Pride

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

Page 59 of 174 · 20 per page

• From The Erotic Mind (1995)

  Some of the pain inflicted or enjoyed in wild sex is simply a response to escalating passions. Not only might you feel inclined to bite, scratch, pinch, or slap when highly aroused, but at the same time, you’re less likely to be hurt by these activities because your pain threshold actually goes up in the heat of passion. In other words, things that would normally hurt can feel terrific when you’re excited. You may discover extra intense sensation at the changeable boundary between pleasure and pain. This intensity doesn’t necessarily have much to do with S-M. However, if you’ve ever enjoyed the point at which pleasure and pain begin to blur, you’ll probably find it a bit easier to understand how pain can become a turn-on. Like all CETs, S-M scenarios are primarily concerned with the resolution of childhood conflicts and hurt. But instead of addressing hurtful problems in disguised or subtle ways as most CETs do, sadomasochism turns the spotlight on pain and provides two complementary strategies for mastering it. The sadist takes command of his or her psychic wounds by skillfully administering pain to an enthusiastic recipient. The sadist is spared the discomfort of the hurt and is also gratified and subconsciously relieved to observe that the masochist clearly likes it. Old wounds are simultaneously avenged and transformed into an erotic high. The sadist is beyond merely being safe and has the illusion of omnipotence. For many people the allure of masochism is incomprehensible. Yet sexologists have long recognized that more people imagine or play the masochistic role than the sadistic role, a preference that is clearly evident in The Group’s peak turn-ons. What could anyone possibly gain from being hurt or humiliated? And if resolving pain is a chief goal of our CETs, why would someone seek it out? Dr. Stoller explains a crucial piece of the puzzle: Masochism is a technique of control, first discovered in childhood following trauma, the onslaught of the unexpected. The child believes it can prevent further trauma by reenacting the original trauma. Then, as master of the script, he is no longer a victim; he can decide for himself when to suffer pain rather than having it strike without warning.14 The notion that masochistic scenarios help participants seize control of early trauma is supported by the fact that masochists frequently report feeling validated and powerful—just the opposite of what you might expect. Psychologists who have analyzed S-M dynamics have noted that the masochist is the true master, often aggressively choreographing the entire encounter.15 Interestingly, The Group doesn’t report any peak experiences, not even fantasies, in which they enjoy inflicting physical pain on their partners. For reasonably healthy people, actually hurting someone is rarely, if ever, a peak experience. Symbolically hurting them, however, is a different matter altogether. Web: Defiling innocence

• From Sister Outsider (1984)

  Grenada is their country. I am only a relative. I must listen long and hard and ponder the implications of what I have heard, or be guilty of the same quick arrogance of the U.S. government in believing there are external solutions to Grenada’s future. I also came for reassurance, to see if Grenada had survived the onslaught of the most powerful nation on earth. She has. Grenada is bruised but very much alive. Grenadians are a warm and resilient people (I hear my mother’s voice: “Island women make good wives. Whatever happens, they’ve seen worse”), and they have survived colonizations before. I am proud to be of stock from the country that mounted the first Black english-speaking People’s Revolution in this hemisphere. Much has been terribly lost in Grenada, but not all — not the spirit of the people. Forward Ever, Backward Never 22 is more than a mere whistle in the present dark. Notes 1. P. Tyler, Washington Post, October 10, 1983, p. A14. 2. A. Cockburn, Village Voice, November 8, 1983, p.11. 3. B.D. Ayers, New York Times, October 22, 1983, p. A5 and J. McQuiston, New York Times, October 26, 1983, p. A20. 4. Text of Treaty, New York Times, October 26, 1983, p. A19. 5. S. Taylor, New York Times, October 26, 1983, p. A19. 6. A. Lewis, New York Times, November 3, 1983 and A. Cockburn, Village Voice, November 8, 1983, p. 10. 7. S. Mydans, New York Times, January 15, 1984, p. 9. 8. Christian Science Monitor, November 7, 1983. 9. A. Schlesinger, Jr., Wall Street Journal, October 26, 1983. 10. C. Sunshine, ed., Grenada — The Peaceful Revolution (E.P.I.C.A., Washington, D.C., 1982). 11. C. Sunshine, The Guardian, December 28, 1983. 12. E. Ray and B. Schaap, “U.S. Crushes Caribbean Jewel,” Covert Action Bulletin # 20, Winter 1984, p. 11. 13. Ibid., p. 13. 14. Ibid., p. 5. 15. S. Taylor, New York Times, November 6, 1983, p. 20. 16. Ibid. 17. Washington Post, November 21, 1983. 18. CBS Evening News, December 18, 1983. 19. The London Guardian, November 4, 1983. 20. Grenada — The Peaceful Revolution, p. 87. 21. Carriacou — In the Mainstream of the Revolution (Fedon Publishers, St. Georges, Grenada, 1982), pp. 54–57. 22. Slogan of the Grenadian Revolution * I spent a week in Grenada in late December, 1983, barely two months after the U.S. invasion of the Black Caribbean island my parents left some sixty years earlier. It was my second visit in five years. This is an interim essay, a report written as the rest of Sister Outsider was already being typeset. For a current catalog of books from Crossing Press visit our Web site: www.tenspeed.com What’s next on your reading list? Discover your next great read! Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author. Sign up now.

