MY UNIVERSITY

I've got to admit, it was a little hard to stay on track. Although I did finish my journal topic for today, it took me the whole class period. I liked the freedom as I was given the choice to prioritize my work and my interaction with my classmates. I got the best of both worlds. I was able to finish my journal and I also had great conversations. I just need to work on spending that time more wisely and start my literature analysis book.

Beowulf Chapters 1-10 Notes

Prologue

-A King named Scyld the Scefing was a wealthy man who was looked up to by the people of his town.

-Nobody challenged him, he was better than everyone else

-Had a son and named him Beowulf.

-Son was looked up to and was gernerous to all the people of the town. 

-Ship created to hold dead body, very wealthy items, 

-Description of armor and expensive weapons.

-Ship sent to sea, talk about a flood

-Poeple mourn for the death of the child.

Chapter 1

-A new peson came to the thrown named Healfdean. 

-Was a strong leader

-Had four children Heorogar, Hrothgar, Halga, one not living 

-Heorogar was known for his bravery on the battle field.

-A hall was built in his honor 

-Creates an award called Heorot

-Talks about a banquet and a fued between father-in-law and father over wealth. 

-Something of evil comes from "moor-land" to hurt the happiness 

- Cain awakens (evil creature) to ruin the fun. 

Vocab

-march-rieve- A disturber of the border, one who sallies from his haunt in the fen and roams over the country near by. This probably pagan nuisance is now furnished with biblical credentials as a fiend or devil in good standing, so that all Christian Englishmen might read about him. "Grendel" may mean one who grinds and crushes.

Chapter 2 

Went to house and found group of people mourning the death of a person 

The next morning Grendel found out his servant of 12 years was murdered

That night Grendel looked for the person who killed his servant and was determined to get his revenge

The murder wasn't hard to find and Grendel found who he thought killed his servant

There was another person continuing to murder people ruthlessly 

People said he still lurked the "moorlands" but nobody said where this place was because they were so afraid 

People prayed that they wouldn't be killed by this person but also prayed he would be forgiven by god 

Chapter 3 

Grendel seen as a hero and people thought his valor should be recognized by the king 

Grendel chosen to lead a group of 14 men (called the Geats) to sea 

He and his men found the place they were sailing to - Danes 

Get off boat armed with weapons and shields 

Met by a warden (" scylding clansman") on horseback that was armed 

Warden explains that his job is to protect the people of Danes from sailors who land there

He also explains he had never seen people come there and be so obvious that they were warriors

Warden tells them that he is praying for them on their voyage 

Chapter 4:

-the warrior (seafarer) leader claims he is the son of Ecgtheow who's widely known and honored by many

-the warrior got wind of the "monster" that tortures and haunts the Danes and demands that he and his men attempt to defeat this "scathing", "dark ill-doer" monster

-agreeing with the plan, his men marched to the village/palace in which Hrothgar loved

-some men were assigned to gaurd the boat and escort the others to the palace, protecting the boat from their foes; "gaurd it kept o'er the man of war..."

-the men can see the shimmery, glistening, gold palace from afar

-the men who were assigned to gaurd the boat and also escort the other men then return to the boat where they spend their time being on the look out

Chapter 5:

-the men, while marching, observe the shiny, well-decorated streets and atmosphere of Heorot

-the men were approached by a proud, curious warrior who stopped the men and asked what their purpose of arrival was

-Beowulf, the leader of the men, and Wulfgar(the warrior described above) discuss the matters. Wulfgar directs the leader and his men to the throne of Hrothgar

-Wulfgar asks Hrothgar to speak to the men

and exclaims that Beowulf appears to be a strong, firm leader; "In weeds of the warrior worthy they, methinks, of our liking, their leader most surely, a hero that hither his henchmen has led."

Chapter Six (VI)

Hrothgar is talking of Beowolf and only legends have been told (like rumors in today’s world) of how strong and great Beowolf is

They thank god (grateful) for having him send Beowolf to relive them of Grendel and his destruction

Grateful for someone/thing that they haven’t even met yet, they just know rumors and stories about.

Like society today when we want to ay someone for their service but really we should just be grateful for their service and sacrifice to be there rather than having to pay them to make ourselves feel better about “hassling them”

heros don’t get hassled, they just go out and do because that’s their “job”

People get mad about Beowolf not taking the money and gold but why should he? He did a good deed and shouldn’t it just be left to that?

