Western Europe Religion Change and Continuity over Time free essay sample

During the time period from the beginning of the Roman Empire to the Crusades, there were changes and continuities in religion. After Christianity became the main religion in the Roman Empire, it slowly changed as time went on and in some areas remained the same. At the beginning of the Roman Empire the Romans were a polytheistic people. They believed in many gods, which they adopted from the Greeks in Southern Italy. The Romans copied many of the Greek gods and myths but gave them different names, for example, Jupiter was the Greek god Zeus and Mars was the god Greek god Ares. People began to worship emperors during the reign of Emperor Augustus, the first emperor. Augustus didn’t demand it but the people did it anyway. Emperor Caligula was the emperor to demand to be worshipped. A cult of the living emperor was developed as a way to increase the loyalty of the people. We will write a custom essay sample on Western Europe Religion Change and Continuity over Time or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Christianity developed in a small Roman province called Judea by a man named Jesus, a carpenter from Galilee. He preached for about 3 years before the Jewish leaders brought him to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. Jesus was imprisoned, condemned, and executed by crucifixion. Three days after his death, he rose up again. His followers, the Apostles, began to spread his word among the Jews trying to convince that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God and that he was resurrected. A man named, Paul of Tarsus, persecuted the Christian church at first but when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he began to believe. Paul became the greatest Christian missionary in the world. He preached to the mainly to the Gentiles and many people believed. For more than two centuries, the Christian Church grew slowly but steadily. Many of the first believers were poor people, women and slaves. As the church grew and prospered, they developed a hierarchy of priests and bishops. Christians were forbidden to worship other gods. So, many early Christians were persecuted by Roman officials, who regarded their refusal to worship the Emperor as disloyalty. Despite the occasional government sponsored persecution, for example feeding them to hungry lions in arenas, and spontaneous mob attacks. The religion continued to gain strength and attract converts. By the late third century, Christians were a sizable minority within the Roman Empire and many held posts in local and imperial governments. The persecution finally stopped with the Edict of Milan in 312, when Emperor Constantine saw the vision of the cross before a major battle. He believed that the Christian God helped him and so he made Christianity the Empires official religion. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman nobles lost control of the papacy –office of the pope- and it became a powerful international power after the tenth century. Councils of bishops became increasingly responsive to papal direction. Regional disagreements over church regulations, difficult communications, a shortage of trained clergy and political disorder formed formidable obstacles to unifying the church. Church problems also included lingering polytheism, nepotism and simony. The church decided to unify the church by combing polytheism and heretical beliefs. For example, December 25th, the day Jesus was born, was a Pagan holiday associated with the Winter Solstice, and had significance in many local belief systems. They also built churches on sacred sites. In politically fragmented Western Europe, the pope need allies so he created the Holy Roman Empire and crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in 962. Fights between the pope and the Holy Roman Emperors were common and they were mostly about who had more power over bishops in imperial lands. This is called investiture controversy. This was somewhat resolved in 1122 with the Concordat of Worms. The Emperor renounced his right to choose bishops and abbots or bestow spiritual symbols on them. The Pope permitted the emperor to invest papally appointed bishops and abbots. Monasticism was prominent in the religious life of almost all medieval Christian lands. People who lived in the religious communities were devoted to continual prayer, chastity, obedience and poverty. Monasteries were primary centers of learning and literacy in medieval Europe. The Crusades were from 1095 to 1204. They were armed pilgrimages to the Holy Land by Christians determined to recover Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The reforming leaders of the Latin Church, sought to soften the warlike tone society, so they created The Truce of God. This limited fighting between Christian lords by specifying the truce, such as during Lent (forty days before Easter) and Sundays. Many people made pilgrimages to the Holy Land for many different reasons, even though Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria were under Muslim control, the pilgrims were generally tolerated and protected. Despite the differences between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus asked the pope and western European rulers to help him confront the Muslim threat and reconquer what the Christians termed as the Holy Land. At the Council of Clermont in 1095, Pope Urban II addressed a huge crowd and told them to stop fighting amongst themselves and go to the Holy Land to fight the Muslims. So people cut cloth into crosses and sewed them unto their shirts to symbolize their willingness to march to Jerusalem. This became known as the first Crusade. The Pope Urban promised to free crusaders who had committed sins from their normal penance, the usual reward for peaceful pilgrims to Jerusalem. The First Crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099, which was the only successful crusade. The Muslims recaptured Jerusalem in 1187. By the time of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the original religious enthusiasm had diminished to a point where the Crusaders agreed to sack Constantinople to help pay the cost of transporting the army by ship. In conclusion, there still is a pope in Rome today who stills yields a lot of power. Christianity is the most practiced religion in the world, Islam being the second. You can still find monks and nuns living in monasteries today as well.

Medical Ethics4 essays

Medical Ethics4 essays Medical Ethics Bioethics comprise every possible aspect of health care, medical, moral, social, political, religious, legal and financial? (Weiss 3). This includes the questions raised by new research. It takes a look at the results of that research that is used on patients. It takes into consideration contemporary ideas of personal freedom and human dignity. It deals with growth in medical services available in the United States and the sky rocketing cost. Bioethics also deals with the medical advances in technology that has reshaped traditional medical ethics. Medical ethics have changed drastically over a period of years. From old commandments to new commandments, guidelines that provide structural framework, classic experiments that challenge that framework, or even how things are defined in medical ethics.Medical progress goes on, and the perils of progress must be heeded? (Leone 165). Changing times have in turn changed our codes of ethics. There are five old commandments of et hics and five new commandments of ethics. These commandments come from many years of heavily advised dictates from various people. A commandment by definition is, ... a dictate or a strongly advised piece of advice? (Halsey 201). The first traditional commandment is, Treat all human life as of equal worth? (Singer 190). This statement is very difficult to follow; almost no person believes this statement whole-heartedly. The statement makes more sense on paper or just being heard, but its application in life is almost impossible to ensure. In comparison to the first old ethic, the first new ethic states,Recognize that the worth of human life varies? (Singer 190). This statement allows for variation and livability in society. It gives way for someone to say, if a person is a vegetable, has no vital capabilities, this person's life is of no worth anymore. Without this sort of change in today's advancing civilization, it would make it ethically wrong topull ...

