Modern Commentators Research Articles

The Fear of Laughter in Restoration Prose Fiction

This article draws on recent studies on the fear of derisive laughter (or ‘gelotophobia’) in order to relate them to early modern comments on laughter and to the representation of that anxiety in some texts of Restoration prose fiction, and with a particular emphasis on Alexander Oldys’s The Fair Extravagant(1682). Gelotophobia is a variant of shame anxiety and a social phobia defined as the pathological fear of being an object of laughter. Although the fear shown in the texts analysed is not pathological, it certainly reveals the strong pressure of the shame culture and gender politics prevailing in Restoration England.

A Dialogic Soliloquy?

AbstractIn Euripides’ Hecuba, both the scholia and modern interpreters detect a failure of communication in the farewell scene between the protagonist and Polyxena—though the scholiast names Polyxena as the source of the non-dialogue, whereas the modern commentators claim that neither character is engaging. This paper aims, firstly, by a slight redistribution of lines, to restore coherence to the dialogue. Secondly, it argues that it is Hecuba’s rather than Polyxena’s conversational behaviour that impedes the smooth progress of the dialogue. Polyxena is even the one trying to reintegrate her mother into the dialogue. Her linguistic behaviour thus matches her composed and ‘heroic’ overall conduct.

Garum and Liquamen, What\u2019s in a Name?

There is a dilemma at the heart of the study of the Roman fish sauce trade. The meaning of the Greek and Latin words used to name the fish sauces is still contested: currently there is much confusion and contradiction between modern scholars and ancient commentators about the use of the terms garum and liquamen. It is also not readily recognised that the ancients themselves were less than clear as to the exact meaning of the terms that they used, and this confusion has informed and exacerbated our own. In this paper some of the key texts that have been used to define fish sauce are re-evaluated in light of the need to distinguish and separate them out into the distinct types and sub-types.

Constructing a Textual Tradition: Salafī Commentaries on al-ʿAqīda al-ṭaḥāwiyya

AbstractAlthough the Salafī movement prides itself on its doctrinal purity, it has recently embraced the creed of Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī (d. 321/933), which diverges from Salafī beliefs on a few significant topics such as the nature of faith. This paper accounts for this phenomenon by examining the scholarly production around the text, and by considering the strategies employed by modern commentators to deal with problematic lines. I argue that for the Salafī movement, the issues found in this text are outweighed by the polemical imperative of constructing a Salafī textual tradition.

A ‘fownde patrone and second father’ of the Marian Church: Antonio Buonvisi, religious exile and mid-Tudor Catholicism

AbstractDespite receiving particular praise from a range of early modern commentators, from Nicholas Sander to Pedro de Ribadeneyra, most historians have seen the Italian merchant Antonio Buonvisi playing a fairly negligible role in the history of mid-Tudor Catholicism. This article challenges this interpretation. After reassessing some rather simplistic assessments of Buonvisi’s religious beliefs, this article explores his actions and activities following his self-imposed exile from England in 1549. Using research conducted in both the State Archives of Lucca and the Vatican City, it suggests that Buonvisi played a far more significant role in ensuring the survival of English Catholicism over the first decades of the Reformation than is usually acknowledged. Indeed, it argues that Buonvisi may have helped lay core foundations for the Catholic restoration of Mary I’s reign, the success of which has recently been highlighted by historians such as Eamon Duffy.

Before the Tragedy of the Commons: Early Modern Economic Considerations of the Public Use of Natural Resources

Abstract This article distinguishes between the precise legal and economic approach to the commons used by Hardin and many other modern commentators, and the broader post-Hardinian concept utilized in environmentally-oriented discussions and aiming to limit the use of the commons for the sake of preservation. Particularly in the latter case, it is claimed, any notion of the tragedy of the commons is distinctly a modern twentieth-century one, and was foreign to the early modern and even nineteenth-century outlooks. This was true of the early modern mercantilists, and also of classical political economists such as Adam Smith and even, surprisingly, Malthus, as well as of Jevons and his neoclassical discussion aimed at maximizing the long-term use of Britain’s coal reserves. One intellectual who did recognize the problematic possibility of leaving some tracts of land in their pristine condition to answer humanity’s need for a spiritual connection with nature was J. S. Mill, but even he regarded this as in essence almost a utopian ideal. The notion of the tragedy of the commons in its broader sense is therefore a distinctly modern one.

