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A Critique of Sen. Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech (8-28-08)

John F. Deethardt II — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:18:13 +0000

As I was lying awake at 4 in the morning after your speech at Mile Hi Stadium the previous evening, I was going over what you said, and I found ...

...never mind.

LICĂR TAINIC ...

sfinx667 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:51:12 +0000

Tăcerea este spaţiul în care omul se trezeşte. ( OSHO )

A fi apt de o pasiune şi a nu o trăi te face incomplet şi limitat. ( OSCAR WILDE )

De ce să folosim cuvinte mari? Înseamnă atât de puţin. ( OSCAR WILDE )

Claire de Lune by Enigma :

Îmi place să vorbesc. Deseori vorbesc cu mine însumi doar ca să mă ascult. ( OSCAR WILDE )

LICĂR TAINIC ...

tăcerea, se lunecă lin pe fiorii trupului meu,

prelingându-se, prea tandră, suavă, subtilă,

să n-o bănui de gânduri zmintite, nu-i greu,

dar, incepe sa-mi placă, gustul ei de felină...

tresar fulgere vii dinspre miezu-i fierbinte,

si mă-nvăluie-n ploaia dezgolită de Lună,

mă prefac că nu ştiu, nu presimt a tăcerii furtună,

ea îmi muşcă din sâmburi şi mă tună nebună...

devorându-mi din zvâcnetul coapsei, încă firav,

mă îmbie cu şoapte risipite pe altarul mirării,

`nrourându-mă licăr în Luceferi concavi,

mă ucide-n iubirea-i zămislită de umbra trădării...

renunţând la vacarmul cojilor frânte-n poesie,

mă torc vis şi dorinţă , îi adulmec sărutul mister,

trăznesc vorbele-n nouri, mă privesc, par pustie,

simt preaplinul de pofte şi-alung gândul stingher...

ma pândeşte, surâzându-mi plăcerii arcuită arcadă,

eu mă mistui clipocindu-mă-n mrejele ei şi deodată...

izbucnesc, o trântesc şi-o izbesc drept în mine să vadă,

adâncimea albastră a înaltului meu, să mă bucure toată...

SIBILLA POESIS

Tăcerea are glasurile ei de înţelepciune: ascult-o! ( NICOLAE IORGA )

Tăcerea este una dintre marile arte ale conversaţiei. ( CICERO )

Tăcerea este prietenul adevărat care nu te trădează niciodată. ( CONFUCIUS )

Iubirea e un sărut furat, un zâmbet inocent, o îmbrăţişare pătimaşă... şi un suflet smuls din piept... ( OCTAVIAN PALER )

Iubesc o singură tăcere dincolo de raţiune, acel suflet ce arde în mine şi nu e al meu, dar ştiu că e. ( MARIANA FULGER )

Iubirea este aripa dăruită de Dumnezeu sufletului, pentru ca să urce până la El. ( MICHELANGELO )

A fi bun înseamnă a fi în armonie cu tine însuţi. Disonanţa înseamnă a fi forţat să fii în armonie cu alţii. ( OSCAR WILDE )

Tinereţea este singurul lucru pe care merită să-l ai. ( OSCAR WILDE )

SIBILLA POESIS

citate preluate de pe : www.citapedia.ro

House of Hubris aka The Temple of FAIL

Evan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:43:21 +0000

The sound you hear is the vindication of rational Obama skeptics the world around:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple.

The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' National Football League team plays.

Some 80,000 supporters will see Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of Washington's Capitol building or even the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.

This is outrageous, beyond satire. It'll be interesting to see how Sullivan explains this one away. Best-case scenario, he's simply a presumptuous ass, assuming the election is in the bag as his poll numbers stagnate. Depending on how this "temple" turns out, however, he could be harkening to back to f--ing Cicero, who is obviously the only orator who can hold a flame to His Obamaness.

However, all of his sins will be wiped from my mind should Obama stride up, donned in a toga, and begin reciting the Aeneid, in Latin. Arma obamumque cano. . .

cunae culturae

kapaneus — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:56:15 +0000

Mitten in die ohnehin schon ausgefallene Schilderung der ara Clementiae Athens, wohin sich die Frauen der gefallenen Argiver nach dem finalen Duell der Oidipussöhne wenden, fügt Statius einen sehr aufschlußreichen Vergleich ein.
ipsos [...] sic sacrasse, heißt es da,

caelicolas, tellus quibus hospita semper Athenae,
ceu leges hominemque nouum ritusque sacrorum
seminaque in uacuas hinc descendentia terras
Stat. Theb. 12,500-502

Die Götter des Himmels also, angetan von der Gastfreundschaft beziehungsweise Pietas der Athener, trugen zur Errichtung des Tempels ebenso bei, wie sie die größten Errungenschaften der antiken Zivilisation dortselbst der Menschheit zuteil werden ließen.

