its parts were found near Perth, the southwest Australian city. For the Australian government fined the U.S. $400 for littering. Space outpost like Russia’s Mir station had made a controlled re-entry in 2001.
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Los Angeles subway workers discover a 10,000 young mammoth skull
Micky James - May 19, 2019
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Old Guy Book Recommendation: Reformed Confessions of the 16th & 17th Centuries in English Translation
500 years in the making this is a set you will want to take a look at.
The 4 vol. Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation is on sale at WTS Books this week for $100 for the set or $30 a volume.
Volume 1 – 1523-1552:
1. The Sixty-Seven Articles of Huldrych Zwingli (1523)
2. Zwingli’s Short Christian Instruction (1523)
3. The Ten Theses of Bern (1528)
4. Confession of the East Friesland Preachers (1528)
5. William Farel’s Summary (1529)
6. Zwingli, Fidei ratio (1530)
7. The Tetrapolitan Confession(1530)
8. Waldensian Confession (1530)
9. Zwingli, Fidei Expositio (1531)
10. The Bern Synod (1532)
11. Waldensian Synod of Chanforan (1532)
12. The Waldensian Confession of Angrogna (1532)
13. The First Confession of Basel (1534)
14. The Bohemian Confession (1535)
15. The Lausanne Articles (1536)
16. The First Helvetic Confession (1536)
17. Calvin’s Catechism (1537)
18. Geneva Confession (1536/37)
20. Waldensian Confession of Mérindol (1541)
21. Waldensian Confession of Provence (1543)
22.The Waldensian Confession of Mérindol (1543)
23. The Walloon Confession of Wesel(1544/45)
25. Juan Diaz’s Sum of the Christian Religion (1546)
26. Valdés’s Catechism (1549)
27. Consensus Tigurinus (1549)
28. Anglican Catechism (1549)
29. London Confession of John à Lasco (1551)
30. Large Emden Catechism of the Strangers’ Church, London (1551)
31. Vallérandus Poullain: Confession of the Glastonbury Congregation (1551)
32. Rhaetian Confession (1552)
33. Consensus Genevensis: Calvin on Eternal Predestination (1552)
34. The Forty-Two Articles of the Church of England (1552/53)
36. Emden Examination of Faith (1553)
37. The Frankfort Confession (1554)
38. The Emden Catechism (1554)
39. The Confession of Piotrków (1555)
40. Confession of the English Congregation at Geneva (1556)
41. Waldensian Confession of Turin (1556)
42. Confession of the Italian Church of Geneva (1558)
43. Guanabara Confession (1558)
44. Geneva Students’ Confession (1559)
45. Confession of Marosvásárhley/Vásárhelyi (1559)
46. The French Confession (1559)
47. Confession of Piñczow (1559)
48. Lattanzio Ragnoni’s Formulario (1559)
49. The Confession of Faith in the Geneva Bible (1560)
50. The Scottish Confession (1560)
51. The Waldensian Confession (1560)
52. The Prussian-Vilnian Discussion (1560)
53. Theodore Beza’s Confession (1560)
54. The Confession of the Spanish Congregation of London (1560/61)
55. Waldensian Confession (1561)
56. Theodore Beza’s Confession at Poissy(1561)
57. The Belgic Confession (1561)
58. The Hungarian Confessio Catholica (1562)
59. The Confession of Tarcal (1562) and Torda (1563)
60. The Thirty-nine Articles (1562/63)
61. The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
62. The Synod of Enyedi (1564)
63. The Second Helvetic Confession (1566)
64. The Antwerp Confession (1566)
65. The Netherlands Confession (1566)
66. The Synod of Gönc (1566)
67. Synod of Torda (1566)
68. The Synods of Gyulafehérvár and of Marosvásárhely (1566)
69. Documents of the Debrecen Synod (1567)
70. The Synod at Szikszo (1568)
71. Confession of the Synod of Cassov (1568)
72. Confession of Varadiensis/Nagyvßrad (1569)
73. Sandomierz Consensus (1570)
74. The Confession of the Synod of Csenger (1570)
75. The Confession of La Rochelle (1571)
77. The Synod of Cracow (1573)
78. The Bohemian Confession (1575/1609)
79. The Synod of Hercegszoloski (1576)
80. The Confession of Frederick III (1577)
81. The Nassau (Dillenburger Synod) Confession (1578)
82. The Synod of Piotrkow (1578)
83. Craig’s Catechism (1581)
84. The King’s Confession (1581)
85. The Synod of Wlodislaw (1583)
86. General Synod of Herborn (1586)
87. The Synod of Thorn (1595)
88. The Bremen Consensus (1595)
89. The Lambeth Articles (1595)
90. The Second Confession of the London-Amsterdam Church (1596)
91. The Stafforts Book (1599)
92. The Points of Difference (1603)
94. Confession of the Synod of Cassel (1607)
95. Hessian Catechism (1607)
96. Confession of the Heidelberg Theologians (1607)
97. The Remonstrance (1610)
98. The Counter Remonstrance (1611)
99. The Bentheim Confession (1613)
100. Confession of the Evangelical Church of Germany (1614)
101. The Confession of John Sigismund (1614)
102. The Irish Articles (1615)
103. Scottish Confession (1616)
104. Seven Articles of the Church of Leiden (1617)
105. The Canons of Dort (1618–1619)
106. The Confession of Cyril Lukaris (1629)
107. Leipzig Colloquy (1631)
108. The London Baptist Confession (1644)
109. Brief Confession of the Westminster Assembly (1645)
110. The Colloquy of Thorn (1645)
111. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)
112. The London Confession (1646)
113. Benjamin Cox’s Baptist Appendix (1646)
114. Westminster Larger Catechism (1647)
115. Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647)
116. The Cambridge Platform (1648)
117. The Geneva Theses (1649)
118. The Principles of Faith (1652)
119. A New Confession of Faith (1654)
120. The Midlands Confession (1655)
121. Waldensian Confession (1655)
122. The Somerset Confession (1656)
123. The Savoy Declaration (1658)
125. The Formula Consensus Helvetica (1675)
127. The Baptist Catechism (1693)
Categories Books
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2 Responses to “Old Guy Book Recommendation: Reformed Confessions of the 16th & 17th Centuries in English Translation”
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert March 27, 2014 at 1:30 pm #
Btw, one can land Philip Schaff’s 3 vol. set (from Baker), The Creeds of Christendom more cheaply today! Also, The book: The School of Faith, An Anthology of catechisms translated, edited, and with an introductory essay by Thomas F. Torrance, is back in print in paperback!
mydelightandmycounsellors March 27, 2014 at 1:50 pm #
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ENTREPRENEUR Sponsored
How The Assembly aims to set the standard for VR adventuring
Andy Dyer, Dialect July 21, 2016 1:00 PM
This sponsored post is produced by Nvidia.
There’s no shortage of news coverage hitting our screens on a daily basis regarding the exciting, new world of VR gaming. This is especially true since high-end systems, such as HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, became available to gamers with VR-ready PCs earlier this year.
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In this narrative-driven experience, players become involved in the activities of an underground organization known as the Assembly. The company is carrying out ambitious experiments for the greater good of mankind, but is doing so outside the confines of legal and moral obligations.
The game is played from the perspectives of two distinct protagonists. The first, Madeleine Stone, is a disgraced neuroscientist who is kidnapped by the Assembly and put through a series of rigorous tests to establish her suitability for the program. The second playable character, Cal Pearson, is an existing employee whose experience working with the Assembly is beginning to cause him grave concerns about the nature of the organization. Through a combination of exploration, puzzle solving, and interactions, the player has to discover the nature of the work going on at the Assembly, make judgments about their role in its activities, and test their own personal moral boundaries.
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One particularly good example of the developer finding creative solutions to multiple challenges can be found right at the beginning of the game following Madeleine’s kidnapping. As she is wheeled through the Assembly in a wheelchair, she experiences a bewildering array of new sights and sounds, as well as abrupt changes of direction. In order to make sense of all the new sensory information and keep things comfortable for the player, Madeleine slips in and out of consciousness, breaking the opening scenes down into manageable chunks, eliminating the directional changes, and allowing the player to better acclimatize to the new environment. It’s a simple device that provides technical and narrative benefits.
nDreams also deliberately included visual and audio cues that would prompt players to look and move around as much as possible and begin to appreciate that they are inside a fully 360-degree space that they are free to examine in detail.
Players are able to play the game with full freedom of movement and analog control, but a Blink system of movement has also been implemented, so the player can simply identify part of the environment to move to and teleport there. Players can switch between control systems whenever they like, and there are also slower-paced sections incorporated into the early stages of the game to enable players to become accustomed to all these features and find their level of comfort.
VR gaming experiences with the ambition and technical inventiveness of The Assembly are only possible thanks to the vast computational power of the latest wave of high-end gaming GPUs. Nvidia is at the forefront of the VR revolution with its GeForce GTX 10-series GPUs—including the GTX 1080 and GTX 1070—providing enough raw power to manage the stereoscopic images, high framerates, and low-latency motion tracking that are essential to delivering immersive VR experiences. If you’re unsure if you’re ready to dive into VR experiences like The Assembly, be sure to check out the system requirements for VR.
Andy Dyer is Games Editor at Dialect.
Sponsored posts are content that has been produced by a company that is either paying for the post or has a business relationship with VentureBeat, and they’re always clearly marked. The content of news stories produced by our editorial team is never influenced by advertisers or sponsors in any way. For more information, contact sales@venturebeat.com.
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Hippolyte Delehaye:
The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography (1907)
The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography
From the French of Père Hippolyte. Delehaye, S.J., Bollandist
Translated By V. M. Crawford
[Reprinted University of Notre Dame Press 1961
With an Introduction By Richard J. Schoeck]
Note on Etext Layout
Page numbers: In order to make this readable on screen, page number have been retained in [square brackets].
Footnotes have been moved to immediately below the paragraph they occur, even in this means moving the page marker they are under. Footnotes are marked in the text by [[double square brackets]]. The text did not use continuous numbering, but numbered the notes on each page 1,2,3 etc. In some cases this means a given paragraph, where it goes over a page marker, might have more than one footnote with the same number. In all cases, however, order determines which note is referred to.
[xiii]
PREFACE iii
AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION ix
CHAPTER I. PRELIMINARY DEFINITIONS.
Hagiographic documents - Imaginative tales. Artificial compositions - Romances - Popular inventions - Myths - Tales Legends - The hagiographic legend: its two principal factors. 1
CHAPTER II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGEND.
I. Unconscious distortion of truth by the individual - By the people-Level of popular intelligence - Tendency to simplification - Ignorance - Substitution of the abstract form for the individual type - Poverty of invention - The borrowing and transmission of legendary themes - Examples -The antiquity of certain themes - Artificial grouping of incidents and persons -Cycles. 12
II Predominance of sense impressions over the intelligence - Localisations and foot-prints - Literary origin of certain of these - Iconographic legends - Popular etymology - Miracle - The soul of the people - Energy of expression Exaggerated feeling-Ambitions of individual churches -- Morality of the mob - Local claims. 40
[xiv]
CHAPTER III. THE WORK OF THE HAGIOGRAPHER.
I. The meaning of the term "hagiographer" - Literary methods - Moralities - Ancient ideas concerning history Special views of medieval hagiographers. 60
II. Sources-False attributions - Written tradition - Oral tradition-Pictorial tradition-Relics of the past-Choice of sources - Interpretation of sources - Inscriptions Use of the various categories of documents 70
III. Dearth of material and methods of supplementing it - Amplification by means of stock incidents-Acts of St. Clement of Ancyra - Compilation and adaptation-Life of St. Vincent Madelgarus - Antiquity of the process-Forgeries 91
CHAPTER IV. THE CLASSIFICATION OF HAGIOGRAPHIC TEXTS.
Defective system - Classification according to subjects -- According to categories of saints- System adopted. Historical point of view - Division into six classes- Application of system to Ruinart's Acta Sincera - The Supplements" of Le Blant. 107
CHAPTER V. THE "DOSSIER" OF A SAINT.
Documents concerning St. Procopius of Casarea - Account given by Eusebius - Monuments testifying to the cultus -- The three legends of St. Procopius - Analysis of the three legends - The synaxaries - Latin acts of St. Procopius Adaptations to St. Ephysius and to St. John of Alexandria - Conclusions. 125
[xv]
CHAPTER VI. PAGAN SURVIVALS AND REMINISCENCES.
1. Rites and symbols common to Christianity and to ancient religions - Suspicious practices - Incubation - Collections of miracles - Literary borrowings from pagan sources - Unavoidable analogies - Superstition 148
II. Saint-worship and hero-worship -The centre of hero-worship - Solemn translations--Relics-Fortuitous coincidences 160
III. Pagan survivals in worship-Holy places-Christian transformations - Adaptation of names - A method for ascertaining primitive titles - Sacred sources. 168
IV. Dates of festivals - Alteration of object - Difficulty of proving coincidences - A method for ascertaining dates of pagan festivals - Examples. 178
V. Pagan legends-Christian adaptations - Three cases to be considered-Examples: Legend of St. Lucian of Antioch -Legend of St. Pelagia and allied legends- St. Livrada . 186
VI. Mythological names - Other auspicious names - Iconographic parallels - The Blessed Virgin - "Saints on horseback." 207
CHAPTER VII. CONCERNING CERTAIN HAGIOGRAPHIC HERESIES.
Direct relation established between the history of a saint and his legend - Exaggerated confidence in hagiographers -considered appeals to local tradition - Confusion between a probable and a truthful narrative - Excessive importance attributed to the topographical element - Legend held in utter contempt. 214
INDEX . 233
[ix]
AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION
RECENT progress in scientific hagiography has given rise to move than one misunderstanding. Historical criticism when applied to the lives of the saints has had certain results which are in no way surprising to those who are accustomed to handle documents and to interpret inscriptions, but which have had a somewhat disturbing effect on the mind of the general public.
Religious-minded people who regard with equal veneration not only the saints themselves but everything associated with them, have been greatly agitated by certain conclusions assumed by them to have been inspired by the revolutionary spirit that has penetrated even into the Church, and to be highly derogatory to the honour of the heroes of our faith. This conviction frequently finds utterance in somewhat violent terms.
If you suggest that the biographer of a saint has been unequal to his task, or that he has not professed to write as a historian, you are accused of attacking the saint himself, who, it appears, is too powerful to allow himself to be compromised by an indiscreet panegyrist.
If, again, you venture to express doubt concerning certain miraculous incidents repeated by the author on insufficient evidence, although well-calculated to enhance the glory of the saint, you are at once suspected of lack of faith.
You are told you are introducing the spirit of rationalism into history, as though in questions of fact it were not above all things essential to weigh the evidence. How often [x] has not an accusation of destructive criticism been flung, and men treated as iconoclasts, whose sole object has been to appraise at their true value the documents which justify our attitude of veneration, and who are only too happy when able to declare that one of God's friends has been fortunate enough to find a historian worthy of his task.
One might have thought that this simple analysis of the attitude of suspicion which so many devout souls assume in regard to historical criticism would suffice to demonstrate the injustice of their prejudices. Unhappily, it is less easy than might be supposed to efface an impression which, as they think, can only have been inspired by piety.
The conditions under which so many accounts of martyrs and lives of saints have been put together are, as a rule, too little known for any common ground of criticism to be available. Many readers are not sufficiently on their guard against the vague sentiment which endows hagiographers with some mysterious privilege of immunity from the errors of human frailty to which all other categories of writers are liable.
We therefore believe that we shall be doing a useful work if we try to classify, more definitely than has been done hitherto, the various methods pursued by pious writers, to sketch in broad outline the genesis of their compositions, and to show how far they are from being protected against errors which exact history is bound to denounce.
It may, perhaps, be as well to warn the reader from the first against an impression that might be gathered from a study which is mainly devoted to the weak points of hagiographic literature.
To give assistance in detecting materials of inferior workmanship is not to deny the excellence of what remains, and it is to the ultimate advantage of the harvest to point out the tares that have sometimes become mingled with the wheat to a most disconcerting extent.
The simple narrative of heroic days, written, as it were, with pens dipped in the blood of martyrs, the naive histories, sweet with the perfume of true piety, in which [xi] eyewitnesses relate the trials of virgins and of ascetics, deserve our fullest admiration and respect.
For that very reason they must be clearly differentiated from the extensive class of painfully-elaborated biographies in which the features of the saint are hidden by a heavy veil of rhetoric, and his voice overborne by that of his chronicler. There is an infinite distance between these two classes of literature. The one is well known, and its own merits recommend it. The other too often passes undetected and prejudices the first.
It must surely be admitted that from this simple task of classification, the need for which we are anxious to demonstrate, it is a far cry to that work of destruction which we may be suspected of having embarked upon.
Moreover, if we recommend any one who feels drawn to hagiographic studies to plunge boldly into the realm of criticism, we should advise no one to advance blindfold, neither have we dreamed of disguising the fact that by misapplying methods of research, however efficacious they may be in themselves, there is danger of being led to quite inadmissible conclusions.
It is easy to satisfy oneself on this point by glancing through the chapter in which we have discussed the questions touching upon mythological exegesis, so much in vogue at the present day. Certain brilliant displays which have taken place in that arena have dazzled a public more preoccupied with the novelty of the conclusions than with their trustworthiness. It has been our duty to lay down the necessary limitations, and to show how they may best be observed.
We do not profess to have written a complete treatise on hagiography. Many points which may suggest themselves to the reader have not even been touched upon, and we make no pretension of having exhausted any one of the subjects of which we have treated.
The quotations and examples might have been multiplied almost indefinitely. We believe ourselves justified, however, in resisting the temptation to impress the reader by a cheap display of erudition, and in avoiding everything that might have encumbered our exposition without adding [xii] anything to the force of the argument.
To indicate briefly the spirit in which hagiographic texts should be studied, to lay down the rules for discriminating between the materials that the historian can use and those that he should hand over as their natural property to artists and poets, to place people on their guard against the fascination of formulas and preconceived systems, such has been the aim of this volume.
Controversy - an evil counsellor - has been banished as far as may be from this little book. Nevertheless we shall occasionally be compelled to call attention to other people's mistakes. Defective methods, alas, frequently take shelter behind names of the highest credit, and sometimes, when attacking erroneous views, one may give the impression of attacking persons. For the critic it is a real cause for regret that in the thick of the fight blows sometimes fall on those at whom they were not aimed. Let it be understood, once and for all, that we have aimed at nobody.
Some chapters of this study first appeared in the Revue des Questions historiques (July, 1903). We have slightly revised and completed them in a few places. Except for two or three unimportant additions, this new edition of the book is simply a reprint of the first, which appeared in March, 1905.
CHAPTER I: PRELIMINARY DEFINITIONS.
Hagiographic documents - Imaginative tales. Artificial compositions - Romances- Popular inventions
- Myths- Tales-Legends - The hagiographic legend: its two principal factors.
Let us, in the first instance, attempt to define what precisely is to be understood by a hagiographic document.
The term should not be applied indiscriminately to every document bearing upon the saints. The chapter in which Tacitus in vivid hues paints the sufferings of the first Roman martyrs is not a hagiographic document, nor can the expression be rightly applied to those pages of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History across which the victims of the great persecutions defile in serried ranks. It was Eusebius, too, who composed, in four volumes, a panegyric of the first Christian emperor who, in the Greek Church, participates in the honours reserved to the canonised saints. Nevertheless the Life of Constantine is not a saint's life, whereas the book of the Martyrs of Palestine, written with the object of edifying the faithful by an account of the sufferings of these heroes is at once a hagiographic document and an historic record of the first order. So too the Acts of St. Theodore, which in their present form possess [2] nothing in common with history, should, from the standpoint of hagiography, enjoy similar consideration. In the same class again, though under a special category, we may range the calendars or martyrologies in which the anniversaries of martyrs are recorded, together with official inscriptions, such as those of Pope Damasus, placed upon their tombs.
It thus appears that, in order to be strictly hagiographic, the document should be of a religious character and should aim at edification. The term may only be applied therefore to writings inspired by devotion to the saints and intended to promote it.
The point to be emphasised from the first is the distinction between hagiography and history. The work of the hagiographer may be historical, but it is not necessarily so. It may assume any literary form suitable to the glorification of the saints, from an official record adapted to the use of the faithful, to a poetical composition of the most exuberant character wholly detached from reality.
It is obvious that no one would venture to assert that everywhere and at all times hagiographers have submitted themselves to strict historical canons. But by what standard must we measure their digressions? That is a point to be determined in each individual case. Before attempting to suggest any rules on this subject, let us begin by laying down a few definitions less familiar than might at first sight be supposed.
In order to describe any narrative which is not in accordance with fact, a free use is made of the terms myth, fable, tale, romance, legend. Taken in a general sense these words are frequently used as though they were synonymous. The result has been a constant [3] confusion of thought which we shall hope to avoid by a more rigorous definition of terms.[[1]]
[1] The following are the tides of works dealing with this question, which we give without questioning the conclusions of the authors, who do not always agree among themselves. J. F. L. George, Mythus und Sage, Berlin, 1837. J. Fiske, Myths and Myth-makers, London, 1873. H. Steinthal, Mythos, Sage, Märchen, Legende, Erzählung, Fabel, in the Zeitschrift fur Volkerspsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft, vol. xvii., 1865, pp. 113-39. E. Bernheim, Lehrbuch der historischen Methode, 3rd edition, Leipzig, 1903, pp. 317, 349, 45768. E. Siecke, Mythologische Briefe, Berlin, 1901. E. Betbe, Mythus, Sage, Märchen, in Hessische Blätter für Volkskunde, 1905, pp. 97-142. [Fr. Lanzoni, Genesi, svolgimento e tramonto delle leggende storiche, Rome, 1925 (Studi e Testi, 43).]
We need, however, scarcely discuss the fable, which, in its widest sense, may be held to include any imaginary narrative, and in its more restricted acceptation is synonymous with the apologue, more especially when the persons brought upon the scene are represented by animals. This does not mean that hagiographers have wholly neglected this form of imaginative composition. The author of the Life of SS. Barlaam and Joasaph has incorporated into his compilation various apologues which have been the subject of individual studies.[[2]] Nevertheless these are exceptions, and the critic of hagiography need not, as a rule, trouble himself about the emulators of Aesop and La Fontaine.
[2] S. J. Warren, De Grieksch christelijke roman Barlaam en Joasa en ziine parabels, Rotterdam, 1899, in 4to, 56 pp.
Myths, tales, legends and romances all belong to the sphere of imaginative writing, but may be divided into two categories, according as they are the spontaneous and impersonal expression of the spirit of the people, or artificial and deliberate compositions.
Romances, in the more usual acceptation of the term, belong to this second category. The author selects and studies his subject, and applies the resources of [4] his talent and his imagination to the work of art he has conceived. If he has chosen for his theme the character and adventures of an historical person or of a period of history, he will produce an historical romance. If everything, both characters and incidents, is pure invention it will be a novel of imagination; and if, by means of a series of incidents, partly true, partly fictitious, the author has attempted to depict the soul of a saint honoured by the Church, we ought to speak of his work as a hagiographic romance, although the expression is one that has scarcely passed into common use.
Romances of this type are exceedingly numerous, and a few of them date back to very early times.[[1]] One might instance the Acts of Paul and of Thecla, and that collection of the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles which enjoyed such long and extraordinary popularity. The romance of the Clementine Homilies and Recognitions is widely known, its main portions figuring for a prolonged period in all the most celebrated hagiographic collections.[[2]]
[1] An interesting account is to be found in E. von Dobschütz, Der Roman in der altchristlichen Literatur in the Deutsche Rundschau, April, 1902, pp. 87-106.
[2] H. U. Meyboom, De Clemens-Roman, Gröningen, 1904, 2 vols. Concerning this work and the most recent studies on the Clementines, see Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiv., pp. 138-41.
Tales and legends, to which reference must now be made, should not, strictly speaking, be placed in the category of artificial compositions. It is true that the name of tale is frequently bestowed upon short works of fiction, and the novelist sometimes devotes himself in his study to the composition of a narrative of which the form recalls the legend or tale properly so called. These learned imitations need only be mentioned here; [5] it is unnecessary to dwell on them further. We must reserve our attention for those works of fiction which have come down to us without any individual parentage, being the anonymous product of that abstraction known as the spirit of the people.
Let us first consider the myth. The term is frequently applied to anything that has no real existence, while the title of mythical personage is bestowed upon any hero who has lived solely in the imagination of the poet. Such, however, is not the technical meaning of the word, and it would be wrong to class as mythical personages figures such as Abner in Athalie, although the confidant of Joad was wholly invented by Racine.
The essence of the myth consists in the personification of a force or of an abstract idea; or, if you prefer it, the myth is simply an explanation of natural phenomena adapted to the capacity of a primitive people.[[1]] Whether we insist on treating it as a poetic symbol or whether, as has been ingeniously suggested, we should prefer to regard mythology as a treatise on physics for primitive times, it is none the less certain that natural phenomena supply the proper matter for the myth. The sun, the moon, the stars, lightning, the succession of night and day and the vicissitudes of the [6] seasons are represented by gods and heroes, and by the adventures attributed to them. Aurora, with rosy fingers, opens the portals of the Orient, Phaeton drives the chariot of the sun: such are the graceful fables with which the study of antiquity has familiarised us.
[1] M. S. Reinach in La Revue Critique (3rd June, 1905, p. 425) questions this definition of a myth. "A myth," he says, "is essentially a story which humanity has believed to be true at a particular stage of its intellectual development." This formula appears to us too vague to serve as a definition. M. Reinach may have more reason on his side when he adds: "To attempt to draw a rigorous distinction, as the author has done, between the myth on the one side and the legend and tale on the other, is to demand from words a precision which they are unable to supply". The definition that we have adopted, being on the whole, the one most commonly accepted by specialists, we may perhaps be permitted the use of it in order to avoid confusion.
I do not wish to multiply examples, for before classifying a narrative it is essential to ascertain definitely its real significance, and were we to follow the methods of a certain school there would be very few works of fiction that could not be included under the category of mythology. There are men, so an ill-tempered critic has declared, who cannot even watch a cat and dog fight without some reference to the struggle between darkness and light. The exaggerations denounced in this sally are only too real, and we shall be careful not to make use of the term myth without solid reason.
Is there such a thing as a hagiographic myth? Or have the hagiographers made use of mythical elements ? I see no difficulty in admitting it, and shall show later on that they have transferred to the saints more than one narrative which belongs to ancient mythology.
The tale proper is an invented story referring neither to a real personage nor yet to any definite place. " Once upon a time there were a king and queen who had a very beautiful daughter. . . ." This classical beginning of the story-teller [[1]] is exactly characteristic of its style, in which everything is made accessory to the plot of the narrative, intended solely for the entertainment of the listener, or calculated to set in relief some practical truth as in the case of moral tales.
[1] This is almost literally the opening phrase of Apuleius in Cupid and Psyche: "Erant in quadarn civitate rex et regina. Hi tres numero filias forma conspicuas habuere," Met., iv., 28.
[7] Contrary to what one would imagine, there exists no great variety of popular tales. All may be traced back to a certain number of types, none of which appears to belong exclusively to a particular nation or even race; they are the common patrimony of humanity.
Much has been written concerning their origin.[[1]] Without entering into a detailed study of the various theories propounded by specialists, mention must be made of two principal ones which have won more favour than the rest, and which may be considered as extreme solutions. Some explain the repetition of the same themes and the similarity in their forms by the uniformity of the human mind. Others take refuge in a less simple and less metaphysical explanation, which coincides more nearly with ascertained facts. According to them India is the one and only cradle of all popular tales disseminated throughout the whole world [[2]] and whatever one may like to assume concerning their original author, they had their birth there and thence set out on their travels to become in the widest sense the common possession of all nations. It is in [8] no way necessary to commit ourselves here to any theory of the first origin of popular tales. We need only remember that, like those light seeds that the wind carries beyond the seas, they are for ever floating in the atmosphere, and may be found in every country and every clime without their being connected in any definite way with either name or place.
[1] Emmanuel Cosquin, Contes Populaires de Lorraine, vol. i., Paris, 1886, i.4xvii.; id., L'Origine des contes populaires européens et les théories de M. Lang, Paris, 1891; id., Quelques observations sur les "Incidents communs aux contes orientaux," London, 1892. M. Cosquin is a definite partisan of the Orientalist theory, which has been combated more especially by M. J. Bidier, Les fabliauxBibliotheque de 1'École des Hautes Études, vol. 98, Paris, 1893, pp. 45-250. Concerning other systems and their variations, the following may be consulted: Ch. Martens, L'origine des Contes populaires in the Revue Néo-Scolastique, vol. i., 1894, pp. 234-62, 352-84. L. Sainéan, L'état actuel des études de Folk-lore in the Revue de Synthèse historique, vol. iv., 1902, pp. 147-74. [In the 3d ed. Delehaye deletes the citation of Sainéan and in its place cites: G. Huet, Les contes populaires, Paris, 1923, 189 pp.]
[2] Among the advocates of the Orientalist theory, there are some who regard Egypt as the birthplace of popular tales. See, for instance, S. Reinach in the Revue d'histoire et de littérature religieuses, vol. ix., 1904, pp. 319-20. We cannot discuss the subject here.
The legend, on the other hand, has, of necessity, some historical or topographical connection. It refers imaginary events to some real personage, or it localises romantic stories in some definite spot. Thus one may speak of the legend of Alexander or of Caesar, of the legend of the Castle of the Drachenfels on the Rhine, or of that of the Red Lake, Lough Derg, in Ireland. Such, in accordance with common usage, is the precise meaning of the terms we have to employ.
It must, however, be observed that in practice classification is less easy, and the various categories are less clearly differentiated. One of these winged tales which fly from nation to nation may for a moment settle on some famous monument, or the anonymous king who was the principal personage may take to himself some historic name. At once the tale is transformed into a legend, and one might easily be misled if some other version of the same story did not reveal the purely accidental introduction of the historical element.[[1]] In the [9] same way the myth itself may also readily assume the appearance of a legend.
[1] In certain cases the various disguises are easy to recognize, as in the stories in which Jesus Christ and St. Peter are brought on the scene. Here, for example, is a legend of the Basque country, chronicled by Cerquand: "Our Lord and St. Peter one day, when out walking, came across a man kneeling in the middle of the road and praying to God to extricate his cart from the ditch into which it had fallen. As Jesus was passing on without paying any attention to the carter's prayer, St. Peter said to Him, 'Lord, wilt thou not come to the help of this poor man?" 'He does not deserve our help,' Jesus replied, 'for he makes no effort to help himself.' A little farther on they came upon another man in similar plight, but shouting and swearing and doing his utmost. Jesus hastened to his assistance, saying: 'This one deserves our help for he is doing what he can'." Every one is familiar with this incident as told by the fabulist concerning Hercules. See R. Köhler, Kleine Schriften, Berlin, 1900, vol. ii., pp. 102-4. Consult also the admirable apologue: "Why men no longer know when they are going to die," ibid., pp. 100-2.
On the other hand, if you despoil the legend of all that connects it with reality, you give it the external features of a mere tale. Hence the difficulty of disentangling legend and tale in the celebrated collection of the Arabian Nights, for in spite of the highly fantastic character of the stories that compose it, portions have been identified with some sort of historical basis.[[1]] Contrariwise it may occur that what is apparently a highly distinctive legend will suddenly re-appear in the guise of a folk tale. It was a long time before men recognised an adaptation of the celebrated tale of the ass's skin in the legend of Saint Dymphna, or before the touching history of Genevi6ve de Brabant[[2]] proved to be a theme which had previously been turned to account by the epic poets of India.[[3]]
1 M. J. de Goeje, De Arabisohe Nachtvertellingen in De Gids, 1886, vol. iii., pp. 383-413.
2 Acta SS., May, vol. iii, pp. 479-86.
3 On the variations and derivatives of this story see H. Suchier, Oeuvres poétiques de Beaumanoir, Société des anciens textes Français, vol. i., 1884, pp. xxv.-lxxxi., clx. Marie de Brabant, whose story is identical has been the object of ecclesiastical veneration. Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii., p. 180; April, vol. i., p. 57.
As we have just seen, legends, considered as connected narrations, in contradistinction to myths and tales, presuppose an historical fact as basis or pretext: such is the first essential element of the species. This historical fact may either be developed or disfigured by popular imagination : and here we have the second element. Both elements may be combined in very unequal proportions, and according as the preponderance is to be found on the side of fact or on that of fiction, the narrative may be classed as history or as legend.
As it is the fictitious element which determines the classification of legendary narratives, people have naturally formed the habit of applying to it the name of the species itself, and thus the term legend has been extended to every unconscious distortion of historic truth, whether there be question of a series of incidents or of a solitary episode.
However we interpret the term, it seems scarcely worth while to insist on the considerable part played by legend in hagiographic literature, which is emphatically popular both in its origins and in its aim. Indeed it is from hagiography that the name itself has been borrowed. In its primitive meaning the legend is the history that has to be read, legenda, on the feast of a saint. It is the passion of the martyr or the eulogy of the confessor, without reference to its historical value. " Legendarius vocatur liber ille ubi agitur de vita et obitu confessorum, qui legitur in eorum festis, martyrum autern in Passionariis," wrote John Beleth,[[1]] in the twelfth century, thus differentiating the passion from the legend, contrary to the custom that was subsequently to prevail. For, as early as the thirteenth century, the Legenda Aurea sanctioned the wider meaning which includes at once the acts of the martyrs and the biographies of other saints. We [11] might, therefore, in conformity with ancient usage, bestow the term legend upon all hagiographic narratives, including even those of admitted documentary value. Nevertheless, to avoid confusion in the following pages, we shall rigidly refrain from doing so, and the word legend will only be applied to stories or incidents unauthenticated by history.
[1] De divinis officiis, 60; Migne, P. L., Vol. ccii., p. 66. See also E. von Dobschiltz, art. "Legende," in the Realencyklopaedie für Protestantische Theologie, 3rd edition, Vol. xi., p. 345.
Hagiographic literature has come to be written under the influence of two very distinct factors, factors to be met with, indeed, in whatever stream of literary productiveness we seek to trace to its source. There is, first, the anonymous creator called the people or, if we prefer to take the effect for the cause, the legend. Here the work is that of a mysterious and many-headed agent, uncontrolled in his methods, swift and unfettered as the imagination always is, perpetually in labour with fresh products of his fancy, but incapable of chronicling them in writing. Beside him there is the man of letters, the editor, who stands before us as one condemned to a thankless task, compelled to follow a beaten track, but giving to all he produces a deliberate and durable character. Both together have collaborated in that vast undertaking known as 11 The Lives of the Saints," and it is important for us to recognise the part played by each in this process of evolution, which, though the work of all time, is yet incessantly renewed.
It is our intention to restrict ourselves almost exclusively to the pious literature of the Middle Ages, and we shall seek to prove how it was elaborated by the people on the one side and the hagiographers on the other. The methods pursued both by the one and the other may appear to some people to be not yet wholly a thing of the past. It is an opinion which we ourselves are not prepared to controvert.
CHAPTER II: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGEND.
Unconscious distortion of truth by the individual - By the people - Level of popular intelligence - Tendency to simplification -
Ignorance - Substitution of the abstract form for the individual type - Poverty of invention - The borrowing and transmission
of legendary themes - Examples - The antiquity of certain themes - Artificial grouping of incidents and persons-Cycles.
The development of the legend is, according to our definition, the outcome of an unconscious or unreflecting agent acting upon historical material. It is the introduction of the subjective element into the realm of fact.
If, the day after a battle, we were to collect the narratives of eye-witnesses, we should find the action described in twenty different ways while identical details would be related from the most diverse points of view with the same accent of sincerity. The extent of his information, the sentiments and impressions of the narrator and the camp to which he belongs, all affect his account, which is neither wholly false nor yet wholly in accordance with truth. Every man will relate his own legend. The combined result of these divergent narratives will again be a legend, and should we insist on disentangling the pure historic truth, we shall have to content ourselves with the two or three salient facts that appear to be established with certainty. [13] If, in lieu of the remainder, we substitute a series of deductions, we are merely writing the history of the battle in our own way; in fact, we ourselves then become the creators of a new legend, and we must either resign ourselves to this necessity or elect to remain in ignorance.
Every one is agreed as to the special difficulty of giving a precise account of any complicated action that cannot be taken in at a glance. It must not however, be assumed that putting aside these exceptional cases there is nothing more easy or more common than to give a faithful description. The truth is that in daily life we are perpetually taking part in that unconscious labour from which legends are evolved, and each one of us has had occasion to testify a hundred times over how difficult it is to convey, with absolute precision, our impression of any complex incident.
To begin with, it is very rare to grasp the event in all its details, and to trace the connection between the various parts. It is still more rare for us to be in a position to distinguish the causes in such a way as to leave no possible doubt concerning the motives that have prompted the actors. Consequently we allow our instinct to fill in the gaps in our information. By a series of intuitive connections we re-establish the continuity of action, and we read our own interpretation into the forces that have brought about such and such a result. If we happen to be under the empire of passion or of any sentiment that clouds our clear view of things, if we secretly desire that any established fact should not have occurred, or that any unnoted circumstance should really have taken place if it coincides with our wishes that the actors should have followed any special impulse, it may occur that, heedlessly, we leave one [14] portion of the picture in the shade, or give undue prominence to another, according as our own prepossessions suggest. Unless, therefore, we submit our arguments to a rigid supervision and maintain complete control over our impressions, we are liable, to the detriment of truth, to introduce a strong subjective element into our narrative. To give an exact description of complex reality demands not only sound sense and a trained judgment but also conscious effort, and consequently requires a stimulus adequate to the object in view.
It must be admitted that apart from exceptional circumstances the average man is not endowed with the intellectual vigour necessary for such a task. The habit of analysing one's sensations and of controlling the slightest impulses of ones soul to such an extent as to be habitually on ones guard against the natural tendency to mingle what one imagines with what one knows, is the privilege of very few. Even those who, thanks to natural gifts and a superior training, rise above the average of their fellows, do not invariably make use of their special faculties.
Let me suppose that a man has been an eyewitness of some sanguinary drama. He will describe the various exciting circumstances to his friends with the most minute details, and nothing will appear to have escaped him that bears upon the criminal and his victim.
But suppose this same man subpoenaed to give evidence at the assizes, and that on his deposition, given on oath, depends the life of a fellow-creature. What a difference between the two versions of the same event! At once his narrative becomes less clear and less complete, and is far from possessing that palpitating interest that he gave to it in private. This is [15] simply because, under such solemn circumstances, we carry to a far higher point our scrupulous exactitude, and we are no longer tempted to indulge in the petty vanity of posing as important and well-informed. Hence it is that even the most veracious and upright of men unconsciously create little legends by introducing into their narratives their own impressions, deductions and passions, and thus present the truth either embellished or disfigured according to circumstances.
These sources of error, it need scarcely be said, become multiplied with the number of intermediaries. Every one in turn understands the story in a different fashion and repeats it in his own way. Through inattention or through defective memory some one forgets to mention an important circumstance, necessary to the continuity of the history. A narrator, more observant than the rest, notes the deficiency, and by means of his imagination does his best to repair it. He invents some new detail, and suppresses another until probability and logic appear to him sufficiently safe-guarded. This result is usually only obtained at the expense of truth, for the narrator does not observe that he has substituted a very different story for the primitive version. Sometimes again the narrative may pass through the hands of a witness who does not wholly approve of it, and who will not fail to contribute markedly to its disfigurement by some imperceptible turn of thought or expression.
These things happen every day, and whether we are eye-witnesses or mere intermediaries, our limited intelligence, our carelessness, our passions, and above all perhaps our prejudices, all conspire against historical accuracy when we take it upon ourselves to become narrators.
[16] This commonplace experience becomes much more interesting and more fraught with consequences when it is indefinitely multiplied, and when, for the intelligence and impressions of the individual we substitute the intelligence and impressions of a people or a crowd. These collective, and, in a certain sense, abstract faculties, are of a quite special nature, and their activities are subjected to laws that have been deeply studied in our own day, and to which a special branch of psychology has been assigned.[[1]] Such laws as have been formulated have been verified by thousands of examples drawn from the popular literature of every country. Hagiographic literature offers a large mass of material amply confirming them.
[1] Lazarus und Steinthal, Zeitschrift für Völkerspsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft, Berlin, Leipzig, i., 1860 - xix., 1889. A book by G. le Bon, Psychologie des Foules, Paris, 1895, treated from a very special point of view, contains, together with notable exaggerations, some useful remarks.
To avoid complicating the question we shall not attempt to apportion the varying degrees of capacity of different social strata. No task, indeed, would be more difficult, and in regard to the matters that interest us the most varied elements have to be taken into account. In the Middle Ages the whole populace was interested in the saints. Every one invoked them, paid them honour and loved to sing their praises. Popular society in which the legends were elaborated was composed of many elements, and by no means excluded persons of literary pretensions. I hasten to add that the saints gained nothing thereby.
The intellectual capacity of the multitude reveals itself on all sides as exceedingly limited, and it would be a mistake to assume that it usually submits itself to the influence of superior minds. On the contrary, the [17] latter necessarily suffer loss from contact with the former, and it would be quite illogical to attribute a special value to a popular tradition because it had its origin amid surroundings in which persons of solid merit were to be met with. In a crowd superiority quickly vanishes, and the average intelligence tends to fall far below mediocrity. The best point of comparison by which we can ascertain its level is the intelligence of a child.
In truth, the number of ideas of which the popular brain is capable of receiving any impression is extremely small, and these ideas must be very simple. Equally simple are its deductions, which it arrives at by means of a small number of intuitive principles, and which are frequently little more than loosely connected conceptions or pictures.
The artless nature of popular genius betrays itself clearly in the legends it creates. Thus the number of personages and of events of which it preserves any remembrance is few indeed ; its heroes never exist side by side, but succeed each other, and the latest inherits all the greatness of his predecessors.
Antiquity has bequeathed to us many famous examples of this phenomenon of absorption. The struggles of many centuries concentrated themselves under the walls of Troy, while Solon and Lycurgus bear off the honours of a prolonged legislative evolution at Athens and in Sparta.[[1]] In less remote times it is Alexander, [18] Caesar and Charlemagne [[1]] who, in their respective lands, fire the popular imagination, and on the heads of these chosen heroes all the honours accumulate. Brilliant feats of arms which rouse enthusiasm are attributed to the national hero, public benefits are all due to him, and everything of note throughout the country is in some way connected with his name.
[1] Concerning this and similar examples consult Wachsmuth, Über die Quellen der Geschichtstf:aschung (Berichte iber die Verhandlungen der K. Sächsischen GeselIschaft der Wissenschatten zu Leipzig), Phil.-Hist. Classe, vol. viii., 1856, pp. 121-53. It is worth remembering that legends of a similar nature are growing up in our own day. "Legend has transformed the Civil Code into the principles Of the Revolution expressed in two thousand articles by order of the First Consul. In this summary of history the code is no longer the outcome of centuries of effort by king and parliament, and by the citizens in their communes and corporations; there survives only the thought of the Emperor; it is the Code Napoleon," H. Leroy, Le centenaire du Code civil in the Revue de Paris, 1Ist October, 1903.
[1] Concerning the legend of Alexander consult P. Meyer, Alexandre le grand dans la littérature française du moyen âge in the Bibliothèque française du moyen âge, vol. iv., Paris, 1886; J. Darmesteler, La légende d'Alexandre chez les Perses in the Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études, vol. 35, Paris, 1878, pp. 83-99; J. Levi, La 1égende d' Alexandre dans le Talmud in the Revue des Études Juives, vol. ii., 1881, p. 203; vol, vii., p. 78; Mélusine, vol. v., pp. 116-18; S. S. Hoogstra, Proza-bewerkingen van het Leven van Alexander den Groote in het Middelnederlandsch, The Hague, 1898, pp. i.-xxiii.; Fr. Kampers, Alexander der Grosse und die Idee des Weltimperiums in Prophetie und Sage, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1901. Concerning the Caesar legend consult A. and G. Doutrepont, La légende de César en Belgique in the IIIème Congres des Savants Catholiques, vol. v., Brussels, 1894, pp. 80-108. On Charlemagne, see G. Paris, Histoire poétique de Charlemagne, Paris, 1865; E. Müntz, La 1égende de Charlemagne dans l'art au moyen Ige in Romania, vol. xiv., 1883 p., 320.
Were we to believe what legend tells us there is scarcely in the whole town of Alexandria a single stone that was not laid by Alexander the Great himself [[2]] Since the day when Tiberius turned the rock of Capri into the scene of his debaucheries he has become, so to speak, a tutelary genius whose beneficent hand has left traces of its activity in every corner of the isle.[[3]]
[2] G. Lumbroso, L'Egitto del Greci e dei Romani, 2nd edition, Rome, 1895, p. 157.
[3] Maxime Du Camp, Orient et Italie, Paris, 1968, pp. 13, 60, 74.
[19] It is obvious that this custom of accumulating on a single head all the glories of preceding heroes affects very markedly the true proportions of the persons concerned. The splendour of the apotheosis is sometimes such that the hero entirely loses his true physiognomy and emerges in complete disguise. Thus Virgil, having become the idol of the Neapolitans, ceased to be the inspired poet in order to be converted into the governor of the city.[[1]] Local tradition at Sulmona has transformed Ovid into everything that he was not: a clever magician, a rich merchant, a prophet, a preacher, a sort of paladin, and-who would believe it ?-a great saint.[[2]]
[1] This subject has been exhaustively treated by D. Comparetti, Virgilio nel medio evo, 2nd edition, Florence, 1896, 2 vols. 8vo.
[2] A. De Nino, Ovidio nella tradizione popolare di Sulmona, Casalbordino, 1886, p. 1.
Historic truth is put wholly out of court on these occasions, for it is an understood thing that the really popular hero plays a part in all important events; that nothing generous, noble or useful can be accomplished without the intervention of the great man who monopolises the sympathies of the populace. In the religious sphere the idol of all hearts is the saint specially venerated in the district. Here, it is St. Martin whose name crops up at every turn; there, St. Patrick[[3]] The enthusiasm of the people has not failed to enlarge the sphere of their activities, including among these a number of incidents detached from their historic setting, or despoiling, for their benefit, the eclipsed heroes of an earlier stage of development.
[3] Bulliot, La mission et le culte de St. Martin d'après les légendes ef les monuments populaires dans le pays Éduen, Autun, 1892; Shearman, Loca Patriciana, Dublin, 1879; W. G. Wood-Martin, Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, London, 1902 , vol. i., pp. 163, 245; vol. ii., pp. 20, 88.
[20] Above all, do not expect the populace to distinguish between namesakes. Great men are so rare! What likelihood is there that there should have lived two of the same name? It is this sort of reasoning which has persuaded the inhabitants of Calabria that St Louis, on his return from the first Crusade, sojourned in several of their towns, whereas, in truth, he never set foot in the district The king Louis who passed through the Neapolitan provinces with the remains of his army of Crusaders was Louis VII. When the canonisation of Louis IX. had cast into the shade the memory of all his predecessors, it became quite natural to substitute him for the other Louis in the popular memory.[[1]] In the same way, by the simple force of attraction, as early as the fourth century, incidents borrowed from the life of Cyprian of Antioch became interpolated in that of Cyprian of Carthage.[[2]] It was almost inevitable that the illustrious martyr should inherit from the earlier and more obscure Cyprian. In the same way Alexander the Great and Charlemagne absorbed the achievements of all their namesakes.[[3]]
[1] F. Lenormant, À travers l'Apulie et la Lucanie, Paris, 1883, vol. i., p. 323.
[2] Witnesses to this confusion are St. Gregory Nazianzen, Prudentius and Macarius of Magnesia. See Th. Zahn, Cyprian von Antiochien, Erlangen, 1882, p. 84. [This sentence and the following, together with this footnote, are deleted in the 3d ed.]
[3] It is well known that Alexander the Great has had the credit of the foundations of Alexander Severus, and that the name of Charlemagne has. absorbed many incidents attributed by history to Charles Martel. P. Rajna, Le origini dell' epopea francese, Florence, 1884, p. 199.
It may be seen from this that the populace is never disturbed, as we are, by chronological difficulties. No one, for instance, was startled by hearing it read out that St Austremonius, in the reign of the Emperor Decius, was sent to Auvergne by St. Clement. [[4]] To [21] the popular mind it was perfectly natural that, in the same early days, there should have been both dukes and counts; and why should any one have suspected that it was an anachronism to bestow the title of archdeacon on St. Stephen and St. Lawrence, who certainly were very far from being mere ordinary deacons?
[4] Acta SS., November, vol. i., p. 49.
Neither was the popular mind disturbed by geography, and questions of distance scarcely existed for it. Men listened without lifting an eyebrow to stories in which Cwsarea Philippi is confused with Caesarea of Palestine,[[1]] and in which a war is referred to a!# breaking out between the latter town and Carthage. [[2]] The caravan of seventy camels sent by Isquirinus, Prefect of Périgueux, into the desert to seek for the seventy monks who were dying of hunger, did not appear to them any less interesting because the said desert is situated on the banks of the Dordogne.[[3]] I am prepared to believe that men would be more exacting concerning the topography of their native country, a knowledge of which is forced upon them by their own eyes. But why trouble about distant scenes? [[4]]
[1] Passio S. Procopii, no. 27 in the Acta SS., July, vol. ii., p. 564.
[2] St. Cassiodorus in the Mélanges Paul Fabre, Paris, 1902, pp. 40-50.
[3] Vita S. Frontonis, auctore Gauzberto; compare L. Duchesne, Fastes Episcopaux de l'ancienne Gaule, vol. ii., p. 132.
[4] We have referred to the value of topographical records in hagiographic legends in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., pp. 222-35, 243-44. Concerning the tenacity of the memory of the people in all that concerns the names of the places in the country they inhabit, see Pare M. J. Lagrange, La Méthode historique, surtout a propos de I'Ancien Testament, Paris, 1903, pp. 188-92.
As for history, the popular intelligence conceives of it in the same spirit of naïve simplicity. Let us see, for instance, what impression has been preserved of persecutions under the Roman Empire. To begin with, no distinction is made between the emperors who [22] have ordered and those who have merely authorised proceedings against the Christians. There is but one epithet, impiissimus, by which all alike are described, whether reference is made to Nero, Decius and Diocletian or to Trajan, Marcus Aurelius and Alexander Severus. All are held to be animated by the same degree of insensate fury against Christianity, and to have no other thought but that of destroying it. Frequently it is the emperor in person who summons the Christians before his tribunal, even though he be compelled to undertake journeys of which history has preserved no record. It is, however, obvious that the head of the State cannot be everywhere. This is no obstacle to his fury. He has emissaries who scour the empire and represent him worthily. Everywhere Christians are outlawed, hunted down and dragged before monsters of judges, who contrive to invent appalling tortures that have never been inflicted even on the worst of criminals. Divine intervention, which prevents these refined torments from injuring the martyrs, serves to emphasise the cruelty of their-persecutors, while at the same time providing an adequate and visible reason for the numbers of conversions which the rage of the executioners is unable to stem.
Such, in brief, is the picture of the age of persecutions as recorded in popular legend. The variations in legislative enactments, and the diversity in the application of the edicts, the very marked individuality of certain of the great enemies of the Faith, the purely local character of some of the outbreaks of which the Christians, were victims, do not in any sense appeal to the intelligence of the people, who much prefer a simple picture in vivid colours and strongly marked outline, to combinations of numerous and complex facts. [23] Need we add that historical sequence has no existence for the populace? That, without exciting suspicion, one may assign the date of a martyrdom indifferently to the reign of any one of the impious Emperors Decius, Numerian or Diocletian?[[1]] That the name of the judge is of no consequence, and that it is a matter of indifference whether the cruel Dacianus could or could not persecute at one and the same time in Italy and in Spain? The long list of the Popes is unfamiliar to them, and the part played by a Pope Cyriacus was not sufficient to bring under suspicion the legend of the eleven thousand virgins [[2]] any more than surprise was caused by the introduction of a Pope Alexander into the story of St Ouen.[[3]]
[1 The 3d ed. adds: There are numerous examples in Les Passions des martyrs et les genres littéraires, p. 136-315.]
[1] I may recall, among others, the martyrdom of St. Cecilia of which the date is sometimes temporibus Alexandri imperatoris and sometimes Marci Aurelii et Commodi temporibus. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., pp. 86-88,
[2] Acta SS., October, vol. ix., pp. 100-4, 214, 276-78.
[3] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xx., pp. 175-76. According to the legend of SS. Chrysanthus and Daria these saints suffered martyrdom in 283 under Numerian and their acts were written by order of Pope Stephen (d. 257), Acta SS., October, vol. xi., p. 484. As a counterpart to this anachronism one may quote the legend of St. Florian and his companions at Bologna. The martyrdom of the saints is supposed to have happened in the twenty-seventh year of Heraclius (637), and the translation of their relics during the episcopate of St. Petronius in the fifth century. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiii., p. 298.
Thus robbed of their individuality, isolated in a sense from their period and their surroundings, and dragged from their natural setting, historical personages acquire, in the eyes of the people, an unreal and inconsistent character. For a vivid and clearly accentuated portrait as bequeathed to us by history, we substitute an ideal figure who is the personification of an abstraction: in place of the individual, the people know [24] only the type. Alexander personifies the conqueror; Caesar, the organising genius of the Roman people; Constantine, the Empire regenerated by Christianity.
In the really popular hagiographic legends it is not St. Lawrence, but the typical martyr that is brought upon the scene, just as later St. Martin becomes the type of the missionary-bishop and miracle-worker. There is also the typical persecutor. Diocletian is the most prominent here, then certain judges who personify, so to speak, the cruelty of pagan justice. One of the most celebrated of these is the redoubtable Anulinus, who was, in reality, pro-consul of Africa during the great persecution. His name has become a synonym for executioner, and in a number of legends recourse is had to him to bring about the death of Christians at Lucca, at Milan and at Ancona, under Nero, Valerian, Gallienus and Maximianus, without counting the narratives in which his authentic exploits are recorded.[[1]]
[1] Consult the quotations in Le Blant, Les Actes des Martyrs, Paris, 1882, p. 27.
It is scarcely surprising that the reading of certain hagiographic records should be monotonous work, or that there should be such.- remarkable resemblances between the acts of so many martyrs. While really historical documents such as the Acts of St. Polycarp, and of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas and of St. Cyprian offer the most remarkable variations of detail, the legend of the martyrs is nothing but a mass of repetitions. This is the result of eliminating as far as possible the individual element, in order to retain only the abstract form. Every martyr, as a rule, is animated by the same sentiments, expresses the same opinions and is subject to the same trials, while the holy confessor who has earned his reward by an edifying life must needs [25] have possessed all the virtues of his profession, which the hagiographer, the faithful mouthpiece of popular tradition, delights to enumerate.
Here, for example, is the portrait of St. Fursey, Abbot: "Erat enim forma praecipuus, corpore castus, mente devotus, affabilis colloquio, amabilis adspectu, prudentia, praeditus, temperantia. clarus, intema fortitudine firmus, censura iustitim stabilis, longanimitate assiduus, patientia. robustus, humilitate mansuetus, caritate sollicitus et ita in eo omnium virtutum decorem sapientia. adornabat, ut secundum apostolum sermo illius,semper in gratia sale esset conditus ".[[1]] Unquestionably this is a noble eulogy. But might not the same be written of every saint?
[1] "For he was comely to look upon, chaste of body, earnest in mind, affable of speech, gracious of presence, abounding in wisdom, a model of abstemiousness, steadfast in resolution, firm in right judgments, unwearied in longanimity, of sturdiest patience, gentle in humility, solicitous in charity, while wisdom in him so enhanced the radiance of all the virtues that his conversation, according to the Apostle, was always seasoned with wit in the grace of God" (Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii, p. 37).
The biographer of St. Aldegonde describes her in the following terms: "Erat namque moribus honesta, eloquio suavis, in pauperibus misericors, in lectione velox, in responsis citissima, mitis omnibus, inter nobiles humilis, iunioribus quasi aequalis, in parcitate cibi et potus ita dedita abstinentiae ut nulla. sodalium sibi aequipararetur"[[2]] A few characteristic incidents revealing her admirable virtues would impress one far more than this conventional picture. But the popular mind can [26] only retain a simple and general notion of sanctity. You ask for a portrait and you receive a programme.
[2] "For she was irreproachable in conduct, persuasive of speech, merciful to the poor, quick at reading, most ready in answering, gentle to all, humble among great folk, to her juniors like one of their own age, and so devoted to abnegation in abstinence of food and drink that none of her companions could be compared with her" (Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii., p. 1036).
Moreover the programme can boast of very little variety. Poverty of invention is another of the characteristics of popular intelligence. Its developments all resemble each other, and its combinations offer but little interest. As for its creative faculties, they appear condemned to sterility the moment the public has come into possession of a sufficient number of fairly interesting themes and topics to fit the situations of more ordinary occurrence.
The comparative study of folk-lore has revealed the fact that the same stories recur among all races and in all countries, that they can all be traced back to a limited number of identical themes, and that they have spread themselves over the world from a common stock.
Every one is aware that even in our own day celebrated sayings are constantly re-issued under fresh headings, that amusing anecdotes are perpetually transferred from one person to another,[[1]] and that, to quote but a single classical example,, there is not a town without its legendary absent-minded citizen, everywhere the victim of identical misadventures.
[1] Some examples of this have been collected by H. Gaidoz, Légendes Contemporaines in Mélusine, vol. ix., 1898-99, pp. 77, 118, 140, 187.
The study of ancient authors supplies us with innumerable examples of the transmission of legendary themes. We have only to glance through the descriptions of celebrated sieges as told by the old chroniclers to discover that the effects of famine, the patriotism of the besieged, and the cunning artifices designed to deceive the enemy as to the resources of the town, are almost invariably described in identical terms.
[27] Thus when the Gauls besieged Rome the soldiers were reduced to soaking the leather of their shields and sandals in order to eat it. The same fact occurred, if we are to accept the evidence of Livy, at the siege of Casilinum during the second Punic war, and again, according to Josephus, at the siege of Jerusalem. During the same siege of Rome the women sacrificed their hair to weave into ropes; while the women of Carthage, Salonae, Byzantium, Aquileia, Thasos and many other cities were equally capable of a devotion that may well be called heroic.[[1]] In the same way the chronicles of the Middle Ages are full of ingenious manceuvres; invented to deceive the enemy who forthwith falls into the trap and raises the siege.[[2]] In order to appreciate the historic value of these curious narratives, it is sufficient to place them side by side with others of the same description.
[1] The examples have been collected by A. Schwegler, Römische Geschichte, vol. iii., Tubingen, 1858, p. 260.
[2] For example, a herd of fat cattle would be driven into the enemy's camp, or the besiegers would be pelted with loaves of bread, or still better with cheeses, frequently made from the milk of nursing mothers, in order to create a conviction that the town was well supplied with provisions. See G. Pitré, Stratagemmi leggendarii da citta assediate, new edition, Palermo, 1904, 21 pp.; also the Archivio per lo studio delle Tradizioni popolari, vol. xxii., 1903-04, pp. 193-211. See also Romania, vol. xxxiii., 1904, p. 459.
One might vary indefinitely the examples given, and quote curious cases of quaint legends becoming acclimatised in the most incongruous localities. Strange as it may seem, the Irish have thought fit to borrow from King Midas his ass's ears,[[3]] with which to adorn at least two of their kings.[[4]]
[3] Ovid, Metamorphoses, xi, 180 and following; Hyginus, Fabulae, 191, 3.
[4] H. D'Arbois de Jubainville in the Revue Celtique, vol. xxiv., 1903, p. 215.
[28] A systematic classification of legendary themes furnished by hagiographic documents would lead to similar conclusions. Many striking episodes which an inexperienced reader would be tempted to take for original inventions are mere reminiscences or floating traditions which cling sometimes to one saint, sometimes to another.
The miraculous crucifix which appeared to St. Hubert [[1]] between the antlers of a stag, is in no sense the exclusive property of this saint. It maybe found equally in the legend of St. Meinulf [[2]] and that of St Eustace [[3]] as well as in those of many others in which variations of detail render the theme less easily recognisable. Lists of saints have been compiled who all vanquished dragons,[[4]] but all these enumerations would have to be greatly enlarged before one could in any way hope to exhaust the subject. For myself, I see no object in doing so. It is almost always a waste of time to seek to identify the historical fact which has been responsible for the introduction of such epic incidents in the life of a saint. We might as well institute inquiries as to why a seed borne by the wind has fallen on any particular spot.
[1]Acta SS., Nov., vol. i., p. 839.
[2] Ibid., Oct., vol. iii., pp. 188, 212.
[3] Ibid., Sept., vol. vi., p. 124; [H. Delehaye, La légende de S. Eustache, in Bulletin de la classe des lettres de I'Acadimie Royale de Belgique, 1919, p. 1-36.]
[4] See Ch. Cahier, Caractéristiques des Saints, vol. i., pp. 315-22. See also M. Meyer, Ueber die Verwandschall heidnischer und Christlicher Drachentödter in the Verhandlungen der XL, Versammlung deutscher Philologen, Leipzig, 1890, p. 336 and following.
It is with reason that a critic has taken exception to a detail in the acts of SS. Sergius and Bacchus.[[5]] The body of the latter martyr having been flung out on the highway, was protected from dogs by birds of prey.[[6]] A [29] similar miraculous protection was accorded to the remains of St. Vincent [[1]] St. Vitus [[2]] St. Florian,[[3]] and St. Stanislaus of Cracow [[4]] while we must not omit the eagle summoned by Solomon to watch over the body of David, or other similar narratives drawn from Talmudic literature.[[5]] Nor, since we are on the subject of eagles, should we forget that the miraculous bird who spread his wings to protect St. Servatius,[[6]] St. Bertulph,[[7]] St. Medard [[8]] and others from sun and rain is to be met with elsewhere than in hagiographic documents.
[5] P. Byaeus in Acta SS., Oct., vol. iii., p. 838.
[6] Ibid., p. 867.
[1] Prudentius, Peristeph., v., 102 and following.
[2] Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii., pp. 1025-26.
[3] Ibid., May, vol. iv., p. 465.
[4] Ibid., May, vol. vii., pp. 202, 231.
[5] S. Singer, Salomon sagen in Deutschland in Zeitschrift für Deutsches Alterthum vol. xxxv., 1891, p. 186; Id., Sagengeschichtliche Parallelen aus dem Babylonischen Talmud in Zeitschrift des Vereins fürr Volkskunde,, vol. ii., 1892, p. 301.
[6] Acta SS., May, vol. iii., p. 215.
[7] Ibid., Feb., vol. i., p. 679.
[8] Ibid., Jan., vol. ii., p. 87. Compare Singer, Salomon sagen, as above, p. 185.
We read in the life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary that, before* starting on the Crusades, her husband presented her with a ring of which the precious stone possessed the property of breaking when a calamity happened to its donor. This legend, introduced into her life, no doubt on the strength of some historic incident, may be found with slight variations in the life of St. Honoratus of Buzançais. It is a popular theme which has not only been turned to account in the romance of Flores and Blanchfl§eur, but in the Arabian Nights, in a Kalmuk folk-tale, and in more than one Indian story.[[9]]
[9] E. Cosquin, Comes populaires de Lorraine, vol. i., p. 71.
Again, the dramatic adventure that befel the page of St. Elizabeth of Portugal is a Christian adaptation [30]of a narrative that had its origin in India,[[1]] while the story of the crucifix dropped into the sea by St. Francis Xavier and brought to land by a crab is simply borrowed from Japanese mythology.[[2]]
[1] E. Cosquin, La Légende du page de Sainte Elizabeth de Portugal et le conte indien des "Bons Conseils" in the Revue des Questions historiques, vol. lxxiii., 1903, pp. 3-42; Id., La 1égende de Sainte Elizabeth de Portugal et les contes orientaux, ibid., vol. lxxiv., pp. 207-17. Id., Etudes folkloriques, p. 73-162; C. Formichi, La leggenda del paggio di santa Elizabetta in Archivio delle tradizioni popolari, vol. xxii., 1903, pp. 9-30.
[2] Bouhours, Vie de saint Francois Xavier, vol. iii. The Japanese legend is related by A. B. Mitford, Tales of Old Japan, London, 1871, pp. 40-43. Attention is drawn to the loan in the Revue des traditions populaires, 15th August, 1890. I am indebted to M. E. Cosquin for these details.
At Valencia, in the Church of San Salvador, there is preserved a figure of Christ which drifted there miraculously by sea and up-stream; at Santa-Maria del Grao, the port of Valencia, there is another figure of Christ together with a ladder, the one used at His crucifixion, which was also carried by sea in a boat without crew or cargo. As the vessel came to a halt in mid-stream, an altercation arose between the inhabitants of the opposite banks for the possession of the sacred relics. To settle the matter, the boat was towed out to sea, where it was once more left to take what direction it pleased. Straightway it sailed up the river and became stationary close to Santa-Maria del Grao.[[3]]
[3] See Fages, Histoire de saint Vincent Ferrier, vol. ii., pp. 46, 47.
