India of My Dreams Essay Example for Free

India of My Dreams Essay Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom With these words of Pandit Nehru, on 15th August at the stroke of the midnight hour India declared itself independent from the British rule. As the Union Jack was being brought down and the Indian tricolor flew up the hopes and aspiration of the Indian founding fathers were completed. Sixty years after the birth of this massive and diverse nation though there has been considerable progress, the overall picture of life in the country is depressing. With increasing prices and growing unemployment, the common man remains as poor as he had been. Though education has spread, its standard and quality have received a set back. Nor is the political scene very encouraging. While the working of democracy is not satisfactory, the forces of religion, provincialism and linguism pose a threat to the unity of the country. Our leaders lack the qualities of idealism, integrity and self sacrifice, which were abundantly in evidence during the days of the struggle for freedom. In this bleak situation, it is natural for the youth of the country to have a vision of a stronger India. In the same way I have a vision too – a fearless, strong, self reliant India. I visualize my country way ahead of other nations all round the globe in every aspect, whether its development in any field or showing its military might or being a fore-runner in technological advancement, skills and prosperity. I visualize India being a country that will provide equality of opportunity to one and all irrespective of caste, creed, and sex. A place that will provide optimum scope for development of latent skills of an individual and then to use it for the welfare of the nation. I strive for such a country wherein the poorest of the poor feel that this is his country in building which his voice has its due importance. I wish for a constitution, which will release India from all thraldom and patronage, and give her, if needed, the right to sin. I dream of a nation where nobody is illiterate and nobody sleeps hungry, where there is no distinction on the basis of genre, religion or caste, where justice to a common man is neither denied or deleted, where corruption in public life does not exist, where criminals do not occupy ministerial berths nor enter legislative assemblies, where merit counts in every sphere of life, where jobs cannot be purchased, where criminals have to spend the rest of their lives behind the bars and where the intellectuals like Amartya Sen do not have to leave the countrys shore for higher research and recognition. Today India is grappling with divided states, poverty, and population on the one hand and a mà ©lange of languages, traditions, festivals, religions, cultures which poses a problem but my vision for India is a country where the Kirtans from Gurudwaras, and Azan from Mosques, the Bhajans from Temples and chiming of the bells from churches merge and mingle and produce a harmonious, melodious, tune of humanity. I dream of a casteless and a perfect India of which all Indians can be truly proud of. My vision of India may sound like a dreamers agenda but the day every Indian citizen realizes his responsibility towards his country my vision would be reality. At last I would like to conclude with the words of Sir Rabindranath Tagore: WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Fixing the debt crisis in Greece Essay Example for Free

Fixing the debt crisis in Greece Essay Introduction: Central Idea: American officials exhorted their European counterparts to use Europe’s own resources to try to solve the crisis. Preview: Echoing past statements, Sarkozy and Merkel said banks should first raise money from the private sector before seeking state aid or money from the EU bailout fund. These issues must all be resolved, Merkel said. Its a painful process. Sarkozy stressed that the leaders are fully aware of their responsibilities, saying they have a moral, political and economical obligation to act decisively. The leaders are also working on how best to leverage the European Financial Stability Facility. The â‚ ¬440 billion fund, which was recently granted the power to intervene in sovereign debt markets and provide loans for governments that need to recapitalize banks, is widely seen as needing additional firepower. Its important to boost the emergency fund to protect the euro, said Merkel. But many EU governments have ruled out backing the fund up with additional loan guarantees. CANNES, France — President Obama plunged Thursday into the fast-moving European debt crisis, arriving here to exhort European leaders to get their financial house in order. But while the president hustled from meeting to meeting with world leaders, he was in many ways thrust into the rare position of bystander, as the unfolding drama over whether the Greek government would fall (it did not) and whether Greece would back the comprehensive accord to protect the euro reached last week (it will, at least for now) dominated conversations in the hallways and conference rooms here in this iconic seaside town. The grand Espace Riviera is more accustomed to red-carpet arrivals by movie stars and hangers-on for the Cannes Film Festival; on Thursday it was transformed instead into ground zero for blue-suited bureaucrats grappling with a financial crisis and the global contagion that it threatened. Instead of Angelina Jolie posing before the paparazzi, it was Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany holding a frozen smile as she greeted Mr. Obama in front of the cameras. There was little preening before the hundreds of reporters gathered from all over the world; President Nicolas Sarkozy of France quickly swept Mr. Obama into a meeting to discuss how to try to stop the unfolding Greek drama from turning into a tragedy, for global markets at least. Mr. Obama arrived early Thursday morning and, during an initial meeting with Mr. Sarkozy, he called the European financial crisis the most important task for world leaders gathered at the Group of 20 economic summit meeting. For Mr. Obama, the stakes