to Constitutional Law

They have very few laws, because, with their social system, very few laws are required. Indeed, one of their great complaints against other countries is that, although they've already got books and books of laws and interpretations of laws, they never seem to have enough. For, according to the Utopians, it's quite unjust for anyone to be bound by a legal code which is too long for an ordinary person to read right through, or too difficult for him to understand.

What's more, they have no barristers to be over-ingenious about individual cases and point of law. They think it better for each man to plead his own cause, and tell the judge the same story as he'd otherwise tell his lawyer. Under such conditions, the point at issue is less likey to be obscured, and it's easier to get at the truth- for, if nobody's telling the sort of lies that one learns from lawyers, the judge can aply all his shrwedness to weighing the facts aof the case, and protecting simple-minded characters aginst the unscrupulous attacks of clever ones.

This arrangement wouldn't work very well in other countries, because there's such a mass of complicated legislation to deal with. But in Utopia everyone's a legal expert, for the simple reason that they are, as I said, very few laws, and the crudest interpretation is always assumed to be the best one. They say the only purpose of a law is to remind people what they ought to do, so the more ingenious the interpretation, the less effective the law, since proportionately fewer people will understand it- whereas the simple and obvious meaning stares everyone in the face.

Respect, respect.

Talking of respect, isn't it equally idiotic to attach such importance to a lot of empty gestures which do nobody any good? For what real pleasure can you get out of the sight of a bared head or a bent knee? Will it cure the rheumatism in you own knee, or make you any less weak in the head?

Of ourse, the great believers in this type of artificial pleasure are those who pride themselves on their 'nobility'. Nowadays that merely means tghat they happen to belong to a family which has been rich for several generations, preferably in landed property. And yet they feel every bit as 'noble' even if they've failed to inherit any of the said property, or if they have inherited it and then frittered it all away.

on History

Leonardo Bruni

First amongst such studies I place History: a subject which must not on any account be neglected by one who aspires to true cultivation. For it is our duty to understand the origins of our own history and its development; and the achievements of Peoples and of Kings.

For the careful study of the past enlarges our foresight in contemporary affairs and affords to citizens and to monarchs lessons of incitement or warning in the ordering of public policy. From History, also, we draw our store of examples of moral precepts.

In the monuments of ancient literature which have come down to us History holds a position fo great distinction. We specially prize such [Roman] authors as Livy, Sallust and Curtius*; and, prhaps even above these, Julius Caesar; teh style of wohse Commentaries, so elegant and so limpid (I love that wordddd), entitles them to our warm admiration...

*Curtius Rufus, a Roman historian and rhetorician of the mid-first century A,D., composed a biography of Alexander the Great.

on Learning and Literature

by Leonardo Bruni
a Florentine Humanist

The foundation osf all true learning must be laid in the sound and thorough knowledge of Latin, which implies study marked by a broad spirt, accurate scholarship, and careful attention to details.

To attain this essential knowledge we must never relax our carful attenion to teh grammar of the language, but perpetually confirm and extend our acquaintance with it until it is thorughly our own...to this end we must be supremely careful in our choice of authors, lest an inartistic and debased style infect our own writing and degrade our taste...

hulking behemoth

"Questions? Comment? Hysteria?"
Professor History

"... just as the curses of well-spoken persons count for more than those of the customarily foul-mouthed do."
Writer's Handbook

"You are not post modern. You need to write things in order, first things first, then second, then third, then fourth."
Professor English

The Destruction of Tenochtitlan

"...so great was the bloodshed that rivers of blood ran through the courtyard like water in a heavy rain. So great was the slime of blood and entrails in the courtyard and so great was the stench that it was both terrifying and heartrending. Now that nearly all were fallen and dead, the Spaniards went searching for those who had climbed up the temple and thos who had hidden among the dead, killing all those they found alive..."

