Divine Play Research Articles

Theology of Play in Omar Khayyam: Unacknowledged Parallels Between Hinduism, Persian Sufism, and Khayyam’s Quatrains

This paper examines the motif of divine play in Omar Khayyam’s quatrains within the broader context of Persian Sufi poetry. Given the strong association of “divine play” with Hinduism, a comparative approach is employed; to keep the focus on the main subject, this comparison is kept minimal. The comparison reveals three major themes common to both Sufism and Hinduism: God as the Player, God as the Playful Designer, and God as the Playful Dancer. To illustrate these themes, previously untranslated verses have been translated into English for the first time in this paper, highlighting a neglected aspect of Persian mysticism that scholars have often overlooked.

Divine play: Religious interpretation of play philosophy

This article explores the religious interpretation of play philosophy across different historical periods and contexts, from ancient Greek thought to contemporary digital media. Drawing on the works of prominent philosophers such as Heraclitus, Plato, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Huizinga, as well as recent scholarship on digital media and religion, the article examines the role of play in shaping religious thought, practice and experience. It consists of three main sections, focusing on divine play in ancient Greek philosophy, the religious connotations of the ‘playful order’ in the works of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Huizinga, and the transformative potential of video games as a medium for religious expression and exploration.Contribution: By synthesising diverse perspectives and examining the religious implications of play philosophy in various contexts, this study offers new insights into the relationship between the divine and humanity, and the significance of play in religious life. It also highlights the potential of digital media to provide innovative avenues for religious exploration, fostering a deeper understanding of the role of play in both historical and contemporary religious contexts.

Sustainability Policy and the Stage of Divine Play: Hindu Philosophy at the Nexus of Animal Welfare, Environment, and Sustainable Development

Abstract International policy frameworks can influence values and ideals by promoting a common conception of societal good, a domain overlapping with the traditional concerns of religion. Animal welfare has begun to receive attention in the UN environmental and sustainable development policy. This article explores the potential for Hindu religious communities and organizations to contribute to the creation and implementation of policy on animal welfare and the environment. The article centers on a discussion of the UN Environment Assembly's March 2022 resolution on the Animal Welfare—Environment—Sustainable Development Nexus and the traditional Hindu concepts of līlā (divine play), ahiṃsā (harmlessness), and sevā (service).

Explication of Nature in Śrī Kṛṣṇa Līlā in the Śrimad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa

This article explores Nature in Śrī Kṛṣṇa līlā (Divine Play) as manifested in the Śrimad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa. Within its verses, the text weaves a tapestry where Nature serves as an integral backdrop, metaphor, and source of inspiration for the divine narrative. The epic incorporates discussion on various aspects of Nature which in the Bhāgavata is deeply connected with the playful activities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The major objectives of this study are to explicate relation between Śrī Kṛṣṇa līlā and Nature as reflected in the Bhāgavata; to explore linkages between Śrī Kṛṣṇa līlā and Nature, and to evaluate Śrī Kṛṣṇa līlā on the basis of Nature. For the analysis of the primary text, the researcher has used Baruch Spinoza's principle on Nature. The theorist claims divine beings in the objects of Nature and argues when the law of Nature ends, tyranny begins. The researcher has used interpretative method for the exploration of Nature in Śrī Kṛṣṇa līlā. This study is innovative because it encourages humans to dedicate their lives for the conservation of Nature. The results of examining Śrī Kṛṣṇa līlā and Nature in the Bhāgavata highlight the sanctity of Nature, the interconnectedness of all beings, the potential for transcendence through Nature, the symbolism inherent in natural elements, and moral lessons derived from Śrī Kṛṣṇa's interaction with Nature. The prime conclusion drawn from this research is that Nature serves as the setting and the teacher in the playful activities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. It encourages humans to develop positive attitude of love, devotion, and service towards the divinity and the natural world.