Bede's miracles reconsidered

The miracles depicted by the Venerable Bede – particularly in his Historia ecclesiastica – have proved problematic for historians. This article will first recapitulate the argument that miracles were not a clearly defined category for Bede in the way they would become for later philosophers and as is often assumed by modern commentators. It will then explore the idea that Bede's miraculous episodes can best be appreciated as signa that point to a meaning beyond the literal. In particular, it will argue against the idea that Bede thought that extra‐biblical history could not be read allegorically in the same way as sacred history. It is imperative that we develop a more refined understanding of Bede's conceptualization of the miraculous if we are to better comprehend the mechanics of his celebrated narrative of the English church.

John Galsworthy's Conscience and First World War Disablement

The article traces, from a literary perspective, John Galsworthy's (1867–1933) conscience in his fictional depictions and non-fictional discussions of those damaged and disabled by World War One. It notes that, for the duration of the War, Galsworthy was tireless in his writing crusade on topics relating to the hostilities, but fell silent on these matters after the War, when he returned to his much broader range of topics. Through its references to both narratives and essays, the article demonstrates Galsworthy's strong advocacy for restoring disabled men to dignified work and self-respect, whereby they can continue to fulfil their vital masculine role in society, including their romantic life. As is shown in the article, Galsworthy believed that this restorative period could involve re-training for more challenging work than men had undertaken before the War. The article stresses Galsworthy's holistic approach to men's restoration in his constant reminder to the nation that, for this to take place, both the mind and the body need equally to be healed. While adequate resources were needed for rehabilitation requiring training establishments and technology for prosthetic limbs, often the most effective psychological restoration entailed no funds at all, especially when it encompassed therapy through women's beauty and through the human-animal bond. The article includes Galsworthy's wider focus, too, on civilian adults and children who were wounded and disabled by the War. It also compares Galsworthy's views on rehabilitation and healing with those of modern commentators, and illustrates how, for his time, some of his ideas were particularly advanced.

The Way of Which Warriors? Bushidō & the Samurai in Historical Perspective

Modern commentators have too often attempted to treat bushidō as an enduring code of behaviour readily encapsulated in simplistic notions of honour, duty, and loyalty. The historical reality, however, is anything but simple. Samurai ethics and behavioural norms varied significantly from era to era—most especially across the transition from the medieval to early modern age—and in most cases bore scant resemblance to twentieth-century fantasies about samurai comportment.

Henry VIII’s Great Feast at Greenwich, May 1527

This paper examines one of the greatest feasts ever hosted by Henry VIII, at Greenwich in May 1527, to celebrate the conclusion of a treaty with France. Modern comments on this concentrate on the setting and the spectacle, but the focus here is on the food. Complete menus and the corresponding accounts of Henrician feasts are extremely rare. My discovery of the menu, together with the accounts for the food, combined with information from culinary recipes, makes it possible to examine the dishes in detail. The analysis shows that the court feast here was moving away from its medieval counterparts, in both organization and content. The standard arrangements of the medieval feast were slowly giving way to a more modern and internationalist style. Similarly, while some of the dishes date back to the fourteenth century, others were new, and show the beginnings of a style that would not find full expression until the end of the sixteenth century. Furthermore, the decorative dishes were designed as an integral part of the entertainment. The food was an essential part of the display of the King’s status and power: the art of the table was an important facet of court culture.

