Maalouf †Leo Africanus Free Essays

Amin Maalouf’s novel Leo Africanus, a fictionalized memoir by an actual sixteenth-century Muslim adventurer, is an often-interesting account of life during the turbulent end of the Middle Ages, told from the point of view of a man who survived his life’s ample turmoil and bridged conflicting cultures without wholly belonging to any. The narrator of this work, a traveler and author known in his lifetime as Jean-Leon de Medici or Leo Africanus, was born in 1488 as Hasan al-Wazzan, son of a prominent Muslim family in Granada, Spain.   At the time, southern Spain’s Andalusia region (of which Granada was its chief city) was Muslim-dominated, with Catholics, Muslims, and Jews alike coexisting in a cosmopolitan, relatively tolerant atmosphere. We will write a custom essay sample on Maalouf – Leo Africanus or any similar topic only for you Order Now    Maalouf depicts Granada as an intriguing, exotic, tolerant place for its time, despite its corrupt rulers and ultimate weakness before the invading armies of Aragon and Castile. Shortly after his birth, Spanish forces conquered Granada and soon started persecuting all non-Christians, forcing them to convert to Catholicism or flee, depriving them of their wealth in either case.   Though European history depicts Spain’s liberation from Muslim rule as a glorious event, it was a tragic blow for the Muslims who had lived there for centuries and built a prosperous, learned society.   As his uncle Khali, a wealthy diplomat, laments, â€Å"See how the people . . . have been forced into slavery after their surrender!   See how the Inquisition has raised pyres for the Jews . . . [and] for the Muslims as well!   How can we stop this, except by resistance, mobilization, and jihad?†Ã‚   (Maalouf, 1988, p. 25)   Though the word â€Å"jihad† today carries ominous meanings for Westerners, in this context it meant self-defense in the face of an intolerant enemy. The Spanish appear in a distinctly negative light, as bloodthirsty, vindictive conquerors who used the Inquisition to crush their enemies, real or perceived.   Maalouf offers in interesting inversion of Western opinion here, and he shows post-1492 Granada as a dark, dangerous place whose intellectual life is crushed.   Also, while modern readers think of Jews and Muslims as mortal enemies, Maalouf demonstrates that they enjoyed peaceful relations in medieval Andalusia, and Leo laments the Spanish edict mandating â€Å"the ‘formal termination of all relations between Christians and Jews, which can only be accomplished by the expulsion of all the Jews from our kingdom’† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 59). His uncle Khali assumes a dominant role in Leo’s life, helping educate him and, more importantly, taking him along on his 1504 diplomatic mission to Timbuktu, then an important Muslim cultural and commercial center in sub-Saharan West Africa.   Even as a teenager, he demonstrates keen insights to the world around him, particularly to the appearances, peoples, and attributes of the cities he visits en route.   For example, he describes Ain al-Asnam, an ancient city destroyed during Islam’s spread, as â€Å"sole witness of the age of ignorance† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 155), implying that despite its former glories, it symbolizes the dark era before Islam spread its enlightened message. In addition, he reveals a gift for vivid descriptive prose when he says of Sijilmassa, a once-thriving city on the road to Timbuktu: â€Å"Of its walls, once so high, only a few sections remain, half-ruined, and covered with grass and moss.   Of its population, there remain only various hostile clans . . . [who] seem merciless toward each other [and] deserve their fate† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 157).   Though he is not intolerant of peoples different from himself, he also does not shy from passing judgments on unfortunate places, though his own life is full of misfortunes; he accepts fate’s fickle nature, which perhaps sustains him through his difficulties. His uncle dies en route back to Fez and Leo returns home to work in a hospice and marry his cousin Fatima, who is far less pleasing than Hiba, the slave girl who becomes his longtime mistress (similar to Warda, the servant whom his father chose over his wife, Leo’s mother).   He also tries to save his sister Mariam from the leper colony, where an influential suitor, a highway robber named the Zarwali, had had her banished for refusing to marry him. One sees by this point that women have a difficult position in Muslim society; denied many rights, they live tightly circumscribed lives and are subject to male commands and whims at all times.   Maalouf does not impose modern sensibilities here; he remains within the character of the times and accepts this lack of freedom as Muslims of the time did, and Leo laments his sister’s fate less because she lacks freedom than because her punishment was unduly cruel. As he enters adulthood, his life continues a pattern of good fortune followed by personal or financial disasters from which he always recovers and rebuilds.   Leo becomes a successful merchant in Fez and fathers a daughter with Fatima, but when his longtime friend Harun (who has married his unfortunate sister Mariam to liberate her from the leper colony) causes the Zarwali’s death, Leo is expelled from Fez for his complicity and loses his fortune on the road to a band of thieves.   