excerpt from an account of the brutal destruction of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan from the native perspective.
by Bernardino de Sahagun

by Don Isaac Abravanel

So I escaped alone to the KIngdom of Castile from the sword of my opressor. I came there as a sojourner, and in order to pay my debt to them for saving me, I turned my attention to an investigation of the Scriptures. I made notes on the books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel. This took place in the yar 1484. As I intended to begin a commentary on teh books of Kings, I was summoned before Ferdinand, King of Spain, the mightiest of the kings of teh earth who ruled the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Catalonia, Sicily, and other Mediterranean islands. I went to the court of the King and the Queen, and for a long time I served them, finding grace in teheir eyes and in teh eyes of the first princes of the realm. I was in their service for eitht years, begin blessed with wearlth and honor. But as a result of my heavy duties to the King, my literary efforts slackened, and I abandoned my inheritance from the Kings of Israel and Judah for the King of Aragon and Castile.

In 1492 the King of Spain seized the great city of Granada, together with the whole kingdom. His haughtiness broughtr a chnage of character; his power led him to sin against his God. He thougth to himself: "How can I better show my gratitude to my God, Who gave victoryto my army and put this city into my power, than by bringing under His wing the scattered flock of Israel that walks in darkness? How shall I better serve Him than to bring back to to His faith the apostate daughter? Or, if they remain stiffnecked, to drive them to another land so that they will not dwell here nor be seen in my presence?" (who ever knew this guy was so righteous. I'm blown.)

Consequently the KIng enacted a decree as fixed as the law of the Medes and the Persians. He commanded that the children of Israel could remain in the country only if they submitted to baptism; but if they were unwilling to embrace Christian faith, they must leave the territories of Spain, Sicily, Majorca, and Sardinia. "Within three months," he decreed, "there must not remain in my kingdoms a single Jew."

I was at the court when teh decree was proclaimed. I was disconsolate with grief. Thrice I addressed teh King, imploring his mercy: "O King,j save your loyal subjects. Why do you act so cruellly toward us? We have prospered in tehis land and we would gladly give all we possess for our country." I begged my noble friends at court to intercede for my people. The King's most trusted counsellors pleaded deperately that he revoke the decree and turn from his design to destro y the Jews. But his ears were closed a though he were stone deaf. *

The Queen, seated at his right, opposed revoking teh decree; she pressed him to complete the task he had begun. Our exertions were therefore withough effect.(women.)

Despite the fact that I neither rested nor relaxed, the thunderbolt struck.

*It is reported that the King, persuaded by a delegation headed by the author promising a payment of 300,000 ducats, was on the point of revoking the decree when Torquemada, the notorious Inquisitor, appeared on the scene and declared, "Judas Iscariot sold his Master for 30 pieces of silver. You want to sell him for 300,000 ducats. Here He is-take Him and sell Him!" The decree wbecme irrevocable.

of Lions and a Fox

A prince, being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognise traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.

-The Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli

You must know, then, that there are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force: the first mehod is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second. It is therefore necessary for a prince to know well how to use both the beast and the man...

-The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli

So why be good?

Because you cant' know if you're saved until the very end, and you want to lead a life that reflects one who is "elect."
So, if you manage to lead a life of good and morality, then that is a "sign of election."

Anybody catch what comes first???

(and nope, not gonna save as a draft to post later, cuz I wanna post now. so tuff.)

You can go to heaven from anywhere...

'When Anaxogoras was dying at Lampsacus, his friends sked him if he wanted to be taken home to Clazomenae, in case anything happened to him; to which he made the splendid answer, "That will be quite unnecessary- you can get the the Underworld from anywhere." '
(Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, I, 104)

the readers.

excerpt from Utopia by Thomas More

To tell you the truth, though, I still haven't made up my mind whether I shall publish it at all. Tastes differ so widely, and some people are so humourless, so uncharitable, and so absurdly wrong-headed, that one would probably do far better to relax and enjoy life than worry oneself to death trying to instruct or entertain a public which will only despise one's efforts, or at least feel no gratitude for them.