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  In the year 600 he succeeded his brother in the archiepiscopate of Seville. In this position he became the great leader of the Spanish Church, and is known to have presided at two, councils, the second council of Seville, opened November 13, 619, and the fourth council of Toledo, opened December 5, 633.1009 The first of these was of local interest, but the other was much more important. It was the largest ever held in Spain, being attended by all the six metropolitans, fifty-six bishops and seven bishops’ deputies. It has political significance because it was called by King Sisenand, who had just deposed Suintila, the former king. Sisenand was received by the council with great respect. He threw himself before the bishops and with tears asked their prayers. He then exhorted them to do their duty in correcting abuses. Of the seventy-five canons passed by the council several are of curious interest. Thus it was forbidden to plunge the recipient of baptism more than once under the water, because the Arians did it three times to indicate that the Trinity was divided (c. 6). It was not right to reject all the hymns written by Hilary and Ambrose and employ only Scriptural language in public worship (c. 13). If a clergyman is ever made a judge by the king he must exact an oath from the king that no blood is to be shed in his court (c. 31). By order of King Sisenand the clergy were freed from all state taxes and services (c. 47). Once a monk always a monk, although one was made so by his parents (c. 49) 1010 While compulsory conversion of the Jews was forbidden, yet no Jew converted by force was allowed to return to Judaism (c. 57). Very strenuous laws were passed relative to both the baptized and the unbaptized Jews (c. 58–66). The king was upheld in his government and the deposed king and his family perpetually excluded from power. When Isidore’s position is considered it is a probable conjecture that these canons express his opinions and convictions upon the different matters. Warned by disease of death’s approach, Isidore began the distribution of his property. For the last six months of his life he dispensed alms from morn till night. His end was highly edifying. Accompanied by his assembled bishops he had himself carried to the church of St. Vincent the Martyr, and there, having publicly confessed his sins, prayed God for forgiveness. He then asked the pardon and prayers of those present, gave away the last thing he owned, received the Holy Communion, and was carried to his cell, in which he died four days later, Thursday, April 4, 636.1011 He was immediately enrolled among the popular saints and in the 15th council of Toledo (688) is styled "excellent doctor," and by Benedict XIV. (April 25, 1722) made a Doctor of the Church. Isidore of Seville was the greatest scholar of his day.

• From Between Us

  Not surprisingly, then, the middle-class U.S. mothers in Miller’s study noted it was important to actively “build, cultivate or protect their children’s self-esteem.” And in their minds, a good way of doing this was to “love, respect and affirm” their children in the here and now; all psychological benefits would follow. So this was the project that Oliver’s father and I embarked on: we loved, respected, and affirmed our ten-month-old son. We were not alone in praising our child’s special accomplishment. Parents’ praising is not limited to events in the here and now. Many moms in Miller’s study reminisced with their children, or with the researcher, about events in which their children were the star. Referring to her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Molly, one Chicago mom relates to the researcher: You’ll get a kick out of this one. Friday night, we were just sitting around. . . . Jim and I were sitting on the ground. . . . she puts her hand on me and says “Me happy.” And I am like, “That is good, Mollie. You happy.” [researcher: I love it, it sounds so cute.] I said: “I don’t think I ever heard anyone say that,” and Jim says, “I know I never heard anyone come up with [me happy].” In this narrative, Miller and her colleagues tell us, Mollie’s mom draws attention to her daughter’s funny pronoun use (in Mollie’s presence). In doing so, she conveys to both Mollie and the researcher, how endearing and surprising Mollie’s expression is, further underlining the novelty (and uniqueness) of Mollie’s word choice by citing her own and her husband’s response in the moment. She also uses the situation to solicit an audience: the researcher, being a well-socialized audience, affirms Mollie’s mother’s take on the behavior: “I love it, it sounds so cute.” The story sets Molly apart as a special child, and creates an opportunity for pride both for the mom and the child. The Chicago homes of these middle-class European American toddlers were full of this kind of narrative. Praising is not restricted to homes. Both Oliver and his two-year-younger sister Zoë often came home from their North Carolina elementary school with “best student” awards. As a “new” American mom, I would have liked to believe my kids were “the best,” but the awards did not reflect as much. One month they were the best at having mastered the first list of French vocabulary (twenty words), another month they had been the most eager participant of a sports day: the person who, despite having had no chance at winning, had been a good sport. None of these certificates marked major achievements, but the school practiced public praising as a way of giving kids—many kids, I believe—a sense of being valued and seen, or even of being unique at something or other. We may call the associated feeling “pride.”

• From Between Us

  My [extended] family did not want me to compete . . . , as this would lower the chances of their own children to get into good programs. There was resentment [about me participating], and so my honor was challenged . . . I was forced to be competitive with the children of my relatives . . . My relatives asked me questions to humiliate me: “Are you going to finish this time?” They kissed me, and wished me well, but I knew that they privately thought: “Damn it, you won again” . . . After I won [the competition], many families were prepared to offer me their daughters to marry. Of course, my self-esteem increased. Clearly, the primary force of Levent’s emotional experience lies in the social world, in the changing of relationships between people, not in the subjective, inner feeling. This was the picture emerging from many of the Turkish and Surinamese interviews: Emotions were described as shifts in relative status, honor, or power, or as status, honor, or power negotiations. They were not, or not in the first place, private individual feelings, but ways of relating between people. Contrast this with Martin’s account of a time when he received admiration or compliments. Martin is a Dutch-majority young man, who had given his final presentation for his master’s in civil engineering, and this is where his emotion started: You feel like you have really done it. Yes [you wonder] how you have managed to do it . . . I felt like enormously relieved . . . Not really excited, but more like “It is finally over!” . . . I had set myself this deadline and it made me feel good that I made it this time . . . Afterwards I went out with some friends and relatives, seven people. We did not talk about my presentation. Yes, sure, they are friends of mine, so they know that this is important to me . . . They had come to listen to my presentation, of course, and so they did tell me that I did a good job. They also said “You are done now, it is over,” that kind of things . . . Other than that, we just talked about other stuff . . . For a few months, when I would run into people, I would tell them. It gave me a good feeling. Each time it dawns on you a little more that you are really done with it. The seat of Martin’s emotion is primarily INside: the feeling of relief, and the feeling of joy (by whatever name) define his experience. Of course, he shares and celebrates his accomplishments with others. But the focus of the emotion is on his inner feelings.