6 Steps to Acing Your Second Interview

6 Steps to Acing Your Second Interview Congrats! You must have done something right in your first interview if they’ve called you back for a second round. This means you’re seriously in the running. Good news! But you’re not there yet. Their motives for calling you back could be as varied as wanting you to speak with other members of the team, wanting to get a better sense of one aspect of your experience, wanting to assuage concerns one part of the hiring team might have about your candidacy, or just to get a better sense of who you are as an employee.Here are 6  simple things to keep in mind if you want to ace your second interview.If it ain’t broke†¦Whatever prep you did last time, repeat it. Even if you think you remember the particulars. Give yourself a refresher course in the company, the committee, the position. Revisit the questions you prepped last time. Do you have answers that can expand on your first ones? Ask yourself what else you might be asked. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Don’t get caught out the second time for things you nailed the first!Come with  questionsYou already scoured your brain for good questions to ask and now you’ve got nothing. Keep digging! Now is a good time to show off your knowledge of the field and the position by asking more nuanced questions about the team, the work, the office culture.New interviewer, new homeworkIf you can get the names of any new people you’ll be meeting with, that’s your chance to bone up a bit on who they are and what they do. Not to mention what they might most be looking for, and how you can convince them you are it.Dress to impress (again)Hopefully you have more than one power outfit for interviews. If you don’t- you might need to invest in one. Or at least a different shirt and some accessories to shake up your go-to garb. Assume you struck a good note last time and aim for that sweet spot yet again.Stay freshChances are, you’ll be asked a lot of the same ques tions you’ve already answered. The worst thing you can do is complain. Instead of saying, â€Å"I already answered that!† Answer it again. With more passion, more panache. More polish. Be pleasant and answer thoroughly, as though for the first time.Be easygoingYou can’t control this conversation any more than you could control the first one. Go with the flow, relax, and your interviewers will appreciate your good attitude.Remember, a second interview is no guarantee that you’ll be hired. But you are one step closer and therefore should be one-step better prepared!

The Great Gatsby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Great Gatsby - Essay Example This paper intends to examine how Jay Gatsby as a figure whose "hopefulness" is in conflict with his "conditions" in terms of his personal, professional, and social life. For one, the novel presents Gatsby as a wealthy, well-renowned businessperson who has all the power that he needs. Actually, he is a successful man, but according to the analysis of the novel, one thing is for sure, he has no friends. Although the novel tends to evade shading adequate light on the issue of Gatsby’s profound lonely life, analytical response to the novel suggests that may be it is because of the things that he used to do that challenged his ability to have friends (44). The only close people that he met are just his business associates and sometimes the throngs who came over for his Saturday parties. In this context, it is seeable that Gatsby’s personal conditions conflicted with his hope for a friendly association. He hopes to get along with friends, but as it seems, he does not have an y just business associates leaving his world a place for just hope. Additionally, Gatsby’s professional conditions conflicts directly with his hope for a long, loving life with Daisy. ... Therefore, he had many things to do and his profession required him to be always busy with his plans. Hence, there was no time to associate with people so that he could make friends and probably stay with his loved one. His Saturday parties filled with throngs explains his lack of close friends whom he can just spend the evening together (56). Based on this fact, it is agreeable that Gatsby was just a figure whose sense of hopefulness conflicted with his professional and personal life as well. Gatsby social life is yet another factor that makes him a mere figure of hopefulness. The novel discusses a story of people’s lives in the Jazz era particularly conceptualized by the entrance of a new culture, the ecstasy of money and wealth, class as well as the predominant presence of the vast â€Å"wasteland† in between and among these social conditions. Under this spectrum, the novel shows that the social conditions of Gatsby made him a hopeful man since he lived in West Egg, which is a representation of a place whose dwellers appear desolated. According to the social arrangement of the locations in Long Island where the story takes place, the West Egg, where Gatsby lives, represents homage for people with new acquired money (70). In short, it is a place for the rich while the East Egg represents homage for people whose hardworking skills remain disposable to rich people like Gatsby to exploit. Thus, it is conclusive that his social life denied him substantial companionship since there were differences between social classes during those times. Again, Gatsby was a rich man, and as the narrator suggests social class differences created a rift between people during the postwar era, which is when Fitzgerald

Cultural Relativism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Cultural Relativism - Essay Example the word itself in layman’s dialect means all cultures are equal and no culture is above another, and we should tolerate the differences that make up our cultures. Today’s cultures are engaging in closer interactions that results in ethnocentrism, which is the negative attitude towards a different culture and cultural relativism, which is attributed to bringing about positive association with different cultures. As a way of acclimatizing to the rapidly changing societal world, cultural relativism has proved to be the rather a proficient doctrine. However, it was brought to the public limelight as a solution to the Nazi holocaust aftermath where therapy proved unreliable. Nazism took form as another cultural practice and the victims had to practice cultural relativism (Nkeonye, 1994). That approach among many others has proved that cultural relativism fails in moral theory scrutiny. Cultural practices like slavery and genocide have no moral theory grounds to be accepted among the ideals and ideas of cultural relativism. The major problems of cultural relativism are between two cultures; modern and western culture. The modern cultures, be it in religion or government, is abusing the notions of cultural relativism to use social unrest for their benefit simply because it will be understood as a cultural practice when it is clearly immorality. This is a problem of cultural relativism in many ways according to whichever perspective you may prefer. Societal moral standards are being violated and are excused under the notion of cultural relativism. Nkeonye (1994) points out clearly cases such as the media, using the cultural acceptance notion to make pornography acceptable to our children. For instance, today every production obviously violates moral standards. This is a problem simply for the reason that the western cultures are misusing cultural relativism notions to advance the beneficial agenda of a few; thus utterly violating everything. Research indicates