Most readers know nothing about literature- many regard it with contempt.
Lowbrows find everthing heavy going that isn't completely lowbrow.
Highbrows reject everything as vulgar that isn't a mass of archaisms.
Some only like the classics, thers only their own works.
Some are so grimly serious that they disapprove of all humour, others so half-witted that they can't stand wit.
Some are so literal-minded that the slightest hint of irony affects them as water affects a sufferer from hydrophobia. Others come to different conclusions every time they stand up or sit down.
Then there's the alcoholic school of critics, who sit in public houses, pronouncing ex cathedra verdicts of condemnation, just as they think fit.
They seize upon your publications, as a wrestler seizes upon his opponent's hair, and use them to drag you down, while they themselves remain quite invulnerable, because their barren pates are completely bald-so there's nothing for you to get hold of.

Besides, some readers are so ungrateful that, ecven if they enjoy a book immensely, they don't feel any affection for the author. They're like rude guests who after a splendid dinner party go home stuffed with food, without saying a word of thanks to their host. So much for the wisdom of preparing a feast of reason at one's own expense for a public with such fastidious and unpredictable tastes, and with such a profound sense of gratitude!

And to all this I say, walla, this is why I write for myself. Yeah, writing is about communication and thoughts don't really hold much credence if they make sense only in your head, but yuh huh (like the YES way), they do:)

Papal Dispensation?!

Even King Henry VIII needs a heter sometimes...
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In other executionary news:

Thomas More (Utopia writer guy) was beheaded because he was a staunch Catholic and would not take on the Oath of Supremacy, which gave right to the Protestants. Anyhooo, as he lay down to be chopped, his beard got caught in the blade. He rose to readjust it, saying that the beard need not be severed, for it had done nothing wrong.

Mary Queen of Scots executor practically missed the proper blow three freeken times till he managed to get the whole head... and then, when he raised it by the hair to show the "traitor to the king" he ended up with a wig of red hair in his hand, while the grey haired head went rollin' away... (uh, jahhhh, ew.)

Bichlal, the whole execution ceremony with its gowns and speeches and lavishness (?) seriously could have been mistaken for a coronation where they just happen to chop of heads at the end.
But yeah.

In Praise of Folly

Now here's the thing about Desiderius Erasmus. He was a Northern Humanist, a Religious one, too. He never rejected or undermined the Papacy's authority, he just though that even the common man should have an understanding of the Bible and of his connection to G-d.
Which is why he said, "I wish that even teh weakest woman should read the Gospel... I long that the husbandmen should sing portions of them to himself as he follows the plough, that the weaver should hum them to the tune of his shuttle, that the traveler should beguile with their stories the tedium of his journey."
Which might be why he wrote a new edition of the Greek New Testament. And why the above quote is from its preface:)
And also why he wrote this satire against theologians and Church dignitaries:

Excerpt from The Praise of Folly, 1511

FOLLY: But no one sacrifices to Folly, they say, an dno one built a temple dedicated to her! Indeed, I myself, as I said, fid thie inngratitude somewaht surprising. Sitll, I am good natured enough to take this also in good part, though I couldn't really want such things anyway. Why should I need a bit of incense or grain or a goat or a hog, when all mortals everywhere in the world worship me with the kind of homage that even the theologians rank highest of all? ...I condider that I am being worshiped with the truest devotion when men everywhere do precisely what they now do: embrace me in their hearts, express me in their conduct, represent me in their lives. Clearly this sort of devotion to the saints, even among Christians, is not exactly common. What a huge flock of people light candles to the virgin mother God- even at noon, when there is no need! But how few of them strive to imitate her chastity, her modesty, her love for the things of heaven! (sound familiar to anyone? kinda close to home...) For, in the last analysis, that is true worship, the kind which is by far the most pleasing to saints in heaven. Furthermore, why should I want a temple, since the whole world, unless I am badly mistaken, is a splendid temple dedicated to me? (familiar, familiar) Nor will there ever be a lack of worshipers, as long as there is no lack of men. Moreover, I am no so foolish as to require stone statues decked out in gaudy colors. For sometime these are a drawback to the worship of us gods- that is, when stupid numbskulls adore the figures instead of the divinities (and yeh, this is the line I posted for:)), and thenwe are left in teh position of those who have been edged out of their jobs by substitutes. I consider that as many statues have been set up for me as there are men who display sometimes even unwillingsly, a living image of me. And so, there is no reason why I should envy the other gods because each is worshiped in his own corner of the world, and on set days too.