He finds some relief in Hiba’s native village, where her former peers buy her back from Leo, restoring some of his wealth but costing him the love of his life. He accepts these reversals surprisingly well by modern standards, but Maalouf implies that the late medieval/early modern world was a cruel and fickle place, with few certainties in life other than misfortune.   A common theme throughout the book is that such events are simply God’s will; when he loses both his fortune and Hiba, Leo laments, â€Å"Such is the judgment of the Most High!† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 214).   His faith does not waver throughout the story, even when Christians abduct, enslave, and force him to become a Catholic. Leo’s destiny seems to be the roads he travels throughout his adult life; his form of geography and travelogue seem to be his calling in life, and he demonstrates a keen grasp of how to describe people and places.   His travels take him throughout northern, western, and central Africa, and he states without obvious boasting, â€Å"When our geographers of old spoke of the land of the Blacks, they only mentioned Ghana and the oases of the Libyan desert. . . . I myself, who am only the last of the travellers, know the names of sixty black kingdoms . . . from the Niger to the Nile† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 216).   Such knowledge would later serve him well. He becomes involved with the era’s political intrigues when he meets and marries Nur, the widow of the Ottoman ruler’s nephew.   While Leo supports the Turks in the vain hope that they will liberate Andalusia from the Spanish and make it safe for Muslims again, Nur opposes it and fears that Turkish agents will murder her infant son to prevent him from assuming the throne.   Reflecting on the discord within his own faith, Leo asks, â€Å"Is it not in the blade of a knife brandished by the Friend of God above a pyre that the revealed religions meet?†Ã‚   (Maalouf, 1988, p. 245)   He longs for the tolerance and unity of his youth in Granada, hence his somewhat naà ¯ve support for the Ottoman Empire, of which he says, â€Å"the turbans of the Turks and the skull caps of the Christians and Jews mingle without hatred or resentment† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 258). His destiny as a geographer and scholar is realized when Sicilian pirates kidnap him in Tunisia and present him to Pope Leo X as a slave.   As with the rest of his life, this misfortune leads to another lucky phase, as the pontiff, impressed with Leo’s intellect, employs him as a protà ©gà ©.   Forcing him to become a Christian and renaming him John-Leo de Medici (for the pope and the family that takes an interest in him), the pope employs him as a teacher of Arabic while tutoring him in European languages, so that he can produce a volume of his travels, Description of Africa.   He earns his freedom but becomes embroiled in papal intrigues, so he must flee yet again – this time for Tunisia, where he can again be a Muslim.   In closing, he advises the reader to be himself in the face of adversity, saying, â€Å"Muslim, Jew or Christian, they must take you as you are, or lose you† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 360).   Though he has kept his Muslim faith inwardly i ntact, Leo’s ability to adapt has ironically saved and sustained him. The book illustrates the uncertainty of life in the pre-modern era, since peaks and valleys of instability mark Leo’s life from the beginning.   His family loses its fortune and is driven from Granada by conquering Spanish Christians, who then launch a wave of intolerance against Jews and Muslims, forcing them to either become Catholic or leave.   In addition, he loses his fortune to thieves, his wife Fatima dies young, he remarries Nur (who leaves him after his abduction), and he is enslaved by Christian pirates in the Mediterranean. He handles it philosophically, accepting the fact that his life is destined to be itinerant, turbulent, and beyond his ability to control.   As he tells Nur, â€Å"Between the Andalus which I left and the Paradise which is promised to me life is only a crossing.   I go nowhere, I desire nothing I cling to nothing, I have faith in my passion for living . . . as well as in Providence† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 261). Overall, Leo Africanus is a solid effort to take the modern reader into the mind of an educated, influential Muslim living at an unstable time in European history.   Maalouf does not inject modern sensibilities into his narrative but depicts the Muslim culture of the times fairly, without a pro-Western bias.   In addition, he strives for authenticity by using a sort of formal, occasionally wordy prose that one assumes is based on the actual writing and conversational style of Leo Africanus’ times.   In the process of producing this interesting historical figure’s tale, Maalouf also makes clear one of the chief realities of this era in history – that life is uncertain and fickle, and that the intelligent, resourceful, and adaptable are best suited to endure these shifts of fortune. REFERENCES Maalouf, A. (1988).   Leo Africanus.   Chicago: New Amsterdam Books. How to cite Maalouf – Leo Africanus, Essay examples

Maalouf †Leo Africanus Free Essays

