Traduttore John Oxenford, A. J. W. Morrison
Casa editrice: e-artnow
The Autobiography of Goethe is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's own documentary writing about his early life. It also contains some of his poetry and makes for a fascinating read.
Empedocles, a philosopher and poet from the ancient Greek city of Acragas (modern-day Agrigento, Sicily), lived during the 5th century BCE and is often regarded as one of the most original thinkers of his time. His life and works remain an intriguing fusion of science, mysticism, and poetry. Though much of what we know about Empedocles comes from fragments of his writings, his ideas have had a profound and lasting influence on philosophy, science, and even religion. Empedocles is best known for his theory of the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—which he posited as the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Unlike his predecessors, who sought to explain the world through a singular substance (such as water for Thales or air for Anaximenes), Empedocles argued that these four elements combined and separated through two cosmic forces: Love (Philia) and Strife (Neikos). Love brings the elements together, fostering harmony and unity, while Strife pulls them apart, creating division and chaos. This cyclical process of combination and separation underlies the ongoing changes in the cosmos. In addition to his materialistic philosophy, Empedocles incorporated spiritual and mystical elements into his worldview. He believed in the transmigration of souls, suggesting that human beings and other living creatures are bound to an endless cycle of reincarnation. According to Empedocles, the soul is trapped in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and it can achieve liberation through purification and virtuous living. His philosophical system thus integrated both natural and ethical concerns, urging individuals to live in harmony with the forces of the cosmos and pursue a life of virtue.Mostra libro
David Herbert Lawrence was born on the 11th September 1885 in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, a coal mining town where the reality of a harsh life was only useful as experiences for future literary works. He was educated at Beauvale Board School and became the first local boy to receive a scholarship to attend Nottingham High School. After 3 years he became a junior clerk in Haywood’s surgical appliances factory. He was also attempting a literary career which, in the short term, led to a teacher training position in Eastwood and later a teaching qualification from University College, Nottingham. Lawrence’s first efforts were poems, short stories and a draft of ‘The White Peacock’. Moving to London and a teaching position in Croydon his writing attracted the attention of Ford Madox Ford, editor of The English Review, and he commissioned him to write ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’. Wanting to write full-time he now began work on what would become ‘Sons and Lovers. In 1912 he met the older and married mother-of-three Frieda Weekley. They eloped to Germany and here Lawrence could see for himself the growing tensions with France. So keen was his interest that he was arrested and accused of being a British spy. In early 1914 Frieda obtained her divorce and they returned to Britain to be married just days before the outbreak of war. Owing to her German parentage, and his own public dislike of militarism and violence, the couple were treated with contempt and suspicion throughout the war years. Despite this he continued to write but his reputation in England was so tarnished and, mirrored by his own disdain for the country, he and Frieda left England in November 1919, first for Europe and then America via Ceylon and Australia. They bought a ranch in Taos, New Mexico and visited Mexico several times. The third visit in March 1925 caused a near fatal attack of malaria. To convalesce they moved to Florence. Here he continued work on ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ which for many years would cause controversy. A renewed interest in oil painting resulted in an exhibition in 1929 which was raided by the police and several works were confiscated. D H Lawrence died of complications arising from a bout of tuberculosis on the 2nd of March 1930 in Vence, France. He was 44.Mostra libro
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was born in Düsseldorf, Germany on 13th December 1797 to assimilated Jewish parents. Heine studied law at the universities of Bonn, Göttingen, and Berlin but his greater commitment was to studying poetry and literature. He converted to Protestantism in order to obtain work as there were draconian anti-Jewish laws in force at the time. He was part of the German Romantic movement but also responsible in part for ushering in the post-Romantic crisis and the presumed failure of art as unable to overcome or explain the growing traumas of modernity. However, his literary reputation was cemented in the second half of the 1820’s with his poetry collection ‘The Book of Songs’ together with his collection of ‘Pictures of Travel’ stories that blended fact and fiction