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I begin with a question: in Leonardo’s famous Adoration of the Magi at what distance is the observer from the temple in ruins? The main clue we have to find the answer is the preliminary sketch of the temple, but it is not the one he transferred to the painting. I believe that Leonardo most likely drew another sketch; a sketch that somehow has been lost without leaving a trace. Based on the painting, I have deconstructed the perspective of the temple to see what Leonardo’s missing sketch might have looked like. Recently, multispectral imaging studies have made visible many of the underlying lines of the sketch and painting. However, here we discuss some aspects of the preparatory sketch that have not been yet thoroughly analyzed. The knowledge of perspective was in the making at the time Leonardo drew the sketch, so the way I see the sketch’s flaws shows the way new rules of perspective were found in practice. We are also able to tell here at which distance and height one has to stand to best view the painting correctly.

During production the italics that distinguish m for modules from m for meters were inadvertently suppressed.

‘Prayer’ can be defined as ‘the offering, in public worship or private devotion, of petition, confession, adoration, or thanksgiving to God; also the form of words in which such an offering is made’ (cf. Cohn-Sherbok 2010). In addition to this simple definition it could be said that there are different forms of prayer: some are vocal and articulate and others are only mental in nature; some prayers are communal and liturgical and other prayers are spontaneous or at least composed by the one saying the prayer (cf. Stump 1999). Accordingly, it is evident that there are manifold intricacies involved in any characterisation of ‘prayer’. In this article my aims are twofold. First, I explore the implications of Martin Buber’s philosophy, particularly of his conception of God as Thou for our understanding of ‘prayer’; second, I will argue that Buber’s understanding of ‘prayer’ as dialogue serves as a way for the individual to seek reconciliation with itself, with others, and with God.

Research indicates that the endorsement of sexist ideology is linked to higher subjective wellbeing for both men and women. We examine gender differences in the rationalisations which drive this effect in an egalitarian nation (New Zealand). Results from a nationally representative sample (N = 6,100) indicated that the endorsement of Benevolent Sexism (BS) predicted life satisfaction through different mechanisms for men and women. For men, BS was directly associated with life satisfaction. For women, the palliative effect of BS was indirect and occurred because BS-ideology positioning women as deserving of men’s adoration and protection was linked to general perceptions of gender relations as fair and equitable, which in turn predicted greater levels of life satisfaction.

Common knowledge suggests that elections are won or lost based on demographics, finances, and other structural elements. Whether candidates win or lose, however, is a matter of action. Symbolic identification, metaphor, and an unfolding narrative—and how they are managed and interpreted in the flow of events—determine who will emerge victorious from the democratic struggle for power. The McCain campaign’s effort to cast Obama as a celebrity, with the hollow trivialities and self-aggrandizement of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, proves to be one of the most dangerous episodes for the Obama campaign. In response, the Democrats must adjust the staging of Obama’s Thursday night acceptance speech in Denver as a performance of purpose and gravitas, rather than glitz and adoration.

This article analyzes the 2002 Coretta Scott King Award book by Mildred Taylor entitled The Land. The novel and its author are situated within a tradition of historical fiction written by and about African Americans. I then offer an analysis that utilizes Critical Race Theory as an interpretive tool for examining the ways Taylor embeds meanings of land ownership into the novel. In particular the following themes emerged: (1) inspiration and adoration, (2) entitlement and privilege, and (3) freedom and security. The conclusion addresses the importance of applying Critical Race Theory to literary studies as well as identifying ways to purposefully incorporate African American young adult historical fiction within today’s classrooms.

It is generally accepted that in Laclos’s novel the Marquise de Merteuil competes with Mme de Tourvel for Valmont’s adoration, and that she does so by attempting to impress him with her libertine prowess more effectively than the Presidente does by her virtue. However, I argue here that as Merteuil sees this strategy continually failing, she turns instead to an opposite one, which is to demonstrate that she can prove herself Tourvel’s superior on the latter’s own territory. Valmont has from the outset praised Tourvel’s virtue, manifested in her determination to resist his advances; indeed, for him ‘virtue’ and ‘resistance’ are interchangeable terms. Accordingly, when towards the end of the novel the Marquise spurns Valmont, she provocatively shows herself more capable of resistance, and therefore of ‘virtue’, than her fallen rival. By the same token, she surprisingly ceases to behave as a libertine (who observes a form of ascesis but never renounces her object) in order to behave instead as a version of the prude (who strives to overcome desire). Though this strategy is revealed in the denouement, its seeds are sown in the earliest letters, and it is developed in a number of ways throughout the novel.

Human cultures, it would seem, often identify themselves by contrast to the majority cultures that surround them. This applies to their distinctiveness, and, at least in pre-modern periods, to the superiority that minority cultures regularly assert, and which they struggle to maintain1 in order to ward off the claim of majority cultures that they, the minorities, are inferior. At the same time, minority cultures often envy characteristics they attribute to the majority or believe they themselves lack (and fear to discover within themselves). In the case of the Jews, they may also internalize the sense of the possession of characteristics that the majority has assigned them and then carry this process to the point of incorporating these (supposedly possessed) qualities into their own self image.2 These points are well illustrated by the ambivalent perception of India which medieval Jews advanced. For Jews, India was a peculiar 'other' a word both majority and minority cultures have used to describe those 'on the outside'3 for it was both simultaneously admired and abhorred. The attitude toward the black 'other', for instance, was basically negative

L'A. defend la possibilite d'une voie moyenne entre l'approche individualiste de Dieu developpee par R. Swinburne et la conception classique de Dieu defini comme un etre pur et simple. Rejetant l'idee d'un agent digne d'adoration ou d'un maitre du monde, l'A. montre que l'idee d'un dieu personnel n'est acceptable qu'a la lumiere de la notion de simplicite: additionnant les tendances elementaires de l'existence, la divinite est definie comme capacite a representer l'unite de la nature de l'etre en general

The favored child in the family is frequently the object of parental adoration and sibling envy. The process of favoritism and its negative influence on character development is described in this paper. The authors have noted the forces and counterforces which prevail dynamically for these patients, whose major conflict is related to being favored above their siblings by a dominating parent. Case studies are presented to highlight the dynamics of these patients and an overview of therapeutic principles is presented.