Māyā in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Human Suffering and Divine Play. By Gopal K. Gupta

There are a number of distinct contributions within Gopal Gupta’s erudite rendering of the topic of māyā in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, a study that is accessible to general audiences and academics alike. Scholars from a broad range of Hindu traditions will find his initial literary survey of the concept of māyā to be an informative resource: The author takes us from the complex etymological debate about the term’s origin (root mā, ‘to create’) to its early use in the Ṛg Veda in relationship to mystical powers that are present both in humans and gods as a neutral power that can have either negative or positive applications (pp. 13–14). In the early Vedas, māyā is particularly associated with the means of worldly gain in the fire ritual, or is ‘generated through the performance of sacrificial ritual’ allowing practitioners to gain ‘the ability to perform mystical feats, create appearances, or change form’ (pp. 19–20), but it can also be associated with generative and creative power more broadly or anything that people ‘could not naturally account for or that defied explanation’ (pp. 15–16).

The Good of Play in John Finnis’s «Natural Law and Natural Rights»

Despite the scrutiny that has been given to John Finnis’s masterwork, Natural Law and Natural Rights, relatively little attention has been given to a feature of that work that plays a recurring role, namely, the place of the basic human good of play in the book. In addition to a number of passing references, that good is discussed in an extended way on three occasions. The first is when the good of play is introduced, as part of Finnis’s taxonomy of basic human goods; the second is in his discussion of Aristotle’s understanding of friendship, when Finnis reframes Aristotle’s friendship of pleasure as instead friendship of play; and then finally, in Finnis’s concluding chapter, with its discussion of the «further point» of morality, where Finnis, following Plato, describes the point of morality as participation in a divine play. Play’s presence at the end of Natural Law and Natural Rights, indeed, in one of the culminating passages of the book, suggests that this good should be paid more attention than has been given to it. After a review of Finnis’s various discussions of play, I argue that Finnis’s account provides resources for answering Thomas Nagel’s skeptical doubts about life’s meaning; and for furthering Finnis’s own claims about the authority of law.

Thirumoolarin Thirumanthira Thiruvarutkaatchi

This article looks at the various street game of the lord through the thirumandra Thiruvarut scenario. The essence of this article is to know the greatness of Siva, Siddhu, Siddhu games through Thirumanthiram. Through this article, the Principles of the life Style, Yoga, Ethical, and Piety which Thirumoolar illustrates through three thousand songs are researched. Thirumoolar’s Thirumandhiram (Patham Thirumurai) is a part of Panniru Thirumurai. This book includes many divine play of Lord Shiva and divine appearance of god to his devotees. A review of this book reveals the spiritual faith of Thirumoolar in Lord Shiva. The aim of this paper is to tell about spiritualism of Thirumoolar and his extreme belief in the mantra “OM NAMA SHIVAYA” to blend his soul with the supreme power. In Thirumanthiram, Thirumoolar has mentioned about Shivam, Bhathi, Yoga, Meditation, Shakthi in human physiology, Maya, Prayers, Belief in god, method of worshipping god. He categorized all these characteristics into science, psychology, spiritualism and exchange of soul from one body to another. he explained the presence of Lord Shiva in living and non-living things, blending of spiritualism with psychology, attitude of human beings towards spiritualism. Thirumanthiram insisted that the great five letters mantra “OM NAMA SHIVAYA” covers the entire universe with love and affection of Lord Shiva.

THE PRINCIPLE OF THE FINAL SALVATION IN HINDU TANTRIC SOTERIOLOGY

The specificity of tantric soteriology consists of a combination of three basic principles - unity, salvation, and bliss. This article explores the principle of salvation. Spiritual liberation implies the final overcoming of obstacles hindering the new worldview. Unlike the principle of unity, the principle of salvation focuses on difference, not on identity, drawing a sharp line between the desired state of liberation and the present state of dependence. The main obstacles to spiritual liberation are expressed in the well-known triad “avidyā - karma - saṃsāra”. The principle of salvation appears in Tantrism in two interrelated forms, the ascetic and śaktic ones. Both of them agree with each other in rejection of spiritual ignorance. Spiritual ignorance is the main “negative goal”; without deliverance from it there is no freedom. The state of ignorance is existential one and endowed with powerful protective “forces”. The principle of salvation implies the deliverance not only from everything that is usually considered negative (passions, sensual desires, suffering, etc.), but also of “positive” things (virtue). In the śaktic mode of the principle of salvation, it is assumed that an incorrect view of reality is eliminated by a correct view of it. Due to the fact that, according to the tantric adepts, the energies of the divine Śakti act in the world, the understanding of this fact leads the adept to stop perceiving himself as a dependent being even in the midst of an infinite variety of processes and events of the world. Life is then perceived as an unconditioned, spontaneous “divine play”, a stream of divine pleasure. Ascetic form can be reduced to an ontological interpretation of the principle of salvation, and śaktic form to a cognitive one.