In a similar strain Pausanias describes the coming of the statue of Hercules to Erythrae. It arrived by sea on a raft and came to a halt at the promontory of Juno called Cape Mesata because it was half-way between Erythrx and Chios. From the moment they espied the god, the inhabitants of each of the two towns did their utmost to attract it in their own direction. [31]But the heavens decided in favour of the first. A fisherman of that town named Phormio was warned in a dream that if the women of Erythrx would sacrifice their hair in order to make a cable, they would have no difficulty in drawing in the raft. The Thracian women who inhabited the town made the sacrifice of their locks, and thus secured the miraculous statue for Erythra!. Except for the final details the two legends are identical.[[1]]
[1] Pausanias, vii., 5, 5-8.
Nothing is more common in popular hagiography than this theme of the miraculous advent of a picture or of the body of a saint in a derelict vessel; equally common is the miracle of the ship that comes to a halt or of the oxen who refuse to go any farther, in order to indicate the spot mysteriously predestined for the guardianship of a celestial treasure, or to confirm some church in the legitimate possession of the relics of a saint.[[2]] We need only recall the arrival of St. James in Spain, of St. Lubentius at Dietkirchen, of St. Maternus at Rodenkirchen, of St. Emmerammus at Ratisbonne, of the girdle of the Blessed Virgin at Prato, of the Volto Santo at Lucca.[[3]]
[2] In our own country (Belgium) it is not usual to employ oxen for the transport of sacred objects. Hence, in the legend of "Le Christ des Dames Blanches" of Tirlemont, it is the Canons of Saint Germain who find themselves incapacitated from carrying their precious burden any farther. P. V. Bets, Histoire de Tirlemont, Louvain, 1861, vol. ii., p. 88. The same story is related of the relics of St. George by Gregory of Tours, In gloria martyrum, c. 101.
[3] The documents have been collected by H. Usener, Die Sintflutsagen, Bonn, 1899, pp. 136-37.
These miraculous voyages of crucifixes, Madonnas and statues of saints are particularly abundant in Sicily, as has been proved by recent researches.[[4]] A similar [32] inquiry in other countries would probably be rewarded with equally numerous discoveries.[[1]] In Istria an occurrence of a similar nature is connected with the foundation of the Bishopric of Pedena by Constantine .[[2]]
[4] G. Pitrè, Feste patronali in Sicilia in Biblioteca delle tradizioni popolari Siciliane, vol. xxi., Turin and Palermo, 1900, pp. xx.-xxii.
1 Concerning the miraculous crucifix of Hoboken, near Antwerp, see P. D. Kuyl, Hoboken en zijn wonderdadig Kruisbeeld, Antwerp, 1866, pp. 147-56; concerning the local legend of St. Desiré (Allier) see J. Stramoy, La légende de sainte Agathe in Revue des traditions populaires, vol. xiii., p. 694; on the advent of the relics of St. Thomas at Ortona, A. de Nino, Usi e costumi Abruzzesi, vol. iv, Florence, 1887, p. 151. The legend of St. Rainier of Bagno, ibid., pp. 162-63, may also be mentioned here. A recent work on this subject is that of M. F. de Mely, L'image du Christ du Sancta Sanctorum et les reliques chrétiennes apportées par les flots in Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de France, series vii., vol. iii., Paris, 1904, pp. 113-44.
[2] Manzuoli, Vite e fatti de' santi et beati dell' Istria, Venice, 1611, pp. 107-12. [The sentence which follows was omitted in the 3d ed. Ed.]
The Greeks have not neglected to introduce into their lives of saints a theme which had proved so popular among their ancestors. The panegyrist of St. Theodore Siceotes not only made use of it but endowed the animal with a voice in order that it might declare in explicit terms the desire of the saint to rest on the spot he had selected for himself.[[3]] The oxen which drew St. Cyril of Gortina to the scaffold also stopped at the chosen spot in obedience to a divine command,[[4]] and the reader will recall the role attributed to the camels in the history of St. Menas of Egypt.[[5]]
[3] Analectq Bollandiana, vol. xx., p. 269.
[4] Syntaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, pp. 17, 750.
[5] Bibl. hag. lat., n. 5921-The site of the Church of S. Auxentius in Cyprus was also indicated by the oxen which carried his relics. C. Sathas, Vies des saints allemands de Chypre in Archives de I'Orient latin, vol. ii., p. 419.
It would be an endless task to draw up a complete list of the stock incidents of hagiography. We have already been able to show from examples that some of them go back to a very remote antiquity. That is [33] a point that cannot be too strongly insisted upon. A number of the legendary themes to be found scattered through the lives of saints, in the histories of the foundation of celebrated shrines, and in the accounts of the origin of certain miraculous pictures, are to be met with in the classics. The people of ancient times would themselves have experienced great difficulty in indicating their origin. For them, as for us, they were as leaves carried hither and thither by the wind.
The picture or letter dropped from heaven, the "acheiropoeetos" or picture not made by human hand, are by no means the invention of Christian narrators. The legend of the Palladium of Troy, the statue of Pallas Athene fallen from the sky, and many other similar legends, show how common such conceptions were among the ancients.[[1]] Like ourselves they were familiar with holy pictures which shed tears,[[2]] with statues bathed in sweat in times of calarnity,[[3]] with voices issuing from marble lips.[[4]
[1] See demonstration of this in E. von Dobschütz, Christusbilder in Texte und Untersuchungen, N.F., vol. iii., Leipzig, 1899.
[2] "Apollo triduum, et tres noctes lacrimavit," Livy, x1iii., 13.
[3] "Signa ad Junonis Sospitz sudore manavere," Livy, xxiii., 31.
[4] "Fortunae item muliebris simulacrum, quod est in via Latina non semel sed his locutum constitit, his paene veTbiS: Bene me matronx vidistis riteque dedicastis," Valerius Maximus, i., 8.
The story of some object flung into the sea and recovered from the belly of a fish, to be met with in the lives of St Ambrose of Cahors, St. Maurilius,[[5]] St. Magloire,[[6]] St. Kentigern [[7]] and many others, is nothing more than a reminiscence of the ring of Polycrates, related [34] by Herodotus.[[1]] The swarm of bees that alighted on the cradle of St. Ambrose,[[2]] and which also visited St. Isidore,[[3]] had long before deposited its honey in the mouth of Pindar [[4]] and in that of Plato.[[5]] The miracle of the rock opening to receive St. Thecla[[6]] and St. Ariadne[[7]] in order to snatch them from the pursuit of their persecutors is but an echo of the fable of Daphne, just as the story of St. Barbara recalls that of Danai confined by her father in a brazen tower.[[8]]
[5] See A. Houtin, Les origines de I'Eglise dAngers, Laval, 1901, pp. 54, 55.
[6] Acta SS., Oct., vol. x., p. 787.
[7] Ibid., Jan., vol. i., p. 820.
[1] Herodotus, Hist., iii., 43. Further parallels are quoted by R. Köhler, Kleinere Schriften, Vol. ii., Berlin, 1900, p. 209, note 1.
[2] Vita a Paulino, No. 3.
[3] Acta SS., April, Vol. i., p. 331.
[4] Pausanias, ix., 23, 2.
[5] Cicero, De divinatione, i., 36; Olympiodorus, Vita Platonis, Westermann, p. 1.
[6] Lipsius, Acta apostolorum apocrypha, Vol. i., p. 272.
[7] P. Franchi de' Cavalieri, I martiri di santo Teodoto e di santa Ariadne in Studi e Testi, No. 6, Roma, 1901, p. 132. The Acta sancta- Maria, ancillce in Acta SS., Nov., Vol. i., pp. 201-6, cannot be quoted in evidence, as they are not distinct from those of St. Ariadne.
[8] Papebroch had already noted the borrowing; Acta SS. Bollandiana apologeticis libris in unum volumen nunc primum contractis vindicata, Antwerp, 1755, p. 370.
Suetonius relates how Augustus, one day, when still a child, imposed silence on the frogs that were croaking near his grandfather's villa, and, it is said, he adds, that since then frogs have never croaked on that spot.[[9]] The same marvellous incident is recounted of more than one saint: of St. Rieul, St. Antony of Padua, St. Benno of Meissen, St. George, Bishop of Suelli, St. Ouen, St. Hervatus, St. James of the Marches, St. Segnorina, St. Ulphus.[[10]]
[9] Suetonius, Octavius, xciv. [Antigonos, tells the same thing of Hercules. Keller, P.1.]
[10] The hagiographic documents have been collected by Cahier, Caractéristiques des Saints, Vol. i., pp. 274-76, who did not trouble himself about the early origin of the incident. A large number of legends might be quoted in which other animals play an analogous part. Thus St. Tygris caused some sparrows to keep silence who had disturbed her at her prayers, and they never troubled her again, Acta SS., June, Vol. v., p. 74, note 9. At the request of St. Caesarius of Arles, the wild boars which attracted a crowd of hunters forsook the neighbourhood of his monastery (Acta SS., August, Vol. A., P. 72, note 36). [3d ed. adds references to St. Ursin and St. Martin from Acta SS " Nov., Vol. iv, p. 103.]
[35] The reader will recall the vigorous language in which St. Jerome, in the early part of his life of St. Paul, summed up the horrors of the persecutions under Decius and Valerian: the martyr smeared with honey and exposed to the stings of insects, and yet another who protected himself against the snares of sensual desire by spitting out his tongue in the face of the temptress.[[1]] The magic of St. Jerome's style and the vivid relief of his pictures endow them with a semblance of originality to which they cannot lay claim.[[2]] Martyrdom from insects, which, if we may believe Sozomen, was renewed under Julian, was but another reminiscence of the classics.[[3]] Apuleius, among others, makes mention of it. As for the episode of the tongue, ancient writers have related the story on more than one occasion, attributing it now to the Pythagorean Timycha, now to Lemna the courtesan, and again to the philosopher Zeno of Elea.[[4]] St. Jerome, the recorder of this Christian adaptation of an ancient legend, did not succeed in giving it a permanent attribution. At a later date it was told of the martyr Nicetas, and Nicephorus Callistus [[5]] repeats it once again in connection with an ascetic who lived in the reign of Diocletian.[[6]]
[1] These anonymous martyrs are inscribed in the Roman martyrology for 28th July. [This note in the 3d ed. reads simply Metamorph., V111 22.]
[2] [See P. Franchi de' Cavalieri, Haglographica, p. 124. We do not forget the torment of Mark of Arethusa: Gregory of Nazianzus, In Iulian., I, 89; Sozomène, Hist. eccl., V, 10. (See p. 104 n. I below, ed.).]
[3] Metamorph., viii., 22.
[4] The chief classical texts are quoted by Wachsmuth, Berichte der k. Sächs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Phil. Hist. Cl., Vol. Viii., 1856, p. 132.
[5] Acta SS., Sept., Vol. iv., P. Vii.
[6] Hist. Eccles., Vol. vii., chap. 13.
[36] It seems scarcely necessary to remind the reader of the legend of the Seven Sleepers. The conception of a long sleep, which occurs in the history of Epimenides, has never ceased to have currency in folk tales, and it has been repeated with endless variations.[[1]]
[1] H. Demoulin, Epiménide de Crète in the Bibliothèque de la Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres de I'Université de Liége, fasc. Xii., Brussels, 1901, pp. 95-100, in which other versions of the sleep legend are indicated.
The apparent complexity of certain legends and the startling effect of certain combinations which appear highly ingenious must not deceive us, and we must not hastily draw conclusions in favour of the creative faculty of popular genius. The historic elements which do not lend themselves to simplification are merely placed in juxtaposition, and bound together by a very slender thread. The result is usually an incoherent narrative, which in most cases is distinguished by its extraordinary improbability, though on occasions the effect is not devoid of impressiveness.
The following, for example, is one version of the legend of the wood of the cross. Adam, driven from Paradise, took with him a branch of the tree of knowledge, which served him as a staff to the end of his days. This stick passed down from hand to hand to the patriarchs, and during the wars an angel hid it in a cave where it was discovered by Jethro while herding his flocks. In his old age Jethro sent a message to Moses to come and take the staff, which on the arrival of the prophet sprang miraculously towards him. Moses made use of it to hang from it the brazen serpent. Later Phineas became possessed of it and buried it in the desert. At the time of the birth of Christ the precise spot was revealed to St. Joseph, who [37] found the staff on the occasion of the flight into Egypt. He handed it on to his son Jacob, who gave it to the traitor Judas, and through him it came into the hands of the executioners of Jesus Christ, and from it the cross was made.[[1]]
[1] Fr. Kampers, Mittelalterliche Sagen vom Paradiese und vom Holze des kreuzes Christi, Cologne, 1897, pp. 89, 90. cf. W. Meyer, Die Geschichte des Kreuzholzes vor Christus in Abhandlungen der k. Bayer. Akademie der Wissenschatten, i. Cl., vol. xvi., 1881.
It will be admitted that, reduced to these terms, the legend of the wood of the cross does not give evidence of much wealth of invention, although the root idea of the mysterious continuity of the Old and the New Testament upon which the story has been clumsily built lends it a certain dignity.
The legend of Judas's thirty pieces of silver runs on similar lines. The money was coined by the father of Abraham, and with it Abraham bought a field as a burial-place for himself and his family. Later the coins passed into the possession of the sons of Jacob, to whom they were paid over by the slave merchants who purchased Joseph. With the identical coins they paid for the corn which Joseph procured for them in Egypt. At the death of Jacob they were given in payment for the spices for his tomb, and thus passed into the land of Sheba, and there remained until they were sent with other gifts by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon's Temple. From Jerusalem the coins were transfermcl to Arabia, to return with the Magi. The Blessed Virgin took the money with her to Egypt, and there lost it. It was found by a shepherd, who hoarded it until, struck with leprosy, he went to Jerusalem to implore Jesus to cure him. As a thank-offering he presented the thirty pieces of silver to the Temple, and [38] they thus became, in the hands of the chief priests, the price of Judas's betrayal. But Judas repented, and restored the price of his sin to the priests, who gave half of it to the soldiers on guard at the sepulchre and the other half to the potter for the field to be a burying place for strangers.[[1]]
[1] See, for example, A. Graf, Roma nella memoria e nelle immaginazioni del medio evo, Turin, 1883, vol. ii., pp. 462-63; L. De Feis, Le Monete del prezzo di Giuda in Studi Religiosi, vol. ii., 1902, pp. 412-30, 506-21. Note also, by the way, the version of the legend of the thirty pieces of silver in Solomon of Basrah, The Book of the Bee, edited by E. A. W. Budge, Oxford, 1886, p. 94 and following.
By a succession of similar combinations men have succeeded in identifying the stone which served as a pillow for the patriarch Jacob with that which supports the throne of the Kings of England at their coronation in Westminster Abbey.[[2]] One might quote many examples of such childish concatenations of historical reminiscences resulting in narratives which appear to be carefully elaborated, but which are, in reality, of puerile simplicity.
[2] J. H. Rivett-Carnac, La piedra de la coronación en la abadia de Westminster y su conexion legendaria con Santiago de Compostela in the Boletin de la real academia de la Historia, vol. xl., 1902, pp. 430-38.
Popular imagination in its workings has not been restricted to the famous names and great events of sacred history. It has frequently given itself free scope in relation to the history of certain well-known saints, who, owing to the existence of their tombs and the veneration paid to their.memories, could neither be passed over in silence nor fused into one. The recognised procedure was to group them together, to imagine links of kindred or of some common action between them, to forge a history in which each should play a [39] well-defined rôle, without ever stopping to inquire whether a particular saint might not be acting quite incompatible parts in two different stories. In this way, with the assistance of historical names and a topographical setting, whole cycles of purely imaginary legends have been composed.
The best-known example of this is that of the Roman martyrs of whom the legends form a series of cycles each one embracing a certain number of saints who frequently had nothing in common save the place of their sepulture.[[1]] Some of these legends are interesting and in places poetic; others-and they are in the majority-are trivial and meaningless. Nevertheless, if we study them as a whole, we can derive from them a picture which is not the result of design yet is none the less impressive; and if a poet had arisen to put into shape the raw material of these rude narratives, he might have drawn from them an epic poem of Christian Rome, from the foundation of the Mother and Mistress of Churches by St. Peter, through the bloody conflicts of the days of persecution, down to the final triumph under Sylvester and Constantine. Unhappily the man of genius who might have endowed us with this work of art has never arisen, and our sense of the grandeur of the subject only gives us a more vivid perception of the poverty of the legends that remain to us, and the lack of inspiration and originality in the creations of the people at large.
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., pp. 2-7 and following.
Predominance of sense impressions over the intelligence - Localisation and foot-prints - Literary origin of
certain of these - Iconographic legends - Popular etymology - Miracles - The soul of the people - Energy
of expression - Exaggerated feeling - Ambitions of individual churches - Morality of the mob - Local claims.
The brain of the multitude has been shown to be narrow, incapable of coping with any large number of ideas at once, or indeed with even a single idea of any complexity, equally incapable of applying itself to prolonged or subtle reasoning, but, on the other hand, fully prepared to receive impressions through the senses. The idea may fade quickly away, but the picture remains; it is the material side of things which attracts the populace, and it is to sensible objects that all the people's thoughts and affections cling. In this respect popular intelligence scarcely exceeds the intellectual level of a child, who, equally indifferent to abstract concepts, turns instinctively towards that which appeals to the senses. All the child's ideas and reminiscences are indissolubly linked to material and palpable objects.
Thus it is that great men live far less in the memory of their countrymen than in the stones, rocks or buildings with which it pleases people to connect their names. For, in the first place, the popular mind craves for what is definite and concrete. It is not satisfied with knowing that some celebrated personage passed through the country. It wishes to identify the precise spot on which he stood, the tree that gave him shelter, the house in which he lodged. Thus we have Alexander's oak, shown in the days of Plutarch near the Cephisus to mark the spot where he pitched his [41] tent at the battle of Chaeronea;[[1]] Horace's house at Venusium, an ancient ruin shown under his name even in our own day, although no historical tradition connects it with the poet; and finally Virgil's house at Brindisi, the remains of a structure only built in the sixteenth century.[[2]]
[1] Plutarch, Alexander, ix., 2.
[2] F. Lenormant, À travers I'Apulie et la Lucanie, vol. i., Paris, 1883, pp. 202-3. In the same way the site of Ovid's house is still shown at Sulmona. A. de Nino, Ovidio nella tradizione popolare di Suhnona, Casalbordino, 1886, p. 21.
In the same way the populace always feels constrained to explain the origin or the purpose of whatever impresses it and to bestow a name upon every object that excites its attention. Like a child it contents itself with the first explanation that soothes its imagination and satisfies its craving for knowledge, while reflection and the critical faculty never enlighten it concerning the insufficiency or improbability of what it invents. Thus it becomes a matter of course that people. should transfer to the curious features of natural scenery or to the constructions of bygone ages, both the pictures that haunt their imagination and the celebrated names that live in their memory. It is one and the same psychological cause, which, all the world over, has bestowed well-known names on rocks of unwonted shape or natural grottoes which attract attention.
In the religious sphere the popular instinct asserts itself very emphatically in both these directions.
From this point of view nothing is more instructive than accounts of pilgrimages to celebrated shrines and more especially to the Holy Land. The earliest narratives by pious pilgrims [[3]] betray no trace of the [42] ignorance and hesitation of our most learned exegetes in topographical matters, and with glorious assurance they will point out to you the precise spot where David composed his psalms, the rock smitten by Moses, the cave that sheltered Elijah, without counting the places mentioned in the Gospels of which not one is forgotten, not even the house of the wicked Dives, or the tree into which Zaccheus climbed. To show the extent to which material things dominate the intelligence and stifle the powers of reflection, people have pretended to have seen the "comer-stone which the builders rejected" and have begged for relics " de lignis trium tabernaculorum:' those three tabernacles which St. Peter, in his ecstasy, proposed to erect on the mountain of the Transfiguration.[[1]]
[3] See more especially the narratives of Antoninus, of Theodosius, and Adamnan; Geyer, Itinera Hierosolymilana saec., iv.-viii., in the Corpus script. Eccl. lat., vol. xxxix.
[1] Angilberti abbatis de ecclesia Centulensi libellus, M. G., Scr., vol. xv., p. 176.
In a similar way the names of saints are frequently linked with monuments or remarkable places which appeal to the popular imagination. Thus it is quite natural that in Rome the Marnertine prison should be selected as the scene of St Peter's imprisonment, and that men should be enabled to point out the precise spot where Simon Magus fell: Silex ubi cecidit Simon Magus.[[2]] Neither is it surprising that in Ireland so many places are connected with the memory of St Patrick, or at Naples with that of St. Januarius, or in Touraine and the neighbourhood of Autun with St. Martin.
[2] L. Duchesne, Le forum chretien, Rome, 1899, p. 17.
It is furthermore only a particular example of a universal phenomenon that people should recognise in the hollows of rocks the imprint of the feet, hands or knees of St. Peter, St. George and St. Martin, just as in other [43] localities one is shown the footprints of Adam and Abraham, of Moses and Buddha.[[1]] That a large number of such attributions, more especially in the case of megalithic monuments, should have been christianised, and that the Blessed Virgin and the saints should have been substituted for the heroes of heathen legends, need excite no surprise. Whether St. Cornelius, in preference to all others, by turning the soldiers of King Adar to stone, should have created the long lines of menhirs at Camac and Erdeven in Brittany,[[2]] or whether it was a fairy rather than St. Frodoberta, who dropped a lapful of stones, useless for building purposes,[[3]] near the lake of Maillard in the department of Seine-et-Mame, the popular tradition remains unaffected, testifying in each case that there is as yet no advance beyond the intellectual level of childhood.
[1] S. Reinach, Les monuments de pierre brute dans le langage et les croyances populaires in the Revue archgologique, 3rd series, vol. xxi., p. 224.
[2] S. Reinach, loc. cit., p. 355.
[3] Ibid., p. 354-A great number of miraculous imprints have been pointed out in Italy by various scholars who have published their notes in the Archivio per lo studio delle Tradizioni popolari, vol. xxii., 1903, p. 128, and the preceding years. A considerable number of these imprints are attributed to various popular saints. [Other examples are to be found in F. Lanzoni, Le fonti della leggenda di Sant' Apollinare di Ravenna, Bologna, 1915, p. 57.]
It must not be forgotten that very precise identifications of locality may frequently be traced to a purely literary origin. Thus at Verona, where Romeo and Juliet only lived in the imagination of poets,[[4]] travellers are shown both their palace and their tomb, while the two ruined castles perched on the neighbouring hills [44] have become those of the Capulets and Montagues.[[1]] In Alsace are we not shown the forge! which Schiller has "immortalised" by his ballad of Fridolin, and the castle of the Counts of Saverne, who none the less never existed?[[2]] This last example proves that in these cases tradition does not take long to germinate and blossom. Until the old legend was turned into verse by Schiller in 1797, Alsace had never been regarded as the home of the incident. Yet it was sufficient for the ballad to become popular for the event to be materialised and localised in the most precise fashion.
[4] L. Frankel, Untersuchungen zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des Stoffes von Romeo und Julia, in Zeitschrift für vergleichende Litteraturgeschichte, N.F., vol. iii., 1890, p. 171-210; vol. iv, 1891, 48-91; G. Brognoligo, La leggenda di Giulietta e Romeo in Giornale Linguistico, vol. xix, 1892, p. 423-39. [There is a useful bibliography, with discussion, of the Romeo and Juliet sources in E. K. Chambers, William Shakespeare, Oxford, 1930, vol. i, 340 ff. Ed.]
[1] The Cappelletti and the Montecchi according to Dante are types, and in no sense historical characters. R. Davidsohn, Die Feindschaft der Montecchi und Cappelletti ein Irrtum in Deutsche Rundschau, Dec., 1903, pp. 419-28. On 8th July, 1905, the "historic" house of Juliet was purchased by the municipality of Verona. See The Times of 10th July, 1905.
[2] W. Hertz, Deutsche Sage im Elsass, Stuttgart, 1872, pp. 278 and following.
Of such topographical transference to suit the requirements of a legend there is no lack of examples in hagiography. At Sofia (Sardica), near the Church of St. Petka (Parasceve), may be seen an ancient tree-trunk partially built into the wall and scored with many notches. The people call it the tree of St. Therapon, and believe that the saint suffered his martyrdom near by. On his feast-day, 27th May, they go in pilgrimage to the spot, and make a point of carrying away with them some small piece of the sacred tree to which they attribute miraculous virtues. Now, in point of fact, St. Therapon did not die at Sardica; he was a native of Sardis, but according to the legend a great oak-tree sprang up from the ground that had been soaked with his blood. This evergreen oak was said still to exist [45] and to cure every disease.[[1]] The confusion between Sardis and Sardica having once established itself, it became easy to transplant the miraculous tree.[[2]]
[1] Synaxarium ecclesim Constantinopolitamr, p. 711.
[2] C. Jirecek, Das christliche Element in der topographischen Nomenclatur der Balkanländer in the Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlich. Akademie, vol. cxxxvi., 1897, pp. 54-55. Other examples of similar instances are to be found in this essay.
In the face of facts such as these, need we insist on the illusory nature of the process which consists in tracing the itinerary of a saint by means of the landmarks established by legends? If this has sometimes been attempted, it has not been precisely in the higher interests of history.3
[3] J. G. Bulliot et F. Thiollier, La mission et le culte de St. Martin d'après les légendes et les monuments populaires dans le pays éduen, Autun-Paris, 1892, vi., p. 483. The life of St. Radegonde has been the object of a similar attempt. See Analecia Bollandiana, vol. x., pp. 59-60.
Popular imagination in the past has not exercised itself solely on rough-hewn stones and buildings. Carved figures wrongly interpreted have proved the startingpoint of a number of quaint legends.[[4]] A poet is represented with his foot on a large book: he must be the most learned of men, for he can read with his feet.[[5]] The two fine equestrian statues on Monte Cavallo (now Piazza del Quirinale) in Rome gave currency during the Middle Ages to a most curious tale. It was said that they represented two celebrated philosophers named Phidias and Praxiteles, who came to Rome during the reign of Tiberius, and had the singular habit of walking [46] about the city in a state of nudity, in order to inculcate the vanity of the things of this world.[[1]]
[4] C. Kinkel, Mosaik zur Kunstgeschichle, Berlin, 1876, devotes a whole chapter to this question: Sagen aus Kunstwerken entstanden, pp. 161-243.
[5] A. de Nino, Ovidio nella tradizione popolare di Sulmona. p. 17
[1] C. L. Urlichs, Codex urbis Roma topographicus, Wirceburgi, 1871, pp. 122-23.
Every sort of invention has been forthcoming to explain the representations of saints. It was obviously the common people who created the naïve legend of the saints who carry their own heads, suggested by a prevalent iconographic type, [[2]] and the legend of St. Nicholas and the three children is usually traced to a similar source.[[3]] A symbol interpreted in a materialistic sense has built up a regular romance around an incident in the life of St. Julian,[[4]] and we shall see later on that the extraordinary history of St. Liberata or Uncumber merely translates into popular language the explanation of certain peculiar features in a picture.
[2] Ch. de Smedt, Principes de la critique historique, pp. 188-92. [This paragraph has been revised in the 3d ed. and St. Lucy adduced as an example, while the saints carrying their own heads have been omitted. The rev. fn. cites Anal. Boll., vol. xxxix, p. 162.]
[3] Cahier, Caractéristiques des Saints, vol. i., p. 304.
[4]A. Ledru, Le premier miracle attribui à Saint Julien in La province du Maine, vol. x., 1892, pp. 177-85. Cf. Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., p. 351.
The following is another example, drawn from hagiography. An inscription, now to be seen in the Marseilles Museum, makes mention of a certain Eusebia, Abbess of St. Quiricus, Hic requiescit in Oace Eusebia religiosa magna ancella Dei, etc., without any indication that would lead one to assume the existence of any cultus of this admirable woman. But her body had been laid in a sarcophagus of older date adorned with the figure of the dead person for whom it had been originally intended. It was the bust of a beardless man, which, in the course of time, had become damaged and mutilated. This fact was sufficient to give rise to a legend, and it was told how St. Eusebia, abbess of a convent at Marseilles, and her forty [47] companions cut off their noses to escape from the violence of the Saracens. "Quam traditionern confirMat generosm illius heroine effigies, dimidia facie et naso, praeciso supra tumulum posita cum epigraphe," writes a Benedictine, quoted by M. Le Blant.[[1]]
[1] Le Blant, Inscriptions Chrétiennes de la Gaule, n. 545.
Again, more than one legend owes its existence to names incorrectly understood or to resemblances of sound. To the curious examples of popular etymology collected by various learned authors,[[2]] we might add a large number of cases bearing specially on hagiography. We must, however, restrict ourselves to a few cursory indications.
[2] A. F. Pott, Etymologische Legenden bei den Alten in Philologus, Supplement band, vol. ii., Heft 3; 0. Keller, Lateinische Volksetymologie, Leipzig, 1891; 0. Weise, Zur Charakteristik der Volksetymologie in Zeitschrift für Volkerpsychologie, vol. xii., 1880, pp. 203-23.
The Church of St. Nereus and Achilleus on the Appian Way close to the Thermae of Caracalla formerly bore the name of Titulus de Fasciola.[[3]] Opinions differ as to the meaning of the title. Some consider Fasciola to be the name of the foundress. Others regard it merely as a topographical expression of obscure origin. The erudite may hesitate: popular legend sees no cause for hesitation. The name Fasciola is a reminiscence of St. Peter. As he was passing by the spot on leaving prison he dropped the bandage that bound up his injured leg. "Tunc beatissimus Petrus," says an old writer, "dum tibiam. demolitam haberet de compede ferri, cecidit ei fasciola ante Septisolium in via nova,"[[4]] Here, indeed, we may see the naïveté of a people who [48] imagine that a great man cannot even drop a handkerchiLief without the spot being immediately marked and renmembered in order that the incident may be recorded by a monument.
[3] Concerning the title of Fasciola, see De Rossi, Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, 1875, pp. 49-56. [Added in 3d ed.: 1. p. Kirsch, Die röischen Titelkirchen im Altertum, Paderborn, 1918, p. 909-94.]
[4] Acta SS., Processi et Martiniani, BHL, n. 6947.
The influence of sound on the popular impressions formed of certain saints is well known, and we are all aware that at times something little better than a pun decides the choice of a patron. Thus, in France, St. Clare is invoked by those who suffer from their eyes because she enables people to see clearly; St Ouen cures deafness because he enables them to hear (Ouïr) St. Cloud cures boils (clous). Again, in certain parts o Germany St. Augustine is believed to rid people of diseases of the eye (Auge), and in others of a cough (Husten). Writers have drawn up lists of these conceits, [[1]] which are not solely due to popular imagination, and which learned men have amused themselves by multiplying. There is one of comparatively recent date which enjoys a surprising and regrettable popularity: St. Expeditus, thanks to his name, has been acclaimed as the advocate of urgent causes.[[2]]
[1] Mélusine, vol. iv., pp. 505-24; vol. v., p. 152.
[2] See later, chap. iii., par. 2. Compare Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xviii., p. 425; vol. xxv., pp. 90-98.
It also happens that, under the influence of phonetic laws, the names of certain saints have become quite unrecognisable. On the Via Porto near Rome there may be seen a little country church belonging to the basilica of Santa Maria in Via Lata, known under the title of Santa Passera. Who is this saint who may be searched for in vain in the Calendar? Will it be believed that the name and the chapel are intended to recall the translation of the relics of SS. Cyrus and John, martyrs, formerly honoured at Menouthis near Alexandria? [49] St. Cyrus, Abba Kyros, Abbacirus, has finally become transformed into Passera.[[1]] Has the metamorphosis ended there, or has the new saint acquired a legend of her own? I do not know, but even were it so I should feel no astonishment The least that could be done was to confuse St Passera with St Praxedes, and sure enough the opportunity has not been missed.[[2]]
[1] Abbacyrus, Abbaciro, Abbáciro, Pácero, Pácera, Passera, such is the series of changes traced by M. Tomassetti in the Archivio Storico Romano, vol. xxii., p. 465. Passera and Aboukir are thus exact counterparts.-One may also quote Sancta Fumia on the Appian Way. This saint is no other than St. Euphemia. De Rossi, Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, 1869, p. 80. There is also St. Twosole, in whom it is not easy to recognise St. Oswald. J. Aubrey, Remains of Gentilism and Judaism, ed. J. Britten, London, 1881, p. 29.
[2] Tomassetti as above, vol. xxii., p. 466. The Venetian dialect is specially rich in transformations of saints' names, very bewildering to strangers. Thus in Venice the church of San Marcuola is, in reality dedicated to SS. Ermagora e Fortunato; San Trovaso is an adaptation of S. Gervasio e Protasio; San Zanipolo of S. Giovanni e Paolo; San Stae of S. Eustachio; San Zandegola of S. Giovanni decollato; San Stin of S. Stefanin; San Boldo of S. Ubaldo; San Lio of S. Leone, etc. See G. Tassini, Curiosita Veneziane, 4th edition, Venice, 1887, p. 428 and following. [One may find other interesting exampIes of the phonetic transformation of saints' names in A. Longnon, Les noms de lieu de la France, Paris, 1920-1923, p. 400- 446. 3d ed.]
We have surely said enough to show how, among the people, the senses predominate over the intelligence, and how owing to the lethargy of their brains they are unable to rise to an ideal conception, but stop short at the matter, the image, the sound. It is furthermore by this spiritual feebleness that one must account for the blind attraction of the populace for the miraculous and the sensibly supernatural. The thought of the invisible guidance of Providence does not suffice; the interior working of grace offers nothing that can be grasped, and the mysterious colloquies of the soul with God must be translated into palpable results in order to produce any impression on the [50] popular mind. The supernatural is only impressive when it is combined with the marvellous. Hence it is that popular legends overflow with marvels. Visions, prophecies and miracles play a necessary part in the lives of saints.
We shall not refer here to the wonders accomplished through the intercession of the miracle-working saints on behalf of those who visit their tombs or touch their relics; these constitute a special category which deserves separate treatment. But the narrative of the acts of the saint himself is, as it were, impregnated with the miraculous. Even before his birth his greatness is foreshadowed, and his cradle is enveloped in visible signs of divine protection. Angels guard his footsteps, Nature obeys him, wild beasts recognise his authority. In urgent peril he can always count on the intervention of the celestial powers. One might almost say that God Himself seems to favour the very caprices of His friends and seems to multiply miracles without any apparent motive. The staff of St. Gangericus (Géry) remained upright throughout the prayers of the saint,[[1]] and the same thing occurred while St Junianus conversed with King Clothair.[[2]] Various saints hung their cloaks on a sunbeam or brought birds to life when they were already turning on the spit. Blessed Marianus Scotus had no need of a candle when writing at night as his fingers gave out the necessary light.[[3]] In answer to the prayer of St. Sebald, a peasant obtained a similar privilege until he had found his strayed oxen .[[4]] An eagle sheltered St. Ludwin from the sun's rays with his wings,[[5]] and the servant of St Landoald brought his [51] master fire in the folds of his robe.[[1]] The miracle of Joshua was renewed, we learn, in the person of St. Ludwill in order to allow him to confer ordination on one and the same day at Reims and at Laon .[[2]] In this direction popular imagination knows no bounds, nor can it be denied that, more especially in certain surroundings, among nations of a poetic temperament, these bold and naive fictions frequently attain to real beauty.
[1] Acta SS., Aug., vol. ii., p. 674.
[2] Ibid., Aug., vol. iii., p. 41.
[3] Ibid., Feb., vol. ii., p. 367.
[4] Ibid., Aug., vol. iii., p. 772.
[5] Ibid., March, vol. i., p. 319; see ante, p. 29
[1] Acta SS., March, vol. iii., p .36.
[2] Ibid., Sept., vol. viii., p. 171.
One must not, however, exaggerate the fertility of these hagiographic trovatori.* A methodical classification of the themes employed by them compels one to realise that repetitions are numerous, and that it is chiefly by means of new combinations of familiar topics that an appearance of variety is conferred on different groups of legends of the saints. Above all, we must be on our guard against the belief that from the aesthetic point of view the level of the miraculous creations of popular hagiography is, as a rule, a high one. Putting aside an. occasional happy thought or a few interesting ideas worked out with some ingenuity, the material of these biographies is as a rule deplorably commonplace even where it is not beyond measure whimsical and extravagant. The imagination, overexcited by the craving for the marvellous, and possessed by a burning desire to outstrip one extraordinary narrative by another more extraordinary still, has only too frequently overstepped all bounds in a region in which an unlimited field appears to open out before the creative faculties.
[* trovatori: the original in Delehaye is trouveurs, i.e., trouvires, the mediaeval poets of Northern France. Ed.
The familiar miracle of the arrival of relics on a derelict vessel [[3]] ended by appearing tame and vulgar. [52] Some one, therefore, invented the idea of a heavy sarcophagus floating on the water. It was in a stone coffin that St. Mamas landed in Cyprus,[[1]] as also did St. Julian at Rimini [[2]] and St. Liberius at Ancona.[[3]] For a babe to leap in its mother's womb like St. John the Baptist was not enough to foreshadow the greatness of a saint. St Fursey spoke before his birth,[[4]] so also did St. Isaac, who made his voice heard three times in one day.[[5]]This miracle scarcely surpasses that of St. Rumwold, an infant who lived but three days after birth, but who not only repeated his profession of faith in such a way as to be understood by all present, but also preached a long sermon to his parents before breathing his last. [[6]]
[3] see above, p. 30.
[1] Stefano Lusignano, Raccolta di cinque discorsi intitolati corone, Padua, 1577, cor. iv., p. 52.
[2] Acta SS., June, vol. iv., p. 139.
[3] Ibid., May, vol., vi., p. 729.
[4] Ibid., Jan., vol. ii., p. 45
[5] Ibid., June, vol. i., p. 325. The incident of the child speaking before its birth has not been utilised by hagiographers alone. See Méllusine, vol. iv., pp. 228, 272-77, 297, 323, 405, 447; vol. v., pp. 36, 257; vol. vi., p. 91; vol. vii., pp. 70, 141.
[6] Acta SS., Nov., vol. i., p. 605.
In the Acta Petri we read not only of a child seven months old addressing violent reproaches "in manly tones" to Simon Magus,[[7]] but also of a big dog who conversed with St. Peter by whom it was , entrusted with a message for Simon.[[8]]. Commodianus has also commemorated a lion who miraculously made., a speech in support of the preaching of St. Paul [[9]] Such [53] narratives may perhaps be mere reminiscences of Balaam's ass, unless indeed the incidents were inspired by a study of the fabulists.
[7] R. A. Lipsius, Acta apostolorum apocrypha, vol. i., Leipzig, 1891, pp. 61, 62. In Commodianus, Carmen apolog., vi., 630, the child is only five months old. Cf. C. Schmidt, Die alten Petrusakten in Texte und Untersuchungen, vol. xxiv., 1903, pp. 106-'7.
[8] Lipsius, A, vol. i., pp. 56-60.
[9] Carmen apolog., v., pp. 57, 58. Cf. Schmidt, vol. xxiv., pp. 108-9.
These excesses lead us to speak of the passions to which the popular mind is liable, passions intense and unrestrained, and impressing everything they touch with that element of exaggeration and even of violence of which so many legends have preserved the trace. The populace can only be moved by strong emotions, and it has no idea of keeping its feelings under control. It takes no account of delicate shades, and just as it is incapable of perceiving them so it is incompetent to express them. But it makes use of energetic language to affirm its impressions and enunciate its ideas.
The following fact concerning St. Cataldus is a small example from among many. His sanctity having betrayed itself by extraordinary manifestations which appeared to be miraculous, an ecclesiastical commission was appointed to pronounce on their nature. This was too simple for literary effect. Consequently the legend relates how the Pope, followed by all the cardinals, went in procession to the house of Cataldus and visited it from cellar to garret.[[1]] The device reminds one of the methods of those painters whose whole talent lies in the suggestion of life and movement.
[1] A. de Nino, Usi e costumi abruzzesi, vol. iv., Florence, 1887, p. 195.
Need we add that popular admiration, not seldom ill bestowed, is always quite unmeasured? The multitude endows its favourites with every great quality, and cannot tolerate the idea that others should appear superior to them. We may quote here, although it has no connection with the history of the saints, a legend [54] that is particularly instructive from this very point of view, the legend of Saladin. The admiration and sympathy which his personal qualities and especially his moderation and humanity inspired in his prisoners gave rise to a most improbable story, but one which emphasises in a remarkable way the enthusiasm with which he was regarded. Nothing would satisfy his admirers but to connect this Mussulman prince with a French family, and to make of him a knight and next door to a Christian.[[1]] Again, when popular imagination was fired by the great expeditions to the Holy Land, it seemed impossible that a warrior such as Charlemagne should not have taken part in them: accordingly from that time forth the Crusades became one of the episodes in the history of that popular hero.
[1] G. Paris, La Légende de Saladin in the Journal des Savants, 1893, pp. 284-99, 354-65, 428-38, 486-98.
Under such circumstances is it surprising that all the saints should be endowed with all the virtues, and that in a period when illustrious birth added markedly to a person's merit, a patent of nobility should invariably have been made out in their favour? But what was valued even more than noble birth was the honour of having belonged to our Saviour's immediate following. People had no hesitation in identifying the ancient patrons of churches with certain personages who are mentioned in the Gospel, or who were supposed to have taken part in some scene in the life of Christ. Thus St. Ignatius of Antioch became the child whom our Lord showed to the people when He enjoined upon them the humility and simplicity of childhood ;[[2]] St. Syrus of Pavia became the boy with the five loaves; [[3]] St. [55] Martial held the towel at the washing of the feet;[[1]] and St. Ursinus read aloud during the Last Supper.[[2]]
[2] Acta SS., Feb., vol. i., p. 18.
[3] Prelini, San Siro primo vescovo di Pavia, vol. i., Pavia, 1880, p. 312.
[1] Vita S. Martialis a. Pseudo-Aureliano, no. 2; Bourret, Documents sur les origines chretiennes du Rouergue, Rodez, 1887-92, p. 13.
[2] Vita S. Ursini, in Act. SS., Nov., vol. iv, p._109. 3d ed.]
It may readily be conceived that the legends tracing back to Christ or to St. Peter the mission of the first bishops of important dioceses were not solely inspired by a disinterested love of the saint. The passion for a noble ancestry which caused first the Romans and then the Franks to connect themselves with the heroes of the Iliad, discovered this fresh form of self-flattery, and the impulse once given, one church vied with another in claiming the honour of apostolic foundation.[[3]]
[3] L. Duchesne, Les anciens recueils de légendes apostoliques in Compte-rendu du troisiême Congrès scientifique international des Catholiques, Brussels, vol. v., 1894, pp. 67 and following.
In the East these claims appear to have had their origin in a literary fraud. The forger who disguised himself as Dorotheus of Tyre drew up a list of the names of all the persons mentioned in the New Testament, and bestowed upon each one an Episcopal See. He proceeded with so much haste that he included various names that obviously had never been borne by a bishop; such as Caesar, which he borrowed from the words of St. Paul, " All the saints salute you, especially they that are of Caesar's household " (Phil. ii. 22), without realising that the Caesar in question was no other than Nero.[[4]]
[4] Houtin, La controverse de I'apostolicité de l'Eglise de France, 3rd edition, Paris, 1903. In other countries also people have taken pleasure in concocting similar legends, so flattering to national vanity. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xii., pp. 458, 462; vol. xviii., P. 402.
Among the churches of the West, and more especially among those of France, pretensions to apostolicity [56] did not spring up with quite the same uniform impulse, and this is not the place to investigate the respective parts played by popular imagination and by literary fiction in the elaboration of these celebrated legends. What is important to note is that the inventors of these ambitious narratives could always count upon the complicity of the multitude in every enterprise that tended to flatter local sentiment.[[1]]
[1] A title of honour which the Greeks have been unequal to refusing to any of the holy bishops who were more or less contemporary with the Council of Nicaea was that of having sat among the "three hundred and eighteen fathers". One must therefore not be over-anxious to give credit to those biographers who confer this distinction on their heroes, Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xviii., p. 54.
For we must not expect of people in the aggregate either keen intelligence or an enlightened morality. Taken collectively they are wholly devoid of that sense of responsibility which causes an individual to hesitate before a dishonest or irregular action. They have no scruples, and as everybody relies on his neighbour to examine the validity of the evidence brought forward, nothing is more easy in dealing with a crowd than to strike the chord of patriotism, vanity or self-interest. It matters, therefore, very little whether the interested imaginings of " apostolic " or other claims are of literary origin, or whether created by the people they have been simply disseminated-by hagiographers who have become parties to the fraud by arranging and embellishing them. In either case they belong to the category of products of legendary growth, and constitute only the normal development of popular ideas and aspirations in the matter of ecclesiastical origins.
Thus freed from all trammels the ambitious designs of the people know no limit, and their audacity does not recoil before any obstacle. Neither time nor [57] distance will prevent them from claiming as their own special property any saint whom they may elect to honour and whose glory they may desire to see reflected upon themselves.
Every one is familiar with the legend of the great St Catherine. Both by her birth and by her martyrdom her biographers have connected her with the town of Alexandria. This has in no way deterred the Cypriots, thanks to a series of ingenious and discreditable artifices, from annexing a saint of whom the cultus no less than the legend has always been as popular in the Greek as in the Latin Church.
Now Stephen of Lusignan declares that at Famagusta he read the Greek text of a life of St. Catherine in which one learnt, first of all, that the famous Costos, father of the saint, was not King of Egypt at all, but King of Cyprus, and in proof of this that he bestowed his name on the town of Salamis, afterwards known as Constantia. At some political crisis Diocletian transferred Costos to Alexandria and confided to him the government of Egypt. It was at this period that Catherine was born. It is well known with what care she was brought up, and how proficient she became in all the liberal arts. After the death of her father she returned to the island of Cyprus, where her uncle, learning that she had become a Christian, had her thrown into prison at Salamis-where the actual prison was shown in the time of Lusignan nd then sent her back to Egypt, where the Emperor Maxentius, despairing of her recantation, had her put to death. She suffered her martyrdom at Alexandria, which, adds the chronicler, caused it to be said that she was a native of that town.[[1]]
[1] The text of Lusignan is quoted by J. Hackett, A history of the orthodox Church of Cyprus, London, 1901, p. 395.
[58] It might have been supposed that the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus would have been sufficiently protected against similar attempts both by their celebrity and by the marvellous details of the legend. Nevertheless the grotto where they slept their sleep of three hundred years has been shown in the neighbourhood of Paphos.[[1]] Stephen of Lusignan expresses some surprise, but tries to persuade himself that the legend might refer to a different group from that of Ephesus.[[2]]
[1] "Nella citth di Paffo è una spelonca: la qual dicono esser delli sette dormienti. Pero, noi ritroviamo nelli leggendarii che li sette dormienti erano in Epheso, niente di meno essi cittadini di Paffo dicono ab antiquo esser chiamata quella spelonca di santi sette dormienti: et possono esser altri di quelli di Effeso." Quoted by Hackett, as above, p. 456.
[2] Concerning the localisation of the legend in the East see J. de Goeje, De legende der Zevenslapers van Efeze, Amsterdam, 1900, 25 Pages. The various groups on which the title of Seven Sleepers has been conferred are discussed in the Acta SS., July, vol. vi., pp. 375-76.
St. Savinus is a martyr to whom honours are known to have been paid in the sixth century [[3]] at Spoleto, where a basilica [[4]] was erected to his memory. The inhabitants of Spoleto naturally regard him as their compatriot, but he is also claimed by those of Fermo, who possess his relics, and by those of Monselice. At Monte San Savino he has been made into a bishop of the neighbouring town of Chiusi. As for the people of Vaenza, they invented a sojourn of the saint within their territory, and, after his martyrdom at Spoleto, a translation of his relics. Later on they attempted to Pass him off as their first bishop.[[5]]
[3] Gregorii I., Reg., ix., 59. M. G.; Epist., vol. ii., 3, p. 82.
[4] Paul the Deacon, Hist. Langobard., 1. iv., M. G.; Scr. rer. Langob., p. 121.
[5] F. Lanzoni, La passio S. Sabini a Savini in the Römische QuartaIschrift, vol. xvii., 1903, pp. 1-26.
[59] The bonds which the people seek to establish between themselves and a favourite saint are not always as close as this. Often they are satisfied with the honour of having received him, alive or dead, within their city walls, and then all that is necessary is to imagine a journey which need in no way affect the mainlines of his history. I tis by means of this simple artifice that St Nicephorus, the celebrated martyr,[[1]] has become a local saint in Istria,[[2]] and that St. Maurus has been claimed by so many towns-Rome, Fondi, Fleury, Lavello and Gallipoli, without counting Parenzo.[[3]]
[1] Bibliotheca hagiographica latina, n. 6085.
[2] Ibid., n. 6086.
[3] Analecta Bollandianna, vol. xviii., pp. 370-80.
We have now seen something of the processes of the anonymous author who creates legends. As he himself does not hold the pen, we have usually been compelled to have recourse to the hagiographer who registers his tales and discoveries. But so far we have only consulted this latter agent in those things in which he is the echo of the popular voice. In the following chapter we shall attempt to trace out what is specially his own, and to lay bare the secrets proper to his craft.
CHAPTER III: THE WORK OF THE HAGIOGRAPHER.
The meaning of the term "hagiographer "-Literary methods - Moralities - Ancient ideas concerning
history - Special views of mediaeval hagiographers.
The unconscious mental processes of the people when occupied with the manufacture of stories about the saints leads, as we have shown, to a weakening and obscuring of historical testimony, sometimes even to its almost entire suppression. Have hagiographers proved themselves more faithful guardians of historical tradition ?
Let us remember, in the first place, that we do not propose to include under the term hagiographer every man of letters who has occupied his pen with the lives of saints. There are among them some who have simply recorded what they have seen with their eyes and touched with their hands. Their narratives constitute authentic historical memoirs no less than works of edification. These candid witnesses, known to every one, and accepted on all sides as furnishing the most pure sources of hagiography, will be excluded from our present inquiry. Neither need we occupy ourselves here with that class of writers, possessing both literary power-and the necessary information, who have under [61] taken to discharge the functions of a historian, men like Sulpicius. Severus, Hilary of Poitiers, Fortunatus, Ennodius or Eugippius. They are the last representatives of classic antiquity, and their writings, instinct with art and life, must not be confused with the artificial productions of later periods, which affect at times to be inspired by them. Again, we write with similar respect of those conscientious biographers who, at various periods of the Middle Ages, succeeded in closely following these models, and produced work the value of which is in no way contested. We must reserve our full attention for those conventional and factitious productions composed at a distance from the'events recorded and without any tangible relation to the facts.
If we should mentally subtract from the martyrologies or lectionaries of the West and from the menologies of the Greek Church the writings which every one is agreed in accepting as historic documents, there will still remain a considerable collection of the Passions of martyrs and of the lives of saints of an inferior quality, amongst which some have been unanimously rejected by the critics, while others are regarded with suspicion. The authors of this residuum-for the most part anonymous-are the hagiographers whose methods we propose to study. The acts of the martyrs composed long after the persecutions---I wish to emphasise this point---constitute the greater part of their literary wares. We shall therefore occupy ourselves almost exclusively with this class of compositions. It will be easy to extend to other writings what we shall have to say about these.
There is no need for drawing a distinction between Greek and Latin authors. If from a purely literary point of view the former usually possess an advantage, [62] as regards the historic sense there is nothing to choose between them, and in point of fact they constitute but a single group.
The first question that should be addressed to an author the value of whose work one wishes to estimate, concerns the class of literature that he professes to produce, for it would be manifestly unjust to condemn, on the ground of historical inaccuracy, one whose only aim was to write a work of fiction. Certain hagiographic documents are clearly of this nature; they are parables or tales designed to bring home some religious truth or some moral principle. The author relates as a means of teaching, and never pretends to be dealing with real facts. just as the ancient story-tellers brought kings and princes on the scene, so the Christian moralist would quite naturally fortify his precepts by the authority of a martyr or an ascetic. And even when it was not a question of inculcating some truth, but merely of giving pleasure to the reader by an attractive narrative, the outlines of a saint's life at a time when lives of saints were the favourite reading of the faithful, offered an element of interest that was not to be despised.
More than one solemn lesson has been preached to the people in the guise of a hagiographic document. The celebrated Passio S. Nicefori[[l]] had no other aim, and the same may be said of the histories of Theodulus the Stylite[[2]]of St. Martinianus,[[3]] of Boniface of Tarsus,[[4]] [63] and of Cyprian of Antioch, the theme of which last may be recognised in the legend of Faust.[[1]] What save a little religious romance is the oft-repeated tale of the adventures of a pious woman hiding herself in a monastery with the name and in the garb of a man, accused of misconduct and proved to be innocent after her death? The heroine is called, as the case may be, Marina, Pelagia, Eugenia, Euphrosyne, Theodora, Margaret or Apollinaria.[[2]] It is obvious that this was a favourite theme among pious story-tellers. In many cases they did not put themselves to the trouble of inventing, but made shift with a simple adaptation. The story of Oedipus in all its gloomy horror has been applied to others besides St. Gregory.[[3]] Attributed in turn to St. Albanus,[[4]] an imaginary personage, to St. Julian the Hospitaller,[[5]] to a St Ursius [[6]] and to others, it was widely read throughout the Middle Ages as the biography of a saint.[[7]] And which of us to-day is unaware that the life of the saints Barlaam and Joasaph is merely an adaptation of the Buddha legend? [[8]] [64] the mind of the monk John, to whom we owe it in its Christian form, it was nothing more than a pleasant and piquant narrative serving as a vehicle for religious and moral instruction.
[1] Acta SS., Feb., vol. ii., pp. 894-95.
[2] Ibid., May, vol. vi., pp. 756-65. [See H. Delehaye, Les saints stylites, Brussels, 1923, p. cxviii-cxix. 3d ed.]
[3] Acta SS., Feb., voI. ii., p. 666: P. Rabbow, Die Legende des martinian in Wiener Studien, 1895, pp. 253-93.
[4] Ruinart, Act. mart. sincera, pp. 289-91.
[1] Zahn, Cyprian von Antiochien und die deutsche Faustsage, Erlangen, 1882, 8', 153 pages.
[2] See later, chap. vii. Compare Acta SS., Jan., vol. i., p. 258.
[3] Bibliotheca hagiographica latina, n. 3649-51.
[4] Catalogus codd. MSS. hagiogr. lat. bibl. Regiae Bruxellensis, vol. ii., pp. 444-56. Compare Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xiv., p. 124.
[5] Acta SS., Jan., vol. i i.,p. 974.
[6] Ibid., May, vol. i., pp. 926-27.
[7] It is well known that this legend has also been applied to Judas Iscariot. It may be read in the Legenda Aurea, chap. xlv., De S. Mathia Apostolo. See Creizenach, Judas Iscarioth in Legende und Sage des M.-A., 1875; V. Istrin, Die griechische Version der Judas Legende in Archiv fiir slavische Philologie, vol. xx., 1898, pp. 605-19.
[8] E. Cosquin, La I;gende des saints Barlaam et Josaphat, son origine, in the Revue des Questions historiques, Oct., 1880; Kuhn, Barlaam und Joasaph in Abhandlungen der k. bayer. Academle, i. Cl., vol. xx., 1893, pp. 1-88. G. Paris, Poèmes et légendes du moyen age, pp. 181-215. Concerning devotion to the two saints, see Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., p. 131.
Nevertheless, fictions of this type are not without a certain danger. As long as they continue to be read in the spirit in which they were written, all goes well. But a moment comes, and in some cases comes very quickly, when people no longer recall the original intention of the story. Indeed the classification of literature is not always an easy task, and we can imagine our own great-grandchildren finding themselves much embarrassed by some of our contemporary novels of a vivid and convincing realism. In such cases, however, our ancestors suffered from no hesitations. In their eyes all noble narratives which delighted them were history, and the heroes therein depicted were genuine saints equal in all respects to those who enjoyed traditional honours.
It also happened-though less frequently than one might be tempted to suppose-that, under favourable circumstances, these new saints quitted the literary sphere in which they had been created and really became the object of public devotion. The fact is greatly to be deplored wherever it occurred. Yet was it not the outcome of a natural evolution, and is it not likely to occur wherever hagiographic documents are accepted in an uncritical spirit? In point of fact it is quite unjust on such occasions to blame the hagiographer, and he might well reproach us in our turn. We should first ascertain what he intended to produce, and judge him only from his own standpoint.
[65] It is true that to the question of intention the hagiographer in most cases will reply that he intended to write history. Hence, in such cases it is important to ascertain what ideas he entertained concerning historical writing, and in what sense he understood the duties of a historian. It goes without saying that he did not entertain the same ideas on the subject as we do now.
When we attempt to arrive at some understanding of how the ancients themselves understood history, we are less surprised at the naïve conceptions concerning it held by men of letters in the Middle Ages. With rare exceptions -Polybius, who was never popular with the general public, might be quoted as one-classic antiquity saw but little difference between history and rhetoric. The historian holds, as it were, a place midway between the rhetorician and the poet. And when one remembers how easy a conscience rhetoricians had in matters of truth, it is not difficult to measure the distance that separates us from antiquity in our manner of judging the qualifications and duties of a historian.[[1]] What for us is merely accessory, for the ancients was the very essence. Then historians had regard, above all else, to literary effect; material truth troubled them less, accuracy scarce at all, and of the critical spirit they had, as a rule, no conception whatever. The main thing was to give pleasure to the reader by the interest of the narrative, the beauty of the descriptions and the brilliancy of the style.
[1] Fine passages by the ancients on the ideal and duties of the historian are well known.... Study of the sources and processes should rather understand the concept that they had of historical genre and the manner of realizing it. Concerning all this see H. Peter, Die geschichtliche Litteratur über die römische Kaiserzeit bis Theodosius I, Leipzig, 1897, vol. i, p. 200-4; E. Norden, Die antike Kunstprosa, Leipzig, 1898, vol. i, p. 81 ff. 3d ed.]
It can easily be imagined that the Middle Ages which, in a sense, were the inheritors of the literary traditions of the ancients did not open up new paths [66] in the domain of history. Above all, their tendencies were not in the direction of criticism. When the historian no longer desired to be restricted to the rôle of annalist or witness he became a compiler, one lacking discernment, and far more preoccupied with his readers' tastes than with a laborious quest after truth. The ancients who might have been his models knew as little as he did of those complicated processes by means of which we hope to disentangle the true from the false, and to reconstruct the characteristic features of a personage or a period. Moreover, the simple minds of these semi-barbarous scribes were lacking in the very first qualification for exercising the critical faculty in however slight a degree. They were devoid of guile, and they never suspected that a written testimony might be false, or that a likely tale need not necessarily be true. The confusion between history and legend was never-ending. History, in the Middle Ages, meant everything that was told, everything that was written in books.
It goes without saying... that this elementary conception of history was shared by the hagiographers. Their writings, no less than their own declarations, testify to the fact. Nothing is more common in the prefaces to lives of saints than excuses for imperfections of form and a preoccupation concerning style. The author frequently laments his incapacity, and professes anxiety lest he should bore his reader. Meanwhile, he obviously ignores the many delicate problems that assail the historian, and, save in very rare instances, his only guarantee of the quality of his wares consists in commonplace protestations of sincerity which leave the reader wholly unmoved if they do not actually awaken his suspicions.
[67] Among the many hagiographers whom we might interrogate as to the manner in which, in their day, their profession was understood, here is one-the author of the Martyrdom of St. Fortunata-who, in his opening lines, testifies to the discredit into which his predecessors and rivals had allowed the form of history which he professed to cultivate to fall. "Sanctorum martyrum passiones idcirco minoris habentur auctoritatis, quia scilicet in quibusdam illarum falsa inveniuntur mixta cum veris."[[1]] The opening words are far from ordinary, and one asks oneself with a certain curiosity how the author proposes in the case of this new Passion that he has been engaged to write to give it that authoritative character which is so desirable. He hastens to let us into his secret : "Passionern sanctissima virginis Fortunatae hac ratione stilo propriae locutionis expressi, superflua scilicet resecans, necessaria qumque subrogans, vitiata emendans, inordinata corrigens atque incomposita componens."[[2]]
[1] "The Passions of the holy martyrs are held to be of less authority because in some of them falsehood is found mixed up with truth." Prologus ad Passionem S. Fortunatcr v. et m. Mai, Spicilegium Romanum, vol. iv., p. 289.
[2] "My method has been to set down the Passion of the holy martyr Fortunata in my own words, cutting away what was superfluous, adding anything necessary, amending what was corrupt, correcting what was extravagant and rearranging what was disorderly."
Thus a writer, who is quite conscious that everything is not for the best in the hagiographic world, can suggest nothing more efficacious as regards the abuses he chronicles than improved editing and an amended style. The idea of undertaking fresh researches, of studying documents, of comparing and weighing evidence, has not even occurred to him.
In point of fact the requirements of the reading [68] public did not go beyond his suggestions. When the monk Theodoric arrived in Rome, the Canons of St. Peter's begged him to turn his attention to the life of Pope St. Martin, of whom they possessed a biography: "in tantum. rusticano stilo praevaricata atque falsata, quae doctas aures terrerent potius quam mulcerent".[[1]] It is the classic complaint of all those who would persuade an author to rewrite a biography or a martyrdom. They are shocked by the barbarity of the style. All else is indifferent to them.
[1] "So ill-favoured and corrupt owing to its barbarous style as to horrify rather than charm learned ears." Theodorici monachi pralatio in vitam S. Martini papae, Mai, Vol. cit., p. 294. [On the monk Thierry, read A. Poncelet, in Analecta Bollandiana, Vol. Xxvii, P. 5-27. 3d ed.]
The hagiographer, then, is inspired by the ideas of history current in his day. Nevertheless he writes with a special and clearly defined object, not without influence on the character of his work. For he does not relate simply in order to interest, but above all else to edify. Thus a new form of literature is created which partakes at once of the nature of biography, panegyric and moral instruction.
The inevitable pitfalls are too familiar to need recapitulation. It follows from the very purpose of his writing that the panegyrist is not bound to draw a portrait of which every detail is in precise accordance with the truth. Every one knows that he is painting an ideal picture, and that he is free to omit those aspects in which his hero appears to less advantage. In the same way the eulogy of a saint was held incompatible with the slightest suggestion of blame, and as the saints themselves were subject to human infirmities the task of the hagiographer intent on sacrificing nothing to truth presents difficulties of a somewhat delicate nature.
[69] His fidelity, as a rule, depends largely on his state of mind. If, for instance, while pursuing his aim of edification, he can persuade himself that the sins of the saint before and even after his conversion, far from clouding his glory, actually enhance the triumph of divine grace, he is not likely to leave the more human side of his hero in the shade, and will beware of placing him on those inaccessible heights which discourage imitators. But there exists a school of hagiographers who would gladly strike out the denial of St. Peter from the Gospel, in order not to tarnish the aureola, of the prince of the apostles. They submit themselves, more than we could wish, to the stern exigencies of their craft. But before we condemn them as faithless historians, we should ask ourselves whether the name of history, as we moderns understand it, should be applied to their writings at all.
Nor must we omit to bear in mind a further circumstance which assists us to grasp the attitude of the mediaeval hagiographer. He was acquainted with two species of books: those in which every one was obliged to believe, i.e., Holy Scripture in all its parts, and those to which no one was compelled to give credence. He was acutely conscious of the fact that his own writings belonged to the latter category, and that his readers were fully aware of it. Thus for him some books contained absolute truth, others only relative truth, and this conviction naturally gave him an easy conscience in regard to historic exactitude. Hence the feigned indignation, so frequently met with among hagiographers against all who do not give credence to their narratives. It betrays the man whose conscience is not entirely clear.
Sources - False attributions - Written Tradition - Oral Tradition - Pictorial Tradition-Relics of the Past -
Choice of Sources - Interpretation of Sources - Inscriptions - Use of the various Categories of Documents.
We have already seen in what sense our pious authors usually interpreted their duties while professing to discharge the function of a historian. We have now to examine how they exercised it, and what historical elements we may look for in their work. Here, as always, it is a case of solving in each individual instance the twofold problem: What sources of information had they at their disposal, and what use did they make of them?
As a general rule the hagiographer is not very eager to inform his readers from whence he has drawn his information. He may even display a certain affectation, not infrequently met with in classical authors, in hiding the sources of his knowledge. At other times he may pose as an ocular witness of facts drawn from some written document,[[1]] or of incidents that he himself has invented. For if chroniclers worthy of credence [[2]] have made justifiable use of the scriptural phrase, Quod vidimus oculis nostris quodperspeximus (I John i. 1),[[3]] there have also been no lack of impostors to abuse it.[[4]] [74] others have appropriated the familiar formula of Eusebius when he describes the persecution of Diocletian in Palestine, ho kath' hemas diogmos,[[l]] and by this means have passed themselves off as contemporaries.[[2]] Above all, must we beware of authors who profess to have discovered engraved tablets.[[3]]
[1] An example of this may be found in an author of the Carlovingian period, who when re-writing the life of St. John of Rome (+ about the year 544) by Jonas, introduces the following phrase: Et ne quis hoc fabulosum putet esse quod dicimus, referente viro venerabili Agrippino diacono, ipsius Agrestii filio, cognovimus. See also M. G.; Scr. rer. Merov., vol. iii., p. 504.