together into commercial and critical successes. After the July 1830 Revolution in France, he went to live in Paris, where he remained until his death. Here he wrote much in the way of essays discussing the political and cultural scene in France together with volumes of social criticism on Germany. By 1835, his works had been banned by the German government. His lifelong subsidised lifestyle ended in 1844 when his uncle died leaving him nothing. He turned once more to lyric poetry and created perhaps his finest poetical works. A trip to Germany resulted in the long satirical poem ‘Germany. A Winter's Tale’. His second volume of poetry, ‘New Poems’ in 1844, included poems that had originally appeared in Karl Marx’s newspaper ‘Forward’ and continued the satirical style he now preferred. In May 1848, Heine, in poor health, fell and was paralyzed and confined to his bed. He called it his ‘mattress-grave’ and only death would remove him from it. He was also experiencing eye problems and suffering from chronic lead poisoning. Heinrich Heine died on 17th February 1856. He was 58. ‘Gods in Exile’ is perhaps a prophetic piece on his own life. The old gods are overthrown by the new novelty of Christianity. What will be their role now? Is there life after for them?Mostra libro
At first, Erika Bolstad knew only one thing about her great-grandmother, Anna: she was a homesteader on the North Dakota prairies in the early 1900s before her husband committed her to an asylum under mysterious circumstances. As Erika's mother was dying, she revealed more: their family still owned the mineral rights to Anna's land?and oil companies were interested in the black gold beneath the prairies. Their family, Erika learned, could get rich thanks to the legacy of a woman nearly lost to history. Anna left no letters or journals, and very few photographs of her had survived. But Erika was drawn to the young woman who never walked free of the asylum that imprisoned her. As a journalist well versed in the effects of fossil fuels on climate change, Erika felt the dissonance of what she knew and the barely-acknowledged whisper that had followed her family across the Great Plains for generations: we could be rich. Desperate to learn more about her great-grandmother and the oil industry that changed the face of the American West forever, Erika set out for North Dakota to unearth what she could of the past. What she discovers is a land of boom-and-bust cycles and families trying their best to eke out a living in an unforgiving landscape, bringing to life the ever-present American question: What does it mean to be rich?Mostra libro
The youngest of seven children from a hurling-obsessed Portumna family, Joe Canning was steeped in the game from birth. Regarded as a prodigy from the moment he stepped onto the pitch as a boy, he burst onto the national radar aged just 19, scoring 2–12 for Galway in a narrow defeat to Cork. But it would be another nine summers before he would lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Over the next decade, the whole country became fixated on Galway's quest for glory and the many struggles along the way: would Joe Canning be the greatest hurler never to win an All-Ireland medal? Pulsating with a unique sense of family and community in a place where hurling is a way of life, Joe Canning's memoir reflects on the standards of excellence he sometimes felt chained to, the suffocation of trying to meet other people's expectations and the personal battles that brought perspective to a singular focus on winning. Thoughtful and revealing, this is the remarkable story of one of Ireland's greatest hurlers.Mostra libro
This is small copy of the introduction of the book: Welcome to the captivating journey through the life and mind of one of history's most intriguing figures—William of Ockham. In the pages that follow, we will delve into the remarkable story of a man whose ideas have left an indelible mark on philosophy, theology, and the way we understand the world. Born in a time of shifting paradigms and profound intellectual exploration, William of Ockham emerged as a beacon of intellectual courage and curiosity. His life's journey takes us through the corridors of medieval thought, where he challenged conventions, questioned established norms, and dared to carve his own path through the complexities of the age. As we embark on this exploration, we'll uncover the threads that wove the fabric of Ockham's life—the circumstances of his birth, the crucible of his upbringing, and the profound influences that shaped his worldview. We'll journey with him through the hallowed halls of academia, where he honed his formidable intellect and developed ground-breaking ideas that continue to resonate to this day. Ockham's journey was not only one of academic pursuits but also a spiritual voyage. His entry into the Franciscan Order added a layer of complexity to his character, intertwining his devotion to religious life with his insatiable thirst for intellectual inquiry. These dual pursuits propelled him into the heart of philosophical and theological discourse, where he contributed to defining debates and daringly challenging established norms.Mostra libro