In der exemplarischen Aufzählung dieser Fortschritte endet Statius, nachdem er Ius, Erneuerung des Menschen und sakrale Zeremonien genannt hat, mit dem Ackerbau und räumt diesem überraschenderweise einen vollen Vers ein. Formalen Einwänden (Gesetz der wachsenden Glieder) zum Trotz steht dieser Vers aufgrund seines Inhalts exponiert: Nach fundamentalen Zivilisationstechniken, Recht, Politik und organisierter Spiritualität, gesteht Statius dem recht profanen Geschäft des Landbaus soviel Raum zu, wie den anderen Gliedern der Reihe insgesamt.

Der Grund, diesen Punkt überhaupt anzuführen, liegt darin, daß Athen jedenfalls unter den Römern im Ruf stand, Wiege des Ackerbaus zu sein. Es scheint, wovon nachfolgende Beispiele einen Eindruck geben, zur Verklärung der Musterpolis gehörte der Verweis auf dieses Verdienst stereotypisch dazu.

Cogita te missum in prouinciam Achaiam, illam ueram et meram Graeciam, in qua primum humanitas litterae, etiam fruges inuentae esse creduntur; missum ad ordinandum statum liberarum ciuitatum, id est ad homines maxime homines, ad liberos maxime liberos, qui ius a natura datum uirtute meritis amicitia, foedere denique et religione tenuerunt.
Plin. Ep. 8,24,2,

Einerseits Wissenschaft, Humanismus und eine gewisse Einstellung zum Recht, andererseits Lebensmittel.

Primae frugiparos fetus mortalibus aegris
dididerunt quondam praeclaro nomine Athenae
et recreauerunt uitam legesque rogarunt
et primae dederunt solacia dulcia uitae,
5cum genuere uirum tali cum corde repertum,
omnia ueridico qui quondam ex ore profudit;
cuius et extincti propter diuina reperta
diuolgata uetus iam ad caelum gloria fertur.
Lucr. 6,1-8

Item, und insbesondere ganz an den Anfang noch vor den anderen Virtutes Athens aufgeführt.

adsunt Athenienses, unde humanitas, doctrina, religio, fruges, iura, leges ortae atque in omnis terras distributae putantur [...]
Cic. Flac. 26,62

Geradezu klischeehaft also Statius' seminaque in uacuas hinc descendentia terras; wenn er überhaupt hatte die Stadt über die Namensnennung hinaus qualifizieren wollen, entsprach es dem gehörigen Logos, die Hauptgebiete, deren Grundlegung Athen beziehungsweise den Athenern zugeschrieben wurde, in einer elaborierteren Form von Epitheton zumindest anzudeuten. Inhaltlich willfährt poeta noster also einem kanonisierten Verhalten und vv. 501f. ließen sich bei der Lektüre verlustlos ignorieren, von ihrem Fehlen bliebe die Erzählstruktur unberührt. Sprachlich hingegen wird der Topos von der Wiege der Zivilisation in eine höchst elegante -- und nicht zuletzt: zitierfähige -- Form gegossen; zugegeben, Statius' Stil läßt die Mühe erkennen, sich ganz als das Gegenteil der geschilderten parca religio (sc. deae Clementiae) darzustellen. Doch die Kargheit scheint unter seinen Tugenden generell keine Prioriät zu genießen, eher haben wir hier, bildlich ausgedrückt, eine abgegriffene, durch unzählige Hände gewanderte Münze, deren Neuprägung durch Statius zwar das Material unverändert beibehält, die aber durch kunstfertige Gestaltung an den Virtutes des Handwerkers gewinnt.

Tipp: Interview im Cicero-Magazin

iranobserver — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:40:57 +0000

Im Politik-Magazin Cicero gibt es ein interessantes Interview mit dem Rüstungsexperten Götz Neuneck u.a. zum iranischen Atomprogramm. Das Interview kann man auch im Internet lesen.