Meaning in the Structure of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa

This article examines the strategies and methods employed by Vallabhācārya (1479–1531 CE) to establish Bhāgavata Purāṇa as an authoritative source of Vedānta. Following the methodology of grammarians and ritualists, Vallabhācārya analyzes the structure of Bhāgavata Purāṇa and associates its form with semantic concepts, especially the ten-fold divine play (līlā) of God. Further, he correlates this form with the body of God—Śrīnāth-jī. In this manner, he attempts to show the divine nature of Bhāgavata Purāṇa and to prove that it is the highest authoritative text (pramāṇa).

Youth Sport and Spirituality: Catholic Perspectives ed. by Patrick Kelly

Reviewed by: Youth Sport and Spirituality: Catholic Perspectives ed. by Patrick Kelly John A. Doody Youth Sport and Spirituality: Catholic Perspectives. Edited by Patrick Kelly, SJ. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2015. 320pp. $37.00. In 1976, Michael Novak published The Joy of Sports, a seminal work in the philosophical appreciation of sports. In an Augustinian moment he explained he wrote this as a man of faith (in sports) seeking understanding. Play represents the Kingdom of Ends; Work, the Kingdom of Means, Novak argued. It is therefore the realm of play in which we humans experience the true identity of our essence, for play is reality and work a diversion and escape. Sports, he wrote, are radically religious in that players are animated by a spirit that seeks freedom and perfection and the overcoming of death. Patrick Kelly has brought forth an excellent collection of essays devoted to this topic. The essays in this notable volume include a balance of theoretical and practical treatments on this theme including [End Page 76] how coaches in youth sports can advance the spirituality of their young athletes. Spirituality is defined here as the human capacity for self-transcendence. The essays in this volume help capture the essence of sports as an opportunity for seeking grace and transcendence. Richard R. Gaillardetz argues that sports should be seen as an activity in which we encounter Deus ludens. Following Aquinas and Rahner, he shows how human play can emulate the divine play of God’s creation. Mike McNamee discusses the virtues of sports in an Aristotelian fashion, explaining how and why sports must be understood in terms of the virtues which sports promotes and those virtues necessary for their proper execution. McNamee surprisingly does not explicitly refer to Alasdair MacIntyre’s groundbreaking work in this area, but Kelly in his introduction does use MacIntyre’s distinction between the internal and external goods of sports to prepare the reader for the account of sports to follow. Patrick Kelly’s two essays also provide the requisite historical and experiential account of how sports have been part of a Christian culture. And it was a felicitous choice to begin the volume with Daniel Dombrowski’s helpful philosophical and historical analysis of the origins of sports. Finally, Shields and Bredemeier provide a clarifying response to Alfie Kohn’s case against competition. They rightly go back to the etymological origins of the word to remind us that com petitio means to strive with or ask with and that which we are seeking is excellence (Arête). Perhaps the classic statement of this rediscovery is Drew Hyland’s essay on competition and friendship published in the 1970s. This move enables them to bring in considerations of sportsmanship and the many motivations for playing sports. As to the chapters that emphasize the more practical aspects of this worthwhile exercise, I found the specific applications to youth sports and coaching to be an interesting mix of how-to suggestions, anecdotal examples gathered from personal experience, and exhortations to coaches to rise above the Vince Lombardi mentality of winning is everything. This is a collection that will be useful to scholars debating the nature of and the reasons why we play sports, as well as those in the field participating on a daily basis. [End Page 77] John A. Doody Villanova University Copyright © 2016 American Catholic Historical Society