[2] Passio Perpetuae, i., 5.
[3] "What we have seen with our eyes. what we have beheld."
[4] Passio S. Andrew, n. 1. Bonnet, Acta apostolorum apocrypha, vol. ii., 1, p. 1. Cf. Acta Barnaba, n. 1; ibid., vol. ii., 2, p. 292.
[1] "The persecution of our own time."-De Martyribus Palestina, 3, 6, 8. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., pp. 122, 127.
[2] Passio S. Sebastianae, n. 1. Acta SS., June, vol. vi., p. 60.
[3] The proceeding was already familiar to the novelists of antiquity. E. Rohde, Der griechische Roman, p. 271.
We must assume, so numerous are the examples of it, that the hagiographer felt justified in making use of the literary fiction which consists in speaking in the name of a disciple of the saint in order to give greater weight to his narrative. We are all acquainted with Eurippus, the pretended disciple of St. John the Baptist;[[4]] with Pasicrates, the servant of St. George;[[5]] Augarus, the secretary of St. Theodore;[[6[[ Athanasius, the stenographer of St. Catherine;[[7]] Nilus, the companion of St. Theodotus; [[8]] Theotimus, the attendant of St. Margaret;[[9]] Evagrius, the disciple of St. Pancratius of Tauromenium;[[10]] Florentius, the servant of SS. Cassiodorus, Senator and Dominata;[[11]] Gordianus, [72] the servant of St. Placidus;[1] and Enoch, the witness of the doings of St. Angelo.[[2]] The above list might be considerably augmented.
[4] A. Vassiliev, Anecdota Graco-Byzantina, Moscow, 1893, p. 1. 5 Bibliotheca hagiographica graeca. p. 47, n. 3, 6.
[6] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. ii., p. 359.
[7] Viteau, Passion des Saints Ecatérine et Pierre d'Alexandrie, Paris, 1897, p. 23.
[8] Acta SS., May, vol. iv., p, 149. Also Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., pp. 320-28.
[9] Acta SS., July, vol. v., pp. 31-32.
[10] Catal. codd. hag. graecorum bibliotheca Vaticana, Brussels, 1899, p. 02.
[11] H. Delehaye, Saint Cassiodore in Mélanges Paul Fabre, Paris, 1902, p. 44.
[1] Acta SS., Oct., Vol. iii., pp. 114-38.
[2] Ibid., May, Vol. ii., pp. 803-30.
Another device was to place history under the patronage of some well-known name. Thus the Passion of SS. Menas, Hermogenes and Eugraphus[[3]] is supposed to have been written by St. Athanasius; the history of the image of Camuliana, is attributed to St. Gregory of Nyssa[[4]] and so on.
[3] Analecta Bollandiana, Vol. Xviii., p. 405,
[4] E. von Dobschütz, Christusbilder, p. 12.
Hence it becomes useless to interrogate the hagiographers themselves - it is their writings we have to examine, and to try to distinguish the elements of which they are composed.
The classification of historical sources suggested by Droysen can be conveniently applied to hagiography. They may be grouped in two broad categories: tradition and antiquarian remains.
In the first category we recognise primarily written tradition, i.e., narratives, annals, chronicles, memoirs, biographies, historical inscriptions and every other kind of writing.' It seems superfluous to point out that all these classes of documents, according to circumstances, have been at the disposal of hagiographers. But it would be a mistake to conclude that lack of documents would usually restrain them from undertaking the task of historians or from writing the lives of saints. We must not necessarily conclude that they themselves were fully informed because they furnish the reader with a profusion of details. We shall see later by what means they supplemented inadequate sources.
[73] Another error, very widely spread, is to assume that in the first centuries of the Christian era authentic accounts were in existence of all the martyrs who were honoured with public worship, and to infer that the documents which clearly belong to a later date were derived from original contemporary sources.
Thanks to special circumstances the Church in Africa was, in this respect, in a privileged position. Yet even here we must not exaggerate its resources. St. Augustine, speaking of St. Stephen, whose martyrdom is related in the Acts of the Apostles, made use of these significant words: "Cum aliorum martyrum. vix gesta inveniamus quae in solemnitatibus eorum. recitare possimus, huius passio in canonico libro est ".[1] It remains none the less true that the average value of hagiographic documents from Africa is very much higher than that of the materials bequeathed to us by most other Churches.
[1] "While in the case of other martyrs we can scarcely find sufficient details about them to read in public on their festivals, this saint's martyrdom is set forth in a book of the canonical Scriptures." -Sermo, 315, n. 1, Migne, P. L., Vol. xxxviii., p. 1426.
Unhappily the mistake has been made of assuming in regard to others what is in reality only true of this solitary instance. On the faith of a text which has since been appraised at its proper value, various scholars have asserted that, in the Roman Church during the years of persecution, there existed a body of notaries entrusted with the duty of collecting the acts of the martyrs, and of this supposed corporation unfair advantage has been taken to give to the narratives of the Roman Legendarium a historic authority to which they have no sort of claim.[[2]] It is certain that in the fourth [74] century, when Damasus placed his famous inscriptions on the tombs of the martyrs, the people of Rome were ignorant of the history of the greater number of them.[[1]] When the necessity made itself felt of providing a circumstantial narrative, the hagiographers; had to dispense with any appeal to written tradition, for such did not exist.
[2] See Duchesne, Le Liber Pontilicalis, Vol. i., pp. c.-ci.
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., p. 239; Dufourcq, Les gesta des martyrs romains, p. 24 ff.
A second source of information is oral tradition : the reports of contemporaries or eye-witnesses, accounts of indirect witnesses and narratives circulating among the people, in a word every unwritten historical or legendary report that might be used by the editor of the life of a saint. No doubt it has happened at times that hagiographers have gathered precious information from the lips of witnesses who spoke from first-hand knowledge. But how far more often must they have been satisfied with a tradition which had suffered from its transmission through tortuous channels. We have seen in the previous chapter how an incident preserved in the popular memory may undergo unconscious distortion and with what strange accretions the history of a hero may sometimes be enriched. The hagiographer has constantly found himself confronted by legendary narratives, the only ones with which oral tradition could furnish him.
It is scarcely necessary to point out that it is not always easy to determine the precise origin of legendary data for which a hagiographer may make himself responsible. They areas likely to have been supplied him by literary as by oral tradition, and not infrequently he may have drawn from his own resources what we should at first be tempted to mistake for folk tales of spontaneous growth. [75] After all, that which a whole people ends by saying must have been enunciated in the first place by an individual, and why should not the hagiographer who holds the pen have been the first to formulate some legendary detail? It is always with this mental reservation that we must accept oral tradition as met with in written documents.
Thirdly, pictorial tradition must not be neglected, for it plays an important part in hagiography. Artists, as a rule, seek their inspiration in written or oral tradition. But at the same time it may happen that both these sources enrich themselves from the creations of painters and sculptors who transform and give back to them the ideas they had previously borrowed. We know beyond a doubt that certain authors of legends were directly inspired by the frescoes or mosaics before their eyes, among others Prudentius in his description of the martyrdom of St. Hippolytus.[[1]] The panegyric of St. Euphemia by Asterius of Amasea is merely the description of a series of frescoes,[[2]] and in the panegyric of St. Theodore attributed to Gregory of Nyssa the orator draws the attention of his audience to the paintings of the basilica.[[3]] More than one legend, as we shall see, owes its origin to the fantasy of some artist, or to a mistaken interpretation of some iconographic detail.
[1] Peristeph., xi.
[2] Migne, P. G., vol. A., p. 336.
[3] Ibid., vol. x1vi., p. 737.
Certain hagiographers have made a somewhat unexpected use of pictorial tradition. In the synaxaries of the Greek Church numbers of the biographies of illustrious saints conclude with a detailed portrait which in its precision would appear to reveal an eye-witness. When studied closely, however, it becomes obvious that these descriptions are simply borrowed from those [76] manuals of painting from which Byzantine artists copied the features of the unchanging physiognomies of their saints.[[1]] For those who have not recognised their origin the portraits might possess a quite exaggerated importance.
[1] See Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanx, Propylaeum ad Acta SS. Novembris, p. lxvi.
This then is what tradition, in its various forms, can supply to the hagiographer: a more or less faithful picture of the past and certain traits of individual character. But the past has at times bequeathed to us something of itself, a building, an instrument, an authentic document. In the same way we often possess more of the saints than a mere memory; we may have their relics, their shrine, sometimes even their writings. From all these the historian draws inspiration; often indeed the hagiographer possesses no other documents than these relics of the past, a hallowed corpse, a tomb visited by pilgrims, a feast celebrated each year on the day of death. He knows this is insufficient to satisfy the eager curiosity of the people. If in spite of the lack of material he feels compelled to gratify popular taste we can guess what the result must be.
We have now enumerated the ordinary sources of information at the hagiographer's disposal. Let us suppose him well furnished with materials, and we will try to watch him at his work. The bent of his mind will betray itself in his choice of documents and items of information, in the interpretation he puts upon them, and in the way he wields them together.
In the first place, we must not expect a very judicious choice from our man of letters, who is forced to restrict himself and to give the preference to one authority rather than another. He has never learned how to [77] weigh evidence, and all his sources appear to him of equal value. Hence he mingles the historic element indiscriminately with legendary lore, and it is not this last which goes to the wall when space forbids a lengthy narrative.
Two hagiographic collections which first saw the light, one at the dawn of the Middle Ages, the writings of Gregory of Tours on the martys and confessors, the other the Golden Legend, at its culminating point, allow us to observe, so to speak in the very act, the methods of pious writers compelled to restrict themselves in their narrative. In both cases they had copious materials at their disposal, and deliberately neglected the sources that would have interested us the most in order to devote all their attention to the more marvellous features which betray in a marked degree their legendary character.[[1]]
[1] A similar preference betrays itself very clearly in the Greek life of St. Gregory the Great, which was composed, as we have attempted to show elsewhere, by means of selected extracts sent by the Greek monks of the Coelian Hill to Constantinople, Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiii., pp. 449-54. [Several additional sentences at this point in the 3d ed. speak of the difference in the materials available to Gregory and to Voragine, the author of the Golden Legend.]
In this they merely followed popular taste, instinctively drawn as we have seen towards everything that is miraculous and tangible, and it is perhaps to this very tendency that we must attribute the loss of the acts of a large number of saints who had enjoyed a widespread popularity. Thus, without wishing to affirm that there have ever existed written accounts of the deaths of the celebrated martyrs Theodore and Menas, whose cultus can be accurately localised, it is quite natural that the extraordinary interest displayed by the people in the fabulous tales circulated concerning them, should have [78] encouraged the hagiographers to neglect more and more the more sober material furnished by their acts and even to eliminate it altogether. The study of manuscripts indeed has revealed the permanent fact that between a purely historical document and a touched-up version, adomed with fantastic developments and interlarded with fables, a mediwval public rarely hesitated. It almost always happens that it is the less simple version which is preserved in the greater number of manuscripts, while often enough the primitive composition is only to be found in a single copy.[[1]]
[1] This fact is easily verified by means of the catalogues of Latin and Greek hagiographic manuscripts published by the Bollandists, both separately and in nearly all the volumes of Analecta Bollandiana since 1882.
The historical value of a work does not depend solely on the choice of authorities, but also on the interpretation put upon them and the treatment to which they are subjected. We might relate here, did we not fear to wander too far from our subject, what hagiographers and their assistants have occasionally been capable of deducing even from such documents as it required no special aptitude to interpret. The clearest texts may sometimes be misunderstood, and give rise to the most unexpected inferences. We must, however, restrict ourselves to one or two examples.
It is known that the Scillitan martyrs suffered death on 17th July, 180, in the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Commodus. The wording of the Acts establishes it quite clearly from the first: Praesente bis el Condiano consulibus XVI kal. Augustas. The first name was wrongly understood, and some one or other mistook it for a participle. This participle was [79] exchanged for an equivalent, or something that was considered such: Preasidente, praestaxte, exsistente. At the same time Condianus became Claudianus, then Claudius, who in his turn was identified with the consul of that name in the year 200. Now in that year there were two emperors reigning side by side. The imperator mentioned in the text was easily corrected into imperatores. There was then nothing left to do save to add the names of the emperors Severus and Caracalla. This was done without, of course, any one suspecting what a revolution this apparently justifiable correction would introduce into the chronology of the Christian persecutions. We see from the result what comes of not being able to distinguish a name from a participle![[1]]
[1] This series of alterations has been admirably exposed by M. P. Monceaux, Histoire littéraire de I'Afrique chretienne, vol. i., Paris, 1901, p 62
If the name Amphibalus has been conferred on the saintly confessor to whom St. Alban of Verulam gave shelter, it is merely because Greoffrey of Monmouth mistook a chasuble for a man.[[2]]
[2] J. Loth, Saint Amphibalus in the Revue Celtique, vol. ii., 1890, pp. 348-49.
In the passion of St. Fructuosus and his companions may be read the following interesting dialogue between the judge Aemilianus and the martyr: Episcopus es? Fructuosus episcous dixit: Sum. Aemilianus dixit: Fuisti. Et jussit cos sua sententia vivos ardere.[[3]] A copyist, failing to perceive the sarcasm of the judge, read fustibus in the place of fuisti. The word by itself having no meaning, our hagiographer supplied boldly, Fustibus eos sternite, thus adding a fresh [80] torture to the martyr in Order to justify an inaccurate reading. [[1]]
[3] "Art thou a bishop?" Fructuosus, the bishop, said: "I am". Aemilianus replied: "Thou hast been". And he sentenced them to be burned alive.
[1] Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii. p. 340.
It was possibly also a very slight error of some copyist which transformed into a miracle a quite natural incident related in the Acts of St Marciana. A lion, let loose in the arena, sprang furiously upon her, and stood over her with its paws on her chest; then having smelt her, turned away without doing her any injury: martyris corpus oderatus eam ultra non contigit.[[2]] The author of a hymn in honour of St. Marciana has been led to confuse odorare with adorare; unless indeed he himself wished to embellish the narrative of the hagiographer by writing:-
[2] Ibid., Jan., vol. i., p. ;69.
"Leo percurrit percitus
Adoraturus veniens
Non comesturus virginem."[[3]]
[3] The lion bounds forward to adore, not to devour the virgin maid. Ibid., p. 570. See E. Le Blant, Les Actes des martyrs, p. 30.
We must not omit to mention here a whole series of gross errors due to the carelessness of compilers of synaxaries or martyrologies who had summary methods of their own for dealing with any difficulties they might meet with in their editorial duties. Thus what could be more improbable than the feast of St Babylas with the three children in competition with that other St. Babylas and his eighty-eight companions on the same date and with a more or less identical history? The origin of this duplication was an abbreviation in two letters which was mistaken for a number of two figures. A momenes reflection should have sufficed to correct the mistake. But our learned editors preferred [81] to lengthen out the list of the saints.[[1]] In the same spirit they invented the three groups of SS. Cosmas and Damian, without realising the absurdities they were gaily accumulating.[[2]] Compared with such enormities the duplication of St. Martin, thanks to a mere question of dates, appears a venial offence.[[3]] It is probable that a similar origin must be assigned to the double St. Theodore of the Greeks and the Latins.[[4]] The two feast-days have given rise to two legends, and in this instance the man of letters would seem to have been the guilty party. For the common people, as we have seen, have their own ways of simplifying matters. They are more likely to fuse two personages together, than to create two in the place of one.
[1] Les deux Saints Babylas in Analecta Bolland., vol. xix, pp. 5-9.
[2] "It should be known," say the synaxaries gravely, "that there are three groups of martyrs of the names of Cosmas and Damian, those of Arabia who were decapitated under Diocletian, those of Rome who were stoned under Carinus, and the sons of Theodota who died peacefully," Synaxarium eccesiae Constantinopolitanae, 1st July, p. 791.
[3] St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, 12th November; St. Martin, Bishop of France, 12th November; Synaxarium, pp. 211, 217.
[4] The Greeks celebrate the feast of one St. Theodore (stratelates) on 8th February, and another (tiro) on the 17th. The Latins celebrate the two saints respectively on 7th February and 9th November.
We need not revert here to the curious explanations which popular imagination has occasionally invented concerning certain carved monuments of which the meaning was obscure.[[5]] The hagiographers accepted such explanations with zest and embodied them in their narratives. If it was the people who created the legend of the "cephalophorous " or head-bearing saints, it was propagated by the hagiographers who bestowed upon it that special authority which the uneducated always accord to the written word.[[6]]
[5] See above, p. 45. [In the 3d ed. there is a slight expansion of this paragraph.]
[6] M. E.-A. Stückelberg, Die Kephalophoren, in Anzeiger für Schweizerische Altertumskunde, 1916, p. 78, has drawn up a long list of saints whom legend has made cephalophorous, and the list could easily be lengthened. 3d ed.]
[82] It has been said with truth that in all probability the Passion of St. Eleutherius[[1]] was partially inspired by the paintings or mosaics that adorned his sanctuary. More especially the scene in which Eleutherius, seated on a hillock, preaches to the animals grouped around him, recalls the familiar representations of Orpheus. And here a noteworthy detail presents itself. The writer asserts that the animals who listened to the saint, not being able to praise God with their voices, all lifted up the right foot. Obviously he had seen in the mosaic representations of animals walking.[[1]]
[1] Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, I martirii di S. Teodote e di S. Ariadne, in Studi e Testi, 6, p. 145; the Passion, p. 149-61.
Our chroniclers have frequently had to pronounce on more embarrassing problems than these, and we may well ask whether their learned solutions-learning in this matter is a very relative term-are invariably worth more than the interpretations of the ignorant public. But for ourselves, who wear out our brains in attempting, and often unsuccessfully, to re-establish, with the help of the best manuscripts, the primitive readings of the Hieronymian Martyrology, why should we express surprise at the little blunders committed by our ancestors, as when they turned the eighty4hird mile of a Roman road, lxxxiii mil[iario], into eighty-three martyred soldiers, lxxxiii mil[ites]?[[2]] One may read without much trouble in the Hieronymian Martyrology under the date of 11th June: Romae via Aurelia miliario V. Basilidis. Tripoli Magdaletis [[3]] These are two separate entries commemorating a Roman and a Phoenician martyr. In the Middle Ages it was transformed into a single group of three, Basilidis, Tripodis et [83] Maldalis, and thus a new saint was created out of the slightly disfigured name of a town.[[1]]
[2] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xiii., p. 164.
[3] In the 3d ed. this is given under date of 12 June.]
[1] An account of the translation of the three martyrs quoted by the priest Leo in his prologue to the Passion of SS. Rufus and Respicius has been lost, A. Mai, Spicilegium Romanum, vol. iv., p. 292. An ancient author asserts that the three bodies were presented by Honorius III to the basilica of Santa Maria Transpontina, A. mastelloni La Traspontina, Naples 1717, p. 93.
Our predecessors were also, it must be admitted, very mediocre epigraphists. They were capable of translating the classical B[onae] M[emoriae] by B[eati] M[artyres].[[2]] Sometimes in the epitaph of a bishop they would come across the word sanctus, which in those days was Simply a title of honour corresponding to "His Holiness," or, as we should say, "His Lordship," and no one was competent to explain to them that at the period in which these inscriptions were cut the word did not bear the significance they attributed to it and which it only acquired at a later date. Mistakes of this kind have procured the honours of an easy canonisation for more than one obscure personage.[[3]] But these are errors which would not always be avoided even in the age of the Corpus inscriptionum.
2 See an example in G. Finazzi, Belle iscrizioni cristiane anteriori al VII. secolo appartenenti alla chiesa di Bergamo, Florence, 1873, pp. 16, 30, 41; A. Mazzi, I martiri della chiesa di Bergamo, Bergamo,1883, p. 14. We have given other examples of a similar nature in the article on St. Cassiodore in Mélanges Paul Fabre, pp. 40-50. Some dozens of inscriptions hearing the abbreviation B. M. before the name of the deceased have supplied the learned writers of Sardinia with an equal number of martyrs. Thus, Hic jacet B. M. Speratus was read by them as Hic jacet beatus martyr Speratus and so on. The interesting gallery of inscriptions compiled on these principles is to be seen in D. Bonfant, Triumpho de los santos del regno de Cerdena, En Caller, 1635, in fol.
[3] we have treated this question in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xviii., pp. 407-11. [and later in the volume Sanctus, Brussels, 1927. 3d ed.]
It has happened only too frequently that inscriptions [84] have provided traps for hagiographers that appear to us now of a very obvious kind, but into which none the less they have tumbled headlong.[[1]] We find, for instance, the epitaph of a virgin who is described as digna et merita, a memorial formula in vogue at one period. Now there existed a St. Emerita whose name was recognised in the second of the two epithets. The first became quite naturally the name of another saint, Digna, the companion of Emerita, and concerning these two noble sisters the hagiographers elaborated a highly dramatic and most circumstantial history.[[2]] From a mistranslation of an inscription by Pope Damasus, that in honour of SS. Felix and Adauctus, there sprang a hagiographic romance of unusual improbability which assumed the existence of two martyred brothers each bearing the name of Felix.[[3]] It was the erroneous interpretation of another Damasian[[4]] inscription which gave rise to the legend of the Orientals who came to Rome in order to carry off the relics of SS. Peter and Paul. Disciplos oriens misit wrote Damasus, intending simply to refer to the disciples of Jesus Christ who came from the East to bring the Gospel [85] to Rome, The inscription concerning St. Agnes,[[1]] and no doubt many others,[[2]] have equally been the means of revealing fresh details to the imagination of the hagiographer.[[3]]
[1] It needed sometimes only a word, even less than a word, to give rise to the most extraordinary legends. In the inscription C. Julius. L. F. Caer. Strabs. aed. cur. q. Ir. mil. bis. X. vir agr. dand. adtr. iud. pontif. (C. 1. L., vol. L, p. 278), the last two words were translated ivo(aeorum) PONTIF(ex), and men referred this to the treaty of friendship between the Jews and the Romans quod rescripserunt in tabulis oereis (I Mach. viii. 22). Hence the precise information contained in the Mirabilia (see Jordan, Topographie der Stadt Rom., vol. ii., pp. 470-71); In muro S. BasiIii fuit magna tabula oenea, ubi fuit scripta amicitia in loco bono et notabili, quae fuit inter Romanos et ludareos tempore Iudae Machaboei. It only Temains to add that the inscription in question was not engraved on a bronze but on a marble slab.
[2] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., pp. 30, 40.
[3] Ibid., pp. 19-29.
[4] Ihm, Damasi epigrammata, n. 26.
[1] Ihn, Damasi epigrammala, n. 40.
[2] Not long ago Father Bonavenia attempted to deduce from that of SS. Protus and Hyacinthus (Ihm, n. 49) proof that the Acts of St. Eugenia contain "un fondo di vero da atti piu antichi e sinceri". Nuovo Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, vol. iv., 1898, p. 80. Readers familiar with Damasian phraseology will not participate in his illusions.
[3] See Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, S. Agnese nella tradizione e nella leggenda, Rome, 1899, p. 35.
An interesting example of a whole legend being suggested by the reading of an inscription is that of Abercius. His journeys were mentioned in the celebrated epitaph; the symbolic queen became the Empress Faustina, and the object of the journey the healing of a princess possessed by an evil spirit.[[4]] By means of various episodes which are little more than reminiscences of other legends, the hagiographer in the end put together a highly detailed narrative which met with the greatest success.[[5]] In spite of this no serious doubts should be entertained concerning the episcopacy of Abercius and the traditional cultus rendered to him in his native town.[[6]]
[4] The deacon Cyriacus, in the Acts of St. Marcellus, is summoned to Rome for a similar purpose. It is a common occurrence which is to be found in the Acts of SS. Vitus, Tryphon and Potitus, and also in the lives of St. Mathurinus and of St. Naamatius, Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., p. 76.
[5] Acta SS., Oct., vol. ix., pp. 485-93; L. Duchesne, S. Abercius in Revue des Questions historiques, vol. xxxiv., 1883, pp. 5-33; Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., p. 76. A useful contribution to the criticism of the Acts of St. Abercius may be found in an article by F. C. Conybeare, Talmudic Elements in the Acts of Abercius in The Academy, 6th June, 1896, pp. 468-70.
[6] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xv., p, 333.
[86] It must, alas, be confessed that the erroneous interpretation of inscriptions, of carved monuments and of other antiquities did not give rise to legends in the Middle Ages alone. Before the days of De Rossi the majority of scholars who worked in the Roman catacombs without any safe criteria by which to discern where cultus was really paid, imagined they had discovered bodies of saints in a number of tombs before which the pilgrims of ancient days never dreamt of making a halt.[[1]] These relics, doubtful at the best, were eagerly sought after, and the faithful frequently refused to be satisfied with the bare name inscribed on the marble. On the model of the ancient Passions many new legends were manufactured, which, while appearing reasonably probable, were eminently suited to satisfy the pious curiosity of the faithful. The best known example of this is the case of St. Philomena, whose insignificant epitaph has suggested the most ingenious combinations, and has furnished the elements of a detailed narrative including even the interrogatory of the martyr.[[2]]
[1] Concerning relics from the catacombs there exists a decree of His Holiness Leo XIII dated 21st December, 1878. See Duchesne, Les corps saints des Catacombes in Bulletin critique, vol. ii., pp. 198-202.
[2] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvii., p. 469. A recent discovery by Signor Marucchi, Osservazioni archeologiche sulle iscrizione di S. Filomena, Rome, 1904, forces one to conclude that the famous epithet Pax tecum Filumena was not that of the deceased woman (or perhaps man) found in the tomb at the time of the translation. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiv., pp. 119-20.
The inaccurate identification of geographical names is responsible for another class of errors, of less consequence it is true, as they have not extended to creating new objects of veneration but merely to locating them. The reading Caeae Antonina in place of Nicaeae [87] appeared to confer on the town of Cea in Spain the right to claim St. Antonina.[[1]] The inhabitants of Scilla in Calabria imagined that the Scillitan martyrs could only derive the name from their town. But the people of Squillace protested against this identification, and claimed the Scillitans as their own fellow-citizens. Indeed they championed these pretensions with so much assurance that in 1740 the Congregation of Rites authorised them to celebrate the Mass and Office of St. Speratus and his companions.[[2]] In other places great efforts have been made to prove that St. Paul visited the country, as may be seen from the title of a work by Giorgi: D. Paulus apestolus in mari quod munc Venetus Sinus dicitur naufragus et milita Dalmalensi insuloe post naufragium hospes, sive de genuine sigficatu duorum locorum in Actibus apostalorum.[[3]] These examples, from the very fact that they are comparatively recent, make us realise all the better the methods of medieaval hagiographers, confronted with problems which were for them insoluble.
[1] Acta SS., March, vol. i., p. 26.
[2] Fiore, Della Calabria Illustrala, Naples, 1743, vol. ii., pp. 27-28.
[3] Venetiis, 1730, in 4o.
We have now seen the hagiographer face to face with his historical documents. He has made his selection and has realised how much he can draw from them. How has he employed his material?
This depends of course both on his particular aptitudes and his personal tastes. When it is a question of written documents we do not hesitate to give our preference to the hagiographer who copies them most slavishly and reproduces them with the greatest fidelity, omitting as little as possible and adding nothing beyond [88] what is strictly necessary. Cases may be quoted in which he has been satisfied with this modest rôle, and we have a curious example of it in the collection of Metaphrastes. The famous life of St Theoctista, written by an eye-witness, was transcribed almost literally, and merely adorned with a new preface. But as the new editor-if indeed he is worthy of the title--contented himself with giving utterance in his prologue to a few high-sounding generalities, without taking the trouble to warm the reader of his method, he succeeded in adding a new complexity to one of the most important problems in literary history, that of Metaphrastes.[[1]] From the very fact that he presented himself as the author of a piece of writing filled with personal details, all these details were naturally attributed to him with the result of making him nearly half a century older than he really was. In our own day we apply an unflattering epithet to writers who freely appropriate the wares of others, but in the Middle Ages no one resented being regarded as a plagiarist.
[1] We have referred to the matter in La vie de St. Paul le jeune et la chronologie de Métaphraste in the Revue des Questions historiques, July, 1893. [See also the bibliography cited in Bibliotheca hagiographica graeca, 2d ed., p. 269. The texts of the Life of St. Theoctista have now appeared in Act. SS., Nov., Vol. iii. p. 224-33. 3d ed.]
In most cases, as we know, the hagiographer submitted his material to a process of preparation and adaptation which conferred on it in some measure the stamp of his personality. He would put his documents in order and dress them up in his best style, and without caring whether or not he robbed them of their documentary character, would amplify them, combine them in various ways and create a work which, if not original, was such that he was justified in passing it off under his own name.
It will be admitted that it is difficult to formulate any [89] general precepts concerning a literature at once so vast and so varied. The use of historical sources and the methods of composition may be studied in an author or in a series of documents that are closely related,[[1]] but not in a collection of narratives scattered over the wide field covered by hagiographers of every nation and all periods. Nevertheless, without prejudice to them it may be said that they not infrequently embarked on that perilous course which leads to the embellishment of a tale in order that it may impress the reader more vividly. Even classical historians occasionally gave way to a mania which one would like to describe as innocent,[[2]] and that writers in the Middle Ages succumbed frequently to the temptation may be proved from certain cases where a comparison of texts establishes the fact beyond dispute. The following two examples are selected from comparatively recent lives of saints.[[3]] It is easy to imagine the degree of licence writers permitted themselves in ages of lesser culture.
[1] The reader must be referred here to an excellent study by M. F. Lanzoni, La Passio Sabini o Savini in the Romische Quartalschrift, Vol. xvii., 1903, pp. 1-26, in which the intimate relations between a whole series of Passions are brought to light: Passio Laurentii, Stephani P.; Restituti, Marii et soc.; Serapiae et Sabinm, Eusebii et Pontiani, Processi et Martiniani, Susannw, Callisti, Gordiani et Epimachi, Primi et Feliciani, Viti et Crescentim, Marcelli P.; Petri et Marcellini, Sabini.
[2] H. Peter, Die geschichtliche Litteratur über die Römische Kaiserzeit bis Theodosius L, Vol. ii., Leipsig, 1897, p. 292.
[3] Recorded by Father E. Michael, Geschichte des deutschen Volkes vom dreizehnten Jahrhundert bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters, Vol. iii., Freiburg im Breisgau, 1903, pp. 392-93.
When St. Bernard came to preach the Crusade in the diocese of Constance, an archer in the bodyguard of the Duke of Zahringen scoffed both at the preaching and the preacher by declaring: "He can no more work [90] miracles than I can ". When the saint came forward to lay his hands on the sick, the scoffer perceived him and fell senseless to the ground, remaining unconscious for some time. Alexander of Cologne adds: "I was quite close to him when this occurred. . . . We called the Abbot, and the poor man was unable to rise until Bernard came to us, offered up a prayer and helped him to his feet." Not one of the eye-witnesses says a word which would suggest a resurrection, from death. And yet, a century later, Herbert, the author of a collection of St. Bernard's miracles, Conrad, author of the Exordium, and Caesarius of Heisterbach all affirm that the archer fell dead and that the saint restored him to life.[[1]]
[1] See G. Huffer, Der heilige Bernard von Clairvaux, vol. i., Münster, 1886, pp. 92, 182.
Every one is familiar with the beautiful incident in the life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary when, in the very bed she shared with her husband, she laid a miserable leper who inspired disgust in every one, and whom no one would tend any longer. The indignant duke rushed into the room and dragged off the bed-clothes. "But," in the noble words of the historian, "at that instant God Almighty opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed."[[2]] This admirable account by Thierry d'Appoldia was considered too simple by later biographers, who consequently transformed the sublime vision of faith into a material apparition. Tunc aperuit Deus interiores principis oculos wrote the historian.[[3]] On the spot where the leper had slept, say the modern [91] hagiographers, there lay a bleeding crucifix with outstretched arms."
[3] J. B. Menckenius, Scriptores rerum germanicarum, vol. ii., p. 1990.
Dearth of material and methods of supplementing it - Amplification by means of stock incidents-Acts of
St. Clement of Ancyra - Compilation and adaptation-Life of St. Vincent Madelgarus -Antiquity of
the process - Forgeries.
Hitherto we have almost exclusively treated of cases in which the editor of the life of a saint follows the lines traced for him by the materials at his disposal. It often happens that his task is less clearly marked out He may know the name of the saint, sometimes even his qualification as martyr, confessor or bishop, and the shrine dedicated to his memory. But popular tradition may have retained nothing further, and yet in spite of this it becomes a question of satisfying the devout curiosity of pilgrims and pious persons, and of supplying, from such meagre records, matter for edifying reading. Even when writing somewhat lengthily concerning the saints Emeterius and Chelidonius, Prudentius warns us that the necessary documents are lacking;[[1]] while the author of the passion of St Vincent plunges into his subject with the announcement : Probabile satis est ad gloriam Vincentii martyris quod de scriptis passionis ipsius gestis titulum invidit inimicus.[[2]] This dearth of material, which does not appear to have checked in any degree the fertility of his pen, is the common lot of a large number of [92] hagiographers, who, for that matter, have been equally little inconvenienced by it. As they were compelled to write, and frequently, so they themselves say, by order of their superiors, they boldly took the only course open to them, and either made a generous use of the method of development as practised in the schools, or else had recourse to borrowing.
[1] Peristeph., i 73-78.
[2] "It is More than probable that the enemy of our race, jealous of the glory of Vincent the Martyr, has robbed us of the title to fame which might be found in the written record of his passion." -Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii., p. 394.
The former method is the simplest, and has produced an abundance of colourless and insipid narratives. Endowed with more or less imagination and fluency, innumerable hagiographers have resigned themselves to the necessity of supplementing the scarcity of documents by narratives founded on probability: omnia qua in reprasenti accidisse credibile est, as Quintilian says (Vi. 2). Take, for example, a martyrdom. The setting of the narrative is clearly outlined. First there must come a more or less detailed account of the persecution. The Christians are being hunted out everywhere; large numbers fall into the hands of the soldiers, and amongst them the hero of the tale; he is arrested and thrown into prison. Brought before the judge he confesses his faith and suffers horrible tortures. He dies and his tomb becomes the scene of innumerable miracles.[[1]]
1 The process of development "in accordance with probability" has not been abandoned by hagiographers even in our own day. A saint, St. Expeditus, whose name is inscribed on the Hieronymian martyrology for the 18th or 19th of April under the rubric Melitinae in Armenia, has become in accordance with this method "the valiant leader of the Thundering Legion". See Dom Brrengier, Saint Expédit martyr en Arménie et patron des causes urgentes in Missions catholiques, vol. xxviii., 1896, pp. 128-31. See also Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xviii., p. 425; vol. xxv., pp. 90-98.
Such, more or less, is the scheme on which every editor has to work. Each part is capable of [93] development on lines clearly suggested by historians who have related similar incidents, by other legends which serve as models and even by the analysis of the situations, while for the most part the amplifications are full of those exaggerations which are the prerogative of orators anxious to make the most of what they have to say. Thus the picture of the persecution is always painted as black as possible;[[1]] the emperor or judge usually figures as a monster in human shape, thirsting for blood, having no other aim than the destruction of the new faith throughout the world. Here, then, we have the first of our stock subjects .[[2]]
[1] The oratorical description of the persecution by St. Basil in the panegyric on St. Gordius may serve as a model, Gamier, vol. ii., pp. 143-44.
[2 On all that follows see Les Passion des martyrs et les genres littéraires, p. 236-315. 3d ed.]
Readers must not let themselves be deceived even when they think they recognise the authentic phraseology of an edict. Nothing is more easy to imitate than the forms of an edict, just as in our own day one might reproduce the terms of an Act of Parliament or of a ministerial decree, and all the more easily when the document is intended for a public the reverse of exacting in matters of phraseology.[[3]]
[3] Edicts are frequent in hagiographic romances, and scholars have sometimes been to the trouble of investigating them. See, for example, the edict in the Passio S. Procopii to which Mr. Goodspeed has devoted several pages in the American Journal of Philology, vol. xxiii., 1902, p. 68 ff. See also Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., p. 409. Signor P. Franchi de' Cavalieri, I martirii di S. Teodoto e di S. Ariadne, p. 105, quotes several other examples. It should be observed that the Passio S. Ephysii is copied from that of St. Procopius.
The interrogatory of the martyr is another of the favourite themes of the hagiographer, and he depends more especially on this portion of his narrative to assist him in attaining the normal length of the composition. He might, one would fancy, at least use such dialogue to [94] bring into bolder relief the generous sentiments or the noble qualities of the martyr, as was done by the writers of antiquity, who scattered conventional discourses through their historical works just as modern writers scatter portraits. But it is very rare that from among the questions and answers one can seize any personal and characteristic trait. We find only dissertations on the absurdity of paganism and the beauty of the Christian faith, speeches of an inconceivable improbability which would be more appropriate on the lips of a pulpit orator than on those of a prisoner before a court of justice in the course of a rapid criminal procedure. The triumphant eloquence of the martyr is usually set off against the ignorance and vulgarity of the judge, unless indeed the latter displays sufficient knowledge of the Scriptures and the Christian religion to provoke some learned reply from the accused.
In many instances the hagiographer has not even taken the trouble to compose the - harangue which he puts in the mouth of his hero; he has found it more convenient to transcribe'-a chapter or extracts from some suitable treatise,[[1]] a proceeding thanks to which the apology of Aristides has been preserved to us in the history of SS. Barlaam and Joasaph. To any one who has studied the authentic Acts of the martyrs it [95] is superfluous to point out how falsely such rhetoric rings, and what a difference there is between the short and touching answers of the martyrs inspired by the wisdom of the Holy Ghost, and these studied declamations which at their best recall some school display.
[1] There is no general work in existence bearing on this subject. There are, however, two useful works of recent date: G. Mercati, Note di letteratura biblica e cristiana antica in Studi e testi, vol. V., Rome, 1901, pp. 218-26; Bidez, Sur diverses citations et notamment sur trois passages de Mltalas retrouvis dans un texte hagiographique in the Byzantinische Zeitschrift, xi., 1902, pp. 388-94. J. Fuehrer in the Mittheilungen des k. d. archaeologischen Instituts, Roem. Abth., vol. vii., 1892, p. 159, has noted some borrowings from Clement of Alexandria by the author of the Passion of St. Philip of Heraclea (Bibl. hag. lat., n. 6834). [See also E. Klostermarm and E. Seeberg, Die Apologie der hl. Katharina, K6nigsberg, 1926. Cf. Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlv, p. 151. 3d ed.]
After the interrogatory the torture of the martyr is the subject that lends itself best to amplification. The simplicity of the final act of the tragedy in authentic chronicles, as, for example, in the martyrdom of St. Cyprian, would scarcely please our pious rhetoricians, who can conceive of no other way of establishing the heroism of the martyr than by making him undergo lengthy and refined torments. They multiply his sufferings without having to trouble themselves as to the limits of human endurance, for Divine Providence is made to intervene to prevent the saint from succumbing beneath the agony inflicted, and to allow the hagiographer to exhaust all the torments that his imagination or reminiscences from his studies may suggest.
Undoubtedly the masterpiece in this line of composition is the Passion of SS. Clement of Ancyra and Agathangelus. The scene of their torments is moved successively from a nameless town in Galicia to Rome, hence to Nicomedia, to Ancyra, to Amisos, to Tarsus, and finally back again to Ancyra. This perambulating martyrdom, diversified by the most extraordinary miracles, is prolonged for no less than twenty-eight years, during which time the following tortures are inflicted both on Clement and on his companion Agathangelus by persecutors who include in their number the Emperors Diocletian and Maximianus, and the Prefects Domitianus, Agrippinus, Curicius, Domitius, Sacerdon, Maximus, Aphrodisius, Lucius and Alexander.
[96] To start with, Clement is hung up, his flesh torn with iron hooks, his mouth and cheeks bruised with stones; he is bound to the wheel, beaten with sticks and horribly mutilated with knives; his face is stabbed with stilettos, his jaws are broken and his teeth drawn while his feet are crushed in iron fetters. Then the two martyrs together are whipped with ox thongs and suspended from a beam; their bodies are scorched with flaring torches and they are flung to the wild beasts. Red-hot needles are run into their fingers under their nails and they are burned in quicklime and left there two whole days, after which strips of skin are torn from them and they are once more beaten with rods. They are stretched on iron bedsteads brought to a state of white heat, then thrown into a burning furnace; this last torment lasts a day and a night. After that they are again beaten with iron hooks, and a kind of harrow covered with iron points is set up and the martyrs are flung against it. For his part Agathangelus undergoes in addition the torture of having molten lead poured upon his head; he is dragged through the town with a mill-stone round his neck and stoned. Clement alone has his ears pierced with red-hot needles, he is burnt with torches and he receives more blows from a stick on his mouth and head At last after having endured fifty strokes of the rod on several days in succession he has his head cut off at the same time as Agathangelus.[[1]]
[1] Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii., pp. 459-60.
It is very rare that hagiographers carry their naïveté, or perhaps we should rather say their audacity, to so high a pitch, and the accounts of the sufferings of the martyrs do not usually reach this degree of improbability. Nevertheless, taken separately, the various [97] chapters in the Passion of St. Clement of Ancytra represent accurately enough the,, style of composition indulged in, and it is Only when they are at the end ;of their own resources that the writers allow their heroies to die. After undergoing such amazing torments St. Clement simply has his head cut off, and this is such an ordinary conclusion to the most marvellous and terrible tortures, that some learned writers have seriously asked themselves how it happens that the axe and the sword have proved efficacious instruments of martyrdom when so many other methods have been of no avail. " it has been suggested that the sword being the outward sign of power in society, it is the will of God that it ,should not be frustrated by His providence which desires the maintenance of public order as the guarantee of a hundred other interests. But might we not also say that this happened as a Divine reprobation of the barbarous inventions to which tyrants had recourse because their hatred was not satisfied by the simple death of the Christians?"[[1]] While bearing in mind the relative mildness of the Roman code one cannot deny the cruelty of certain Petsecutors. But has the writer quoted above stated the problem fairly, and ought the question not rather to be addressed to the hagiographers, compelled in spite of everything to put a term to their rigmaroles and kill off their heroes? The natural conclusion of the drama was after all the classical punishment, death by the sword.
[1] Cahier, Caractéristiques des Saints, vol i., p. 307
The composition of the life of a saint who is not a martyr is regulated by similar laws in all cases in which the author adopts the method of amplification. The narrative is necessarily less dramatic and less interesting, but it more easily admits of developments. Where [98] a complete biography of a saint is desired the life divides itself into three parts. Before his birth: his nationality, his parents, his future greatness miraculously prophesied; his life: childhood, youth, the most important events in his career, his virtues, his miracles; lastly his cultus and miracles after death. In innumerable lives of saints at least one of the points in the above programme is supplied by commonplaces, and sometimes the whole biography is a mere string of them. The profession or quality of the saint is also subjected to analysis. A bishop has not the same duties as a monk, neither does an abbot practise the same virtues as a nun. Hence a diversity of episodes. In the life of a holy bishop, for instance, it is essential that he should only accept consecration under protest; for if he does not resist, it is obvious that he thinks himself worthy of the episcopal throne, and if his own opinion of himself is so indulgent, can he rightly be held up as a model of humility? If the subject of the biography is a holy monk, then clearly he must be exemplary in all the duties appertaining to his calling, and without risk of blundering one may describe his fasts and vigils and his assiduity at prayer and spiritual reading. And as it is mainly through miracles that God is pleased to make manifest the merits of His servants, one may take it for granted that the saint, whatever his condition, was in the habit of healing the blind, causing the paralytic to walk, driving out evil spirits and the like.
The methods we have just described, simple and natural as they appear, have not been wholly restricted to hagiographers anxious to fill in the gaps left by tradition. We have seen how the popular voice gladly attributes to its favourite hero the glories and virtues [99] of others, while many a noble deed and striking incident has become the common property of very diverse individuals. The pious writers of the Middle Ages have often, in their need, imitated the importations so common in legends, and have unscrupulously allowed themselves, in the interest of their saint, to pilfer narratives that have no sort of connection with him. I am not referring to those frequent cases in which a similarity of names is responsible for introducing wholly extraneous matter into a biography, as, for example, when we find in the legend of St. Fronto of Perigueux an episode of markedly exotic hue taken from an Egyptian legend concerning a namesake.[[1]] I am speaking here of importations to be accounted for neither by misconceptions nor yet by carelessness. Sometimes it is merely a case of commonplaces on the Christian virtues which have been copied out word for word; sometimes we have incidents which at a stretch might have occurred and have been related in identical terms, but sometimes also we meet with examples of wholly characteristic episodes which without any sort of apology have been imported in their entirety from another biography.
[1] See Duchesne, Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule, vol. ii., pp. 132-33.
I fully admit that one must beware of raising a cry of plagiarism on the strength of a mere resemblance. The most disconcerting coincidences do occasionally occur, and I am willing to quote a noteworthy example. If one were to read that on the same day the Church celebrates two saints, who both died in Italy, whose conversion in both cases was effected through the reading of the " Lives of the Saints that each founded a religious order under one and the same title, and that both these orders were suppressed by two popes [100] bearing the same name, one might well feel justified in declaring on the strength of these characteristic features that a single individual had been multiplied into two, and that he must have been inscribed twice over in the martyrology under different names. And yet there exist two saints, strictly historical and even comparatively modern, of whom all these particulars are true. St. John Colombini, who died at Siena, 31st July, 1367, was brought back to the practice of the Christian virtues by reading the " Lives of the Saints," and founded the order of the Jesuati which was suppressed by Clement IX St. Ignatius of Loyola who died in Rome, 31st July, 1556, was touched by grace while reading the " Lives of the Saints," which had been supplied to him in order to enliven the tedium of convalescence; he founded the order of the Jesuits, suppressed, as every one knows, by a later Clement. If I recall the fact it is not because such coincidences can be frequent far from it, for it would be difficult to find an analogous example to the above, which has been quoted here merely as a curiosity.[[1]]
[1] Acta SS., July, vol. vii., pp. 333-54.
The naïve hagiographers of the Middle Ages, compelled to supplement the paucity of primitive sources by more or less legitimate means, do not introduce us to any very embarrassing dilemmas. As a rule their methods are simple, and their secrets are easily surprised.
The following, for example, shows the process by which the biographer of St. Vincent Madelgarus honoured his patron with a literary composition of adequate dimensions.[[2]]
[2] This life has been the object of a detailed study by Pére A. Poncelet in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xii., pp. 422-40.
In the preface he begins by transcribing the [101] prologue from the life of St. Erminus, to which he adds a phrase from Sulpicius Severus; there follows a second introduction which reproduces, word for word, St. Gregory of Tours' preface to the life of St. Patroclus.
In order to describe the birth and early years of the saint, he accumulates reminiscences from the life of St. Erminus, without speaking of others from members of St. Vincenfs own family, St. Waldetrudis and St. Aldcgond, while the history of his marriage is extracted literally from the Vita Leobardi by Gregory of Tours.
Vincent's son Landric embraces the ecclesiastical state -this is taken from the life of St. Gallus by Gregory of Tours. The same author furnishes him with the greater part of a vision, which fills one of the chapters in the life of St. Leobardus. St. Vincent enters on the religious life and trains his followers: taken from the lives of SS. Martius and Quintianus by Gregory of Tours. He gives himself up to prayer and penance and practises all the religious virtues: taken from the life of St. Bavon. Knowing himself to be on the point of death he confides his spiritual children to his son Landric - taken from the life of St. Ursmar. He is buried within his monastery where he exercises his power on behalf of the faithful who invoke him: taken from the life of St. Bavon. A blind cleric recovers his sight on his tomb: this miracle is appropriated in its entirety from Gregory of Tours, who relates it of St. Martin. We must add, moreover, to our plagiarist's account six chapters from the life of St. Waldetrudis, which, it is true, served him as a historic source, but which he transcribes word for word, besides numerous other reminiscences which it would take too long to enumerate.
The lives of saints filled with extracts from other [102] lives of saints are exceedingly numerous, and some are nothing more than a mere hagiographic anthology. One can imagine the perplexity of the critic on finding the same facts related in the same words of two different saints. He may well ask himself what faith can be placed in the lives of St. Hubert, St. Arnold of Metz and St. Lambert of which several portions are shared in common.[[1]] One can guess what degree of importance he will attach to a biography such as that of St. Remaclus, which is servilely imitated from the life of St. Lambert.[[2]]
[1] Acta SS., Nov., Vol. i., pp. 760-63.
[2] G. Kurth, Notice sur la plus ancienne biographie de saint Remacle in Bulletins de la Commission royale d'histoire, 4th series, Vol. iii., Brussels, 1876, pp. 355-68.
Indeed, such has been the destitution of some editors that, not satisfied with appropriating wholesale certain phrases of general application, or even interesting episodes which seemed likely to prove effective in their pages, they have been reduced to seizing whole compositions, and adapting them as best they could to their saint, often by merely exchanging one name for another. Thus, for example, the passion of St. Martina is literally identical with that of St. Tatiana; St. Castissima owns the same acts as St. Euphrosyne, while those of St. Caprasius are the same as those of St. Symphorian; the group of Florentius and Julianus possesses an identical history to that of Secundianus, Marcellianus and Veranus, and so on, for the list of these strange duplications is far longer than one would be tempted to suppose. We hope some day to draw up a complete catalogue of them.[[3]]
[3] It must suffice for the moment to refer the reader to some provisional lists: Histoire Iittéraire de la France, Vol. vii., p. 193; Analecta Bollandiana, Vol. xvi., p. 496.
[103] Another variety of the species of composition we have been characterising is that of the narratives in which the author has contented himself with introducing a new personage while still retaining the original hero and all the story belonging to him. I might recall the example of St. Florian, honoured at Bologna, who, in order that he might be provided with a history, has been introduced into the Passion of the sixty martyrs of Eleutheropolis,[[1]] and also that of St. Florentius of Mont Glonne, whom one is surprised to meet in the company of St. Florian of Lorsch .[[2]]
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, Vol. xxiii., pp. 292-95.
[2] Acta SS., Sept., Vol. vi., pp. 428-30. See also Krusch, in M. G., Script. rer. merov., Vol. iii., p. 67.
If Latin hagiographers have had frequent recourse to the convenient process of adaptation, the Greeks have not deprived themselves of the same resource, as may be proved by comparing the history of St. Barbara with that of Irene and Cyriaena,[[3]] and the life of St. Onesimus with that of St. Alexis.[[4]] Not long ago further parallel cases were unearthed in Syrian hagiography: the life of Mar Mikha scarcely differs from that of Mar Benjamin,[[5]] while the history of St Azazayl is a mere adaptation of that of St Pancratius of Rome.[[6]]
[4] Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, p. 820.
[5] The life of Mar Mikha was published by Bedjan, Acta martyrum et sanctorum, Vol. iii., pp. 513-32; that of Mar Benjamin by V. Scheil, La vie de Mar Benjamin in the Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, Vol. xii., 1897, pp. 62-96. It was M. C. Brockelmann, Zum Leben des Mar Benjamin, ibid., pp. 270-71, who pointed out this interesting example of a monk who appropriates the legend of a neighbouring monastery and does not hesitate to dedicate his plagiarism to the Patriarch Symeon.
[6] F. Macler, Histoire de Saint Azazaïl in the Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Hautes Études, fasc. 141. See also Analecta Bollandiana, Vol. xxiii., pp. 93-95.
[104] The process appears so puerile and summary that one is tempted to assume that it can only have been carried out in the darkest epochs of the Middle Ages, and one can scarcely resist the temptation to locate this wretched plagiarism among barbarous surroundings in which literary culture was practically unknown. Unhappily we must remember that as early as the fourth century in Italy, and indeed in Rome, we come across deliberate adaptations of foreign legends to fit national saints. The passion of St. Lawrence, even in its minor details, is borrowed from that of the martyrs of Phrygia as related by Socrates and Sozomen, while the martyrdom. of St. Cassian scarcely differs from that of St. Mark of Arethusa.[[1]] The martyrdom of St. Eutychius as related by Pope Damasus[[2]] is simply a reproduction of that of St. Lucian,[[3]] and the Damasian version of the death of St. Agnes possesses undeniable resemblances to that of St. Eulalia.[[4]] It is not as yet plagiarism in its crudest form, not the almost word for word transcription of the original. But already legend has come to be regarded as no-man's land. It belongs, in a quite unexpected sense, to the "common of saints," and transfers are effected on a somewhat liberal scale.
[1] See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xix., pp. 452-53. The torture of St. Mark of Arethusa is testified to by St. Gregory Nazianzen, In Julian, i., as M. Pio Franchi has pointed out, Nuove Note agiografiche in Studi e Testi, voi. ix., p. 68. We may observe by the way that after St. Cassian, St. Artemas of Pozzuoli inherited the Passion of St. Mark of Arethusa, Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii., p. 617. [This sentence is modified in the 3d ed., and that revision is included as a special note at the end of this chapter, on. p. 106.]
[2] Ihm, Damasi epigrammara, n. 27.
[3] P. Franchi, as above, p. 58, n. 2.
[4] Id., Santa Agnese nella tradizione e nella leggenda, Rome, 1899, p. 20.
It is not solely in hagiographic literature that editors of saints' lives have sought the material for their compilations. Thus the legend of St Vidian, a local martyr [105] honoured at Martres-Tolosanes might easily be confounded with the epic legend of Vivian, nephew to William of Orange, which is related in two metrical romances, the Enfances Vivien and Aliscans; [[1]] the legend of St. Dymphna is an adaptation of a popular tale[[2]] as is that of St. Olive which has been popularised in Italy, not by the Church, but by the stage.[[3]]
[1] A. Thomas, Viviens d'Aliscans et la éigende de saint Vidian in the Études romanes dédiées a Gaston Paris, Paris, 1891, pp. 121-35; L. Saltet, Saint Vidian de Martres-Tolosanes et la légende de Vivien des chansons de geste in the Bulletin de litt.Frature ecclésiastique, Feb. 1902, pp. 44-56. Dom Lobineau, Les vies des saints de Bretagne, Rennes, 1725, p. 25, is of opinion that the author of the life of St. Colledoc had no "other materials to work with than the romance of Lancelot du Lac and a bold and fertile imagination".
[2] See above, p. 9.
[3] Al. d'Ancona, Origini del teatro italiano, 2nd edition, Turin, 1891, vol. i., pp. 436-37.
The writings we have been describing undoubtedly constitute literary frauds which one feels inclined to condemn with great severity. I should not, however, venture, at least as a general rule, to class them as forgeries, or to regard the authors of these substitutions as more guilty than those who naively believed themselves entitled to supplement the silence of tradition by narratives mainly supplied by their own imaginations. They were reduced to the extremity of imitating the sculptors who changed the statue of a consul into that of a saint by supplying a new head, or by placing in his hand a cross, a key, a lily or some other symbolical object.
We must freely confess, however, that hagiographic literature has been disgraced by a certain number of forgers whose naTvet6 can scarce avail as their excuse. There have been audacious fabrications, the product of falsehood and ambition which for long misled credulous minds and unsuspecting critics; among these we [106] may quote the Cypriot legend concerning St. Barnabas,[[1]] the notorious translation of St. Denis to Ratisbonne[[2]] the life of St. Maurus by the so-called Faustus, who was no other than Odo of Glanfeuil,[[3]] and the Passion of St. Placidus by Peter the Deacon, under the name of Gordian .[[4]] The monk of Glastonbury, who recast the legend of St. Joseph of Arimathea,[[5]] and the first authors of the apostolic legends of France can scarcely plead their good faith before the tribunal of history. One can only turn contemptuously away, even while marvelling at the simplicity of their dupes.
[1] Acta SS., June, vol. ii., pp. 431-52. See also Duchesne, St. Barnabé in Wanges G. B. de Rossi, pp. 45-49.
[2] Neues Archiv für aeltere Deutsche Geschichtskunde, vol. xv., pp. 340-58.
[3] Acta SS., Jan., vol. i., pp. 1039-50, 1051-52.
[4] Ibid., Oct., vol. iii., pp. 114-38.
[5] P. Paris, De l'origine et du développement des romans de la Table ronde in Romania, vol. i., 1872, pp. 457-82.
[The following appears in the 3d edition on page 104, at the place noted]
The Passion of St. Lawrence in that which concerns the torture of the gril, which it does not seem possible to bring into accord with the second edict of Valerian,[1] allows a strange inspiration to be seen. In the Orient another legend on other martyrs occurs which is too similar to allow for simple coincidence.[2] In the curious history of St. Cassian of Imola one recognizes more than one reminiscence[3]: that of the schoolmaster punished by Furius Camillus[4] and the feature (that of the stilettos) of the passion of St. Mark of Arethusa.[5]]
CHAPTER IV: THE CLASSIFICATION OF HAGIOGRAPHIC TEXTS.
Defective System - Classification according to Subjects -According to Categories of Saints -System Adopted.
Historical Point of View - Division into six classes - Application of System to Ruinart's
Acta sincera - The "Supplements " of Le Blant.
It may be useful at this stage to summarise the preceding pages while attempting to draw up a system of classification by means of which it will be possible to arrange in groups the majority of what may be called hagiographic documents.
We may leave out of account purely external divisions founded on the subject of the narrative such as Passions, Biographies, Translations, Miracles, or even on the literary form, as Metrical, or Rhymed Lives and so on. This mechanical kind of classification scarcely affords any indication of the historical value of the documents. Thus it would be a mistake to conclude from the circumstance of a hagiographer writing in verse, that he has necessarily profited by the licence that we are agreed in according to poets. Mediaeval poets are often as ingenious in turning their original text into hexameters as they are lacking in inspiration and poetic invention. [[1]]
[1] A curious example of this may be seen in the Versus domni Bertharii abbatis de miraculis almi Patris Benedicti (M.G., Poet. Lat. aevi carol., vol. iii., pp. 394-98), in which book ii. of the Dialogues of St. Gregory is turned into verse, chapter by chapter.
[108] Another system of classification, and at first sight more logical, would consist in grouping the documents under the various categories of saints. In point of fact, hagiographic literature treats of a large and varied assortment of personages who do not all possess equally valid claims on public veneration. There are, in the first place, those whose cultus has been canonically established by the Church and has received the sanction of centuries. St. Lawrence in the Church of Rome, St. Cyprian in that of Africa, and St. Martin in that of Gaul, belong incontestably to this class, and we possess the Acts of each one of them.
Next to them come those real personages devotion to whom was in the first instance irregularly established, whatever consecration it may have acquired through length of usage. We have already pointed out that the word "sanctus " did not always possess the very precise significance that it bears to-day, and that it has been the means of conferring the honours of a tardy canonisation on more than one bishop, known only for his orthodoxy.[[1]] It may be remembered that all the pious personages of whom St. Gregory the Great recalled the virtues in his Dialogues ultimately took their places among the saints of the Latin Church,[[2]] just as the hermits of whom Theodoret wrote the biography suddenly found themselves during their very life-time incorporated in the annals of the Greek Church through some caprice of the hagiographers.' It has even happened that worthy individuals on whom their contemporaries had never conferred the aureole of sanctity, have been raised to the ranks of the martyrs or the [109] Blessed as the result of some special circumstances. Such a one is Cassiodorus, who became, no one quite knows how, a martyr of the early centuries.[[1]] And how frequently has not the discovery of a tomb or of a group of bodies whose identity could not be definitely established given rise to some local devotion which has often enjoyed a lengthy popularity? The greater number of these saints, unauthentic in varying degrees, have none the less found hagiographers ready to do honour to them.
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xviii., pp. 406-11. [The subject has been taken up with great development in our work Sanctus, Brussels, 1927.]
[2] Civiltà Cattolica, series xv., vol. vi., 1894, pp. 292-305, 653-69.
[3] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xiv., pp. 420-21.
[1] See above, pp. 21 and 71.
The long lists of the saints furnish us with yet a third category, relatively few in number, but not on that account to be neglected : the imaginary personages to whom a real existence has Ultimately been attributed. Some of them have a purely literary origin. We have already referred to various heroes of romance and of hagiographic tales transformed into historical personages and gradually becoming a nucleus of devotionThe reader will remember the chanson de geste of Amis and Amile who were killed by Ogier the Dane near Mortara in the Montferrat district. Their history was transformed into a saint!s life and they were honoured with a chapel at Novara, Milan, and possibly other places.[[2]] The Poem of Flores and Blanchefleur would have given birth to a St. Rosana-whose life was even printed-had not the Roman authorities intervened [[3]] other fictitious saints owed their origin to some iconographic accident, as, for example, the celebrated St. Liberata or Wilgefortis (called in English St. Uncumber) who was represented as a bearded [110] woman nailed to a cross, and whose legend was inspired by one of those draped crucifixes of which the Volto Santo of Lucca offers the best-known example.[[1]]
[2] Acta SS., Oct, vol. vi., pp. 124-26.
[3] Al. d'Ancona I Origini del teatro italiano, 2nd edition, vol. i., p. 437; vol. ii., p. 60. See also H. Reusch, Der Index der verbotenen Bücher, vol. ii., 1, 1885, p. 227.
[1] I Acta SS., July, vol. v., pp. 50-70; A. Lutolf, Sanct Kümmerniss und die Kümmernisse der Schweizer in Geschichtsfreund, vol. xix., 1863, pp. 183-205; G. Schnürer, Die Kümmmernisbilder als Kopien des Volto Santo von Lucca in the Jahresbericht der Görres-Gesellschaft, 1901, pp. 43-50; Id., Der Kultus des Volto Santo und der hl. Wilgefortis in Freiburg in the Freiburger Geschichtsb1aetter, vol. ix, 1902, pp. 74-105; Id., Ueber Alter und Herkunft des Volto Santo von Lucca, in Römische Quartalschrift, vol. xxxiv, 1926, p. 271-306. Cf. Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii, p. 482; vol. xxiii, p. 128.
We need not insist very strongly on the inconveniences of a classification of hagiographic documents in strict accordance with these various categories of saints. It is obvious that there need be no intimate relation between the subject of a narrative and its historical value. Thus it happens that saints as celebrated and as well authenticated as St. Lawrence and St. Agnes are chiefly known to us by legendary Acts, while, on the other hand, various saints of the second category are provided with quite fairly authenic title-deeds. This common and most regrettable anomaly suggests a number of embarrassing problems that cannot always be solved. When historical records are lacking it is often possible to supplement their silence by the help of other documents, and to establish the fact of a traditional veneration by martyrologies, itineraries, monuments, etc.[[2]] When this means of identification fails it becomes impossible to decide in which of the three categories we should place a saint whose name legend has handed down to us. Thus if, in the case of St. Sebastian, we had nothing but his Acts on which to base our judgment, we might feel concerning him the same hesitation as about St. Martina, who appears to have been unknown to [111] antiquit. [[1]], Nor is it likely that we shall ever obtain decisive evidence for placing St. Catherine or St. Barbara in either the first or the second category of the saints.
[2] Midway on this page, Delehaye "opened up" this paragraph to discuss the documentation of the lives of St. George and St. Theodore; much of this material is drawn from his own work, Les 1égendes grecques des saints militaires. Ed.]
[1] Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, S. Martina in the Römische Quartalschrilt, vol. xvii., 1903, pp. 222-36.
Under these circumstances we must have recourse to the one and only principle which allows of a strict classification of the Acts of the martyrs and of hagiographic documents in general; they must be classed by the degree of truth and historic value they possess. The following results have been arrived at by the application of this principle as far as the main divisions are concerned.
I The official reports of the interrogatories of martyrs are entitled in theory to the first place in importance. The existence of records of this nature deposited in the archives of the proconsul has been attested by more than one witness. The question is whether any of these procès-verbaux have been preserved.
It might be objected that such official records do not come within the scope of any category of hagiographic documents, and that, strictly speaking, we ought not to take them into consideration. Such a protest would, however, be quite superfluous, for it does not require prolonged investigation to ascertain that no procès-verbal of the times of persecution has come down to us in a separate and unadulterated form; the documents which are honoured with the title of Proconsular Acts are, at best, compositions intended for the edification of the faithful, in which the official text of the interrogatory, scrupulously respected, forms the main portion of the narrative. Thus it happens that the most celebrated of all these documents, which has [112] been held up to us as the most perfect model of Proconsular Acts, the Passio Cypriani, is, in reality, a composite record in which one must distinguish three separate documents strung together by a few phrases of their latest editor: first, the official text of an early interrogatory in 257, as the result of which Cyprian was sent into exile; then the official report of the arrest and the second interrogatory in 258; finally the account of the martyrdom. In the Passion of the Scillitan martyrs the hand of the hagiographer is less visible. One hears only the words of the martyrs and their persecutor, and one is present at the carrying out of the sentence. Was the interrogatory copied in the proconsular office, or did some Christian in the audience take it down in shorthand? It would be difficult to decide this point, but it is safe to affirm that the editor has introduced nothing of his own into the phrases he places on the lips of the martyrs.