Cut-out kindness #34

exzede — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:40:43 +0000

Cut | Paste | Print | Share

quotes shared by wizdompath

There is no duty more obligatory than the repayment of kindness - Cicero

Meg — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:46:49 +0000

“É próprio do sábio não se admirar com nada que aconteça.”

Cícero

Meg — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:39:26 +0000

“O sábio não tem pátria.”

Cícero

Image And Influence

glennanderson — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:46:07 +0000

"Young men also find it easier to gain ready and favorable recognition if they select some wise, famous and patriotic statemen, and attach themselves to him and his companions. If they associate continually with an individual of that calibre, the public forms the impresssion that they, too, are going to turn out like the man they have chosen to imitate." On the Good Life, Cicero

My grandfather once told me when we were riding horses that "if you walk through shit your going to get some on you." Anybody close to the Edwards campaign would have known that the affair was taking place. I wonder how many of his aides and closest friends explained away that action? Influence and image are very real. The things you read, watch, and hear definitely effect your thinking.

So who are you imitating?

There was once such virtue in this republic

Afonso Azevedo Neves — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:33:23 +0000

There was—there was once such virtue in this republic, that brave men would repress mischievous citizens with severer chastisement than the most bitter enemy. For we have a resolution of the senate, a formidable and authoritative decree against you, O Catiline; the wisdom of the republic is not at fault, nor the dignity of this senatorial body. We, we alone,—I say it openly, —we, the consuls, are waiting in our duty.

Marcus Tullius Cicero, Against Catiline.

Agostinho e a Música Gospel Contemporânea

JB — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:37:52 +0000

Já publiquei aqui um texto sobre os artistas que são cristãos e não ficam divulgando isso pros quatro cantos. Volto um pouco nesse assunto e em outro já tratado aqui anteriormente: o pensamento de Agostinho.

Finalmente estou lendo o livro Confissões e tenho lido ali uma das pessoas com quem mais me identifiquei na vida. Não que eu esteja me comparando com o bispo de Hipona, eu sei que não sou o único a sentir isso, porém o fato de Agostinho pensar sempre de uma forma humilde e consciente sem deixar de ser apaixonado me faz identificar ali muitas das minhas angústias e dilemas.

No capítulo IV do Livro Terceiro Agostinho critica o pensamento de Hortênsio de Cícero, um pensador de sua época e mostra como a leitura de um diálogo do pensador colaborou para que ele mudasse o objeto de seus anseios, fazendo-o aproximar de Deus.
Ele ficou realmente apaixonado (o ardor) pela sabedoria de Hortênsio e aquelas palavras mexeram com Agostinho. Dizia que as palavras do pensador o levavam à verdadeira Sabedoria, não a esta religião ou àquela seita. Ele só levanta um porém, o qual transcrevo aqui:

Só uma coisa me arrefecia tão grande ardor: não ver ali o nome de Cristo. Porque este nome, Senhor, este nome de meu Salvador, teu Filho, por tua misericórdia eu o bebera piedosamente com o leite materno, e o considerava, no mais profundo de meu coração, em alto apreço; e assim, tudo quanto fosse escrito sem este nome, por mui verídico, elegante e erudito que fosse, não me arrebatava totalmente.

Lindamente mostra que o nome de Jesus, pelo qual nós somos salvos e purificados, é muito maior que bandas, músicas e suas letras.

Fotos por echobase_2000 e MaxGiuliani

Meg — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:21:32 +0000

“A vida toda, passam-na os filósofos, a meditar a morte.”

