Humanities Books

Volume II in Connolly's new Esoteric Guidebook Series is titled Develop Your Psychic Powers and contains the information and exercises to empower the reader in the art of visualization, intuition, dreamwork, merging with the higher self, and other paranormal phenomena.

Here's the idea, you meditate on a Major like the Magician and tap into his power and thus become him becuase you need that tool. This is NOT far fetched but a lot of what the Golden Dawn itself, and Arthur Waite originally, wanted the tarot to be: a guide for psychometry or as Crowley called it, Magick. Dr Connolly has taken the magick out and put the psychology in.

If you like the book others like it are the Regardie series and many of Crowleys & Waites works.

I really enjoyed improving my lessons by using this book.

Joseph Naveh's classic work constitutes 'an attempt to survey the Aramaic epigraphic material from its very beginnings until the third century B.C.E. It examines the development of the Aramaic script in its various styles on the basis of the dated inscriptions.'

Although the discipline and the discoveries upon which it is privileged to apply its scholar exertions have, respectively, advanced and multiplied, there remains great value in Naveh's cautious explanation of how epigraphers work. The development of a script is evolutionary, the author reminds us. It is the product of both conservative and progressive forces and does not, therefore, amenable to simple, straight-line description (I, 'Introduction', pp. 1-7).

Lapidary writing is conservative but is influenced by developments in non-lapidary writing. Rapid writing seeks shortcuts. Novices and inscribers do not. Yet these latter are influenced by the script-inflecting tendencies of the rapid writer.

Pedagogical value resides in Naveh's brief summations. For example:

'Though the clerk, the cultured person and the craftsman all used basically the same cursive script, there were decided stylistic differences. These may be classified as sub-styles of cursive and can be termed:

(a) extreme cursive--that of the cultured person;

(b) formal cursive--that of the professional scribe; and

(c) vulgar cursive--that of persons of limited schooling.

This scheme of terminology serves to emphasize the unrestricted development of the first sub-style, whereas the others were influenced by it, but lagged behind it in development. Lapidary script (print, in modern terms), though much much more stable, is also influenced by cursive. Thus, though lapidary gave birth to cursive, the offspring grew up to influence its parent; similarly, the extreme cursive influenced the formal. In other words, older, more conservative forms are constantly being influenced by younger, freer forms.'

In his second chapter, Naveh alerts us to the fact that the earliest available inscriptions belong to the ninth and eight centuries B.C.E. (II, 'The Earliest Aramaic Inscriptions', pp. 7-15). Clear graphics present exemplars of the letters found in these inscriptions. An historical assessment of the scripts' evolution accompanies the presentation: 'To sum up, the Phoenician script was adopted for writing Aramaic, apparently in the tenth century B.C.E. During the following hundred and fifty or two hundred years, Aramaic was written in Phoenician script. During the ninth and the first half of the eighth centuries, there is no evident distinction between Phoenician and Aramaic script; apparently, the Phoenician-Aramaic lapidary script was used for writing in ink as well. In the mid-eighth century B.C.E. Aramaic script begin to develop an independent cursive .... The beginnings of Aramaic cursive and its rapid development are undoubtedly connected with the rise of the Aramaic language and script as an international means of communication.'

Naveh's approach, wherein he surveys the examples of Aramaic script available to us in a given period, the relating of that period to the political and imperial considerations that served as the motor of the widespread dissemination of the Aramaic language and script, the case-by-case consideration of exemplars written on different material, and the graphic presentation of typical letter forms, continues in chapter III ('The Aramaic Script in the Seventh and Sixth Centuries B.C.E', pp. 15-21).

When the author comes to the period in which the hegemony of the Persian empire made the Aramaic script virtually ubiquitous (IV, 'Aramaic Cursive in the Fifth Century B.C.E.', pp. 21-43), his presentation continues to be enriched by methodological asides. For example:

'A scribe's handwriting does not develop with his age; an elderly scribe could write in a script that he had evolved in his youth. Thus, it may be assumed that a less developed script could continue to appear over several decades, and it is therefore desirable to ascertain as far as possible, the time of the initial appearance of each new form. Even so, it should be remembered that new forms do not immediately replaced older forms.'

Naveh mentions throughout his appreciation for the great Harvard epigrapher Frank Cross, a sentiment that seems to increase with the inventory of available materials (V, 'Aramaic Cursive in the Fourth and Third Centuries B.C.E.', pp. 43-51; VI, 'Aramaic Lapidary Script', pp. 51-64).

The author's final chapter allows him to present his conclusions in synthetic form (VII, 'Comparative Aspects of the Aramaic Script', pp. 64-69):

'The development of the various scripts can be graphically expressed as a family tree of which three branches--the Phoenician, the Hebrew and the Aramaic--stem from a common bough, i.e. the proto-Canaanite script. In Sect. II we observed how the Hebrew script in the ninth century B.C.E. developed in a manner different from that of the Phoenician; we saw, too, that in the ninth century the Aramaic script was in reality still Phoenician, and that is independent development in a cursive form began in the middle of the eighth century B.C.E. ... It should be remembered that the independent development of the Aramaic script began a hundred years after that of the Hebrew, and that in spite of this the Aramaic script developed further, reaching, so to speak, a sort of shorthand. The Phoenician script is further developed than the Hebrew, but even so, much less than the Aramaic. If we assume that the development of the Phoenician script was normal, then the development of the Aramaic script was extremely accelerated, whereas the Hebrew script developed at a snail's pace.'

Naveh speculates that the Aramaic script's relatively stellar pace is a function if its widespread use devoid of individual 'sentiment', whereas the conservative development of the Hebrew script is owing to the more isolated and mountainous environment in which it was in practice.