Amin Maalouf’s novel Leo Africanus, a fictionalized memoir by an actual sixteenth-century Muslim adventurer, is an often-interesting account of life during the turbulent end of the Middle Ages, told from the point of view of a man who survived his life’s ample turmoil and bridged conflicting cultures without wholly belonging to any. The narrator of this work, a traveler and author known in his lifetime as Jean-Leon de Medici or Leo Africanus, was born in 1488 as Hasan al-Wazzan, son of a prominent Muslim family in Granada, Spain.   At the time, southern Spain’s Andalusia region (of which Granada was its chief city) was Muslim-dominated, with Catholics, Muslims, and Jews alike coexisting in a cosmopolitan, relatively tolerant atmosphere. We will write a custom essay sample on Maalouf – Leo Africanus or any similar topic only for you Order Now    Maalouf depicts Granada as an intriguing, exotic, tolerant place for its time, despite its corrupt rulers and ultimate weakness before the invading armies of Aragon and Castile. Shortly after his birth, Spanish forces conquered Granada and soon started persecuting all non-Christians, forcing them to convert to Catholicism or flee, depriving them of their wealth in either case.   Though European history depicts Spain’s liberation from Muslim rule as a glorious event, it was a tragic blow for the Muslims who had lived there for centuries and built a prosperous, learned society.   As his uncle Khali, a wealthy diplomat, laments, â€Å"See how the people . . . have been forced into slavery after their surrender!   See how the Inquisition has raised pyres for the Jews . . . [and] for the Muslims as well!   How can we stop this, except by resistance, mobilization, and jihad?†Ã‚   (Maalouf, 1988, p. 25)   Though the word â€Å"jihad† today carries ominous meanings for Westerners, in this context it meant self-defense in the face of an intolerant enemy. The Spanish appear in a distinctly negative light, as bloodthirsty, vindictive conquerors who used the Inquisition to crush their enemies, real or perceived.   Maalouf offers in interesting inversion of Western opinion here, and he shows post-1492 Granada as a dark, dangerous place whose intellectual life is crushed.   Also, while modern readers think of Jews and Muslims as mortal enemies, Maalouf demonstrates that they enjoyed peaceful relations in medieval Andalusia, and Leo laments the Spanish edict mandating â€Å"the ‘formal termination of all relations between Christians and Jews, which can only be accomplished by the expulsion of all the Jews from our kingdom’† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 59). His uncle Khali assumes a dominant role in Leo’s life, helping educate him and, more importantly, taking him along on his 1504 diplomatic mission to Timbuktu, then an important Muslim cultural and commercial center in sub-Saharan West Africa.   Even as a teenager, he demonstrates keen insights to the world around him, particularly to the appearances, peoples, and attributes of the cities he visits en route.   For example, he describes Ain al-Asnam, an ancient city destroyed during Islam’s spread, as â€Å"sole witness of the age of ignorance† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 155), implying that despite its former glories, it symbolizes the dark era before Islam spread its enlightened message. In addition, he reveals a gift for vivid descriptive prose when he says of Sijilmassa, a once-thriving city on the road to Timbuktu: â€Å"Of its walls, once so high, only a few sections remain, half-ruined, and covered with grass and moss.   Of its population, there remain only various hostile clans . . . [who] seem merciless toward each other [and] deserve their fate† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 157).   Though he is not intolerant of peoples different from himself, he also does not shy from passing judgments on unfortunate places, though his own life is full of misfortunes; he accepts fate’s fickle nature, which perhaps sustains him through his difficulties. His uncle dies en route back to Fez and Leo returns home to work in a hospice and marry his cousin Fatima, who is far less pleasing than Hiba, the slave girl who becomes his longtime mistress (similar to Warda, the servant whom his father chose over his wife, Leo’s mother).   He also tries to save his sister Mariam from the leper colony, where an influential suitor, a highway robber named the Zarwali, had had her banished for refusing to marry him. One sees by this point that women have a difficult position in Muslim society; denied many rights, they live tightly circumscribed lives and are subject to male commands and whims at all times.   Maalouf does not impose modern sensibilities here; he remains within the character of the times and accepts this lack of freedom as Muslims of the time did, and Leo laments his sister’s fate less because she lacks freedom than because her punishment was unduly cruel. As he enters adulthood, his life continues a pattern of good fortune followed by personal or financial disasters from which he always recovers and rebuilds.   Leo becomes a successful merchant in Fez and fathers a daughter with Fatima, but when his longtime friend Harun (who has married his unfortunate sister Mariam to liberate her from the leper colony) causes the Zarwali’s death, Leo is expelled from Fez for his complicity and loses his fortune on the road to a band of thieves.   