• From The Erotic Mind (1995)

  Through a complementary process called “importing,” we zero in on characteristics of the other that fill in our own missing or underdeveloped aspects. Whereas the goal of exporting is personal validation, the purpose of importing is the pursuit of wholeness. When we feel attracted, few of us are consciously thinking, “This person is desirable because he or she exudes the qualities I lack.” But to understand as much as possible about our attractions, we must look at how we feel deficient or out of balance—not always a pleasant task, but an extremely important one. Claude: Awakening the lioness It’s easy to see why Claude, an economist in his mid-thirties, feels so good about this peak encounter: I attended a party where I knew only the host. While sitting in a corner I sported a new arrival, a smartly dressed, petite woman with jet black hair and delicate features. I decided to venture out and introduce myself. She was soft-spoken but friendly and highly intelligent about many topics. We talked until the party was breaking up. Finally, I mustered the courage to invite her home for coffee and she accepted. After more conversation we began kissing. Her lips were soft and sensuous. Soon we were fondling each other quite freely, still fully clothed. I laid out a comforter in front of the fireplace where we stripped each other as our kissing and groping grew more urgent. Much to my surprise and delight this soft-spoken lady became a lioness in heat. When I sucked her nipples she groaned and writhed. And when I buried my face in her bush she sighed and whimpered and screamed. Obviously, she was losing control which turned me on immensely. This little doll became overwhelmed with passion. I couldn’t believe I lasted so long because her screams excited me so. It was unbelievable when she came. Her spasms went on and on, rippling through her body like earthquakes. She was the most passionate, loudest, and uninhibited comer I’d ever been with. We repeated an equally noisy romp the next morning. Since then we’ve talked a couple of times on the phone but we never met again. I know I won’t forget her, though. Judging from this story, Claude’s CET involves being the catalyst for escalating passion in his partner. Millions of men—and more than a few women—can empathize with Claude’s delight at releasing a wild, sex-crazed animal from a reserved, soft-spoken lady. He is exporting masculine erotic vigor. And the fact that his partner responds so enthusiastically confirms his virility: She might have reacted the same to every guy, but to me her wildness was my personal cheering section. Her screams and moans made me feel like a terrific lover. In fact, all of my best sex has been with women like this—hidden lionesses. My super hard-on and staying power showed how confident she made me.

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  In 781 at Easter Charles revisited Rome with his son Pepin, who on that occasion was anointed by the pope "King for Italy" ("Rex in Italiam"). On a third visit., in 787, he spent a few days with his friend, Hadrian, in the interest of the patrimony of St. Peter. When Leo III. followed Hadrian (796) he immediately dispatched to Charles, as tokens of submission the keys and standards of the city, and the keys of the sepulchre of Peter. A few years afterwards a terrible riot broke out in Rome in which the pope was assaulted and almost killed (799). He fled for help to Charles, then at Paderborn in Westphalia, and was promised assistance. The next year Charles again crossed the Alps and declared his intention to investigate the charges of certain unknown crimes against Leo, but no witness appeared to prove them. Leo publicly read a declaration of his own innocence, probably at the request of Charles, but with a protest that this declaration should not be taken for a precedent. Soon afterwards occurred the great event which marks an era in the ecclesiastical and political history of Europe. The Coronation of Charles as Emperor. While Charles was celebrating Christmas in St. Peter’s, in the year of our Lord 800, and kneeling in prayer before the altar, the pope, as under a sudden inspiration (but no doubt in consequence of a premeditated scheme), placed a golden crown upon his head, and the Roman people shouted three times: "To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, the great and pacific emperor of the Romans, life and victory!" Forthwith, after ancient custom, he was adored by the pope, and was styled henceforth (instead of Patrician) Emperor and Augustus.250 The new emperor presented to the pope a round table of silver with the picture of Constantinople, and many gifts of gold, and remained in Rome till Easter. The moment or manner of the coronation may have been unexpected by Charles (if we are to believe his word), but it is hardly conceivable that it was not the result of a previous arrangement between him and Leo. Alcuin seems to have aided the scheme. In his view the pope occupied the first, the emperor the second, the king the third degree in the scale of earthly dignities. He sent to Charles from Tours before his coronation a splendid Bible with the inscription: Ad splendorem imperialis potentiae.251 On his return to France Charles compelled all his subjects to take a new oath to him as "Caesar." He assumed the full title "Serenssimus Augustus a Deo coronatus, magnus et pacificus imperator, Romanum gubernans imperium, qui et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum et Longobardorum." Significance of the Act.