are high. He has called the European financial crisis the largest headwind facing the American economic recovery, and he knows that his own re-election prospects are tied to how well the American economy does. But at the same time, his leverage is limited. In public, Mr. Obama largely stuck to his administration’s official message that Europe’s leaders must â€Å"flesh out details† about the plan they agreed to last week in Brussels to deal with the debt crisis in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro. But American officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, were huddled in private with their European counterparts trying to hash out an agreement that, at the very least, would stop the disintegration under way in Greece from spreading toItaly and Spain, a contagion that could further stymie America’s own anemic economic recovery. American officials exhorted their European counterparts to use Europe’s own resources to try to solve the crisis, instead of seeking bailout help from China. Obama administration officials point to the steps that the United States took to try to address its own financial crisis over the past three years. â€Å"Look, we went through this ourselves,† an Obama administration official said on Thursday, speaking on grounds of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. â€Å"They have the capacity to handle this within Europe.† Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said that the 2008 Wall Street crisis could provide insight on steps Europe should take. He maintained that the United States remains influential in advising its allies on how to deal with the problem, even if the United States is in no position to provide financial support. â€Å"The United States, obviously, has a great deal of influence, because of who we are and the role we play i n the global economy, and globally in general,† Mr. Carney said in a news briefing on Wednesday. â€Å"I would not discount the significance of the experience that we have in terms of its usefulness to the Europeans.† The Obama administration is not eager to see an increase in the resources sent by the International Monetary Fund to Europe; that might further mute American influence as the additional resources would most likely not come from the United States, but rather from Asia — and most likely China. â€Å"The I.M.F. has a substantial amount of resources to deal with a range of challenges in Europe and around the world,† said Benjamin Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. Michael Froman, the deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, said the turmoil in Greece and uncertainty over how exactly Europe plans to carry out its accord to cut Greece’s debt and shore up its finances â€Å"underscores the need to move rapidly toward the full elaboration and implementation of the plan.† Specifically, Mr. Froman said that the United States wants to make sure that Europe has â€Å"a firewall that is sufficiently r obust and effective ensuring the crisis does not spread from one country to another.† Mr. Froman said the United States was also trying to make sure that attention was also paid to stimulating economic growth, both in Greece and throughout the euro zone. Part of the anger among Greek citizens has stemmed from a belief that the euro agreement focuses more on Greek austerity and repaying the banks than on growth, a balance that many people fear could lead to higher unemployment rates as the Greek government cuts public sector jobs to pay its creditors and stabilize its finances. â€Å"I think right now the highest priority in Greece is stabilizing the situation,† Mr. Froman said. â€Å"But the program that Greece has is also about reforming its system and engaging in structural reforms, so that it could become more competitive and therefore grow as part of the euro area.† NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Europes top leaders said Sunday that they were getting closer to finalizing a plan to solve Europes debt crisis. But with a final agreement not expected before Wednesday, the actual details remained under wraps. The technical complexities are significant, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, adding that there are large amounts of money involved. The European Council, comprising government heads from all 27 members of the European Union, met Sunday in Brussels to hammer out a plan to boost capital levels for banks, enhance a government-backed rescue fund and provide debt relief for Greece. Speaking alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Sarkozy said in a midday press conference that the leaders had made progress on the ambitious and durable response to the long-running crisis. We would not be meeting on Wednesday if we were not really trying this time, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told CNN. Meanwhile, Merkel noted that EU finance ministers had made progress over the weekend on a solution for capital-starved banks. In principle, the finance ministers have agreed to funnel about â‚ ¬100 billion into banks to boost capital levels. But Merkel added that strengthening banks without resolving the debt crisis in Greece and supporting other nations with unsustainable debts will not work. Europes debt crisis: full coverageEchoing past statements, Sarkozy and Merkel said banks should first raise money from the private sector before seeking state aid or money from the EU bailout fund. These issues must all be resolved, Merkel said. Its a painful process. Sarkozy stressed that the leaders are fully aware of their responsibilities, saying they have a moral, political and economical obligation to act decisively. The leaders are also working on how best to leverage the European Financial Stability Facility. The â‚ ¬440 billion fund, which was recently granted the power to intervene in sovereign debt markets and provide loans for governments that need to recapitalize banks, is widely seen as needing additional firepower. Its important to boost the emergency fund to protect the euro, said Merkel. But many EU governments have ruled out backing the fund up with additional loan guarantees.