These authentic interrogatories are always quite admirable, and even after so many centuries the emotions they excite have lost nothing of their intensity. If anything could spoil the impression they produce it would be the clumsy imitations which are to be found far too frequently in the passionaries. In the dramatic scenes devised by hagiographers to emphasise the heroism of his sacrifice, the martyr poses as though he were on the stage, and gives utterance to academic orations. In point of fact nothing is easier than to recognise authentic "consular acts". But we have reluctantly to admit that very few are in existence.
2. A second category of authentic Acts comprises the accounts of eye-witnesses, and others worthy of confidence, or of well-informed contemporaries recording the testimonies of other eye-witnesses. In these [113] narratives, which are of a literary character, considerable space is accorded to the subjective element, an element which is entirely absent from the purely official Acts. It follows that we may carry the analysis farther and subdivide this category under three headings :-
(a) Documents in which the witness alone speaks in his own name.
(b) Those in which a contemporary author restricts himself to chronicling the testimony of others.
(c) Those in which personal observation is added to the testimony, as in several chapters of Eusebius's Martyrs of Palestine, and in the life of Cyprian by the Deacon Pontius. But all these varieties have this in common, that they express directly, without the intervention of any written source, an oral and contemporary testimony.
3. The third category is composed of Acts of which the principal source is a written document belonging to one or other of the preceding categories. It includes every degree of remodelling from simple editorial corrections as regards the arrangement of the composition and details of development, up to the free recasting of the original which a fresh editor quarries from, amplifies, turns inside out, or even on occasion interpolates. In this way we possess seven different versions of the Passion of the Scillitan martyrs, and the historical records that have come down to us only in an amended form are extremely numerous. A certain number of the lives which compose the menology of Metaphrastes belong to the category of adaptations which have for their sole source an historic document that the editor has abridged or paraphrased, according to his own sweet will. We may naturally include in this class redactions at second or third hand, in other words, [114] those produced by authors at work not On an original document but on a composition which has already been recast.
4.. The fourth category consists of Acts of which the source is not a written document, but the fantastic combination of a few real events in a framework of pure imagination, in other words, historical romances. This class is very numerous, and in particular we must include in it the whole series of cycles of the Roman Legendarium. In these compositions which consist frequently of a tissue of literary reminiscences, popular traditions and fictitious situations, the historic element is almost always reduced to an infinitesimal quantity. The name of the saint, the existence of his shrine, and the date of his feast are in many cases all that can be safely inferred from a species of composition in which fantasy has a free field.
Although their authors do not as a rule sin from excess of imagination, I would add to the above class those Acts which are simple adaptations. As a general rule the historic residue in these plagiarised compositions is of about the same value as that of the laboriously compiled romances of which mention has just been made; for the minimum of adaptation demanded to transform the history of one saint into that of another is necessarily concerned with his name, his feast and his shrine.
5. After the historical romances dealing with real personages, come the imaginative romances, in which the hero himself is the creation of the poet. The Passion of St. Nicephorus and the history of Barlaam and Joasaph are types of this class.
6. It is only proper to place in a separate category all forgeries properly so called, that is to say, all [115] hagiographic legends composed with the object of deceiving the reader. It is not always easy to ascertain the real author of the fraud, and it must frequently happen that the editor has merely registered a version which circulated before his day; in that case the work must be classified under one of the previous headings.[[1]]
[1] M. A. Harnack, Die Chronologie der altchristlichen Litteratur bis Eusebius, vol. ii., Leipzig, 1904, pp. 464-65, quotes our classification with approval. He proposes to add a seventh category, that of a class of dummy Acts drawn up solely upon the model of celebrated Passions. From the historic standpoint which we have adopted this group would be included in our fourth category.
We might refrain here from entering into fuller explanations, and might leave to the reader the task of applying the principles enunciated to the numerous examples before him. It would indeed require endless investigations, and the combined efforts of many workers to arrive at a strict classification, under the various headings enumerated, of all the hagiographic legends that have come down to us. We can, however, scarcely dispense ourselves from passing in rapid review, a justly celebrated collection which for a long period, in the eyes of most scholars, expressed the latest word in hagiographic criticism, and thanks to which the line of demarcation between fable and history had been drawn once and for all: we refer to Dom Ruinart's Acta sincera.
This fine work well-conceived, if somewhat summarily carried out, has rendered the greatest service, and it would be a grave injustice on our part to attempt to depreciate it. It is, however, only right to say that it fails to come up to modern requirements. Every one is to-day agreed in demanding better authenticated texts according to strict philological methods. The necessity for a process of weeding out, or to speak [116] more precisely, for a re-classification of the documents selected by Ruinart seems not to be so keenly felt.
Let us admit also that, from our modern standpoint, the title of Acta sincera lends itself easily to misconceptions. I feel no difficulty in allowing that all the Acts collected by the learned Benedictine are "sincere" in the sense that he set himself to exclude from his collection all the fabrications of forgers. But his selections are not all sincere in the sense that we can accept them as pure historic sources without any alloy of fiction or fantasy. Prudentius, like many other poets, is sincere, but who would ever dream of accepting his poems as though they were an historic text? The candid and loyal soul of St. John Chrysostom is reflected in his panegyrics no less than in his homilies, but ought we therefore to neglect to take into account the oratorical temperament and must we give to his sermons the same value as to a legal report? Clearly not. But what every one would freely admit in regard to a poem or an oratorical passage is too often forgotten when we are dealing with narratives by unknown authors, of which the historic: value can only be determined by internal criteria.
It has been customary to place all Ruinart's texts on the same level, and, taking them in the mass, to attribute to them an absolute authority. It would be easy to quote a whole series of writings on the history of the primitive Church, or on various points of discipline in which the Acta sincera are cited promiscuously without any one having realised the necessity of some sifting process with a view to the special use that was to be made of them. Save for the recent revision by Harnack,[[1]] it may be said that the lists of authentic records [117] drawn up of late years give evidence of very little serious labour. Except for a few insignificant corrections they are simply the reproduction of Ruinart's tables.[[1]] It has not been sufficiently noted that the learned Benedictine had somewhat vague ideas concerning the classification of hagiographic texts. Nowhere does he lay down any criteria for distinguishing between them, and his solitary rule appears to have been to give concerning every martyr the most ancient and most respectable record he could find.
[1] Die Chronologie, vol. ii., pp. 463-82. See also Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiii., pp. 476-80. [We-may also refer to the chapter 'Les Passion historiques,' in Les Passion des martyrs et les genres littéraires, p. 11-182.]
[1] Preuschen in Harnack, Geschichte der aitchristlichen Litteratur bis Eusebius, vol. i., pp. 807-34; G. Kriiger, Geschichte der altchristlichen Litteratur in den ersten drei Jahrhunderten, pp. 237-45; Dictionnaire de theólogie Catholique, vol. i., pp. 320-34; Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, vol. i., pp. 409-10.
The Acta sincera are composed of one hundred and seventeen documents[[2]] of a very unequal value which it is manifestly impossible to subject to a uniform critical examination, and which, therefore, must be considered in groups.
[2] The Acta Firmi et Rustici were added by the Verona editor.
Concerning a small number of saints (Irenaeus, Alexander Bishop of Jerusalem, Priscus, Malchus and Alexander, Mamas, Soteris) Ruinart has been compelled to restrict himself to putting together a few scattered fragments with which to make compilations of the kind entitled by the Bollandists Sylloge.
In the case of others he has availed himself of authors, whether historians, orators or poets, whosr, writings are sufficiently well known and whose credibility is recognised. Thus he quotes Eusebius for Jacob, Bishop of Jerusalem, Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, Ptolemaeus and Lucius, Apollonius, Leonides and companions, Dionysius, Alexandrinus, Maximus, the martyrs under Diocletian, the Palestinian martyrs and Romanus. He [118] quotes Prudentius for Hippolytus, Laurentius, Romanus, Vincentius, Eulalia, Agnes, the martyrs of Saragossa, Quirinus and Cassianus; St. John Chrysostom for Domnina and companions, Lucianus, Pelagia, Drosis and Julianus; St. Gregory of Nyssa for Theodorus, martyr; St. Basil for Barlaam,[[1]] Gordius, Julitta and the Forty Martyrs; St. Astedus of Amasea for Euphemia and Phocas; St. Ambrose for Laurentius, Vitalis and Agricola, Agnes, Theodora and Didymus; Rufinus for Apollonius and Theodorus, confessor; Paulinus of Nola for Felix; Socrates for Macedonius and companions; Sozomen for Eusebius and companions and Basil of Ancyra; Theodoret for Cyrillus and companions, Juventinus and Maximinus ; Palladius for Potamimna; St. Augustine for the twenty African martyrs; and finally St. Vigilius for Sisinnius and companions.
[1] The attribution to St. Basil is erroneous. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., p. 132.
There remain the separate Passions to the number of seventy-four, upon which the future efforts of criticism will have to be directed. Already a certain number of these have been definitely classed. Others have received provisional recognition, while it is to be feared that not a few will have to remain in the limbo to which critics have been forced to relegate them from lack of information by which to judge of their merits or demerits.
Scholars are genemlly agreed in giving the place of honour--corresponding to the two first categories in our classification-to certain celebrated documents of which unhappily the list is far from long: Polycarp, Justinus, the Martyrs of Lyons, the Scillitan Martyrs,[[2]] Perpetua [[3]], [119] Cyprianus, Fructuosus, Jacob and Marianus, Maximilianus, Marcellus and Cassianus Tingitanus.[[*]] If one puts the setting out of the question, and simply retains the Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans which belongs to them it is evident that the Acts of St Ignatius of Antioch should be classed among the pearls of the collection.[[1']]Nor must we forget the Passion of St. Procopius of which the great importance was not at first discerned, as it was not recognised as being a fragment of the book of the martyrs of Palestine,[2] an authentic work by Eusebius.
[2] The recension given by Ruinart, Bibl. hag. lat., n. 7531, ought to be replaced by Bibl. hag. lat., n. 7527.
[3]See p. 24 above.]
[*] This l9st name is omitted in 3d ed. and the following reference added for Marcellus: Analecta Bollandiana, vol. x1i, p. 251-87. Then the following sentence is inserted: It is necessary to add Felix, relieved of the serious interpolations which have made him suspect - ibid., vol. xxxix, p. 241-76 - Pionius, Montanus and Lucius, Sabas Gothus - See our Saints de Thrace et de Mésie, p. 288-91 -Phileas and Philoromus - see our Martyrs d'Egypte, p. 161-68.]
[1] Vain efforts have been made to rehabilitate the Ignatian Acts in their entirety. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvii., p. 362; vol. xix., p. 38.
[2] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., p. 115.
Let us pass at once to the other extreme. The Passio Nicephori and the Passio Bonifatii belong to the category of imaginative romance. We may add to them the Acts of Didymus and Theodora [3]] of Genesius the Comedian, as well as the Acts of Theodotus of Ancyra of which the kernel is a tale related by Herodotus. [[4]] while the existence of the hero of the narrative is not vouched for by any historical document.[[5]]
[3] To be compared with the Acts of Alexander and Antonina, Acta SS., May, vol. i., pp. 744-46.
[4] Concerning this tale see A. Schiefner, De quelques versions orientales du conte du trésor de Rhampsinite in the Bulletin de I'Académie de Saint-Pétersbourg, vol. xiv., 1869, pp. 299-316.
[5] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., pp. 320-28; vol. xxiii., p. 478.
The historical romance category, that is to say the fourth variety of hagiographic texts, is by no means slenderly represented in Ruinart. No one will resent our placing on the list Symphorosa, Felicitas and her seven sons, Afra, Cyricus and Julitta, Petrus [120] Balsamus, Vincentius, Firmus and Rusticus, Lucianus and Marianus. I can see no sufficient reason for according a higher place to the Martyrs of Agaunum, to Donatianus and Rogatianus, Victor, Tarachus and Probus, Ferreolus, Arcadius or to Leo and Paregorius.[[*]]
[*] To this list the 3d ed. adds Trypho and Respicius. In the preceding sentence the name of Afra was deleted in the 3d ed.]
The remaining documents of the collection must remain for the time being in the third category, i.e., among the Passions which have as their principal source an historic document of the first or the second rank. Is it necessary to add that this class subdivides itself into numerous varieties determined both by the quality of the primitive document and the capacity of the editor? Nor must it be forgotten that in the case of the majority of these documents critics have not yet been able to arrive at a unanimous conclusion, owing to their not having been submitted to any searching study; let us add that some of them, by reason of their mixed character, lend themselves with difficulty to a strict classification.
The most important of the contents of the third class are undoubtedly the Passions of Pionius, Montanus and Lucius, Maximus and Crispina [[+]] Possibly it may be thought that they have not been placed in sufficiently good company. I do not think it would be justifiable to show them greater honour. It is scarcely possible to hesitate as to adding to them the following Passions: Achatius, Petrus, Andreas and his companions, Felix,[[1]] Saturninus, Dativus and his companions, Agape and Chionia,[[2]] IrenEeus, Pollio, Euplus, [112] Philippus,[[1]] Phileas and Philoromus,[[2]] Quirinus, Julius, Marcianus and Nicander[[3]] and Sabas Gothus.[[4]]
[+] The first three names deleted in 3d ed.
[1] The Acts of St. Felix no longer exist in their primitive form. The portion concerning the journey to Italy is an interpolation. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., pp. 27-28; vol. xxii., p. 460.
[2] P. Franchi, Nuove note agiografiche in Studi e Testi, vol. ix., pp. 3-19. [The list is considerably changed in the 3d ed.]
[1] J. Fuehrer in the Mittheilungen des k. deutschen archaeologischen Instituts, Roman section, vol. vii., 1892, pp. 158-65; Harnack, Die Chronologie, p. 478.
[2] C. Schmidt in Fragmente einer Schrift des Martyrerbischofs Petrus von Alexandrien in Texte und Untersuchungen, N.F., vol. v., p. 22, rejects these Acts. The judgment of Harnack in Die Chronologie is far more favourable.
[3] P. Franchi in Nuovo bullettino di archeologia cristiana, vol. x., 1904, pp. 22-26.
[4] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiii., pp. 96-98. [This is one of the names not included in the 3d ed. list, which concludes with this statement: The Acta disputationis of Achatius remain an enigma --Les Passions des martyrs, p. 344-364.]
To these may be added the following Acts which have been much less studied: Epipodius and Alexander, Trypho and Respicius, Cyrillus, Claudius, Astorius and his companions, Serenus, Faustus and Januarius, Genesius Arelatensis, Patricius Bishop of Prusa, and the Egyptian martyrs. It is not impossible that a thorough study of their origin and composition might result in the deposition of some of them from the rank that has so far been assigned to them.[[5]]
[5] P. Franchi in Nuovo bullettino, vol. x., p. 17. [From this list of names the 3d ed. deletes those of Trypho and Respicius.]
[6] J. Labourt, Le Christianisme dans 1'empire perse sous la dynastie sassanide, 224-632, Paris, 1904, pp. 63-82; H. Delehaye, Les versions grecques des actes des martyrs persans sous Sapor II1., Paris, 1905, pp. 5-19.
The Acts concerning the Persian martyrs (Symeon, Pherbute, Sadoth and Bademus) constitute a separate group which might be included in the class under discussion.[[6]] Previous to the publication of their various recensions (so far unprinted) both in Armenian and Syriac it would be premature to pronounce on the original form and consequently also on the documentary value of these narratives.
One can scarcely discuss Dom Ruinart's collection without mentioning the enterprise of Le Blant, to whom [122] we owe a I Supplement to the Acta Sincera ".[[1]] This learned scholar did not propose in any sense to enlarge Ruinart's volume by introducing into it historical texts that the erudite Benedictine had overlooked, or that had been brought to light by recent discoveries. He tried to show that various narratives not included in the Acta sincera "have retained-although re-cast and added to in varying degrees-certain genuine portions derived from original documents."[[2]] He calls these "interpolated Acts," possessing a certain value as containing fragments of the truth,[[3]] and the following is the method by which he proposes to identify them: "A systematic collating of these pieces with the information furnished by civil and criminal law, with the text of the most authentic Acts and with the data solidly established by witnesses from the past, such is, in my opinion, a clear means of establishing the degree of credibility to which hagiographic narratives may be entitled; such is the method I propose to follow in seeking out those grains of truth scattered through certain documents which, in accordance with the opinion of Tillemont cannot be wholly rejected even though they may offer some disquieting features ".[[4]]
[1] Les Actes des martyrs. Supplément aux Acta sincera de Dom Ruinart. Extrait des Mémoires de I'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles lettres, vol. xxx., 2nd part, Paris, 1882.
[2] Les perércuteurs et les martyrs aux premiers siècles de notre ère, Paris, 1893, p. 1.
[3] Les Acres des martyrs, p. 5.
I admire as highly as any one the vast erudition of Le Blant and the exemplary patience with which he has pursued the vestiges of antiquity, often so hard to recognise, through a mass of insipid literature. Yet it must needs be said that the very conception underlying his work has been a false one, and likely to [123] mislead investigators. For, in point of fact, in order that an interpolated or paraphrased narrative should possess any value it must be derived from some historical source the pedigree of which can be clearly ascertained. Purely literary accretions may go back very far without imparting the least credit to the stock on which they are grafted. In all ages centos from Virgil have been composed. Observe to what conclusions one might be drawn if one wished to make capital out of the antiquity of their various parts. From the correct legal phraseology to be met with in certain Passions we may sometimes, no doubt, conclude that the author lived at a time when the ancient formulae had not yet fallen into disuse, but more often it would be truer to infer that he had studied a classical model which had supplied him with felicitious expressions and technical phrases. It would be entirely a mistake to deduce from this solitary fact that he had worked on a historic record, and that his narrative was derived from a contemporary chronicle of events.
In point of fact Le Blant has frequently succeeded in discovering in documents of a debased period or devoid of historic value details which reveal a condition of things going back to classical antiquity; but he has been mistaken in concluding that "these writings have preserved, in more points than one, features of the lost originals".[[1]] If we followed him on these lines, we ought to infer from certain superficial indications that the Acts of St. Agnes, St. Agatha, St. Urban, SS. Cosmas and Damian, St Cecilia, etc., as we possess them to-day, are all versions of earlier Acts which have undergone, as he expresses it, "des retouches évidentes."[[2]] [124] I might quote more than one contemporary of our own, who in his novels has affected the knowledge of a specialist in certain technical details. Will posterity be forced to conclude that his stories possess a foundation of truth and that he has merely made a free use of original documents?
[1] Les Actes des martyrs, p. 127.
[2] Les persecuteurs et les martyrs, p. 1.
No doubt Le Blant has done good service by showing that frequently the information furnished by secondary texts is in agreement with that supplied by classic documents,"[[1]] but he was mistaken in supposing that "if these latter had not come into our hands we should have obtained much useful information from the rest concerning the principal features in the history of the persecutions ". On the contrary, it must be obvious to all that if we had not the check provided by the classic texts, we should have no means of discerning the really primitive elements in documents without intrinsic value, and that we should be building up the history of the persecutions upon a foundation of sand.
[I] Les Actes des martyrs. p. 279.
This, however, is no reason for giving up the idea of supplementing Ruinart, after having taken much away from him. But, as we have seen, the first thing to be done is to realise clearly the place to be given to every document in the hierarchy of hagiographic records. The new Ruinart which we should like to compile would only contain the historical records belonging to the first three categories set out at the beginning of this chapter.
CHAPTER V: THE "DOSSIER" OF A SAINT.
Documents concerning St. Procopius of Caesarea -- Account given by Eusebius - Monuments
testifying to the cultus - The three legends of St. Procopius - Analysis of the three legends -
The Synaxaries - Latin Acts of St. Procopius -Adaptations to St. Ephysius and to St. John of
Alexandria - Conclusions.
It is often an arduous task to establish the claims of a saint of the first centuries to the honours of public worship. Where historical documents are not entirely lacking they have sometimes undergone such marked modifications under the combined efforts of legend and legend writers that one can only make use of them with extreme caution. Nor is it all plain sailing when, by rare good fortune, the cause of a saint is founded on a comparatively well-furnished record. One must know how to classify the documents, to interpret them at their proper value, to weigh evidence, and to establish the degree of credibility to which each witness is entitled. It is a long and infinitely delicate task in which the inexperienced critic, unfamiliar with hagiography, meets with many a disappointment.
A providential accident has preserved for us an exceptionally complete series of documents concerning a saint of the persecution under Diocletian. Contemporary records, narratives derived from them and revised more than once, entries in the martyrologies, historical [126] proofs of the existence of a local cultus, the distant echoes of legend, everything that tradition is in the habit of distributing with niggardly hand between several saints is here united round a single name. The saint in question is St. Procopius, the "great martyr," honoured by the Greek Church on 8th July, and inscribed on the same date in the Roman Martyrology. In following step by step the traces of his cultus in literary monuments we shall arrive at an exact appreciation of the value of the documents concerning him. It will then be easy to extend to analogous cases the conclusions to which this examination will have led us.[[1]]
[1] Concerning all this see Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., pp. 113-22.
St. Procopius is the first of those martyrs of Palestine, of whom Eusebius, at once historian and eye-witness of the great persecution, has related the valiant resistance and the intrepid calmness in the face of death. Two versions have come down to us of Eusebius's tractate. The shortest and best known is usually read between the eighth and ninth book of the Ecclesiastical History. The other, more developed, has only come down to us in its entirety in a Syriac translation. Of the Greek text there only remain fragments and abstracts. The chapter concerning Procopius in the longer recension has not been found, like other chapters of the same work, in the Greek menologies. But the Latin Passionaries have preserved this fragment of Eusebius's book, the only fragment, so far as is known, to penetrate to the West. The following are the words in which the Bishop of Caesarea relates the history of Procopius and his martyrdom. [[2]]
[2] Bibl. hag. lat., n. 6949.
The first of the martyrs of Palestine was Procoplus, [127] a man filled with Divine grace, who, before his martyrdom, had ordered his life so well that from childhood he had been vowed to chastity and to the practice of all the virtues. He had reduced his body until he had given it so to speak the appearance of a corpse, by his soul drew from the Word of God so great a vigour that the body itself was refreshed by it. He lived on bread and water, and only ate food every two or three days; sometimes he prolonged his fast during a whole week. Meditation on the Divine Word so filled his being that he remained absorbed in it day and nig4 without any sense of fatigue. Filled with goodness and gentleness, regarding himself as the least of men he edified every one by his discourses.[[1]] The word of God was his sole study, and of profane sciences he had but a mediocre knowledge. Born at Elia, he had taken up his residence at Scythopolis where he filled three ecclesiastical functions. He was reader and interpreter in the Syriac language, and cast out evil spirits by the imposition of hands.
[1] The condition of the text renders the sentence very difficult to translate. We can only give the general sense of the passage.
"Sent with companions from Scythopolis to Caesarea he had scarcely passed the city gates when he was conducted into the presence of the governor, and even before he had had a taste of chains or prison walls It. was at once urged by the judge Flavian to sacrifice to the gods. But he, in a strong voice, proclaimed that there are not several gods, but one alone, the creator and author of all things. This answer made a vivid impression on the judge. Finding nothing to say in reply, he tried to persuade Procopius at least to sacrifice to the Emperors. But the martyr of God despised his entreaties. 'Listen,' he said,' to this verse of Homer. [128] It is not good to have several masters ; let there be one single chief, one single king.'
Ouk agathon polukirane -- eis koiranos esto
Eis basileus [Iliad ii.204]
At these words, as though he had uttered imprecations against the emperors, the judge ordered him to be led to the place of execution. They cut off his head, and he passed happily to eternal life by the shortest road, on the 7th of the month of Desius, the day that the Latins call the nones of July, in the first year of our persecution. This was the first martyrdom that took place at Caesarea."
Comment would but weaken the impression made by this noble and sober narrative, and, in our own day, no one would dream of putting it into a better style, as the process was called in the Middle Ages. We shall see directly the sort of success it achieved.
It was not long before St. Procopius was in the enjoyment of all the honours accorded to martyrs. It is perhaps scarcely right to quote in evidence the inscription of his name in the Eastern martyrology, which has come down to us in the pseudo-Hieronymian compilation. He figures on 8th July, under the formula, In Carsarea Cappadocia, Procopi. The value of this evidence is not actually lessened by the erroneous reference to Caesarea in Cappadocia, instead of to Caesarea in Palestine. This is a mistake which runs through the Hieronymian martyrology and was wholly attributable to the editor. But the Oriental annals depended, in the case of the Palestine martyrs, on Eusebius's book. They do not therefore in themselves testify to the existence of a living cultus.
Happily, so far as St. Procopius is concerned, we [129] have other proofs establishing the antiquity of the honours rendered him. Pilgrims journeyed to Caesarea to venerate his holy remains,[[1]] over which they erected a basilica. In 484 it was restored by the Emperor Zeno.[[2]] Scythopolis, the home of the martyr, also set up a shrine in his honour the existence of which was attested in the sixth century.[[3]] Devotion to St. Procopius must soon have become popular and have spread far beyond the boundaries of Palestine. In proof of this we find the blossoming of legends which early developed around the memory of the martyr of Caesarea, and of which we shall attempt to trace out the principal phases.
[1] Antonini Itinerarium, 46, Geyer, p. 190.
[2] Chronicon paschale, ed. Paris, p. 327.
[3] Cyrilli Scythopolitani, Vita S. Sabae, c. 75, Cotelier, p. 349.
There are in existence a whole series of different versions, for the most part unpublished, of the legend of St. Procopius, for the detailed study of which there is no room here. On some other occasion we propose to discuss from a technical point of view and to classify the various texts in their relations to one another. But the following are the results to which this work of classification has led us.
Three main versions of the legend must be distinguished. The first, and the most ancient, is represented by the text of the Paris manuscript, 1470,[[4]] and by a Latin Passion which has come down to us in a manuscript belonging to Monte Cassino.[[5]] The Latin version presupposes a Greek version varying somewhat from the one that we still possess. We shall, however, restrict ourselves to a study of this latter, as [130] from our immediate point of view the divergences are of no importance. The group thus composed of the two texts will henceforth be referred to as the first legend of St. Procopius.
[4] Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum graecorum bibliothcoe nationalis Parisiensis, p. 149. [publ. in Les légendes grecques des saints militaires, p. 214-27.]
The second legend is to be met with in a large number of manuscripts, in various more or less developed versions. M. A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus has published the one which is most widely spread, printed from a manuscript in the convent of Vatopedi on Mount Athos.[[1]] Unhappily this particular copy is abridged, and in order to analyse the legend we have made use of the Greek manuscript Paris, 897.
[1] 'Analekta hierosolymitikes stachyologias, vol. v., St. Petersburg, 1898, pp. 1-27.
The title of third legend will be reserved for the group consisting of two closely allied versions of which one has been published in Greek by the Bollandists,[[2]] and the other in Latin by Lipomani,[[3]] and after him by Suriius.[[4]]
[2] Acta SS., July, vol. ii., pp. 556-76.
[3] Tomus sextus vitlarum sanctorum patrum, Rome, 1558, ff. 10715V.
[4] De probatis sanctorum vitis, for 8th July.
We need not at this point take into consideration the various panegyrics of the saint, which are usually derived from one or other of the preceding categories.
We shall begin by summarising the first legend of St. Procopius. As far as bulk is concerned, it is seven or eight times as long as Eusebius's narrative: of its literary qualities the reader must judge for himself.
The narrative opens with an imaginary edict by Diocletian, a violent attack upon the faithful. The persecution breaks out and the judge, Flavianus, a monster of cruelty, arrives at Caesarea. The Blessed Procopius was a native of Elia and performed the functions of lector and exorcist. His ministry met [131] with so much success that the attention of Flavianus was quite naturally drawn to him. Accordingly Flavianus summons him to his presence.
The judge is seated on the judgment-seat when Blessed Procopius is led in. As soon as he appears the people are unable to restrain their fury and roar like wild beasts: "There is the man who despises our gods, and tramples under foot the decree of the emperor ". Flavianus, inspired by the devil, asks the martyr: "What is your name?" The martyr replies: "Ia m a Christian. My name is Procopius." The judge: "Are you alone ignorant of the divine commands of the Emperor, in accordance with which those who refuse to sacrifice to the gods must themselves be tortured and put to death? I cannot express my astonishment at seeing you, at your mature age, acting with such madness. How can you teach others, when you yourself have lost your senses? How dare you pretend that God was born of a woman and was crucified! Who would not scoff at such an invention ? I warn you, therefore, to forsake this foolish error and to sacrifice to the gods and respectfully adore the image of the emperor, if you do not wish to suffer death. It is to be hoped that the tortures undergone by those who have preceded you may teach you a little sense."
This harangue by Flavianus is followed by a long speech from the martyr, who exhorts him to recognise God the Creator. Among the arguments he brings forward are the views of the philosophers, Hermes Trismegistus, Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Galen and Scamandrus, who all proclaimed the unity of God. After various arguments in favour of Christianity the orator is interrupted by the judge who mingles threats with his exhortations. [132] The martyr replies, but this time with less calm, nor is he sparing of insults. The invectives fade away into a lengthy dissertation, after which the judge orders the tortures to be begun. The martyr is strung up, his body is scraped, his wounds are made more painful by being covered with salt and rubbed with a rough hair-cloth. The executioners tear the flesh on his face with iron hooks till he is past recognition, and they break his bones.
Then the judge commands a certain person named Archelaus to cut the martyes head off, but the man's hands are suddenly paralysed and he falls down dead.
The exasperated Flavianus sends Procopius to prison, loaded with chains. There the martyr recites a long prayer. Christ appears to him in the guise of an angel and heals his wounds. Three days later there is a second interrogatory, in the course of which Flavianus reproaches him for having had recourse to magic in order to kill Archelaus and to efface the scars of his own wounds. Then he orders him to be hung up and whipped with thongs of ox hide; the executioners apply burning coal to his back and reopen all his wounds by driving red-hot nails into his flesh. The saint does not cease speaking and overwhelms the judge with reproaches and insults, to which the judge replies by fresh tortures. The dialogue continues while more red-hot skewers are driven into the martyr's flesh. At length Flavianus invents a fresh ordeal. He orders a little altar to be set up. The martyr is made to stretch out his hand filled with burning coal, and incense is flung upon it "If you throw the burning incense on the altar," declares Flavianus, "you will have sacrificed to the gods." Procopius remains resolute and his hand never moves. He weeps, but it [133] is not his own sufferings that draws tears from his eyes, but the obstinacy of Flavianus. Thunderstruck, Flavianus at length pronounces sentence of death. The Blessed Procopius is led outside the town to be executed. He begs for an hour's reprieve, and offers up a lengthy prayer, after which he submits to the fatal blow. The Christians carry off his body and give it decent sepulture.
Here we are indeed far removed from the discreet simplicity of Eusebius and the pious enthusiasm which pervades his narrative. The Passio Procopii, that we have summarised, is a piece of cold and clumsy rhetoric, relying for its effect on long speeches supplemented by commonplace sentiments and descriptions of tortures.
It cannot be pretended that the hagiographer was compelled to write in this way for lack of information concerning the saint. He had in his hands, not the mere summary by Eusebius contained in the Ecclesiastical History, but his developed text. It was there he learned that Procopius was a native of Elia, that he lived a holy life, that he performed ecclesiastical functions-as he omits all reference to Scythopolis, the assumption is that it was at Jerusalem-that the judge was named Flavianus, that the martyr died by the sword. Everything that he adds is pure invention, as, for example, the episode of Archelaus miraculously struck down at the moment when he is about to decapitate the saint, the vision enjoyed by the martyr in prison, the instant healing of his wounds, and finally the scene of the incense which is borrowed from the life of St Barlaam. [[1]]
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., pp. 134-45.
It is not my, beneath these borrowed plumes, to [134] recognise the martyr commended by Eusebius, the simple-minded Christian nourished on Holy Scripture, an entire stranger to rhetorical methods and dialectical subtlety. True, we still have the lector, the exorcist and the ascetic. In later legends the transformation is carried much farther. In them the austere figure of the clerk of Scythopolis is wholly lost, and we have in his place a mail-clad warrior, his sword by his side and his lance at rest.
We must now summarise the second legend, notably longer than its predecessor.
Diocletian initiated a terrible persecution against the Christians, despatching edicts to all parts. The contents of the copy sent to Elia are given. The emperor himself goes to Egypt where he defeats the usurper Achilles, and thence he proceeds to Antioch where he receives from the senate a sort of profession of idolatrous faith.
Now there lived at Jerusalem, at that time called Elia, a noble lady named Theodosia who had a son named Neanias, a pagan like herself. His mother brought him to Antioch in order to recommend him to the kind notice of the emperor. The latter, captivated by his good looks and by his zeal on behalf of the heathen deities, forthwith created him Duke of Alexandria, and before he started to take up his new appointment urged upon him to seek out the Christians and to punish them severely. And in order to convince him of the folly of the Christians, Diocletian gave him a summary of the life of Christ with commentaries of his own.
Thus Neanias takes his departure, like a second Saul, breathing hatred and vengeance. But he too was to tread the road to Damascus. As he was leaving [135] Apamea, an earthquake accompanied by lightning made itself felt, and a voice from a cloud was heard: "Whither goest thou, Neanias?" At the same time a crystal cross became visible, and he heard the words: "I am Jesus crucified, the Son of God". Neanias makes various protestations, but the voice continues, "Thou shalt be to me a vessel of election," and again, "By this sign thou shalt conquer ".
The converted Neanias journeys with his soldiers to Scythopolis, and there commissions a certain Mark to make him a gold and silver cross similar to the one seen in his vision. As soon as it was completed three figures appeared upon it with the names in Hebrew, Emanuel, Michael and Gabriel. With the help of this miraculous cross Neanias put to flight a body of Agarenians, killing 6,000 of them. He then returned home to his mother and broke up all the family idols, distributing the precious metal among the poor. His terrified mother denounces her son to Diocletian, and he consoles her by giving her permission to select a new son for herself from among the senators. At the same time he despatches a letter to the governor named Oulcion, charging him to examine Neanias and put him to death with torture should he persist in his impiety. Neanias learns the contents of the emperor's letter, tears it into a thousand fragments, and declares himself a Christian. The governor orders him to be put in chains and escorted to Cxsarea.
Oulcion presides at the trial and condemns Neanias to be hung up and his flesh torn with iron hooks. When the executioners are exhausted and all the martyr's bones are exposed, he is led back to prison. There he is visited by angels, and favoured by a vision of Christ who baptises him, changes his name to Procopius and heals all his wounds.
[136] The next day there is a fresh interrogatory. The governor attributes the healing of the martyr to the power of the gods. Procopius immediately requests to be taken to the temple. The impious judge and the people imagine that the constancy of the martyr has given way and that he is about to sacrifice to the gods. He is therefore conducted to the temple with much pomp. But far from denying his Christian faith, Neanias breaks the idols in pieces by the virtue of the sign of the cross.
Here two long episodes occur. The first is that of the conversion of the soldiers, who go to visit Procopius in prison. The martyr persuades his jailer to allow him to conduct them to the bishop Leontius who baptises them, after which the martyr returns to prison. He confirms the new converts in their faith, and later they are martyred before his eyes.
As a counterpart to this narrative concerning the soldiers we next have the history of twelve matrons of senatorial rank who, in their turn, embrace the Christian religion and die after enduring inexpressible tortures. Theodosia, -the mother of Procopius, is so touched by the spectacle of their constancy that she too is converted and suffers death with them.
Not long afterwards the governor Oulcion contracts a malignant fever and dies, and Flavianus takes his place at Caesarea. The martyr is summoned before his tribunal, and there follow almost all the scenes described in the earlier legend.
Is it necessary to bring evidence to prove that this version is of later date than that which we have entitled the first legend? It is clear that this longer story is derived from it and marks a definite step in the legendary development. Neither the setting nor the [137] rhetoric of the first legend went so far as to alter the physiognomy of the martyr in any essential details. It preserved at least the memory of his ecclesiastical functions. In the later version the lector and exorcist disappears entirely, and we have in his stead a young heathen soldier and magistrate miraculously converted to Christianity. His name was originally Neanias, and it required nothing less than a vision to impose the name Procopius upon him.
This detail alone should suffice to betray the methods of the hagiographer. He has joined together two histories, that of Neanias which took place under the governorship of Oulcion and that of Procopius with Flavianus as judge.
What is the origin of the Neanias legend ? It is impossible to say, nor is it necessary to investigate further before relegating it among compositions of the purest fantasy. It is a medley of stock incidents and reminiscences. The conversion of St. Paul, the vision of Constantine, the Acts of St, Polycarp and many other narratives which it were tedious to recall further, have furnished the compiler of this history with the main incidents. The introduction of Neanias into the legend has completed the metamorphosis of St. Procopius. Save for his name, nothing remains of him, and of Eusebius's narrative one can recall only vague remiriiscences seen in the names of Elia, Scythopolis, Caasama and Flaviartus.
The second legend is of great antiquity. It was current in the eighth century, and inspired sufficient confidence to be produced before the Fathers of the second council of Nicaea.[[1]] The episode of the miraculous cross was quoted as evidence in favour of the [138] veneration of images, as may be read in the Acts of the Council.
[1] Hardouin, Concilia, vol. iv., pp. 229-32.
In its third disguise the legend has enjoyed a notoriety no less widespread. It was incorporated in the collection of Metaphrastes, and with the other documents was reproduced in a large number of copies.[[1]]
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi., pp. 311-29.
There are even in existence two versions of this recension, of which the one that would appear to be the earlier in point of date has not yet been printed. We can, however, gather a sufficient idea of it from the translation published by Lipomani.[[2]] The second provides the text of the Acta Sanctorum. These two versions of the third legend are not sufficiently distinct to require separate treatment here. Without any inconvenience we may pass over the details peculiar to each and restrict ourselves to the features they possess in common.
[2] See above, p. 130.
Let us admit at once that between the second and third legend there are no essential differences. The succession of incidents is the same in both cases, nor has the new editor thought lit necessary to tone down the absurdities of his model. His efforts appear to have been concentrated upon the style, and all the conventions of old-fashioned rhetoric are pretentiously displayed throughout the pages in which the Passion of St. Procopius is supposed to be related in a more attractive form. I will quote only a single instance in illustration of the methods of a school of hagiographers which has enjoyed much popularity.
Each time the editor comes across an historical or geographical name he uses it as a text on which to build up an -erudite little dissertation into which he [139]drags all the reminiscences that the name recalls to his mind. Thus, when be relates that Diocletian arrived at Antioch, it reminds him that at Daphne, near the town, there was a celebrated sanctuary of Apollo. He therefore hastens to add that the Emperor went there to make solemn sacrifice to the God. Nor was it possible for him to forget that Antioch played an illustrious part in the history of the primitive Church, and that it was there the disciples of the new faith first received the title of Christians. The writer has no idea of passing the fact over in silence. [[1]]
[1] Acta SS., July, vol. ii., p. 55, n. 5, 6.
A few lines farther on the question arises as to the native town of Theodosia, the mother of Procopius. In all earlier texts the town had been said to be Elia. This is how the new editor deals with the theme: "Theodosia occupied a leading position in the city. This city had previously borne the names of Jerusalem and of Sion. But after it had been taken by the Romans as a punishment for its crime towards Christ, Hadrian, who then wielded the imperial sceptre, renamed it Elia."[[2]]
[2] Ibid., n. 7.
The mention of Caesarea furnishes yet further occasion for a display of erudition. Unfortunately in this instance the editor's learning is at fault, for he confuses Caesarea Paneas or Philippi with Caesarea Stratonica in Palestine, and he flounders in his error. "The judge commanded that the saint should be conducted to Caesarea, where he was busy with the construction of a temple. We refer to that town of Caesarea which we are accustomed to call of Philip, and which was formerly called Tower of Straton. The Plicenicians named it Paneas, a title derived from the neighbouring [140] mountain range Paneos. And as we have recalled that town, we should reproach ourselves were we to pass over in silence an interesting story that has reference to it " . . . and he proceeds to relate, in the words of Eusebius,[[l]] the well-known legend of the sculptured group representing, according to tradition, Christ and the woman who suffered from an issue of blood.[[2]]
[1] Hist. Eccl., viii., 18.
[2] Acta SS., July, vol. ii., pp. 563-64, n. 27-29.
We need not proceed further with the accumulation of proofs of the pedantry of our author. It has not diminished the popularity of his narrative. It is of this third legend that there still exists the greatest number of copies, and it served definitely to instal St. Procopius for all future ages in the character of a warrior martyr.
The inevitable result of transforming Procopius lector into Procopius soldier has been to duplicate the individual. In certain synaxaries one may read, under the date 8th July, the passion of the great martyr Procopius, that is to say the officer of the second and third legend, followed by the commemoration of Procopius, exorcist, martyred at Caesarea.[[3]] This latter is further celebrated on 22nd November, and on that occasion a slightly abbreviated version of Eusebius's account is read.[[4]]
[3] Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, pp. 805, 808.
In some copies the commemoration of St. Procopius is repeated on the following day, 23rd November. But there he no longer bears his own name "Procopius of Palestine," but is styled Procopius "who suffered in Persia "[[5]]
[5] Ibid., pp. 247, 249.
Whence comes this qualification? We know of no [141] Persian martyr of the name of Procopius- It is obvious that we are here in the presence of a blunder, but it is impossible to ascertain its origin in any very precise way, and we can but chronicle another of the many aberrations of the compilers of synaxaries. Those who are in the habit of handling this class of volume will entertain no doubt whatever that it is the one and only St. Procopius who is made to figure in these various disguises.[[1]]
[1] The Vatican MS. 679 contains an enkomion eis ton hosion martura Prokopion ton Persyn, of which the author is Hesychius, a priest of Jerusalem. There is nothing in this document by which one may distinguish Procopius the Persian from Procopius of Caesarea. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiv., pp. 473-82.
The synaxaries of recent date and the menaea which have borrowed their historical sections, only inscribe St. Procopius the officer, and add commemorations of his mother Theodosia, of the twelve matrons put to death with her, and of the officers Antiochus and Nicostratus, who, according to the legend, were in command of the soldiers converted by Procopius.
The Latins[[2]] have also studied the Acts of St Procopius, and we have seen that the original narrative of Eusebius has been preserved as a separate document in their passionaries alone. From it is derived the very exact commemoration contained in the historic Latin martyrologies.[[3]] We have explained further that the [142] first legend of St. Procopius was probably known to the West through a Latin version made in Southern Italy. The portion of the second legend that was read at the Council of Nicaea was translated by Anastasius the librarian. But it is almost certain that a complete translation must also have existed.
[2] 1 will not discuss here the cultus of St. Procopius in Slavonic countries. The literary monuments all have their origin in Greek sources. The others are of comparatively recent date. Concerning the cultus of the saint in Servia see C. Jirecek, Das Christliche Element in der topographischen Nomenclatur der Balkanldnder in the Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, vol. cxxxvi., 1897, n. xi., pp. 36-37.
[3] The following is the text of Adon: "In Palaestina natalis sancti Procopii martyris, qui ab Scythopoli ductus Caesaream, ad primam responsionum eius confidentiam, irato judice Fabiano (read Flaviano) capite caesus est". The same account occurs in Usuard, Ed. Sollerius, pp. 388-89
We are justified in inferring this from a study of the Latin adaptations of the Acts of St. Procopius. For the illustrious martyr has not been spared a single one of the indignities to which clumsy hagiographers have subjected those saints on whom they have bestowed special attention. Not satisfied with composing on his behalf a history in which facts are completely travestied, and the character of the saint perverted, they have further transformed his history into a sort of passe-partout, a specimen biography which has been made to fit the lives of various obscure saints concerning whom all information is lacking.
The second legend of St. Procopius served in the first place to furnish Acts for St. Ephysius of Cagliari.[[1]] Apart from a few-petty incidents clumsily tacked on to the text, and a few names of places designed to connect the saint with Sardinia, the story such as we know it has scarcely been revised, and in particular nothing has been done to give it a greater appearance of probability.
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. iii., pp. 362-77.
There is of course no question of a mission to Alexandria in the legend of Ephysius, but the name of the city has become that of the mother of the martyr who, in the original legend, was called Theodosia. Both are equally described as noble ladies of Elia and as having for husband aChristian named Christopher. LikeProcopius, [143] Ephysius is taken to Antioch by his mother and introduced to Diocletian, who entrusts him with the duty of persecuting the Christians, not indeed of Egypt, but of Italy. The vision occurs at a place called Vrittania, and it is at Gaeta that a silversmith named John supplies him with a crucifix. By the power of the sign of the cross Ephysius scatters the Saracens and then sets sail for Sardinia. He lands at Arborea, and in a short time makes himself master of the whole island. It is from Cagliari that he writes to Diocletian and to his mother to announce his conversion.
The emperor despatches to him one of his officers named Julicus, who, on Ephysius's refusal to apostatise, subjects him to cruel tortures. Like Oulcion in the original legend, Julicus is shortly struck down by a fatal fever. His place is taken by Flavianus, whose acquaintance we have already made. This savage judge does not forget to inflict on the martyr the ordeal of St. Barlaam, after which he condemns him to have his head cut off. The sentence is carried out apud Caralitanam civitatem in loco qui dicitur Nuras.
The history ends with a short narrative concerning a St. Juvenalis, Archbishop of Cagliari, an entirely unknown personage,[[1]] and with the following declaration, which however does not enable us to believe for a moment in the good faith of the biographer: Cuius passionem ego presbyter Marcus, dum a principio usque ad finem oculis meis vidissem, oratu ipsius beati martyris Ephysi fideliter veraciterque descripsi proesentibus atque posteris profuturam.[[2]]
[1] Acta SS., May, vol. vi., 732. 3d ed.]
[2] "And seeing that I, Mark, the priest, had beheld his passion with my own eyes from the beginning unto the end, at the request of the blessed martyr Ephysius himself, I have faithfully and truly recounted it in the hope that it will be profitable alike to our contemporaries and to posterity." [Analecta Bollandiana, vol. iii., p. 377. 3d ed.]
[144] At Venice, in the church of St. Daniel, there is preserved the body of a St. John, martyr (sancti Johanis ducis Alexandrini martyris), which was brought there from Constantinople in 1215.[[1]] For this unknown martyr some history some needed, and no better plan was forthcoming than that of despoiling St. Procopius for his benefit, and applying to him the legend in all its details and in its most complete and fabulous form. In this case also the martyr was called Neanias in his pre-Christian days and his mother was born at Elia, while it was the Emperor Maximian who entrusted to him the duty of exterminating the faithful of Alexandria. The two prefects who successively summoned him before their tribunal bore the names of Oulcion and Flavianus; the conversion of the soldiers, of the twelve matrons and of the mother of the martyr all recur. Leontius, instead of being Bishop of Caesarea, figures on this occasion as Bishop of Alexandria, and it is in the latter city that John meets with his death.[[2]]
[1] Flaminius Cornelius, Ecclesix Veneta antiquis monumentis ... illustrata, vol. iv., Venice, 1749, pp. 170-71.
[2] Acta SS., May, vol. iv., pp. 304-7.
It is now time to summarise the preceding pages. Thanks to the testimony of Eusebius, the existence of the martyr St. Procopius is fully established together with the main outlines of his life and the manner of his death. Of itself this narrative would not be sufficient to establish the fact of a traditional cultus, and the same is true, as has been already explained, of the inclusion of the saint in the Hieronymian Martyrology. The existence, however, of the shrines at Caesarea and at Scythopolis supply an incontrovertible proof of veneration.
[145] The narrative of Eusebius was rapidly supplanted by legends throughout the East. It has left no trace in the Greek menologies in which the place which one would have liked to see assigned to it on 8th July is invariably filled by one or other of the legendary forms. Of the three legends with which we are familiar it is the most historical version that has enjoyed the least popularity.
One may say briefly that throughout the Middle Ages St Procopius was venerated in the character attributed to him by the second legend. Even in our own day he still belongs to the category of warrior saints. It is important to remember that the type is one common to a number of well-known heroes-George, Theodore, Mercurius, Menas, Demetrius and othersand that the only literary monuments in which we can inform ourselves concerning most of them are documents of the same class as those which constitute the legend of Procopius.[1] Let us now see how much of them the historian must reject or retain.
[1] See our Légendes grecques des saints militaires, p. 1-119. 3d ed.
The historic residue is this: a Christian named Procopius, a native of Jerusalem, was martyred under Diocletian by order of the judge Flavianus, and suffered death by the sword. We have the good fortune to be able to verify these details, and to confirm their accuracy, thanks to the single historical source which acquaints us with the personality of St. Procopius, and which a providential accident has preserved for us. On the other hand, the comparison of our legend with Eusebius's book establishes without a doubt that all the other details are a pure invention.
Thus the names of the saint's parents, his state of life, his qualities, his life and adventures, the tortures he endured, his imprisonment, the conversions he [146] brought about, his miracles, the visions with which he was favoured, all these are mere fabrications. Not only must the impossible Oulcion be expunged from the list of Roman magistrates, but we must exclude from the Greek liturgical books the names of Theodosia, of the twelve matrons and of the two officers as being the simple inventions of hagiographers.
And yet the legends we have been dissecting had their origin in a historical work of the first quality.[[1]] Such are the results hagiographers are capable of producing when they have good documents to work upon. In what terms shall we qualify their productions when, in the absence of all guidance, they have felt justified in giving free rein to their imaginations?
[1] Acta SS., July, vol. ii., p. 576.
In the dossier of St. Procopius, therefore, the legend fills the lowest place, and if we had no other document to add to it we should find ourselves reduced even when dealing with so illustrious a martyr to a series of notes of interrogation. The certitude at which we may arrive of the historical existence of a saint and the legitimacy of his cultus, in no sense depends on the popularity of his legend. A' few lines written by a contemporary, the text of a martyrology based on the liturgical traditions of a Church, or a basilica dating from ancient times, these are elements of far greater value to the student, and one is thankful to be able to affirm that they are not wholly lacking in the credentials of some very celebrated saints, whose credit has been seriously compromised by the clumsy tactics of their biographers.
Such testimony is not to be found, alas, among the documentary evidence concerning St. Ephysius of Cagliari or St. John of Alexandria. The very [147] existence of the former and the antiquity of the cultus paid to him are only guaranteed, as we have seen, by a title which is patently spurious. Saintship on this insecure basis is unhappily by no means without precedent in the annals of Sardinian hagiography.
As for the martyr John, it appears that his body was stolen from the chapel of a monastery in Constantinople as little known as the saint himself.[[1]] His incompetent biographer has only succeeded in accentuating our suspicions concerning his identity.
[1] Flaminus Cornelius, Ecclesiae Venetae, vol. iv., p. 171.
CHAPTER VI: PAGAN SURVIVALS AND REMINISCENCES.
Rites and symbols common to Christianity and to ancient religions - Suspicious Practices - Incubation -
Collections of Miracles - Literary borrowings from pagan sources - Unavoidable analogies - Superstitions.
The subject on which we are about to enter is fertile in surprises, and, let us confess at once, in regrettable confusions. It has borne, and still bears, the brunt of an over-ingenious criticism, eager to connect certain religious phenomena which come specially within the range of hagiography with certain pagan beliefs and practices. By means of a subtle exegesis, frequently based on a very wide learning, students try to discern beneath the surface of Christian legend remains of the older mythologies and links with an earlier worship; they point out, between rival religions, analogies or similitudes which they maintain can only be explained by the fact of their having been borrowed.
There are men indeed who do not hesitate to assert that in the struggle between Christianity and idolatry victory was not always on the side where it has been assumed to be, and, as might be supposed, it is the cultus of the saints that supplies arguments in support of this paradox.
[149] It were unfair to try and discredit the study of rites or of comparative religion by insisting unduly on the exaggerations of those who have sinned in these matters by over-refinement or by superficiality. The problem before us, in spite of the obscurity in which it is involved, is worthy of serious examination.
A material but wholly external link between the new religion and the old consists in the common possession of a certain number of rites and symbols which we are accustomed to regard as our own special property, and which we are consequently surprised to discern existing in polytheism and bearing much the same meaning.
In point of fact it would be very surprising if, when seeking to propagate her doctrines in the midst of Grmco-Roman civilisation, the Church had adopted for her intercourse with the people a wholly unknown language, and had systematically repudiated everything that until then had served to give expression to religious feeling.
Within the limit imposed by the conventions of race and culture, the method of interpreting the emotions of the heart cannot be indefinitely varied, and it was natural that the new religion should end by appropriating to itself a whole ritual which only required to be sanely interpreted to become the language of the Christian soul aspiring to the one True God. All external signs which did not implicitly involve the recognition of polytheism would find grace in the eyes of the Church, and if on the one hand she showed no undue haste in adapting them officially to her use, on the other hand she did not protest when they made their appearance as a means of expressing the religious instincts of the people. Certain attitudes of prayer and reverence, the [150] use of incense and of lamps burning night and day in the sanctuary, the offering of ex-votos as a testimony to benefits received, are such natural expressions of piety and gratitude towards a divine power, that it would be strange if their equivalents were not met with in all religions.
It is therefore an uncritical proceeding to fall back on the hypothesis of a direct bon-owing, when human nature, acting under the influence of religious feeling, affords an adequate explanation.[[1]] Nevertheless I know there are persons who in our places of pilgrimage cannot watch the faithful mounting the steps of the shrine on their knees, without reflecting that the Emperor Claudius ascended the steps of the Capitol in the same manner .[[2]] Others are quick to recall that renowned fresco in the Naples museum in which one may see a priest of Isis standing before the cd1a of the temple and [151] presenting to the adoration of the congregation a form of pyx containing water from the sacred Nile.[[1]] With but little alteration this scene might be made to represent an exposition of relics or a benediction in accordance with our existing rites. Cicero tells us that at Agrigentum, there was a much-venerated statue of Hercules of which the mouth and chin were worn away by the many worshippers who pressed their lips to it. The bronze foot of the statue of St. Peter in Rome has not withstood any better the kisses of the faithful.[[2]]
[1] The prayer of Demetrius, given by Seneca in De Providentia, v., 5-6, offers one of the most curious examples in illustration of this. The following are the terms in which the philosopher expresses the conformity of his will to that of the gods: "Hoc unum de vobis, di immortales, queri possum, quod non ante mihi voluntatern vestrm notam fecistis. Prior enim ad ista venissem, ad que nunc vocatus adsum. Vultis liberos sumere? vobis illos sustuli. Vultis aliquam partern corporis? surnite. Non magnam rem promitto; cito totum relinquam. Vultis spiritum? Quidni? nullam moram faciam, quo minus recipiatis quod dedistis. A volente feretis, quicquid petieritis. Quid ergo est? maluissem offerre quam tradere. Quid opus fuit auferre? accipere potuistis. Sed ne nunc quidern auteretis, quia nihil eripitur nisi retinenti. Nihil cogor nihil patior invitus, nec servio Deo sed adsentior, eo quidem magis quod scio, omnia certa et in aeternum dicta lege decurrere. If the reader will compare this prayer with the Suscipe of St. Ignatius, the eloquent outpouring which closes the volume of Spiritual Exercises, he will be surprised at the resemblance between the two. Yet it is scarcely temerarious of me to affirm that in the moment of composing it St. Ignatius was in no way inspired by the recent reading of Seneca.
[2] Dion Cassius, lx., 23.
[1] C. A. Bättiger, Isis-vesper in Kleine Schritten, vol. ii., Dresden, 1838, pp. 210-30.
[2] Verr, iv., 43
Yet modem Christians have undoubtedly learnt nothing from the Sicilian contemporaries of Verres, any more than the pilgrims dragging themselves on their knees in the fulfilment of a vow, or a Catholic priest blessing his congregation with a reliquary are carrying out rites inherited from the Romans under the Empire. What is true is that the same thought, under analogous circumstances has found expression after an interval of centuries in identical actions and attitudes. Concerning this point it appears to me that no further discussion is called for.
It must however be confessed that there are certain rites of a markedly pagan character sometimes brought to our notice, the origin of which is distinctly open to suspicion. The curious ceremony which consists in dipping the images of saints into water, too obviously recalls the sacred bath of the mother of the gods[[3]] for it to be possible that there is no connection between the two. In the same way, it has been thought the Church preserved for many centuries a survival of the [152] rite of incubation, a superstitious usage widely practised in the sanctuaries of Asculapius, Amphiaraus and Serapis. In its essential features it consisted in sleeping in the temple, after due preparation and certain prescribed ceremonies, with the object of being favoured in a dream by an apparition of the divinity, and obtaining either a revelation as to the future or the healing of some disease.
[3] Ovid, Fasti, iv., 337-46.
We possess very fall information concerning incubation, thanks mainly to the inscriptions at Epidaurus.' The object aimed at was the dream in which the god revealed himself and bestowed health, or, more frequently, indicated the treatment to be followed. The somewhat complicated ritual which usually served as preparation was only a condition for propitiating the divinity.
[1] Collitz-Bechtel, Sammlung der griechischen Dialekt-Inschritten, n. 3339-41; P. Cavvadias To hieron tou Askepoius en Epidauro, Athens, 1900, pp. 256-67. [A. Defrasse- H. Lechat, Epidaure, Paris, 1895. 3d ed.]
Among the documents which have been collected on the subject of Christian incubation[[2]] a first place must be accorded to the miracles of SS. Cosmas and Damian and SS. Cyrus and John. It would be difficult to deny that a number of their features do recall incubation as it was practised in the temples of Aesculapius. The saints appear to the patients during their sleep and either cure them or prescribe remedies. Nevertheless, there is nothing to show that at these Christian shrines the practice of incubation was systematically organised as it was at Epidaurus, or that we have in fact anything more here than isolated occurrences.
[2] L. Deubner, De incubatione capita quatuor, Leipzig, 1900, 138 pages. [3d ed. has added about two pages of discussions of incubation, with particular reference to practises in the Orient, largely drawn from his Les recueils antiques de miracles des saints, Brussels, 1925.]
Without wishing to contest the fact of the survival, in certain basilicas, of a rite that undoubtedly had its [153] superstitious side, we must not lose sight of the very special character of the documents which give us information concerning it. It is an admitted fact that the larger collections of miracles bequeathed to us by the Middle Ages are compilations in which the most varied materials are mixed up at random, and which in consequence can only be used with the utmost circumspection.
Greek hagiographic literature is notably less rich than the Latin in collections of this kind. But the examples it does contain greatly surpass all others in their grotesque and improbable features, and there can be no doubt that a close study of their origins would lead to the identification of a number of pagan reminiscences and even of formal adaptations.
One of the most celebrated collections is that of the miracles of St. Menas, attributed to Timothy of Alexandria.[[1]] Tillemont who was only acquainted with an incomplete edition of the work containing but five miracles,[[2]] declared that "the first is altogether extraordinary, the second rather less so, the third and fourth not bad, and the fifth in the highest degree scandalous". Tillemont was not the first person to be scandalised, and editors of the Menaea[[3]] felt they could not admit the narrative in question without notable modifications. The fundamental idea of this imaginary miracle, putting aside the burlesque treatment, is anything but Christian. The story bears as its title, The Paralytic and the Dumb Woman, and it tells how the saint ordered a paralytic to share the couch of a dumb woman, and it was as the [154] result of this order, under the influence of surprise and emotion, that the one recovered the use of his limbs and the other her powers of speech.
[1] Published by J. Pomjalovskij, Vie de St. Paisios le grand (in Russian), St. Petersburg, 1900, pp. 62-89.
[2] Mémoires pour servir a I'histoire ecclisiastique, vol. v., p. 760.
[3] At the date 11th November.
This anecdote recalls too vividly certain comic cures attributed to Aesculapius, not to have some connection with the iamata of the god. What proves moreover that it has no personal connection with St. Menas, is that the story is to be found with identical details in the volume of miracles of SS. Cosmas and Damian.[[1]] As for those who resent the idea of any literary interdependence between Christian miracles and the official records of the marvellous cures wrought through the invocation of Aesculapius, it is necessary to remind them of several well-authenticated examples of identical miracles in the one and in the other which must be derived from one and the same source. The miracle of the broken goblet, attributed to St. Lawrence by Gregory of Tours,[[2]] may be read in a closely similar form on one of the steleae at Epidaurus.[[3]] The marvellous history of the decapitated head, related on the same stelae, is an adaptation of a still more ancient narrative;[[4]] it also has been taken over by Christian chroniclers in spite of its obviously grotesque character.[[5]]
[1] Wangnereckius-Dehnius, Syntagmatis historici de tribus sanctorum Cosmea et Damiani nomine paribus partes duoe, Vienna, 1660, pp. 481-83.
[2] In gloria martyrum, c. xxx.
[3] Collitz-Bechtel, SammIung der griechischen Diatekt-Inschritten, n. 3339. Le miracle du vase brisé in Archiv für Religions-wissenschaft, ser. viii. (1905), pp. 305-9.
[4] See O. Crusius in Mélusine, vol. v., p. 203.
[5] P. Perdrizet in the Revue des études anciennes, vol. ii., 1900, pp. 78-79; also in Mélusine, vol. v., pp. 97-100.
The editors of volumes of miracles have freely availed themselves of both borrowing and adaptation, and it will only be after a thorough inquiry into the sources [155] from which these miracle books are derived that they can be made use of as historical documents. As far as investigations have gone at present, it is impossible to ascertain what really belongs to them, and it is consequently only with prudent reservations that they can be quoted in evidence of the custom we are discussing.
It is therefore very difficult to decide to what extent incubation, as it appears to have been practised in certain basilicas, continued to retain all the characteristics of pagan incubation, nor do we know whether the Church ever formally sanctioned the rite in certain places, while attempting to give it a Christian character. It is however quite certain that the extent of its diffusion throughout the Christian world has been greatly exaggerated. In point of fact the majority of examples that are quoted have no more real connection with incubation than the story of Redemptus, Bishop of Ferentino, related by St Gregory as follows:-
"Quadam die dum. parochias suas ex more circuiret, pervenit ad ecclesiam beati Eutychii martyris. Advesperascente autem die, stratum fieri sibi juxta sepukrum martyris voluit, atque ibi post laborem quievit. Cum nocte media, ut asserebat, nec dormiebat, nec perfecte vigilare poterat, sed depressus, ut solet, somno, gravabatur quodam pondere vigilans animus; atque ante eum idem beatus martyr Eutychius adstitit, dicens: Redemte, vigilas? cui respondit: Vigilo. Qui ait: Finis venit universm camis, finis venit universae carnis, finis venit universae carnis. Post quam trinam vocem visio martyris, quae mentis eius oculis apparebat, evanuit" [[1]]
[1] "On a certain day as he was making the round of his diocese he came to the church of blessed Eutychius, the martyr. As night was coming on, he had a bed made for himself beside the martyr's tomb, and there after his labour he lay down to rest. Towards midnight, so he declared, he was neither asleep nor yet could keep fully awake, but his active mind oppressed with drowsiness, as often happens, seemed to be crushed by some heavy weight. When lo! the said blessed martyr Eutychius stood before him, saying, 'Redemptus, sleepest thou?' To whom he answered, 'I am awake'. Whereupon he said, 'The end of all flesh has come, the end of all flesh has come, the end of all flesh has come'. After which triple utterance, the appearance of the martyr which had been perceptible to his mental vision vanished." Dial., iii., 38. [There has been some reordering of the paragraphs in the 3d ed.]
[156] Note that the bishop, without expecting any vision, merely had his couch prepared in the basilica of the martyr. There was neither rite nor religious observance involved. Save for the apparition, which was quite accidental, the incident was one which might still occur in missionary lands. Bishop and priest are frequently compelled to pass the night in the humble little chapels of the villages they pass through on their apostolic journeys. In other instances we hear of sick persons who refuse to quit the tomb of the saint until they are cured. They fall asleep and the cure comes to them, with or without a vision, while they are sleeping. In all these instances there are certain details in common with those of incubation, but the ceremonial as a whole and the institution itself are not found.
In general the study of superstitious practices of which the existence has been proved at certain shrines dedicated to very popular saints, should be carried on with far greater discernment and a more critical spirit than is generally to be met with among folk-lorists who have undertaken the duty of collecting documents for the historian. The accuracy of their information is often more apparent than real, and not a few among them possess a quite remarkable gift for establishing far-fetched resemblances.
Thus there is the ancient rite which consisted in passing through some aperture-a stone with a hole [157] in it or the hollow of a tree-in order to be cured of certain diseases. Folk-lorists may be excused for discovering reminiscences of the custom in certain churches in which the tomb of the saint is raised from the ground in such a way as to allow of pilgrims passing beneath, as for example at Gheel in Campine where lunatics make the round of the choir by passing beneath the archway above which stands the shrine of St. Dymphna. It must, however, be admitted that even if it exists at all, the connection between such rites is extremely remote, and that there is a wide distinction between a vain observance the efficacy of which depended upon a pierced stone, and a practice mainly founded on a belief in the virtue of relics.[[1]]
[1] H. Gaidoz, Un vieux rite médical, Paris, 1892, 85 pages.