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  In the meantime the popular desire for national union, awakened by the war of liberation and a great national literature, made steady progress, and found at last its embodiment in a new German empire with a liberal constitution and a national parliament. But this great result was brought about by great events and achievements under the leadership of Prussia against foreign aggression. The first step was the brilliant victory of Prussia over Austria at Königgrätz, which resulted in the formation of the North German Confederation (1866). The second step was the still more remarkable triumph of united Germany in a war of self-defence against the empire of Napoleon III., which ended in the proclamation of William I. as German emperor by the united wishes of the German princes and peoples in the palace of Louis XIV. at Versailles (1870). Thus the long dream of the German nation was fulfilled through a series of the most brilliant military and diplomatic victories recorded in modern history, by the combined genius of Bismarck, Moltke, and William, and the valor, discipline, and intelligence of the German army. Simultaneously with this German movement, Italy under the lead of Cavour and Victor Emmanuel, achieved her national unity, with Rome as the political capital. But the new German empire is not a continuation or revival of the old. It differs from it in several essential particulars. It is the result of popular national aspiration and of a war of self-defence, not of conquest; it is based on the predominance of Prussia and North Germany, not of Austria and South Germany; it is hereditary, not elective; it is controlled by modern ideas of liberty and progress, not by mediaeval notions and institutions; it is essentially Protestant, and not Roman Catholic; it is a German, not a Roman empire. Its rise is indirectly connected with the simultaneous downfall of the temporal power of the pope, who is the hereditary and unchangeable enemy both of German and Italian unity and freedom. The new empire is independent of the church, and has officially no connection with religion, resembling in this respect the government of the United States; but its Protestant animus appears not only in the hereditary religion of the first emperor, but also in the expulsion of the Jesuits (1872), and the "Culturkampf" against the politico-hierarchical aspirations of the ultramontane papacy. When Pius IX., in a letter to William I. (1873), claimed a sort of jurisdiction over all baptized Christians, the emperor courteously informed the infallible pope that he, with all Protestants, recognized no other mediator between God and man but our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The new German empire will and ought to do full justice to the Catholic church, but "will never go to Canossa." We pause at the close of a long and weighty chapter in history; we wonder what the next chapter will be.

• From Between Us

  Praising is embedded in a child-focused culture, where a child’s perspective is taken quite seriously from very early on. Mothers of white U.S. and European babies have face-to-face interactions with infants, and talk to them, as opposed to mothers from many other cultures who keep their babies on their bodies, instead of facing them. How much middle-class American families invite even their babies to be full conversation partners is well illustrated by a story of my own family. One of my undergraduate students at Wake Forest—let us call him John—was exceedingly smart, but less than exceedingly organized. Once in graduate school, he asked me for a last-minute favor: he needed a recording of a family dinner conversation, a family with small children. I agreed to help him, but right before the start of our dinner, I realized that the data would be worthless to him. I spoke Dutch to the children, their dad spoke English, so John (not being bilingual) would not be able to make any sense of our conversation. John’s deadline was imminent, so I had no choice but to tape our dinner conversation anyway. To my surprise the recording turned out to be very useful to John: he was interested in speaking turns. My daughter Zoë, who was less than one year old, and not speaking yet, was still allowed speaking time. We asked her questions (in either language), and we allowed her time to answer, even if she was not yet able. We prepared her for the role of an individual who was valued in her own right. There are many practices to let middle-class American children know that they are valued individuals, but praising is a practice that is particularly emotionally arousing. With praise for children’s small early successes—such as holding a book right side up and early talking (“me happy”)—American middle-class parents not only teach their children the importance of those particular achievements, “but also hope to instill in them a generalized self-reliance that, it is thought, will stand them in good stead in their future pursuit of success and happiness.” As one of the moms in Miller’s research said: “[It is important to give] them enough love and praise so that they feel good about themselves, and then they can go and master the world.” The marking of small achievements by parents and other socializing agents paves the road for the child to feel good about themselves generally; it predisposes children to feel happy, proud, or full of self-esteem.

• From The Erotic Mind (1995)

  As we discussed her dream I suggested that not only was she married to one of these men, but the monster who slapped her down was also within her. She wouldn’t allow herself to take the wheel. She terrorized herself. At first she resisted this idea vigorously, with a hint of exhilaration in her voice. She felt that I was blaming her for her troubles and was defending herself for a change. She was genuinely shocked when I told her how good it felt to see the strong Brenda. Immediately, she slipped back into familiar territory and began berating herself. And then, in one of those moments that remind me why I became a therapist, I watched as she interrupted herself midstream. “I’ve got to stop doing that, don’t I?” We nodded and smiled in unison, both knowing she had reached a point of no return. Brenda’s loss of desire was a subconsciously directed act of self-respect. Her body was expressing what she could not say in words: I refuse to lie turned on by someone who treats me as if I’m worthless. Loss of desire is among the most common of all sexual problems. Sometimes this is an inevitable side effect of today’s stress-filled lives. Sometimes it springs from unresolved resentments and conflicts in long-term relationships. Sometimes the culprits are the predictable routines that squeeze out the last vestiges of surprise. More often than you might think, however, diminishing sexual desire is a sign of growth, as it was for Brenda. In such cases lost desire is not a problem to be fixed but a message to be heeded. If a person’s CET consistently places him or her in a demeaning position, increasing self-esteem will usually have an unmistakable antiaphrodisiac effect. It is a signal that “business as usual” is no longer possible and a call for fundamental change. Almost one year after Brenda and I began our work she confronted Ernie with her dissatisfaction and insisted that he accompany her to a marriage counselor. True to form he refused, ranting at her about how sick and tired he was of having a frigid, complaining, good-for-nothing wife. Within two weeks Brenda moved in with a friend and filed for divorce. Although for some time to come she grieved about all she had lost and all she had endured, even during her worst days she never doubted the rightness of her decision. Away from Ernie, Brenda began to get promising clues about how her eroticism might be different without self-deprecation and fear as its guiding principles. About one thing she was absolutely certain: she would never again allow anyone to mistreat her. It was her turn to take the wheel.