Royal Library Of Alexandria History Essay

Royal Library Of Alexandria History Essay The Alexandria Library was the largest and most complete library of antiquity and certainly the greatest before the invention of printing. Only fragments and minor comments in ancient authorities are extant in current times. However, the history of the Alexandria Library [Library] remains of central importance in the intellectual history of the classical world as it is thought to contain the best-kept collection of classical literature.  [1]   With the help of historians and theorists as well as texts and historiographies, it is possible to retrace the founding, patronage, and operations of the Library; relate estimates about number of scrolls housed in the Library; and examine legends of its ultimate demise. The purpose of this essay is to review and synthesize the current knowledge of this most famous Library and reconsider its place in classical intellectual history. Alexandria, Egypt: Crossroads of Culture Scholars at the Center of Hellenic Studies at Kings College, London, view Alexandria of Ptolemaic Egypt as a city that was multi-cultural from its beginnings and a focal point for international trade and cultural development.  [2]  Situated between Africa and Europe, the meeting place of all races and creeds, Alexandria was the center of learning in the ancient world. It was a city of Greeks, Macedonians, Egyptians and Jews with the latter group making up about a third of the population. During the height of its power, Alexandria was said to have most abundant and helpful resources and be a nursing mother to men of every nation.  [3]   The Creation and Patronage of the Royal Library of the Ptolemies After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, his empire was divided into three parts with the Ptolemies dominating Egypt. Under the rule of the Ptolemies, Alexandria housed a Greco-Macedonian court ruling an Egyptian kingdom. Green explains that the Ptolemaic dynasty ran Egypt as a private estate and at a profit which supported scholarship, mercenaries, processions, etc.The Museum and its library played a fundamental role in justifying the rule of the Macedonian-Greek dynasty over Egypt.  [4]  The Library and its community of scholars flourished during the Hellenistic era of the Ptolemies. It has been thought to survive through the Roman Empire, but this finding is a source of debate among scholars. Historian John Marlowe describes how the Library at Alexandria emerged during the period roughly contemporary with Platos Academy, Aristotles Lyceum, Zenos Stoa and the school of Epicurus. Aristotles school in Athens, the Lyceum, had a shrine of the Muses and a library and promoted a universal concept of studies.  [5]  The Ptolemies envisioned Alexandria as a meeting place where scholars of the earth should extend the scientific horizons of man, suggestive of the Lyceum itself. Based on research from historian Edward Parsons, the foundation of the Museum-Library is attributed to Ptolemy Soter and/or his son Ptolemy II. The foundation and continuing support of the Museum and Library owed much to the pioneering work that Aristotle, and, to a lesser extent, Platos Academy, had already undertaken.  [6]   The Alexandria Museum (Temple of the Muses) was a gathering of scholars from all over the world. A Museum (Mouseion) was a shrine or center dedicated to the Muses and often associated with literary studies. The Muses been connected with thinkers and philosophers at least as early as the time of Pythagoras. According to Green, by the time of Aristotle a Museum embodied the features of an intellectual community including cult center, residence buildings, common meals, library holdings and research, and surrounding cloisters and garden. Timon of Philus, lampoonist, wrote of Ptolemys Alexandrian think tank: In the polyglot land of Egypt many now find pasturage as endowed scribblers, endlessly quarreling in the Muses bird cage. For the first three generations of Ptolemies, at least, relations with the Alexandrians were good. This, then, was the atmosphere in which Ptolemaic scholars, poets, and scientists operated.  [7]   History of the Royal Library Operations Information about how the library was run is subject to speculation. According to Parsons, scholars do not have a great deal of information about where and how the papyrus scrolls were stored; the dimensions of the collections; what role the other library, the Serapeum library, had in Alexandrian cultural life. Even the information about the demise of the library refers to a space of six centuries, from the age of Caesar to the age of the prophet Muhammad.  [8]   It is likely the first Ptolemies acquired and stored papyrus scrolls in the Museum. In order to manage this huge and increasing collection of texts, scholars devised a way to classify and order them according to various criteria, the most important evidence for which is represented by the work of Callimachus of Cyrene, who was a leading figure not only in the history of the library of Alexandria, but also in the tradition of Greek scholarship. Historian Roger Bagnall has described that despite volumes of scholarship, both the historical evidence and archaeological remnant of the Library and Museum at Alexandria are rather scant: The disparity between, on the one hand, the grandeur and importance of this library, both in its reality in antiquity and in its image both ancient and modern, and, on the other, our nearly total ignorance about it, has been unbearable. No one, least of all modern scholars, has been able to accept our lack of knowledge about a phenomenon that embodies so many human aspirations. In consequence, a whole literature of wishful thinking has grown up, in which scholars even, I fear, the most rigorous have cast aside the time-tested methods that normally constrain credulity, in order to be able to avoid confessing defeat.  [9]   The position of Demetrius (ca. 384-348) of Phaleron is more secure, as he was a prominent figure in the foundation of the Museum and Library. Aristeas, writing 100 years after the librarys inception, records that Ptolemy I handed assigned Demetrius the job of gathering books and scrolls, as well as letting him supervise a massive effort to translate other cultures works into Greek.  [10]  Demetrius recommended that Ptolemy gather materials on ruling in the style of Platos philosopher-kings. An estimated 30-50 scholars were probably permanently housed at the Museum, funded by the royal family, and later by public money.  [11]   Demetrius had been a pupil of Aristotle and Theophrastos at Aristotles Lyceum. The practice of getting the best scholars or poets to educate the crown prince was something that Ptolemy had had occasion to observe in Macedonia, where the young Alexander had been taught by Aristotle himself. It became a common practice for the Librarian also to serve as royal tutor: Apollonius and Aristarchus certainly did so. Parsons describes Demetrius as an orator and philosopher who dyed his hair blond and rouged his cheeks and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦anointed his person with Eastern salves. He ruled Athens for ten years à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦with moderation and without disaster is an achievement. His critical judgments of ancient texts were much admired.  [12]  Green describes the responsibility that Demetrius had to the Library which included a strong sense that the literary heritage of archaic and classical Greece was in danger of being lost through indifference and neglect.  [13]  Looking at the subsequent history of the transmission of texts, the fear seems well justified. According to Green, the scholars who staffed the Library saw their mission as the rescue of past Greek literature, and set themselves to obtain copies of every known work. Royal purchasers combed the book marts of the Aegean and Asia Minor, the best of which were located in Athens and Rhodes. It was inevitable that numerous forgeries began to circulate. With such an influx of material, the Librarians first major task was to organize accessions and cataloging.  [14]  In about 25 BCE Vitruvius writes about how Aristophanes of Byzantium earned the job of librarian after memorizing most of the Librarys contents  [15]  . Parsons describes how the Ptolemies and their agents ransacked the Hellenic, Mediterranean and Asian cities for literary manuscripts and records. At the port of Alexandria, vessels were searched and books that were found were confiscated with copies made for their rightful owners.  [16]  These rolls, known as the salvaged material, were not (says Galen) delivered directly to the Library, but consigned in the first instance to warehouses, where they were stored in heaps a description.  [17]  Based on sources from Ellis, Ptolemy III wrote a letter to all the worlds sovereigns asking to borrow their books.  [18]  Legend has it that when Athens lent Ptolemy the texts of Euripides, Aeschylus, and Sophocles, he had them copied, returned the copies, and kept the originals. Another of the Librarians responsibilities was the establishment of sound texts purged of scribal errors made during the process of transmission.  [19]   The librarians were reputed to include some of the great figures of ancient scholarship. Bevan refers to the first recorded librarian in Alexandria as Zenodotus of Ephesus, holding that post until 245 B.C.E. His successor Callimachus of Cyrene, may have been Alexandrias most famous librarian, created a subject catalog in 120,000 scrolls of the Librarys holdings.  [20]  The Greek alphabet with less than thirty symbols was learned by almost everyone. An improvement took place in handwriting and developed a more elegant, flowing script, which made both for easier copying and quicker, and more comfortable reading.  [21]   According to Marlowe, librarian Eratosthenes (275-194 B.C.E) amassed a catalog of 44 constellations complete with background myths, as well as a list of 475 fixed stars. Eratosthenes, drawing on Egyptian and Near Eastern observations, deduced the length of the year to 365 1/4 days and was the first to suggest the idea of adding a leap day every four years.  [22]  The last recorded librarian was Aristarchus of Samothrace, the astronomer, who took up the position in 180 B.C.E. during dynastic struggles between two Ptolemies. From that time onward no librarians are mentioned by name in any historical record. Marlowe maintains that the Museum excelled at producing great geometers by assembling the geometric principles of earlier Greek mathematicians, and had access to Babylonian and Egyptian knowledge of geometry.  [23]  Archimedes was one of the early Alexandria scholars to apply theories of motion to mechanical devices. Among his discoveries were the lever and as an extension of the same principle the Archimedes screw, a hand-cranked device for lifting water.  [24]   In the second century C.E., Galen drew upon Alexandrias vast researches and his own investigations to compile fifteen books on anatomy and the art of medicine.  [25]  Herophilus, both collected and compiled the Hippocratic corpus at Alexandria. There has been some conflict about the fate of Aristotles books, once thought to be at the core of the collection, may have been carried off to Rome by Sulla  [26]  . Size and Scale of the Library at Alexandria Alexandrian scholars were provided with a library containing a huge collection of papyrus scrolls and entrusted them to explore every field of human knowledge. The Library may have been reserved for scholars of the Museum just as many modern research libraries are closed to people not affiliated to a scientific or academic institution. In addition to the great Library, located in the Bruchion district of Alexandria, there was a smaller library, called a sister or daughter library that still existed at the time of Caesar and was situated inside the temple of Serapis.  [27]   The manuscripts gathered by Demetrius and his successors were bundles of writings forming high piles in the Museum warehouse. Mixed rolls must have contained many duplicates. Parsons reports that there were 532,800 rolls, of which 132,800 single rolls were considered premier finds. The sister library may have contained 42,800 rolls, probably copies of the writings shelved in the bigger library. The brittle and frail paper of Egypt was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ fragile media indeed on which to confide the precious knowledge and wisdom of the ages. They were subject to damage by fire, water, rodents, and worms.  [28]   Johnson describes the physical stacks which consisted of pigeonholes or racks for the scrolls, some of which were wrapped in linen or leather jackets. From Roman times manuscripts were written in codex (book) form, and were often stored in wooden chests called armaria.  [29]  According to Bevan, Callimachus cataloged 400,000 mixed scrolls of multiple chapters and 90,000 unmixed scrolls.  [30]   Bagnall has studied the size of the Alexandrian library, and he concludes that either more than ninety percent of classical authors are not even quoted in the surviving Greek literature, or that the Ptolemies acquired a dozen copies of everything, or some combination of these unlikely hypotheses.  [31]  Seneca quotes Livy that over the 40,000 volumes were housed in grain depots near the Alexandria harbor, which were supposedly incinerated when Julius Caesar torched the fleet of Cleopatras brother and rival monarch.  [32]   However, Hannam argues this would likely be the number of papyrus scrolls and many of these were needed to make up an entire book. He believes that Senecas figure of 40,000 is more reasonable and still makes the Royal Library much larger than any of the later classical or medieval libraries.  [33]  Using Gellius as a source, the figure reaches 700,000 books. It is clear that ancient figures vary by wide margins.  [34]  The higher numbers have been accepted by many modern scholars, in spite of the fact that lacking modern inventory systems, ancient librarians, even if they cared to, scarcely had the time or means to count their collections.  [35]   How the Royal Library was destroyed In 48 BCE, Caesar was pursuing Pompey into Egypt when he was cut off by an Egyptian fleet at Alexandria. Outnumbered and in enemy territory, Caesar ordered the ships in the harbor to be set on fire. The fire spread and burned down part of the city where the great Library stood. The earliest account of the destruction of the Library in The Civil Wars by Julius Caesar who states he had to set the fleet in the harbor on fire for his own safety and that some ports arsenals also went up in flames. Plutarch, writing his Life of Caesar at the end of the first century CE, refers that the renowned library was burnt down by the fire Caesar.  [36]  Aulus Gellius, a second century author, included in his Attic Nights a brief passage about libraries where the destruction of the Royal Library is mentioned as taking place by accident during the Romans first war against Alexandria when auxiliary soldiers started a fire.  [37]   In a later book The Alexandrine War 1, Caesar does not mention setting fire to Alexandria but does state that the city was made of stone and would not burn.  [38]  Some scholars argue that Alexandria burns as well as any city and perhaps Caesar was attempting to hide his actions.  [39]  Cicero is silent on a fire in Alexandria in his Philippics.  [40]  . The second story of the Librarys destruction is more popular, thanks primarily to Gibbons The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Theophilus was Patriarch of Alexandria from 385 to 412 CE. During his reign the Temple of Serapis was converted into a Christian Church, and it is likely that many documents were destroyed then. Legend has it that Hypatia, a fifth-century scholar and mathematician of Alexandria, was dragged from her chariot by a mob of monks who burned her upon the remnants of the old Library.  [41]   One of the most famous legends about the Great Library is that of it being burnt down on the instructions of the Caliph Omar after Alexandria had been captured by the Arabs. However, Edward Gibbon reports this is not true.  [42]  In 640 CE the Moslems took the city of Alexandria although this story is attributed to a Christian who spent a great deal of time writing about Moslem atrocities without much historical documentation. Unfortunately most of the writers from Plutarch (who apparently blamed Caesar) to Edward Gibbons (blamed Christians) to Bishop Gregory (who was particularly anti-Moslem, blamed Omar) may be biased. It is possible that the collection ebbed and flowed as some documents were destroyed and others were added. For instance, Mark Antony was supposed to have given Cleopatra over 200,000 scrolls for the Library long after Julius Caesar is accused of burning it. It is likely that even if the Museum was destroyed with the main library, the outlying daughter library at the Temple of Serapis continued on. Many writers seem to equate the Library of Alexandria with the Library of Serapis although technically they were in two different parts of the city.  [43]  Historian Canfora is skeptical and her interpretation is that Plutarchs passage is an interpolation  [44]  . Hannam interprets Plutarch as merely reporting a list of slanders against Antony made others.  [45]   Hannam maintains that the Royal Library of Alexandria was not standing during the Christian era. It is his theory that a major library was founded at the Serapeum during its rebuilding in the second century CE and that this library became confused in the minds of various writers with the Royal Library of the Ptolemies that had disappeared over two centuries before. The Serapeum ceased to be when a Christian mob tore it down to the foundations under the leadership of the orthodox patriarch Theophilus after he had received word from the Emperor Theodosius. The year this happened is generally fixed to AD391 and it is one of the best attested events in late antiquity. The Serapeum library was probably founded as an adornment to the new Roman temple. Although there are no details as to its size, it would have been quite large enough to be confused with the earlier Royal Library.  [46]   The Library is often portrayed as the repository of all ancient wisdom and that its loss meant that science would progress at a much slower pace. Hannam believes the truth of the matter is that the Library was an important institution in the history but that its destruction in the first century BCE did not spell the end of ancient scholarship. In fact, Alexandria remained the Mediterraneans intellectual capital for seven centuries afterwards due to the library in the Serapeum and patronage of Roman Emperors. Hannam goes on to explain that in the final analysis, the Arab invasion ended the story of the Alexandria library. A that point, the cultural inheritance from the ancient world would be preserved in Constantinople and Baghdad.  [47]   Historian Luciano Canfora explains that placing the Librarys disappearance in the first century B.C.E., as opposed to four centuries later or even later at the end of the seventh century, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦necessarily alters our perception of the quality of the Greek literature that has come down to us. Canfora recounts the major theories: the catastrophe is blamed either on Julius Caesar (48/47 B.C.E.) or on the fanaticism of the Arabs who conquered Alexandria in 642 A.D. Canfora supports the latter theory because the flow translations from Greek flowing through Egypt came to a halt at the end of the seventh century. Roger Bagnalls theory is that the disappearance of the Library is the result of the end of the impetus and interest that brought it into being and of the lack of the kind of sustained management and maintenance that would have seen it through successive transitions in the physical media by means of which the texts could have been transmitted. The library of Alexandria began to disappear when the community of scholars for which it had been created was broken up; or when, as Bagnall says, the generative impetus of the first centuries ended. Conclusions Repeatedly rebuilt, modified, and burned, the few facts that can be determined about the Librarys long history convey its semi-legendary status. Delia has underlined the literary and romantic character of these traditions, which are not more reliable, from a historical point of view, than the novel.  [48]   The central place of the Alexandrian library in Western cultural memory derives from a combination of several factors: the foundation project; the connection between the library and the Museum; the capability of the Alexandrian library to generate knowledge, and not only to accumulate it; its destruction, a symbol of countless similar tragedies. Each of these elements concerns the present and future of our civilization, no less than its ancient roots.

Transformation in Louise Erdrichs The Red Convertible Essay -- Red C

Transformation in Louise Erdrich's The Red Convertible      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible," the two main characters start off doing seemingly well. However, there are many changes that these two young men go through during the story. Henry experiences the largest transformation due to his involvement in the Vietnam War. This transformation also alters Henry's brother, Lyman, although not for the same reasons. As the story progresses, and these certain events take place, the brothers' innocence is soon lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the war, the Lamartine brothers, Henry and Lyman, are naive and carefree. They spend all of their time together. They even buy a car together. This red convertible is the most notable way that Erdrich represents the boys' innocence in the story. To get this car, they spend all of the money they have, without even thinking about it. "[B]efore we had thought it over at all, the car belonged to us and our pockets were empty" (461). Soon after purchasing the red convertible, Henry and Lyman set off driving with no real destination. They simply explore the country, going where the road takes them. They have no responsibility, no worries, nowhere to be, and nothing that has to be done. The boys "just lived [their] everyday lives here to there" (461). Lyman and Henry fall asleep under willow trees, wake up, and begin driving again. During their expedition, they meet a girl named Susy. Susy lives in Chicken, Alaska, where they agree to take her. Upon reaching Alaska, the boys do not want to return home. There, where the sun never really sets in the summer, they hardly sleep at all. They live like animals. Before they leave, before winter, an interesting thing happens that truly exp... ...who endures pain. His brother, Lyman, suffers from many of the same things as Henry. Lyman also experiences post-traumatic stress. Although Lyman seems to acknowledge this stress in a rather different way than Henry, it is there all the same. Just as Henry tries to give the red convertible up to his brother, Lyman does the same in the end, and pushes it right back to him. The red car represents a bond between the two brothers, and with Henry gone, Lyman can not bear to have it around anymore. Unfortunately, getting rid of the car does not take care of Lyman's pain. Even a long time after Henry's death, Lyman still experiences post-traumatic stress.   