The Wine of Astonishment Essay Example for Free

The Wine of Astonishment Essay â€Å"God don’t give you more than you can bear. † The opening line of the novel suggests that it is a deeply rooted religious novel. As the story unfolds, we explore the religious journey that the afflicted Spiritual Baptists in Bonasse have to embark on, in efforts to restore their rights to practise their faith. The title of the novel, The Wine of Astonishment can be analysed in two ways. Firstly, the literal translation of ‘The Wine of Astonishment’ stems from the meanings of the words ‘wine’ and ‘astonishment. ’ Wine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice and is usually bitter. Astonishment refers to something unexpected. Combining the meanings, one can deduce that the Wine of Astonishment refers to something bitter and unexpected. As one of the major themes in the novel is struggle, we can interpret the wine to imply bitterness – the hardships and ‘sour’ experiences the Spiritual Baptists had to withstand and astonishment – the unexpected. Therefore, the Wine of Astonishment can literally mean an unexpected hardship. Secondly, if analysed from a biblical perspective, the phrase ‘the wine of astonishment’ is mentioned in Psalm 60:3 ‘ Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. ’ To David, the psalmist, in Psalm 60, he felt as though God withheld His protection, that God had turned his back on them because when the Israelites were at war away in the North, they were invaded in the south. It appeared as though instead of granting them the wine of blessing, God had rejected them unexpectedly. This was God’s way of testing the faith of his people. He made them endure unexpected hardship to see just how strong they were. In the novel, Eva knows that the trials they experience was God’s challenge to them. It seemed as though God rejected them and showered them with tribulations but real help comes from God alone and when a situation seems out of control, we can trust God to do mighty things. Hence, God made the Spiritual Baptists ‘drink the wine of astonishment’ to test their faith as a church and in the end, God restored his protection of his people and freed them from the torment they endured in attempts to keep their religion. The book’s title introduces the reader, to a religious plot that will examine the course of a struggling people.

us patriot act :: essays research papers

There are many issue with the Patriot Act. Yes it has prevented many attacks on us from terrorists, but would you really want to give up so much freedom in order to have better control of terrorists. Many people would support the act since it does offer more protection against those attacks. Other however, would totally disagree with the act. The Patriot Act is actually violating many of our Constitution rights. The act will allow the government rights to look into your personal life. If the government has enough proof this act will give the opportunity to look into your personal items such as phone taps, electronic communications, and even what is in your bank account. As a person would you really like to have the government go thourgh your personal life and belongings, just for a little more protection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The government has set up a boundary that allows them the chance to go into your personal lives. The main reasons that are noted that would give them a chance to violate your rights as an American. As noted on web page http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/, that only a certain event will allow a certain individual the chance to allow such things as wiretap. This will occur if an individual is committing one of a list of immune rated crimes, if that happens the communication concerning that offense, and the facilities in which the offender has used in connection with the offense. The only persons that came allow an interception would be only designated officials. The interception is only valid for a certain length of time. In order for a wiretap to be conducted it has to be authorized by a Judge that feels that it would be beneficial to the country. The USA Patriot Act, also known as the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, was set up in order to offer a greater feeling of security to Americans, however, I don’t feel that the Americans really know what the Patriot Act really stands for and what it will do to our rights as Americans. The bill was passed and signed into law by President Bush on October 26, 2001. The Patriot Act was a lot like