Cícero

(Fringe Feminism): Roman women vs the American ideal

puttitang — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:53:34 +0000

From HBO series to Oscar-winning films to the prototypical college party—the toga party—America is unequivocally fascinated by Rome’s culture. Politicians often air ads that seem to be written by Cicero himself, full of clever innuendo and trickery that seems to have come straight from the statesman’s playbook. Colleges—including my own, until the past few years—require students to acquaint themselves with the same literature the Romans would have been familiar with-- that is, the great epics of Homer.
All of these areas in which America tries to emulate Rome have one thing in common: an almost complete neglect of the impact of women. This is largely because women’s voices were silenced, largely by the very qualities that Romans valued in their women. In America, on the other hand, thanks to the rise of Feminism, the qualities women are lauded for have shifted to a much more vocal set.
Roman women were praised for being quiet, modest, demure, and giving. A Roman husband remembered his wife by asking, ""Why should I mention your personal virtues-- your modesty, obedience, affability, and good nature, your tireless attention to wool-working, your performance of religious duties without superstitious fear, your artless elegance and simplicity of dress?" (CIL 6.1527, 31670) These features essentially sum up the ideal Roman woman. She also "handed (her whole inheritance) over to (her husband) and did not worry (he)rself about increasing it." (Shelton 292, CIL 6.1527, 31670) By relinquishing control, she allowed her husband to maintain the pater potestas he already enjoyed. This also ensured that she would be reliant on him for the rest of her life.
Pliny tells of the other quality a woman must possess-- strength. He cites Arria, a Roman woman, as the ideal woman. Both Arria's husband and child were ill and not expected to recover. The child died, and she arranged and attended the funeral without telling her husband. Instead, she told him that the boy was improving in health. She would leave the room when she felt like crying and, "after she had wept, she dried her eyes, regained her composure, and returned, as calm as if she had left her feeling of bereavement outside the room" (Pliny 3.16.3-6). When she and her husband committed suicide, she stabbed herself first. When she had "stabbed herself in the breast, (she) pulled out the sword, and handed it to her husband, saying these immortal, almost divine words: 'Paetus, it does not hurt'" (ibid). Roman women in general were expected to be strong, unconditionally.
Roman women were not supposed to be too manly, in emotions or political involvement. When Rome passed the Oppian Law, a law that sought to curtail women's spending on luxury goods, Roman women flooded the streets. Cato scolded them, saying "What kind of behavior is this, running around in public and blocking streets and talking to other women's husbands. Could you not have asked your husbands the same thing at home? Are you more persuasive in public than in private?" (Livy, A History of Rome, 34.2.1, 2, 8-11, 46). This snide comment reduced women to the power of "pillow talk," effectively taking away their voice. It was proper for them only to talk only to their own husbands, not to other men, in Cato's eyes. He added, in his public address, that "our ancestors were not willing to let women conduct any business, not even private business, without a guardian...We, for heaven's sake, now allow them to take part in politics and to mingle with us in the Forum and to attend assemblies...To be quite honest, they desire freedom, nay rather license in all matters. And if they win in this matter, what will they not attempt?" (Livy, A History of Rome, 34.2.1, 2, 8-11, 46) This emphasizes the fear he and many other Roman men had of losing their power. Rome had slowly eased into a more women-friendly society, and Cato feared their power.
They were not supposed to be too educated, either, for the same reason. With education comes power, and the Roman patriarchy feared just that. In his sixth Satire, a brutal slam on women everywhere, Juvenal said, "Really annoying is the woman who, as soon as she takes her place on the dining couch, praises Vergil, excuses Dido's suicide, compares and ranks in critical order the various poets...Grammar teachers surrender, professors of rhetoric are defeated, the entire group of guests is silent; neither a lawyer nor an auctioneer nor even another woman will get a word in." Juvenal's final slam-- that not even another annoying, chattering woman could get a word in-- really hammers home his point: women were to be educated, but silent. (Juvenal Satires 6.434-456)
In the centuries since Rome crumbled, women have slowly developed more and more power, and have found their voice much more convincingly. However, the transition has been less than through, so the modern woman is expected to be an impossible bundle of contradictions.
One of the most important traits a woman can have is youth and innocence. Older women inject a poisonous compound—Botox-- into their foreheads just so they can look ten years younger. In People’s famous “100 Most Beautiful People” issue for 2008, the magazine highlighted women who were “AGE-DEFYING BEAUTIES!” The copy above the photos read: “30 is the new 18! The women on these pages look at least a decade younger than they really are:” (CBSnews). The youngest woman in the spread? Just 35.
Compare this, then, to the trend of making children appear years older than they are. In a recent Vogue shoot, 15-year-old tween icon Miley Cyrus appeared wrapped in a bedsheet, backless and apparently topless. In an article in Philadelphia Magazine, one eight-year-old, after her eyebrow tweezing, has a bikini wax (Philadelphia Magazine). Young girls are encouraged to grow up quickly and to be sexualized before their bodies even reach puberty.
So what is the ideal age, then? What age would Americans most likely say “yes, this is a valuable woman?” It seems to be the mid 20’s to mid 30’s (later if the woman has managed to “catch” a husband). Any younger than that and women are dismissed as “jailbait;” any older and they are called “old broads.”
Women are expected to be strong yet soft, like a good toilet paper. They are to maintain a strong composure, yet be sweet and supportive when it’s appropriate. It’s impossible to define simply what characteristics American women are valued and rejected for, because every characteristic has both a positive and a negative side. While women are able to vote, and to run for office, their voice is often obfuscated by their bodies. While Romans vocally stated that women should be seen, not heard, American society implies it much more subtly.