Theatre histories: an introduction

Authors Acknowledgements Preface: Interpreting performances and cultures Part I: Performance and theatre in oral and written cultures before 1700 1. Oral, ritual, and shamanic performance Case studies: Yoruba ritual as and contingency in the ritual process Intepretive approach Theories of and improvisation Korean Shamanism and the power of speech Interpretive approach Speech act theory 2. Religious and civic festivals: Early drama and theatre in context Case studies: Classical Greek theatre: Looking at Oedipus Interpretive approach Cognitive spatial relations Christians and Moors: Medieval performance in Spain and the New World Interpretive approach Cultural hierarchy 3. Early theatre in the court, temple, and marketplace: Pleasure, power, and aesthetics Case studies: Plautus's plays: What's so funny? Interpretive approach, Part I Henri Bergson's theory of laughter Interpretive approach, Part 2 Bergson's theory in historical perspective Kuttiyattam Sanskrit theatre of India: Rasa-bhava aesthetic theory and the question of taste Interpretive approach Reception theory Case study: Kathakali dance-drama: Divine play and human suffering on stage Interpretive approach Ethnography and history The Silent Bell: The Japanese no play, Dojoji Interpretive approach Feminist and gender theory, modified for medieval Japan Part II: Theatre and print cultures, 1500-1900 4. Theatre and the state, 1600-1900 Case studies: Moliere and carnival laughter Interpretive approach Mikhail M. Bakhtin's concept of the carnivalesque Kabuki and bunraku: Mimesis and the hybrid body Interpretive approach Mimesis, hybridity, and the body Shakespearean sexuality in Twelfth Night Interpretive approach Queer theory 5. Theatres for knowledge through feeling, 1700-1900 6. Theatre, nation, and empire, 1750-1900 Case studies: Theatre iconology and the actor as icon: David Garrick Interpretive approach Cultural studies and theatre iconology Theatre and hegemony: Comparing popular melodramas Interpretive approach Cultural hegemony 6. Theatre, nation, and empire, 1750-1900 Case studies: Friedrich Schiller's vision of aesthetic education and the German dream of a national theatre Interpretive approach Studies in national/cultural identity The Playboy riots: Nationalism in the Irish theatre Interpretive approach Cognitive linguistics Part III: Theatre in modern media cultures, 1850-1970 7. Theatres of popular entertainment, 1850-1970 Case studies: Blacking up on the U.S. stage Interpretive approach Reification and utopia in popular culture British pantomime: How bad theatre remains popular Interpretive approach Phenomenology and history 8. Theatres of the avant-garde and their legacy, 1880-1970 Case studies: Psychological and sociological training for the actor Interpretive approach Cognitive psychology Discoursing on desire: Desire Under the Elms in the 1920s Interpretive approach Discourse theory 9. Modernism in drama and performance, 1890-1970 Case studies: Ibsen's A Doll House: If Nora were a material girl Interpretive approach Cultural materialism Modernism in Chekhov, Pirandello, and Beckett Interpretive approach Comparative analysis 10. Theatres for reform and revolution, 1880-1970 Case studies: Social drama in Kerala, India: Staging the revolution Interpretive approach Politics, ideology, history, and performance Brecht directs Mother Courage Interpretive approach Semiotics Part IV: Theatre and performance in the age of global communications, 1950 to the present 11. Rich and poor theatres of globalization Case studies: The vortex of Times Square Interpretive approach Vortices of behaviour Athol Fugard: Theatre of witnessing in South Africa Interpretive approach Social justice and the artist 12. Director, text, and performance in the postmodern world Case studies: The crisis of representation and the authenticity of performance: Antonin Artaud and Jacques Derrida Interpretive approach Deconstruction Global Shakespeare Interpretive approach Postcolonial criticism 13. Interculturalism, hybridity, tourism: The performing world on new terms Case studies: Whose Mahabharata is it anyway? The ethics and aesthetics of intercultural performance Interpretive approach The historian between two views of intercultural performance Imagining contemporary China: Gao Xingjian's Wild Man in post-Cultural Revolution China Interpretive approach Theories of national identity Backstage/frontstage: Ethnic tourist performances and identity in America's Little Switzerland Interpretive approach Sociological theories of tourism and everyday performance Glossary Index