Chapter 1 Owl Post

Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a wizard. It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his stomach in bed, the blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a flashlight in one hand and a large leather-bound book (A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot) propped open against the pillow. Harry moved the tip of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked for something that would help him write his essay, ‘Witch Burning in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless — discuss.' The quill paused at the top of a likely looking paragraph. Harry pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose, moved his flashlight closer to the book, and read: Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognizing it. On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame-Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than forty-seven times in various disguises. Harry put his quill between his teeth and reached underneath his pillow for his inkbottle and a roll of parchment. Slowly and very carefully he unscrewed the ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, and began to write, pausing every now and then to listen, because if any of the Dursleys heard the scratching of his quill on their way to the bathroom, he'd probably find himself locked in the cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the summer. The Dursley family of Number Four, Privet Drive, was the reason that Harry never enjoyed his summer holidays. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son, Dudley, were Harry's only living relatives. They were Muggles, and they had a very medieval attitude toward magic. Harry's dead parents, who had been a witch and wizard themselves, were never mentioned under the Dursleys' roof. For years, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had hoped that if they kept Harry as downtrodden as possible, they would be able to squash the magic out of him. To their fury, they had not been unsuccessful. These days they lived in terror of anyone finding out that Harry had spent most of the last two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most they could do, however, was to lock away Harry's spell books, wand, cauldron, and broomstick at the start of the summer break, and forbid him to talk to the neighbors. This separation from his spell books had been a real problem for Harry, because his teachers at Hogwarts had given him a lot of holiday work. One of the essays, a particularly nasty one about shrinking potions, was for Harry's least favorite teacher, Professor Snape, who would be delighted to have an excuse to give Harry detention for a month. Harry had therefore seized his chance in the first week of the holidays. While Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley had gone out into the front garden to admire Uncle Vernon's new company car (in very loud voices, so that the rest of the street would notice it too), Harry had crept downstairs, picked the lock on the cupboard under the stairs, grabbed some of his books, and hidden them in his bedroom. As long as he didn't leave spots of ink on the sheets, the Dursleys need never know that he was studying magic by night. Harry was particularly keen to avoid trouble with his aunt and uncle at the moment, as they were already in an especially bad mood with him, all because he'd received a telephone call from a fellow wizard one week into the school vacation. Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts, came from a whole family of wizards. This meant that he knew a lot of things Harry didn't, but had never used a telephone before. Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon who had answered the call. â€Å"Vernon Dursley speaking.† Harry, who happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he heard Ron's voice answer. â€Å"HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I — WANT — TO — TALK — TO — HARRY — POTTER!† Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it with an expression of mingled fury and alarm. â€Å"WHO IS THIS?† he roared in the direction of the mouthpiece. â€Å"WHO ARE YOU?† â€Å"RON — WEASLEY!† Ron bellowed back, as though he and Uncle Vernon were speaking from opposite ends of a football field. â€Å"I'M — A — FRIEND — OF — HARRY'S — FROM — SCHOOL –â€Å" Uncle Vernon's small eyes swiveled around to Harry, who was rooted to the spot. â€Å"THERE IS NO HARRY POTTER HERE!† he roared, now holding the receiver at arm's length, as though frightened it might explode. â€Å"I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!† And he threw the receiver back onto the telephone as if dropping a poisonous spider. The fight that had followed had been one of the worst ever. â€Å"HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE — PEOPLE LIKE YOU!† Uncle Vernon had roared, spraying Harry with spit. Ron obviously realized that he'd gotten Harry into trouble, because he hadn't called again. Harry's other best friend from Hogwarts, Hermione Granger, hadn't been in touch either. Harry suspected that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was a pity, because Hermione, the cleverest witch in Harry's year, had Muggle parents, knew perfectly well how to use a telephone, and would probably have had enough sense not to say that she went to Hogwarts. So Harry had had no word from any of his wizarding friends for five long weeks, and this summer was turning out to be almost as bad as the last one. There was just one very small improvement — after swearing that he wouldn't use her to send letters to any of his friends, Harry had been allowed to let his owl, Hedwig, out at night. Uncle Vernon had given in because of the racket Hedwig made if she was locked in her cage all the time. Harry finished writing about Wendelin the Weird and paused to listen again. The silence in the dark house was broken only by the distant, grunting snores of his enormous cousin, Dudley. It must be very late, Harry thought. His eyes were itching with tiredness. Perhaps he'd finish this essay tomorrow night†¦ He replaced the top of the ink bottle; pulled an old pillowcase from under his bed; put the flashlight, A History of Magic, his essay, quill, and ink inside it; got out of bed; and hid the lot under a loose floorboard under his bed. Then he stood up, stretched, and checked the time on the luminous alarm clock on his bedside table. It was one o'clock in the morning. Harry's stomach gave a funny jolt. He had been thirteen years old, without realizing it, for a whole hour. Yet another unusual thing about Harry was how little he looked forward to his birthdays. He had never received a birthday card in his life. The Dursleys had completely ignored his last two birthdays, and he had no reason to suppose they would remember this one. Harry walked across the dark room, past Hedwig's large, empty cage, to the open window. He leaned on the sill, the cool night air pleasant on his face after a long time under the blankets. Hedwig had been absent for two nights now. Harry wasn't worried about her: she'd been gone this long before. But he hoped she'd be back soon — she was the only living creature in this house who didn't flinch at the sight of him. Harry, though still rather small and skinny for his age, had grown a few inches over the last year. His jet-black hair, however, was just as it always had been — stubbornly untidy, whatever he did to it. The eyes behind his glasses were bright green, and on his forehead, clearly visible through his hair, was a thin scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning. Of all the unusual things about Harry, this scar was the most extraordinary of all. It was not, as the Dursleys had pretended for ten years, a souvenir of the car crash that had killed Harry's parents, because Lily and James Potter had not died in a car crash. They had been murdered, murdered by the most feared Dark wizard for a hundred years, Lord Voldemort. Harry had escaped from the same attack with nothing more than a scar on his forehead, where Voldemort's curse, instead of killing him, had rebounded upon its originator. Barely alive, Voldemort had fled†¦ But Harry had come face-to-face with him at Hogwarts. Remembering their last meeting as he stood at the dark window, Harry had to admit he was lucky even to have reached his thirteenth birthday. He scanned the starry sky for a sign of Hedwig, perhaps soaring back to him with a dead mouse dangling from her beak, expecting praise. Gazing absently over the rooftops, it was a few seconds before Harry realized what he was seeing. Silhouetted against the golden moon, and growing larger every moment, was a large, strangely lopsided creature, and it was flapping in Harry's direction. He stood quite still, watching it sink lower and lower. For a split second he hesitated, his hand on the window latch, wondering whether to slam it shut. But then the bizarre creature soared over one of the street lamps of Privet Drive, and Harry, realizing what it was, leapt aside. Through the window soared three owls, two of them holding up the third, which appeared to be unconscious. They landed with a soft flump on Harry's bed, and the middle owl, which was large and gray, keeled right over and lay motionless. There was a large package tied to its legs. Harry recognized the unconscious owl at once — his name was Errol, and he belonged to the Weasley family. Harry dashed to the bed, untied the cords around Errol's legs, took off the parcel, and then carried Errol to Hedwig's cage. Errol opened one bleary eye, gave a feeble hoot of thanks, and began to gulp some water. Harry turned back to the remaining owls. One of them, the large snowy female, was his own Hedwig. She, too, was carrying a parcel and looked extremely pleased with herself. She gave Harry an affectionate nip with her beak as he removed her burden, then flew across the room to join Errol. Harry didn't recognize the third owl, a handsome tawny one, but he knew at once where it had come from, because in addition to a third package, it was carrying a letter bearing the Hogwarts crest. When Harry relieved this owl of its burden, it ruffled its feathers importantly, stretched its wings, and took off through the window into the night. Harry sat down on his bed and grabbed Errol's package, ripped off the brown paper, and discovered a present wrapped in gold and his first ever birthday card. Fingers trembling slightly, he opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out — a letter and a newspaper clipping. The clipping had clearly come out of the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black-and-white picture were moving. Harry picked up the clipping, smoothed it out, and read: MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw. A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, â€Å"We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank.† The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend. Harry scanned the moving photograph, and a grin spread across his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving furiously at him, standing in front of a large pyramid. Plump little Mrs. Weasley; tall, balding Mr. Weasley; six sons; and one daughter, all (though the black-and-white picture didn't show it) with flaming-red hair. Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and gangling, with his pet rat, Scabbers, on his should er and his arm around his little sister, Ginny. Harry couldn't think of anyone who deserved to win a large pile of gold more than the Weasleys, who were very nice and extremely poor. He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it. Dear Harry, Happy birthday! Look, I'm really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted. It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff. I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year. Harry remembered only too well the occasion when Ron's old wand had snapped. It had happened when the car the two of them had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a tree on the school grounds. We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there? Don't let the Muggles get you down! Try and come to London, Ron P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week. Harry glanced back at the photograph. Percy, who was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, was looking particularly smug. He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched jauntily on top of his neat hair, his horn-rimmed glasses flashing in the Egyptian sun. Harry now turned to his present and unwrapped it. Inside was what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. There was another note from Ron beneath it. Harry — this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup. Bye — Ron Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table, where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous hands of his clock. He looked at it happily for a few seconds, then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought. Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, this time from Hermione. Dear Harry, Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you're all right. I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you — what if they'd opened it at customs? — but then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I bought your present by owl-order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world), Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous — the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating. There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out, I hope it's not too long — it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for. Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you come? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first! Love from Hermione P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased. Ron doesn't seem too happy about it. Harry laughed as he put Hermione's letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells — but it wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a sleek black leather case, with silver words stamped across it, reading Broomstick Servicing Kit. â€Å"Wow, Hermione!† Harry whispered, unzipping the case to look inside. There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tail-Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass to clip on your broom for long journeys, and a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare. Apart from his friends, the thing that Harry missed most about Hogwarts was Quidditch, the most popular sport in the magical world — highly dangerous, very exciting, and played on broomsticks. Harry happened to be a very good Quidditch player; he had been the youngest person in a century to be picked for one of the Hogwarts House teams. One of Harry's most prized possessions was his Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom. Harry put the leather case aside and picked up his last parcel. He recognized the untidy scrawl on the brown paper at once: this was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He tore off the top layer of paper and glimpsed something green and leathery, but before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a strange quiver, and whatever was inside it snapped loudly — as though it had jaws. Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn't have a normal person's view of what was dangerous. Hagrid had been known to befriend giant spiders, buy vicious, three-headed dogs from men in pubs, and sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin. Harry poked the parcel nervously. It snapped loudly again. Harry reached for the lamp on his bedside table, gripped it firmly in one hand, and raised it over his head, ready to strike. Then he seized the rest of the wrapping paper in his other hand and pulled. And out fell — a book. Harry just had time to register its handsome green cover, emblazoned with the golden title The Monster Book of Monsters, before it flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab. â€Å"Uh-oh,† Harry muttered. The book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry followed it stealthily. The book was hiding in the dark space under his desk. Praying that the Dursleys were still fast asleep, Harry got down on his hands and knees and reached toward it. â€Å"Ouch!† The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers. Harry scrambled around, threw himself forward, and managed to flatten it. Uncle Vernon gave a loud, sleepy grunt in the room next door. Hedwig and Errol watched interestedly as Harry clamped the struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his chest of drawers, and pulled out a belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The Monster Book shuddered angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and reached for Hagrid's card. Dear Harry, Happy Birthday! Think you might find this useful for next year. Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you. Hope the Muggles are treating you right. All the best, Hagrid It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put Hagrid's card up next to Ron's and Hermione's, grinning more broadly than ever. Now there was only the letter from Hogwarts left. Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within, and read: Dear Mr. Potter, Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock. Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign. A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely, Professor M. McGonagall Deputy Headmistress Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it, no longer grinning. It would be wonderful to visit Hogsmeade on weekends; he knew it was an entirely wizarding village, and he had never set foot there. But how on earth was he going to persuade Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign the form? He looked over at the alarm clock. It was now two o'clock in the morning. Deciding that he'd worry about the Hogsmeade form when he woke up, Harry got back into bed and reached up to cross off another day on the chart he'd made for himself, counting down the days left until his return to Hogwarts. Then he took off his glasses and lay down; eyes open, facing his three birthday cards. Extremely unusual though he was, at that moment Harry Potter felt just like everyone else — glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday.