She is such a woman. ye, called Folly.

Friar Johan Tetzel

hehe, now say that like you grew up in Villiamsberrg. Mamash sounds like he coulda been de shammash fun G-t vaist vu...

He was, in fact. No, not ah Id, but stam ah Christian who came to sell indulgences and raise money for the Basilica of St. Peters... but with a name like that- yah just neva know.
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In the spirit of Jews and Christians, check this:
So there was always this weird understanding that Martin Luther was a friend of the Jews. That notion came about as follows:
He had started questioning the Church and challenging it for being corrupt. The only other people until now, who had never accepted the Church were the Jews. So he looked at them in wonder, saying, "Well by GoD! How DID you know not to convert?? The Insitute of the Church is indeed blah blah blah..." He though that it was so cool that they always knew what he had jsut discovered:)
Howevaaaa, when he made the reconstructed the Church to a Protestant form... and the Jews STILL didn't accept it... well, that's when he wrote this:

THIS will be in the next post, dividing this one in two, in honor of Nemo who has trouble keeping up. Come on, I am jsut so nice:D

It feels like you're negating your own self when you post humor on off black days. but yeahhhhh.

So this priest makes his way up to heaven and is greeted by the saint at heaven's gates. He's greeted and is asked how he can be helped. The priest tells the saint that he'd like to see the Bible in its original text, and he's directed to the Heavenly Archives. After a while of not hearing back from the priest, the saint walks into the archives to check up on him, only to find the priest lying on the floor over the books, in tears. The saint asks him what the matter was, and after calming down, the priest manages, "The word... was celebrate."

And duh, no one but Faheet and one other "doing speech" person erupted in laughter. Actually, only I erupted. She just swallowed. At least she got it!

Utopia

Aside from the fact that this a book that I need to do a report on, Utopia also doesnt mean a perfect place. Well, it kinda does, but not in that way.
It's actually nowhere. Literally. O Topus. A place that is not.

Mass to a Classmate

Talk about closed minds...

"So this old dude comes up to take communion, has a priest put a wafer in his mouth, calls it a host, drinks wine from a chalice and tada!, the miracle of transubstantiation occurs and the wafer and wine is transformed into the flesh and blood of Christ.
Now that must taste yuck!"

------------------

"Heresy is a sign of religious vitality."
That shows some pretty good hope for our little town, ay?

Life's like that:')

and just like that, u snap:') i say it's way easier being happy. a copout, mebbe, but definitely easier:')

by MARTIN LUTHER
Justification by faith
...therefore the moment you begin to have faith you learn that all things in you are altogether blameworthy, sinful, and damnable...

Makes you wonder, and then when you're done wondering, and realize that, uh, yeah, ure done, you'll be thankful for who you are and what you got. what's that, you ask? ahhh...learn:)

And hated? Never at all.

by Machiavelli

...From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved morr than feared, or feared more than loved. The reply is, that one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two has to be wanting.
...And men have less scruple in offending one who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared; for love is held by a chain of obligation which, men beign selfish, is broken whever it serves theri purpose; but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails.

Taken from an excerpt of THE PRINCE, basically the first poli sci textbook ever written.