Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Dante, Machiavelli, Bhagavad-Gita
Epic Ethics
The ethics of the epic quest, as expressed in Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey," to take just two examples of nationalist and epic heroic sagas, are ultimately justifications of cultural dominance of a particular ruling group and set of values. Although these heroic epics may highlight occasional great moments of individual morality, they ultimately provide support, justification, and legitimating narratives for the dominant, aristocratic form of government of the day. For instance, Achilles is a great warrior because he is a decedent of the Gods. Odysseus is chosen as the legitimate focus of his own dramatic poem because Athena favors his kingship of Ithaca. Although the narrative structures of Homer's epics may 'test' these men, the narrative epic structure also validates the values of military prowess and social rewards that lie at the heart of establishing a great and epic kingdom, ruled by the few. The stories suggest that the noble aristocracy, all...
Within the epic narratives of war and quests, ordinary people exist merely as plot points to show off the excellence of the hero.
However, Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" from the Gospel of Matthew in the canonized New Testament quite explicitly rejects this view. Jesus speaks to those whom, for Homer, might merely exist as one of the hungry ghosts of the Grecian underworld in Hades. Blessed are the meek, the poor, Jesus famously says in this particular sermon, even though the Gospel of Matthew begins with a defense of Jesus' own greatness as a descendant of epic kings of the Hebraic Bible, beginning with King David.
Dante's "Inferno" likewise takes up a common epic trope -- in the case of Dante, that of the heroic quest rather than the heroic claim to greatness because of aristocratic lineage. But Dante reformulates the epic quest narrative and…
Sermon on the Mount and the Prince Anyone who is even vaguely familiar with the teachings of Jesus and theories of Machiavelli would see just how starkly different are the two in their approach to everything especially leadership. Jesus was a symbol of compassion and forgiveness and in his Sermon on the Mount, he presented summary of his teachings which included the golden rule "In everything, therefore, treat people the same
There may have been some women there who have had one, and I'm sure it would hurt to be called that; in fact, I think they would stop listening. Also, there might be men whose wives, or daughters, or girl friends (or even mothers) had had an abortion, and they would be offended by the label murderer applied to women they loved or cared about. People stop listening when
While God’s word was delivered to specific people at a specific time in a specific place, the quality of the Word is such that it lives on and can be applied to all people in every place in every time. The reason for this is that the Word of God is universal and carries a meaning that gets to the heart of what it means to be human and to
Sermon Every youthful generation is going to have its own tastes in clothing and recreation, its own musical style, its own favorite musical artists, always in contrast to their parents and the previous generation. Adults should be patient and understanding, and good Christians should not condemn or condone a wild rock and roll star that sins, but instead pray for that person. Good morning my friends, my congregation, and my neighbors! I
sermon "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men," by John Witherspoon, given on 17 May 1776. Specifically, it will consider who Witherspoon is responding or directing his sermon to. What does he say? How is this sermon significant? Witherspoon's sermon came at a crucial time in American history, and his words are still powerful and poignant today. The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men Witherspoon's sermon is
The sermon is evidently being delivered to a black congregation. The suffering of Sister Caroline is shown to be uniquely black in nature because of the references to her suffering in the vineyards (cotton fields) for long, hot hours. Sister Caroline has furrows of care in her brow because of the suffering that is part of the African-American condition. Life is so hard that death is shown as a