The Presidency and the News Media

Abstract

Leo Strauss, often considered a critic of modernity, is famous for his claim that Machiavelli, in turning away from the classical tradition, is its originator. Yet his “Restatement on Xenophon's Hiero” presents a concise indictment of that tradition and a remarkably sympathetic account of the political and philosophic motives that led to the rupture. In light of this tension, Strauss's interest in Xenophon appears as a useful counterweight to both.     

Two Cambridge Orientalists on Athos

Abstract

This essay considers the accounts of Athos by Joseph Dacre Carlyle, who visited Athos in 1801, and by John Palmer who was there four years later. The men were successive holders of the chair of Arabic at Cambridge. The study examines some of their impressions of Athos and compares their experiences with the well-known account of Philip Hunt who was Carlyle's travelling companion. Appendices give tables of the numbers of monks in the Athonite houses; Palmer's expenses; and a brief discussion of some related documents.     

Machiavelli: A Socratic?

Erica Benner and Leo Strauss have recently challenged the reigning consensus that, having concentrated on politics, Machiavelli was not a philosopher. Readers did not always consider Machiavelli's work to be unphilosophical; and whether a commentator considers Machiavelli to be a “philosopher” depends on his or her understanding of what a philosopher is. Neither Benner nor Strauss takes the activities and studies of professors of philosophy in universities today to be definitive. Instead, they look to an older tradition both describe as “Socratic.” Benner rests her argument primarily on Machiavelli's references to Xenophon, Plato, and Plutarch. Unfortunately, Machiavelli's references to the works of Xenophon and Plato do not include those that feature Socrates. Strauss points out the similarities between Socrates and Machiavelli's emphasis on the political and their appeal to the young, but he concludes that, although Machiavelli is a “political philosopher,” his use of philosophy to serve the desires of the demos means that he is not a “Socratic.”     

De Quelques présents latins

Plato and Xenophon ‐ contrary to Dover's interpretation of the Clouds ‐ provide the background to Aristophanes’ caricature of Socrates: viewed against that background, Aristophanes’ jokes in the Clouds lose their obscurity, his comedy gains on poignancy and artistic unity; Plato's and Xenophon's Socrates regains historicity.     

Book reviews

Abstract

This paper explores the decision-making process for heritage management at the monastic community of Mount Athos, a World Heritage Site in Northern Greece, in relation to the concept of living religious heritage and the pursuit to balance the heritage values of both the experts (heritage professionals) and the non-experts. The function and impact of a specific heritage agency — KEDAK (Centre for the Preservation of Athonite Heritage) — designed to establish the decision-making power of the Athonite monasteries will be critically discussed. A range of interesting compromising solutions and some challenges and problems raised by the function of this agency will serve as the background for examining the extent to which different perceptions on heritage management can coexist, particularly when heritage professionals find themselves on the bottom of a top-down decision-making process.     

Dr Thomas Chaplin,Scientist and Scholar in Nineteenth-Century Palestine

Abstract

For a quarter of a century Dr Thomas J. Chaplin (1830–1904) held the position of director of the British Hospital for the Jews in Jerusalem. During these years he acted to improve the medical situation in the city and engaged in scientific researches in a variety of fields. The article critically reviews his activities in the Holy Land and shows that the impact of his works and the contribution of his achievements are diverse. However, by virtue of these achievements and his gracious personality, the Jewish people in Jerusalem named Chaplin as 'The Great English Doctor'.     

The Wortley Park Poachers and the Outbreak of the English Civil War

Abstract

On the eve of the Civil War, Sir Francis Wortley's deer park near Sheffield attracted the persistent attention of well armed plebeian poachers. The killing of Wortley's deer was an act of defiance that slighted his honour. His reputation was further undermined by the verbal abuse of several yeoman, prompting him into defending his reputation in the West Riding Quarter Sessions and the High Court of Chivalry. An examination of this litigation leads into a discussion of Sir Francis's concept of honour, distrust of popular politics and identification with the ideology of Charles I's personal rule. A micro-history approach to Sir Francis and his poacher enemies addresses the historiographical debate over whether deference or defiance defined plebeian attitudes to the ruling elite. It also impacts upon the formation of popular allegiance at the outbreak of civil war, and Wortley's brief notoriety as a national figure when he drew his sword for the King at York on 30 April 1642.     