He finds some relief in Hiba’s native village, where her former peers buy her back from Leo, restoring some of his wealth but costing him the love of his life. He accepts these reversals surprisingly well by modern standards, but Maalouf implies that the late medieval/early modern world was a cruel and fickle place, with few certainties in life other than misfortune.   A common theme throughout the book is that such events are simply God’s will; when he loses both his fortune and Hiba, Leo laments, â€Å"Such is the judgment of the Most High!† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 214).   His faith does not waver throughout the story, even when Christians abduct, enslave, and force him to become a Catholic. Leo’s destiny seems to be the roads he travels throughout his adult life; his form of geography and travelogue seem to be his calling in life, and he demonstrates a keen grasp of how to describe people and places.   His travels take him throughout northern, western, and central Africa, and he states without obvious boasting, â€Å"When our geographers of old spoke of the land of the Blacks, they only mentioned Ghana and the oases of the Libyan desert. . . . I myself, who am only the last of the travellers, know the names of sixty black kingdoms . . . from the Niger to the Nile† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 216).   Such knowledge would later serve him well. He becomes involved with the era’s political intrigues when he meets and marries Nur, the widow of the Ottoman ruler’s nephew.   While Leo supports the Turks in the vain hope that they will liberate Andalusia from the Spanish and make it safe for Muslims again, Nur opposes it and fears that Turkish agents will murder her infant son to prevent him from assuming the throne.   Reflecting on the discord within his own faith, Leo asks, â€Å"Is it not in the blade of a knife brandished by the Friend of God above a pyre that the revealed religions meet?†Ã‚   (Maalouf, 1988, p. 245)   He longs for the tolerance and unity of his youth in Granada, hence his somewhat naà ¯ve support for the Ottoman Empire, of which he says, â€Å"the turbans of the Turks and the skull caps of the Christians and Jews mingle without hatred or resentment† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 258). His destiny as a geographer and scholar is realized when Sicilian pirates kidnap him in Tunisia and present him to Pope Leo X as a slave.   As with the rest of his life, this misfortune leads to another lucky phase, as the pontiff, impressed with Leo’s intellect, employs him as a protà ©gà ©.   Forcing him to become a Christian and renaming him John-Leo de Medici (for the pope and the family that takes an interest in him), the pope employs him as a teacher of Arabic while tutoring him in European languages, so that he can produce a volume of his travels, Description of Africa.   He earns his freedom but becomes embroiled in papal intrigues, so he must flee yet again – this time for Tunisia, where he can again be a Muslim.   In closing, he advises the reader to be himself in the face of adversity, saying, â€Å"Muslim, Jew or Christian, they must take you as you are, or lose you† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 360).   Though he has kept his Muslim faith inwardly i ntact, Leo’s ability to adapt has ironically saved and sustained him. The book illustrates the uncertainty of life in the pre-modern era, since peaks and valleys of instability mark Leo’s life from the beginning.   His family loses its fortune and is driven from Granada by conquering Spanish Christians, who then launch a wave of intolerance against Jews and Muslims, forcing them to either become Catholic or leave.   In addition, he loses his fortune to thieves, his wife Fatima dies young, he remarries Nur (who leaves him after his abduction), and he is enslaved by Christian pirates in the Mediterranean. He handles it philosophically, accepting the fact that his life is destined to be itinerant, turbulent, and beyond his ability to control.   As he tells Nur, â€Å"Between the Andalus which I left and the Paradise which is promised to me life is only a crossing.   I go nowhere, I desire nothing I cling to nothing, I have faith in my passion for living . . . as well as in Providence† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 261). Overall, Leo Africanus is a solid effort to take the modern reader into the mind of an educated, influential Muslim living at an unstable time in European history.   Maalouf does not inject modern sensibilities into his narrative but depicts the Muslim culture of the times fairly, without a pro-Western bias.   In addition, he strives for authenticity by using a sort of formal, occasionally wordy prose that one assumes is based on the actual writing and conversational style of Leo Africanus’ times.   In the process of producing this interesting historical figure’s tale, Maalouf also makes clear one of the chief realities of this era in history – that life is uncertain and fickle, and that the intelligent, resourceful, and adaptable are best suited to endure these shifts of fortune. REFERENCES Maalouf, A. (1988).   Leo Africanus.   Chicago: New Amsterdam Books. How to cite Maalouf – Leo Africanus, Essay examples

The Perception of the Self according to Socrates