Atomic Bomb vs. Invasion

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9. The unconditional surrender of Japan was announced on August 10. The atomic bomb ended the war swiftly and quickly, and resulted in no Allied casualties. Others supported Operation Downfall, an invasion of Japan. However, this may not have resulted in an unconditional surrender. U. S. President Truman was advised that 250,000 to one million U. S. soldiers could have died in Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of mainland Japan. In a study done by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in April 1945, the figures of 7. 45 casualties per 1,000 man-days and 1. 78 fatalities per 1,000 man-days were developed. This implied that the two planned campaigns to conquer Japan would cost 1. 6 million U. S. casualties, including 380,000 dead. On August 1, 1944, the Japanese War Ministry ordered the execution of all Allied war prisoners if an invasion of Japan happened. This means that over 100,000 allied soldiers that would have been executed. Some may argue that innocent Japanese civilians and military soldiers lost their lives to the bomb. The Japanese were dangerous and were raised to fight, starting from a young age. An Air Force Association history of the 21st century says, â€Å"Millions of women, old men, and boys and girls had been trained to resist by such means as attacking with bamboo spears and strapping explosives to their bodies and throwing themselves under advancing tanks. † The AFA noted that, â€Å"The Japanese cabinet had approved a measure extending the draft to include men from ages fifteen to sixty and women from seventeen to forty-five. As a result of the increase in draft range, 28 million more people were drafted. The result of the atomic bombs was the unconditional surrender of Japan. If an invasion took place, the surrender may not have been unconditional. According to historian Richard B. Frank, â€Å"The intercepts of Japanese Imperial Army and Navy messages disclosed without exception that Japan's armed forces were determined to fight a final Armageddon battle in the homeland agains t an Allied invasion. The Japanese called this strategy Ketsu Go. It was founded on the premise that American morale was brittle and could be shattered by heavy losses in the initial invasion. American politicians would then gladly negotiate an end to the war far more generous than unconditional surrender. † The U. S. Department of Energy's history of the Manhattan Project agrees, saying that military leaders in Japan, â€Å"†¦. also hoped that if they could hold out until the ground invasion of Japan began, they would be able to inflict so many casualties on the Allies that Japan still might win some sort of negotiated settlement. The Japanese most likely would have been able to inflict enough casualties so that they would be able to negotiate. The Japanese followed the code of bushido, which is why the resistance is so strong in the Japanese military. According to one Air Force account, â€Å"The Japanese code of bushido—†the way of the warrior†Ã¢â‚¬â€was deeply ingrained. The concept of Yamato-damashii equipped e ach soldier with a strict code: never be captured, never break down, and never surrender. Surrender was dishonorable. Each soldier was trained to fight to the death and was expected to die before suffering dishonor. Defeated Japanese leaders preferred to take their own lives in the painful samurai ritual of seppuku. Warriors who surrendered were not deemed worthy of regard or respect. † Operation Downfall would have taken more lives, compared to the atomic bombings. The atomic bomb quickly ended the war and was necessary. It eliminated the threat of the Japanese empire. It also eliminated many dangerous Japanese soldiers and civilians. President Truman made the right choice in authorizing the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Quotes Attributed to Epictetus