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  This monarch, who found in his councillor, Aeneas Sylvius, an enthusiastic biographer, but who, by the testimony of others, was weak and destitute of martial spirit and generous qualities, was the first of the Hapsburgs to receive the crown in the holy city, and held the imperial office longer than any other of the emperors before or after him. With his coronation the emperor combined the celebration of his nuptials to Leonora of Portugal. Frederick’s journey to Italy and his sojourn in Rome offered to the pen of Aeneas a rare opportunity for graphic description, of which he was a consummate master. The meeting with the future empress, the welcome extended to his majesty, the festivities of the marriage and the coronation, the trappings of the soldiery, the blowing of the horns, the elegance of the vestments worn by the emperor and his visit to the artistic wonders of St. Peter’s,—these and other scenes the shrewd and facile Aeneas depicted. The Portuguese princess, whose journey from Lisbon occupied 104 days, disembarked at Leghorn, February, 1452, where she was met by Frederick, attended by a brilliant company of knights. After joining in gay entertainments at Siena, lasting four days, the party proceeded to Rome. Leonora, who was only sixteen, was praised by those who saw her for her rare beauty and charms of person. She was to become the mother of Maximilian and the ancestress of Charles V.726 On reaching the gates of the papal capital, Frederick was met by the cardinals, who offered him the felicitations of the head of Christendom, but also demanded from him the oath of allegiance, which was reluctantly promised. The ceremonies, which followed the emperor’s arrival, were such as to flatter his pride and at the same time to confirm the papal tenure of power in the city. Frederick was received by Nicolas on the steps of St. Peter’s, seated in an ivory chair, and surrounded by his cardinals, standing. The imperial visitor knelt and kissed the pontiff’s foot. On March 16, Nicolas crowned him with the iron crown of Lombardy and united the imperial pair in marriage. Leonora then went to her own palace, and Frederick to the Vatican as its guest. The reason for his lodging near the pope was that Nicolas might have opportunity for frequent communication with him or, as rumor went, to prevent the Romans approaching him under cover of darkness with petitions for the restoration of their liberties.727 Three days later, March 19, the crown of the empire was placed upon Frederick’s head.728 With his consort he then received the elements from the pope’s hand. The following week Frederick proceeded to Naples.729 Scarcely in any pontificate has so notable and long-forecasted an event occurred as the fall of Constantinople into the hands of the Turks, which took place May 29, 1453. The last of the Constantines perished in the siege, fighting bravely at the gate of St. Romanos. The church of Justinian, St.

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  But in its restless literary activity, it went still further, imitating the literary forms received from antiquity. Orations became a marked feature of the time, pompous and stately. The envoys of princes were called orators and receptions, given to such envoys, were opened with classical addresses. Orations were also delivered at the reception of relics, at funerals and—the epithalamials—and even at the consecration of bishops. At a betrothal, Filelfo opened his address with the words, "Aristotle, the peripatetic teacher." The orations of this Latinist, most eminent in his day, are pronounced by Geiger a disgusting mixture of classic and biblical quotations.1007 Not seldom these ornate productions were extended to two or three hours. Pius II.’s fame for oratory helped him to the papal throne. All forms of classic poetry were revived—from the epic to the epigram, from tragedy to satire. Petrarca’s Africa, an epic on Scipio, and Boccaccio’s Theseid led the way. Attempts were even made to continue or restore ancient literary works. Maffeo Vegio, under Martin V., composed a 13th book of Virgil, Bruni restored the second decade of Livy. The poets not only revived the ancient mythologies but peopled Italy with new gods and nymphs. Especially active were they in celebrating the glories of the powerful men of their age, princes and popes. A Borgiad was dedicated to Alexander VI., a Borsead to Borso, duke of Este, a Sforzias to one of the viconti of Milan and the Laurentias to Lorenzo de’ Medici. The most offensive panegyric of all was the poetical effusion of Ercole Strozzi at the death of Caesar Borgia. In this laudation, Roma is represented as having placed her hopes in the Borgias, Calixtus III. and Alexander VI., and last of all in Caesar, whose deeds are then glorified. In historic composition also, a new chapter was opened. The annals of cities and the careers of individuals were studied and written down. The histories of Florence, first in Latin by Lionardo Bruni and then down to 1362 by the brothers Villani, who wrote in Italian, and then by Poggio to 1455, were followed by other histories down to the valuable Diaries of Rome by Infessura and Burchard, the History of Venice, 1487–1513, by Bembo, and the works of Machiavelli and Guicciardini, who wrote in Italian. In 1463, Flavio Biondo compiled his encyclopaedic work in three parts on the history, customs, topography and monuments of Rome and Italy, Roma instaurata, Roma triumphans and Italia illustrata. Lionardo Bruni wrote Lives of Cicero and Aristotle in Latin and of Dante and Petrarca in Italian. The passion for composition was displayed in the despatches of Venetian, Mantuan and other ambassadors at the courts of Rome or Este and by the elaborate letters, which were in reality finished essays, for the most part written in Latin and introducing comments on books and matters of literary interest, by Politian, Bembo and others, a form of writing revived by Petrarca.