Ni Hua-Ching’s Americanization of the “Eternal Breath of Dao”

177 Ni Hua-Ching’s Americanization of the “Eternal Breath of Dao” MARK JOHNSON1 Being one of the first Westerners initiated by Daoist master Ni Hua‑ Ching 倪化清 in Taiwan in the winter of 1975, and having spent another eight years with him in this country, I was an intrinsic witness to the Americanization of his particular lineage as it evolved in the USA. Be‑ cause our training in Taiwan was rather orthodox, Master Ni never in‑ tended to simply “transplant” his sect into U.S. soil, but rather thought of it as being a “skin graft” onto the tree of Daoism already growing here. Still, the skin graft was fast and came with continuous changes in content and teaching style. The most active center of Daoism in the U.S. in the early 1970s was the Taoist Sanctuary in Los Angeles. I joined them in 1972 and trained there until the winter of 1974. Eastern philosophy and religion were not new to me, for I had lived in an Advaita Vedanta Ashram in Florida from 1962 to 1970 and afterwards spent a year sitting with Suzuki Rishi in his Zen Center in Tassajara. Only later did I realize that my training at those centers and especially at the Taoist Sanctuary, were in stark con‑ trast to my later, more intense and formal training in Taiwan. Our daily regimen in Taiwan continued for a short time in the U.S., but within months, things started to change. 1 This article is based on a longer and more detailed presentation found in my new book, Life Is Divine Play (Amazon ‑ iUniverse Publisher 2009). 178 / Journal of Daoist Studies 3 (2010) The Taoist Sanctuary The Sanctuary was housed in a rented section of a Protestant church in North Hollywood. No one actually lived there, and the various Daoist groups would come and go during the week with very little contact. There was no daily routine, nor did we adhere to any common standards or sets of shared values. We all called ourselves Daoists, but in fact our taiji quan faction thought the gongfu students were uncivilized brutes and they thought the taiji guys were wimps. Somehow we kept from strangling each other, and over time, we learned mutual respect. Khigh Dhiegh (Ph.D in psychology) was the principal instructor at the Sanctuary. He was considered a major Yijing (Book of Changes) scholar and had written an impressive book titled The Eleventh Wing: An Exposition of the Dynamics of I Ching for Now (1972). He made his living as an actor, staring as Wo Fat in the “Hawaii Five O” series. He often char‑ acterized himself as an actor taking on the role of Yijing scholar. Another actor, Chao Li Chi, taught classical Chinese as we translated the Daode jing in its transmitted form and in the newly discovered manuscripts. In addition, there were June Yu’er who taught taiji quan in the lineage of Master Guo from San Francisco, and Share K. Lew who instructed in martial arts. The entire set‑up was quite chaotic and we were an unruly bunch. I enjoyed every minute of it and it wasn’t until I decided to go to Taiwan to study acupuncture that I discovered the more formal and dis‑ ciplined aspects of Daoism. Training in Taiwan In late 1974, I went to Kaohsiung in Taiwan with a couple from the Tao‑ ist sanctuary. They had been studying with an herbal master from there for years and invited anyone from the Sanctuary to join them. I was bored with my life as a graphic designer and was interested in becoming an herbalist or acupuncturist so I went with them. After a few weeks of playing “catch up,” I decided that I needed a teacher of my own. After a series of incredible synchronicities, I stumbled upon Master Ni, then known as a medical practitioner and author of books on Daoism under the name of Ni Ching‑Huh 倪清和. He agreed that if we helped him translate the sacred scriptures of his lineage, he would teach us acupunc‑ Johnson, “Ni Hua‑Ching’s Americanization” / 179 ture. So we did. We worked on the project ten hours...

The many colors of Hinduism: a thematic-historical introduction

Part I The Nature of Hinduism A Journey to Mother India Tongues of Fire of the Vedic Sacrificial Cult The Swan, World Renunciation, and Upanisads The Way and the Structure of Life The Experiential Nature of Hinduism Part II Nature of Devotional and Sectarian Hinduism The Sensual Nature of Hinduism Embodiment of Visnu of Earth Divine Play, Madness, Eroticism, and Krishna Righteous Rama, Untouchables, and Sants Dance of the Ascetic Deity Siva Feminine Thread Desire Transformed: Tantra and Saktism Part III Issues in Modern and Contemporary Hinduism The World of the Goddess: Village Hinduism Reformers, Missionaries, and Gurus in Modern Hinduism.