Clowning and tragic clowning: Miguel de Unamuno as a funny writer

ABSTRACT

The present study considers the role and function that humor has in Unamuno's intellectual and literary universe. It traces Unamuno's attitude toward humor to his reading of the Spanish character in En torno al casticismo (1895) and to his dialogue with the figure of Don Quixote, as found in Vida de Don Quijote y Sancho (1905) and Del sentimiento trágico de la vida (1912). Finally, it looks at the theory of humor offered in the novel Niebla (1914) and also at the role that humor played in Unamuno's later political writings, especially those of exile (1924–1930).     

Apprehending the Archangel Michael: hagiographic methods

Abstract

This essay examines the means by which hagiographies attempt to describe the presence and appearances of the Archangel Michael. It deals with several hagiographies at some length in order to demonstrate the ways in which each text persuades its audience of the Archangel's benign proximity. It examines, in particular, the hagiographies of the miracle at Chonae since the ‘pre-history’ of this cult is relatively clear and the shrine's activities during the Byzantine period were widely acclaimed. This essay also discusses other hagiographies, namely of the sanctuary at Monte Gargano and of the shrine described by Michael Psellus (1018–1081 ?). In examining these texts, certain structural similarities become apparent: access to the Archangel is made difficult by his unique angelic nature and this difficulty led to textual strategies that make Michael more firmly entrenched in the texts' levels of narrative. The hagiographies reveal Michael's elusive, elemental force active in a landscape, and work to bind the Archangel-notionally at least-to places in order to strengthen expectation of devotional return.     

Gregor Mendel: the genius of genetics

Abstract

'The Genius of Genetics', an exhibition celebrating the work of Gregor Mendel through science and art, opened in Brno on 21 May 2002 at the Abbey of St Thomas, where Mendel lived from 1843, becoming its Abbot in 1867. The exhibition is intended to be the first step in a larger programme to reestablish the abbey as a centre for life sciences, and its opening was accompanied by a major international conference on 'Genetics after the Genome'. This essay traces Mendel's intellectual development through his education in Vienna, his meteorological and astronomical studies, and his seminal experiments in plant breeding which at the time went unnoticed but fifty years later formed the foundations of classical genetics. The question is asked how it was that Mendel, an Augustinian friar in an out of the way abbey in Moravia, was able to make his momentous discovery. It is suggested that his was the most singular career of any of the great scientific innovators, and that his genius derived from his commitment to natural philosophy in the old sense, from his application of experimental techniques from the mathematical sciences to subject matter situated firmly in the natural sciences.     

Transatlantic Correspondence and ‘Mobile Knowledge’ in Alexander von Humboldt's Exploratory Travels to Hispanic America

Summary

This article focuses on the relevance of Alexander von Humboldt's correspondence in the formation of transatlantic scientific networks at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Apart from connecting Humboldt with scientists and scholars worldwide, his correspondence turned out to be a fundamental tool for assuring the material conditions and the social and scientific connections he needed to carry out his research on the Spanish colonies and to simultaneously diffuse his achievements on the European side of the Atlantic. His contact with Hispanic American scientists and with the local elites enabled him to build a broad social network, gaining access to key material, human and intellectual resources. The letters sent to scientists, scientific institutions and noblemen in Europe, for their part, kept Humboldt's European correspondents informed about his activities in Hispanic America, contributing to the validation of his work before the scientific community and the fulfilment of the duties resulting from the political and institutional support he received both before and during his travels. This stresses the importance of strategic social groups and their cooperation in the framework of exploratory travels as a means to gaining access to resources in the peripheries. It also reveals the scientist's dependence on all those who supported his research: kings, barons, botanical gardens, universities, and academies.     

Review articles/Besprekingsartikels

Abstract

Swiss missionary Henri Alexandre Junod has been widely recognised for his extensive entomological, botanical, linguistic and anthropological contributions regarding southern Africa. However, shortly after publishing his most acclaimed work, The Life of a South African Tribe, Junod wrote a little-studied novel, Zidji: étude de m?urs sud-africaines, in which he endeavoured to give a detailed portrayal of South African Society. Interestingly, he chose fiction as the best vehicle for conveying what he saw as the 'truth' of the situation. As the only novel written by Junod this is a unique piece of writing in relation to his other work and its study shows that it is essential to an understanding of Junod. In Zidji he attempts to give a complete picture of South African society at the beginning of the twentieth century by recounting a black convert's experiences of what Junod considered to be the three main influences acting upon black society of the time, that is, tribal life (paganism), the mission station (Christianity) and white society (civilisation). By considering his depiction of South Africa, in particular his presentation of 'civilisation', further light is shed on his sentiments and perspective of the missionary encounter, social change and race relations in South Africa.     