Only now he has a tragedy of his own to endure.    Work Cited Erdrich, Louise. "The Red Convertible." The Story and Its Writer. 5th ed. Ed. Ann Charters.   Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 460-67. Transformation in Louise Erdrich's The Red Convertible Essay -- Red C Transformation in Louise Erdrich's The Red Convertible      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible," the two main characters start off doing seemingly well. However, there are many changes that these two young men go through during the story. Henry experiences the largest transformation due to his involvement in the Vietnam War. This transformation also alters Henry's brother, Lyman, although not for the same reasons. As the story progresses, and these certain events take place, the brothers' innocence is soon lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the war, the Lamartine brothers, Henry and Lyman, are naive and carefree. They spend all of their time together. They even buy a car together. This red convertible is the most notable way that Erdrich represents the boys' innocence in the story. To get this car, they spend all of the money they have, without even thinking about it. "[B]efore we had thought it over at all, the car belonged to us and our pockets were empty" (461). Soon after purchasing the red convertible, Henry and Lyman set off driving with no real destination. They simply explore the country, going where the road takes them. They have no responsibility, no worries, nowhere to be, and nothing that has to be done. The boys "just lived [their] everyday lives here to there" (461). Lyman and Henry fall asleep under willow trees, wake up, and begin driving again. During their expedition, they meet a girl named Susy. Susy lives in Chicken, Alaska, where they agree to take her. Upon reaching Alaska, the boys do not want to return home. There, where the sun never really sets in the summer, they hardly sleep at all. They live like animals. Before they leave, before winter, an interesting thing happens that truly exp... ...who endures pain. His brother, Lyman, suffers from many of the same things as Henry. Lyman also experiences post-traumatic stress. Although Lyman seems to acknowledge this stress in a rather different way than Henry, it is there all the same. Just as Henry tries to give the red convertible up to his brother, Lyman does the same in the end, and pushes it right back to him. The red car represents a bond between the two brothers, and with Henry gone, Lyman can not bear to have it around anymore. Unfortunately, getting rid of the car does not take care of Lyman's pain. Even a long time after Henry's death, Lyman still experiences post-traumatic stress.   Only now he has a tragedy of his own to endure.    Work Cited Erdrich, Louise. "The Red Convertible." The Story and Its Writer. 5th ed. Ed. Ann Charters.   Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 460-67.

Albert Einstein :: essays research papers

Albert Einstein   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Einstein was a German/American physicist who contributed more to the 20th century vision of physical reality than any other scientist. Einstein's theory of RELATIVITY seemed to a lot of people to be pure human thought, as did his other theories. LIFE Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879. Einstein's parents were nonobservant Jews. They moved to Munich from Ulm when Einstein was an infant. The family business was to manufacture electrical equipment. When the business failed in 1894, the family move to Milan, Italy. He decided to officially give up his German citizenship. With in a year, still not having completed secondary school, he failed and examination that allow him to follow studies that would lead to a diploma in electrical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (the Zurich Polytechnic). He spent the following year in Aarau where there were excellent teachers and an excellent physics facility. In 1896 he returned to the Zurich Polytechnic, there he graduated in 1900 as a secondary school teacher of math and physics. Two years later, he acquired a post at the Swiss patent office in Bern. While he was employed there from 1902 to 1909, he completed an extraordinary range of publications in theoretical physics. Most parts of there were written in his spare time. In 1905 he submitted one of his many scientific papers to the University of Zurich to obtain a Ph.D. degree. In 1908 he sent another scientific paper to the University of Bern and became a lecturer there. In 1914 Einstein returned to Germany but did not reapply for citizenship. He was one of only handful of German professors who was opposed the use of force and did not support Germany's war aims. After the war, the allies wanted the removal of German scientist from international meetings, but Einstein was a Jew and traveling with a Swiss passport, he remained an acceptable German delegate. Albert Einstein's political views as a pacifist and a Zionist placed him against conservatives in Germany, who labeled him a traitor and a defeatist. In Germany there was a rise of fascism, so he moved to the united states in 1933 and abandoned his pacifism. He unwillingly agreed that the new danger (the Germans) had to be brought down by force of arms. In 1939 he sent a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that urged America to continue to develop an ATOMIC BOMB before the Germans did. This letter was one of many exchanges the White House and Einstein had. This contributed to Roosevelt's decision to fund what became the MANHATAN PROJECT.