The perception of the self, according to Socrates explains the nature of man and the rationale on which man thinks. Socrates believed that, man is a product of his thoughts. Socrates questioned the way we attach importance to what people say without understanding the principle of individual thinking.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Perception of the Self according to Socrates specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The capacity of a man is a product of the self in him; this formed the basis of Socrates argument. He emphasized that; man must believe in his or her principles and should not follow the wagon effect of the society. We find ourselves in situations that will require our careful examination, but we often accept what people say on the issue. Socrates proposed that logical thoughts would be more productive than accepting a patterned way of doing things. The product of logical thinking is a patterned thought w hich is not influenced by the majority. To further his arguments, Socrates proposed a method of logical thinking. He believed that this would help each person evaluate his or her actions and thoughts based on the strength of logical thinking (Noe 4). Critically examine people’s comment and assumption: The common belief should be subjected to examination. The belief that it pays to work hard or that marriage makes a man responsible. Put forward a reversal to these statements: It is true that the society follows fashioned assumptions. One should be able to find a reversal to these assumptions. Provide a proof that man can be responsible without being married, and show that hard work do not always pay in the end. These reversals to a patterned way of life will help an individual build his or her confidence. There are no credible statements than yours: When you are able to fine the reversals to the statements, you will conclude that many statements and assumptions are misleading . This will help you build your confidence in logical thinking. Formulate your statements from observations: The examination of logical thinking will provide the basis of new statements. Marriage can make a responsible man live happily and wrong work is different from hard work. Develop yourself: Make it a habit to always examine the statements of people and find the reversal to those statements. The strength of a man is weighed by his actions and statements; this is the defining principle on which we must stand. Socrates argued that philosophy can be analyzed not only by the elites, but by the common man. The ability to make a statement devoid of what people think or say is a product of self. Socrates emphasized that the human soul is immortal and is a product of different perceptions. Socrates believed that the human soul exists in two forms; the transformation realm and the constant position. The evil in the human mind is a product of the benefits he or she imagined. An individu al will act based on his or her perceived thoughts which is based on what good he or she will derive from the action (Noe 3). In conclusion, we are what we think of ourselves and we must act accordingly. Socrates provided examples to show that philosophical thinking can be done even by the common man. Logical thinking is the ability to examine each statement independently not minding the opinion of the majority. Works Cited Noe, Alva 2009, Direct Perception. PDF file. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This essay on The Perception of the Self according to Socrates was written and submitted by user Case Y. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht And The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Bertolt Brecht and The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht was one of the most prominent figures in theatre during the twentieth century. A German poet, playwright, and theatrical reformer, Brecht was born in Ausburg in 1898, and died in East Berlin in 1956. Throughout his lifetime, Brecht contributed an impressive body of work, including four volumes of prose and short stories, three volumes of poetry, seven volumes of plays, two volumes of scripts and scenarios, three volumes of essays on theatre, two volumes of essays on literature and art, and one volume of essays on politics and society. Some of his best known works are Baal, Man is Man, The Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Galileo. One of Brecht’s greatest contributions to theatre was a technique known as the alienation effect, designed to encourage the audience to detach themselves emotionally from the play. He encouraged his audience members to think rather than feel, or become t oo involved in the story. Brecht developed a form of drama known as epic theatre, in which the ideas or lessons are important, and are the reason for telling the story. Brecht was a socialist, and his political views are evident in most of his work. He used his work as a forum to address the political issues and the current events of his day. He staunchly opposed Nazi rule of Germany, and fled the country in 1933. He lived in the United States from 1941 until 1947, and it was during this time that he wrote The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Stern vii). Brecht had always allowed himself to be influenced by a variety of sources including, but not limited to, the theatres of Japan, India, and China, as well as Greek tragedy, fair-ground entertainments, and the Elizabethans (Bertolt paragraph 2). Brecht borrowed from many sources for The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The story is loosely based on an ancient Chinese leg... Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht And The Caucasian Chalk Circle Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht And The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht and The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht was one of the most prominent figures in theatre during the twentieth century. A German poet, playwright, and theatrical reformer, Brecht was born in Ausburg in 1898, and died in East Berlin in 1956. Throughout his lifetime, Brecht contributed an impressive body of work, including four volumes of prose and short stories, three volumes of poetry, seven volumes of plays, two volumes of scripts and scenarios, three volumes of essays on theatre, two volumes of essays on literature and art, and one volume of essays on politics and society. Some of his best known works are Baal, Man is Man, The Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Galileo. One of Brecht’s greatest contributions to theatre was a technique known as the alienation effect, designed to encourage the audience to detach themselves emotionally from the play. He encouraged his audience members to think rather than feel, or become t oo involved in the story. Brecht developed a form of drama known as epic theatre, in which the ideas or lessons are important, and are the reason for telling the story. Brecht was a socialist, and his political views are evident in most of his work. He used his work as a forum to address the political issues and the current events of his day. He staunchly opposed Nazi rule of Germany, and fled the country in 1933. He lived in the United States from 1941 until 1947, and it was during this time that he wrote The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Stern vii). Brecht had always allowed himself to be influenced by a variety of sources including, but not limited to, the theatres of Japan, India, and China, as well as Greek tragedy, fair-ground entertainments, and the Elizabethans (Bertolt paragraph 2). Brecht borrowed from many sources for The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The story is loosely based on an ancient Chinese leg...

Latin Personal Pronouns

Latin Personal Pronouns A pronoun stands in for a noun. A personal pronoun works like a noun in one of the 3 persons, which are, predictably, numbered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. In Latin, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives are declined: endings signify the specific use of the pronouns in the sentence. These uses and endings are the cases. Commonly, there are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative cases. Latin Personal Pronouns in the Subject or Nominative Case Subject or Nominative Case pronouns function as the subject of a sentence. (The subject is the word in the sentence that does the verb.) Here are the English subject pronouns followed by the Latin nominative pronouns. I - EgoYou - TuHe/She/It - Is/Ea/IdWe - NosYou - VosThey - Ei Oblique Case Pronouns: Genitive Case The oblique cases are the cases that are not nominative/subject. One of these is familiar from English pronouns. This familiar case is the possessive or Genitive Case, as it is called in reference to Latin. The English determiner my is a possessive. The English pronouns mine, ours, yours, and his/her/its are possessive pronouns. Other Oblique Cases Other oblique cases are the direct object (Accusative Case in Latin) and the prepositional cases (in English). Accusative Case The Accusative Case is used as the direct object of a sentence or the object of a preposition. Not all Latin prepositions take the Accusative Case. Some prepositions take other cases. Dative Case The Dative Case is the equivalent of the English indirect object case. The indirect object is used in English when a verb takes 2 objects: one is acted upon (the direct object/Accusative Case) and one receives the object (the indirect object/Dative Case). (Subject does direct object to indirect object [example below].) You can generally spot the indirect object easily in English because the prepositions to and for precede it*. In Latin, there are no propositions for the Dative Case. He gave the letter to you (Epistulam tibi donavit.) He Subject/Nominative CaseTo You Indirect Object/Dative Case tibiThe Letter Direct Object/Accusative CaseDoing it all with pronouns:He gave it to you. (Id tibi donavit)**He Subject/Nominative CaseIt Direct Object/Accusative Case idTo You Indirect Object/Dative Case tibi Besides the Dative Case for the indirect object, where the English preposition is spelled out (to or for), there are other prepositional cases. Ablative Case The Ablative Case is used with a wide variety of propositions, including with and by. Like the Dative Case, the prepositions are sometimes implied in Latin, rather than written out. The case that is used for the direct object which youll remember is called the Accusative Case is also used with some prepositions. Some prepositions take either the Ablative or the Accusative Case, depending on meaning. * Not all instances of the prepositions to and for in English signify the indirect object. ** Note the subject personal pronoun is not spelled out but is included in the information from the verb, which tells you person, number, voice, mood, aspect, and tense. You could say Ille id tibi donavit if the he in question were important.