‘Abd Al-Karīm Al-Jīlī’s Sufi View of Other Religions

The Maghreb Review, Vol. 43, 2, 2018 © The Maghreb Review 2018 This publication is printed on FSC Mix paper from responsible sources ‘ABD AL-KARĪM AL-JĪLĪ’S SUFI VIEW OF OTHER RELIGIONS† FITZROY MORRISSEY* Sufism is often presented as the tolerant face of Islam,1 and Sufis as being more open to religious pluralism than non-Sufi Muslims.2 This idea seems to be rooted in the emphasis placed by 19th -century (predominantly British) orientalists on the non-Islamic origins of Sufism and the Sufis’ lack of attachment to Islam and adherence to the Sharī‘ah.3 It remains prevalent in recent academic studies, works for a more general audience, and media discussions about Sufism.4 In this context, the works of Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 1240) are † Although this paper is not a philosophical paper, we feel that it usefully complements other papers in this issue. * Oxford University I am grateful to Ron Nettler for his comments on a draft of this article, which is intended as part of a larger investigation into the relationship between Sufism and modern ideas such as religious pluralism. 1 For the history and various significations of tolerance as a concept, see Rainer Forst, Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, s.v. ‘Toleration’; Yves Charles Zarka, Franck Lessay and John Rogers (eds), Les fondements philosophiques de la tolerance, in 3 vols (Presses Universitaires de France, 2002). 2 The pluralist position in the broadest is: ‘There is no one true religion and, therefore, no one, and only one, path to eternal existence with God.’ David Basinger, Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, s.v. ‘Religious Diversity (Pluralism). See also the definition of the Christian theorist of religious pluralism John Hick: ‘In its broadest terms, [religious pluralism] is the belief that no one religion has a monopoly of the truth or of the life that leads to salvation.’ John Hick, ‘Religious Pluralism and Islam’, a lecture delivered to the Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Tehran, Feb 2005, retrieved via http://www.johnhick.org.uk/ article11.html on 19/1/18. For the now-common tripartite scheme of exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism, see Alan Race, Christians and Religious Pluralism (Orbis Books, 1982). 3 See Carl Ernst, Sufism: An Introduction to the Mystical Tradition of Islam (Shambhala, 2011), pp. 8–18; Linda Subrand, ‘Orientalism and Sufism: an overview’, Orientalism Revisited: Art, Land and Voyage, ed I.R. Netton (Routledge, 2013), pp. 98–114; Mark Sedgwick, Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age (Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 102–113. See also Robert Irwin’s comments on the 19th-century Dutch orientalist Snouch Hurgronje’s interest in the ‘latitudinarianism of the local [South East Asian] versions of Sufism’. Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists and their Enemies (Penguin, 2007), p. 200. As Alexander Knysh has recently argued, this orientalist depiction of Sufism may itself be at least partially derived from (medieval and modern, Sufi and non-Sufi) Muslim writers. See Alexander Knysh, Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism (Princeton University Press, 2018), p. 4. 4 See e.g. Josef van Ess, ‘Tolerance and Pluralism in Islam’, The Religion of the Other: Essays in Honour of Mohamed Talbi, ed M. Ben-Madani (Maghreb Publications, 2013), pp. 27–32, 31: ‘Open advocacy of tolerance and praise of pluralism can be found, as is well known, in Islamic mysticism.’ For this idea in popular writing, see e.g. Stephan Schwartz, The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony (Doubleday Books, 2008); and in the media, see e.g. William Dalrymple ‘Gateway of the Heart’, The Guardian (30 Oct 2004) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/30/religion.uk2, retrieved 10 Aug 2017. The issue of the tolerance of Sufism re-entered public debate after the attack on a Sufi-affiliated 176 FITZROY MORRISSEY regularly cited as a model, in both Western academic scholarship and modern Islamic reformist thought.5 In particular, modern commentators often cite as evidence for Ibn ‘Arabī’s open-minded attitude towards other religious traditions a famous poem from Tarjumān al-ashwāq in which he declares: My heart has become capable of every form; it is a pasture for gazelles...