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  canonical books. By this "labor pius, sed periculosa praesumtio," as he called it, he subjected himself to all kinds of enmity from ignorance and blind aversion to change, and was abused as a disturber of the peace and falsifier of the Scripture;2109 but from other sources he received much encouragement. The New Testament and the Psalter were circulated and used in the church long before the completion of the whole. Augustine, for example, was using the New Testament of Jerome, and urged him strongly to translate the Old Testament, but to translate it from the Septuagint.2110 Gradually the whole version made its way on its own merits, without authoritative enforcement, and was used in the West, at first together with the Itala, and after about the ninth century alone. The Vulgate takes the first place among the Bible-versions of the ancient church. It exerted the same influence upon Latin Christendom as the Septuagint upon Greek, and it is directly or indirectly the mother of most of the earlier versions in the European vernaculars.2111 It is made immediately from the original languages, though with the use of all accessible helps, and is as much superior to the Itala as Luther’s Bible to the older German versions. From the present stage of biblical philology and exegesis the Vulgate can be charged, indeed, with innumerable faults, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and arbitrary, dealing, in particulars;2112 but notwithstanding these, it deserves, as a whole, the highest praise for the boldness with which it went back from the half- deified Septuagint directly to the original Hebrew; for its union of fidelity and freedom; and for the dignity, clearness, and gracefulness of its style. Accordingly, after the extinction of the knowledge of Greek, it very naturally became the clerical Bible of Western Christendom, and so continued to be, till the genius of the Reformation in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, and England, returning to the original text, and still further penetrating the spirit of the Scriptures, though with the continual help of the Vulgate, produced a number of popular Bibles, which were the same to the evangelical laity that the Vulgate had been for many centuries to the Catholic clergy. This high place the Vulgate holds even to this day in the Roman church, where it is unwarrantably and perniciously placed on an equality with the original.2113 The Commentaries of Jerome cover Genesis, the Major and Minor Prophets, Ecclesiastes, Job, some of the Psalms,2114 the Gospel of Matthew, and the Epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, Titus, and Philemon.2115 Besides these he translated the Homilies of Origen on Jeremiah and Ezekiel, on the Gospel of Luke, and on the Song of Solomon. Of the last he says: "While Origen in his other writings has surpassed all others, on the Song of Solomon he has surpassed himself."2116 His best exegetical labors are those on the Prophets (Particularly his Isaiah, written A.D. 408–410; his Ezekiel, A.D. 410–415; and his Jeremiah to chap.

• From Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity (1989)

  Two ideals flow together to give force to this principle. The first is t ha t of s elf-responsible rational freedom, which l have frequently discussed in these pages. We have an obli g ation to make up our own minds on the e vidence without bowing to any authority. The second is a kind of heroi sm of unbelief, the deep spiritual satisfaction of knowing t ha t one has confronted the truth of things, however bleak and unconsoling. This theme recurs constantly in the writings of the period. Samuel Putnam, a former minister, was ready to look at "the infinite abyss" in which humanity will ultimately vanish without a si ngle "gleam of hope, , . Relig ion revolted him: "O the weakness, the falsehood of religion in view of this terrific destiny!" He woul d have no truck with thi s "cr y of the child against the night", this "cowar d's sentimentality". 17 ''The very moment man rec o g nizes the evil of his lot, th at v ery moment the grandeur of his being a rises . Fo r he can love; he can endure; he can perish without terror''. And Victori an s frequently spoke of the "manliness,, required to face the bare truth. 1 8 If one couldn't believe, then honesty required that one speak out. Here the agnostics showe d their filiation to evangelical Christian i ty, from whic h m any Our Victorian Contemporaries · 405 o f them descended. 19 Charles Eliot Norton accused believers of committing "the great sin,,. of "insincere profession". A nd Th o mas Huxley based his confidence for the future on this thought: "However bad our posterity may become, so long as they hold by the plain rule of not pretending to believe what they have no reason to believe because it may be to tlleir advantag e so to pretend, they will not have reached the lowest depths of immorality". 20 An ethic of this kind calls for something like scientism, a sharp boundary b etween what one has good reason to give cred en ce to and what goes beyond this limit. A universe in whic h the most important questions were truly surrounded with mystery woul d undercut this clear moral call. Ideally, one needs clear principles, like those of scientific method, which can divide the sheep from the goats among th e beliefs which try to nestle in our minds. This utterly clear sense of the boundary between permissible and impermissible is another powerful mark o f their evangelical legacy. Epistemology and moral fervour are mutually supportin g.

• From Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence (2014)