Sri Ramakrishna and his divine play

Sri Ramakrishna and his divine play

Flip Horizontal

Flip Horizontal

Thomas Aquinas and His Legacy ed. by David M. Gallagher

BOOK REVIEWS 137 the delights of divine play in creation, and enter into the life of the triune God. Thompson's work gives us hope-hope that the renewal of theology, based on a balanced harmony of ressourcement and aggiornamento (enrichment by the sources and responsiveness to contemporary needs), which appeared so promising in the works of theologians like Congar, de Lubac, and Balthasar, will continue in the mainstream of American theology. At the same time, I suspect that Thompson would be the first to admit that the work of integration has only begun. Of the many issues that, in my opinion, remain to be confronted I would like to outline only two. First, one needs to elaborate the philosophical-theological foundations of "participatory knowing" in general and, specifically, in matters theological. Affective knowledge, wisdom (sapientia) based on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and an ontological conformity with Christ, is a necessary foundation and hoped-for consequence of proper theological knowledge, but it is not identical with it. Every saint had the supernatural gift of wisdom, but not every saint was a theologian in the strict sense of the word. Here differentiation must precede integration. (The wisdom tradition in the fathers and mothers of the Church and the treatise of St. Thomas on the gift of wisdom [STh II-II, q. 45] may provide the starting point.) Second, Thompson's synthesis appeals only to those who have already practiced this method, in some way or other. Those who accept only the method of literary and historical criticism in dealing with the Scriptures need to be shown that the very logic of the critical method demands that it be transcended (not abolished!) by those who apply it to the Bible. University ofDallas Dallas, Texas ROCH KERESZTY, 0.CIST. Thomas Aquinas and His Legacy. Edited by DAVID M. GALLAGHER. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1994. Pp. 220. Thomas Aquinas and His legacy offers the analyses and keen observations of some of the more prominent Thomistic philosophers on the contemporary horizon. It is impossible, within the short compass of the present review, to do ample justice to the various speculative threads that are woven through this collection. Several distinct themes, pursued by authors of proven distinction , are well articulated and placed in their historic context. Yet perhaps most interesting is what is not said, but which nonetheless leaps from the 138 BOOK REVIEWS page to the alert observer: namely, the systematic speculative focus of the authors. For several years, there has been an underlying tension affecting the Thomistic intellectual community. Under the strong impetus of the unchallengeable greatness of Etienne Gilson, whose systematic philosophic intelligence coexisted with the habitus of the historian, the renascence of medieval historical inquiry was enormous. However, this very event tended to eclipse systematic inquiry in favor of more historical research. While great figures such as Gilson and Anton Pegis never failed to approach issues in a systematic vein, many lesser lights assimilated only the historical habitus while properly speculative life waned. What resulted was an imperialism of the historical habitus at the expense of philosophy. This imperialism suffers by contrast with St. Thomas's use of history which is, as they say, a "cut to the chase." For example, "Aristotle says 'x' and gives three reasons, a, b, and c; on the contrary, Augustine says 'y' because of d, c, and e; but I respond that it should be said that..." Thence flows Thomas's own analysis, followed by his responses to objections. Both his Summae are filled with such considerations; and few can imagine that he exhausted the fertility of the principles that he employed. St. Thomas could not afford the luxury of aggrandizing historical competencies that distracted from his speculative focus. This virile speculative engagement, which adverts to historical competencies only as a necessary auxiliary (he did, after all, consult Moerbeke), does not accord well with Gilson's caveat that "No philosopher can know that he is a Thomist unless he also be an historian" (Etienne Gilson, History of Philosophy and Philosophical Education [Milwaukee: Marquette, 1948], 1920 ). And this prescription, quite apaii from the greatness of Gilson, immersed Thomistic thought in...