Quotes Attributed to Epictetus Epictetus (A.D. c. 55 - c.135) To a reasonable creature, that alone is insupportable which is unreasonable; but everything reasonable may be supported.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. ii. The rational and the irrational are naturally different for different persons as are good and evil and profitable and unprofitable. For this reason we need to learn how to adjust our conceptions of rational and irrational and keep them in harmony with nature. When we determine the rational and the irrational we use both our estimates of external things and the criterion of our own character. This makes it most important that we understand ourselves. You must know how highly you value yourself and at what price you will sell yourself; different men sell themselves at different prices.Epictetus - Discourses 1.2Courtesy of translator Giles Laurà ©n, author of The Stoics Bible. When Vespasian sent word to Helvidius Priscus not to attend the Senate, he answered: It is in your power to forbid me to be a member of the Senate, but so long as I am one I must attend its meetings.Epictetus - Discourses 1.2.Courtesy of translator Giles Laurà ©n, author of The Stoics Bible. If every man could be convinced heart and soul in the belief that we are all begotten by Zeus, father to both men and gods, I think he could no longer have any ignoble or mean thought about himself. If Caesar adopts you no one will be able to endure your conceit, but if you know you are a son of Zeus shouldnt you be elated? Two elements are commingled in us: the body which we have in common with the brutes and intelligence which we have in common with the gods. Many of us incline towards the former which is unblessed and mortal and only a few incline towards the latter which is divine and blessed. Clearly, every man is free to deal with things according to his opinions of them, and those few who think that their birth is a call to fidelity, self-respect and unerring judgement cherish no mean or ignoble thoughts about themselves, whereas the multitude do quite the opposite and cleave to their animal part and become rascally and degraded.Epictetus - Discourses 1.3.Courtesy of translat or Giles Laurà ©n, author of The Stoics Bible. He who is making progress has learned that desire is for things good and that aversion is for things evil, and further, that peace and calm are only achieved as a man gets the things he wants and avoids the things he doesnt want. Since virtue is rewarded with happiness, calm and serenity, progress towards virtue is progress towards its benefits and this progress is always a step towards perfection.Epictetus - Discourses 1.4.Courtesy of translator Giles Laurà ©n, author of The Stoics Bible. In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.Epictetus - Discourses Chap xi. Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xii. O slavish man! will you not bear with your own brother, who has God for his Father, as being a son from the same stock, and of the same high descent? But if you chance to be placed in some superior station, w ill you presently set yourself up for a tyrant?Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xiii. When you have shut your doors, and darkened your room, remember never to say that you are alone, for you are not alone; but God is within, and your genius is within, and what need have they of light to see what you are doing?Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xiv. No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xv. Any one thing in the creation is sufficient to demonstrate a Providence to an humble and grateful mind.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xvi. Were I a nightingale, I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a swan, the part of a swan.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xvi. Since it is Reason which shapes and regulates all other things, it ought not itself to be left in disorder.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xvii. If what the philosophers say be true,that all mens actions proceed from one source; that as they assent from a persuasion that a thing is so, and dissent from a persuasion that it is not, and suspend their judgment from a persuasion that it is uncertain, so likewise they seek a thing from a persuasion that it is for their advantage.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xviii. Practise yourself, for heavens sake, in little things; and thence proceed to greater.Epictetus - Discourses Chap xviii. Every art and every faculty contemplates certain things as its principal objects.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xx. Why, then, do you walk as if you had swallowed a ramrod?Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xxi. When one maintains his proper attitude in life, he does not long after externals. What would you have, O man?Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xxi. Difficulties are things that show what men are.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xxiv. If we are not stupid or insincere when we say that the good or ill of man lies within his own will, and that all beside is nothing to us, why are we still troubled?Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xxv. In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught; but in life there are many things to draw us aside.Epictetus - Discourses Chap. xxvi. Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise mans task.Epictetus - Discourses. Chap. xxvii. Everything has two handles, one by which it may be borne; another by which it cannot.Epictetus - Enchiridion. xliii. When a man prides himself on being able to understand and interpret a difficult book, say to yourself: If the book had been well written this man would have nothing on which to pride himself.Epictetus - Encheiridon 49.Courtesy of translator Giles Laurà ©n, author of The Stoics Bible. My object is to understand and follow Nature, so I look for someone who understands her and I read his book. When I have found a man of understanding, it is not for me to praise his book but rather to act on his precepts.Epictetus - Encheiridon 49.Courtesy of translator Giles Laurà ©n, author of The Stoics Bible. Once you have fixed on you governing principles, you must hold them as laws that you cannot transgress. Pay no heed to what is said of you for it is beyond your control.Epictetus - Encheiridon 50.Courtesy of translator Giles Laurà ©n, author of The Stoics Bible. The appearanc e of things to the mind is the standard of every action to man.Epictetus - That we ought not to be angry with Mankind. Chap. xxviii. The essence of good and evil is a certain disposition of the will.Epictetus - Of Courage. Chap. xxix. It is not reasonings that are wanted now; for there are books stuffed full of stoical reasonings.Epictetus - Of Courage. Chap. xxix. For what constitutes a child? Ignorance. What constitutes a child? Want of instruction; for they are our equals so far as their degree of knowledge permits.Epictetus - That Courage is not inconsistent with Caution. Book ii. Chap. i. Appear to know only this, never to fail nor fall.Epictetus - That Courage is not inconsistent with Caution. Book ii. Chap. i. The materials of action are variable, but the use we make of them should be constant.Epictetus - How Nobleness of Mind may be consistent with Prudence. Chap. v. Shall I show you the muscular training of a philosopher? What muscles are those? A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised; careful resolutions; unerring decisions.Epictetus - Wherein consists the Essence of Good. Chap. viii. Dare to look up to God and say, Make use of me for the future as Thou wilt. I am of the same mind; I am one with Thee. I refuse nothing which seems good to Thee. Lead me whither Thou wilt. Clothe me in whatever dress Thou wilt.Epictetus - That we do not study to make Use of the established Principles concerning Good and Evil. Chap. xvi. What is the first business of one who studies philosophy? To part with self-conceit. For it is impossible for any one to begin to learn what he thinks that he already knows.Epictetus - How to apply general Principles to particular Cases. Chap. xvii. Every habit and faculty is preserved and increased by correspondent actions,as the habit of walking, by walking; of running, by running.Epictetus - How the Semblances of Things Are to Be Combated. Chap. xviii. Whatever you would make habitual, practise it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practise it, but habituate yourself to something else.Epictetus - How the Semblances of Things Are t o Be Combated. Chap. xviii. Reckon the days in which you have not been angry. I used to be angry every day; now every other day; then every third and fourth day; and if you miss it so long as thirty days, offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.Epictetus - How the Semblances of Things Are to Be Combated. Chap. xviii. What saith Antisthenes? Hast thou never heard? It is a kingly thing, O Cyrus, to do well and to be evil spoken of.