  Their members learned to plan, organize, and pursue a clearly defined objective in a rational way that empowered them against the establishment. We in the West tend to evaluate other cultural traditions by measuring them against the Enlightenment: the Great Awakenings in America show that people can reach these ideals by another, specifically religious route. In fact, American evangelicals had appropriated some Enlightenment ideals so thoroughly that they created a curious hybrid that some historians have called “Enlightenment Protestantism.” 51 This paradox had been noted by Alexis de Tocqueville when he visited the United States during the 1830s, remarking that the character of the country combined “two perfectly distinct elements that elsewhere have often made war with each other, but which, in America,... they have succeeded in incorporating somehow one into another and combining marvellously: I mean to speak of the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom.” 52 The Founding Fathers had been inspired by the so-called moderate Enlightenment of Isaac Newton and John Locke. The evangelicals, however, repudiated the “skeptical” Enlightenment of Voltaire and David Hume as well as the “revolutionary” Enlightenment of Rousseau but embraced the “common sense” philosophy of the Scottish thinkers Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746), Thomas Reid (1710–96), Adam Smith (1723–90), and Dugald Stewart (1753–1828). 53 This taught them that human beings had an innate and infallible ability to see clear connections between moral causes and their effects in public life. Understanding things was simple, a matter of common sense. Even a child could grasp the essence of the gospel and figure out for herself what was right. Enlightenment philosophers had told people to cast aside the habit of tutelage and work out the truth for themselves, without relying on authoritarian institutions and learned experts. American evangelicals, therefore, were confident that if they put their minds to it, they could create a society in the New World that fully implemented Christian values. 54 The Constitution had established a secular state but had done nothing to encourage the development of a national culture; the Founders had assumed that this would evolve naturally in response to government action. 55 Yet thanks to the evangelical welfare and reform associations, “Enlightenment Protestantism,” somewhat ironically, became the national ethos of the secular state. 56 You can take religion out of the state, but you can’t take religion out of the nation. By dint of their energetic missionary work, reform organizations, and publications, the evangelicals created a Bible-based culture that pulled the new nation together. The Americans had shown that it was possible to organize society on a more just and rational basis.

• From Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity (1989)

  "God Loveth Adv e rbs" · 2.3 1 A n d as Christopher Hill has argued, 51 there were social reasons why the n e w science appealed to those attracted by the new theology. These were ge n erally men of the middling sort. We saw above their sense that the order t h ey sought was under threat both from the undisciplined among the landed classes a nd from the rootless underclass of beggars and vagabonds. The ne w faith was stronge r among artisans, tradesmen, and small landholders. These c lasses were developin g a new confidence and self-r e liance, which both encouraged and was entrenched by their new religion of personal commit ment. This was one of the factors which underlay the civil war of the 164o's. B ut these s ocial developments also created an audience for the new science. The Baconian revolution shifted the central goal of science from contemplation to p roductive efficacy. And this was at the same time and inseparably a shift against the hierarchy of social valuation, in favour of the pro ductive artisan classes against those classes which prided themselves in leisure. The new science gave a new cachet to getting on e 's hands dirty in the mechanic arts. Late r in the ce ntury Boyle and Locke took pri d e in describing the mselves (perh aps somewhat disingenuously) as "underbuilders" and "under-labourers". The combined philosophical-cum-social shift in evalua t ion had deep appeal for artisan and merchant classes which were becoming conscious of their new achievements and aspiring to a new dignity and influence in society. The appeal was all the greater in that their religious faith also stressed the value of work and the equal dignity of all callings. It is not surprising that there was some convergence between the new science, the new r eligion, and the new revolutionary spirit which convulsed England in the 164o's. But this convergence is of course a phenomenon of the time only. The scien tific revolution easily survived the Restoration. Indeed, it properly took off under Charles, with his patronage of the new Royal Society. The Society found its supporters well outside the ranks of former roundheads, while some of those who had been sympathetic to the Commonwealth, like Boyle, prudently ke pt their distance. The connection between Pu ri tanism and mo dern science which is of more las ti ng interest is on a deeper level. It comes through in the religious outlook whic h suf fuses Bacon's works.

• From The Erotic Mind (1995)

  It’s not always possible to retain remnants of an original attraction. The characteristics that first bring partners together can change radically or disappear completely over time. Some couples respond by turning their attention elsewhere. Erotic couples, however, make a conscious effort to develop new sources of attraction as old ones fall away; they learn to see their lovers through new eyes. Richard and Mark: Changing faces of attraction Having lived together for over eleven years, Richard and Mark had been through their share of trouble, including one extended separation, yet their commitment remained solid. Mark consulted me because he was concerned that his attraction for Richard was fading. Like most male couples, after their first few years together they had agreed to allow casual sex outside the relationship. There had been mutual insecurities during the transition to nonmonogamy and two crises when each had a brief affair, but their arrangement had mostly worked well. In addition to their outside activities, they also had continued an active sex life together until the last year. “I don’t get it,” said Mark, “Richard is still very handsome. He has a beautiful body. We have lots of fun together. But I feel myself turning off and it scares me.” As usual, I asked what had originally attracted Mark to Richard. He immediately mentioned Richard’s youthful good looks, playful sense of fun, and flair for adventure—all of which contrasted with Mark’s more serious, conservative nature. “Even as a child,” Mark explained, “I was a little adult, dutifully doing chores, schoolwork, and taking care of my sister. Richard knows how to have fun and even gets away with being irresponsible—or at least he used to.” Over the years Richard had changed dramatically. He achieved an advanced degree, established a new career, earned more money, became unmistakably more independent and powerful. Mark felt proud of Richard’s accomplishments, but the contrast that had excited him for so long was narrowing to practically nothing. Now they were both dominated by their responsibilities. As a result, Mark had been noticing younger, less mature men—more like Richard used to be. Mark hadn’t given these changes much conscious thought until his discussion with me. After that he talked with Richard, who soon joined us in the sessions. He too had lost some of his original attraction but in a different way. Whereas Mark still was drawn to the youthful ways that balanced his seriousness, Richard was no longer interested in big brother types. He wanted Mark to be attracted to him as a fellow professional and peer. “I want to be two men together,” he proclaimed, “not a man and a boy.”