But folk-lorists have gone much further than this, and have been determined to discover examples of the suspected practice here, there and everywhere, even in the first ages of Christianity and beneath the roof of our most venerable basilicas. St. Peter's in Rome itself has not escaped. This is how Gregory of Tours de scribed the tomb of the apostle in a celebrated chapter .[[2]] "Hoc enim sepulcrum sub altare collocatum valde rarum habetur. Sed qui orare desiderat, reseratis cancellis, quibus locus ille ambitur, accedit super sepulcrum, et sic fenestella parvula patefacta. immisso introrsum capite, qum necessitas promit efflagitat"[[3]]
[2] In gloria martyrum, xxvii.
[3] "For this tomb placed beneath the altar is considered to be a very rare thing. But he who desires to pray, opening the grating with which the spot is enclosed, comes right over the tomb, and when the little orifice is exposed to view, inserting his head he makes such petitions as his needs suggest."
Archeaologists are too familiar with the "fenestella confessionis " (the window or orifice of the "confession ") for it to be necessary to explain its purpose: [158] its position was affected by the arrangement of its surroundings and the shape of the "confession," and in no sense whatever by any superstitious custom. The sepulchre of St. Vendrandus at Clermont,[[1]] which also had its " fenestella," has been quoted with equally little reason; with still less, the tomb of St. Martin which Gregory of Tours touched with his aching tongue "per lignum cancelli".[[2]] Far from recalling pagan rites, these acts of devotion at the shrine of a saint inspired by a desire to approach as closely as possible to the relics, are distinctly redolent of the spirit of primitive Christianity.
[1] In Gloria confessorum, xxxvi.
[2] "Through the bars of the grating." De virtutibus S. Martini, iv., 2.-All these examples are quoted by Gaidoz, op. cit., pp. 36-37.
Nevertheless we are far from denying the survival, among Christian nations, of a certain number of customs of which the origin is extremely remote, and which are in direct opposition to Christian beliefs or Christian ethics. The greater number of the superstitions against which the Church has perpetually made war with changeful tactics and varying degrees of success, are an inheritance from our pagan ancestors.[[3]] As a general rule they have no direct relation with public worship, and their accidental association with established religious practices or even their connection with the name of a saint confers on them no sort of authorisation. The incident of the Count of Toulouse, who suddenly left Montpellier in 1212 terror-stricken at having seen St. Martin's bird flying on his left hand[[4]] [159] has no reference either to hagiography or to the history of religions, but is connected with the history of superstitions just as definitely as the "sinistra cornix" of Moeris in Virgil. The same may be said of all astrological practices[[1]] and incantation formulas,[[2]] in which one would be surprised at meeting with the names of saints, did we not know that absurdity and incoherence is the characteristic note of all manifestations of popular credulity. This aspect of the question, however, need not detain us for the moment. What does interest us is to know in what instances and to what extent hagiographic monuments reveal the existence of an actual link between polytheism and any public and normal manifestation of Christian piety.
[3] See, for example, Weinhold's studies on the vestiges of ritual nudity in various superstitious practices, Zum heidnischen Ritus in the Abhandlungen der k. Akademie der Wissenschatten zu Berlin, 1896, i., pp. 1-50.
[4] Pierre de Vaux-Cernay, Hist. Albigensium, n. 47; Bouquet, vol. xix., p. 43: "Viderat enim quandam avem quarn indigenae vocant avem sancti Martini, ad sinistram volantem, et perterritus fuit valde. Ipse enim more Sarracenorum, in volatu et cantu avium et ceteris auguriis spern habebat."
[1] In a collection of portents published by D. Bassi and E. Martini, Catalogus codicum astrologorum graecorum, Codd. Ital., Brussels, 1903, pp. 158-69, one may find the following invocations recommended: Stephen, Thecla, Michael, Parasceve, George, Irene, Cosmas and Damian, Catherine, Demetrius, Anastasia, the Holy Cross, Anne, the Blessed Virgin, Nicholas, Barbara, Pantaleone and Gregory. They would appear to be the saints whose names had been given to the stars from which the portents were derived.
[2] In Egypt the names of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus and the forty martyrs of Sebaste have more than once been found inserted in magic formulas. R. Pietschmann, Les inscriptions copies de Farâs in the Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie et à l'archeologie egyptiennes et assyriennes, vol. xxi., 1899, pp. 175-76. See also W. Pleyte and P. A. Boeser, Manuscrits coptes du musée d'antiquites des PaysBas, Leyden, 1897, pp. 441-86.
Saint-worship and hero-worship - The centre of hero-worship - Solemn translations -
Relics - Fortuitous coincidences.
The debate at this point has to be transferred to a vast arena, for it is the veneration of saints itself which is denounced as being a prolongation of idolatrous paganism. The critics admit that, in its first beginnings, the religion of Christ was pure and undefiled, and rejected everything that could obscure the conception of the one True God. But when the faithful ceased to be an elect few, and when the Church was, so to speak, invaded by the populace, she was forced to relax her severity, give way before the instincts of the mob, and make concessions to the polytheistic ideas that were still stirring in the brain of the people.
By the introduction of the cultus of the saints, the Church opened the door to a clearly marked current of paganism. There is no essential difference, so it is affirmed, between the saints of the Church and the heroes of Greek polytheism. Beyond question the two cults resemble each other in their manifestations, but they are also identical in their spirit, and we are clearly here in the presence of a pagan survival.[[1]] Such is the thesis that is developed by the folklorists with much self-complacency.
[1] "Christianorum quoque religio habebat atque habet suos semideos, suos heroas; sanctos scilicet martyresquc." L. Deubner, De Incubatione, p. 57: "Die Heiligen der christlichen Kirchen vor allern die der griechischen Kirche, stellen die gerade Fortentwicklung des griechischen Heroenkults dar. Die Heilige sind die Heroen der Antike." G. Wobbermin, Religionsgeschichtliche Studien, Berlin, 1896, p. 18. See also E. Maass, Orpheus, Munich, 1895, p. 244.
We cannot neglect the details of the parallel. Nothing could be more instructive, if only that it enables [161] us to appreciate the exact value of certain hagiographic legends.[[1]]
[l] Concerning hero-worship see F. A. Ukert, Ueber Dämonen, Heroen und Genien in the Abhandlungen der k. sdchsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschalien, vol. i., pp. 138-219; Preller, Griechische Mythologie, W. Schmidt, Der Atticismus, vol. iv., Stuttgardt, 1896, p. 572, and above all F. Deneken, Heros, in Roscher, Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie, vol. i., col. 2441-589. [P. Foucart, Le Culle des héros chez les Grecs, in Mémoires de I'Institut, vol. x1ii, 1922, p. 1-166. Added in 3d ed.]
Among the Greeks, heroes are mortals made superior to the vulgar herd by the gifts they have received from the gods. Privileged beings, holding a position midway between divine and human nature, they can lay claim to some portion of the power of the immortals, and they are enabled to intervene effectually in human affairs.
These heroes, the mortal sons of some divinity, great warriors, benefactors of humanity or founders of nations, were specially honoured in the city with which they were connected either by birth or by their exploits. They became its protectors and patrons. Every country, indeed every town, had its heroes to whom monuments were erected and whom the people invoked in their prayers.
The centre of devotion to a hero was his tomb, which was sometimes erected in the middle of the agora, the cerftre of public life. In most cases it was sheltered by a building, a sort of chapel known as heroon. A great number of tombs of heroes adorned the celebrated temples, just as the tombs of saints are honoured in Christian churches .[[2]]
[2] On this special point see K. Th. Pyl, Die griechischen Rundbauten, Greifswald, 1861, p. 67 ff.
When the actual body of the hero could not be venerated a cenotaph was erected to his memory. But no means were neglected to secure the veritable [162] remains, for the people had faith in the power of a hero's bones and ashes, and when the precious object which was to serve as a protection to the city could be discovered, it was seized upon and conveyed thither with the greatest pomp and with ceremonies which undoubtedly recall the translation of Christian relics.[[1]]
[1] Lobeck, Aglaophamus, p. 280; Rohde, Psyche, vol. i., pp. 161-63.
The most celebrated account of one of these pagan translations is that of the transference of the remains of Theseus to Athens,[[2]] under the archonship of Apsephion (B.C. 469). The hero rested in the island of Scyros, but the spot of his interment was carefully kept secret by the inhabitants. An oracle arrived in the first instance from Delphi, recommending the Athenians to go and take possession of the bones of Theseus and cherish them in their own city with all the honour that was due to them. Cimon, son of Miltiades, proceeded to lead an expedition against Scyros, took possession of the island and instituted a search for the tomb. A further prodigy revealed the exact spot: he was simply to dig at the place that an eagle would point out to him with beak and talon. In the coffin was found the skeleton of a tall man with spear and sword. Cimon carried his precious burden on board his trireme, and the remains 'of the hero made a triumphal entry into Athens amid sacrifices and every demonstration of joy. He was laid to rest in the centre of the town near the site of the gymnasium, and the tomb of the hero, who, in his life-time had been kind and helpful to the humble, became an inviolable refuge for slaves and other needy persons anxious to escape from the exactions of the mighty. A great sacrifice in his honour was established on the eighth of the [163] month of Pyanepsion in memory of his return from Crete, but he was also commemorated on the eighth of other months.
[2] Plutarch, Theseus, 36; Cimon, 8.
This page of Plutarch might be adapted, with but few alterations, to more than one medixval translation of relics. In the majority of cases these solemn journeys of relics are preceded in the same way by heavenly warnings; miraculous incidents accompany the discovery of the sacred remains; the people provide a brilliant and enthusiastic welcome - magnificent shrines are erected for their reception, and their presence is regarded as a protection to the country; finally an annual feast-day is inaugurated in honour of the happy event.
Nor was this an isolated case. The translations of the ashes of heroes were of frequent occurrence in Greece.[[1]] Thebes recovers from Ilion the bones of Hector, and presents to Athens those of CEdipus, to Lebadea those of Arcesilaus, and to Megara those of Aigialeus. Rarely are these disinterments ventured upon without an authorisation or command from some oracle. In spite of these divine interventions it is frequently necessary to have recourse to cunning in order to gain possession of a sacred tomb, and the incident of Lichas possessing himself of the body of Orestes [[2]] forms a curious counterpart to certain expeditions in search of the relics of a saint
[1] Pausanias is our leading authority on this point. The most important documents have been quoted by Rohde, Psyche, vol. i., p. 161, and by Deneken previously cited.
[2] Herodotus, i., 67, 68.
Not infrequently also it happened, as in the Middle Ages, that a new cultus sprang up at some fresh discovery of human bones. Whenever these were of [164] large size they were assumed to be the skeleton of a hero, and sometimes an oracle would be consulted as to his name. Thus it was that the Syrians learnt from the god of Claros that the body of a giant found in the dry bed of the Orontes was that of a hero of the same name, of Indian origin.[[1]]
[1] Pausanias, viii., 29, 4.
It is not only in the honours paid to the mortal remains of heroes that we may trace an analogy between pagan practices and devotion to relics. just as, in our own churches, objects that have belonged to saints or that recall their memory in some special way are exposed for the veneration of the faithful, so in the temples visitors would be shown divers curiosities whose connection with a god or hero would command their respect. In Rome were to be seen the bones of a whale found at Joppa which were said to be those of the monster to which Andromeda was exposed. In other places might be seen the cithara of Paris, the lyre of Orpheus, the ships of Agamemnon and iEneas. And as the eager credulity of travellers rendered the neocoroi and the periegetai as ingenious as our modern vergers and ciceroni, in the end no relic was too improbable for them to profess to exhibit: Leda's egg, the white sow with her thirty little'ones sacrificed by Aeneas on the site of Alba, the anvil which Jupiter suspended to Juno's feet, and the remains of the clay out of which Prometheus had created man.[[2]]
[2] The documents have been collected by Lobeck, Aglaophamus, p 52. Ukert, op. cit., pp. 202-4; Friedilinder, Sittengeschichle, vol.ii., chap. i., Die Reisen.
No single detail will be lacking from the parallel when we have pointed out that, like ourselves, the ancients were not without experience of duplicated [163] relics, and were surprised to discover at Memphis the hair which Isis had torn out in her despair at the death of Osiris and which they had already been shown at Coptos. More remarkable still the tombs of certain heroes were to be found on more than one spot. Thus that of Aeneas was pointed out not only at Berecyntus in Phrygia, but also at Aenea in Macedonia, and on the shores of the Numicius near Lavinium.[[1]]
[1] J. A. Hild, La légende d'Enée in the Revue de I'histoire des religions, vol. vi., 1882, p. 67.
Would it not appear as though the critics had established their case now that we have had to admit the existence among the Greeks of a cultus which in every detail recalls that paid to our saints, a cultus with relics, translations, inventions, apparitions and spurious or even forged relics. Can further parallels be needed to prove that the veneration of saints is merely a pagan survival?
The theory is plausible, and yet it will not stand for a second before the judgment of history. The cultus of the saints is not an outcome of hero-worship, but of reverence for the martyrs; and the honours paid to the martyrs from the outset by the early Christians, men who had known the baptism of blood, are a direct consequence of the high dignity of those witnesses to Christ as proclaimed by our Lord Himself. From the veneration with which their mortal remains were treated and from the confidence of Christians in their intercession arose the cultus of relics, with its varied manifestations, with, alas, its too natural exaggerations,-indeed, we may frankly say, with its excesses, excesses which have occasionally compromised the memory of those to whom it was intended to pay honour .[[2]]
[2] See Les origines du culte des martyrs. p. 1-119. 3rd ed.]
It seems scarcely necessary to insist that heroworship among the Greeks never possessed the same [166] theological foundation and was never expressed in the same exact definitions which always place an infinite distance between God and man favoured by God. But it had an analogous starting-point and developed under the influence of general ideas which are not without some affinity with those which urged swarms of the faithful towards the tombs of the martyrs. Hence it necessarily arrived at practically identical consequences, and the history of these two cults represents a logical and parallel development without however any interdependence. It was not necessary to remember the gods and the heroes in order to turn in perfect confidence to the martyrs, to beg of them the healing of the sick, to place perilous journeys and difficult undertakings under their protection or to bestow on them visible proofs of gratitude for benefits received. Moreover it was certain to come about that the tomb of a martyr should be regarded not only as an honour but as a safeguard to the town that possessed it, and that the patron saint should receive all those honorary titles which in earlier days had fallen to protecting heroes: Sosipolis, Sosipatris, Philopolis and the like.[[1]]
[1] Upon these grounds M. Gelzer maintains that St. Demetrius came to replace the tutelary god of Thessalonica. His words are these: "Der Typus einer solchen Paganisierung des Christentum ist nun vor allem der heilige Demetrius. Er ist gleichsarn die Personifikation oder die Fleischwerdung des antiken griechischen Polisgedankens. Wie Apollon und Herakles führt er den Beinamen Sosipolis." Die Genesis der Byzantinischen Themenverfassung in the Abhandlungen der kgl. sächsischen GeselIschaft der Wissenschaften, vol. xviii, 1899, n. 5, p. 54.
In the same way, there is no real reason for supposing that the earliest narratives of the finding of relics, whatever may be the analogy of the facts or the similitude [167] of the details, were inspired by the records of pagan translations. These narratives, of which the earliest date from the fourth century, were neither forgeries nor imitations. They are the natural outcome of an identical state of mind under similar circumstances.
We must however, guard against exaggeration. If we are told that the ideas disseminated through society by hero-worship predisposed the mind to a ready acceptance of the rdle of saints in the Christian dispensation and of their value as intercessors before God, I see no reason whatever for contesting the statement. The markedly rapid development of the cultus of saints and martyrs may well be explained by the fact that the human mind was already prepared to accept it. In point of fact, ancient ecclesiastical writers made no sort of difficulty about admitting the existence of analogies between the cultus of martyrs and that of heroes. Indeed, Theodoret made use of the fact as the startingpoint of his controversy with the pagans. Although other people should take exception to our practices, he declares, you should be the last to complain, you who possess heroes and demi-gods and deified men.[[1]]
[1] Grac. affect. curatio, viii., Schulze, vol. iv., pp. 902-3.
As for certain exaggerations which from time to time have made their appearance to the detriment of the religious spirit, I see no reason whatever for connecting them with unconscious reversions to paganism. We have already pointed out sufficiently the popular tendency towards material and tangible things to account for these aberrations, which need to be continually kept in check, and which are to be found more especially in countries where passions are strong and imaginations keen. A statue or the body of a saint which appeals to a mares eyes, impresses him far more vividly than [168] mysteries which appeal only to his faith. I should not therefore regard the manifestations of Neapolitan piety as mere paganism,[[1]] though I am far indeed from proposing them as a model to be imitated.
[1] The work by Th. Trede, Das Heidenturn in der Römischen Kirche, 4 vols., Gotha, 1889-91, is not only very wearisome to read, but is the outcome of a very superficial study. The author is intimately acquainted with the Neapolitans, but his prejudices, which he is never able to set aside, show that he is quite incapable of understanding the character of the people and their exuberant devotion. Throughout the work he makes no allowances for them.
Pagan survivals in worship - Holy places - Christian transformations - Adaptation of names -
A method for ascertaining primitive titles - Sacred sources.
We believe we have sufficiently demonstrated by examples that too much value must not be attributed to exterior resemblances or fortuitous coincidences when any question arises regarding the continuity that may have existed between certain Christian practices and the Graeco-Roman faith, not to mention other religions. The matter has to be investigated somewhat more closely, and wherever, in hagiographic matters, there is question of going back to the origins of a traditional cultus, three essential elements must be studied: the place, the date, and the legend. We will examine briefly the various questions connected with these points.
It was only after the complete triumph of Christianity that it became possible to establish her sanctuaries on the very sites of ancient temples that were either disused or had been wrecked. The Christians had not awaited the final abandonment of pagan monuments to erect magnificent buildings in accordance with the [169] requirements of their liturgy. In many cases they attacked the ancient religion on its own ground and contested its pre-eminence.
We are fairly well instructed concerning the methods adopted by the Church to combat superstitions attached to certain localities. In most cases she did so by erecting a basilica or a chapel, and by fostering there a new cultus of her own in order to distract popular attention, and to supply Christian nourishment to the religious instincts of the people.
We know, for example, how Caesar Gallus (351) caused the body of the martyr Babylas to be conveyed to Daphne, which was at that time both a centre of idolatry and a scene of debauchery, and how in order to house it he commanded a church to be built in the immediate vicinity of the temple of Apollo of which the oracle was forthwith reduced to silence. Julian, enraged at receiving no reply from it, caused the relics of the martyr to be returned to Antioch.[[1]]
[1] The documents on this point have been collected by Tillemont, Mémoires, vol. iii., p. 405.
In the time of St. Cyril there was a little town named Menouthis near Canopus, about twelve miles east of Alexandria, celebrated for its oracle which the heathens came in crowds to consult and by which even Christians were sometimes led away.[[2]] It is true there was a Christian church at Menouthis dedicated to the apostles that had been built by Theophilus of Alexandria, but the den of superstition attracted greater crowds than the house of God. Cyril put a stop to these idolatrous gatherings by causing the bodies of SS. Cyrus and John which until then had lain in the Church of St. [170] Mark at Alexandria, to be transported in isolemn state to Menouthis. Such were the beginnings of one of the most famous shrines of Christian Egypt.
[2] Acta SS., Jan., vol. ii., p. 1083; Deubner, De incubatione, pp. 80-98. [See Analecla Bollandiana, vol. xxx, p. 448-450, 3d ed.]
Gregory of Tours relates[[1]]how, in the Gévaudan district, there was a large lake on a mountain named Helanus, to which, as he says, the country folk made some sort of libation, by flinging stuffs, cakes and various objects into the water. Every year the people would arrive with waggons, bringing food and drink with them, slaughtering cattle and giving themselves up for three whole days to feasting. The fourth day, just as they were starting for home, they were always caught in a violent storm. The Bishop of Javols arrived on the scene and exhorted the crowd to abstain from evil practices, threatening them with divine wrath. But his preaching was in vain. Then, under the inspiration of God, he built a church in honour of St. Hilary of Poitiers on the shores of the lake, transported thither certain relics of the saint and began his exhortations anew. This time he was more successful, the lake was abandoned and the objects that formerly had been flung into its waters were offered to the basilica. Moreover the storms ceased to rage at the time of the festival, which henceforward was consecrated to God[[2]] as the dedication feast.
[1] in gloria confessorum, ii. [Helanus becomes Helarius in the 3d ed.]
[2] We have less reliable information concerning the substitution that took place on the Mons Garganus. But it has long been admitted that the legend of the sanctuary contains echoes of the oracle of Calchas so celebrated on this spot. See, for example, F. Lcnormant, A travers I'Apulie el la Lucanie, vol. i., Paris, 1883, p. 61; G. Gothein, Die Culturentwicklung Südi-Italiens, Breslau, 1886, pp. 67-75.
In this particular instance we see that the Church did not take possession of the sacred spot, but that she [171] ruined it by competition. When once the temples were definitely forsaken she was too wise to abandon to secular usages sites that had frequently been selected with great discrimination, and she consecrated them to the one true God whenever circumstances rendered such a course possible.
The history of the liquidation of the property of vanquished paganism has been related many times, and it has been possible to draw up long lists of churches erected upon the foundations of heathen temples, or built with their very stones, or indeed simply installed in the ancient edifice.[[1]] The classic examples of this latter category are the Pantheon in Rome and the Parthenon at Athens.
[1] Marangoni, Delle cose gentilesche e profane trasportate ad uso e adornamento delle chiese, Rome, 1744, pp. 256-87; L. Petit de Julleville, Recherches sur 1'emplacement el le vocable des églises chrétiennes en Grèc in the Archives des Missions scientifiques, second series, vol. v., Paris, 1868, pp. 469-533; P. Allard, L'art paien sous les empereurs chrétiens, Paris, 1874, pp. 259-98.
In the case of many other less illustrious temples replaced at a later date by Christian churches the memory of their primitive destination has been less carefully preserved. Certain learned men have invented an ingenious theory in order to supplement, in many instances, the silence of history. Because it has sometimes been possible to note an analogy between the Christian title of the transformed temple and its earlier title, they have felt justified in attributing to the Church a systematic Christianisation of pagan sanctuaries supposed to be based upon a very accommodating consideration for new converts. In order to permit them the illusion of not having wholly broken with the past, the new churches were placed under the patronage of saints [172] who, by their name or legend, recalled the divinity who had previously been honoured on the same spot.
Thus, at Eleusis we find a church of St. Demetrius on the site of a temple of Demeter: it is the name of the goddess but slightly modified. It is true that there was also a church of St. George, but it was again Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, who was disguised under the name of the "holy agriculturist," Georgios.[[1]] In other places St. George has taken the place of Theseus or Hercules, but on those occasions it is as the vanquisher of wild beasts that he is substituted for the victor over the Minotaur or the destroyer of the Lernean hydra.[[2]] Thus, whether the analogy be phonetic or symbolic the arch~eologists make capital out of it, and find little difficulty in pointing out some resemblance between the new patrons and the old.
[1] Petit de Julleville, op. cit., pp. 492, 493.
It is somewhat more difficult to prove that these resemblances have been generally sought after, and the proof should certainly be forthcoming whenever it is proposed to link the name of the saint with that of the deity he displaced. It is clear that most valuable topographical indications might be collected by this process.[[3]] But its efficacy is entirely illusory, and if certain critics have put it to strange uses, others have regarded it with well-merited suspicion.
[3 A few examples are offered in the 3d ed. - Hi1arius, Cyril of Alexandria and St. Cyr, bishop Babylas at Antioch - with the warning that "from a small number of examples one may not conclude a system." This revised section largely subsumes the following paragraph, "in those instances . . . a sacred lake," which does not appear in the 3d ed.]
In those instances in which we have historical proof of the action of the Church, favouring the cultus of a saint in order to uproot some superstitious practice, we have no reason to suspect any link between either the name or the legend of the saint and those of the pagan divinity he supplanted. Remember the martyr-bishop [173] Babylas opposed to Apollo; Cyrus and John, the one a soldier, the other a monk, brought to Menouthis to combat the oracle of the goddess; and Hilary of Poitiers, confessor and pontiff, enticing the populace from the shores of a sacred lake.
I am far from denying that here and there popular devotion may occasionally have become tinged with the still vivid memories of ancient superstitions and that they have often profoundly modified the physiognomy of certain saints; that, for example, SS. Cyrus and John have ended by becoming types of healing saints, or disinterested physicians, like Cosmas and Damian, or that this latter group-of which the origin and true history will probably always evade research -have assumed in popular imagination a new and definite character as kindly genii eager to help humanity in imitation of the Dioscuri.[[1]] But, as far as facts are concerned, nothing authorises one to affirm that the Church has systematically encouraged these transpositions of names leaving the thing unaltered, and indeed it is most improbable that in early days she should have lent herself to such dangerous equivocations.
[1] Pagans were in the habit of noting the resemblance as may be seen from various texts of the miracles of SS. Cosmas and Damian. They have been collected by Deubner, De incubatione, p. 77. Dr. R. Harris who has searched all hagiographic literature for replicas of Castor and Pollux has strangely overlooked Cosmas and Damian. [The omission, however, has been supplied in his later book, The Cult of the Heavenly Twins, Cambridge, 1906, pp. 96-104.]
A few examples are necessary to put the reader on his guard concerning this seductive theory to which we have referred. Thus there is St. Elias, dedicated to whom there exist in Greece a large number of chapels built on the summit of hills and mountains. Some [175] writers have admitted that Elias usually takes the place of his namesake Helios, the god of the sun.[[1]] The assimilation is specious, but it is not bome out by the facts. It is not on the heights of Greece that the shrines of Helios were the most numerous. Moreover, sun-worship became almost completely absorbed in Apollo-worship, a fact which upsets the play upon words that is supposed to account for the numerous chapels erected to St. Elias. The history of the prophet as it is related in the Bible, his being carried up to heaven in a chariot of fire, his apparition at the side of Christ in the Transfiguration, "made of him the natural patron of high places".[[2]] It is probable enough that the invocation of St. Elias has taken the place in many instances of some pagan divinity, but there is nothing to prove that the divinity in question was Helios.
[1] C. Wachsmuth, Das alte Griechenland im neuen, Bonn, 1864, p. 23; Petit de Julleville, op. cit,, pp. 505-6.
[2] F. Lenormant, Monographie de la voie sacré Éleusinienne, Paris, 1864, p. 452.
Moreover in order to draw conclusions from these titles they ought at least to be primitive and to belong to a time anterior to the moment when the dedication of the sanctuary was altered. But in point of fact several of those quoted are of more recent date.
At Athens, for example, the church of St. Paraskeve occupies the site of the Pompeion, a building dedicated to the Organisation of religious processions,[[3]] as Pausanias tells us: es paraskeuen esti ton pompon. [[4]. Is it not obvious that there must be some connection between St. Parakeve, the titular saint of the church, [175] and the preparation, paraskeue, of processions which took place on the same spot? And yet we are in a position to affirm, without fear of error, that no such connection exists, and that we are in the presence of a simple coincidence the importance of which has been exaggerated by certain archaeologists.
[3] Petit de Julleville, op. cit., pp. 488, 514; A. Morrimsen, Athenaer christianw, p. 89.
[4] Pausanias, i., ii., 4.
In point of fact St. Paraskeve can only have bestowed her name upon the chapel at a comparatively recent date, for she was unknown to the ancients, and liturgical documents of the tenth and eleventh centuries prove that her cultus, and still more her popularity, were posterior to that period. Need we add that even had her memory been held in honour from the most remote times, no one would have dreamt of bestowing her name on the little edifice to which Pausanias refers. If the author makes use of the word paraskeue in this connection it was certainly not the name by which the building in question was known to the people.
It may be observed that various scholars, starting from a vague resemblance between names combined with certain topographical data, have built up regular romances on the strength of some hagiographic text. Among these productions we may class the attempt of a mythologist [[1]] to prove that St. Donatus took the place of Pluto, or, what comes to the same thing, of Aidoneus, King of the Molossi, whose name, every one is ready to admit, bears a resemblance to "Aios Donatos ". I should be the first to concede that we possess no really authentic records concerning St. Donatus, and moreover that various scraps of mythological lore have been made use of in order to supply him with a [176] biography. But the erudite fiction which seeks to identify him with the god of the infernal regions merits as little consideration as the traditional narrative.
[1] E. de Gubernatis, Aidoneo e San Donato, studio di mitologia epirolica in the Rivista Europea, an. v., 1874, vol. ii., pp. 425-38.
At the back of more than one learned disquisition on the origins of devotion to the saints one may discern the idea that the great martyrs and thaumaturgists of the ancient world, more especially those who were early regarded as the patrons of cities, were the direct inheritors of some tutelary deity whose altars attracted the multitude. The concourse of pilgrims could thus be easily explained by the renown attached to the spot. The wave of popular devotion would merely have been slightly deflected from its earlier course, abandoning the temple of the idol in order to flow past the Christian basilica.[[1]]
[1] Exception might be taken on more than one point to the ideas on this subject expressed in his posthumous volume by E. Lucius, recently published by G. Anrich, Die Anänge des Heiligenkults in der christlichen Kirche, Tübingen, 1904. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiv., p. 487.
The instances, previously quoted, of a species of Christian "canalisation" of the irresistible stream of religious emotion, are by no means rare in history. Occasionally even, we are willing to admit, the phenomenon may have been spontaneously produced, without any intervention from the leaders of the Church. But all this does not justify us in formulating a general law which, if true, would have a very important bearing on the study of comparative religions. It would not be difficult, with the assistance of texts and documents, to quote the name of some god or pagan hero specially honoured in each of the Greek towns which later were to become the centres of Christian pilgrimages. This only amounts to saying that one local cult replaced [177] another just as one may note everywhere that one religion succeeded to another. But it does not follow that there was any bond of connection between the two.
On the Capitoline hill in Rome there was a temple dedicated to the lord of heaven, who there received through many centuries the incense of kings and people. In later centuries pilgrims from the whole world flocked to Rome to the tomb of the prince of the apostles. Yet would any one seriously suggest that St. Peter is the direct heir of Jupiter Capitolinus?
A chapter of popular hagiography connected with the christianisation of centres of superstition by the introduction of the cultus of the saints is suggested by the passage from Gregory of Tours already quoted. We refer to water-worship, which was all the more difficult to uproot as the object of it could neither be destroyed nor removed at will. The number of wells placed under the patronage of some saint is very considerable. Certain devoted students of local history have drawn from the fact conclusions which cannot all be equally commended for accuracy and definiteness.[[1]] It would be a wearisome undertaking to attempt a synthesis of this mass of material, incongruous and ill-classified as it is. We shall not embark upon the task, although we cannot refrain from inquiring whether the majority of [178] the wells to which the names of saints are attached are in any sense witnesses to the struggle of the Church against paganism.
[1] It would be difficult to draw up anything like a complete bibliography on this subject, and we do not propose to undertake the task. References to it may be found in A. Bertrand, La religion des Gaulois, Paris, 1897, pp. 191-212; Bulletin archiologique du comité des travaux historiques, 1897, pp. 150-60; 1898, pp. Lxv-lxvi. Consult also the important work by R. C. Hope, Holy Wells: Their legends and Superstitions, in The Antiquary, vol. xxi., 1890, pp. 23-31, and the following volumes; also the book by the same author, Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England, London, 1893, 222 pages.
This is clearly not the case. It would be extremely difficult to prove that all these springs were the objects, in remote times, of superstitious worship, and it is obviously false to assert that the memory of a saint could only be connected with them by an act of ecclesiastical authority. As we have already shown, the common people never miss an opportunity of baptising the noteworthy spots in their locality, and quite naturally they bestow upon them any name that happens to occupy their minds. A well dedicated to St. Martin is not necessarily a holy well; it merely testifies to the popularity of St. Martin. One must therefore distinguish carefully between the wells which only attract attention by their name, and those which have been a centre of devotion or superstition. To this second category belong all those to which the heathen were in the habit of offering their prayers and their gifts.
Dates of festivals - Alteration of object - Difficulty of proving coincidences - A method for ascertaining
dates of pagan festivals - Examples.
An important element in seeking to establish the first beginnings of a cultus is the correspondence of dates. Celebrations which attract a large concourse of people are necessarily fixed for specified days. Every one will agree that there is nothing more difficult to alter than the date of a fair or pilgrimage; in nothing does the tenacity of popular custom display itself more forcibly than in the faithful observance of festivals. [179]
One may be perfectly certain that if a Christian people has retained anything whatever of a pagan festival it will certainly be the date.
Generally speaking, it may be said that when it was simply a question of affording some compensation to converts compelled to renounce all pagan rejoicings, they were invited to keep the feasts of the martyrs which were celebrated on the anniversary of their death. In this way St. Gregory Thaumaturgus organised annual reunions for his people in honour of the martyrs, and thus facilitated the transition from worldly pleasures to purely spiritual joys.[[1]]
[1] Vita S. Gregorii Thaumat., Migne, P. G., vol. xlvi., p. 954.
It was far otherwise where the bishops had to combat some definitely idolatrous festival and to uproot some celebration of immemorial antiquity. When, as must frequently have happened, it was impossible for them to prevent the people coming together, the only thing for them to do was to change the purpose of the gathering, and thus sanctify the day.2 The Bishop of Javols would never have triumphed over the superstitions that were rife in his diocese, had he been content to celebrate the feast of St. Hilary on the shores of Lake Helanus on the day appointed by the liturgy. What [180] he did do was to celebrate.it on the day of the heathen festival: in hac solemnitate quae dei erat, says Gregory of Tours.[[1]] Hence the coincidence of the dates becomes an element of the first importance for those who are anxious to establish any bond of continuity between the pagan and the Christian feast-day.
[2 On the island of Malta at the end of the sixteenth century, a feast in honour of St. John the Baptist was celebrated, the ceremony of which had plainly showed pagan aspects. R. Wünsch, Das Frühlingsfest der Insel Malta, Leipzig, 1902, there saw the feast of the return of spring, christianized at an unknown period. He had reason; but I cannot follow him when he pretends to recognize in the procession of 12 March (pp. 68-70) a following of that custom already long abolished. And I like less his ideas on the ceremony of Good Friday at Athens, which for him recalls the feasts of Adonis; and not at all the minute paralleling of St. John the Baptist and Adonis which is not essential to his thesis. 3d ed.]
But if all are agreed as to the importance of this class of proof, they are far from agreement as to the difficulty of demonstration. Precise details are indispensable and it may well be asked whether the subject is of a nature to afford it. The differences between the various calendars, the difficulty of bringing them into agreement, the multiplicity of feasts in honour of the same divinity, the liturgical divergencies in various localities, all complicate the problem of the date to such an extent as to render the assimilation almost always illusory.
Where it is merely a question of establishing a parallel between some Christian solemnity and a festival of the Roman calendar the problem is simple enough and one can arrive at definite conclusions. Thus it may freely be admitted that the greater Litanies of St. Mark's Day are a Christian continuation of the Robigalia observed on 25th April.[[2]] The date, taken in conjunction with the similarity of the rite, and the identity of the object of the festival, leaves no place for reasonable doubt.
[2] Anrich, Mysterienwesen, Leipzig, 1894, p. 231; Duchesne, Christian Worship (Eng. tr.), pp. 261-62.
But the solution in other cases is often far less easy to arrive at. The number of pagan festivals being very considerable, the chances of a purely fortuitous coincidence are proportionately great, and it seems [181] probable that the natalis invicti, which was celebrated on 25th December, had no influence on the choice of that day as the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord. The selection of the date would appear to have been the result of a calculation having as its basis 25th March, that being presumed to be the date of the death of Christ.[[1]] This last theory, which makes the cycle of the feasts of the infancy of our Lord depend upon Easter, certainly the older celebration, is more probable than the other, which rests only on an ingenious identification of date.
[1] Duchesne, op. cit., pp. 247-54; Thurston, Amer. Eccles. Rev., Dec. 1898, pp. 561-576. [See also an article by P. H. Grisar, Relazione tra alcune leste cristiane antiche e alcune usanze pagane, in Civilt,i cattolica, ser. xvii, vol. xii, p. 450-8. 3d ed.)
People have also professed to see in the Feast of the Purification a Christianised version of the Lupercalia. In point of fact this last was kept not on the 2nd of February but on the 15th.[[2]]
[2] Marquarctt, Le culte chez les Romains, vol. ii., pp. 179-83. A. Dufourcq in Etudes sur les Gesta martyrum, Paris, 1900, p. 207, asks himself whether the date of the feast of St. Hippolytus, 13th August, has not been fixed by that of the pagan festival Dianae in Aventino (Marquardt, op. cit., vol. ii., p. 373). The link he suggests between the two feasts is of the slenderest, and 13th August in undoubtedly the date of the death of St. Hippolytus. [After the Marquardt citation the 3d ed. adds: Cf. D . DeBruyne, in Revue Bénédictine, vol. xxxiv, p. 18-26.]
Coincidences are far more difficult to establish when it becomes a question of comparing our own calendar with that of the Greeks or Asiatics, and with very varying systems of festivals. Thus we find that the festival of the gods and the heroes was celebrated at Athens not only on a special date but on the corresponding date of each month.[[3]] These repeated commemorations increase very materially the possibilities of a coincidence, and it becomes obvious that we must [182] not hastily jump at conclusions because two feasts happen to fall on the same day.
[3] Chr. Petersen, Ueber die Geburtstagsleier bei den Griechen, Leipzig, 1857, pp. 313-14. See also A. Mommsen, Feste der Stadt Athen, Leipzig, 1898, pp. 1-5.
We have already pointed out how inconclusive is the reasoning which professes to recognise, in the Christian titles of certain ancient shrines, the primitive name of the tutelary divinity of the same place. It is equally dangerous to attempt to deduce the unknown date of a pagan festival from Christian data presumed to have some sort of connection with it.[[1]] The efforts already made in this direction have always appeared to me, if their authors will forgive my saying so, particularly unfortunate, in spite of the remarkable ingenuity of which they give evidence. The following is a recent example. A series of deductions, drawn from the survival of the worship of the Dioscuri, would seem to point to the existence from the very earliest times of a monthly festival in honour of the two heroes, which would fall, in accordance with common usage, on the corresponding date of each month, either the 18th or the 19th. The following is the argument by which we arrive at this unexpected discovery.[[2]]
[1] M. H. Usener is of a different opinion. This is how he expresses himself: "Die christlichen Heiligen die an die Stellen von Göttern gesetzt worden sind, gestatten uns in ihrem Gedenktag die Zeit des ursprUnglichen G6tterfestes mit Sicherheit zu erkernnen und dadurch das Wesen des Festes und der Gottheit zu ermitteln," Archiv für Religionswissenschaft, vol. vii., 1904, p. 14.
[2] J. Rendel-Harris, The Dioscuri in the Christian Legends, London, 1903, p. 62. The same author has recently published on this subject a new work which is scarcely an improvement on its predecessor: The Cult of the Heavenly Twins, Cambridge, 1906. See H. Thurston, S.J., in The Month, cviii. (1906), pp. 202-7; Analecta Bollandiana, 1907, no. 1. [The 3d ed. omits the reference to Rendel Harris' 1906 work, and to Thurston's article; it adds: This is a veritable obsession of Dioscures. Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxvi, p. 332-33; vol. xxxviii, p. 182-3.]
We start with the assertion that a whole series of saints are merely Castor and Pollux in a Christian disguise; then the dates of their feasts are collocated in the following fashion:-
19th April.-St. Dioscorus.
19th May.-St. Polyeuctes.
18th June.-SS. Mark and Marcellianus.
19th June.-St. Judas-Thomas and SS. Gervase and Protase.
18th August.-SS. Florus and Laurus.
18th September.-St. Castor.
18th December.-St. Castulus.
19th December.-St. Polyeuctes.
I have shown elsewhere that not one of the above saints has anything whatever in common with the Dioscuri.[[1]] Nearly all of them are clearly defined historical personages, while their cultus is regularly established and rests on a traditional basis. Add to this the fact that no Dioscuri are to be met with in the martyrologies for 19th April. It is the 18th May that must be meant, for on that date the memory of St. Dioscorus, lector, was celebrated in Egypt. Th eigth of May is not the date of the martyrdom of St. Polyeuctes. This saint is the second in the group of Timotheus and Polyeuctes inscribed in the Syriac martyrology for 20th May, and it is only by the commonplace blunder of a copyist that the names have been repeated among the martyrs of the i 9th.
But putting aside all these difficulties, admitting even that there may have been some sort of link-which as a matter of fact there was not-between the Dioscuri and the saints already enumerated, let us suppose that their feasts were all celebrated on the same day of the month, the 18th. Should we be justified in concluding that in all probability the festival of the Dioscuri was fixed for the 18th of every month? Far from it, for it is obvious at a glance that the date of the 18th in the [184] Julian Calendar does not correspond with the 18th in the Greek, Syrian or Asiatic calendars, in accordance with which the festival of Castor and Pollux, had it been celebrated monthly, would in the first instance have been fixed.
We have here a further example of the necessity of not being satisfied with a mere coincidence of dates.[[1]] One of the arguments brought forward to prove that SS. Florus and Laurus are merely the Dioscuri under another name, is the date of their feast, 18th August, for St. Helena is also commemorated on this same day. Helena, in the fable, is the sister of Castor and Pollux. Give Florus and Laurus their correct names, and you will then discover in the martyrology an authentic feast of the Dioscuri and their sister.
[1] Harris, op. cit., pp. 1-19. See also Analecta Bollandiana, vol. cit., pp. 428-29; and compare The Month, March, 1907, pp. 225 ff.
The matter, however, is not quite so simple as it appears. It so happens that the collocation of Florus and Laurus with Helena is entirely fortuitous. No single Latin martyrology makes any mention of Florus and Laurus, who are only known to Greek tradition, whereas no Greek synaxary names Helena on i8th August; she is always associated with Constantine on 11th May, and does not appear in any other place. It was the accidental result of a compilation composed of Greek and Latin elements that brought Helena and the Greek martyrs together at the same date in the martyrology. This fortuitous collocation does not go back further than the sixteenth century, a simple observation which should suffice to eliminate from the ancient calendar the supposed festival of the Dioscuri corresponding to 18th August.
We shall have something to say later concerning the [185] theory which has resulted in fixing 7th January as the date of the festival of the " Epiphany of Dionysus " in Bithynia.
In order to establish a connection between St. Pelagia, specially honoured on 8th October, and Aphrodite, much emphasis has been laid,[[1]] among other reasons, on the date of the festival, supported by the text of an inscription at Aegm in Cilicia, in the following terms:-
Theo Sebasto Kaisari kai Poseidoni asphaleiw kai Aphrodeite Euploia [[2]]
Euploia is the title of the Aphrodite of Cnidus. It might at least be expected that the first thing to prove would be that the goddess was honoured on 8th October. Not at all. One solitary date has been verified in connection with the worship of the Pelasgic Venus,[[3]] and that has reference to a local festival, the dedication of a temple and statue to the goddess at Nigra Corcyra (Curzola) on 1st May, in the year 193 Of the Christian era. But it is pointed out that Poseidon is mentioned in the same votive inscription, and that in point of fact the 8th of each month was dedicated to Poseidon. I must confess that the argument would make but a feeble impression upon me, even if it could be proved that the God of the sea had his festival on the 8th of the month in Cilicia as well as at Athens.
[1] H. Usener, Legenden der heiligen Pelagia, Bonn, 1879, p. xxi.
[2] C. I. G., 4443.
[3] C.I. L., iii., 3066, Signia Vrsa Signi Symphori templum Veneri Pelagiae a solo fecit et signum ipsius deae posuit Falcone et Claro cos. k. mais.
Pagan legends - Christian adaptation s - Three cases to be considered - Examples: Legend of St. Lucian of Antioch
- Legend of St. Pelagia and allied legends - St. Livrada.
The legends which offer the most vulnerable points, those which in their entirety or in certain portions appear to reflect pagan traditions, are those which have most attracted the attention of critics, and it is in fact mainly through such legends that they have attempted to connect a certain number of the saints-and not the least celebrated among them-with paganism. We must follow them upon their own ground and attempt to outline the methods which should be applied to this branch of research.
If people merely wish to assert that among a series of legends certain features are to be found that were already in circulation among the nations of classical antiquity, we have nothing to say against their view, and indeed when we ourselves were treating generally of the origins of our hagiographic narratives we quoted sufficient examples of such adaptations to leave no room for doubt on the point.[[1]] The further our researches in the domain of comparative literature can be carried, the greater will be the number of these parallels, and people will be surprised to discover in mediaeval lore so many remnants[[2]] of classical antiquity.
[1] See above, pp. 30-35.
[2] In order to convey some idea of the discoveries that may still be made in this direction, I will quote a page from the collection, justly celebrated in the Middle Ages, in which St. Gregory has brought together so many quaint narratives, stories of saints, pious anecdotes, visions and revelations with which, with charming candour, he entertains his deacon Peter. The thirty-sixth chapter of book iv. of the Dialogues bears the curious tide, De his qui quasi per errorem educi videntur e corpore. One of the incidents related by St. Gregory thoroughly illustrates the title. The saint had gathered it from the lips of a certain Stephen who related it as his own experience. Stephen had died and saw his soul conducted to hell. Brought before "the judge who presided there" he was refused admittance. "That is not the man I sent for," said the judge, "it was Stephen the blacksmith." Forthwith the soul of the dead man was returned to his body and the blacksmith, his namesake and neighhour, died (Migne, P. L., vol. lxxvii., p. 384). It is impossible to be mistaken in this matter. The friend of St. Gregory was an unscrupulous person who boasted of being the hero of a tale he had read in some book. Without speaking of St. Augustine, he might have read it in Plutarch, or still better in Lucian's Philopseudes, in which Cleomenes relates in similar fashion how having been taken to Hades before the tribunal of Pluto he was sent back to earth again, and one of his friends, the blacksmith Demylus, was taken in his stead. See E. Rohde, Psyche, 2nd edition, vol. ii., p. 363; L. Radermacher, Aus Lucians Lügenlreund in Festschrift Theodor Gomperz dargebracht, Vienna, 1902, p. 204. [The 3d ed. adds a reference to A. Jülicher, Augustinus und die Topik der Aretalogie, in Hermes, vol. liv, 1919, p. 94-103.]
[187] But whether such material was used in its raw state or whether it was first given a Christian colouring, there is, as a general rule, no reason for talking of pagan infiltration or even of pagan survivals. It is not the religious element which is responsible in these cases, it is the stream of literary activity carrying along with it the debris of earlier ages.
The problem to be solved is whether a Christian legend perpetuates in any sense a religious incident appertaining to paganism, in other words, whether it is the expression of an ancient cultus, surviving under a Christian form. One must, therefore, in the first place, put aside all legends that are independent of any religious observance. In hagiographic collections such as menologies and passionaries and in compilations such as synaxaries; and martyrologies there are many names and documents which represent merely a literary tradition. These may well date from classic times [188] without our having to discuss the possible influence of paganism.
Our business is with saints whose cultus is proved by a church erected in their honour, by a regularly observed festival or by relics offered to the veneration of the faithful. Such cases may come under three categories.
In the first place, it may happen that legends whose dependence upon pagan antiquity is admitted to have been purely literary may end by giving birth to a cultus. In its origin the History of the Seven Sleepers was a pious romance which, little by little, left the sphere of literature to pass into the domain of liturgy.[[1]] The heroes of this wholly imaginative work end by being honoured as saints of whom the burial-place is shown, and whose relics are in request. Similarly, Barlaam and Joasaph, the principal personages of a Buddhist romance, eventually, after long delays, attained to similar honours. But their artificially created cultus does not bury its roots in the distant past of Buddhism any more than that of the Seven Sleepers is a continuation of a religious episode of the polytheism of Greece.
[1] Acla SS., July, vol. vi., p. 376.
In the second place, a legend possessing pagan features may have for its subject an authentic saint whose cultus dates from a period anterior to the legend and is quite independent of it The problem suggested by these circumstances is not always easy to solve. It may be that the fabulous element has become mingled with the history of the saint merely in virtue of that inevitable law which connects legendary incidents totally devoid of any special religious interest with the name of any illustrious personage. But it is also possible that the [189] saint has inherited the attributes of some local deity together with the honours paid to him. No point is more difficult to unravel in practice.
We must not indeed forget that a great number of practices and expressions and stories, beyond doubt religious in their origin, and implying, if we press them, doctrines that were clearly polytheistic, have by degrees wholly lost their original significance, and have become either mere embellishments or conventional formulae devoid of objectionable meaning. The graceful little genii that painters and sculptors love to set climbing among the festoons and vine-branches are mere decorative motifs, just as the Dis Manibus Sacrum was written quite guilelessly at the head of Christian inscriptions on tombs without people seeing in the fact anything save the obligatory prelude to an epitaph.[[1]]
[1] F. Becker, Die heidnische Weiheformel, D. M., Gera, 1881, pp. 65-67.
Indeed the history of the saints supplies many examples that allow us to appreciate the exact value of certain facts which at first sight would appear to be dependent on religion and worship but which in reality are only connected with them by a very slender thread.
The Byzantines sometimes named stars after the saints whose feasts corresponded with their rising. Thus the star of 26th October became the star of St Demetrius, that of 11th November was named after St. Menas, that of the 14th was the star of St Philip.[[2]] It is difficult to see in these appellations anything further than the expression of a date, and I should not like to assert that the Byzantines believed that the [190] saints ruled over the stars or that they attributed to them in the firmament functions from which the gods had been deposed.[[1]] It seems to me clear that, putting aside certain superstitious customs.[[2]] they talked of the star of St. Nicholas just as we should speak of the Michaelmas term. When sailors referred to the autumn equinoctial gales as the "Cyprianic winds" the expression [[3]] no doubt testified to the popularity of St Cyprian, but in no way implied any practice of piety.
[2] Catalogus codicum astrologorum griecorum II.: Codices venetos descripserunt, G. Kroll and A. Olivieri, Brussels, 1900, p. 214.
[1] Cumont, Catalogus, etc., vol. iv., 1903, p. 159.
[3] Procopius, Bell. Vand., i., 21; [Greek quotation] Cf. i., 20, Dindorf, pp. 393, 397.
Hence it does not follow because some characteristic belongs both to mythology and to the legend of a saint that therefore the saint must be regarded as a deity in disguise. It would scarcely be logical to raise doubts concerning the existence of St. George merely because of his legend, and it is highly temerarious to affirm positively that in his person " the Church has converted and baptised the pagan hero Perseus." [[4]] When the origin of the shrines of St. George has become better known we shall perhaps be enabled to replace him on the historical footing which hagiographers have done so much to undermine. No one has, however, been able to prove hitherto that his cultus among Christians was a mere prolongation of some pagan devotion. [[5]]
[4] E. S. Hartland, The Legend of Perseus, vol. iii., London, 1896, p. 38.
[5 In the 3d ed. these two sentences have been further developed and he draws upon his Légendes grecques des saints militaires, pp. 45-50, and 75; the cultus of St. George is perfectly localized at Lydda in Palestine, and the episode of the dragon, he pointedly observes , does not enter into any of the ancient legends of St. George.]
The majority of the hagiographic legends that are adorned with mythological rags and tatters appertain in all 'probability to saints who have nothing else in [191]common with pagan deities. Yet this is not a universal law. Certain very well-authenticated saints have developed in certain shrines such special features that in the cultus paid to them it is difficult to deny the survival of a pagan ritual or belief. Whatever may have been the primitive history of SS. Cosmas and Damian they were represented at an early age as the successors of the Dioscuri, and the honours paid to them at certain of their shrines undoubtedly betray points of contact with pre-existing forms of worship.[[1]]
[1 See Les recueils antiques de miracles des saints, p. 8-18. 3d ed.]
For a long time sailors also had their own special ways of honouring St. Nicholas[[2]]I and St. Phocas,[[3]] and of attributing to them powers which remind one of the heroes of antiquity. One might therefore describe these saints as the successors of Poseidon. No doubt little by little the figures of the holy protectors took the place of the sea god, but the phenomenon is due to accidental circumstances, and even when heir to a pagan god the saint none the less preserves his individuality.[[4]]
[2] The sailors of Aegina wish each other a good crossing in the formula, "May St. Nicholas be seated at thy helm". E. Curtius, Die Volksgrüsse der Neugriechen, in Sitzungsberichte der k. Preussischen Akademie, 1887, p. 154.
[3] L. Radermacher, St. Phokas, in Archiv für Religionswissenschaft, vol. vii, 1904, p. 445-452.
[4] The scholarly author of Hagios Nikolaos, Leipzig, 1913-17, M. Anrich, arrives at the same conclusion after a thorough examination of the question - vol. ii., p. 505. 3d ed.[
We have still to consider a third case, that of the legend which reveals purely and simply the continuity of a religious tradition, to-day Christian, yesterday idolatrous and superstitious. It is no longer a question of deciding, whether an authenticated saint has assimilated some of the characteristics or even the general physiognomy of an earlier deity; but of ascertaining by a careful study of all the narratives concerning the saint [192] whether he himself is not a god or pagan hero raised to the altars after a decent transformation.
The distinctions we have sought to establish may seem to some over-subtle, but to ourselves they appear indispensable unless we wish to be satisfied with superficial resemblances and far-fetched comparisons. In order to realise the difficulties of mythological investigations, based upon the analysis of legends of saints, it will suffice to examine thoroughly one or two individual cases over which scholars have already exercised their wits and to measure the results of a criticism as searching as it is ingenious. We propose to restrict ourselves to the legends of St. Lucian[[1]] and St. Pelagia,[[2]] and the interpretation which we shall suggest is very different from that which has been current for some years past.
[1] H. Usener, Die Sintfluthsagen, Bonn, 1899, pp. 168-80.
[2] Id., Legenden der heiligen Pelagia, Bonn, 1879, xxiv., 62 pp.
St. Lucian is one of the most celebrated martyrs of the fourth century. He died at Nicomedia, 7th January, 312, and his body was conveyed to Drepanum, a town on the coast of Bithynia which was re-named Helenopolis by Constantine in honour of his mother. Nothing could be better authenticated than the fact of of his martyrdom, nothing more firmly established than his cultus, witnessed to by the basilica of Helenopolis as well as by literary documents.
Among the principal testimonies to the history of St Lucian we have that of Eusebius,[[3]] a panegyric by St John Chrysostom,[[4]] and a celebrated legend[[5]] incorporated in the menology of Metaphrastes, but dating undoubtedly from a much earlier period.
[3] Hist. Eccles., ix., 6.
[4] Migne, P. G., vol. L, pp. 519-26.
[5] Ibid., vol. cxiv., pp. 397-416.
[193] We need not stop here to discuss the life of St. Lucian[[1]] in its general features, but it is necessary to dwell upon certain details of the legends which have been made use of in support of the theory which it is our intention to examine.
[1] The best work we possess on the Acts of St. Lucian is that of Pio Franchi, Di un frammento di una Vita di Costantino, taken from Studi e documenti di storia e diritto, vol. xviii., 1897, pp. 24-45.
In the first place, the author of the passion relates that the martyr suffered torture by hunger for fourteen entire days: Tessares kai deka tas pasas hemeras.[[2]]. After the first few days he announced to his disciples that he would celebrate with them the Feast of the Theophany and would die on the following day. This prophecy came true: in the presence of the emperor's representatives, filled with amazement at his prolonged endurance, he repeated three times "I am a Christian," and expired.[[3]]
[2] Passio S. Luciani, n. 12, Migne, P. G., vol. cxiv., p. 409.
[3] Ibid., n. 15.
Others affirm, writes the chronicler, that while still alive he was flung into the sea. The Emperor Maximian, exasperated by his constancy, had commanded that he should be cast into the waves with a heavy stone fastened to his arm, so that he should be deprived for ever of the honours of Christian burial. And he remained in the sea fourteen days, the precise number he had spent in prison; Tessares kai deka tas holas hemeras. On the fifteenth day a dolphin is supposed to have brought his sacred body back to land, and to have died immediately after depositing his precious burden.[[4]]
No one can fail to recognise in this marvellous incident one of the most popular of all legendary themes of classic antiquity. The dolphin, the friend of man, [194] who bears him, living or dead, upon his back, is the subject of more than one poetic fable and of a whole host of works of art.[[1]] Melicertes, Hesiod, Arion-in this latter case also the dolphin expired on the sandwere all popular types, and there is nothing surprising in the fact that so poetic a legend should have passed into the realms of hagiography. The dolphin further plays a part in the lives of St. Martinian,[[2]] St. Callistratus,[[3]] St. Arianus[[4]] and others. This circumstance alone is sufficient to prove that the dolphin episode in the legend before us is purely adventitious and has only an accidental, and in no sense a mysterious, connection with its history, even should we fail to ascertain the precise circumstances under which St. Lucian came to be associated with this reminiscence of a classical myth.
[1] O. Keller, Thiere des klassischen Alterthunts, Innsbruck, 1887, pp. 211-35 ;A. Marx, Griechische Märchen von dankbaren Tieren, Stuttgart, 1889, p. 1 ff.
[2] Acta SS., Feb., vol. ii., p. 670.
[3] Ibid., Sept., vol. vii., p. 192.
[4] Ibid., March, vol. i., p. 757; Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, p. 308. '
It has been suggested that dolphins may have been carved on the sarcophagus of the martyr, and that this decorative design may of itself have sufficed to set popular imagination working.[[5]] This explanation combined with the mythical tradition which had not been lost at that period and which the sight of the dolphins would recall, is not lightly to be set aside. But it has the disadvantage of being a pure hypothesis suggested by the necessities of the case. In point of fact we [195] possess no information concerning the decoration of the sarcophagus of St. Lucian.
[5] P. Batiffol, Étude d'hagiographie arienne. La Passion de saint Lucien d'Antioche, in Compte-rendu du Congrès scientifique international des catholiques, Brussels, 1894, vol. ii., pp. 181-86.
A second explanation has been brought forward which possesses the merit of being at least founded on fact.[[1]] St. Lucian was martyred at Nicomedia, yet his basilica is situated, not in that town, but across the gulf, at Helenopolis. The translation of the sacred remains probably left no impression on popular memory, and later on the inhabitants explained the anomaly by the familiar device of a miraculous intervention of which tradition furnished them with so many examples.
[1] P. Franchi, op. cit., pp. 3943.
The presence of the dolphin in the Nicomedian legend has, however, suggested conclusions of a far more radical nature to our school of mythologists.
Note, they say, the persistence with which the number 15 recurs in connection with the name of St. Lucian. Putting aside, suggestive as it is, the fact that among the Greeks his feast has been transferred to the 15th of October, let us study the legend itself. The saint expired after fifteen days of suffering; the dolphin brought his body to shore on the fifteenth day; he died the day after the Epiphany which was the 15th of the month of Dionysius, and observe that at Helenopolis his feast is celebrated on the eve which is precisely the 15th of the month of Tishri.[[2]]
[2] In the Syriac Martyrology. See D,- Rossi-Duchesne, Martyrologium Hieronyinianum in Acta SS., Nov., vol. ii., p. Iii.
And what meaning has the dolphin? It is one of the attributes of Dionysus. And why is it connected with the memory of St. Lucian? Because his feast coincided with the feast of Dionysus which was observed in Bithynia on the 15th of the month of Dionysius. Therefore it was a pagan feast which the people [196] still remembered and which they associated with this Christian commemoration. The dolphin of the legend of St. Lucian is a witness to the affection of the new converts for their ancient superstitions.
Such is in brief the reasoning of these learned critics.
One would of course be bound to discuss these weighty conclusions, if in point of fact we knew from other sources that the great solemnity in honour of Dionysus was really celebrated on the 15th of the month, coinciding with 7th January, and also that a legend of Dionysus, current in Bithynia, was one of the numerous replicas of the history of the dolphin bringing to shore the body of Melicertes. But we know nothing of the kind. It is to the legend of St. Lucian itself that we are referred for the evidence of these statements.[[1]]
[1] "Durch die legcnde des Lukianos wissen wir das die Bithynier die -epiphanie des Dionysos am xv. des auf wintersormenwende folgenden monats Dionysios feierten. Wir wissen daraus auch, unter welchen mythischen bilde die erscheinung des gottes geschaut wurde. Als entseelter auf dem rucken eines gewaltigen delphin zurn lande gebracht, das war das bild Bithynischer epiphanie." Usener, vol. cit., p. 178.
What can we think of this logical structure save that it is destitute of any sound basis and that not only do we discern no sort of link between St. Lucian and Dionysus, but, in studying the matter closely, we find that Dionysus disappears completely from the scene, to leave us in the presence of one of the most ordinary phenomena of folk-lore in all countries? It seems superfluous to insist on the feebleness ofthe argument-it should rather be called the suggestion--drawn from the number 15, which itself has not even been established beyond question. The Arian commentary on job, which would appear to contain an echo of the same tradition [197] as the passion of St. Lucian, bears another figure: Hic namque beatus duodecim diebus supra testas pollinas extensus, tertia decima die est consummalus.[[1]]
[1] "For this blessed saint after lying for twelve days upon a bed of minute shells breathed his last upon the thirteenth day." Migne, P. G., vol. xvii., p. 471.
Thus the legend of St. Lucian involves no sort of reflection upon the Christians of Bithynia. It would justify no one in suspecting the purity of their faith or in attempting to prove that they had more difficulty than other people in forgetting Dionysus. Moreover, it remains to be proved that the great festival of the god really did coincide with the day after the Christian Epiphany, the day of the martyrdom of St. Lucian. For, so far, neither his own legend nor any historical text has furnished any proof of the assertion.
The legend of St. Pelagia has been the starting-point of a most laborious inquiry, conducted on the same principles, of which the results, although accepted by many scholars who have not felt bound to investigate them further, are certainly surprising. Its authors profess to have discovered that the Church continued, though admittedly under a very modified form, to pay homage to Aphrodite, to Venus, to the goddess of carnal pleasure and animal fecundity.
Pelagia, known also as Margarito, was, owing to the splendour of her pearls and jewels, one of the most celebrated as also one of the most corrupt of the dancing-girls of Antioch. One day she entered the church while Bishop Nonnus was exhorting the faithful. Touched by grace she begged for baptism, and when she quitted the white robe of the newly baptised she donned a hair shirt and a man's tunic, and left Antioch in secret in order to hide herself on Mount Olivet [198] outside Jerusalem. There she lived for three years in a little cell under the name of Pelagius, after which she entered upon the reward of her life of penance. The Greek Church celebrates her feast on 8th October.
Under this form, and taken by itself, the history of Pelagia offers no very improbable features, and it would certainly not be easy to draw from it any conclusions favourable to a mythological survival. But its critics compare it with other legends with which it constitutes a whole, of which the pagan origin and character are according to them clearly manifest.
In the first place, on 8th October, a commemoration is made of another Pelagia of Antioch, a virgin martyr, whose heroic death was related by St. John Chrysostom in a panegyric preached in her honour.
The same day recalls the martyrdom of a third Pelagia, of Tarsus, who preferred death by fire in a brazen bull to the love of the emperor's son. [[1]]
[1] The three legends are surnmarised in Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolilanae, pp. 117-20. The sources in Bibl. hag. graec., pp. 105-6.
Pelagia of Tarsus reappears at Seleucia on 22nd August under the name of Anthusa, with a history[[2]] of which the incidents, if not the closing scenes, recall the preceding version.
[2] Published by H. Usener in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. Xii., pp. 10-41.
St. Marina of Antioch, in Pisidia, commemorated by the Greeks on 17th July,[[3]] and St. Margaret of Antioch by the Latins on 2oth July,[[4]] suffered death like Pelagia of Tarsus, for having scorned the advances of the judge, the prefect Olybrius.
[3] H. Usener, Acta Sancta, Marinae et Christophori, Bonn, 1886, pp. 15-46.
[4] The different versions of the Passion of St. Margaret, Bibl. hag. lat., 5303-10.
[199] It is easy to trace the connection of yet another group of saints with the preceding.
St. Margaret, commemorated on 8th October, flies from her nuptial chamber disguised as a man. She hides herself in a monastery where she passes under the name of Pelagius. Accused of having seduced a nu'n she suffers the penalty for a sin she could not have committed. Her innocence is only established after her death. She receives the name of Reparata.[[1]]
[1] Acta SS., Oct., vol. iv., p. 24.
Maria, or Marina (12th Feb.), also enters a monastery disguised as a man. One day the daughter of an innkeeper travelling in the neighbourhood accuses the supposed monk of being the father of her baby. Marina is driven from the monastery and forced to maintain the child. The severity of her penances re-open the doors of the cloister to her, but only after her death is the discovery made that she has been the victim of calumny.[[2]]
[2] Migne, P. G., vol. cxv., p. 348 ff.