Labor Economics European Union labor migration Essay

Labor Economics European Union labor migration - Essay Example That is, it sets very comprehensive goals for itself, covering economic, political, social and regional and international security policy frameworks, in addition to future plans for the expansion of the Union. As a means of understanding the European Union's path and its goals, a brief overview of the evolution process of the Union will be helpful. This overview will provide the basis for a discursive analysis of the phenomenon of labor migration within the framework of the European Union. Labor migration, as the analysis shall highlight, has proven, despite some benefits, to be highly problematic especially since the Barcelona Declaration expanded the parameters of the stated to include migrant labor from within the larger EU neighborhood. In other words, labor migration within the EU is not confined to labor flows between member countries but has been expanded, and further complicated by the inward flow of labor from without the EU. Most people would date the roots of the European Union to the 1940s, yet W.T.M. Molle, traces the roots of European integrationist dreams much further back. Specifically, during the Napoleonic era, marked by the emergence of a modern economic system, as compared to the feudal one that had come before it, certain economic policies were established in order to ease trade between the nations of the European continent.1 From that moment onwards, one finds several policies that attempt to encourage trade within the continent and overcome specific obstacles to trade. When one looks at this fact, one can conclude that from the earliest history, the European countries were guided by the understanding that regional trade and economic links were important for the economies of the different countries and for the purpose of development. The current structure of the European Union, however, does not have its roots in the policies discussed above; those policies only indicate the historical understanding of the importance of regional economic cooperation. Instead, the roots of the current structure are to be found in three distinct treaties. These, as mentioned by Molle, are the "ECSC, the EEC and the EAECP.2 These three treaties are the foundations of the European Union that has emerged nowadays, despite the fact of their having been limited in terms of countries that had been involved and the treaties themselves. For instance, the ECSC was a steel trading treaty that involved only six European nations. This can not be compared in scope to the current structure of the Union but, the fact of the matter is that the success of the Union and the reason why it has emerged today as a model for deep integration is that it proceeded in a step by step manner, dealing with limited areas of economic cooperation and limited numb ers of countries so that they could stabilize each step and move safely to a new level of expanding integration.3 Even though the European Union sought to stabilize and fortify each step in the unification process before progression to the next step, problems inevitably arose. Among the more challenging of these problems directly pertains to the removal of restrictions on capital flow, included in which is labor. The comparatively unchecked labor movement between the variant member countries, on the one hand, and from the larger neighborhood, on

Law for business report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Law for business report - Essay Example The second question deals with the name itself. Is the name Toys4Everyone prohibited by law? If the use of the name Toys4Everyone would be considered to be an offence of offensive, or if it contained â€Å"other sensitive words,† then the name would be prohibited. (Companies Act 2006 5(1)(53)(a)(b); Companies Act 2006 5(1)(55)(1)). To qualify as a sensitive word, the word would have to be one that is regulated by Secretary of State. (Companies Act 2006 5(1)(55)(1)). Likewise, if the name is likely to give the impression that the company is associated with Her Majestys Government, the local authority or any public authority, then they would not be able to use the name, either. (Companies Act 2006 5(1)(54)(1)(2)). In this case, Toys4Everyone would not seem to fall under any of the above. It would not give the impression that the toy company is associated with government, it is not offensive and likely would not be considered to be an offence to use the name, and it is doubtful that it would be a sensitive word that would be subject to regulation by the Secretary of State. So, there does not seem to be a legal issue there. Moving on through the Companies Act, and there is a provision that states that the name chosen by the company must not be the same or too similar to another that is registered with the registrar. (Companies Act 2006 5(3)(66); Companies Act 2006 5(3)(67)). If the name is the same as another, then they cannot use the name. If the name is too similar to another, then the Secretary of State can order them to change their name. (Companies Act 2006 5(3)(67)). This is one legal challenge that may face the Board of Directors, if in fact there is another company with the name of Toys4Everyone, or if there is another company that has a very similar name as Toys4Everyone. If there is another company with a similar name on the registrar, then they