Summer sloth

classicsgirl — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:50:30 +0000

Progress on my reading pile is minimal... generally I work better with the incentive of exams or deadlines to keep me focused, but even by my standards it's proving exceptionally difficult to get down to some work. Being pregnant is my excuse. I was expecting my brain not to be at its sharpest in the months after the birth, but surely it's a bit early to be losing mental acuity? Let's just call it laziness.

In the interests of making some progress, I've started work on the Pro Murena - partly to help switch back to Latin mode. Not so bad so far - my Latin will probably always be more fluent than my Greek - except that I keep reading all the semi-colons as question marks, which doesn't help.

Damn That Carbon Dating!

publicartaroundtheworld — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:11:16 +0000

The famous Roman statue of the twins, Romulus and Remus, sucking from the she-wolf (Lupa Capitolina) has been carbon dated and guess what? It ain't that old. Well, it is old, but just not as old as everyone was led to believe. It seems the experts just assumed that the bronze was made by the Etruscan's in the 5th century BC. Gee, they even had proof,Cicero, a Roman statesman of that period described the statue as having a damaged paw after being struck by lightning. It would take until 2006 before someone called Cicero's bluff. Anna Maria Carruba, an Italian art expert, was adamant that is was a ruse. She argued that the statue had been cast using a wax mould, something those Etruscan's knew nothing about. To make matters worse she suggested that the paw was actually a casting mistake (ouch!). Well, thanks to carbon dating they now believe Lupa Capitolina was manufactured in the 13th century, about 800 years ago, in the Romanesque Period. So what does this mean , will it retain its importance in Roman art? I am thinking not. Whew, lucky Dan Brown didn't use Lupa Capitolina in the Da Vinci Code (that would have been embarrassing!).

Penn Can Mall 2002 "Dead Mall Tour" DVD

wonderham — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:24:02 +0000

Here's a video trailer I've recently made for the Penn Can Mall 2002 "Dead Mall Tour" DVD:

Click here to go directly to the "Dead Mall Tour" DVD section of the site for more information about the film.

Thanks,
HAM

Penn Can Mall
Syracuse Nostalgia

Ons geduld...

Jeroen Vanden Berghe — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:36:17 +0000

Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? Quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? Quem ad finem sese effrenata iactabit audacia?

riep Cicero in 63 v.C. in de Romeinse senaat tegen Catalina toen diens plannen van een staatsgreep aan het licht kwamen.

Hoelang zal je ons geduld nog op de proef stellen, Catilina? Hoelang zal die waanzin van je nog de spot met ons drijven? Tot welke grens zal jouw teugelloze brutaliteit op hol slaan?

Nu in veertien maanden Belgische politiek nog maar eens een deadline verstreken is, mag er in het Belgische Parlement ook wel eens een eloquente Cicero opstaan die het ene uitstel na het andere aan de kaak stelt. Want ons geduld wordt al zeer lang op de proef gesteld...