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - VII Whereas if Caesar were to adopt you, your haughty looks would be intolerable; will you not be elated at knowing that you are the son of God?Epictetus - Golden Sayings - IX There is petrifaction of the understanding; and also of the sense of shame. This happens when a man obstinately refuses to acknowledge plain truths, and persists in maintaining what is self-contradictory.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XXIII If what philosophers say of the kinship of God and Man be true, what remains for men to do but as Socrates did; never, when asked ones country, to answer, I am an Athenian or a Corinthian, but I am a citizen of the world.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XV But there is a great difference between other mens occupations and ours. . . . A glance at theirs will make it clear to you. All day long they do nothing but calculate, contrive, consult how to wring their profit out of food-stuffs, farm-plots and the like. . . . Whereas, I entreat you to learn what the administration of the World is, and what place a Being endowed with reason holds therein: to consider what you are yourself, and wherein your Good and Evil consists.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XXIV True instruction is this: to learn to wish that each thing should come to pass as it does. And how does it come to pass? As the Disposer has disposed it. Now He has disposed that there should be summer and winter, and plenty and dearth, and vice and virtue, and all such opposites, for the harmony of the whole.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XXVI Concerning the Gods, there are who deny the very existence of the Godhead; others say that it exists, but neither bestirs nor concerns itself nor ha s forethought for anything. A third party attribute to it existence and forethought, but only for great and heavenly matters, not for anything that is on earth. A fourth party admit things on earth as well as in heaven, but only in general, and not with respect to each individual. A fifth, of whom were Ulysses and Socrates are those that cry: I move not without Thy knowledge!Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XXVIII You must know that it is no easy thing for a principle to become a mans own, unless each day he maintain it and hear it maintained, as well as work it out in life.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XXX What you shun enduring yourself, attempt not to impose on others. You shun slavery beware of enslaving others! If you can endure to do that, one would thing you had been once upon a time a slave yourself. For Vice has nothing in common with virtue, nor Freedom with slavery.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XLI Above all, remember that the door stands open. Be not more fearful than children; but as they, when they weary of the game, cry, I will play no more, even so, when thou art in the like case, cry, I will play no more and depart. But if thou stayest, make no lamentation.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XLIV Death has no terror; only a Death of shame!Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LV That was a good reply which Diogenes made to a man who asked him for letters of recommendation. That you are a man , he will know when he sees you; whether a good or bad one, he will know if he has any skill in discerning the good or bad. But if he has none, he will never know, though I write him a thousand times.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LVII God is beneficent. But the Good also is beneficent. It should seem then that where the real nature of God is, there too is to be found the real nature of the Good. What then is the real nature of God?Intelligence, Knowledge, Right Reason. Here then without more ado seek the real nature of the Good. For surely thou dost not seek it in a plant or in an animal that reasoneth not.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LIX Why, wert thou a statue of Phidias, an Athena or a Zeus, thou wouldst bethink thee both of thyself and thine artificer; and hadst thou any sense, thou wouldst strive to do no dishonour to thyself or him that fashioned thee, nor appear to beholders in unbefitting guise. But now, because God is thy Maker, is that why thou carest not of what sort thou shalt show thyself to be?Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXI Since then every one must deal with each thing according to the view which he forms about it, those few who hold that they are born for fidelity, modesty, and unerring sureness in dealing with the things of sense, never conceive aught base or ignoble of themselves: but the multitude the contrary.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - IX You also must show the unlearned man the truth, and you will see that he will follow. But so long as you do not show it him, you should not mock, but rather feel your own incapacity.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXIII It was the first and most striking characteristic of Socrates never to become heated in discourse, never to utter an injurious or insulting word on the contrary, he persistently bore insult from others and thus put an end to the fray.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXIV When we are invited to a banquet, we take what is set before us; and were one to call upon his host to set fish upon the table or sweet things, he would be deemed absurd. Yet in a word, we ask the Gods for what they do not give; and that, although they have given us so many things!Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XXXV Knowest thou what a speck thou art in comparison with the Universe? That is, with respect to the body; since with respect to Reason, thou art not inferior to the Gods, nor less than they. For th e greatness of Reason is not measured by length or height, but by the resolves of the mind. Place then thy happiness in that wherein thou art equal to the Gods.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XXIII Who would Hercules have been had he loitered at home? no Hercules, but Eurystheus. And in his wanderings through the world how many friends and comrades did he find? but nothing dearer to him than God. Wherefore he was believed to be Gods son, as indeed he was. So then in obedience to Him, he went about delivering the earth from injustice and lawlessness.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXXI The reason why I lost my lamp was that the thief was superior to me in vigilance. He paid however this price for the lamp, that in exchange for it he consented to become a thief: in exchange for it, to become faithless.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XII No labour, according to Diogenes, is good but that which aims at producing courage and strength of soul rather than of body.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXII But thou art not Hercules, thou sayest, and canst not deliver others from their iniquitynot even Theseus, to deliver the soil of Attica from its monsters? Purge away thine own, cast forth thencefr om thine own mind, not robbers and monsters, but Fear, Desire, Envy, Malignity, Avarice, Effeminacy, Intemperance.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXXI If a man would pursue Philosophy, his first task is to throw away conceit. For it is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he has a conceit that he already knows.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXXII The question at stake, said Epictetus, is no common one; it is this: Are we in our senses, or are we not?Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXXIV One who has had fever, even when it has left him, is not in the same condition of health as before, unless indeed his cure is complete. Something of the same sort is true also of diseases of the mind. Behind, there remains a legacy of traces and blisters: and unless these are effectually erased, subsequent blows on the same spot will produce no longer mere blisters, but sores. If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend its increase.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXXV No man can rob us of our Willno man can lord it over that!Epictetus - Golden Sayings - LXXXIII Wouldst thou have men speak good of thee? speak good of them. And when thou hast learned to speak good of them, try to do good unto them, and thus thou wilt reap in return their speaking good of thee.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - L The beginning of philosophy is to know the condition of ones own mind. If a man recognises that this is in a weakly state, he will not then want to apply it to questions of the greatest moment. As it is, men who are not fit to swallow even a morsel, buy whole treatises and try to devour them. Accordingly they either vomit them up again, or suffer from indigestion, whence come gripings, fluxions, and fevers. Whereas they should have stopped to consider their capacity.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XLVI In theory it is easy to convince an ignorant person: in actual life, men not only object to offer themselves to be convinced, but hate the man who has convinced them. Whereas Socrates used to say that we should never lead a life not subjected to examination.Epictetus - Golden Sayings - XLVII