SACRIFICE VS. SUSTENANCE: FOOD AS A BURIAL GOOD IN LATE PRE-IMPERIAL AND EARLY IMPERIAL CHINESE TOMBS AND ITS RELATION FUNERARY RITES

AbstractOne of the medical manuscripts recovered from Tomb No. 3 at Mawangdui (dated 186 b.c.e.) states that, “When a person is born there are two things that need not to be learned: the first is to breathe and the second is to eat.” Of course it is true that all healthy newborn human beings possess the reflexes to breathe and eat. Yet, the implications of death should have been just as obvious to the ancient Chinese. Once the human brain ceases to function, there is no longer a biological need for oxygen and nourishment. Nevertheless, a large number of people in late pre-imperial and early imperial China insisted on burying food and drink with the dead. Most modern commentators take the deposition of food and drink as burial goods to be a rather trite phenomenon that warrants little reflection. To their minds both kinds of deposits were either intended to sustain the spirit of the deceased in the hereafter or simply a sacrifice to the spirit of the deceased. Yet, a closer look at the archaeological evidence suggests otherwise. By tracking the exact location of food and drink containers in late pre-imperial and early imperial tombs and by comprehensively analyzing inscriptions on such vessels in addition to finds of actual food, the article demonstrates that reality was more complicated than this simple either/or dichotomy. Some tombs indicate that the idea of continued sustenance coincided with occasional sacrifices. Moreover, this article will introduce evidence of a third kind of sacrifice that, so far, has gone unnoticed by scholarship. Such data confirms that sacrifices to spirits other than the one of the deceased sometimes were also part of funerary rituals. By paying close attention to food and drink as burial goods the article will put forth a more nuanced understanding of early Chinese burial practices and associated notions of the afterlife.

Shakespeare and War

How does Shakespeare represent war? Guest editor Patrick Gray reviews scholarship to date on the question, as well as contributions to a special issue of Critical Survey, “Shakespeare and War.” Drawing upon St. Augustine’s City of God, the basis for later just war theory, Gray argues that progressive optimism regarding the perfectibility of what St. Augustine calls the “City of Man” makes it difficult for modern commentators to discern Shakespeare’s own more tragic, Augustinian sense of warfare as a necessary evil, given the fallenness of human nature. Modern misgivings about “honour” also lead to misinterpretation. As Francis Fukuyama points out, present-day liberal democracies tend to follow Hobbes and Locke in attempting to “banish the desire for recognition from politics.” Shakespeare in contrast, like Hegel, as well as latter-day Hegelians such as Fukuyama, Charles Taylor, and Axel Honneth, sees the faculty that Plato calls thymos as an ineradicable and invaluable instrument of statecraft.

No-Self in Sāṃkhya: A Comparative Look at Classical Sāṃkhya and Theravāda Buddhism

Classical Sāṃkhya and Theravāda Buddhism share important features easily obscured when modern commentators reify the two systems as opposed to each other based on a facile "self/no-self" dichotomy. The present article argues that once this opposition is abandoned, one can clearly see that these two systems share very similar ontologies and methodologies for realizing ultimate release.

The Literary Structure of the Books of Samuel: Setting the Stage for a Coherent Reading

The attempt to identify the structure of the books of Samuel is one of the most vexing topics in past and present research. The problem is common to both synchronic and diachronic methods. Diachronic methods usually divide the books into smaller blocks assuming different levels of redaction. Synchronic methods assume that the books of Samuel is a work of art, unified in its content, messages and characterization. Common to these methods is the great diversity of opinions with regard to its structure. This article provides both a survey and a critique of modern commentaries on Samuel, as well as specific studies dealing with the structure of Samuel. It surveys the matter from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.