St. Eugenia (24th Dec.) ruled as abbot over a monastery of monks. She also was falsely accused by a woman before the tribunal of her father who was prefect of Egypt.[[3]] It is also in Egypt that we meet with a St. Apollinaria (5th Jan.) who hides herself under the name of Dorothea, and suffers a similar misfortune.[[4]] Euphrosyne of Alexandria (25th Sept.) adopts the name of Smaragdos and lives peacefully in a community of monks until at length she is recognised by her father.[[5]]
[3] Ibid., vol. cxvi., p. 609 ff.
[4] Acta SS., Jan., vol. i., pp. 257-61.
[5] A. Boucherie, in Analecia Bollandiana, vol. ii., pp. 196-205.
Theodora of Alexandria (11th Sept.). convicted of infidelity, retires into a monastic house for men in [200] order to do penance. She is denounced for misconduct and rehabilitated after her death.[[1]]
[1] K. Wessely, Die Vita S. Theodora, Vienna, 1889, pp. 25-44. We refrain from mentioning Porphyria of Tarsus, who is not a saint, or Andronicus and Athanasia who, in our opinion, burden M. Usener's list quite superfluously. He might, however, have included in it St. Papula who lived with some monks of the diocese of Tours and was placed by them at the head of their monastery. Gregory of Tours, In gloria confessorum, xvi.
It is clear that all these legends are interconnected, as may be seen partly by the similarity in the names: Pelagia, Marina, Pelagius or Margaret recalling the surname of Margarito given to the courtesan of Antioch, and partly by the theme: a woman disguised as a monk and keeping the secret of her sex until death. Sometimes the theme is complicated by the further theme of calumny, which, under the circumstances, is only a logical development of the main idea.
Before indicating the series of deductions by means of which folklorists have succeeded in recognising Venus or Aphrodite in the person of St. Pelagia, let us try to determine the starting-point of the whole series of legends which we have just summarised.
In the fourth century the Church of Antioch celebrated on 8th October the feast of a St. Pelagia,[[2]] a quite historical personage, concerning whom both St. John Chrysostom[[3]] and St Ambrose[[4]] have furnished us with information. But her history in no way resembles that of the penitent courtesan, and there is nothing in it to suggest anything in the nature of masquerading. Pelagia is a maiden of fifteen who sees [201] her father's house in the hands of the soldiery. To escape from their outrages she begs for a delay, the time to array herself in her finest robes. And while the soldiers are waiting below for their victim she flings herself from the roof and preserves her virginity by a voluntary death.
[2] Date furnished by the Syriac Martyrology, Acta SS., Nov., vol. ii., p. 1xi.
[3] Migne, P. G., vol. I., pp. 579-85.
[4] De virginibus, iii., 7, 33; Migne, P. L., vol. xvi., p. 229; Epist. Xxvii., ad Simplicianum, 38; ibid., p. 1093.
Should we then admit the existence of a second St. Pelagia of Antioch, the penitent sinner? The identity of dates, 8th October, gives food for reflection. An admirable passage from St. John Chrysostom may profitably be recalled at this juncture.
In his sixty-seventh Homily on St. Matthew, the saintly doctor recalls the history of a celebrated actress whose name he does not give, and who came to Antioch from one of the most corrupt cities of Phoenicia, having become so notorious, thanks to her evil life, that her fame had spread as far as Cilicia and Cappadocia. She brought ruin to a large number of persons, and the very sister of the emperor fell a victim to her seductions. Suddenly she resolved to reform her life, and, under the influence of grace, she wholly renounced her evil ways. She was admitted to the sacred mysteries, and after her baptism lived for long years in the strictest austerity, wearing a hair-shirt, and shutting herself up in a voluntary prison, where she allowed no one to visit her.
Nothing justifies us in assuming that this anonymous penitent became after death the object of an ecclesiastical cultus, indeed the way in which St. John Chrysostom speaks of her seems to imply the contrary. But it may be taken as certain that the narrative known under the name of Pelagia's Repentance Is neither more nor less than an adaptation of the incident related by St. John Chrysostom. The editor, who [202] bestows on himself the name of James, no doubt considered it too simple and therefore introduced into it the idea of the disguise with which more than one tale would have made him familiar.
It is very difficult to decide whether the so-called James originally intended to write an edifying romance in which a heroine named Pelagia should play the leading part, or whether, by means of fresh data, he proposed to write the legend of the venerated saint of Antioch. We know from illustrious examples both how quickly historical tradition concerning local saintsmay disappear beneath the action of legendary compositions, and also how little hagiographers hesitate in making alterations that render their subjects almost unrecognisable. However this may be, whether or no in the mind of the so-called James there was any identity between his heroine and St. Pelagia of Antioch, it was inevitable that such identity should soon be assumed to exist.[[1]]
[1] It must not be maintained that no confusion has existed, not can the three saints bearing the name of Pelagia, and entered in the synaxaries for 8th October, be produced in support of such a contention. The similarity of the date is in itself sufficient to explain the error. The three notices referring to the three namesakes are the outcome of a very ordinary proceeding among compilers of synaxaries. Whenever they met with two traditions concerning one and the same saint which were not easy to reconcile, they had no hesitation in resolving him into two distinct people.
The further legend of Pelagia of Tarsus in Cilicia appears to us to be the result of the double tradition that surrounded the name of Pelagia. In certain aspects she recalls the courtesan of Antioch, whose reputation, as we are expressly told by St. John Chrysostom, had penetrated as far as Cilicia, and who had also had relations with the imperial family. On the [203] other hand, Pelagia of Tarsus was a virgin, and in that, as in her martyrdom, she recalls the primitive Pelagia whose cultus was established as early as the fourth century.
The history of Pelagia in its double form proved highly successful and gave rise to an amazing wealth of legendary lore of which other examples may be found in hagiographic literature. The version by the self-styled James, at once the most interesting and the most highly coloured, is that which has enjoyed the greatest popularity. The true personality of the saint of Antioch, shadowy at the outset, soon disappeared entirely in the interest taken in her legend. This latter lost by degrees every vestige of historic fact; even the account of the conversion became eliminated and the purely legendary residuum passed under various names, thus degenerating into the primitive form of a tale strictly so called, thanks to which we have the saints Mary or Marina, Apollinaria, Euphrosyne and Theodora, who are simply literary replicas of the Pelagia of the self-styled James; or else, as in the case of St. Eugenia, the theme of a woman hiding her sex was tacked on to other narratives having for their hero some historic personage.
We have dealt at length with this development, which we regard as a somewhat commonplace phenomenon to be explained by the normal action of the legendary ferment If there is any item of religious interest to be deduced from all this, it is the fact that a traditional cultus may have the life crushed out of it by legend. But the cultus in this instance was Christian, so too was the subsequent legend, although mingled with elements drawn from the domain of general literature. Nowhere does a pagan influence make itself felt.
[204] Such, however, as may be supposed, is not the interpretation accepted by those who profess to identify Pelagia with Aphrodite.
After having glanced over the series of narratives of which we have given a summary, the conclusion is arrived at that "this bird's-eye view must give rise, even in the most prejudiced minds, to the conviction that one and the same divinity reappears in'the multiple variety of these legends like a trunk despoiled of its branches; thus the image that was profoundly impressed upon the soul of the people, though banished from its temples, continued to draw from its secret roots sustenance for the new branches that were shooting out on every side. . . . The Hellenism of the Imperial epoque contained but one conception which could have produced all these legendary forms: that of Aphrodite. It was necessary to tear from the hearts of the faithful the dangerous image which personified carnal beauty; it was accepted as it was, but purified in the fire of repentance and suffering in order to render it worthy of heaven." [[1]]
[1] Usener, Legenden der heiligen Pelagia, p. 20.
Clearly the point now is to prove that Aphrodite or Venus is indeed no other than the heroine of our legends.
Nothing, it seems, is more simple. Aphrodite was the goddess of the sea, and she is known under a profusion of titles which recall this quality: Aigaia, Epipontia, Thalassaia, Pontia, Euploia, and finally Pelagia, of which Marina is merely a translation.
And this is the whole kernel of the demonstration; and as, in point of fact, nothing is to be drawn from the dates of the festivals it is the whole of the [ 205] argument.[[1]] Is it needful to add that I consider it a weak one?
[1] The question of the date has been already discussed, p. 185.
If only the name of Pelagia had been a rare or unusual one among women, if it had been less well known at Antioch, the common home of the various versions, or again, if the title of Pelagia had been one of the popular epithets applied to Aphrodite, there might have been some excuse for this loose reasoning. But only one solitary example[[2]] of a Venus Pelagia and two of a Venus Marina, both supplied by Horace,[[3]] are to be discovered, whereas there is every reason to believe that Pelagia was quite a common name both at Antioch and elsewhere. [[4]]
[2] C. I. L., iii., 3066. Cf. Preller-Robert, Griechische Mythologie,vol. i., 1894, pp. 364-65. Nothing on the subject among the Greek poets, C. F. H. Bruchmann, Epitheta deorum quae apud poetas graecos leguntur, Leipzig, 1893, p. 68.
[3] See T. B. Carter, Epithela deorum quw apud poetas latinos leguntur, Leipzig, 1902, p. 102.
[4] C. I. G., 3369, 3956, 9497.
Doubtless we shall be excused from dwelling on other comparisons which are intended to support the main contention. Thus Anthusa of Seleucia is compared with the Aphrodite Anthera of Knossos; Porphyria of Tyre with the Venus Purpurina of Rome; Margarita with the Venus Genitrix because Casar dedicated to her a cuirass studded with pearls.[[5]] What erudition wasted on a futile task!
[5] Usener, op. cit., pp. xxi-xxii.
We cannot however neglect a further consideration produced in support of the theory we are combating, one that is really ingenious and intended to demonstrate an unequivocal trace of the worship of Aphrodite under one of its most monstrous developments, in the very heart of Christianity. Attention is specially [206] drawn in the Pelagian legends to the contrast between pleasure and penance, between lust and chastity, and to the ever-recurrent theme of sex-disguise. The object of this is to bring us back to the goddess of Amathus in Cyprus, who could be regarded at will as Aphrodite or Aphroditos, and who wore the dress of a woman with the beard of a man. In the sacrifices offered at this shrine the men were dressed as women and the women as men.[[1]] It was the worship of the Hermaphrodite. The legend of Pelagia, it is suggested, has retained the imprint of this; but the cultus continues formally within the Church; the bearded woman has been raised to the altars. In Rome it is St. Galla; [[2]] in Spain, St. Paula; [[3]] and in other places SS. Liberata, Wilgefortis, Kilmmernis, Ontkommer, etc .[[4]]
[1] Usener, op. cit., p. xxiii.
[3] Ibid., Feb., vol. iii., p 174.
[4] Ibid., July, vol. v., pp. 50-70.
I have already pointed out that the incident of sex dissimulation is a most ordinary theme in circulation in every literature; and as for the supposed replicas of the Hermaphrodite, they could not have been more ill chosen. Can any one seriously bring forward the case of Galla, whose history, told by St. Gregory, is of the most vulgar kind? Physicians, in order to induce her to marry again, assured her that if she did not do so she would grow a beard, and so it came to pass.[[5]] Paula is an obscure saint of Avila whose history is a repetition of that of Wilgefortis. This grotesque legend, however, is very far from possessing the mysterious origin which some people are anxious to attribute to it. It took its rise, as has already been shown, from the diffusion of the picture of the Volto [207] Santo of Lucca, and is merely a coarse interpretation of an unusual iconographic type.[[1]]
[5] St. Gregory, Dial., iv., p. 13
Mythological names - Other suspicious names - Iconographic parallels - The Blessed Virgin - Saints on horseback.
In the preceding pages it has been made clear that saints' names play a certain rôle in the researches of mythologists, and that not infrequently a real importance is attributed to them in the question of pagan survivals. Thus we have been assured that " the Greek nations of the continent, the Islands and Asia Minor turned with ardour towards the ancient gods of the Hellenes, on whom they were content to bestow new and often very transparent names: Pelagia, Marina, Porphyria, Tychon, Achilleios, Mercurios," etc.[[2]] It is easy to show that assumptions based merely upon the name are, in the present instance, particularly misleading.
[2] Gelzer, Die Genesis der byzantinischen Themenverfassung, p. 54.
From very remote times the Romans were in the habit of bestowing the names of Greek divinities more especially upon slaves and newly enfranchised persons; later, the names of Roman gods became equally popular. The Greeks conformed to the custom which became more prevalent as polytheism died out. Hence the frequency with which one meets with the names of gods and heroes such as Hermes, Mercurius, Apollo, Aphrodite, Pallas and Phoebus,[[3]] as well as with derivatives from mythological names, such as Apollonios, [208] Pegasios, Dionysios, etc.[[1]] Several of these are the names of quite authentic saints, and this fact should suffice to show that, in a general way, a pagan name should not throw suspicion on the saint who bears it. Certain names, moreover, are only mythological in appearance. St. Venera, for example, whose name recalls that of Venus, is no other than St Paraskeve, vendredi, in its Latin or Italian form.[[2]]
[3] The sources are given by H. Meyersahm, Deorum nomina hominibus imposita, Kiliae, 1891.
[1] H. Usener, Gotternamen, Bonn, 1896, p. 358 ff.
[2] A fact admitted by Wirth himself, Danae in den christlichen Legenden, Vienna, 1892, pp. 24-26.
This is not to say that in the calendar of saints we do not come across strange names which may give rise to legitimate suspicions. In Corfu (Corcyra) honour is paid to an obscure female saint named Corcyra, Kerkura, who plays a part in the legend of the Apostles of Corcyra, Jason and Sosipater.[[3]] It would be difficult not to believe that this St. Corcyra stands in the same relation to the Island as Nauplius to Nauplia,[[4]] Romulus to Rome, Byzas to Byzantium, or Sardus to Sardinia,[[5]] and that she is simply the product of the brain of the hagiographer. A study of the Acts of SS. Jason and Sosipater entirely confirms this impression.[[6]]
[3] Acta SS., June, vol. v., pp. 4-7. Compare Synaxarium ecclesiae. Constantinopolilanae, pp. 633-36.
[4] A. Boeckh, Encyklopaedie der philologischen Wissenschaften, 2nd ed., Leipzig, 1886, p. 560,
[5] "Sardus Hercule procreatus.... Sardiniam occupavit et ex suo vocabulo insulae nomen dedit." Isidore, Etymol., xiv., 6, 39, Migne, P. L., vol. lxxxii., p. 519. Isidore's compilation is rich in analogous examples.
[6] Mustoxidi, Delle cose Corciresi, Corfu, 1848, pp. xi.-xx.
There is yet another class of names which may well excite distrust. I refer to those which express a quality or function such as Therapon, Sosandros, Panteleemon and others. It is almost always to saints with a [209] marked reputation as thaumaturgists that names of this character are applied, nor is it always the result of chance. I am well aware that people have denounced, and with reason, the mania for transforming into myths all personages whose names correspond with the activity attributed to them. "It would be quite easy," writes Boeckh, "considering that nearly all names in classical times possessed a meaning, to explain the greater number of them by myths, and it would be somewhat embarrassing to decide how the Greeks should have named their children in order to guard them from the danger of losing their identity and seeing themselves reduced to a state of myth. Sophroniscos, the father of Socrates, would fall under grave suspicion, for it is Socrates who makes men wise, sophronas; his mother Phaenarete has in point of fact been suspected by Buttmann, for Socrates is ho phainon ten areten."[[1]]
[1] Boeckh, Encyklopaedie, p. 581.
The matter could not be expressed better. But, in the case before us, the existence of the saints who appear to be the personification of attributes is frequently only guaranteed by strange legends, and we know, moreover, that people are quick to bestow on the saints they invoke, names in keeping with the rôle they are presumed to play. St. Liberata, Ontkommer or Kummernis offers an example of this. The homage paid to her was in reality addressed to Christ, as originally it was the crucifix of Lucca that people venerated before the transformation wrought in accordance with the data of the legend. The cultus of other saints of the same stamp may possibly have veiled a worship of a very different character, difficult to specify and connected by mysterious links with some pagan [210] superstition. Such an hypothesis cannot be wholly excluded, but it certainly cannot be asserted as a general principle. It is, for instance, very improbable that it is applicable to St Panteleemon whom Theodoret places among the most celebrated martyrs of his day[[1]] and who possessed many famous shrines in the time of Justinian .[[2]]
[1 See our Origines dit culte des martyrs, p. 220. The 3d ed. deletes the phrase about Theodoret placing St. Panteleemon among the most celebrated martyrs of his day.]
[2] Acta SS., July, vol. vi., p. 398.
We cannot bring this chapter to a close without touching cursorily on a point which will illustrate in some degree the ideas we have already developed. Just as, in the domain of legend, certain scholars have been eager to mark the stages of a sort of Christian metamorphosis having its starting-point in absolute paganism, so certain Christian pictures and statues appear to them simply as the Christianised interpretation of an idolatrous idea. In such a matter the danger of assuming the existence of a real dependence from certain outward resemblances becomes particularly evident, the more so because the arts afford after all only a narrow range of expression.
In point of fact it may be said that the few timid attempts in this direction that have hitherto been undertaken have been remarkably unfortunate, and that, in almost every instance, a simple confrontation with definite historical data has proved sufficient to shatter all the conclusions drawn from the vague analogy between certain Christian compositions and figures of admittedly pagan origin. Need we recall the extraordinary pretension of a certain learned person to trace the type of the Virgin with the seven swords, so popular in Catholic countries,back to the Assyrian goddess Istar?[[3]] As it so happens the genesis of this representation of Our Lady of Seven Dolours, as indeed of the devotion [211] itself, is known in all its details, both the time and the place of its origin having been accurately ascertained. We have evidence that it does not date back farther than the sixteenth century, and that it comes from the Low Countries.[[1]]
[3] H. Gaidoz, La Vierge aux Sept Glaives in Mélusine, vol. vi., 1892, pp. 126-38.
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xii., pp. 333-52, [P. Soulier, La conférie de Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs dans les Flandres, Brussels, n.d., 11 pp.; A. Duclos, De eerste eeuw van het broederschap der Zeven Weedorninen van Maria, Brussels, 1922, 142 pp.]
Another writer has professed to discover numerous analogies, indicative of a common origin, between the worship of the Madonna and the worship of Astarte. He has even gone so far as to recognise in those pictures of the Virgin to be seen in our churches adorned with a long triangular embroidered robe a continuation of the sacred cone which represented the Eastern divinity.[[2]]
[2] See Mélusine, vol. iii., 1887, p. 503; also G. Rösch, Astarte-Maria in Theologische Studien und Kritiken, vol. 1xi., 1888, pp. 265-99.
Again, an effort has been made to prove the descent of the Madonnas of the thirteenth century from the type of Gallic mother-goddesses "through the medium of Gallo-Roman types of a more skilful execution which already wear a virginal expression".[[3]] This channel of transmission is supposed to be found in statues representing goddesses in the form of a woman nursing her child. Surely every one can see that such a group would very easily suggest the mother of God, and that it is in no way surprising if here and there our forefathers were deceived by the resemblance. But so far were they from needing a model from which to represent the Blessed Virgin in that attitude, that this is precisely the type of the most ancient Madonna known to us, that painted on a wall of the catacomb of Priscilla.[[4]]
[3] J. Baillet, Les Déesses-Mères d'Orléans, Orleans, 1904, p. 14.
[4] It is more surprising that arch2cologists of eminence should have allowed themselves to be mistaken concerning the significance of an Egyptian stele representing Isis with Horus at her breast. Gayet in Les monuments coptes du musée de Boulaq in the Mémoires de la mission archéologique du Caire, vol. iii., pl. xc, p. 24 has no hesitation in recognising it as the Blessed Virgin giving to the Holy Child, although with the proviso "that this representation must belong to the earliest times of Coptic evolution when the antique manner was still predominant". G. Ebers, Sinnbildliches, Die Koptische Kunst, etc., Leipzig, 1892, has also adopted the explanation. But M. C. Schmidt had only to turn round the stone of which the reverse side had served for a Christian epitaph to eliminate the stele from the series of Coptic monuments and restore it to the worship of Isis and Horus. C. Schmidt, Ueber eine angebliche altkoptische Madonna-Darstellung in the Zeitschrift fur aegyptische Sprache, vol. xxxiii., 1895, pp. 58-62.
[212] From the fact that Horus is always represented on horseback, piercing a crocodile with his lance, we must not rush to the conclusion that St. George, who is equally represented on horseback, killing a dragon is identical with the Egyptian divinity.[[1]] Apart from the fact that the great majority of warrior-saints are represented on horseback,[[2]] and that the sight of an equestrian statue might suggest this iconographic type, the legend of St. George, the dragon-slayer, a legend without sort of link with the god Horus, would naturally induce Christian artists to confer upon the image of the saint what has come to be its consecrated form. St. Menas with the two camels, his indispensable companions, equally recalls Horus and his crocodiles. It may well be that Coptic sculptors derived their inspiration from so widely spread a representation and in this way helped to create the popular type of the great martyr. But it does not follow that he should therefore be regarded as a pagan divinity, and made into a sort of [213] understudy to Horus.[1]] The classical origin of the type of St. Peter seated on a throne with the keys in one hand- and the other raised in blessing is beyond dispute. But is St. Peter in consequence to be ranked entirely with the personages represented in a similar attitude?[2]
[1] Clermont-Ganneau, Horus et saint Georges in the Revue Archéologique, N.S., vol. xxxii., 1876, pp. 196-204, 372-99, pl
[2] See J. Strzygowski, Der koptische Reiterheilige un Georg in Zeitschrift für aegyptische Sprache, vol. xl., 1902.
[1] I. A. Wiedemann, Die Darstellungen auf den Eulogien des heiligen Menas in the Actes du sixieme congrès des Orientalistes, vol. iv., Leiden, 1885, pp. 159-64.
[2] H. Grisar, Analecta Romana, Rome, 1899, pp. 627-57.
CHAPTER VII: CONCERNING CERTAIN HAGIOGRAPHIC HERESIES.
Direct relation established between the history of a saint and his legend - Exaggerated confidence in hagiographers-
Ill-considered appeals to local tradition - Confusion between a probable and a truthful narrative - Excessiv
importance attributed to the topographical element - Legend held in utter contempt.
To draw up a catalogue of the principal errors committed by hagiographers and critics ever since the world has studied the lives of the saints would be indeed an onerous task. There is no form of literature into which people rush so frequently without any sort of preparation, and if it be true that goodwill is sufficient to give pleasure to the saints, it is less true that nothing more is needed in order to praise them worthily, or to appreciate at its true value the quality of the praise bestowed upon them. Hagiographers, alas, have sinned greatly, and the only consolation left us is to believe that much will be forgiven them.
But if it be futile to hope that we may draw them all back into the straight paths of historical criticism, let us try at least to warn them against certain gross errors which have become accredited among them, and which day by day render the misunderstandings between history and poetry more serious, and the conflict between science and piety more acute. These erroneous beliefs usually circulate in a nebulous condition. In [215] the light of the principles which we have attempted to lay down, it should suffice in most cases to reduce them to precise terms in order to expose their falsity forthwith.
The first and most widely spread error consists in not separating the saint from his legend. A narrative will be accepted because it refers to a well-authenticated saint, while the very existence of another saint will be held in doubt because the stories concerning him are improbable or even ridiculous. It is one and the same principle which may, according to the school that acts upon it, lead to either of these equally absurd conclusions.
It will not take us long to demonstrate its falseness. The various divisions of our own work go to show that the saints run a continual risk of being compromised by the literature written in their honour, for the very reason that the people on the one hand and the hagiographers on the other are much in earnest in singing their praises. Moreover the documents concerning them are exposed to all the perils of transmission. Thus there is no sort of immediate proportion between the legitimacy and popularity of the cultus of a saint and the hist6rical value of the written documents which attest its existence. One martyr whose cultus has never spread beyond the narrow walls of his basilica, may live for us in authentic Acts of an incomparable beauty. Another, whose tomb attracts pilgrims from the whole world, is only known to us from narratives whose interest is far inferior to that of the Arabian Nights but whose historical value stands on much the same level.
Dare I say that the value of the Acts of the saints is in inverse ratio to the celebrity of their cultus? As [216] a general proposition this perhaps would not be quite accurate. But it cannot be denied that legend having been most active round the most popular saints, historical tradition has been more difficult to preserve in much frequented sanctuaries than elsewhere. And this is true of all great pilgrimage centres. Except in certain quite special cases, we know nothing either of their origin or their patrons save the most fabulous reports.
We are therefore fully justified in looking with suspicion upon the legend, while retaining full confidence in the saint.
I will not go so far as to maintain that one should admit the existence of a saint whatever his legend may be. It will be remembered that we have come across more than one hagiographic narrative having reference to an imaginary personage, and yet bearing all the appearance of an authentic document. Some other evidence is therefore needed in order to establish the real existence of the object of the cultus. If it is a fact that, in the course of centuries, every other trace of his career has become obliterated then we may reasonably entertain doubts on the subject. When we affirm that a particular saint has never existed we simply assert the fact that he is only known-to us by a legend of insufficient authority to prove his existence.
A second very common error is to place an exaggerated confidence in the biographers of the saints. People seem to transfer to these pious writers something of the respect due to the saints themselves, and the oft-repeated phrase, "We read in the Lives of the Saints," without any one taking the trouble to specify the biographer referred to, shows clearly that people implicitly attribute the highest qualities of the historian to every member of the fraternity.
[217] If one insists upon knowing upon what grounds so much faith is placed in the author of the life of a saint, one is probably told that by his piety, his reputation or the dignity of his office he was one of the remarkable men of his day. People forget to add whether there is any reason for believing him to have been well-informed, and capable of making the most of the sources he had at his command. And while the known writers are accepted thus uncritically, the anonymous ones-and the great majority of legends bear no name by which to authenticate them-are allowed to benefit by the reputation for science and integrity which has been conferred on the whole corporation of hagiographers, a reputation, as we have seen, wholly unmerited.
Need we dwell, at this juncture, on the injustice done to the saints themselves, by quoting, as their authentic utterances, the words some obscure scribe has placed on their lips after having evolved them laboriously from his own mediocre intelligence?
I shall be told that these remarks can only apply to readers wholly destitute of critical sense or of literary pretensions. Not at all. What is true is that in more scientific circles the same monstrous error is found under another name: it is the confusion between authenticity and veracity. The first step is to prove that the Acts are authentic, that, for instance, St. Eucherius is incontestably the author of the Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum, the second is to make use of the Passion as though it were a document of the first value, and with it to encumber the history of the later persecutions; and so on.
We shall not be wandering from our subject if we call attention to the further illusion of those who profess [218] a sort of blind admiration for that highly respectable collection known as the Acta Sanctorum and who have developed the unfortunate habit of quoting it as though it were the Gospel. How frequently have we not read concerning some strange miracle or some suspicious revelation for which the writer was anxious to gain credence, this naive remark, "This fact is admitted by the Bollandists".
The uninstructed reader would of course assume that after having submitted the incident to a minute examination, these "pitiless critics "-this is the consecrated phraseology-have allowed themselves to be disarmed, and that, in the face of the evidence, they have been unable to deny the correctness of the narrative, or to contest the supernatural character of the event.
Need we point out that it would be paying too much honour to any group of men, however learned, who merely apply methods that are known to and at the command of every one, to attribute to them a decisive authority in questions of infinite delicacy and not easily susceptible of hard and fast rulings? Neither Bollandus, nor Papebroch, nor any of their successors have ever entertained any such pretensions. As a general rule they have abstained from attempting to solve insoluble problems, holding it to be a sufficient task to classify the hagiographic texts, to print them with scrupulous care, to make known with all attainable exactitude, their origin, their sources, their style, and if possible to pronounce upon the talent, the morality and the literary probity of their authors.
Should therefore some honest writer experience the desire of conciliating his public by making it known that he has not neglected to turn over "the vast collection" - the epithet is once more de rigueur - of the Acta [219] Sanctorum, I must beg him at least not to make the editors responsible for all that it contains. Let him content himself with a formula that can compromise no one, such as: " The account of this incident has been published by the Bollandists". But to infer from this that the Bollandists guarantee its authenticity is to draw an unwarrantable conclusion." If the Bollandists," writes one of their number, "believed definitely in all the miracles and all the revelations they publish, there could not be men of more robust credulity."[[1]]
[1] Ch. de Smedt, Des devoirs des écrivains Catholiques, Brussels, 1886, p. 16. [This last sentence is deleted in the 3d ed.]
We now come to a third error which consists in setting the tradition of the church in which a saint is specially honoured in opposition to the solid conclusions of scientific research.
Among those who make use of this argument are some who, without knowing it, confuse apostolic tradition, the rule of faith for all Christians, with the popular tradition of their particular church. Such persons should be sent back to their theology in order to learn not to use the word "tradition" in an unqualified sense save in dogmatic matters.
But without going to this extreme, a considerable number think themselves justified in contesting the results of criticism by pleading respect for local traditions. Unfortunately what it is usual to dignify with the title of the tradition of a particular church, is merely the current version of the legend of the patron saint, and the form of respect claimed on its behalf is to consider it straightway as a tradition of historical value: an inadmissible pretension if it is hoped by these means to evade the necessity of weighing the evidence. In order to do that it is essential to go back to the beginning. [220] If the history of the saint, as officially accepted, belongs to one of the three first categories of hagiographic texts enumerated in an earlier chapter, it may be conceded that at least in its main outline local tradition is an historical tradition ; if not, then it is no use quoting it at all. Historical tradition is that which goes back to the event itself; popular tradition often arises several centuries later, and sometimes even unceremoniously dislodges the most solidly established historical tradition.
History informs us that St. Procopius of Caesarea belonged to the priesthood. Legend, as accepted throughout the East, transformed him at a later date into an officer, and soon he was universally known under the title of Procopius dux.
Current tradition describes Pope Xystus as dying on the cross, and every one is familiar with the verses on St. Laurence by Prudentius:-
Fore hoc sacerdos dixerat
Jam Xystus adfixus cruci.[[1]]
[1] "'Twas this his bishop had foretold, Xystus when fastened to the cross." Peristeph., ii., 21-22. [Instead of "current tradition" ("la tradition courante") the 3d ed. reads "Prudence fait mourir": "Prudcntius has Pope Xystus . . ." Ed.]
Yet we know for a fact from a letter by St. Cyprian, who was not only a contemporary, but a well-informed contemporary, that Xystus died by the sword .[[2]]
[2] Epist. lxxx., Hartel, vol. iii., p. 840.
Concerning St. Agnes there were current, as early as the fourth century, the most contradictory reports, every one of which would probably be disproved by history, if unhappily history had not been wholly silent where she is concerned.[[3]]
[3] Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, S. Agnese nella tradizione e nella leggenda, p. 26.
The traditions of the various churches in France which claim apostolic descent only date from the [221] period at which these legends, on which their pretensions are based, first won acceptance. This period is, in most cases, quite easy to ascertain, and it is simply arguing in a vicious circle to seek to authorise the legend by the tradition of which it was itself the source.
And yet the argument is pressed: " Are you unaware," these writers say to us, "of what took place in the churches in the fifth and sixth centuries when, in response to the eagerness of the faithful to listen to the acts of the martyrs in religious assemblies, the ancient and venerable narratives of an earlier period were collected from all parts, and recorded in a more methodical and oratorical style? The new editors, writing under the very eyes of the bishops, would certainly have abstained from introducing into their narrative any important circumstances up to that time unknown to the people." [[1]]
[1] [Dom Guérangerj Les actes des martyrs depuis l'origine de 1'église chrétienne jusqu'a nos temps, vol. i., Paris, 1856, p. xxxiv.
This manner of looking at the problem fails to correspond in any way with the actual facts.
It is assumed, what has to be proved in every individual case, that the Passions of a debased age were, in fact, derived directly from "ancient and venerable narratives of an earlier century," whereas we know how rarely the hypothesis can be verified.
Further, it is assumed that the Acts of the Martyrs were very generally read aloud at the liturgical Offices. We know that in the very great majority of churches such was not the case, and consequently that we can count neither on the vigilance of the bishops nor on the sensitive ears of the faithful for the maintenance of historical traditions concerning the martyrs.
[222] Hence episcopal control over local hagiography and the devotion of the people to a received version of the history of a saint constitute facts that require demonstration and can in no sense be accepted as an hypothesis to be taken for granted.
In point of fact wherever we are in the position to trace the diverse phases of the genesis of a legend, we are able to demonstrate in the clearest possible way the lack of this double conservative influence. The case of St. Procopius which we have studied in detail is sufficiently conclusive on this point. Could it be said that the priests and the faithful of the diocese of Lyons kept jealous guard over the memory of the curé d'Ars if they in any way countenanced a biographer who represented him as being, not at home in his presbytery, but at the head of an army?
The hagiographic legends of antiquity belong incontestably to popular literature. Not only do they bear no official hall-mark, but what we have been able to ascertain concerning their origin and their development affords us no guarantee of their historical value. The faithful found in them a means of edification and they required nothing further. Even in our own day, how many people are quite satisfied with those deplorable compilations known as the Petits Bollandistes or the Grande Vie des Saints in which history holds but an inferior place, but of which the narratives serve as food for piety!
A fourth error consists in accepting a hagiographic narrative as historical merely because it contains no improbabilities.
I may say at once that mediaeval hagiographers intent on impressing their readers with what was marvellous and extraordinary, have so encumbered [223] their passionaries with fabulous tales, that the absence of any extravagant element of itself creates a favourable impression. If people went no further than that we should have nothing to complain of.
But we must first examine in what form the document has come down to us. Many Passions of martyrs have been transmitted to us in texts of varying lengths, some developed, others obviously abridged or even cut down to a short lesson. Now the abridged texts frequently make a more favourable impression than the originals, the developments which betray the methods of the compiler having largely disappeared. One may compare, for example, the short Passion of St. Theodotus with the longer version that has also been preserved.[[1]] On the evidence of the abbreviated version alone, one might perhaps pronounce a very different judgment on the hagiographer and his work. It would be easy to apply a similar test to many other abridged narratives of which the original is still in existence.
[1] Both have been published by M. Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, I martirii di S. Teodoto e di S. Ariadne in Studi e testi, vol. vi., pp. 85- 87, 61-84.
Unhappily the confusion between what is true and what is probable may frequently be recognised even in the methods of that higher criticism by means of which students have professed to disentangle the historical narrative concealed from our view beneath a confused mass of legendary, lore. Supposing it to be true that all the improbabilities of a narrative are interpolations: it will then suffice to exclude this extraneous element in order to bring the document back to its primitive condition.
The process may appear somewhat naïve ; nevertheless it has been put into operation by men who were [224] far from simple themselves. I will only quote, as an interesting example, the case of a scholar like Lami who by making a judicious selection from the fabulous legend of St. Minias, succeeded in compiling a reasonable history, but one that was as little veracious as its predecessor.[[1]]
[1] Sanctae ecclesiae Florentiaer monumenta, vol. i., Florence, 1758. This is how he expresses himself: "Eius actis insinceris et apocryphis fides adhiberi ab homine cordato non potest; tentare nunc juvat an ea defaecare, et fabellis, quibus scatent, purgare et ad verosimilem historiam redigere, mihi res ecclesiae Florentinae inlustrare adgresso fortunate liceat". (p. 589).
If it is rare for historians ostensibly to indulge in practices of this kind, they frequently apply the method in all unconsciousness. Thus they are guilty of doing so whenever they make use of suspicious documents on the specious plea that they contain " good parts ". Le Blant was guilty of the practice on a large scale when he was hunting up" supplements to Ruinart ". If these "good parts" are anything except portions of the original historical record which the compiler had before him, they are of no possible use-as any one can see for rehabilitating the document.
A fifth error consists in classifying a document as historical merely because the topographical element can be certified as correct.
This blunder has been committed hundreds of times, and it must be admitted that in many instances the argument to be drawn from topographical precision is, at first sight, beguiling. How often does it not occur that this is the one point capable of verification, and if the document is found to ring true in this respect what more natural than to assume the excellence of the whole?
And yet we may go very far astray by relying too [225] much on topographical tests! It would be easy to quote many wholly psychological novels, the wanderings of whose heroes through Paris could be traced without difficulty. When the world has forgotten that Bourget wrote novels, we should be compelled, according to this theory, to accept his stories as real history, and the problem as to whether or no David Copperfield is compiled from autobiographical memoirs would be solved by the fact that all the herds journeys can be verified on the map. All that scientific criticism may assume from a narrative topographically correct, is that the author had familiarised himself with the places in which his personages reside, which in most cases simply means that he wrote at Rome, Alexandria or Constantinople, according to the special knowledge he may display, and that he had seen the tomb or the basilica which he describes.
Bearing this in mind it is easy to appraise the value of certain archaeological discoveries which have seemed to justify what had hitherto been regarded as somewhat dubious acts of martyrs. It has become possible to prove that these Acts have been written-a fact that is in no way surprising-in the vicinity of the sanctuaries whose origins they were supposed to relate. But the authority of the narrative gains nothing thereby, and after, as before, the "confirmation" supplied by the monuments, we are free to assert that the whole legend had its birth in the imagination of a poet.
There was much excitement some years ago over a discovery which was held to have rehabilitated the Acts of SS. John and Paul. This is how M. Le Blant [[1]] [226] describes the circumstances: "Little reliance was placed on a text which was thought to be founded in part on original documents but to have been corrupted by the introduction of some wholly inadmissible details. Nevertheless the tradition of the martyrdom inflicted on the two saints in their own house continued to survive. Indeed the precise spot where they were executed was shown, and in the sixteenth century a marble slab was let into the pavement towards the centre of the church, beating these words, Locus martyrii SS. Ioannis et Pauli in adibus propriis. One of the Passionist fathers attached to this church, the Rev. Dom Germano, whose intelligent initiative cannot be too highly praised, was anxious to ascertain whether the conformation of the ground was in accordance with the belief to which the inscription testified. He set about excavations and explored the soil beneath the church, and almost at once he made the discovery, beneath the high altar, of two rooms of a house, which from the materials out of which they were constructed as well as from their interior decoration, undoubtedly belonged to the beginning of the fourth if not to the end of the third century. Hence it is clear, as the Passio relates, that the church was built on the site of an ancient house."
[1] Les perseculeurs et les martyrs, p. iii.. See also P. Allard, La maison des martyrs, Paris, 1895. Taken from the Correspondant, 39 pages.
It is useless to continue the quotation, for we have arrived at the one definite result of these excavations. They have in no way solved the problem as to whether the hagiographic text was founded on original documents in spite of its containing some 11 inadmissible details ". Since then proof has been forthcoming that the story of SS. John and Paul does not depend on any historical source, but is merely an adaptation of the [227] history of SS. Juventinus and Maximinus,[[1]] and in spite of all the interest that surrounds the "house of the martyrs" none of the difficulties of the legend have been solved by it. Indeed the only solution to which no serious objection can be taken is that the patrons of the title of Pammachius are the holy apostles John and Paul transformed by legend at an early date into officers of Julian's court, after the pattern of other similar transformations with which we are by this time familiar.
[1] P. Franchi de' Cavalieri, Nuove note agiografiche in Studi e testi, vol. ix., Rome, 1902, pp. 55-65. See also Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxii., p. 488. [The sentence following - "Indeed familiar." - was deleted in the 3d ed. Ed.
We have now pointed out to the reader various vicious methods in order to put him on his guard against over-confidence in hagiographic legends. We have been exclusively occupied with the historical point of view, and it must be admitted that only too often the history of the saints has been obscured by legend. But it would be a fresh error to assume from this that the legends of the saints-I refer here to legends in general-are unworthy of attention. A comparison will at once make my meaning clear.
Let us suppose that an artist and an archaeologist are both standing before a religious picture, some great work by an Italian or Flemish master.
The artist would rave enthusiastically of the beauty of the conception, the skill in the composition, the intensity of the expression, the depth of the religious feeling.
If the archa2ologist were one in whom the aesthetic sense is lacking, he would give vent, before the masterpiece, to a series of criticisms, possibly accurate in themselves, but which would have the effect of exasperating [228] his artist friend. Here we have a fantastic landscape absolutely at variance with what we know of the physical features of the country; there a style of architecture unheard of in that region, while the costumes belong neither to the period nor to the people. His feelings would be outraged to see St. Lawrence wearing a dalmatic when before the tribunal, and he might possibly ridicule that charming scene in which St. Peter preaches from a pulpit in a Roman piazza while St. Mark sits at his feet and takes down the sermon, dipping his pen in an inkstand respectfully held for him by a kneeling disciple.
This is the sort of criticism which our archaeologist might pass upon Fra Angelico, Van Eyck or Perugino. No doubt he would study with curiosity the robes worn by the holy women at the tomb, the weapons of the soldiers escorting our Lord to Calvary, and the buildings by the roadside, because he would recognise in them contemporary documents of the time of the painter, and he would perhaps grow indignant with the art connoisseur, indifferent to these antiquarian details, and wholly absorbed in that which constitutes the true value of the work, the expression of the ideal.
Which of the two is the more just appraiser of this legend in line and colour, the enthusiast who seeks to penetrate into the inspired soul of the artist, or the unfortunate being who experiences precisely the same emotions before a great work of art as before a case of antiquities in a museum?
I would not be so bold as to transfer this comparison in all its rigour to the two camps that have grouped themselves round the hagiographic literature of the Middle Ages, that of the simple readers and sincere [229] admirers, and that of the despisers of these legends. It must be admitted that the pious chroniclers of the lives of the saints have not, as a general rule, been as happy as the painters, and that they have produced few master-pieces, few works even which, taken alone and judged on their own merits, would have attracted any notice or held public attention.
And yet, who can deny that in spite of all the ignorance of technique and the clumsiness of execution, there is exhaled, not indeed from each individual legend, but from out the store-house of mediaeval lore, something of that mysterious and sublime poetry which pervades the walls of our ancient cathedrals? Who will dispute the fact that these legends give expression with unparalleled vigour to the beauty of Christian faith and the ideal of sanctity?
Let us not forget that there is frequently a notable difference between what our worthy hagiographers wished to say and what, in point of fact, they have succeeded in saying. Their amplifications are often cold, the attitudes of their personages awkward and formal, their situations forced. But the thought which inspires them is noble and elevating, and their eyes are fixed on that perfect beauty of which pagan antiquity was wholly ignorant, the beauty of the soul filled by the grace of God, while their very helplessness in reproducing it in all its glory only aids us to esteem it the more.
For a long time the Golden Legend, which is so accurately representative of the hagiographic labours of the Middle Ages, was treated with supreme disdain, and scholars showed no mercy towards the worthy James de Voragine. "The man who wrote the [230] Legend," declared Louis Vivès, "had a mouth of iron and a heart of lead."
It would in fact be hard to speak of it too severely if it were conceded that popular works are to be judged according to the standards of historical criticism. But people are beginning to realise that this is an injudicious method, and those who have penetrated into the spirit of the Golden Legend are very far from referring to it in scornful terms.[[1]]
[1] Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiii., p. 325.
I confess that, when reading it, it is somewhat difficult at times to refrain from a smile. But it is a sympathetic and tolerant smile and in no way disturbs the religious emotion excited by the picture of the virtues and heroic actions of the saints.
In this picture God's friends are represented for us as what is greatest on earth; they are human creatures lifted up above matter and above the miseries of our little world. Kings and princes honour and consult them, mingling with the people in order to kiss their relics and implore their protection. They live, even here on earth, in God's intimacy, and God bestows upon them, with His consolations, something also of His power; but they only make use of it for the good of mankind, and it is to them that men have recourse in order to be delivered from sufferings both of body and soul. The saints practise all the virtues in a superhuman degree; gentleness, mercy, the forgiveness of injuries, mortification, renunciation, and they render these virtues lovable, and they urge Christians to practise them. Their life is, in truth, the concrete realisation of the spirit of the Gospel, and from the very fact that it brings home to us this sublime ideal, legend, like all poetry, can claim a higher degree of truth than history itself [[1]]
[1] In a letter to Count John Potocki Joseph de Maistre quotes, with comments of his own, an example of what he calls "Christian mythology". We cannot do better in order to elucidate our own thought than cite this eloquent passage: "Listen and I will give you one of these examples. It is taken from some ascetical work the title of which I forget. A saint, whose name I have also forgotten, had a vision in which lie saw Satan standing before the throne of God. And listening, he heard the evil one say: 'Why hast Thou damned me, I who only offended against Thee once, whereas Thou hast saved thousands of men who have offended against Thee many times?' And God replied, 'Hast thou asked for pardon even once?' Such is Christian mythology! It is dramatic truth which preserves its value and its effect quite independently of literal truth, and would indeed gain nothing by it. What does it matter whether the saint in question did or did not hear the sublime words I have quoted? The great point is to know that forgiveness is only refused to hint who has not begged for it." See Count Joseph de Maistre, Lettres et Opuscules inédits, vol. i., Paris, 1851, pp. 235-36.
ABBACIRUS (Greek: Abba kuros), 49
Abercius, St., inscription of, 85.
Abraham, 43.
Accounts of eye-witnesses, 112-13.
Achatius, Passion of 120.
Acheiropoeetos, 33
Achilleios, 2o7.
Acta Petri, 52.
Acta Sanctorum, 218, 219.
Acta Sincera, 115-24.
Adam, footprints of, 43.
Adar, King, 43
Aemilianus, judge, 79.
Aeneas, 164, 165.
AEsculapius, 152, 154.
AEsop, 3
African Church, 73
Agamemnon, 164.
Agape and Chionia, Passion of, 120.
Agatha, St., Acts of, 123.
Agathangelus, St., 95, 96.
Agnes, St, 85, 104, 110, 118, 123, 221.
Aidoneus, 175.
Aigialeus, 163.
Alban, St., of Verulam, 79
Albanus, St, 63.
Aldegonde, St., 25, 101.
Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, 117
Alexander of Cologne, 90o.
Alexander the Great, 17, 18, 20, 24
Alexander's Oak, 40
Alexander Severus, 22.
Alexandrinus, St., 117
Alexis, St., 103.
Aliscans, romance of, 105.
Ambrose. St, 34, 118, 200
Ambrose, St, of CahoOrs, 33
Amis and Amile, 109
Amphiaraus, 152.
Amphibalus, 79.
Andreas and companions, Passion of, 120.
Andromeda, 164.
Angelo, St., 72.
Anthusa. See Pelagia of Tarsus.
Antonina, St., 86, 87.
Antony, St., of Padua, 34
Anulinus, pro-consul, 24.
Aphrodite. See Venus.
Aphrodite, Anthera, 205.
Apollinaria, St., 199, 203.
Apollo, 207.
Apollonius, 117, 118, 207
Apostolic descent of French churches, 55, 220, 221.
Apulcius, 35.
Aquileia, siege of, 27
Arabian Nights, 9, 29, 215.
Arcadius, 120.
Arcesilaus, 163.
Archelaus, 132, 133
Ariadne, St, 34
Arianus, St., 194
Arion, 194
Aristides, apology of, 94
Aristotle, 131, Arnold, St., of Metz, 102.
Astarte, 211.
Asterius, St, of Amasea, 75, 118
Astorius and companions, acts of, 121.
Athalie, by Racine, 5.
Athanasiu3, St, 72.
Augustine, St., 48, 73, 118.
Augustus Caesar, 34
Austremonius, St., 20
Azazai, St., 103.
BABYLAS, martyr, 8o, 169, 173.
Balaam's ass, 53.
Barbara, St-, 34, 103, 111.
Barlaam, St., 118, 133, 143.
Barlaam and Joasaph, SS., 3, 63, 94, 114, 188.
Barnabas, St., 106.
Basil, St., 118.
Basil of Ancyra, 118.
Bavon, St, 101
Bees, Legend of the, 34.
Beleth, John, 20.
Benno, St., of Meissen, 34.
Bernard, St., 89.
Bertulph, St., 29.
Birds coming to life on spit, 50.
'Birds of prey, protective, 29.
Blessed Virgin, 43
Bollandists, 218, 219.
Bollandistes, Petits, 222.
Bollandus, 218.
Bona Memoria, misreadings of, 83.
Boniface of Tarsus, 62.
Bourget, Paul, 225.
Buddha, 43.
Buttmann, 209.
Byzantine artists, 76.
Byzantium, siege of, 27.
Byzas, 208.
CAESAR, 18, 24.
Caesar Gallus, 169.
Caesarius of Heisterbach, 90.
Caesarea, Bishop of, See Eusebius.
Callistratus, St., 194.
Caprasius, St., 102.
CaracalIa, Emperor, 79.
Carthage, siege of, 27
Carved figures, wrong interpretation of, 45
Casilinum, siege of, 27
Cassian, St., 104.
Cassianus Tingitanus, 119.
Cassiodorus, martyr, 209.
Cassiodorus, Senator and Dominata, SS, 71.
Castissima, St, 102.
Castor, St., 183.
Castor and Pollux, 182, 184.
Castulus, St., 183.
Cataldus, St-, 53-
Catherine, St., of Alexandria, 57, 71, 111.
Cecilia, St., Acts of, 123.
Cephalophorous (or head-bearing) Saints, 46, 81.
Chanson de gesle of Amis and Amile, 209.
Charlemagne, 18, 20, 54.
Christianisation of Pagan shrines, 170-72.
Christian legends derived from Paganism, 186-92.
Cicero, 151
Cimon, son of Miltiades, 162.
Clare, St., 48.
Claudius, Emperor, 150.
Claudius, St., Acts of, 121.
Clement of Ancyra and Agathangelus, SS., Passion of. 95-97.
Clementine Homilies and Recognitions, 4.
Clothair, King, 50.
Cloud, St., 48.
Coincidences, 99-100.
Commodus, Emperor, 78.
Condianus, 79.
Conrad, author of Exordium, 90.
Constantine, Emperor, 1, 24, 32, 192.
Constantine, Emperor, vision of, 137- --
Corcyra, St., 208.
Cornelius, St., 43.
Cosmas and Damian, SS., 87, 123, 152, 154, 173, 191.
Costos, father of St. Catherine, 57.
Cross, 36.
Crucifixes, miraculous, 30-31; and see Volto Santo.
Crusades,54.
Curé d 'Ars, 222.
Cyprian, St., of Antioch, 20, 63.
Cyprian, St., of Carthage, 20, 24, 95, 108, 190, 221.
Cyprian, life of, by Deacon Ponus, 113.
Cyprianic winds, 190.
Cyprianus,119.
Cyricus and Julitta, 119.
Cyril, St., 169.
Cyril, St., of Gortina, 32.
Cyrillus, Acts of, 121.
Cyrillus and companions, 118.
Cyrus and John, SS., 48, 49, 152, 169, 173.
DAMASUS, Pope, 2, 74, 104.
Danae, 34.
Daphne, fable of, 34.
Dativus and companions, Passion of, 120.
David, King, 42.
David Copperfield, 22.5.
Deae MatreS, 211.
Decius, Emperor, 20, 22, 23, 35
Demetrius, St., 145, 172, 189.
Denis, St., translation of, 106.
Derelict vessels, relics on, 51
Didymus and Theodora, Acts of, 119.
Digna et merita, misreadings of, 84.
Diocletian, Emperor, 22, 23, 24, 35, 125, 134, 139, 143, 145
Dionysios, 208.
Dionysius, month of, 195.
Dionysius, St., 117
Dionysus, Epiphany of, 185.
Dionysus, feast of, 195-97.
Dioscorus, St., 183.
Dioscuri, the, 173, 182, 183, 191.
Dis Manibus Sacrum, 189.
Distortion of Truth, 12-14
Dives, 42.
Dolphins, part played by, 193-96.
Domnina, St., 118.
Donatianus and Rogatianus, 120.
Donatus, St., 175.
Dorothea. See Apollinaria.
Dorotheus of Tyre, 55.
Drifting relics, 30-32, 51-52.
Drosis, St., 118.
Droysen, 72.
Duplication of Saints, 80-81, 140, 201-03.
Dymphna, St., 9, 105,157.
EAGLES in hagiographic legend, 29.
Eleutherius, St, mosaics of, 82.
Elias, St-, 173-74-
Elijah, 42.
Elizabeth, St., of Hungary, 29, 90.
Elizabeth, St., of Portugal, 29.
Emerita, St., 84.
Emeterius and Chelidonius, SS., 91.
Emmerammus, St., arrival of, at Ratisbonne, 31.
Enfances Vivien, romance of, 205.
Ennodius, 61.
Ephysius, St., of Cagliari, 142-43,146.
Epimenides, 36.
Epipodius and Alexander, Acts of, 121.
Erminus, St., 101.
Eucherius, St., 217.
Eugenia, St., 199, 203.
Eugippus, 61.
Eulalia, St, 104, 118.
Euphemia, St, 75.
Euphrosyne, St., 102.
Euphrosyne of Alexandria (or Smaragdos), 199.
Euploia, 185.
Euplus, Passion of, 120.
Eusebia, abbess, inscription of, 46.
Eusebius, 1, 117, 119, 126, 128, 133, 134, 140, 141, 144, 145, 192.
Eusebius, St., and companions, 118.
Eustace, St., 28.
Eutychius, martyr, 104, 155
Exaggerations of popular mind, 53-
Expeditus, St-, 48.
FABLE, definition of, 3.
Fasciola, Titulus de, 47.
Faust, legend of, 63.
Faustus and Januarius, Acts of, 121.
Felicitas and Seven Sons, 119.
Felix, St., 118, 120.
Felix and Adauctus, SS., 84.
Ferreolus, 120.
Flavianus, judge, 130-33, 137, 144, 145.
Florian, St., 29, 103.
Florentius and Julianus, SS., 102
Florentius, St., of Mont Glonne, 103
Flores and Blanchefieur, romance, 29, 109.
Florus and Laurus, SS., 183, 184.
Forgeries, 105-6, 114-15.
Fortunata, St., martyrdom of, 67.
Fortunatus, 61.
Forty Martyrs, 118.
Fra Angelico, 228.
Francis Xavier, St., 30.
Frodoberta, St., 43.
Fronto, St., of Pdrigueux, 99.
Fructuosus, St., 79, 119.
Fursey, St., Abbot, 25, 52.
GALEN, 131-
Gallienus, Emperor, 24.
Gallus, St., 101.
Genesius Arelatensis, Acts of, 121.
Genesius, the comedian, 119.
Geneviave de Brabant, 9.
Geoffrey of Monmouth, 79.
George, St., 42, 71, 145, 172, 190, 210.
George, St., Bishop of Suelli, 34
Germano Dom, 226.
Gervase and Protase, SS., 183.
Golden Legend, 77, 229-30.
Gregory the Great, Pope, 63, 108
Gregory of Nyssa, 72, 75, 118.
Gregory of Tours, 77, 101, 154, 157, 158, 170, 177, 180, 206.
Gregory Thaumaturgus, St., 179.
HADRIAN, Emperor, 139.
Hagiographer, definition of, 60-61.
Hagiographer, as historian, 67-69.
Hagiographers, exaggerated confidence in, 216-19.
Hagiopographic document, definintion of, 1-2.
Hagiographic fiction, dangers of, 64.
Hagiographic forgeries, 205-6, 114-15
Harnack, 115, 116.
Hector, 163.
Helena, St., 184.
Herbert,biographer of St. Bernard, 90.
Hercules, 172
Hercules, statue of, 30.
Hermaphrodite, 206.
Hermes, 207.
Hermes Trismegistus, 131
Herodotus, 34, 119
Hero-worship among the Greek, 161-67.
Hervatus, St., 34.
Hesiod, 194.
Hieronymian Martyrology, 82, 128, 144.
Hilary, St., of Poitiers, 62, 171, 173, 179.
Hippolytus, St., 75, 117.
Historical romances, 114.
History, how written in the Middle Ages, 65-66.
Holy Land, early pilgrimages to, 41,42.
Homer, 127, 131.
Honoratus, St., of Buzengais, 29.
Horace, 205.
Horace, house of, at Venusium, 41.
Horus, 212-13.
Hubert, St., 28, 102.
IGNATIUS, St., of Antioch, 54,
Ignatius, St., of Loyola, 100.
Iliad, the, 55
Images, immersion of, 151.
Imaginative romances, 115.
Imaginary saints as objects of devotion, 64.
Incubation, rite of, 152-56.
India, cradle of tales, 7
India, epic poets of, 9.
Infancy, prodigies of saints in, 52.
Inscriptions, erroneous interpretations of 84-87
Interpolated Acts, 122.
Interrogatories, authentic, 212.
Interrogatory of martyrs, how fabricated, 93-95.
Irenaeus, St., 117, 120
Irene and Cyrimna, SS., 103.
Isaac, St., 34
Isis, 165.
Isquirinus, Prefect of Périguex., 21.
Istar, 210.
JACOB, Bishop ofJerusalem, 117
Jacob and Marianus, 119.
James, St., arrival of in Spain, 31
James, St., of the Marches, 34
James, self-styled, 202, 203.
Januarius, St, 42.
Jason and Sosipater, SS., 208.
Javols, Bishop of, 170, 179.
Jerome, St., 35.
Jesuati, 100.
Job, Arian commentary on, 196, 197.
John, St., the Baptist, 52, 71.
John, St., Chrysoatom, 116, 118, 192, 200-2.
John, St., Colombini, 100.
John, St., martyr, 144, 146, 147.
John, monk, 64.
John and Paul, SS., 225-27
Joseph, St., of Arimathea, 106.
Josephus, 27.
Joshua, 51.
Judas's thirty pieces of silver, legend of, 37.
Judas Thomas, St-, 183.
Julian, Emperor, 169, 227.
Julian, St., 46, 52.
Julian, St., the Hospitaller, 63.
Julianus, St., 118.
Julicus, officer, 118.
Julitta, St., 118.
Julius, Passion of, 121.
Junianus, St., 50.
Juno, 164.
Jupiter, 164
Jupiter Capitolinus, 177.
Justinian, 210.
Justinus, 118.
Juvenalis, St., 143
Juventinus and Maximinus, SS., 118, 227.
KENTIGERN, St., 33.
Kilmmernis, St., 206, 209.
LAMBERT, St., 102.
Lami, 224.
Landoald, St, 50.
Laurentius, St., 117, 118.
Lawrence, St., 21, 24, 104, 108, 110, 154, 220, 228.
Leaena, courtesan, 35.
Le Blant, 47, 121-24, 224-26.
Leda, 164
Legenda Aurea, 10.
Legend, definition of, 4, 8-10.
Legendary themes, transmission of, 26-30.
Leo and Paregorius, 120.
Leobardus, St., 101.
Leonidas, St., and companions, 117.
Leontius, Bishop, 136, 144.
Liberata, St. (or Uncumber), 46, 109, 206, 209.
Liberius, St., 52.
Licence in mediaeval writers, 88, 89.
Lichas, 163.
Lipomani, 130,138.
Litanies, 180.
Livy, 27.
Louis, St., visit to Calabria, 20.
Lubentius, St., arrival at Dietkirchen, 31.
Lucca. See Volto Santo.
Lucian, St., 104, 192-97.
Lucianus, St., 11:8.
Lucianus and Marianus, 120.
Ludwin, St., 50,51.
Lupercalia, 181.
Lycurgus, 17.
Lyons, martyrs of, 118.
MACEDONIUS, St., and companions, 128.
Madonna, worship of, 211.
Magloire, St., 33.
Malchus and Alexander, SS., 117.
Malta, sprin festival at, 179.
Mamas, St. 152, 117.
Mamertine prison, 42.
Mar Benjamin, 103.
Marcellus, 119.
Marciana, St., Acts of, 80.
Marcianus and Nicander, Passion of, 121.
Marcus Aurelius, 22.
Margaret, St., 71.
Margaret, SL, of Antioch, 198-200.
Margarita, 205.
Margarito. See Pelagia.
Marianus Scotus, Blessed, 50.
Marina, 207.
Marina, St., of Antioch, 198-200, 203, 204.
Mark, St., 228.
Mark, St., of Arethusa, 104.
Mark's Day, St., litanies of, 180.
Mark, goldsmith, 135.
Mark and Marcellianus, SS., 183.
Mar Mikha, 103.
Martial, St., 55.
Martin, St., 19, 24, 42, 101, 1058 178.
Martin, St., duplication of, 82.
Martin, St., Pope, 68.
Martin, St., tomb of, 102.
Martina, St., 102, 110.
Martinian, St., 194.
Martinianus, St., 62.
Martius and Quintianus, 101.
Martyrs of Agaunum, 120, 217.
Martyrs of Egypt, 121.
Martyrs of Palestine, 1, 113, 119.
Martyrs, Persian, 118.
Martyrs, twenty African, 118.
Martyrology, Hieronymian, 82, 128, 144
Mary, the Blessed Virgin, 43.
Mary, reputed girdle of, 31.
Mary, Dolours of, 210.
Maternus, St., arrival at Rodenkirchen, 31
Maurilius, St, 33.
Maurus, St., 59, 206.
Maxentius, Emperor, 57.
Maximian, Emperor, 24, 144,.193.
Maximilianus, 119..
Maximus, St., 117
Maximus and Crispina, Passion of, 120.
Medard, St, 29.
Meinulf, St., 28.
Menhirs at Carnac, 43
Melicertes, 194, 196.
Menas, St., of Egypt, 32, 77, 145, 153, 154, 189, 210.
Menas, Hermogenes and Eugraphus, SS., 72.
Menologies of Greek Church, 6o.
Mercurius, St., 145, 207.
Metaphrastes, collection of, 88, 113, 138, 192.
Metrical Lives of Saints, 107.
Midas, King, 27.
Minias, St., 224
Miraculous element in legend, 50, 51.
Montanus and Lucius, Passion of, 120.
Moses, 42, 43.
Mother Goddesses, 211.
Myth, definition of, 5.
Myth, hagiographic, 6.
NAMES, transformation of, 49.
Nauplius, 2o8.
Neamas, 134-37, 144
Nero, Emperor, 22, 24, 55
Nicephorus, martyr, 59, 115.
Niccphorus Callistus, 35.
Nicetas, martyr, 35,
Nicholas, St., 46, 190, 191.
Normus, Bishop, 197.
Numerian, Emperor, 23.
ODO of Glanleuil, 106.
Oedipus, 63, 163.
Ogier the Dane, iog.
Olive, St., 105.
Olybrius, Prefect, 198.
Onesimus, St., 103.
Ontkommcr, St. See Liberata.
Orestes, 163.
Orpheus, 164.
Osiris, 165.
Ouen, St., 23, 34, 48.
Oulcion, governor, 135-37, 143, 144, 146.
PALLADIUM of Troy, 33
Palladius, 118.
Pallas, 207.
Pammachius, 227
Pancratius, St, 103.
Panteleemon, 208, 210.
Papadopoulos-Kerameus, 130.
Papebroch, Father, 218.
Paralytic and the dumb woman, legend of the, 153-54.
Paraskeve, St., 174-75, 208.
Paris, 164
Passera Santa, 48, 49
Passio Bonifati, 119.
Passio Cypriani, 112.
Passio Nicephori, 62, 119.
Patricius, Bishop of Prusa, 121.
Patrick, St., 19, 42.
Patroclus, St., 102.
Paul, St.: 52- 55, 87, 134, 137
Paul, St. life of, 35.
Paul, Acts of, 4.
Paula, St., 206.
Paulinus, St., of Nola, 118.
Pausanias, 30, 174, 175
Pedena, Bishopric of, 32.
Pegasios, 208.
Pelagia, St., 118, 185, 192, 197-206, 207.
Pelagia, St., of Antioch, 198, 201, 202.
Pelagia, St., of Tarsus, 198, 202-3.
Pelagius. See Margaret.
Perpetua and Felicitas, SS., Acts of, 24, 128.
Perseus, 190.
Perugino, 228.
Peter, St, 42, 47, 55, 177, 211, 228.
Peter, St., statue of, 151, 157.
Peter and Paul, SS., 84.
Peter the Deacon, 106.
Petrus Balsamus, 119.
Petrus, Passion of, 120.
Phaenarete, 209.
Phidias and Praxiteles, 45
Phileas and Philoromus, Passion of, 121.
Philip, St., apostle, 189.
Philippus, Passion of, 121.
Philomena, St., 86.
Phocas, St., 118, 191.
Phoebus, 207,
Pindar, 34.
Pionius, Passion of, 120.
Placidus, St., 72, 106.
Plagiarism, 88, 102-104.
Plato, 34, 131.
Plutarch, 40, 163.
Pluto, 175.
Pollio, Passion of, 120.
Polybius, 65.
Polycarp, St., 128.
Polycarp, Acts of, 24, 137
Polycrates, Ring of. 33.
Polyeuctes, St., 183.
Popular intelligence, Characteristics of, 40.
Porphyria of Tyre, 205, 207.
Poseidon, 185.
Potamizena, St., 118.
Prato, Girdle of BVM. St, 31.
Praxedes, St, 49.
Priscilla, catacomb of, 211.
Priscus, St., 117.
Proconsular acts, 111, 112.
Procopius, St., martyr, 119, 126-146, 220, 222.
Procopius, St., legends as related by Eusebius, 126-28.