• From Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity (1989)

  But it is also defined positively by the reflexive powers which are central to the modern sub j ect, those whi ch confer the different kinds of inwardness on him or her, the pow ers of disengaged reason, and the creative imagination. The various conceptions of freedom, "negative" and "positive", ar e grounded on different stanc es towards, and definitions of , these powers , "positive" theories being gener ally based on some notion of an inner source, and "negative " theories be i ng generally highl y critical of all such notions. 3 But beyond these disagreements, what is universal in the modern world is the centrality of freedom as a good. This, together with the ideal of unive r sal benevolence, has generated another deeply entrenched moral imperative, to universal justice, which has fou nd expression in our century in the various universal declarations of rights. The language of subjective rights offers a way o f formulating certain important immunities and benefits which also builds in some idea of the dignity of a free subject, for it expresses these immunities and benefits as a kind of property of the subject, which can be invoked by the subject in his or her own cause. And of course these ideas of freedom and dignity, in associ ation with the pr omotion of ordinary life, have steadily eroded hierarchy and promoted e quality-and that in all sorts of dimensions, between social classes, races, ethnic and cultural groups, and the sexes. Most notably , it has helped t o bring a bout the steady ri se in democracy as a legitimate form of political rule, to the p oi nt where it has bec ome in the late twentieth century the inescapable source o f legitimacy: everyone, even its most flagrant enemie s, from Enver Hoxha to Agusto Pinochet, has been forced to claim some kind of democratic endorse ment in "elections" or "plebiscites". Everyone would now agree, whatever t heir real feelings, with Jefferson's final judgement on his Declaration of I nde pend ence, delivered near the end of his life , that it "will be (to some parts s oo n er, to others l ater, but finally to a ll) the signal of arousin g men to burst t h e c hain s under which m onk ish ig no rance and superstition had persuaded t h em to bind the mse lves, and to assume the blessings and security of s e lf-g ove rnment".

• From Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence (2014)

  Henry of Lancaster (1310–61), hero of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, prayed that the wounds, pain, fatigue, and danger of the battlefield would enable him to endure for Christ “such afflictions, labors, pains, as you chose, and not merely to win a prize nor to offset my sins, but purely for love of you, as you Lord have done for love of me.”121 For Geoffroi de Charny, fighting on the other side, the physical struggle of warfare gave his life meaning. Prowess was the highest human achievement because it required such extreme “pain, travail, fear, and sorrow.” Yet it also brought “great joy.”122 Monks had it easy; their so-called sufferings were “nothing in comparison” to what a soldier endured every day of his life, “beset by great terrors” and knowing that at any moment he could be “defeated, or killed, or captured, or wounded.” Fighting for worldly honor alone was useless, but if knights struggled in the path of God, their “noble souls will be set in paradise for all eternity and their persons will be forever honored.”123 [image file=image_rsrcDZA.jpg] The kings, who also abided by this chivalric code, believed that they too had a direct link to God that was independent of the Church, and by the late thirteenth century some of them felt strong enough to challenge papal supremacy.124 This began in 1296 with a dispute about taxation. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) had “liberated” the clergy from the direct jurisdiction of secular princes, but now Philip IV of France and Edward I of England asserted their right to tax the clergy in their realms. Even though Pope Boniface VIII objected, they got their way—Edward by outlawing the English clergy and Philip by withholding essential resources from the papacy. In 1301 Philip again went on the offensive, when he ordered a French bishop to stand trial for treason and heresy. When Boniface issued the bull Unam Sanctam, insisting that all temporal power was subject to the pope, Philip simply dispatched Guillaume de Nogaret with a band of mercenaries to bring Boniface to Paris to face charges of usurpation of royal power. Nogaret arrested the pope at Anagni and held him prisoner for several days before he was able to escape. The shock proved too much for Boniface, and he died shortly afterward.

• From The Well of Loneliness (1928)

  The strange thing was that she understood her neighbours in a way, and was therefore too just to condemn them; indeed had nature been less daring with her, she might well have become very much what they were—a breeder of children, an upholder of home, a careful and diligent steward of pastures. There was little of the true pioneer about Stephen, in spite of her erstwhile longing for the forests. She belonged to the soil and the fruitfulness of Morton, to its pastures and paddocks, to its farms and its cattle, to its quiet and gentlemanly ordered traditions, to the dignity and pride of its old red brick house, that was yet without ostentation. To these things she belonged and would always belong by right of those past generations of Gordons whose thoughts had fashioned the comeliness of Morton, whose bodies had gone to the making of Stephen. Yes, she was of them, those bygone people; they might spurn her—the lusty breeders of sons that they had been—they might even look down from Heaven with raised eyebrows, and say: ‘We utterly refuse to acknowledge this curious creature called Stephen.’ But for all that they could not drain her of blood, and her blood was theirs also, so that do what they would they could never completely rid themselves of her nor she of them—they were one in their blood. But Sir Philip, that other descendant of theirs, found little excuse for his critical neighbours. Because he loved much he must equally suffer, consuming himself at times with resentment. And now when he and Stephen were out hunting he would be on his guard, very anxious and watchful lest any small incident should occur to distress her, lest at any time she should find herself lonely. When hounds checked and the field collected together, he would make little jokes to amuse his daughter, he would rack his brain for these poor little jokes, in order that people should see Stephen laughing. Sometimes he would whisper: ‘Let ’em have it hot, Stephen, that youngster you’re on loves a good bit of timber—don’t mind me, I know you won’t damage his knees, just you give ’em a lead and let’s see if they’ll catch you!’ And because it was seldom indeed that they caught her, his sore heart would know a fleeting contentment. Yet people begrudged her even this triumph, pointing out that the girl was magnificently mounted: ‘Anyone could get there on that sort of horse,’ they would murmur, when Stephen was out of hearing.