Deontological Originalism: Moral Truth, Liberty, and, Constitutional 'Due Process'

Deontological Originalism: Moral Truth, Liberty, and, Constitutional 'Due Process'

WILLIAM BATES AND HISCONCERTOS IN TEN PARTS, OP. 2: AN ENTERPRISING EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY COMPOSER AND AN UNRECOGNIZED ORCHESTRAL SUBGENRE EMPLOYING HORNS

ABSTRACTWilliam Bates, who died in 1778, was a prolific and, in his day, successful composer of stage music and concert songs performed in London in the 1760s and 1770s; but a scarcity of biographical information and uncertainties over his position vis-à-vis the new style introduced in the early 1760s by J. C. Bach and others have tended to disadvantage him in modern commentary. New facts about his life and background together with a recently discovered sale catalogue reveal him to have been a cultivated man of wide interests, with a sympathy for the ‘ancient’ style. His most substantial musical contribution, as regards its potential for modern revival, is a remarkable set of six concertos for strings with oboes, bassoons and horns (plus, in two concertos, trumpets and timpani) published in 1762. These concertos, related in style to contemporary overtures to stage works but making much greater use of concertante writing, form a high point in a peculiarly British tradition of concertos employing French horns. The cult of the horn in Georgian Britain that nourished this tradition is the subject of extended discussion.

DECREES IN ANDOCIDES'ON THE MYSTERIESAND ‘LATENT FRAGMENTS’ FROM CRATERUS

The manuscript of Andocides' speechOn the Mysteriescontains a series of documentary inserts culminating in the decrees of Patroclides (§§77–9), Tisamenus (§§83–4) and Demophantus (§§96–8). These decrees seem to fit their historical context and they are presented at length, with at least a few of the formalities that we would expect to find in the official record. Modern commentators have relied upon them as substantially genuine, allowing for the usual errors in transmission, but now their authenticity is contested. A close reading by Mirko Canevaro and Edward Harris rejects all three of these documents as products of feckless ‘forgery’. Alan Sommerstein responded with a strong defence of Demophantus' decree, and Mogens Hansen has recently defended Patroclides' decree and Tisamenus' as well. On many points the defenders are persuasive, but the sceptics make a good case, and so it seems reasonable to reconsider how these documents took shape.

Function and Argument in Begriffsschrift

It is well known that the formal system developed by Frege in Begriffsschrift is based upon the distinction between function and argument—as opposed to the traditional distinction between subject and predicate. Almost all of the modern commentaries on Frege's work suggest a semantic interpretation of this distinction, and identify it with the ontological structure of function and object, upon which Grundgesetze is based. Those commentaries agree that the system proposed by Frege in Begriffsschrift has some gaps, but it is taken as an essentially correct formal system for second-order logic: the first one in the history of logic. However, there is strong textual evidence that such an interpretation should be rejected. This evidence shows that the nature of the distinction between function and argument is stated by Frege in a significantly different way: it applies only to expressions and not to entities. The formal system based on this distinction is tremendously flexible and is suitable for making explicit the logical structure of contents as well as of deductive chains. We put forward a new reconstruction of the function-argument scheme and the quantification theory in Begriffsschrift. After that, we discuss the usual semantic interpretation of Begriffsschrift and show its inconsistencies with a rigorous reading of the text.

Auslegung der Ausdrücke „Stimme“, „Zeichen“, und „wirkliche Merkmale“

Abstract The text offers a new German translation of Kūkai’s famous text Shōjijissōgi, An Interpretation of the terms ‘voice’, ‘sign’ and ‘real marks’. The translators make ample use of earlier translations of the text into English and German, but put more emphasis on the historical context of Kūkai’s early work. The Shōjijissōgi is often praised as an original contribution to the Buddhist discourse about language. Most modern commentators neglect, however, that Kūkai wrote his text as a response to the dominance of the Hossō School in Kūkai’s times and thus refers to this school in many different ways. These direct and indirect references are discussed in the footnotes of this new translation, but the new approach to the text’s historical background also influenced the translation of the text’s technical vocabulary. This new translation, therefore, opens up new perspectives on an important text of Japan’s intellectual history and on the history of the Buddhist discourse on language.