21 juli 2007 - toen Jean-Luc Dehaene na de informatie-opdracht van Didier Reynders als bemiddelaar werd aangesteld, verwachtte de koning dat er tegen de nationale feestdag een formateur zou zijn. Dehaene was niet gediend van zoveel ongeduld en gaf op 15 juli zijn opdracht aan de koning terug.
15 augustus 2007 - enkele weken onderhandelen op Hertoginnedal zou voldoende zijn om tegen midden augustus een oranje-blauwe regering te hebben. Helaas moest Francis Delpéréee op de dag van de deadline spreken van "un parfum de crise"; een week later, op 23 augustus, gaf Leterme zijn opdracht aan de koning terug.
7 november 2007 - na enkele deelakkoorden over socio-economische thema's geraken de oranje-blauwe onderhandelaars het begin november niet eens over de splitsing van het kiesarrondissement Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde. De Vlaamse splitsingsvoorstellen werden op 7 november in de Kamercommissie gestemd. De communautaire onderhandelingen vlotten nog minder dan ervoor en op 1 december gaf formateur Leterme zijn opdracht aan de koning terug.
25 december 2007 - de formatie begon stilaan een klucht te worden; de teller van het aantal dagen zonder Belgische regering moest gestopt worden. De regering Verhofstadt-III werd gevormd, inclusief een vervaldatum, een nieuwe deadline: Pasen 2008.
22 maart 2008 - de interimregering deed wat ze moest doen: een begroting opstellen en de onderhandelingen over de staatshervorming herlanceren (met een zeer beperkt pakket maatregelen als resultaat). De deadline werd gehaald en de - intussen genezen - Yves Leterme legde net voor Pasen bij de koning de eed af als Belgisch premier. De regering Leterme-I werd gevormd, inclusief een nieuwe deadline: 15 juli 2008.
8 mei 2008 - zes maanden na de BHV-stemming liep het belangenconflict van de Franstaligen af en kon het splitsingsvoorstel op de agenda van de plenaire Kamer geplaatst worden. Iedereen verwachtte een nieuw Franstalig belangenconflict. Maar dat kwam er maar op het allerlaatste moment waardoor een nieuwe stemming even onvermijdelijk leek.
15 juli 2008 - "zonder staatshervorming op 15 juli stappen wij uit de regering", had de CD&V top beloofd. De beloofde regeerverklaring over de institutionele en de socio-economische onderhandelingen kwam er niet en premier Leterme diende zijn ontslag aan aan de koning. Dat werd geweigerd; drie Franstalige bemiddelaars werden het veld ingestuurd, gewapend met een nieuwe deadline, eind juli.
31 juli 2008 - de verkenningsronde van de drie bemiddelaars bleek een maat voor niets te zijn; hun opdracht om een nieuw (confederaal ??) kader te vinden voor de institutionele onderhandelingen werd verlengd tot midden september. Het kartel CD&V/N-VA legde gezamenlijk 7 uitgangspunten voor een nieuwe dialoog vast.
15 september 2008 - ... ???

Ons geduld (patientia nostra) wordt nu nog maar eens op de proef gesteld. "Deadlines in de Belgische politiek beginnen soapallures te krijgen", beschrijft Eric Van Rompuy het.

De druk van het kartel met N-VA enerzijds en de druk van enkele CD&V-kamerleden en senatoren beperken gelukkig genoeg de bewegingsvrijheid van Leterme om te grote toegevingen te doen. Anderzijds groeit de druk van het ACW die de communautaire profilering van CD&V maar niets vindt (Het kartel schaadt de ziel van het kartel, dixit Jan Renders). Op 21 september houdt N-VA een ledencongres, op 27 september doet CD&V hetzelfde. Die week zal moeten bewijzen

of de communautaire lijn die het kartel samen heeft gekozen samen verder kan bewandeld worden;
of die lijn ook daadwerkelijk tot verwezenlijkingen kan leiden;
of de vaudeville te lang heeft geduurd; het geduld op is; de grens bereikt is en de stekker er wordt uitgetrokken...

Meg — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:57:44 +0000

“Os desejos obedecem à razão.”

Cícero

Meg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:50:49 +0000

"Na adversidade o maior consolo é a consciência das boas acções."

Cícero

Meg — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:43:22 +0000

"Nunca estou mais acompanhado do que quando estou sozinho."

Cícero

Never truer than today!

sonnyauld — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:37:31 +0000

The philosopher and poet Cicero wrote the following more than 2,000 years ago, but in the current political climate, with the November election drawing near, never was it truer than in 2008.

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot
survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable,
for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves
amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through
all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

"For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to
his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments. He appeals
to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul
of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine
the pillars of the city. He infects the body politic so that it can no
longer resist. A murderer is less to fear." - Cicero (42 BC)

Lévi-Strauss: Leben sinnlos

katechon — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:58:41 +0000

In einem Interview mit dem Magazin „Cicero“ sagte Claude Lévi-Strauss, dass er fest davon überzeugt sei, dass „nichts irgendeinen Sinn“ macht.

„Ich bin fest davon überzeugt, dass das Leben keinen Sinn hat, dass nichts irgendeinen Sinn hat. Wenn Sie mich mit religiösen Vorstellungen in Verbindung bringen wollen, was ja wohl Ihre Absicht ist, dann erwidere ich Ihnen, dass ich nur zu einer großen Religion eine Affinität fühle, nämlich dem Buddhismus.“
Quelle: Cicero; Das Leben hat keinen Sinn

Was in Umkehrschluss nichts anders heißt, als das nur Religion dem Leben einen Sinn verleihen kann. Außer freilich der Buddhismus.