The Greek Column :: Architecture Architectural Essays History

The Greek Column A French champagne cognac with a Centaur trademark, called Remy Martin, is featured in several magazine advertisements resting on a column in various positions. The one being analyzed in this article shows the bottle of Remy Martin and a pair of glasses placed on top of a column so tall that it reaches above the clouds. It invites the viewer: "Want to come up for a drink sometime?" At the bottom right corner, the Centaur logo is repeated, along with a short description of its origin and a complimentary video offer. Found in the October issue of Vanity Fair, it targets adult women readers who, perhaps, want a fashion enlightenment. Both the column and the slab on top of it appear to be made out of concrete, covered with plaster, whitewashed, and then it was given a chipping effect. Its purpose is to support the bottle of Remy Martin and the glasses for someone who can reach high enough for a drink. The use of the column in ancient architectures, however, do not include exhibiting a beverage. From the remarkable Roman Pantheon, dated from the second century B.C., to the Chartres Cathedral in France, which began construction in the mid-twelfth century A.D., the column is widely used according to different tastes and architectural purposes. It is a Greek creation emerged from the Archaic period between 6oo-480 B.C., during which the two elevation designs from Greek temples, called the Ionic and Doric orders, came into form. The Corinthian order is the third classical Greek architectural order originally used in interiors, which began to appear around 450 B.C. The Greeks used columns in architectures including the Parthenon, the Tholos and the mausoleums, sometimes in pairs and sometimes in colonnades. All three orders, occasionally with various different modifications, were adapted by other civilizations such as the Romans and the Etruscans. They were erected in temples, Cathedrals, Forums, on city streets or even in residents as a supporting device for arches, entablatures , ceilings or roofs. They are also incorporated in reliefs for tombs and cathedrals and expressed in Roman wall paintings. For example, the bedroom walls in the House of Publius Fannius in Boscoreale were decorated with images of columns in fantastic Roman cityscapes. (Stokstad, p.162-213, 223-283, 553-556.) The column used in the Remy Martin advertisement does not clearly belong to any classical Greek order or its later variants. However, it resembles a down-sized column of the Doric Order because of its recognizable Doric-like capital, though its components are only representative.

A critical analysis of “Charles V & Philip his Son” by Marino Cavalli, 1554

This is a critical analysis of a written piece by Marino Cavalli as he writes his thoughts about the comparisons between the current King; Charles V, and his son and heir Philip. Cavalli has documented the concerns he has about Philip's inability to adequately rule over ‘various peoples' when he comes to power. Cavalli was the Venetian Ambassador in France at the time, and had a vested interest in who succeeded Charles V to the throne. Cavalli begins by making basic observations about the physical similarities between father and son; their appearance, their habits and their demeanour. â€Å"His Highness is now in his twenty-fourth year, of very delicate complexion and medium stature. In both face and mind he resembles his father..† This is the first, and last positive evaluation he makes about Philip. It becomes clear very quickly that he harbours numerous doubts about Philip's ability to come to power and manage different countries, when he favours being advised by a solely Spanish council, who would clearly have preference for their own agenda. â€Å"He takes excessive pleasure in being revered, and he maintains with everyone, no matter who he may be, a greater haughtiness than his father,†. Cavalli obviously worries that Philip does not attempt to earn the respect of his subjects or nobility. He manages to infer a negative edge to the term ‘revere' cleverly using insinuation to make the reader consider this to be an unattractive quality, and demonstrates a preference for Charles V over Philip as he goes on to say; â€Å"They have good reason, being used to his father, who knows extremely well how to adjust himself by various ways to all kinds of people.† If Cavalli's dilemma was merely a loyalty preference for Charles V it could be argued that he was politicking. Especially considering his Venetian roots and French ties, and the fact that the European countries were constantly warring for power, land and control. But when taking into account his other reservations about Philip's eventual rise to power, (which were similar to a great many other opinions of the time), the historian; with the grace of hindsight, can see that his concerns were well founded. It was well known that Charles V (despite the many wars he fought) was hungrier for peace than to acquire land, and he made the best efforts to maintain civility with the neighbouring states, whether or not they had previously fought each other for the rite to rule. Charles V was also recognised as having a very tolerant nature regarding the religious preferences of the people he governed. He was aware of the protestant uprising, and did not make it a priority to come down on his subjects with the severity he could have. As his son Philip would do in later years. It would seem Philip was destined to live in his fathers shadow; â€Å"But owing to the greatness of his father, and the fact that he was born great and has not yet proved himself in any work, he will never appear in the last analysis as the equal of the emperor.† Cavalli felt that Philip had cut himself off from all but the Spanish. â€Å"One may judge that when this prince succeeds to the government of his states he will be served wholly by Spanish ministers, for he is inclined towards that people more than is fitting in a prince who wishes to rule over various peoples†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And he was quite right, Philip did move to Spain never returning to live in Holland, he refused to speak the language and did keep virtually a wholly Spanish council. His preference for Spain was widely known at the time, and widely documented in the historical years to follow. This piece of text is written in a personal, almost diary or journal entry style which allows Cavalli to articulate freely his concerns. It would seem that Cavalli's fears were realised once Philip came to power, although there would have been nothing Cavalli could have done to bring about change, as Philip was born into the time when Royalty were believed to be born with a divine rite to rule, and due to the sheer population numbers of the countries that he resided over, he was always able to gain favour somewhere, especially when his main goal was to crush the protestant reformation and gain land and title, no matter what the cost.