Brannigan Foods

Suggested Strategy 1) Raise Investments in Dry Soups / Healthier Soups / Fast Meals 2) Increase advertising investment in Fast Simple Soup meals and Heart Healthy Soup line. ïÆ'   Fast Simple Soup meals addresses the market demand created by professionals and working mothers looking for quick, healthy meal. Sales of this line are growing @ 12%. Interesting to see this is growing without advertising so why spend? ïÆ'   Heart Healthy Soup line with low-sodium is well positioned to address the concerns of the over-50 consumers. 3) Provide promotional couponing and sampling of hot new flavors, in particular dry mix Gazpacho and Teriyaki Beef Fast Simple meal. Why these two? ïÆ'   Gazpacho increases sales during warmer months, decreasing seasonality. ïÆ'   Teriyaki beef positions company in fast growing Asian soups category. 4) Continue to promote dry soups, even if they cannibalize Ready-to-Eat (RTE) soups. Bottom Line Srikant wants to increase advertising and promo spending by $18 million. He thinks this should help stop the slide in sales and market share, but this will also reduce next year’s profits. Whats wrong with this proposal? The CEO will not like that profits will be revised downward in 2013. Plus although the trend in the future was toward healthier options, it didn’t necessarily mean this will come to fruition as close to 70% of the US was overweight and interested in changing their eating habits so why chase a trend which may not even be working? Claire Mackey – Director of Finance Planning Suggested Strategy MA, Claire wants to buy a small competitor who offers healthy and more convenient soups as well as flavors that are gaining in popularity (Mexican, Southeast Asian) Bottom Line Claire likes Red Dragon Foods the best; they have $36 million in sales EBITDA $4.2million. Acquisition will probably add around 1.5 to 3.5% to sales within five years. Red Dragon will cannibalize less than 0.3% of total sales. Acquisition would be reasonably cheap in terms of hitting profit. Clark is looking for minimum ROI of 10% after five years of sales. What’s wrong with this proposal? The company acquired Annabelle’s Foods soups division five years ago and that acquisition had high hopes as well, the acquisition has been a nightmare since. It was only supposed to take two years to breakeven but it ended up taking five. Anna Chong Head of R D / Chief Innovation Officer Strategy Best option isn’t to buy another company with products they can easily duplicate Milk the cash cows and invest in rising stars. Increase ad and promo support spending for new products. Helps longer term. Develop new products internally instead of buying a company! Increased spending for the new Ready to Eat (RTE) products from RD including Raise RD budget to $19 million from $14 million to increase pace of new product creation and development. (Examples in case) Bottom Line Invest in the company, don’t buy another brand, focus on what you have and put $ into RD What’s wrong with this proposal? Many new products are bombs, as in the past. Low success rate for new products in the industry. However, Anna had some good ideas as the innovation was taking off from a customer standpoint. New RTE flavors were a good dieas as they can increase price per can to $0.10 which means net earnings will be increase of $12 million after spending 6% of the proposed advertising budget just for these specific new prodcuts. Bob Pugh, VP Sales Marketing Strategy Take a $0.05 cent price per can cut on the core RTE wet soups. These account for 64% of division sales and 71% of total profit. (This will eat into profits) Increase Advertising and Promo budget by $20 million to get back market share for the brand, as it was taken away in recent years due to slowdown in AP spend. Bottom Line What’s wrong with the proposal?

Extended definitions of love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Extended definitions of love - Essay Example In most cultures all over the world, love is seen to be first and foremost directed to one’s family. The family is considered the primary unit of society where every individual starts to be exposed to life’s experiences. Love in the family begins with love between spouses as husbands and wives decide to leave their respective nuclear families to unite and form a new one. As parents, they accord love and unrelentless support to the children. Mothers are revealed to express unconditional love to their offsprings. Fathers provide financial, physical and emotional support. Children return the love by just being there to provide happiness and assistance, as needed.   The power of love that surrounds family members transcends barriers of time, space and location and is therefore considered universal and continually existing and persisting since time immemorial up to today.  Love for a divine and Supreme Being reigns differently according to cultural orientation. The relig ious beliefs, traditions, values and practices encompass teachings of love and equal treatment for the lives and existence of others. In the Catholic religion, for instance, love for God is taught within the first four commandments, which were summed as: â€Å"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (All About Truth, par. 15). It comes before oneself, one’s family, and above all else. Regular attendance to masses and observing the sacraments attest to the love.... Love for God is manifested through following the commandments and teachings. Learning more about God is initially introduced by parents and slowly reinforced through subjects of religion and Christian values from primary education until the secondary level. Regular attendance to masses and observing the sacraments attest to the love and devotion expected of disciples to the Catholic faith. Love for Neighbors Concurrent with teachings of the faith and one the commandments of God are to love one’s neighbor as oneself. It is manifested as the Golden Rule (Teaching Values, 2009) or the ethics of reciprocity. Loving one’s neighbors require respect for human rights and their purpose for existence. However, a more admirable love for neighbors is exemplified by people such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta who showed love, compassion and offered her life and service to those in need. Her Missionaries of Charity was an organization created to â€Å"to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI† (The Nobel Foundation, par. 2). This love entails self-sacrifice and putting the needs of others above oneself. Mother Teresa was determined to seek for assistance in terms of providing for the physiological (food, clothing, shelter, medicines, health care) and spiritual love for the needy. Love of this kind is exemplary and challenging as one finds the means and ways beyond one’s capabilities to ensure that the needs of others, deemed to be more relevant, are taken cared of. Love of this nature sometimes defies explanation but is rooted from the Divine love for God – unselfish, unconditional love directed to others