That Naveh's little monograph is still quote-worthy and continues to serve as a point of reference nearly forty years after its publication is testimony to the care with which it was produced.

Dhegdheer: A Scary Somali Folktale is a striking English/Somali bilingual picturebook of an ancient cautionary tale from Somalia. When the Hargega Valley is plagued by the monstrous Dhegdheer, who devours everyone in her path, a widow and her young son try to escape with their lives. Only their own innocence and virtue has a prayer of saving them from the monster. Betsy Bowen's boldly tribal paintings illustrate this one-of-a-kind folktale.

This inciteful look into the life of Punin is quite a page turner. From references to his affair with Akhmatova to reflections on the politics of the time, the diaries provide a rare chronicle of the early Soviet era. The tactful translation is smooth and easy to comprehend. Jennifer Greene Krupala is a very talented translator and does great justice to the diaries of Nikolay Punin; it is obvious that she has a deep understanding of the work and a strong command of the Russian language.

I purchased this volume from a small bookshop in the market town of Moreton-in-Marsh. This is a colorful and detailed view of rural life in the Cotswolds from 1820 - 1852. The diary was kept by the Reverend F.E. Witts during the bulk of his career as a country parson. These are delightful descriptions! Anyone who is interested in English country life should read this book.

Dicaearchus of Messana: Text, Translation, and Discussion edited by William W. Fortenbaugh and Eckart Sch?trumpf (Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities, Volume X: Transaction Publishers) Dicaearchus of Messana in Sicily (fl. C. 320 BCE) was a Peripatetic philosopher. Like Theophrastus of Eresus, he was a pupil of Aristotle. His life is not well documented: however, it can be ascertained that a dose friendship existed between Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus as both are mentioned as personal students of Aristotle. Dicaearchus lived for a time in the Peleponnesus, and in his pursuit of geographical studies and measuring mountains, he is said to have enjoyed the patronage of kings.
Dicaearchus' interests were narrower than those of his teacher: no works on logic, physics, and metaphysics are reported. In On the Soul, which comprised the Corinthian and Lesbian Dialogues, he advanced the view that mind and soul do not exist; there is only body configured in a certain way. In some sources, this view is in?terpreted as a harmony theory, but the interpretation may derive from Dicaearchus' association with Aristoxenus, whose musical interests were well known. How Dicaearchus reconciled his view of the soul with a belief in divination through dreams and frenzy is problematic. An an?swer may have been given in another dialogue, Descent into (the Cave of) Trophonius, in which both the luxury of the priests of Trophonius and their practice of divination were attacked.
Dicaearchus wrote on good and bad life styles. In On the Sacrifice at Ilium, he reported how Alexander the Great was overcome with love for a eunuch; and in On the Destruction of Human Beings, he presented man himself, not wild animals and natural disasters, as the greatest threat to mankind. In On Lives, Dicaearchus probably defended the active life over that of quiet contemplation. Whether he criticized Theophrastus directly for championing contemplation is problematic. In any case, we need not doubt that he characterized the Seven Sages as neither wise nor philo?sophic, but intelligent and capable of legislation.
Dicaearchus' Life of Greece was a cultural history tracing the devel?opment of human society. An initial golden age in which men lived vir?tuously, meeting their needs from what the earth produced sponta?neously, was followed by a second period, and characterized by gathering fruits and pasturing animals. The third involved the rise of agriculture, and the fourth that of civilization. Dicaearchus took notice of other cul?tures, and the whole work, several books long, appears to have had an evaluative slant.
Dicaearchus wrote a work entitled the Constitution of the Spartans. The annual reading of this work to Sparta's council of ephors suggests a picture favorable to the Spartans. He also appears to have written on the constitutions of Pellene, Corinth, and Athens. The Tripoliticus, perhaps identical with the Constitution of the Spartans, probably considered a con?stitution in which monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic elements were combined.
The titles On Musical Competitions and On Dionysiac Competitions may have been the whole and a part, respectively, of the same work. Dicae?archus probably discussed a range of forms, from banquet songs to dramatic productions. He provided didascalic information and took an interest in "firsts," noting innovations regarding the dithyrambic chorus and the number of tragic actors. Hypotheses of the myths of *Euripides and Sophocles are attributed to Dicaearchus; the accuracy of the attribu?tion, including the assignment of recently published papyrus fragments, is a matter of debate. The titles Panathenaic and Olympiac appear to refer to dialogues, which dealt with festivals and musical themes. Homeric questions were discussed, probably within a monograph. A work On Al?caeus is certain. Dicaearchus's interest in proverbs is well attested.
In Circuit of the Earth, Dicaearchus argued that the earth has the shape of a globe. He established a main parallel of latitude running from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Himalayan mountains, made maps that were known to Cicero, and discussed other phenomena like the cause of ebb and flood tides and the source of the Nile River. The title Measure?ments of the Mountains in the Peloponnesus appears to reflect his interest in the height of mountains; his measurements involved the use of an optical measurer.

This reference book also helps in classification and categorization of the knowledge enshrined in the Holy Quran.

Prof. Mir has provided definitions, and in many cases summarized the contexts wherever words have similar meaning or usage.

I took several classes from Doctor Ritter, and found his lectures to be the best-organized of any professor I've yet had. The benefits of this lecture style are also found in his Dictionary, which can be used as a corollary to anyone interested in studying history (esp. that of modern Europe). It is a great way to easily familiarize yourself with political trends, social theories, movements, and more.

I strongly reccomend this book to anyone working in the fields of cultural and communications theory. The explanations are straightforward and accurate. The cross-referencing is exhaustive and well laid out. The first dictionary I ever read cover to cover!!!