Procopius, St., first legend, 130-34, 142-
Procopius, St., second legend, 130, 134-38,142, 145.
Procopius, St., third legend, 130, 138-40.
Procopius, St., duplication of, 141-43.
Prometheus, 164.
Prudentius, 75, 91, 226, 117, 220.
Ptolemaeus and Lucius, SS., 117.
Puns in hagiography, 48.
Purification, feast of, 181.
QUINTILIAN, 92.
Quirinus, Passion of, 121.
Quirinus and Cassianus, SS., 218.
RELICS of the past, 76.
Remaclus, St., 102.
Redemptus, Bishop of Ferentino, 155-56.
Rieul, St., 34.
Robigalia, 180.
Rock opening by miracle, 34.
Roman Legendarium, 73,114.
Roman martyrs, cycle of legends of, 39.
Romance, definition of, 3, 4.
Romanus, St., 117.
Rome, siege of, by Gauls, 27.
Romeo and Juliet, palace of, 43.
Romulus, 208.
Rosanna, St, 109.
Rossi, De, 86.
Rufinus, 218.
Ruinart, Dom, 115-24, 224
Rumwold, St., 52.
SABAS GOTHUS, Passion of, 121.
Saints identified with our Lord's life, 54
Saints, illustrious birth of, 54.
Saladin, legend of, 54
Salonae, Siege of, 27.
Sanctus, mediaeval use of term, 83, 108.
San Salvador, church of, at Valencia, 30.
Santa Maria del Grao, Valencia, 30
Sardus, 208.
Saturninus, Passion of. 120.
Savinus, St, 58
Scamandrus, 131
Schiller, ballad of Fridolin, 44
Scillitan martyrs, 78, 87, 112, 1113, 118.
Sebald, St., 50.
Sebastian, St., 210.
Secundianus, Marcellianus and Veranus, SS., 102.
Segnorina, St., 34
Serapis, 152.
Serenus, Acts of, 121.
Sergius and Bacchus, SS., 28.
Servatius, St., 29.
Seven Sleepers, legend of, 36, 58, 188.
Severus, Emperor, 79
Sicily, miraculous crucifixes in, 31
Simon Magus, 42, 52.
Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, 117
Sisinnius and companions, 118.
Socrates, 118, 131, 209.
Solomon, eagle summoned by, 29
Solon, 17
Sophroniscos, 2og.
Sosandros, 2o8.
Soteris, St., 117
Sozomen, 35, iz8.
Staff, standing erect, 50.
Stanislaus, St., of Cracow, 29.
Stars named after saints, 189-90.
Stephen, St., 21, 73
Stephen of Lusignan, 57, 58
Suetonius, 34.
Sulpicius Severus, 61, 101.
Sunbeam, hanging cloak on, 50
Supplement to Acta Sincera, 122-24
Surius, 130
Sylloge, 117.
Symphorian, St., 102.
Symphorosa, 119.
Synaxaries of Greek Church, 75.
Syrus, St., of Pavia, 54.
TACITUS, 1.
Tale, definition of, 4, 6-8.
Tarachus and Probus, 120.
Tatiana, St., 102.
Thasos, siege of, 27.
Thecla, St, 4, 34
Theoctista, St., 88.
Theodora of Alexandria, 199, 203.
Theodora and Didymus, SS., 118.
Theodore, St., 1, 71, 75, 77, 145
Theodore, St., duplication of, 81.
Theodore, St., Siceotes, 32.
Theodoret, 108, 128, 167, 210.
Theodorus, martyr, 118.
Theodorus, confessor, 118.
Theodosia, 134, 139,141, 142,146.
Theodotus, St., 71
Theodotus, Passion of, 223
Theodotus of Ancyra, 119.
Theodulus the Stylite, 62.
Theophilus of Alexandria, x169.
Therapon, 208.
Therapon, St., legend of tree of, 44.
Theseus, 172.
Theseus, translation of remains, 162.
Thierry, or Theodoric, d'Apoldia. 68,90.
Tiberius, Emperor, 18, 45
Tillemont, 122, 153
Timothy of-Alexandria, 153
Timycha, Pythagorean, 35.
Topographical element in legend, 224-25.
Torture ofmartyrs, how fabricated, 95-97
Toulouse, Count of, 158
Tradition, meaning of, 219-21.
Tradition, oral, 74, 75
Tradition, pictorial, 75, 76.
Tradition, written, 72-74.
Trajan, 22.
Trypho and Respicius, Acts of, 121.
Tychon, 207.
ULPHUS, St.; 34
Uncumber, St. See Liberata.
Urban, St., Acts of, 123.
Ursinus, St-, 55.
Ursius, St., 63.
Ursmar, St., 101.
VALERIAN, Emperor, 24, 35.
Van Eyck, 228.
Venera, St., 208.
Venerandus, St., tomb of, 158.
Venus, 185, 197, 200, 204, 207.
Venus Genitrix, 205.
Venus, the Pelasgic, 185, 205.
Venus Purpurina, 205.
Victor, 120.
Vidian, St., 104.
Vigilius, St., 118.
Vincent, St., 29.
Vincent, St., Passion of, 91.
Vincent, St., Madelgarus, 200, 101.
Vincentius, St., 118,120.
Virgil, 19, 123, 159.
Virgil, house of, at Brindisi, 41
Vita Leobardi, 101.
Vitalis and Agricola, SS., 118
Vitus, St., 29.
Vivis, Louis, 230-
Volto Santo of Lucca, 31, 110, 207, 209.
Voragine, James de, 229.
WALDETRUDIS, St., 101.
Westminster Abbey, throne of English kings, 38.
Wilgefortis, St. See Liberata.
Women disguised as men, 63,199, 206.
Wood of the Cross, legend of, 36.
XYSTUS, Pope, 220.
ZACCHEUS, 42.
Zeno, Emperor, 129.
Zeno of Elea. philosopher, 35,
This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall, October 21, 2000
halsall@fordham.edu
The Internet Medieval Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 18 June 2019
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Home3 Ways to Save Your Business Money Without Freezing or Firing Anybody
3 Ways to Save Your Business Money Without Freezing or Firing Anybody
You’ve clamped down on company meals. You’ve turned down your thermostat so low that workers are wearing jackets. Heaven forbid, you’ve even sold the office coffee maker.
Income, as you know, is only one part of the equation. The half of the budget that you have the most control over is your expenses, and you’re not about to let them eat up your company’s hard-earned revenue.
If that sounds like you, take heart: You might think you’ve cut everything you can, but you’d be wrong. Believe it or not, there are still plenty of places you can find savings that don’t require staff cuts or utility shut-offs. I’ve had to look at every single option to save money for my small business, and it’s helped us perform a lot better financially. To cut your costs further:
1. Team up with a group purchasing organization.
Corporate conglomerates spend so much that they can negotiate bulk rates that other companies can’t. But when you partner with a group purchasing organization (GPO), your business buys as part of a group. That means you get the same deep discounts without having to buy more. It’s why 96 to 98 percent of hospitals use GPOs. Luckily, though, GPOs aren’t limited to the healthcare industry. Today, nearly every business in every sector has access to GPOs.
Anthony Clervi, CEO of UNA, says when you join a GPO, you get product discounts of 20 percent or more. “You don’t need to hire category experts to save big on supplies,” Clervi says. “GPOs can deliver bargains across product categories every company uses.” As examples, Clervi points to UNA’s different discounts on rental cars, shipping, hotels and even up to an 80 percent discount on office supplies. As you can see, GPOs can cover different sectors to save you time from looking all over the place.
2. Take advantage of free mentoring services.
Every business leader needs a mentor, but mentoring services get expensive faster than startups go bust. Executive coaching costs an average of $500 per hour, with some firms charging as much as $3,500 per hour. Even on the small-business side, consulting services run about $125 per hour.
Fortunately, there’s an alternative to pricey coaches: Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE, a free business resource that provides startup owners with mentoring and education. With more than 10,000 volunteers across 300 chapters, SCORE partners with the U.S. Small Business Administration to link entrepreneurs with knowledgeable experts.
3. Barter everything you can.
Bartering is making a comeback in the business world. “The only limitation to barter industry growth is lack of awareness of the benefits in the business community,” Ron Whitney, president and CEO of the International Reciprocal Trade Association, told the Guardian. “However, barter awareness is definitely on the upswing.”
If you’re new to business bartering, start by joining an exchange. Tradebank, which recently acquired the U.S. branch of Bartercard, offers more than 100,000 products and services to American companies. Some states even have their own exchanges, such as North Carolina’s Barter Business Exchange.
Then, identify revenue opportunities that would otherwise be missed, such as unsold nights in a hotel room or furniture estranged from a set. List your goods on the exchange, and reach out to others with goods or service you need. Would a similarly cash-strapped entrepreneur trade his coffee cart for a desk? Asking is the only way to find out.
No matter what your co-founder says, there’s always more money to be squeezed out of the expense column. The internet provides unbridled access to markets all over the world, and technology is making services affordable (or free) that once cost hundreds of dollars per year. Whether it’s teaming up with a free mentor or joining a GPO, there’s always a lower price to be paid or free help to be had; you just have to find it.
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жовтня 16, 2018
THE MINSK SCHISM
The Synod of Russian Orthodox Church repeats the Kremlin's policy of self-isolation in response to the legitimate decisions of the international community (the Ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople has made a decision to provide a long waited autocephaly to Ukrainian Orthodox Church).
Moscow Patriarch Kirill since 1991 personally is an architect of the split in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Therefore, it is difficult for him to admit the guilt of 27 years of false activity, which delayed the entire Plenitude of Orthodoxy into a conflict. But after him, the situation sooner or later will start to normalize and the Russian Orthodox Church will return to communication.
Now all those, who belong to the Moscow Patrarchate Church in Ukraine have to make a choise whether to follow the way of split with the ROC or stay in unity with the Ecumenical Orthodoxy through the Local Ukrainian Church?
Recall, on October 15, duting the visit to Minsk, Belarus, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to break the relationship with the Constantinople Patriarchate. Thus, the Synod recognized the impossibility of further Eucharistic communication with Constantinople. The decision states that the Russian Orthodox Church will not implement the decision of Constantinople.
by Evstratiy Zorya - Archbishop of Chernihiv and Nizhyn, head of the Information Department of the Kyivan Patriarchate, the secretary of the Holy Synod of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Мітки: Christianity Ukraine
OCTOBER 21, 1933 - THE DEED OF MYKOLA LEMYK
BALKAN PENINSULA IN MOSCOW'S GEOPOLITICAL PLANS: C...
ANOTHER ATTACK ON A CIVIC ACTIVIST HAPPENED LAST N...
THE ANNUAL MAPPLE ARCH MILITARY EXERCISES WERE STA...
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Home || Permalink
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
A/AC.21/SR.69
UNITED NATIONS PALESTINE COMMISSION
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SIXTY-NINTH MEETING
Lake Success, New York
Thursday, 22 April 1948, at 2.30 p.m.
Chairman: Mr. LISICKY (Czechoslovakia)
Members: Mr. Medina (Bolivia)
Mr. Federspiel (Denmark)
Mr. Morgan (Panama)
Secretariat: Mr. Bunche (Secretary)
COMMUNICATIONS FROM MR. AZCARATE
The SECRETARY read a cable which had been received from Mr. Azcarate (Deputy Principal Secretary) stating that Sir Henry Gurney, the Chief Secretary of the Palestine Administration, had expressed a desire to know the intentions of the Commission regarding its coming to Jerusalem on 1 May, although he realized that it would be difficult for the for the Commission to give a definite reply before a decision had been reached by the General Assembly.
Some surprise was expressed at Sir Henry Gurney’s question. However; it was decided to ask the Palestine Administration whether they had any further proposals to make with respect to the question of accommodations for the Commission in Palestine. It was recalled, in that connection, that Wilhelma had been suggested by the Palestine Administration previously and that after the Commission’s rejection of Wilhelma as being unsuitable, no other place had been suggested to the Commission.
The SECRETARY next read a second cable from Mr. Azcarate concerning the possibilities for the recruitment of a temporary police force for Jerusalem: only fifty British policemen had declared themselves willing to serve, of which none were senior officers. Mr. Azcarate stated further, that a force of two hundred policemen was regarded as the absolute minimum, and one of five hundred or more as desirable. Unless police forces could be brought from outside of Palestine and organized before the actual withdrawal of British forces from Jerusalem, he thought that the organization of an emergency police force was impracticable. He awaited advice from the Commission as to its final decision in the matter so that he might inform the British authorities respecting it.
It was agreed that the information contained in the above cable should be transmitted informally to Mr. Parodi, the French delegate to the General Assembly, for his information in connection with the resolution he had proposed to the First Committee of the General Assembly respecting suitable measures for the protection of Jerusalem and its inhabitants (document A/C.1/280) and that the text of the French resolution should be cabled to Mr. Azcarate. The Commission would postpone its decision regarding the establishment of a temporary police force pending the decision of the First Committee on the French resolution.
It was also agreed that the substance of the Australian resolution before the First Committee calling for the implementation of the partition plan (document A/C.1/279) should be cabled to Mr. Azcarate for his information,
CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT LETTER TO THE UNITED KINGDOM DELEGATION IN CONNECTION WITH THE RELEASE FROM BEARER BONDS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES IN TEL AVIV AND HAIFA MUNICIPALITIES (Informal Paper UK/118)
The above draft letter, prepared by the Secretariat, was approved with minor drafting Changes and deletions.
CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNICATION RECEIVED FROM THE WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM (Informal Papers M/37 and. M/37.Corr.1)
With reference to the above communication, it was agreed that the suggestion it contained, namely, that the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund be asked to allocate a sum for the distribution of food and drugs to children in Palestine, should be adopted. The Secretariat was requested to communicate with the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund regarding the procedure to be followed in the matter.
CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM DELEGATION CONCERNING PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES IN PALESTINE (Informal Papers UK/81, 84 and 85)
With reference to the above communications respecting public information services in Palestine, it was agreed that no action should be taken in the matter by the Commission for the time being in view of the general developments.
The meeting rose at 3.15
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Czech photographer
Occupations Photographer
Countries Czech Republic France
Birth January 10, 1938 (Haiti)
Authority ISNI id Library of congress id VIAF id
Josef Koudelka (born 10 January 1938) is a Czech–French photographer.
Koudelka was born in 1938 in the small Moravian town of Boskovice, Czechoslovakia. He began photographing his family and the surroundings with a 6×6 Bakelite camera. He studied at the Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT) between 1956 and 1961, receiving a degree in engineering in 1961. He staged his first photographic exhibition the same year. Later he worked as an aeronautical engineer in Prague and Bratislava.
Koudelka began taking commissions from theatre magazines, and regularly photographed stage productions at Prague's Theatre Behind the Gate on a Rolleiflex camera. In 1967, he decided to give up his career in engineering for full-time work as a photographer.
He had returned from a project photographing gypsies in Romania just two days before the Soviet invasion, in August 1968. He witnessed and recorded the military forces of the Warsaw Pact as they invaded Prague and crushed reforms of the so-called Prague Spring. Koudelka's negatives were smuggled out of Prague to the Magnum agency, and published anonymously in The Sunday Times Magazine under the initials P. P. (Prague Photographer) for fear of reprisal to him and his family.
Koudelka's pictures of the events became dramatic international symbols. In 1969 the "anonymous Czech photographer" was awarded the Overseas Press Club's Robert Capa Gold Medal for photographs requiring exceptional courage.
With Magnum to recommend him to the British authorities, Koudelka applied for a three-month working visa and fled to England in 1970, where he applied for political asylum and stayed for more than a decade. In 1971 he joined Magnum Photos. He continued to wander around Europe with his camera and little else.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Koudelka sustained his work through numerous grants and awards, and continued to exhibit and publish major projects like Gypsies (1975) and Exiles (1988). Since 1986, he has worked with a panoramic camera and issued a compilation of these photographs in his book Chaos in 1999. Koudelka has had many books of his work published, including in 2006 the retrospective volume Koudelka.
Koudelka has won awards such as the Prix Nadar (1978), a Grand Prix National de la Photographie (1989), a Grand Prix Cartier-Bresson (1991), and the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography (1992). Significant exhibitions of his work have been held at the Museum of Modern Art and the International Center of Photography, New York; the Hayward Gallery, London; the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam; and the Palais de Tokyo, Paris.
He and his work received support and acknowledgment from his friend the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. He was also supported by the Czech art historian Anna Farova.
In 1987, Koudelka became a French citizen, and was able to return to Czechoslovakia for the first time, in 1990. He then produced Black Triangle, documenting the wasted landscape in the Podkrušnohoří region, the western tip of the Black Triangle's foothills of the Ore Mountains, located between Germany and the Czech Republic.
Koudelka lives in France and Prague and is continuing his work documenting the European landscape. He has two daughters and a son.
Koudelka's early work significantly shaped his later photography, and its emphasis on social and cultural rituals as well as death. He soon moved on to a more personal, in depth photographic study of the Gypsies of Slovakia, and later Romania. This work was exhibited in Prague in 1967. Throughout his career, Koudelka has been praised for his ability to capture the presence of the human spirit amidst dark landscapes. Desolation, waste, departure, despair and alienation are common themes in his work. His characters sometimes seem to come out of fairytales. Still, some see hope within his work — the endurance of human endeavor, in spite of its fragility. His later work focuses on the landscape removed of human subjects.
His most recent book Wall: Israeli and Palestinian Landscapes was published by Aperture Foundation in 2013. This book is composed of panoramic landscapes that he made between 2008 and 2012, as his project for the photography collective This Place, organized by photographer Frédéric Brenner.
1967 – Award by Union of Czechoslovakian Artists, Czechoslovakia
1969 – Robert Capa Gold Medal Award, National Press Photographers Association, US
1972 – British Arts Council Grant to cover Kendal and Southend, UK
1973 – British Arts Council Grant to cover Gypsy life in Britain, UK
1976 – Arts Council of Great Britain grant to cover life in the British Isles, UK
1978 – Prix Nadar, France.
1980 – National Endowment for the Arts Council, US
1987 – Grand Prix National de la Photographie, French Ministry of Culture, France
1989 – Grand Prix National de la Photographie.
1991 – Grand Prix Henri Cartier-Bresson, France
1992 – Erna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation Photography Prize, Sweden
1998 – The Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) in recognition of a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography in 1998.
2004 – Cornell Capa Infinity Award, International Center of Photography, US
2015 – Dr. Erich Salomon Award
Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Award Accessed 13 August 2012
"Auszeichnung für Josef Koudelka". Deutschlandradio Kultur. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
"The Dr. Erich Salomon Award of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (DGPh)". Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie e.V. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
1961 – Divadlo Semafor, Prague
1967 – Josef Koudela: Cikáni – 1961–1966, Divadlo za branou, Prague
1968 – Josef Koudela: Divadelní fotografie – 1965–1968, Divadlo za branou, Prague
1975 – Josef Koudelka, Museum of Modern Art, New York
1977 – Gitans: la fin du voyage, Galerie Delpire, Paris; Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; The Tel-Aviv Museum, Israel; Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
1984 – Josef Koudelka, Hayward Gallery, London
1988/89 – Josef Koudelka, Centre National de la Photographie, Palais de Tokyo, Paris; International Center of Photography, New York; Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany; IVAM, Valencia, Spain.
1989 – Josef Koudelka, Mission Transmanche, galerie de l'ancienne poste, Calais, France
1990 – Josef Koudelka z Fotografického dila 1958–1990, Umeleckoprumyslové museum, Prague
1994 – Černý trojúhelník – Podkrušnohoří : Fotografie 1990–1994 = The Black Triangle : the foothills of the Ore mountains, Salmovsky Palac, Prague
1995/97 – Periplanissis: following Ulysses' Gaze, Mylos, Thessaloniki, Greece; Zappeion, Athens; Centre culturel Una Volta, Bastia, France; ville de Rodez, France; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; Museo di Storia della Fotografia, Fratelli Alinari, Firenze, Italy.
1998 – Reconnaissance: Wales, National Museum and Gallery of Wales, Cardiff, UK
1999/2001 – Chaos, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome; Cantieri Culturali della Zisa, Palermo, Italy; Palazzo Marino alla Scala, Milan; The Snellman Hall, Helsinki; sala de exposiciones de Plaza de España, Madrid.
2002 – Josef Koudelka: Fotograf, National Gallery, Prague
2002/03 – Rétrospective, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France; Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico.
2003 – Teatro del Tempo, Mercati di Traiano, Rome
2006 – Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France: exhibition and laureate of the Discovery Award
Screening at Théâtre antique d'Orange, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France
Prague 1968, Aperture Gallery, New York
Koudelka, Benaki Museum, Athens
Josef Koudelka, Pera Museum, İstanbul
Invaze = Invasion, Old Town Hall, Prague
2010 – Invasion Prague 68, Photo Cube Market Square, Guernsey
2012 – Zingari, Fondazione Forma, Milan
2013 – Vestiges 1991–2012, Centre de la Vieille Charité, Marseilles, France
2013/2014 – Josef Koudelka Retrospective, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
2014/2015 – Josef Koudelka: Nationality Doubtful, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Getty Center, Los Angeles.
2016/2017 - "Exiles | Wall" Netherlands Photo Museum.
http://www.guernseyphotographyfestival.com/page/josef-koudelka Exhibition information
"Vestiges 1991–2012 / Josef Koudelka". Marseille-Provence 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
"Exhibition Josef Koudelka Retrospective". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
"Josef Koudelka: Nationality Doubtful". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
"Josef Koudelka: Nationality Doubtful – The Getty Museum". Getty Museum. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
Diskutujeme o moralce dneska, Nakladatelstvi Politické Literatury, Czechoslovakia, 1965.
Kral Ubu: Rozbor inscenace Divadla Na Zabradli v Praze (with Alfred Jarry), Divadelni Ustav, Czechoslovakia, 1966.
Rozbor insenace Divadla Na zabradli v Praze, 1966.
Josef Koudelka, 1968.
Gitans : la fin du voyage. Paris: Delpire, ASIN B0014M0TV8; Gypsies, US: Aperture, ISBN 978-0-912334-74-5, 1975.
Josef Koudelka: I Grandi Fotografi, Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, Italy, 1982.
Josef Koudelka Photo Poche, Centre National de la Photographie, France, 1984.
Josef Koudelka. Photographs by Josef Koudelka. Introduction by Bernard Cuau. Centre National de la Photographie, Paris, 1984.
Exiles.
Paris: Centre National de la Photographie; Paris: Delpire Editions; New York: Aperture; London: Thames & Hudson, 1988, ISBN 978-0-500-54208-8.
Paris: Delpire Editions; New York: Aperture, 1997. Revised edition.
London: Thames & Hudson (ISBN 978-0-500-54441-9); New York: Aperture, 2014 (ISBN 978-1-59711-269-7). Revised and expanded edition. Essay by Czesław Miłosz. Commentary with Josef Koudelka and Robert Delpire.
Josef Koudelka, Mission Photographique Transmanche, France: Editions de la Différence, 1989.
Animaux, Trois Cailloux/maison de la Culture d'Amiens, France, 1990.
Prague 1968, France: Centre National de la Photographie, 1990.
Josef Koudelka: Fotografie Divadlo za branou 1965–1970, Divadlo za Branou II, Czech Republic, 1993.
Josef Koudelka. Photographs by Josef Koudelka, Hasselblad Center, 1993.
Cerný Trojuhelník – Podkrušnohorí : Fotografie 1990–1994 (The Black Triangle: The Foothills of the Ore Mountain) Vesmir, Czech Republic, 1994.
Photopoche: Josef Koudleka France: Cnp, 1997, ISBN 978-2-09-754114-7.
Reconnaissance Wales, Cardiff, UK: Fotogallery/ National Museums and Galleries of Wales, 1998, ISBN 978-1-872771-45-8.
Chaos, France: Nathan/Delpire; UK: Phaidon Press; Italy: Federico Motta Editore, 1999, ISBN 978-0-7148-4594-4.
Lime Stone, France: La Martinière, 2001.
Josef Koudelka, Czech Republic: Torst, 2002, ISBN 978-80-7215-166-0.
Théâtre du Temps, France: Actes Sud, ISBN 978-2-7427-4435-0; (Teatro del Tempo), Italy: Peliti Associati; Greece: Apeiron, 2003.
L'épreuve totalitaire (essay by Jean-Pierre Montier), Delpire, France, 2004.
Koudelka: Camargue, France: Actes Sud, 2006, ISBN 978-2-7427-6174-6.
Koudelka, France: Delpire; Italy: Contrasto; US: Aperture; UK: Thames & Hudson; Germany: Braus; Spain: Lunwerg; Czech Republic: Fototorst, 2006.
Joseph Koudelka Photofile, Thames & Hudson, 2007, ISBN 978-0-500-41083-7.
Invasion 68: Prague US: Aperture Foundation, ISBN 978-1-59711-068-6; France: Editions Tana, ISBN 978-2-84567-438-7, 2008.
Koudelka Piedmont Contrasto, 2010, ISBN 978-88-6965-217-2.
Roma. Göttingen: Steidl, 2011. ISBN 9783869303888.
Lime, 2012, Paris: Xavier Barral, ISBN 978-2-9151-7385-7.
Wall, 2013, Aperture Foundation, ISBN 978-1-5971-1241-3.
Biography Work Awards Exhibitions Publications
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20 Single people reveal why they refuse to date anyone
by: Henry Smith
There's someone for everyone.
At least, that's what the old adage says. Whether you're a billionaire playboy athlete or an overworked employee at a supermarket, there's something about human nature that causes us to lock eyes with a special girl or guy, and then hopefully settle down and raise a family.
That being said, there are some people out there that are still in the early stages of writing their own love story. And while some of these single people are taking to Tinder or heading to a bar every weekend, others seem pretty content with staying single, even to the point where they're refusing to date at all. Here are a couple of them, explaining exactly why they chose this life.
1. At least you're honest with yourself
2. Something's gotta give...
3. It can be a lot of effort
4. Some people can be cruel, and it can have long-lasting effects
5. Maybe it's something you can work on
6. Being vulnerable can be super terrifying
7. When you put it that way...
8. There are still good people out there... sometimes, they can be hard to find
9. That's one way to go about it
10. Sometimes, it can be hard to let someone in. Sometimes, that's literally
11. It's a hard place to be in
12. Cherophobia - it's a thing
13. Sometimes, being single is the only defense mechanism we have against a cruel world
14. It can definitely feel that way sometimes
15. Never be afraid to work on yourself first
16. Dating can be very uncomfortable sometimes. There are a ton of creeps out there
17. Never be afraid to let the right one in
18. Nobody wants to be with someone less mature than them
19. You never know - someone could fall madly in love with that smile
20. Sometimes, some things are more important
Trying to find a relationship is hard. Dating is probably the easiest way to go about it, but when you're dating, you have to deal with your vulnerabilities, your insecurities and your expectations, and that can be painful. As these people have shown one way or another, it's not for everyone, so don't feel like you have to date if you don't want to. And don't worry: the right one will come along when the time's right.
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Tag: homer simpson
May 31, 2019 wardculture
The Simpsons and Video Games: What could we see in the future?
It has been 11 years since we last had our hands on a console-based game featuring the popular American cartoon family quite fittingly called ‘The Simpsons Game’. Looking back at the catalogue of titles, it wasn’t very often in the 90’s and early 00’s that we were without a new Simpsons game of some variety, […]
Continue Reading "The Simpsons and Video Games: What could we see in the future?"
March 8, 2019 wardculture
The Simpsons pull Michael Jackson episode ‘Stark Raving Dad’ after Leaving Neverland documentary
A well-known and loved episode from The Simpsons’ third season has been pulled following the allegations of child sexual abuse from the Leaving Neverland documentary. Long-time executive producer of The Simpsons, James L. Brooks announced the episode will no longer be in circulation following the brutal content revealed in the documentary. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, […]
Continue Reading "The Simpsons pull Michael Jackson episode ‘Stark Raving Dad’ after Leaving Neverland documentary"
October 22, 2018 October 22, 2018 wardculture
Top 15 Treehouse of Horror parts (I-X)
If there is one thing The Simpsons is known for it’s the shows annual horror episode otherwise known as the ‘Treehouse of Horror’ series which have been a part of the show since its second season. The episode is traditionally split up into three parts or three stories and sometimes features extra content at the […]
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To ease out the policy of population salt reduction to prevent cardiovascular disease is dangerous and scientifically unjustified
Banning plastic straws - a step in the right direction?
Media Centre Services
University of Warwick Podcast
Independent External Review
Research team includes Prof Francesco P Cappuccio, of Warwick Medical School, Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutrition and President of the British and Irish Hypertension Society
The journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease (NMCD), has published an important and authoritative statement of the ESAN (European Salt Action Network), a Working group established under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) which includes expert representatives from 39 countries and academic centres, supporting the implementation of population programmes of reduction of salt consumption to prevent cardiovascular disease as recommended by the WHO.
“High blood pressure remains the first cause of death, ill-health and disability in the world due to its cardiovascular complications. A high salt intake causes a rise in blood pressure and a reduction in its consumption leads to lower blood pressures as indicated by numerous clinical trials carried out over the past 35 years”, says Prof Pasquale Strazzullo, from the Federico II University of Naples and President of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition.
Nevertheless, recent publications have generated an apparent scientific controversy, spreading through the popular media, like blogs, newspapers and magazines, a sceptic view of the value of reducing salt consumption in populations. These studies suggest the presence of a J-shaped relationship between salt consumption and cardiovascular events, so that reduction in salt consumption towards 5 g per day (as recommended by the WHO) may even be dangerous, and that it would be better to stick to current consumptions as measured in many European countries. This view is in stark contrast with the recommendations set by the WHO and by the UN resolution to reduce non-communicable disease by a quarter by 2025 with the inclusion of a 30% reduction in salt consumption by 2025 aiming at a final target of no more than 5 g per day.
In the article published today in NMCD, the ESAN, after a thorough examination of the methodology used in the recent studies that have generated the controversy, concludes that these studies have numerous and substantial flaws in the methods used, already highlighted and reported in the international literature by several independent health organizations, yet ignored by authors even in more recent publications on the subject.
“The main methodological errors” says Prof Francesco P Cappuccio, from the University of Warwick, Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutrition and President of the British and Irish Hypertension Society, “are the biased estimations of the habitual salt consumption and the subsequent assessment of relationships between consumption and cardiovascular outcomes that are unreliable and biased, the inclusion in the latest studies of sick individuals already suffering from cardiovascular disease and who are on polypharmacy (reverse causality), thereby producing misleading results and interpretations difficult. Finally, there is lack of plausibility that a moderate reduction in salt consumption may cause harm”.
“On the contrary”, adds Dr Michael Beer, from the Swiss Federal Food and Safety Veterinary Office and Chair of ESAN, “past and more recent studies using correct methodologies and some randomized clinical trials do confirm the graded and linear relationship between salt consumption and cardiovascular outcomes, with no increased risk at levels around 5 g per day or less, which are the current targets of the WHO global policies”.
The ESAN felt it was necessary to reaffirm the lack of credibility of the current controversy, which is not only scientifically unfounded and unjustified, but it may be dangerous in undermining both public confidence and the public health and health professionals’ commitment to the implementation of the long-term policy of reducing salt consumption in both patients and populations, thus contributing to an increase in avoidable deaths and disabilities.
High salt intake, as currently measured in all countries in the world, including Europe, is the main cause of high blood pressure, number one cause of cardiovascular disease (heart attacks, strokes, heart and kidney failures). These conditions are preventable through aa reduction in blood pressure that can be delivered with a feasible, cost-effective and equitable public health measure of reducing population salt consumption to moderate levels of 5 g per day or less.
· Cappuccio FP, Beer M, Strazzullo P on behalf of the European Salt Action Network. Population dietary salt reduction and the risk of cardiovascular disease. A scientific statement from the European Salt Action Network. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2018.11.010
Peter Thorley
Media Relations Manager (Warwick Medical School and Department of Physics)
Email: peter dot thorley at warwick dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)24 761 50868
Mob: +44 (0) 7824 540863
Professor Franco Cappuccio
Email: F dot P dot Cappuccio at warwick dot ac dot uk
Telephone Listings
CV4 7AL
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Page contact: Kim Ingram
Last revised: Fri 7 Dec 2018
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Travel Contract Has Firms Booking Potential Business
By Nick Wakeman
A lucrative Defense Department award holds out the promise of even bigger money for winner TRW and its teammates as government and commercial spending on travel management swells in the coming years.
The potential market to provide government travel systems is $100 million annually as agencies slash costs by outsourcing support services such as travel management, industry sources said.
Cleveland-based TRW and subcontractors Gelco Information Networks of Minneapolis and American Express of New York won the $264 million contract to build the Defense Travel System (DTS), an electronic travel management system, earlier this month. The team beat one led by Electronic Data Systems Corp. of Plano, Texas. The TRW team originally had been led by systems integrator BDM International Inc., McLean, Va, which TRW purchased last December.
The ground-breaking defense travel contract, a five-year effort with three one-year options, will serve the team well in other ventures, said Richard Fabbre, TRW's program manager for DTS. The automated system is expected to dramatically lower costs and cut reimbursement time and processing steps. It will be "very state of the art," he said.
TRW wants to keep together the team to pursue other projects in the government and possibly commercial markets, he said. Agencies, including the State Department, as well as state governments, cities and universities with large travel budgets are potential markets for similar systems, said William Shively, executive vice president and general manager of Gelco's government division.
Privately held Gelco makes software to manage travel expenses. It is considered a leader in that area, with about 80 agencies and 1,500 companies using its products. Other members of TRW's team include Sun Microsystems Inc., Mountain View, Calif., and Oracle Corp., Redwood Shores, Calif.
Department of Defense estimates have shown up to 30 percent of the $3 billion-plus the Pentagon spends on travel annually is eaten by management costs. Defense officials' goal is to bring that cost in line with the commercial level of 10 percent or less, said Col. Al Arnold, program manager for DTS. When fully operational, DTS will process about 5.9 million travel vouchers, and will save the government about $88 per voucher, or nearly $520 million annually, according to the Defense Department.
Under the defense travel effort, the TRW team will build a system that converts the Defense Department's paper-based travel system to an electronic one. The TRW team will create a "common user interface" that defense personnel can use to access travel services in 18 regions the Defense Department has established worldwide. This interface will allow military personnel to use a Web browser to book airline flights, make hotel reservations and rent cars.
American Express' main role will be to provide reservation services in the Midwest, the first region in which the Defense Department will roll out DTS. A second set of contracts open to travel companies like American Express will be out this summer.
Military and most government travelers face significant differences when compared to their commercial counterparts, Shively said. Government travelers must get authorization before traveling, reimbursement is on a per diem bases rather than an expense account, and there are myriad rules to follow about how to travel and where to stay, he said.
The Defense Department estimates there are about 25 separate steps to go through when traveling. Because all the approvals and authorizations are completed on paper, the Defense Department's cost is very high, Shively said. "The government spends at least three times what the commercial world does to manage travel expenses," he said.
"DoD is convinced this is going to work. That is why they have really taken their time on this to make sure it really does work," said Roxanne Navarra of market research firm Federal Sources Inc., McLean, Va.
TRW Defense Travel System Team
Gelco Information Networks
While the request for proposals came out late last June, she said, the Defense Department already had spent two years working with industry on the concept.
"This is one of the first contracts really aimed at improving the business practices of the Defense Department," said Mitchell Ross, vice president of enterprise management for TRW's systems integration group.
The Defense Travel System will be owned and operated by TRW, and the government will pay for it like a service on a per transaction basis, Ross said. Both are new concepts for the government, he said."Historically, the government would have had a developer-contractor, then the government would own and operate the system. It might be good, but it would not keep up with technology."
Because the system will be built using commercially available products, TRW will continually upgrade the system as new technologies become available, Ross said.
Navarra said: "If DoD can implement this, I think other agencies might follow. Everyone wants to get away from paper."
The Defense Travel System itself might become available for civilian agencies to use, but there are no concrete plans for that now, Ross said. One thing, however, is clear: The defense travel project is creating an opportunity to expand the TRW team's presence in the government market.
Gelco gets about 15 percent of its revenue from the government, and DTS should boost that to about 25 percent, Shively said. He would not say what the company's overall revenues are.
The DTS win will "provide us with the opportunity to be an important player in the rest of the federal government," Shively said.
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Government Micro Resources Inc.
Humberto "Tico" Pujals, founder and CEO
Manassas, Va.
www.gmri.com
Contracts: $65.645 million
Humberto "Tico" Pujals, founder and chief executive officer of Government Micro Resources Inc., says the federal government needs to rejuvenate the 8(a) small business assistance program before it withers away.
Pujals said the Small Business Administration's set-aside program has helped his Manassas, Va.-based firm a great deal. GMR will graduate from the 8(a) program at the end of the month.
"I would love to get in front of Congress and tell them how great this program was and how sad I am that ... somehow, some way it is not being continued," Pujals said. "Right now it is chained, you really can't do much with the 8(a) program."
The 8(a) program has been hurt by the bundling of federal government purchases into bigger contracts, he said. "Contracting officers don't want to give contracts worth $3 million and $5 million, they want to give large contracts. Now you are seeing all these [blanket purchase agreements] popping up everywhere for $100 million."
The removal of the maximum order limitation on the General Services Administration schedule and the Supreme Court's 1995 decision in the Adarand Constructors Inc. vs. Pena case also had a negative effect on the 8(a) program, Pujals said.
"The program has treated me magnificently well," he said. "If you are willing to put a lot of sweat on the brow, you can really build a company through the 8(a) program," he said. Pujals, a first-generation Hispanic American, owns 100 percent of GMR, but said he plans to bring in two minority shareholders.
Pujals started the company in the basement of his home in November 1981, back when the personal computer industry was still in its infancy.
Last year, GMR had roughly $115 million in sales and is projected to have about $140 million this year. GMR, a provider of computer and telecommunications products and services, gets about 38 percent of its business from 8(a) contracts. The company ranked No. 3 on a list of the top 8(a) companies based on prime contract obligations received last year, according to research firm Input of Vienna, Va.
GMR officials put a transition plan into place almost two years ago to prepare for the company's graduation from the 8(a) program. That plan involved moving from being a product fulfillment house to being a total solutions provider, Pujals said. The company organized into several strategic business units, including ones devoted to networking, software engineering, Internet and groupware, computer telephony and year 2000 solutions.
NASA is currently GMR's biggest customer. Other customers include the departments of Justice, Labor and Education, and the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Pujals said GMR has been successful because it has focused on customer satisfaction. "The goal in the end was that the customer would shake our hand and give us another contract," he said. "We would always give 125 percent to our customer. We gave them more than what they needed in terms of service and that is why we have had such great customer loyalty."
To stay viable, GMR will steer away from providing commodities with narrow profit margins and concentrate on new technologies. "Our goal is to study bleeding-edge technology and implement it when it becomes cutting-edge, so that we can truly provide our customer a new service and something that brings a true return on investment," he said.
Video engineering is one of those areas, Pujals said. "We believe the whole marketplace will eventually go to a network computer that's a TV set in a computer. And everything that we are doing is becoming more visual," he said. Applications for this technology include getting training videos on demand, using recorded depositions in the courtroom and the ability to organize video databases.
Pujals said he is putting an extra emphasis on teaming arrangements with large prime contractors, because the pendulum has swung away from small business in the federal marketplace. He said it could take five to seven years for the government to realize that small business has been hurt by its procurement changes. Small businesses are important to the U.S. economy because they create jobs and foster innovation, he said.
"I believe the federal government has got to do something to rejuvenate the 8(a) program under a different name, maybe take away the racial overtones and make [the qualification criteria for businesses that are] economically disadvantaged," Pujals said. "If you are a white person who is economically disadvantaged, you should be able to join part of the program. By doing that, you would take away any resistance people would have to the program based on racial quotas."
- Patrick Seitz
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Torch Lake Township, Michigan
#Sandbar
One of the clearest lakes in the world! The lake was made famous in Kid Rock's song "All Summer Long." You're able to go hiking, canoeing, fishing and diving. Prior to its explosion it popularity, it used to be a nature-lovers paradise, due to the low amount of boat activity. It has grown in awareness and now is host of massive parties typically on the fourth of July.
Torch Lake is pretty big and quite easy to locate, it is almost 18 miles northeast of Traverse City. Use the map below.
Torch Lake at 19 miles (31 km) long is Michigan's longest inland lake and at approximately 18,770 acres (76 km²) is Michigan's second largest inland lake. Surrounding it are several townships including Torch Lake Township, Central Lake Township, Forest Home Township, Helena Township, and Milton Township in Antrim County and Clearwater Township in Kalkaska County, Michigan. Several villages and hamlets lie along its shore, including Alden, Eastport, Clam River, and Torch Lake. The lake is about 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Traverse City and is separated by narrow strips of land from both Grand Traverse Bay on the northwest and Elk Lake at the southwest end. The lake is about two miles (3.2 km) wide and is centered at 44°59′00″N 85°18′30″W. It has a maximum depth of 285 feet (87 m) just off the east end of Campbell Rd. (Milton Twp.) and an average depth of 111 feet (34 m), making it Michigan's deepest inland lake, as well as the state's largest by volume. It is a popular lake for fishing, featuring lake trout, rock bass, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, muskellunge, Pike, ciscoes, brown trout, steelhead, rainbow trout, atlantic salmon and whitefish.
The name of the lake is not due to its shape, rather, is derived from translation from the Ojibwa name Was-wa-gon-ong meaning "Place of the Torches", referring to the practice of the local Native American population who once used torches at night to attract fish for harvesting with spears and nets. For a time it was referred to by local European settlers as "Torch Light Lake", which eventually was shortened to its current name.
The lake is known for nature activities including hiking, canoeing, fishing and diving. Owing to the low amount of boat activity, it is a nature-lovers paradise. Noted for its exceptional beauty; its waters are unusually clear and exhibit a bright turquoise hue, often resembling Caribbean waters. This quality has made the lake a popular spot for the development of resorts and second homes with notables including Kid Rock, Eminem, and Michael Moore owning vacation homes on the lake.
Torch Lake is part of a watershed that begins in northern Antrim County with Six Mile Lake, which is connected by the Intermediate River with Lake Bellaire. The Grass River flows from Lake Bellaire into Clam Lake, which in turn drains into Torch Lake via the short Clam River. Torch Lake itself is drained by the Torch River, which flows into Lake Skegemog, which opens into Elk Lake. Elk Lake flows into the east arm of Grand Traverse Bay at Elk Rapids. This watershed is popularly known as the Chain of Lakes.
Provided By: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torch_Lake_(Antrim_County,_Michigan)
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What Makes Fireflies Glow
July 2, 2015 by Jennifer Doyle Leave a Comment
Newswise — As fireflies are delighting children across the country with their nighttime displays, scientists are closing in on a better understanding of how the insects produce their enchanting glow. They report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society new evidence of how the beetles’ chemistry works. Their findings could apply to the bioluminescence of other organisms, too.
About 60 years ago, scientists figured out in broad strokes the cascade of reactions that allows fireflies to produce light. It starts with a chemical called luciferin, which interacts with the energy-transporting molecule adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. The product of that reaction then combines with oxygen, and this in turn releases light. Intermediate steps, however, have not been fully fleshed out. Bruce R. Branchini and colleagues wanted to explore potential mechanisms.
The researchers experimented with the enzyme luciferase, which boosts the initial reaction between luciferin and ATP, under varying conditions. In contrast to the commonly accepted model, the resulting data suggest that the transfer of a single electron to oxygen occurs during one of the final steps to spur light production. Other studies of bioluminescence have pointed to the same mechanism, raising the possibility that it could be a unifying feature of the natural phenomenon.
The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. Air Force, the National Science Foundation, the Hans & Ella McCollum ’21 Vahlteich Endowment and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Watch the video below to see scientists re-create the firefly glow.
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: What Makes Fireflies Glow
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Labour group delighted by transfer of power in B.C.; business group looks for stability
Nick Eagland & Gordon Hoekstra
B.C. premier-designate John Horgan now begins the challenging task of fulfilling key campaign promises to make B.C. better for workers and industry.
Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, said late Thursday that her federation looks forward to working with the B.C. NDP and Green party alliance, which she believes will work for workers across B.C.
“I’m excited to have a government that I think will be on the side of working people and families, I think it will be good for B.C.,” she said.
During the election, Horgan’s party pledged to create 96,000 construction jobs through investments in infrastructure and to support innovation in the tech sector, while helping small businesses and conducting a review of the B.C. Labour Code.
Lanzinger said the NDP’s platform promises of a $15-an-hour minimum wage and $10-a-day child care clearly appealed to voters, as the NDP and Greens together earned 57 per cent of the popular vote in the election.
After 16 years of a government that wasn’t “worker friendly,” Lanzinger said hundreds of thousands of workers will finally have a chance to climb out of poverty with the NDP and Green parties in power.
“That is a huge gain for us, as people who try to lift up low-wage workers,” she said.
B.C. NDP asked to form government after Liberal defeat
After Thursday’s non-confidence vote, but before a decision by Guichon, Business Council of B.C. senior official Jock Finlayson said the council wants a functioning government that can command enough support in the legislature to put forward a budget and a legislative program.
Finlayson, executive vice-president and chief policy officer for the council, said the business group had no position on whether there should have been another election.
The council will deal with the changes in priorities and economic policy that will come with an NDP-Green government, he said.
He said he didn’t think the political uncertainty in recent weeks was hurting the economy in B.C., as there was no evidence it was hurting retail sales or the housing market.
“It may be having a bit of an effect on business confidence. … And if the uncertainty persists, that could become more visible,” said Finlayson.
After the Liberals adopted many of the NDP and Greens policies in their throne speech last week, there are fewer differences in the party’s platforms than before the May election.
However, a key difference remains the parties’ stands on major industrial infrastructure projects.
The Liberals support Kinder Morgan’s $7.4-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, which is meant to provide new markets in Asia for bitumen from the Alberta oilsands.
The NDP and the Greens are opposed and have said they would use all means at their disposal to stop the project even in the face of federal regulatory approval and the support of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Finlayson said the Business Council supports the project and hope it will go ahead and will make that case regardless of which government is in power.
The Liberals are also squarely behind the $8.8-billion Site C hydroelectric project, which will add a third dam on the Peace River.
The NDP and Greens’ alliance calls for a review of the project by the B.C. Utilities Commission — a review that was circumvented by the Liberals — to determine if the project makes sense.
Another area that Liberals and NDP-Green alliance are likely to differ on is their approach to taxes.
The Liberals have said they can pay for more than two dozen policy reversals and new policies because of an unanticipated $2.8-billion surplus, and generally have taken an approach to keep taxes competitive or lower than other jurisdictions in Canada.
In their election platform, the NDP had called for some tax increases, including to people in the highest income bracket.
goekstra@postmedia.com
twitter.com/gordon_hoekstra
neagland@postmedia.com
twitter.com/nickeagland
CORRECTION: This story has been updated from a previous version to clarify Jock Finlayson’s role with Business Council of B.C.,
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.
A look at NDP-Green's calendar for next few months Transition to government will keep B.C. NDP busy for the summer
Labour group delighted by transfer of power in B.C.; business group looks for stability
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Rob Shaw: NDP's top promises caught up in vague consultations
Rob Shaw
VICTORIA — Ask a question in the halls of the B.C. legislature these days, and chances are, no matter the minister or the topic, you are going to get this answer: Sorry, but the issue is under consultation.
Many of Premier John Horgan’s big ticket election promises are caught up and delayed in some form of vague public review now that he’s in government.
The referendum on proportional representation. Moving to a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Cutting B.C. Ferries fares. Implementing the $10-a-day child care plan. Solving Metro Vancouver housing affordability crisis. Instituting a $400 annual renters’ rebate. Eliminating Medical Services Plan premiums. Reforming Freedom of Information rules. Building the Site C dam. Indexing disability rates to inflation. Legislating poverty reduction targets. Replacing the Massey tunnel. Taxing and legalizing marijuana. And so on.
Those 13 items are just some of the major promises from the NDP’s election campaign that various cabinet ministers have said in the past few days can’t proceed until they incorporate comment from the public, community groups, experts and the government’s political friends in the B.C. Green party.
For most of the items, there’s no real time frame on the reviews, or sense of how the public will be consulted.
“Yes, there’s a lot of work to do, there’s a lot of issues that need to be talked about and need to be discussed and we need to get the implementation right,” Carole James, the finance minister and deputy premier, said in an interview. “What you are seeing is really the results of 16 years of a government that didn’t provide the input for the public to have their say.
“There will be timelines on the numbers of pieces we move on, MSP and others, you’ll see as those panels get put into place there are very specific timelines around reporting out. So this won’t be endless conversation, they will come to a close, and come to results, and report to the public and legislature on a regular basis.
“That’s the key from my perspective, we need to give the public the opportunity they haven’t had from the past government, and haven’t had for the last 16 years, (which) is to be listened to.”
If you are one of the 795,106 voters who cast their ballot for the NDP in the May 9 provincial election you might be forgiven for asking: Hey, I thought the NDP had these promises all figured out? After all, they produced a 118-page election platform, along with a 12-page fiscal plan, and over a 28-day campaign spelled out in detail what the party would do if it won government, in what timeframe, at what cost. Why consult now, after they won and can just enact what they promised?
Unfortunately for the NDP, its platform assumed the party would win the 2017 election. It did not. Instead, with 41 New Democrats, 41 Liberals, three Greens, one independent MLA and one vacant seat, the NDP is only nominally in charge of governing with the agenda it promised voters.
The party needs Green support to stay in power. Green Leader Andrew Weaver boldly announced last week that “what the NDP promised in their election campaign is not really relevant to the situation today.” Behind-the-scenes, the Greens have used their objections to either delay or alter the $10-a-day child care plan, $400 renters’ rebate, the bill to ban corporate and union donations and the 2021 timeline for a $15 minimum wage.
Stuck without an easy path forward with their Green partners, the NDP have resorted to the sideways step of consultation.
There are three ways you can view the sudden proliferation of public reviews that are tying up all the NDP promises.
• One is that perhaps the NDP over-promised in the election, and the party is now kicking the can down the road until it figures out what to do and whether it can afford it (it’s awfully convenient that some of the most expensive items, like the multi-billion child care promise, are put off at a time when the New Democrats have already spent all the money in the budget, despite raising taxes on corporations and high-income earners).
But James co-chaired the NDP election platform, she’s one of the most competent MLAs on either side of the house, and internally the NDP seem to know exactly what is required to get going on many of the stalled files. So that explanation seems unlikely.
• A second view is perhaps the NDP are using the consultations to slow-play the Greens. The government could take several months to line up public support, community groups, academics, experts and other allies as validators. Then, it could return with that ammunition to the negotiating table, saying it has the public’s backing to proceed whether the Greens like it or not. That kind of pressure, combined with the realization the Greens are now offside with the major players and public, might be enough to pressure Weaver and his crew to stop blocking the NDP’s key issues.
When I ran that idea past James she laughed. “You are a cynic for sure, Rob,” she said. True. But even so, put that one down in the maybe column.
• The third consideration is perhaps the NDP actually wants to gather ideas from the public and incorporate them into its policies.
“I’m taking door No. 3 to that question,” said Horgan when I put the options to him during a press conference recently. “I want to hear from those people and I want to make sure we’re putting in place programs and policies that make life better for people. That’s what we campaigned on. I don’t have a magic solution but the public does, and the challenge for a new government is to work with as many people as possible to get those outcomes, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
That’s assuming the public doesn’t get consultation fatigue with all the many surveys, town halls, forums and questionnaires the new government will soon begin lobbing their way on a variety of weighty issues.
Ultimately, we’re all going to have to wait several months to know the government’s true motivations for all the reviews.
But if the NDP spends months consulting on an issue, only to return next year with the identical policy promise it had first made in its May election platform, you’ll know all of this was just one big partisan exercise to try and get around their stubborn “friends” in the Green party.
rshaw@postmedia.com
twitter.com/robshaw_vansun
Daily Poll: Is Premier John Horgan living up to his campaign... Rally organizer vows to make Hawthorne Park preservation a Surrey election...
Under the plan, the team would play early-season home games in the Tampa Bay area and the remainder of the year in Montreal.
Yuri Lynk wrote to Canaccord Genuity clients that, 'We believe the unpredictability of SNC's business' is more problematic 'than the legal overhang.'
Pierre Arcand says the Coalition Avenir Québec government is attempting to drive a wedge between anglophones and francophones
Father Claude Grou is in stable condition and the suspect will appear in court Saturday to face charges.
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Read Next: AWAL Names Bianca Bhagat as Senior VP, Synch & Brand Partnerships
May 23, 2018 1:28PM PT
Fired MusiCares Exec Accuses Grammy Chief of Steering Money From Charity to Cover Shortfall (EXCLUSIVE)
A 25-year veteran of the Recording Academy’s philanthropic arm also claims harassment and wrongful termination in a scathing letter to trustee board.
By Jem Aswad
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CREDIT: Chelsea Lauren/Variety/REX/Shutterstock
UPDATED: In a letter addressed to the Recording Academy Board of Trustees, which is holding annual meetings in Hawaii this week, former MusiCares VP Dana Tomarken accuses chairman/president Neil Portnow of choosing to steer money away from the charity in order to fund a deficit from this year’s Grammy telecast, and of brokering a deal to hold the organization’s annual Person of the Year event at a venue that left the charity with a significant loss in 2018 fundraising efforts, resulting in a projected $1 million for this year’s event, as opposed to $5 million in 2017.
In the nearly 4,500-word letter obtained by Variety, Tomarken, who was fired on April 16 after 25 years with the Academy, also claims wrongful termination, explaining that she and coworker Dorit Kalev were fired over the bill for a $2,500 MusiCares auction item that she was late in paying. She also says she was terminated “after a painful year of trying to protect MusiCares from being exploited, enduring ongoing instances of workplace abuse and harassment” from two male coworkers whom she names in the letter.
MusiCares, which offers emergency financial assistance to musicians and music-related people for medical and living expenses and substance-abuse treatment, has distributed more than $48 million to artists in need since it was founded in 1989.
Reached by Variety, Tomarken said only, “I sent the letter directly to the Trustees of the Academy’s Board of Directors and only them, so I have no further comment.” Via a representative, the Academy had the following statement:
“While we will not address point by point the letter from Ms. Tomarken, who was recently terminated following a thorough investigation, we respond as follows:
(1) The decision as to the venue for this year’s Person of the Year event was made after careful consideration of all options, and input from all appropriate individuals. MusiCares’ interests were not sacrificed in favor of the interests of the Recording Academy.
(2) As Ms. Tomarken well knows, neither MusiCares nor the Recording Academy ever intended to reduce, nor will they reduce, the amount of financial support made available to MusiCares clients in need. MusiCares continues to provide the highest level of service to people in need across our music community, as evidenced by the four-star rating it earned, once again, in February from Charity Navigator—the highest rating the independent charity watchdog organization awards. Simply, our commitment and support will not be diminished.
(3) Ms. Tomarken did not raise the issues relating to alleged “workplace abuse and harassment” until after her employment was terminated. An independent investigation of these allegations was immediately commenced. Based on the outcome of that investigation, appropriate action (if any) will be taken. Both the Recording Academy and MusiCares take all allegations of this kind seriously.”
In holding the Grammys in New York for the first time in 15 years, the Academy suffered an estimated $6 to 8 million shortfall for a multitude of reasons primarily associated with relocating the show — to Madison Square Garden — and Grammy Week events. The Madison Square Garden Company operates the venue, as well as Radio City Music Hall, where this year’s MusiCares Person of the Year event, honoring Fleetwood Mac, was held. Because Radio City is not configured to host MusiCares’ traditional dinner ceremony, a straightforward concert was staged, and attendance and ticket prices were affected.
Until last June, Tomarken had been negotiating with Brooklyn’s Barclays Center — which has a venue agreement with MSG rival AEG, operator of Los Angeles’ Staples Center, where the Grammys have been held for many years — to hold the MusiCares dinner and concert there. She claims that last June, “I received a call from Irving Azoff [who has a separate company with MSG]. Neil and the Madison Square Garden Company, Irving informed me, had early on in NY Grammy negotiations agreed that the Person of the Year tribute would be held at Radio City Music Hall, a Madison Square Garden Company venue. Neither I nor anyone on the MusiCares staff was ever notified of those discussions or agreement, and as a result, we were forced to walk away from a huge benefit to MusiCares: Barclays’ generous financial commitment and their venue.
“The agreement with Radio City Music Hall was at least twice as expensive as the Barclays Center offer,” she wrote, “and that does not factor in any additional support we might have been able to secure from Barclays sponsors.”
She also claims that MusiCares was dropped from a package deal executed by Portnow and Oak View Group (a partnership between Azoff and Tim Leiweke) in an effort to cover the shortfall. “Oak View had agreed to sell Grammy Week packages that included tickets to the telecast as well as Person of the Year, designed to raise $1.5 million for MusiCares,” she wrote. “However, just before the 2017 Christmas holiday, I discovered … that Neil had subsequently approved dropping MusiCares from the package revenue stream in favor of funding the telecast deficit.”
At least partially as a result of being “forced into costly agreements we had no control over,” she wrote, “MusiCares will likely net no more than $1 million from the 2018 Person of the Year. Last year’s net was $5 million.”
She also claims that the Academy’s business affairs department had asked the MusiCares staff to “reduce the amount of financial support for our clients in need, in order to offset the revenue loss from the NY Person of the Year event,” she wrote. “I was very clear with Neil that I did not think this was a good idea, especially since MusiCares still had $5 million from the 20th anniversary campaign which was specifically earmarked for financial assistance. In addition, the MusiCares Board of Directors had not approved reducing our grant funds to people in need. Reduction in the amount of financial assistance could not be made unilaterally by staff. It needed board approval. Neil agreed and told me that he would speak with … Business Affairs about these decisions,” although the outcome of that conversation is unclear.
As for her termination, Tomarken says the cause was apparently “an unsold auction item from the 2017 Person of the Year” for a hotel stay in Lisbon. She confirmed that she “had pledged $2500 to purchase the item in support of MusiCares in keeping with the last 25 years’ procedure on how some unsold auction items are handled after our events,” and had forgotten to pay the bill but was willing to do so and belatedly submitted her completed pledge form. A few days later she and Kalev were told by Academy human-resources staff “that we needed to separately meet with a CPA and an attorney from [Academy lawyers] Proskauer Rose about the ‘unsold auction item process.’ When I arrived, I immediately noticed their folders marked ‘INVESTIGATION’ and realized that Human Resources had misrepresented to us the purpose of the meeting.”
A week later, on March 29, she and Kalev were informed “that we were suspended and we were not allowed to entrance to the building, I was prohibited from having any contact with staff at the Academy or anyone related to our work at the MusiCares. The locks on our office doors were changed, and staff was told that they could have no contact with us or give out our contact information to anyone who needed to reach us. Two weeks later on April 16, 2018 we were terminated.”
Tomarken concludes by saying, “There is no doubt in my mind that all of you know who I am as a person and my fierce sense of protection for MusiCares over 25 years. It is true – this $2,500 pledge fell off my radar while I worked so hard to save MusiCares from losing millions … This pledge did not fall off my radar in the shameful and dishonest way that the Academy’s attorneys are alleging and may well be presented to you as a justification for my termination.”
She also notes that “There are people sitting around the trustees table today who have had to be reminded to pay their pledges, some over 2 years late. Others have tried to walk away from an auction purchase because they changed their mind and didn’t want to pay for it. … These are not examples of people trying to avoid paying for their pledge or items. They are human beings with great support for MusiCares.”
The letter comes at a challenging time for the Academy, as the Grammys and Portnow in particular have come under fire for low female representation in the awards and the show; Portnow aggravated the situation with an ill-worded post-show comment to a Variety reporter in which he said that female artists and executives need to “step up” in order to get ahead in the music business. While he later attempted to walk back the comment and the Academy has responded by forming a task force for female and minority advancement, the damage was done.
Neil Portnow
Recording Academy
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Jess Kent
Minneapolis: March 24 to March 27, 2017
Teenager Daya to open... she recently collaborated with The Chainsmokers’ “Don’t Let Me Down” single. Tour dates: 02/06/16 San Francisco, CA Slim's 02/08/16 Portland, OR Hawthorne The …
Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from March 24 to March 27, 2017.
Friday 03/24/17, 7pm (Sold Out)
Daya is excited to announce her “SSLP” (Sit Still Look Pretty) tour with support from two of her friends.
Frankie (stylized as FRANKIE) is from Oakland, California. Her album Dreamstate is out now on RCA Records.
Jess Kent is a singer/songwriter from Australia, by the way of England. She previously toured with Troye Sivan in the USA and Coldplay in Australia.
Jess Kent’s current EP My Name Is Jess Kent will be out on Capitol Records in November.
03/16 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
03/17 Vancouver, BC Rio Theatre
03/18 Seattle, WA Neumos
03/20 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
03/22 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
03/24 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café
03/25 Green Bay, WI Weidner Center for the Perf
03/26 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Cory Branan
Opening up the show was Mississippi-born Cory Branan. It was just Branan and his acoustic guitar as he sang song about America like ‘Nightmare in America’ and ‘Tall Green Grass’ ....
If you've been wondering what Regina Spektor has been up since her last album, Far. Well! She has a new album coming out May 29th, on Sire/Warner Brothers Records, called What We Saw from the Cheap Seats …
Other shows in the area:
03/24/17 The Walker Art Center and the Cedar proudly presents Grammy-nominated quintet Kneebody and Daedelus (aka Alfred Darlington) at the Cedar Cultural Center this Friday. This all ages, seated show... as usual if you’re a Walker member, you receive a discount.
03/24/17 Legendary hard rockers Styx will be playing their hits at Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Welch.
03/25/17 serpentwithfeet will be playing at the Icehouse this Saturday with Francis and the Lights. Typical Icehouse shows starts at 11:30pm, so this one will be a late-nighter. If it’s too late, fear not, serpentwithfeet will return to Minneapolis at the Cedar on May 24th with Perfume Genius.
03/25/17 Twenty six-year-old Dutch artist/producer San Holo will be headlining The Loft (inside the Skyway Theatre).
03/25/17 Mississippi-born Cory Branan will be at the Driftwood Char Bar on Saturday to promote his forthcoming record Adios (available April 7th). We’re not exactly sure where the Driftwood Bar is, but we looked it up - it’s in south Minneapolis on Nicollet and 44th Street. We previously saw Branan in Oct 2016 and noted, “Branan ended his set with ‘A Girl Named GO’, playing fast and quick at the end (going 55 in a 45, going 80 in a 45) and almost destroyed his guitar to a violent end.”
03/26/17 As previously mentioned, Regina Spektor will be gracing the Palace Theatre in St Paul.
03/27/17 Bon Jovi will be rocking out the Xcel Energy Center.
Posted by W♥M on Thursday, 16 March 2017 at 10:58 PM in Bon Jovi, Cory Branan, Daedelus, Daya, Francis and the Lights, FRANKIE, Jess Kent, Kneebody, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Music Guide, Regina Spektor, serpentwithfeet, Styx, Vu, Walker Art | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Read more about Age Action Calls for €9 per week Rise In Old Age Pension in Budget 2020
Taking Pride - celebrating diversity and inclusion
Pride Week runs from June 20th – 30th June is the festival celebrating the LGBTQI+ community. In 3 days time the Pride Parade and March will take place in Dublin on Saturday 29th June and is the culmination of 10 days highlighting the diversity and inclusion of people. Age Action values diversity, social justice and inclusivity. As an organisation that represents all older people, this includes people who identify as LGBTQI+.
It is only 26 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in Irish law and just over 4 years since the citizens of Ireland voted for marriage equality. Our older cohort of citizens have witnessed, and led, these changes but some have been left behind and find it difficult to live and identify as LGBTQI+.
In the UK, a report has just been published highlighting health inequalities among older LGBT people. This builds on previous evidence which shows that older LGBT people have worse outcomes across different aspects of their lives including physical health, loneliness, social isolation, mental health, and experiences of violence. Action is needed to address these health inequalities for older LGBT people through improving the inclusivity of mainstream health and care provision, strengthening the training of health and care staff and enhancing data collection around older LGBT people and their health and care needs. The full report can be viewed at https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ILC-Raising-the-equality-flag.pdf
Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion
After the St Patrick’s Day Parade, the second biggest public event on the streets of the capital city is the Dublin’s Pride Parade. The term ‘Pride’ didn’t become popular until the early 1980’s, a tradition established following the Stonewall Riots in New York.
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT) community against a police raid that began on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of Manhattan.
The holding of LGBTQ+ events at the end of June was adopted very early in Dublin. In June 1974, 10 people marched from the Department of Justice on Stephen’s Green to the British Embassy to protest the criminalisation of homosexuality, a law that was a hangover from colonial times.
In March 1983, the Dublin Lesbian & Gay Collective held a protest march in response to the failure to commit to prison those convicted of the murder of Declan Flynn in Fairview Park. About 900 people marched from Liberty Hall to Fairview Park. The National LGBT Federation organised the first Dublin Pride Parade which went from Stephen’s Green to the GPO in June of that year.