The Gendering of Melancholia: Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Symbolics of Loss in Renaissance Literature (review)

Reviews179 were quite unknown to me at first hand, and I appreciated introductions to Calderón de la Barca, Max Jacob, and Mario Luzi, in particular the last with his indebtedness to Bergson and TeUhard. Yet I am left wondering who the reader is who would require preliminary introductions to some and could manage advanced essays on others. Occasionally the editors do slip in clues about their prejudices. Thus, Robert Royal, in his essay on Péguy, suggests that "one of the most deep-seated critical prejudices in the twentieth century is that religion is bad for literature" (p. 160). I am not convinced of the truth of that claim—though pardy true, the very opposite might be a more sustainable position. What is needed is more editorial energy. This could be a very important collection, but it simply falls apart, and fails to engage with the real issues of the ludic as a central element in the reworking of theological thinking today, not least through literary exercises. The profoundly liturgical (and spiritual) dimension of that reworking is recognized in Marion and in the last essay by Louis Dupré, "Ritual: The Divine Play of Time." Dupré's excellent comments on temporality and drama as ritual are hardly sustained by any previous close readings and provide no real conclusion to the book. And his final sentence is revealing—suggesting that we live in an age suspicious of religion and religious language. What is needed is a much clearer theoretical sense of the postmodern so profoundly recognized by Jean-Luc Marion, and its deep theological implications, not least in its sense of play in text and literature. In his endorsement of the book, Gerald Gillespie acknowledges the "brilliant synthesizing" by Nemoianu and Dupré in their essays. This is just what is lacking in a book which contains individual papers of great insight and literary scholarship. University of GlasgowDavid Jasper The Gendering of Melancholia: Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Symbolics of Loss in Renaissance Literature, by Juliana Schiesari; xii & 267 pp. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1992, $36.95 cloth, $14.95 paper. Schiesari contends that "melancholia is not simply a pathological condition of either medical or psychological interest, but a historically specific discursive practice that differentiates along gender lines . . . between those 'losses' that are considered significant and those that are not" (p. 186). Citing Hamlet as a favorite traditional figure of melancholy, she suggests that the question is not "To be, or not to be," but who is meaningfully empowered to ask and rewarded 180Philosophy and Literature for doing so (p. 63). That there are laurels to be received by male melancholiacs is the substance of much of Schiesari's work. It is an argument she makes most convincingly in her analysis of Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia," Ficino's De amore and De vita, and Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata. In such works, male melancholy is seen as a source of genius, brought about, in part, by the melancholic 's higher moral character and his special relationship with the transcendent . His status is achieved, however, by a devaluation of mourning, traditionally associated with the feminine and the vulgos: ". . . the 'significant' losses ofthe melancholic are themselves appropriated from what, from his standpoint, can only be called 'insignificant others'" (p. 186). Schiesari argues that women's melancholia, on the other hand, is historically situated as demonic at worst, incoherent at best. The modern version of melancholia , depression, is given no attributes of transcendent value because it is predominandy associated with women. Against this gender-differentiating tradition , Schiesari cites the work of Hildegard of Bingen, whose alternative vision of melancholy was that it was a debilitating illness shared equally by men and women. Schiesari finds, in the works of Gaspara Stampa and Isabella di Morra, attempts to articulate female melancholia, in opposition to an overwhelming Petrarchan influence which objectified women while effectively silencing them. She is critical, however, of contemporary feminists Irigaray and Kristeva for the absence she finds in their works of a constructive response to female melancholia , particularly in Kristeva's assertion that women must "kill off the mother" (p. 81): ". . . the reactivation of the gendered categories of melancholia in conjunction with Kristeva's own particular...

Théologie luthérienne et théâtre : Le « jeu divin » de la justification (Gen. 37-50)

Lutheran theology and the theatre : the « divine play » of justification (Gen. 37-50). We know that Luther soon realised the value of the theatre for teaching the young and spreading the new faith ; as early as 1534 he warmly encouraged performances of plays drawn from the Bible. The intention of his article is to reverse the perspective and Show how Luther in his Second Commentary on Genesis (1535-45) presents a dramatic setting of the conversion of Joseph's brothers using the criteria of classical comedy to explain the movements of the " compère ".