Cropsey on Plato and the Unity of Philosophy

Abstract

Cropsey's book, Plato's World, contains his longest and most sustained reflections on a set of Platonic dialogues, but it is not the first work he published on Plato or the last he intended to write. His last collection of essays, On Humanity's Intensive Introspection, shows that in his writings on Plato Cropsey was attempting to answer a broader question: What is philosophy?     

From the Grassroots: Bernard Narokobi and the Making of Papua New Guinea's Constitution

ABSTRACT

Bernard Narokobi's concept of the Melanesian Way was influenced by a variety of factors, including his own childhood in the village, his religion, and the understandings of the people around him. He also drew inspiration from his exposure to the views and opinions of the many Papua New Guineans who contributed to the work of the Constitutional Planning Committee (CPC) between 1972 and 1975 when he served as a consultant to the committee. He shared the belief in a specifically ‘Melanesian’ way of social organization and cosmological understanding with the others who took part in the CPC's work, most prominently its de facto chairman, Father John Momis. With Momis he drew on the people's contributions to formulate PNG's National Goals and Directive Principles, which, at least in part, embody Narokobi's understanding of what it is to be Melanesian.     

James A. Smith's The Idea Brokers: Think Tanks and the Rise of the New Policy Elite

Abstract

This brief essay provides a few particulars about Michael Polanyi's life, showing how his philosophical interests and ideas are deeply grounded in his own experience as a European who lived through much of the twentieth century. It introduces the four essays on Polanyi's political thought that follow.     

Society and Politics in the Early Niebuhr

Abstract

This address was delivered at the inaugural meeting of the Reinhold Niebuhr Society. The theological and ethical contributions of the early Niebuhr from his book, Moral Man and Immoral Society, are summarized and then contrasted with adjustments that Niebuhr would make in his thinking in light of the rise of National Socialism and the events of World War II. Then the author turns to contemporary times, reading Niebuhr as a guide to the present situation's moral complexities.     

An exile's hopes: the search for a liberator in Michael Marullus

Abstract

Michael Marullus, fifteenth-century Greek, soldier and Latin poet, lived almost all his life in exile. In his earliest poetry revanchist thoughts directed at his country's Ottoman conquerors are hardly present, and superhuman powers are held responsible for the catastrophe. Later, Byzantine reliance on foreign forces is blamed. With time however and political developments in central and western Europe, a crusade or Türkenzug seemed to become more likely, and Marullus turned to the Habsburg Maximilian I and Charles VIII of France as possible liberators. This paper attempts to describe the poet's developing treatment of the themes of defeat and exile and his response in the last decade of the fifteenth century to the possibility of military action against the Ottomans.     

‘Feeling the rhythm of the waves: “castaway rhetoric” in John Eugenikos’ Logos eucharisterios’

Abstract

In September 1438 John Eugenikos decided to quit the council of Ferrara and sail back to Constantinople. Off Italy's Adriatic coast his vessel experienced a terrible shipwreck, whereby many of John's fellow-passengers perished. John decided then to retell his almost deadly experience in a thanks-giving logos, allegedly compiled on the basis of notes written down soon after the shipwreck. The logos stands out as a unique document in the landscape of Byzantine travel literature. This paper offers the first comprehensive literary analysis of Eugenikos’ account, shedding new light on the narrative patterns chosen by the author to recount his own experience and stage his public persona.     

Rousseau's Discarded Children: The Panoply of Excuses and the Question of Hypocrisy

Summary

Although Rousseau's treatment of his children has provoked much controversy, sustained and scholarly discussions are rare. This study is the first to present the evidence comprehensively and systematically. It engages each of Rousseau's contentions about his children in order to carefully discern the significance of this episode for his life and work. It offers an analytical table of each rationale—nineteen different ones, of five major types. It discusses documents of 1751 and 1778 which strongly defend the actions, the ambiguous arguments in the Second Part of the Confessions (1769–1770), the oscillations in the period surrounding the Confessions (1764–1770), and finally the development of unqualified remorse in the middle period of Emile (1757–1762). It concludes by advancing a middle position between those who ultimately see his behaviour and associated excuses as demonstrating his unchecked individualism and subjectivism, and those who ultimately absolve this episode in order to find him a moralist in good standing.