In 1993 homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland with the passage of the second phase of the bill to decriminalise sexual acts between consenting adults under the Criminal Law Bill (Sexual Offences) in 1993.
Last year over 60,000 people marched in the Dublin Pride Parade. In just a generation, the annual parade and festival has grown from a handful of people to become one of the biggest and most popular events in Ireland.
Along the way the laws and constitution of Ireland have been changed and with that the hearts and minds of many of our citizens. But there is still a long way to go.
Discrimination against older LGBTQI+ is the focus of a European funded programme in which Age Action is a participant. For more details see www.best4older-lgbti.org
If you would like to find out more about Age Action’s work in this area of are interested in taking part in upcoming events around this topic then please make contact with our Lifelong Learning team or email billy.okeeffe@ageaction.ie directly.
Ally2Ally Campaign - LGBT Ireland are running a campaign to raise awareness of their support services. They are asking people to 'come out' as LGBT Allies and to speak to their friends, family, colleagues and peers about how they can be a better LGBT Ally. For more information see www.lgbt.ie
To see the full listing of Pride events happening over the next few days go to www.dublinpride.ie
Read more about Taking Pride - celebrating diversity and inclusion
Home care needs immediate injection of ring-fenced funding of €100 million.
During 2019, over 53,000 people will receive home support services, to a total of 18.2m hours, an increase of 800,000 hours on the 2018 outturn but this is not adequate to meet the needs of people. It is now harder for over 65 year olds to access home care than it was in 2008. There are waiting lists over three months and recent figures show over 6,000 people assessed as in need of home care waiting for an initial service. Less hours per week are being spread more thinly per client with an increase in the provision of 30 minute slots of care. The current funding of home support services by the Government is inadequate and does not reflect the unmet need because people who are waiting for their first assessment are not counted. Without access to home care supports some older people are not realising their rights to housing and adequate healthcare. As a result some people are remaining in acute hospital settings or have no choice but to move to residential care settings, undermining their human right to live with dignity and independence. Age Action believes that home care supports are invaluable to help older people maintain their independence and delay or avoid long hospital stays. It is unacceptable that older people in vulnerable situations, and in particular those with low incomes, are left without needed supports due to HSE budget restrictions. Currently people who cannot access the rationed resources have to pay, if they can afford it, for private care; this is not an acceptable situation. A statutory homecare scheme, which would provide a legislative basis for equitable access to home supports across the country, is not planned until 2021. Age Action believes that a universal home care scheme is a public good and is the collective social responsibility of Government. Age Action believes that we should have a choice to age in place which means the creation of age friendly environments, including the provision of support services locally, which enable people to remain in their own homes and in communities for longer. The absence of adequate home supports means that many people are unable to age in place. Despite the fact that it is stated Government policy (e.g. National Positive Ageing Stragetgy, Rebuilding Ireland), Government planning is inadequate at providing services to keep older people in their communities, out of nursing homes, and living with dignity and independence.ENDS
Read more about Home care needs immediate injection of ring-fenced funding of €100 million.
Today, June 20th is World Refugee Day. The number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict exceeded 70 million in 2018. This is the highest level that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has seen in its almost 70 years. Data from UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, released this week shows that almost 70.8 million people are now forcibly displaced. To put this in perspective, this is double the level of 20 years ago, 2.3 million more than a year ago, and corresponds to a population between that of Thailand and Turkey. Today, older refugees make up some 8.5 per cent of the overall population of concern to UNHCR, and by 2050 more of the world will be over 60 than under 12. Older refugees experience an additional burden due to their age and associated conditions. In a report published by the Centre for Policy on Ageing and Age UK, they identified that “the main issues facing older refugees and asylum seekers are low income, the language barrier, the risk of loneliness and a lack of social networks, and possibly a loss of social status”. Reduced mobility and a high number of chronic medical conditions also greatly impact the life of an older refugee, as adequate and culturally appropriate healthcare is often difficult to access. As well, throughout their time in refugee shelters, older refugees are also more likely to experience social disintegration, the impact of negative social selection and chronic dependency on the resources of refugee shelters. According to the International Federation on Ageing “The contributions of older refugees can have far-reaching impacts on the preservation of the cultures and traditions of disposed and displaced people. The wisdom and experiences of older refugees must be harnessed through formal and informal leadership roles, to improve the welfare of all refugees”. Marion MacGregor, writing for InfoMigrants says “Older refugees can be seen as an asset, rather than simply requiring special care. In many families, it falls to them to look after children so that their parents can work….. Older people are transmitters of culture, skills and crafts that are important in preserving traditions of displaced people. The resilience of older people can help to strengthen communities and they can contribute to positive and peace-building interactions with the local host communities.”
Read more about World Refugee Day
95 year old blogger Florence McGillicuddy is the Silver Surfer of 2019
95-Year-Old Blogger
Receives Overall Award
2019 Age Action Silver Surfer Awards
Supported by DCU Age-Friendly University
95 year-old Florence McGillicuddy from Rathfarnham, in Dublin, is the overall Age Action Silver Surfer Award winner. Florence who blogs on GrandadOnline.com was presented with his award in recognition of his contribution to community life through his use of technology, at a ceremony this morning in Dublin City University, who co-sponsored the Awards as part of the DCU Age-Friendly University Initiative.
Florence, who also won the Golden IT Award as one of the older nominees, has developed a unique relationship with the children in the local Ballyroan Boys’ School over the past three years through the internet. Florence brings history to life for the young students as he researches historic facts about their city and composes the lesson in an email which the children’s teacher helps the students read. The students have learned about what life was like in Dublin when Florence was growing up and events such as what happened to Nelson’s Pillar, an airplane crash in Terenure, and he even organises school tours to cigarette factories. In turn, the children will write back to Florence in old fashioned handwritten letter format which is a wonderful display of generations coming together and learning from each other.
With half of Irish people aged between 65 and 74 having never used the internet and internet use among those aged over 75 negligible, Age Action organises the Silver Surfer Awards to highlight digital literacy issues amongst older people. For those older people who do get online it has the potential to change their lives, as the Silver Surfer Awards demonstrate, with people participating in the digital economy, accessing public services, discovering new hobbies and maintaining an active role in their communities.
Paddy Connolly, CEO of Age Action, said: “Each nominee here today is an inspiration. They are challenging the stereotype of ageing, showing that there is no barrier you cannot overcome to life long learning as they have embraced new technologies, new ways to communicate and combat social exclusion. Access to the internet has the potential to transform lives, enabling us to keep in contact with family and old friends, or to make new ones, to explore new hobbies and interests, even empowering us to start businesses or to use our skills for the benefit of our communities. The Silver Surfers have not only transformed their own lives but, in doing so, they have shown that digital literacy is an important element of positive ageing.”
Professor Brian MacCraith, President DCU said: “These awards are a reminder of the hugely positive impact the internet can have on the lives of our older citizens. DCU is particularly pleased to host the tenth annual Silver Surfer Awards, as they resonate with the values of the Age Friendly University initiative, which was pioneered by DCU, and now has more than 50 member universities worldwide.”
Seven other awards were presented during the ceremony:
1.National Silver Surfer Award winner (and winner of the Golden IT Award)
Florence McGillicuddy
Florence McGillicuddy is 95 years of age and is a blogger from Rathfarnham in Dublin publishing Grandadonline.com. Motivated by his love of history and education, he uses his IT skills to research history and record his own reflections on growing up in Dublin which he shares via email with the children in the local Ballyroan Boys’ School. Bringing history to life for the young students has made Flor an integral part of the school community and fostered a rewarding intergenerational learning experience for all.
2.Community Champion Award
Margaret Culloty
Margaret Culloty from Firies Co Kerry is 77 years of age and is the County Secretary of Kerry Community Games for the past 23 years. As the National Community Games requires that all participating children be registered online, Margaret has had to learn how to do this for over 3000 children participating in sporting and cultural events at county level.
Margaret faced this challenge with vigour and is now responsible for the coordination of the online Kerry registration system ensuring that all children are registered for their individual or team events at local and National level as well as getting a web page up and running and a Facebook account. She has been described as one in a million and didn't let new technology put her out of the position of County Secretary.
3.Hobbies on the Net
Paddy McAuliffe, Paddy Tobin and Paddy Buckley
‘The 3 Paddy’s’ from Mallow in Co. Cork have learned how to shoot and edit short films, a skill they are now using to preserve a legacy of memories for peoples’ families to be passed on to future generations. They are documenting the memories of older people in their community, editing in photos or the person’s life and locality, to produce a film. The film covers the person’s life story which can then be shared digitally with the wider community and family members. To date they have recorded the life stories of almost 30 older people in the region.
4.Getting Started Award
Eleanor Lynch
Eleanor Lynch from Cork was profoundly deaf from the age of 40 to mid 60’s but 14 years ago, thanks to advances in medicine and technology, she had a cochlear implant operation. When she was “switched on” Eleanor had to learn how to hear again with the assistance of this new technology. It took lots of perseverance, but she mastered it and can now communicate fairly easily. After she mastered the implant technology, she had the confidence to learn how to use a mobile phone and now uses a smart phone like a teenager! The laptop has made living alone a lot easier as she does her all banking and pays all her bills online and does not have to go out on wet cold days. Technology and her own bravery and determination has made an amazing difference to Eleanor’s life.
5.IT Tutor of the Year Award
Sr. Margaret Kiely
Sr. Margaret is a Sister of Mercy who worked as a principal nurse tutor for 14 years at the Mercy Hospital in Cork. Following this she trained as an addiction counsellor in MN, USA. She founded Tabor Lodge - a treatment centre in Cork for persons with alcohol, drug and gambling addictions and it was here that she first saw the need for a computerised system. Following a few lessons she mastered the PC. Sr. Margaret observed that a number of staff and residents were struggling using smart phones and computers. She sourced funding for a tutor and initially she ran 10 four-week classes with 8 students per class. She is now a volunteer tutor with Age Action and manages the attendance records and presents certificates at the end of the courses.
6.School IT Tutor of the Year Award
Bandon Grammar School
The students of the Transition Year class in Bandon Grammar School have been tutoring older learners how to get online. At every lesson, the young TY students teach their older learners something new from how to use Google Maps to downloading music, looking up Government websites which are all sites of great relevance and interest to the learners.
The intergenerational nature of the class creates an energetic atmosphere in which to learn. People have remarked that the school break-time is a favourite where the older learners and younger tutors engage in conversation and swap stories.
Read more about 95 year old blogger Florence McGillicuddy is the Silver Surfer of 2019
Raising the Roof - Homes for All Ages
Preparing to Raise the Roof
Age Action, motivated by intergenerational solidarity, is joining the Raise the Roof campaign to tackle the continuing housing crisis that is affecting people of all ages. People are being mobilised through trade unions and community organisations, to stage a major national rally on the housing crisis under the banner of Raise the Roof, in Dublin on Saturday May 18.
When people take an interest in what is happening in their local community, seek solutions to problems and initiate improvements they are being active citizens. Community is the foundational building block of society and housing is fundamental to community. Ireland’s housing crisis is rightly dominating public discourse as it undermines our ability to live with dignity as part of a community. Ireland’s changing demographic brings with it a changing demand for homes that meet the needs of an ageing population.
The Government’s failure to deliver on a whole of Government approach to ageing and provide good quality social housing to meet demand has resulted in older people feeling subjected to negative, ageist language about their needs and wishes for suitable housing and health supports as is evidenced in the narrative on ‘down-sizing’ or ‘right-sizing’.
In the 60s and 70s the State implemented policies to support owner occupation of housing. People on lower incomes were able to buy their own homes which went some way to addressing wealth inequalities. According to Professor Tony Fahey, writing in Social Justice Ireland’s book ‘From Here to Where?’, by the year 2000 even low-income households owned substantial housing wealth and were less disadvantaged by inequalities in housing wealth than they were by inequalities in income.
Most of the growing population of young private renters today grew up in homes that were owned by their parents. Prof Fahey identified the essential features of secure long-term housing as being affordable, and having secure tenure. As he says, “today’s private rented housing has neither of these features”.
Looking at the future needs of an ageing population, for those aged 50-54 almost 10% were renting from private landlords at the time of Census 2016. It can be assumed that these people will continue in the rental market beyond their working years which leaves them in a vulnerable situation.
We encourage any and all of you who can to be active citizens and march with us on Saturday May 18 in a show of intergenerational solidarity. We will be gathering at 1pm at Parnell Square. You will find us behind an Age Action banner. At 2pm we will march down O'Connell Street towards Custom House Quay and join the Rally for Housing (location to be confirmed) by 3pm.
For more information about the campaign visit www.raisetheroof.ie
Read more about Raising the Roof - Homes for All Ages
Taking Better Care - CCPC issues Guidelines on Nursing Home Contracts of Care
Age Action welcomes the publication of the Unfair Terms Guidelines for contracts of care in nursing homes by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
The CCPC guidelines, published on 7 May, are a first step in improving transparency, clarity and certainty for consumers. The guidelines will help people to know their rights under consumer law and to begin a dialogue with a nursing home in cases where there is a concern regarding the fairness of the contractare. The guidelines inform nursing home providers of their obligations and responsibilities under consumer protection law in terms of the provision and cost of additional services in nursing homes such as social activities. The guidelines have legal status under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2007 and will help both providers and consumers understand their responsibilities and rights.
The decision to move into a nursing home is a significant one that is often made with urgency and in stressful circumstances. Age Action has been aware of, and concerned at, the unclear position of some nursing home residents and their relatives who are unsure what services and charges they are legally bound to pay for. Complaints continue to come to us where residents and families are unhappy being charged for services they do not need or use. Age Action has been actively working on this issue since 2017 when it published a briefing paper Regulating Nursing Home Charges. Understanding that the nursing home provider is entitled to charge for additional services that it provides beyond those covered by the NHSS, Age Action highlighted the fact that the amounts being charged, the transparency of the system and, in some cases, the dubious legality of the charge can cause serious problems for nursing home residents and their families. Charges are normally set out in the resident’s contract for care but there was nothing to prevent the nursing home from altering the contract once the resident is in place and imposing additional charges, which can be stressful for residents and their families.
The CCPC will send a copy of the guidelines to all nursing home owners this week and a booklet is available for consumers on the CCPC website. The CCPC website has a dedicated information section where a consumer booklet, standard template letter to help people initiate a dialogue and or complaint against a nursing home and a sample letter that can be used as a guide can be found.
Read more about Taking Better Care - CCPC issues Guidelines on Nursing Home Contracts of Care
Easter Raffle Winners
Congratulations to the winners of our Easter Raffle and a heartfelt thank you to all who supported the raffle!
Easter Raffle 2019 Winners
1st Prize €1500
P Dunne
2nd Prize €1000
C Gordon
3rd Prize €500
E Byrne
Sellers €100
K O’Sullivan
Read more about Easter Raffle Winners
Age Action Welcomes the launch of the Housing Options for our Ageing Population Policy Statement
Responding to today’s launch of the Housing Options for our Ageing Population Policy Statement, Paddy Connolly, CEO of Age Action, Ireland’s leading advocacy organisation said;
“This is a welcome joint initiative by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Department of Health because it begins to address the needs of our ageing population in terms of ageing in place. The commitment to provide real choice to people through a catalogue of housing with supports is welcome, especially the recognition that an ageing population has diverse needs.”
He continued “Age Action believes that we should have a choice to age in place which means the creation of age friendly environments, including the provision of support services locally, which enable people to remain in their own homes and in communities for longer. The wider support needs of people as we age was to be addressed through the National Positive Ageing Strategy which was published in 2013 and is yet to be implemented.”
Read more about Age Action Welcomes the launch of the Housing Options for our Ageing Population Policy Statement
Celebrating 10 years of knitting with the Big Knit
The innocent Big Knit is back and it’s bigger than ever
Age Action and innocent drinks have launched the 2019 Big Knit, calling on knitters around the country to help knit little hats to raise funds for Age Action by July 31st.
We’re woolly excited
Read more about Celebrating 10 years of knitting with the Big Knit
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Resources for Teaching and Learning Biology
Nature of Science
General Biology:
ActionBioscience.org features issues-based articles written by prominent scientists, accompanying lesson ideas, and related teaching resources for high school and undergraduate biology educators.
AAAS Science NetLinks is a guide to standards-based Internet experiences for students.
BiosciEdNet.org provides a searchable database of resources from BEN Collaborative partner organizations such as AIBS, Ecological Society of America, American Society for Microbiology, and Botanical Society of America.
BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium promotes curriculum innovation by serving a national role as a networking resource for individuals to share, distribute, and enhance cooperation among on-going and future biology education development projects.
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study develops and supports the implementation of innovative science education curriculum for students in kindergarten through college.
Project Kaleidoscope is a leading advocate for building and sustaining strong undergraduate programs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
National Academies' Subject Hub for Education provides numerous resources and publications on the latest research in teaching and learning.
National Science Teachers Association,a professional society for science teachers, provides professional development opportunities and teaching resources.
National Association of Biology Teachers, a professional society for biology educators, offers an annual professional development conference and monthly publication.
Nature of Science:
Evolution and the Nature of Science Institute. The Institute provides lessons designed to improve the teaching of evolution by incorporating evolutionary thinking in the context of a more complete understanding of modern scientific thinking.
Learn History and Nature of Science. Describes a series of articles published in NSTA journals which focus on how to teach the history and nature of science.
The Nature of Science. Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, LearnNet provides a variety of activities designed to look at different aspects of the nature of science and teach investigative skills.
Nature of Science standards. What students should know and be able to do, from Benchmarks for Science Literacy, AAAS Project 2061
PBS Evolution: What is the nature of science? This online lesson accompanying the PBS series explores how the scientific process helps develop our understanding of the natural world.
Reshaping their views: Science as liberal arts. Discusses strategies for professors to use in general-education courses to encourage students to learn more about the nature of science and scientific inquiry, by Judith Bramble in New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Volume 2005, Issue 103, p. 51-60, Fall 2005, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Symposium on the nature of science. Beyond Creationism: A reporter's eye view of the world in collision (video). J. Madeleine Nash, Senior Correspondent, TIME Magazine.
Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science 1998 book from National Academies Press.
Understanding Science. An accessible and free web-based resource that accurately communicates what science is and how it really works, includes an interactive representation of the process of science.
Using iMovie to Teach History and the Nature of Scientific Inquiry. Great Scientific Debates on Apple Learning Interchange
Evolution:
ActionBioscience.org - Evolution. All of the articles and interviews on evolution, published in AIBS's online education resource.
AIBS Evolution Initiatives. A description of the activities AIBS engages in to support the teaching of evolution and communicating the nature of science.
Evolution and the Fossil Record. 2001. From the American Geological Institute and the Paleontological Society.
The Evolution Project. PBS website, television series, and teaching resources.
Evolution Resources from the National Academies. All of the Academies resources for learning and teaching evolution, including books, reports, definitions, legal issues, and upcoming events.
National Center for Science Education. A non-profit membership organization committed to defending the teaching of evolution in public schools.
National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. Evolutionary biology resources for educators, students, scientists, and the general public.
Science, Evolution, and Creationism. This 2008 book, published by the National Academies Press, explains the methods of science, examines the scientific evidence in support of biological evolution, and evaluates alternative perspectives.
The Society for the Study of Evolution. A comprehensive listing of general resources, evolution societies, and teaching resources.
"Teaching about Evolution: Old Controversy, New Challenges" (PDF, 100k) A 2001 article written by Rodger Bybee, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, recipient of the 2001 AIBS Education Award. Published by AIBS in BioScience, April 2001.
Understanding Evolution. From the University of California, Museum of Paleontology, a one-stop source for information on evolution, with teaching resources.
AIBS s a participating organization in efforts to educate for a sustainable future. Visit a new online resource center that includes teaching activities, a beginner's toolkit, discipline-based resources, key components of quality sustainability related assignments, empowering students, and more, at Sustainability Improves Student Learning (SISL). This site helps faculty offer students opportunities to analyze and implement choices that can help solve societal problems. The highlighted resources help build on student interest in the area, increase learning in undergraduate courses, and better prepare students for the real-world 21st century "Big Questions" that relate to pressing issues such as energy, air and water quality, and climate change. Big Questions directly connect to student and faculty actions in our roles as consumer, worker, community members, and learner. It addresses urgent societal issues, how we live our lives, the choices we make, and our obligations to other people and to the natural world.
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The Senate Stands Still On Appropriations Going Into The July 4th Recess
Ten down, two to go: this week, the House passed another bill appropriating funds for fiscal year 2020, this time to federal departments relating to Financial Services. Although House appropriators did not reach Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD-5) goal of passing all twelve appropriations bills through the chamber by the end of June, only two final bills remain: Legislative Branch and Homeland Security. The Homeland Security bill in particular is expected to be a sticking point in the House’s appropriations process, with House Democrats internally divided on how much – if any – funding should be allocated to agencies like Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) which have been under increased scrutiny in recent months for carrying out some of the administration’s most egregious human rights violations against immigrants and asylum seekers at the Southern border.
Senate leaders have still yet to reach an agreement with the White House regarding budget caps, and Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has barred appropriators from working on bills or “deeming” – that is, creating a working assumption of – a top-line budget cap and settling on a final number later in negotiations with the House. With no clear resolution between the Democratic-led House, Republican-controlled Senate, and White House in sight, a continuing resolution extending fiscal year 2019 funding levels for at least some parts of the government is likely.
The two chambers did, however, manage to pass a supplemental funding bill to address ongoing border issues. The House voted Thursday to approve the Senate's $4.59 billion supplemental spending which the President is expected to sign into law without objection. The bill allocated an additional $2.88 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services for the care of unaccompanied minors who cross the border, among other uses. The House version of the bill included greater protections for children and families that did not pass in the Senate, forcing House leaders’ hands in bringing the more conservative bill to the House floor for a vote in order to get any additional support to the border. The bill could be a portent of what's to come in a Homeland Security appropriations bill, with progressive House Democrats’ priorities largely ignored in the name of compromise and passability.
Check back in frequently to AIDS United’s policy update for the latest in federal funding and policy impacting those living with and vulnerable to HIV.
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William Kirk ‘Billy’ Reese, 55; Great singer was servant leader
Elizabeth Montgomery, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Billy Reese believed he was called to be a leader, and that’s just what he was. A gentle giant, Reese spent his life serving the Atlanta community and his church, St. Paul AME.
“He would help anyone in any way he could,” said family friend Celestine Pratt.
He had a robust and contagious laugh that could be heard from a mile away: “You always knew he was in the building, you could hear his laugh,” said Pratt.
Reese loved making jokes and was a keen debater.
“He was passionate about being a leader,” his niece Corliss Melvin
Ever the optimist, Reese had the rare ability to let negative situations roll off his back, she added.
Throughout his life Reese worked diligently in the community. His efforts included working with his church and Atlanta Voters United, where he registered hundreds of students before the 2012 election.
“He never wanted credit, he believed in doing his part,” Melvin said.
While on the campus of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University he went beyond his duty as a deputized registrar. He answered students’ questions and educated them on why they should never fail to go to the polls on or before Election Day. He also assisted with tutorial programs for young adults in the community.
“Everything he did, he did it with all his might,” said Melvin. “He wanted to help.”
William Kirk Reese, of Atlanta died Oct. 25 of cardiac arrest while engaged in one of his many service missions at St. Paul Episcopal Church, the neighborhood church in his community. He was 55. A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul AME Church, 1540 Pryor Road, Atlanta.
“He taught us how to give and what it really means to be a giver,” said Pratt.
He was a gifted singer who was a part of all the adult choirs at his church. His church leadership positions included assistant supervisor of Sunday school, church trustee, and steward and former president and member of the local lay organization.
While some may get discouraged and make excuses, “That did not stop Billy Reese,” Pratt said.
“He never gave up; he kept going,” said Melvin.
Reese is survived by his father, Carlos Reese.
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Uber Rider In Texas Killed By Another Passenger, Authorities Say
Uber rider in Texas killed by another passenger, police say
Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
An Uber passenger was fatally shot by another passenger Friday in Texas, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the Uber driver picked up a passenger, who sat in the rear of the car, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Another man, who was with the passenger, walked to the rear driver’s side of the vehicle and began shooting, striking the victim several times, the newspaper reported.
The Uber driver, who was not injured, called 911 and drove away with the wounded passenger, KHOU reported.
The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the television station reported.
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What Paul Johnson said after the win over Virginia
Ken Sugiura
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson’s comments following the Yellow Jackets’ 30-27 overtime win over Virginia Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Opening statement
“Well, it was a heck of a game. I don’t think we particularly played well, but we found a way to get it done in the end and get the win. Their quarterback’s a heck of a player, makes a lot of plays and he’s a really good player. We left some opportunities out there and didn’t finish some drives, had to kick too many field goals, although our kicker was pretty special. He did a great job.
I don’t know what regulation time of possession was (31:29-28:31 in Tech’s favor) but they did a nice job possessing the ball and driving the ball and really, other than the punt that hit ’em in the leg… It’s been a long time since you could say that we won a game here on special teams. And tonight, special teams had a big part in it.”
On the play of special teams
“Juanyeh Thomas on the return is a really good athlete. It’s just been a matter of time. He’s going to return a bunch of them before he leaves. He’s pretty good. Pressley Harvin’s a really good player, and the way that Wesley kicked the ball today, when you have two pretty good kickers like that, it makes a world of difference.”
On coming back from 1-3 to get to 7-4
“These kids all year, they’ve battled, they’ve had a lot of heart. To think that they’ve come back from 1-3 and are going to finish either first or second in our division – well, I guess Pitt won today, so we’ll finish second; that’s the seventh time in 11 years we’ve done that – it’s not easy to do, and for those kids to come back from an 0-2 start in the league and get that accomplished, I’m proud of them.”
Area of biggest improvement
“From the start of the year till now, we’ve probably gotten better offensively, although we didn’t necessarily tonight. I think we’re better in special teams; clearly it wasn’t a far climb. And defensively, we’ve made some progress. We still struggle on third downs, but they were five of nine and we were 10 of 18. We had a hard time blocking them inside, and their corners are really good and they were sitting on routes and we were kind of waiting (to exploit that) and we caught them at the opportune time there at the end of the game.”
Kicker Wesley Wells
“He’s just pretty cool. Doesn’t much bother him. I asked him on the kick in overtime, I asked him in the locker room, I said, ‘You didn’t hit that one really solid, huh.’ He said, ‘Coach, I missed the fool out of that.’ He said, ‘I looked up and was just thinking, Oh, God, just get in there.’ But he’s just kind of even-keeled. The moment’s not too big for him. We have guys still yet that have played a lot where I think the moment’s a little too big for them. But with him it’s not. You can ask him to do anything. He’s made every kick we’ve trotted him out there for.”
On Georgia
“I know they’ve got a really, really good football team. They’ve very talented. But tonight, I’m going to kind of sit back and enjoy this one and in the morning, starting about 9, we’ll get on Georgia.”
On the team’s seniors
“They did a great job of keeping the team together when it was 1-3. That’s not easy, I can promise you. I’ve done this for 40 years. As a coach, when you start out like that and you’ve got all the negativity around you and everybody’s already pronounced you dead and shoveling dirt on you, it’s hard to keep everybody going in the same direction. And the seniors just didn’t listen. They just turned it off and we just went to work and kept playing. That’s all you can do.”
Game story: Georgia Tech takes down Virginia in overtime
Michael Cunningham: Offense stalls, so Georgia Tech wins with defense
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Troy Aikman has a surprising take on Dak Prescott
Jon Schlosser, All 22
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman won three Super Bowls and went to six Pro Bowls. In the last three weeks, current quarterback Dak Prescott threw five interceptions and zero touchdowns, while losing all three games.
Safe to say they’re not exactly at the same place in their careers right now. However, when asked about Prescott, Aikman actually stood up for him. He knows that Prescott is taking a lot of flak, but he thinks he’s been good.
“Tough times don’t last but tough people do,” Aikman said, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “I think the guy has been incredible. I think if you watch him closely, as someone who played the position, I know how difficult it is. Overall, he’s doing just fine.”
Again, Prescott’s stats don’t really reflect that. His stats for the season are fairly average – 2,318 yards, 16 touchdowns, 9 interceptions – but the wheels have really come off lately. It seems like Aikman isn’t ready to give up on him with such a small sample size. Guys hit rough patches. Aikman did. Prescott has. The Hall of Fame quarterback thinks he’ll get through it and be fine in the end, which is good news for the Cowboys.
Plus, Prescott isn’t out there alone. How much of his poor play has to do with tackle Tyron Smith missing games and his protection suffering? How much is linked to Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension? Everything is a factor, and it’s not fair to Prescott to assume he’ll be flawless no matter what.
The post Troy Aikman has a surprising take on Dak Prescott appeared first on All 22.
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WAF Rosary October Campaign Cathedrals Churches
In connection with the October Rosary campaign, we have good news in that four Cathedrals in England will be having an October Rosary event, namely Birmingham, Hallam, Plymouth, and Salford.
The details are:
Birmingham: At St Chad’s Cathedral on Saturday 13th October starting at 2 pm and ending approx 3.30/3.45 pm.
Hallam: At St Marie’s Cathedral, Sheffield – details to be announced later.
Salford: At St. John the Evangelist Cathedral, Salford, on Sunday 14th October starting at 3.30pm.
Plymouth: At Saint Mary and Saint Boniface Cathedral, Plymouth, on Saturday 13th October.
There will be a programme at each cathedral including Eucharistic Adoration, a talk on Fatima/the Rosary, a selection of Fatima prayers, information about the Five First Saturdays devotion, praying the Rosary with meditations on the mysteries, an Act of Consecration to Our Lady, and concluding with Benediction, followed by refreshments etc.
If you live near one of the above Cathedrals, then please consider going along, and also tell other people about these events, which are a special way of honouring Our Lady of Fatima and the importance of October as the month of the Rosary.
If you don’t live near one of the above cathedrals, you can ask your parish priest if you can organise a similar event in your local church. It’s not that difficult to organise such an event, and it would be a great way of honouring Our Lady.
You can download a sample itinerary for such an event here … and we can help you with materials etc., if necessary.
If you do manage to get such an event organised, then please let us know and we can advertise it on the website.
Contact WAF England and Wales
Our Lady of Fatima and the Daily Rosary
In every one of her 6 Fatima apparitions Our Lady specifically asked for the Rosary to be said. This aspect of her message could not have been more emphatic.
May 13th: “Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and an end to the war.”
June 13th: “I want you to pray the Rosary every day.”
July 13th: “I want you to continue to pray the Rosary every day in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war because only she can help you.”
August 19th: “Continue praying the Rosary every day.”
September 13th: “Continue to pray the Rosary every day in order to obtain the end of the war.”
October 13th: “I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day.”
The Rosary in History
There have been a number of historical incidents in which praying the Rosary has played an important part in upholding the Church and the Faith, including the Battle of Lepanto, in 1571, when at the instigation of Pope Pius V, a rosary campaign was instrumental in preventing the invasion of Europe by an Ottoman Empire fleet whose object was to subjugate Europe to Islam. The resounding victory which ensued against overwhelming odds led to the Church establishing the “Feast of the Holy Rosary,” which is celebrated on 7 October every year.
Another victory of the Rosary was obtained in 1955, when the occupying Soviet Army voluntarily left Austria. Fr Petrus Pavilicek, a Franciscan, had organised a Rosary Crusade from 1946 onwards, as a result of which in due course ten percent of the population of 7 million, that is 700,000 people, were praying five decades of the Rosary daily for peace in the country. He also organised candlelit processions through the streets of Vienna with a pilgrim Virgin statue of Our Lady from Fatima, that were led by the Federal Chancellor.
On 13 May 1955, the 38th anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima in May 1917, it was announced from Moscow that the Soviets were willing to withdraw from Austria and sign a peace treaty. This was the only time in the history of the Soviet Union that the Red Army voluntarily withdrew from a country it had occupied, without firing a shot. In contrast, the attempted uprisings in Hungary, in 1956, and Czechoslovakia, in 1968, were brutally put down by Soviet tanks.
Shortly before the last Soviet troops left the territory of Austria, on 26th October 1955 there was another huge torchlight procession in thanksgiving in Vienna. In his address to the vast crowd, Raab, the Federal Chancellor, asked Austria’s faithful Catholics to remain true to their faith and unswerving in their prayers to the Queen of heaven.
“But for today”, he concluded, “we want to send up a joyful prayer to heaven and end it with the words: ‘We are free ! Mary, we thank you !’” (He taught millions to pray – Fr Peter Pavlicek, OFM, by Hilda Firtel, Rosary Crusade for the Peace of the World, Vienna).
These incidents—and there are not a few others besides that can be cited, such as the extraordinary liberation and completely unexpected resurrection of the Church in Portugal following the Miracle of the Sun on 13th October 1917, when Our Lady proved to the vast crowd of 70,000 awestruck spectators that she had indeed been appearing to the three shepherd children—show the power of the daily recitation of the Rosary to change history, especially when enough people pray it fervently for the same intention.
All that is required is for enough Catholics in England and Wales to commit themselves to pray the Rosary daily for the re-evangelisation of the Church and the conversion of the country. Surely it is not too much to ask something which requires barely 20 minutes of one’s time in a day. If that objective can be attained, then in the light of the experience of the Rosary as recorded in history, we can confidently expect, through the intercession of the holy Mother of God, that the Church will overcome the difficulties it is currently facing and experience a period of renewed growth.
The outcome rests in our hands, and whether enough people are willing to comply with her requests at Fatima for daily recitation of the Rosary.
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Is Something Strange Happening Inside The Earth?
Why are “giant fountains of lava” suddenly pouring out of some of the most dangerous volcanoes on the entire planet, and why are so many long dormant volcanoes suddenly roaring back to life? The spectacular eruption of Mt. Etna in Italy is making headlines all over the world, but it is far from alone. According to Volcano Discovery, 35 major volcanoes either are erupting right now or have just recently erupted, and dozens of others are stirring. So what is causing this upsurge in volcanic activity? Is something strange happening inside the Earth?
According to the USGS, magma is “molten rock underground”, and lava is molten rock “that breaks through the Earth’s surface”. Right now, something is pushing magma up through the crust of the Earth at a number of key spots around the planet. On the island of Sicily, the “giant fountains of lava” that are coming out of Mt. Etna can be seen 30 kilometers away…
Giant fountains of lava could be seen sprouting from the volcano, located on the isle of Sicily, as far away as Catania, around 30 kilometres away, and the resort town of Taormina.
The Meteorological Observatory in Nunziata said: “You can clearly see the lava fountains, although currently modest, as it escapes from the crater in the southeast.”
An orange air alert has been issued, meaning that airspace will remain open but authorities will continue to monitor the situation.
On the other side of the world, a constant stream of molten rock has been springing out of Guatemala’s “Volcano of Fire” since February 25th…
Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire erupted Saturday (Feb 25), spewing lava and sending up plumes of ash that rained down on nearby communities and could eventually reach the capital, civil protection authorities said.
The Volcan de Fuego, one of the country’s three active volcanoes, is located about 45km southwest of the capital Guatemala City. It was the volcano’s second eruption this year.
And in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a “firehose of lava” has been pouring out of the Kilauea Volcano since December 31st.
Meanwhile, a number of large volcanoes that have been dormant for a very long time all over the world have started springing back to life.
For instance, the only active volcano in India has suddenly started “spewing lava and ash” after being silent for 150 years…
Barren Islands volcano, India’s only active volcano, is reportedly spewing lava and ash after a gap of 150 years. It erupted for about four hours in January, scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) claimed.
The volcano is situated in Barren Islands in the Andaman & Nicobar archipelago. Some unsubstantiated reports even claim that it is South Asia’s only active volcano.
Its first recorded eruption dates back to 1787. Since then, the volcano has erupted more than ten times, including the one this year.
At one time scientists would speak of “dead volcanoes”, but now we learning that it really isn’t safe to speak of any volcano as being completely “dead”. So many of these long dormant volcanoes are roaring back to life, and why this is suddenly happening now is puzzling many of the experts.
And as you have seen, this isn’t isolated to just one or two geographic regions. It literally is happening all over the globe.
Last month, Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung in the southern hemisphere erupted seven times in the space of a single day, and meanwhile authorities in the northern hemisphere were warning us that four of Iceland’s biggest volcanoes are preparing to erupt.
Indonesia and Iceland are about as far apart as you can get, and yet they are both being affected by this worldwide phenomenon.
Without a doubt, something definitely appears to be causing a significant increase in worldwide seismic activity.
Let’s talk about earthquakes for a moment. A website known as the Big Wobble recently published an article that included two extraordinary maps. The first map showed the number of major earthquakes from January 1900 to January 1917, and the second map showed the number of major earthquakes from January 2000 to January 2017. The difference between the two maps was startling to say the least.
It is becoming extremely difficult to deny that something is happening to the crust of our planet, and many are becoming concerned about what we could soon experience if the level of seismic activity continues to rise.
We already talked about Mt. Etna, but a much greater threat in Italy appears to be awakening under the city of Naples. A massive supervolcano known as “Campi Flegrei” is close to a “critical state”, and if it erupts the consequences will be beyond catastrophic. The following comes from National Geographic…
A long-quiet yet huge supervolcano that lies under 500,000 people in Italy may be waking up and approaching a “critical state,” scientists report this week in the journal Nature Communications.
Based on physical measurements and computer modeling, “we propose that magma could be approaching the CDP [critical degassing pressure] at Campi Flegrei, a volcano in the metropolitan area of Naples, one of the most densely inhabited areas in the world, and where accelerating deformation and heating are currently being observed,” wrote the scientists—who are led by Giovanni Chiodini of the Italian National Institute of Geophysics in Rome.
If that supervolcano were to fully erupt, millions could die, the skies in the northern hemisphere would be darkened for months and the resulting “volcanic winter” would cause famines all around the globe.
And the same things could be said about the supervolcano that is awakening in North Korea too.
In the United States, we should be watching the volcanoes on the west coast for signs of trouble, and my regular readers know that I am particularly concerned about Mt. Rainier. There is an eruption of Mt. Rainier in “The Beginning Of The End“, and it is in there for a reason.
Someday Mt. Rainier will erupt, and the horror that this will mean for the Northwest is beyond anything that I could put into words for you right now.
We live at a time when our planet is becoming increasingly unstable, and a major natural disaster could change all of our lives in a single moment.
Just because our lives have been somewhat “normal” for an extended period of time does not mean that they will always be this way, and those that are ignoring the rumblings of our planet do so at their own peril.
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Eddie is the founder and owner of www.WorldTruth.TV. This website is dedicated to educating and informing people with articles on powerful and concealed information from around the globe. I have spent the last 38 years researching Bible, History, Alternative Health, Secret Societies, Symbolism and many other topics that are not reported by mainstream media.
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British bomber aircraft 1930–1939, British bomber aircraft 1940–1949, World War II British bombers,
Carrier-based aircraft
Fairey aircraft
Aircraft designed in the United Kingdom
Propeller aircraft
Single-engine aircraft
Biplane aircraft
Fairey Swordfish
Swordfish number W5856 of the Royal Navy Historical Flight (2002)
Torpedo-bomber
Fairey Aviation
Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Netherlands Navy
2,391 (692 by Fairey and 1,699 by Blackburn)
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Affectionately known as the "Stringbag" by its crews, it was outdated by 1939, but achieved some spectacular successes during the war, notably the sinking of one and damaging two battleships of the Regia Marina (the Italian Navy) in the Battle of Taranto and the famous crippling of the Bismarck. It was operated primarily as a fleet attack aircraft; however, during its later years, it was also used as an anti-submarine and training craft. Designed in the 1930s, the Swordfish outlived several types intended to replace it, and remained in front line service until VE Day.
[hide] *1 Design and development
2.1 Origin of the Stringbag nickname
5 Surviving Aircraft
6 Specifications (Swordfish I)
Design and development Edit
The Swordfish was based on a Fairey design for the Greek Naval Air Service, who asked for a replacement of their Fairey IIIF Mk.IIIB's, and on Specifications M.1/30 and S.9/30, issued by Air Ministry, the work having been initiated as a Private Venture (PV). The company informed the Air Ministry of their work on the Greek order (that country interest eventually waning) and proposed its solution to the requirements for a spotter-reconnaissance plane, spotter referring to observing the fall of a warship's gunfire. A subsequent Air Ministry Specification S.15/33, added the torpedo bomber role. The "Torpedo-Spotter-Reconnaissance" prototype TSR II (the PV was the TSR I) first flew on 17 April 1934. It was a large biplane with a metal airframe covered in fabric, and utilized folding wings as a space-saving feature for aircraft carrier use. An order was placed in 1935 and the aircraft entered service in 1936 with the Fleet Air Arm (then part of the RAF), replacing the Seal in the torpedo bomber role.
By 1939, the Fleet Air Arm (now under Royal Navy control) had 13 squadrons equipped with the Swordfish Mark I. There were also three flights of Swordfish equipped with floats, for use off aircraft catapult-equipped warships. One - from HMS Warspite — spotted fall of shot (i.e., radioed gunnery corrections back to the ship) during the Second Battle of Narvik in 1940 and subsequently sank the U-boat U-64. The Swordfish pioneered the use of Air to Surface Vessel radar ( ASV ), by carrier borne aircraft to locate surface ship targets at night and/or through clouds.[1]
Swordfish flew from merchant aircraft carriers ("MAC ships"), 20 civilian cargo or tanker ships modified to carry three or four aircraft each, on anti-submarine duties with convoys. Three of these ships were Dutch manned, flying Swordfish from 860 (Dutch) Naval Air Squadron. The rest were manned by pilots and aircrew from 836 Naval Air Squadron, at one time the largest squadron with 91 aircraft.
Almost 2,400 had been built, 692 by Fairey and 1,699 in Sherburn by the Blackburn Aircraft Company, which were sometimes dubbed the "Blackfish". The most numerous version was the Mark II, of which 1,080 were made.
Operational history Edit
[2][3]Fairey Swordfish at the Imperial War Museum Duxford (1980s)The primary weapon was the aerial torpedo, but the low speed of the biplane and the need for a long straight approach made it difficult to deliver against well-defended targets. Swordfish torpedo doctrine called for an approach at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) followed by a dive to torpedo release altitude of 18 ft (5.5 m).[2] Maximum range of the early Mark XII torpedo was 1,500 yd (1400 m) at 40 knots (74 km/h) and 3,500 yd (3200 m) at 27 knots (50 km/h).[3] The torpedo travelled 200 yd (180 m) forward from release to water impact, and required another 300 yd (270 m) to stabilise at preset depth and arm itself. Ideal release distance was 1,000 yd (900 m) from target if the Swordfish survived to that distance.[2] Swordfish — flying from the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious — made a very significant strike on 11 November 1940 against the Italian navy during the Battle of Taranto, Italy, sinking or disabling three Italian battleships and a cruiser lying at anchor. In the aftermath, Taranto was visited by the Japanese naval attache from Berlin, who later briefed the staff who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor.[4] Swordfish also flew anti-shipping sorties from Malta.
In May 1941, a Swordfish strike from HMS Ark Royal was vital in damaging the German battleship Bismarck, preventing it from escaping to France. The low speed of the attacking aircraft may have acted in their favour, as the planes were too slow for the fire-control predictors of the German gunners, whose shells exploded so far in front of the aircraft that the threat of shrapnel damage was greatly diminished as did the fact that some at least of the Swordfish flew so low that most of the Bismarck's flak weapons were unable to depress enough to hit them.[5] The Swordfish aircraft scored two hits, one which did little damage but the other jammed Bismarck's rudders with 15° port helm on.[6]making the warship unmanueverable and sealing its fate. The Bismarck was destroyed less than 13 hours later. [4][5]Swordfish torpedo bombers on the after deck of HMS Victorious before the attack on the Bismarck.The problems with the aircraft were starkly demonstrated in February 1942 when a strike on German battleships during the Channel Dash resulted in the loss of all attacking aircraft, partly because only ten of the promised eighty-four fighters turned up to escort the six Swordfish.[7] With the development of new torpedo attack aircraft, the Swordfish was soon redeployed successfully in an anti-submarine role, armed with depth-charges or eight "60 lb" (27 kg) RP-3 rockets and flying from the smaller escort carriers or even Merchant Aircraft Carriers (MAC) when equipped for rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO). Its low stall speed and inherently tough design made it ideal for operation from the MAC carriers in the often severe mid Atlantic weather. Indeed, its takeoff and landing speeds were so low that it did not require the carrier to be steaming into the wind, unlike most carrier-based aircraft. On occasion, when the wind was right, Swordfish were flown from a carrier at anchor.[8]
Swordfish-equipped units accounted for 14 U-boats destroyed. The Swordfish was meant to be replaced by the Albacore, also a biplane, but actually outlived its intended successor. It was, finally, however, succeeded by the Fairey Barracuda monoplane torpedo bomber.
The last of 2,392 Swordfish aircraft was delivered in August 1944 and operational sorties continued in to January 1945 with anti-shipping operations off Norway (FAA Squadrons 835 and 813), where the Swordfish's manouvreability was essential.[9] The last operational squadron was disbanded on 21 May 1945, after the fall of Germany; and the last training squadron was disbanded in the summer of 1946.
Origin of the Stringbag nickname Edit
The Swordfish received the Stringbag nickname not because of its construction, but because of the seemingly endless variety of stores and equipment that the aircraft was cleared to carry. Crews likened the aircraft to a housewife's string shopping bag which was common at the time and, which due to its having no fixed shape, could adjust to hold any shape of packages. Like the shopping bag, the crews felt that the Swordfish could carry anything.[10]
Variants Edit
[6][7]Fairey Swordfish in pre-war Fleet Air Arm markings;Swordfish I
First production series.
Swordfish I
Version equipped with floats, for use from catapult-equipped warships.
Swordfish II
Version with metal lower wings to enable the mounting of rockets, introduced in 1943.
Swordfish III
Version with added large centrimetric radar unit, introduced in 1943.
Swordfish IV
Last serial built version (production ended in 1944) with an enclosed cabin for use by the RCAF
Operators Edit
Royal Australian Air Force
Three aircraft were used by No. 25 Squadron RAAF in 1942.
Royal Canadian Air Force
Swordfish 4A was first to fall into Italian hands in the aftermath of the Battle of Taranto, in poor condition. Swordfish K8422 of HMS Eagle was shot down and captured during a raid on Maritza airfield, Rhodes on 4 September 1940. Evaluated at Guidonia Test Centre and kept serviceable until mid-1941 with spare parts coming from captured Swordfish K8422 (4H). Swordfish P4127 (coded 4F) of 820 squadron on HMS Ark Royal, involved in bombing raid on Cagliari, Sardinia. Hit by ground fire, it force-landed on the enemy airfield at Elmas on 2 August 1940. The crew were taken POW and the aircraft captured intact. Caproni repaired it locally and fitted it with an Alfa Romeo 125 engine. It was taken to the Stabilimento Costruzioni Aeronautiche in Guidonia on 27 February 1941. It was still listed as being there 6 April 1942.[11]
Royal Netherlands Navy -
Dutch Naval Aviation Service in exile in the United Kingdom
No. 860 (Dutch) Squadron Fleet Air Arms
Swordfish W5843 of 813 squadron at North Front, Gibraltar, lost its bearings during an anti-submarine sweep and force landed between Ras el Farea and Pota Pescadores, in Spanish Morocco, on 30 April 1942. The crew were all interned. The final fate of the aircraft is not known.
Swordfish P4073 of 700 squadron of HMS Malaya ran out of fuel whilst shadowing the German battleship Scharnhorst on 8 March 1942. Aircraft and crew were interned in Spain. The Swordfish was put on the strength of the Spanish airforce as HR6-1 in 6 December 1943 with 54 Escuadrilla, Puerto de le Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Retired March 1945 at Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.[11]
Royal Air Force[12]
No. 8 Squadron RAF
No. 119 Squadron RAF
No. 3 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit (No. 3 AACU), Malta and Gibralter
No. 4 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit (No. 4 AACU), Singapore
9 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (prior to May 1939 part of RAF)
700 Squadron
705 Squadron (float-equipped aircraft from the battlecruisers Repulse and Renown)
817 Squadron-transferred to South Africa in 1945
Surviving Aircraft Edit
[8][9]Swordfish LS326 (1988)This is an incomplete list.
Swordfish Mk.I W5856, Swordfish Mk.II LS326, Swordfish Mk.III NF389
These three aircraft form part of the Royal Navy Historic Flight; W5856 and LS326 are in flying condition; NF389 is being restored to airworthy condition by the Flight.
Swordfish Mk.II, "HS618"
Displayed at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.[13]
Swordfish Mk.II, "NS122"
This aircraft is at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Note that "NS122" is a fictitious identity.
Swordfish Mk.III, NF370
Displayed at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.
Swordfish Mk.III, construction number F/B 3527A
This aircraft is in flying condition and is registered as C-GEVS. It is operated by Vintage Wings, based in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Swordfish Mk.IV, HS469
Originally a Mk.II, but converted to a Mk.IV, this aircraft is on display at the Shearwater Aviation Museum. It was restored to airworthy condition and flew once, in 1992.
Swordfish HS491
This is part of the collection of the Malta Aviation Museum and is currently awaiting restoration.
Specifications (Swordfish I) Edit
Data from Fairey Aircraft since 1915[14]
Crew: Three (pilot, observer, and radio operator/rear gunner)
Length: 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
Wingspan: 45 ft 6 in[15] (13.87 m)
Height: 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
Wing area: 607 ft² (56.4 m²)
Empty weight: 4,195 lb (1,900 kg)
Loaded weight: 7,720 lb (3,500 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Pegasus IIIM.3 radial engine, 690 hp (510 kW)
Maximum speed: 139 mph (224 km/h, 121 knots) at 4,750 ft (1,450 m)[16]
Range: 546 mi[16] (879 km, 475 nmi) normal fuel carrying torpedo[17]
Endurance: 5.7 hr
Climb to 5,000 ft (1,520 m): 10 min[16]
Guns:
1 × fixed, forward-firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun in engine cowling
1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis or Vickers K machine gun in rear cockpit
Rockets: 8 × "60 lb" RP-3 rocket projectiles (Mk.II and later)
Bombs: 1 × 1,670 lb (760 kg) torpedo or 1,500 lb (700 kg) mine under fuselage or 1,500 lb bombs under fuselage and wings
Blackburn Shark
Eugene Esmonde
Fairey Albacore
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Fieseler Fi 167
List of aircraft of World War II
List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm
^ Harrison 2001, p. 9.
^ a b Emmott, Norman W. "Airborne Torpedoes". United States Naval Institute Proceedings, August 1977.
^ Campbell 1985, p. 87.
^ Lowry and Wellham 2000, p. 92.
^ Kennedy 2002, pp. 112, 165.
^ Kennedy 2002, p. 166.
^ Kemp 1957, p. 199.
^ Wragg 2003, p. 142.
^ Wragg 2005, pp. 127–131.
^ Lamb 2001
^ a b "Fleet Air Arm Archive 1939-45: Capture Fleet Air Arm Aircraft." fleetairarmarchive.net. Retrieved: 16 August 2010.
^ Thomas 1998, pp. 73–77.
^ Fleet Air Arm Museum: Fairey Swordfish II (HS618)
^ Taylor 1974, p. 259.
^ Folded Span: 17 ft 3 in (5.26 m)
^ a b c Thetford 1978, p. 143.
^ 1,030 mi (1,660 km,896 nmi) reconnaissance with no bombs and extra fuel
Brown, Eric, CBE, DCS, AFC, RN.; William Green and Gordon Swanborough. "Fairey Swordfish". Wings of the Navy, Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War Two. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1980, pp. 7–20. ISBN 0-7106-0002-X.
Campbell, John. Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
Harrison, W.A. Fairey Swordfish and Albacore. Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press, 2002. ISBN 1-86126-512-3.
Harrison, W.A. Fairey Swordfish in Action (Aircraft Number 175). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-89747-421-X.
Harrison, W.A. Swordfish at War. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd., 1987. ISBN 0-7110-1676-3.
Harrison, W.A. Swordfish Special. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd., 1977. ISBN 0-7110-0742-X.
Kilbracken, Lord. Bring Back My Stringbag: A Swordfish Pilot At War. London: Pan Books Ltd, 1980. ISBN 0-330-26172-X. First published by Peter Davies Ltd, 1979.
Lamb, Charles. To War in a Stringbag. London: Cassell & Co., 2001. ISBN 0-304-35841-X.
Lowe, Malcolm V. Fairey Swordfish: Plane Essentials No.3. Wimborne, UK: Publishing Solutions (www) Ltd., 2009. ISBN 978-1-906589-02-8.
Lowry, Thomas P. and John Wellham.The Attack on Taranto: Blueprint for Pearl Harbor. London: Stackpole Books, 2000. ISBN 0-8117-2661-4.
Kemp, P.K. Key to Victory: The Triumph Of British Sea Power In World War II. New York: Little, Brown, 1957.
Kennedy, Ludovic. Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck. Bath, UK: Chivers Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-7540-0754-8.
Stott, Ian G. The Fairey Swordfish Mks. I-IV (Aircraft in Profile 212). Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications, 1971. No ISBN.
Sturtivant, Ray. The Swordfish Story. London: Cassell & Co., 1993 (2nd Revised edition 2000). ISBN 0-304-35711-1.
Taylor, H.A, Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-X.
Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912. London: Putnam, Fourth edition, 1978. ISBN 0-370-30021-1.
Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
Thomas, Andrew. "Light Blue 'Stringbags': The Fairey Swordfish in RAF Service". Air Enthusiast, No. 78, November/December 1998, pp. 73–77. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450.
Wragg, David. The Escort Carrier in World War II. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Books, 2005. ISBN 1-84415-220-0.
Wragg, David. Stringbag: The Fairey Swordfish at War. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword Books, 2005. ISBN 1-84415-130-1.
Wragg, David. Swordfish: The Story of the Taranto Raid. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2003. ISBN 0-297-84667-1.
Images of Swordfish W5856
Swordfish Story of the Torpedoing of the Bismarck
Retrieved from "https://worldwartwo.wikia.org/wiki/Fairey_Swordfish?oldid=5393"
British bomber aircraft 1930–1939
World War II British bombers
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To par against WWE Smackdown, TNA president, Dixie Carter has recently announced that TNA Impact! will go live with effect from October 7.
Previously, the show went live on Monday nights and was swiftly defeated by RAW. Dixie then motioned to Thursday night with taping. It has since been announced that IMPACT will go live. I think it’s a good move from Dixie. This would further segment the show status on Thursday night.
Among rumored who is set to make a splash return that night are Rob Van Damm and Hulk Hogan. Dixie also hinted a “big shocking surprise” that night. God knows, till then.
~ by wrestlingdynasty on September 16, 2010.
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San Francisco Is a Hotbed of Illegal Race-Based Policing
By Ezekiel Edwards, Director, ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project
October 4, 2018 | 11:30 AM
Reforming Police Practices
WEB18-SanFrancisco-1160x768.jpg
Our Constitution promises all people, regardless of race, equal protection under the law. Yet the San Francisco Police Department has consistently singled out Black people for enforcement of criminal laws.
In 2013 and 2014, the SFPD collaborated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California on a drug enforcement operation. Despite the fact that the SFPD knew that in the Tenderloin district — where they chose to the focus the operation — people of many different races engaged in drug sales, all 37 people targeted for arrest and federal prosecution were Black. Those statistics were not the result of chance. Video showed an undercover informant flat out refusing to buy drugs from an Asian woman. Instead, he waited to buy drugs from a Black woman instead.
After the federal public defender representing some of the accused presented evidence that the SFPD had singled out Black people over other races engaged in the same activity, the district court judge found that there was “substantial evidence suggestive of racially selective enforcement.” Before the parties completed the discovery process ordered by the court, the federal prosecutor abruptly moved to dismiss the indictments.
This targeted enforcement is racist and illegal. So the national ACLU, the ACLU of Northern California, and the law firm Durie Tangri LLP have sued the city of San Francisco seeking damages on behalf of Black plaintiffs harmed by the SFPD’s race-based policing.
The U.S. Supreme Court made clear 132 years ago that law enforcement’s targeting of people based on their race is patently unconstitutional. In Yick Wo v. Hopkins, a case that also originated in San Francisco, the court declared that denying laundry permits to Chinese people while granting similar permits to non-Chinese people could only be explained by the city’s “hostility to the race and nationality” of the applicants, which violated 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.
These arrests show that San Francisco is continuing its long history of targeting non-white people for harsher treatment. And shamefully, it has been on notice for many years that it has a serious problem.
There have been at least seven recent major studies detailing SFPD’s race-driven enforcement practices. The documentation includes a 2002 ACLU report on SFPD racial profiling and a city-commissioned study by a national expert on biased policing, which found a range of biased-fueled problems and set forth several concrete recommendations for reform. Those recommendations went unheeded. Similar reports of racial and ethnic disparities at all stages of the criminal justice process were published in 2013 and 2015.
In 2015, it was discovered that police officers in the SFPD had exchanged racist text messages referencing the N-word and cross burnings as well as calling Black people “savages,” “wild animals,” and “barbarians.” One officer told a sergeant that “All n[—] must fucking hang.” One text included a picture of a white man spraying a Black child with a hose and the caption, “Go be a n— somewhere else.”
Following outcry once the text messages were made public, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Transparency, Accountability, and Fairness in Law Enforcement, created by the San Francisco district attorney, documented a sordid history of racially disparate enforcement by the SFPD and concluded that it was “in urgent need of important reforms.” A 2016 report by the federal Justice Department found that the SFPD was still engaged in racist policing, particularly in its traffic stops and officer use of deadly force. And in 2017, the University of Pennsylvania Law School found that people of color in San Francisco experienced worse criminal case processing and outcomes in part because of racially biased charging practices at the SFPD.
Race-based policing is not just a problem in San Francisco — it is nationwide calamity.
Unequal treatment by race is commonplace among police departments large and small in cities across a range of ideological leanings. This is the reason for the racial profiling lawsuits filed in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Maricopa County, Arizona. This is the motivation, prior to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for Justice Department consent decrees seeking to end racially discriminatory police practices in Seattle; Los Angeles County; New Orleans; Baltimore; Newark; East Haven, Connecticut; and Ferguson, Missouri. This is why the ACLU has found racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests across the country, in drug possession arrests more broadly, in stops and frisks in Boston, in seatbelt enforcement in Florida, and in arrests for low-level offenses in Minneapolis.
It is time for the SFPD — and police departments across America — to shed its shameful past. It is time for the SFPD to make transformative changes to its training, practices, and cultural competence. And most importantly is time for the SFPD to respect the dignity of all people it is sworn to protect.
Every day across the nation, the ACLU is called on to defend all the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. There's never been a more important time to support the ACLU and our effective work to protect civil liberties. If you like what you just read, help us continue to speak freely by donating today.
Dr. Timothy Leary
... but how can this be? San Francisco is a liberal California city.
Make you sure you read the book, “Oh it’s like that now!?” Trust me, it speaks volumes!
You’ve really conflated a lot of issues here without offering much evidence. Poorly written at best.
Not surprised. Underhanded methods, illegal use or power and surveillance. It’s a sad reality today. And hidden in plain sight . Open your eyes! You can see it even if you’re not a minority. There are disturbed people who are narcissistic and power driven in all walks of life. Criminal minds to new levels.
Equity Must Be at the Heart of Marijuana Legalization
Police Unions Should Never Undermine Constitutional Policing
Police Brutality Against Black Kansas City Man Caught on Video
What Officer Noor's Conviction Says About Racism in America
Willie McCoy Should Be Alive Today
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Transforming New Zealand's Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue is undergoing a massive business transformation programme that will change the accounting profession in New Zealand forever
IR had two options — either update technology first and everything else after, or change technology, policy and process all at the same time
IR is making it easier to self-serve using digital services and will encourage the use of third party cloud-based accounting software to manage compliance directly
Compilation will essentially become automated, and advisory (including timely reviewing) will become our core role
By Scott Mason, FCA
Inland Revenue’s (IR) current FIRST computer system, which was state-of-the-art in the early 1990s, has become increasingly impractical and costly and there are difficulties adding functionality. Even if the government wished to introduce a capital gains tax or new social policy framework, I seriously doubt that the current system could handle it.
Furthermore, as life and the tax system have become more complex, it has also become more difficult and costly for businesses to manage their tax compliance, notwithstanding the technological developments available within business-owned systems. This seems counter-intuitive but is a reality.
IR had two options — either update technology first and everything else after, or change technology, policy and process all at the same time. They have chosen the latter so as to gain maximum upside from the process, making their transformation programme a massive undertaking, with wide-ranging consequences for the government, businesses/taxpayers, and tax agents alike.
Following on from successful trials, changes to digital services for GST are expected to be in place in early 2017, with changes to how income taxes are managed from 2018, and social policy from 2019. These dates are closer than they seem and, as a consequence, the impact on all parties from IR’s Business Transformation (BT) is happening now. Since March 2015, six Making Tax Simpler discussion documents have been released by the government, including Better Business Tax (April 2016) and Investment Income Information (July 2016). A further paper on the Taxation of Individuals is near.
If you read the 2015 Making Tax Simpler green paper, you would have seen a change in policy focus from tax assessments being “dollar perfect” to “close enough”. Of course there are materiality controls, but this is a major change in tax policy direction for New Zealand which cannot be understated. For example, the essence of the accounting income method (AIM) of calculating provisional tax payments is rooted in this philosophical change, although the extent of “approximation” has yet to be determined. BT has been accompanied by significant legislative change directed towards simplifying tax rules, especially for SMEs, which should be commended.
Assuming better quality and more timely data collection via new communication mechanisms (eg live chat), new information sources (including from land transactions, automatic exchange of information arrangements and new withholding tax rules), and direct data connectivity via accounting systems, thought has also been given as to how proactive the tax system itself can be. Imagine a tax system that can be tailored to your clients’ business cash-flows, to the extent that assistance/support could be automatically triggered (ranging from uploading “adjustments” to discussions around the ability to pay tax), or even timely feedback about certain tax treatments.
There will be both learnings and teething issues with the roll-out of such a complex system and the myriad of policy and mechanism changes being introduced to support BT. I anticipate increased but targeted review activity being instigated by IR, given the dramatic changes to tax rules, and IR’s future analysis of the better quality of information flowing to them. Although I would expect a measured IR approach to such given the degree of change, accountants should consider whether their clients should be offered tax audit insurance, such as Audit Shield, in order to avoid any unplanned professional fees which may arise as a result.
In summary, IR is making it easier to self-serve using digital services and will encourage the use of third party cloud-based accounting software to manage compliance directly. GST returns and ultimately income tax returns will be generated within these systems and electronically submitted. These changes will alter the accounting profession in New Zealand forever. Compilation will essentially become automated, and advisory (including timely reviewing) will become our core role. To ensure our survival as advisors, we must upskill and embed ourselves (usefully) within our clients’ regular reporting cycles, and provide them with value-add services regularly throughout the year, including tools like advisory boards, benchmarking and tax pooling. Now is the time for all accountants to start thinking about their future, and how they can reinvent themselves to meet the brave new world head on.
Scott Mason FCA is managing principal of tax advisory for Crowe Horwath Australia and New Zealand and a member of CA ANZ’s Tax Advisory Group.
This article was first published in the December 2016 issue of Acuity magazine.
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Home / News and Events / African Development Bank Group rallies support for Gambia’s National Development Plan 2018-2021
African Development Bank Group rallies support for Gambia’s National Development Plan 2018-2021
20-Feb-2018 00:00 to 22-Feb-2018 11:45
A donor pre-engagement on Gambia’s new National Development Plan (NDP), is scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal from 20 to 22 February 2018.
Following the election of President Adama Barrow in December 2016, the country has a new window of opportunity to lay the foundations for a modern democratic state and key reforms for sustainable growth.
The goal of the 2018-2021 National Development Plan is to “deliver good governance and accountability, social cohesion, national reconciliation and a revitalized and transformed economy for the wellbeing of all Gambians.” The Plan was prepared in a participatory process involving Government, Civil Society, Non-Government Organizations, Private Sector, and development Partners. The abridged version of the document is available on National Development Plan - MoFEA.
The Dakar gathering, will be led by Gambia’s, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Amadou Sanneh. It will prepare potential partners and mobilize support for an International Conference on The Gambia scheduled to take place in Brussels in May 2018.
The program this week includes a workshop and bilateral discussions with potential partners. The Government of The Gambia will present the NDP to participants and exchange views on how they can support the country’s transition to a democratic state and rebuild its. At the request of The Gambian authorities the African Development Bank, which has a long-standing partnership with the country, will coordinate of the event.
The Bank Group commenced operations in The Gambia in 1974, and has cumulatively approved 74 operations estimated at US$ 437 million as of February 12, 2018. The Group’s active portfolio in the country consists of 11 operations, worth US$ 170.58 million. The operations include the Trans-Gambia Bridge project valued at US$ 92.60 million.
Document URL:
Advocacy Mission on the Gambia's National Development Plan (NDP) 2018-2021
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