Beowolf gets message that Hrothgar will accept him and his kin in his own kingdom for Beowolf’s bravery

Beolwolf replies by giving story of his own battles and how he came to be known as a strong man. He fought animals and his foes, many at a time, for his people (the Geats) and to avenge them (symbol of hero)

Beowolf knows his duty, in specific to defeating Grendel, and knows that he must use only himself and no other armor

knowledgeable of situation and knows what needs to be done. Doesn’t put brawn over brains

“So, from thee, thou sovran of the Shining-Danes, Scyldings'-bulwark, a boon I seek, and, Friend-of-the-folk, refuse it not, O Warriors'-shield, now I've wandered far, that I alone with my liegemen here, this hardy band, may Heorot purge!” - I am not sure what he means by I have wandered too far?

He knows he might die in battle and respects the “rules” of battle and lets his family know that if he is to die in battle, they shouldn’t worry about burying him properly.

Practical but still with hope that he will win the battle with faith

Chapter Seven (VII)

Hrothgar retells story of brother’s, Heorogar, death.

Killed by war between Wylfings and Scyldings over money and gold

Shows destruction of materialistic world and consequences of it

“Then was this mead-house at morning tide dyed with gore, when the daylight broke, all the boards of the benches blood-besprinkled, gory the hall: I had heroes the less,” - descriptive language of how warriors died trying to defeat Grendel. Revenge Hrothgar wants. Passionate

Sit to eat after this gruesome story, shows culture and how they take death as a apart of life but then want revenge for wrongful deaths as do we in today’s world

Chapter 8 (VIII)

Always refer to seafarers to tell a rumor or story, Why?

Enferth (son of Ecglaf) questioned Beowolf’s ability to actually fight Grendel and told of story where Beowolf and “rival” Breca swam the seas together and then Breca got out of the sees unharmed but he worries that Beowolf is not strong like Breca.

Questioning of strength is key in hero battle/adventure because it makes the hero think about his/her strength and if they really can achieve their goal

Also gives background to Beowolf and adventures

Questions that Beowolf will do anything without really thinking about it or consequences

Beowolf reinforces that he is ready and states that he was a child and didn’t know better but he did bring swords for protection

He stayed by Breca until the very end until it was impossible to stay together because of the seas tearing them apart

Beowolf defeated the beast of the sea and that shows give evidence behind why he is worthy of fighting Grendel

He supports this accusation on inadequacy and backs up his point with evidence as seen in today’s culture with giving effective opinions and if you want people to believe you then you give them reasons to

He proves himself time and time again which is what a hero has to do because the people are putting their faith into him and they want credibility 

Chapter 9:

Beowulf encounters evil sea monsters that make him feel threatened. So he kills them with his sword. He kills nine of them and they will never bother the sailors again. This is when he was separated from Breca. Reminds me of Moby Dick in a sense.

He fought a difficult battle and the tides ended up taking him to the land of the Fins.

Breca was on of Beowulf’s closest kin, but he left Beowulf in the sea where he had to fight giants on his own, but Beowulf doesn’t wish war with him. Beowulf believes that his bad will come to him.

Grendel is the son of Ecglaf. Grendel was very jealous of Hrothgar so he brought him humiliation. Now Grendel would “rot in hell”. (Dante’s Inferno)

Beowulf fears no feud with the Danish; he will fight, murder and eat with them and the next day finds out the strength of the Geats.

Beowulf will fight with them and Hrothgar, jewel-giver, is pleased with his will to fight. The queen snickers at this but still continues to wear her gold and carried the cup of the hall.

The queen walked around the hall, first giving the king a drink (Hrothgar), and then giving the rest a drink. She was so happy that Beowulf had committed to fight with the Geats and if he didn’t help win the battle he would die in the process.

The queen thanked the lord for her Savior, Beowulf.

The son of Healfdene wants to get to bed, but speaks with Beowulf before he goes. They speak of the hopeful glory for the battle the next morning. Beowulf will remain in the hall bequeathing, or giving the power over to him. Healfdene’s son would obtain the power over the hall, which was called Heorot Hall, for the night. ( A will? In case he died in battle the next day, Healfdene would inherit the power?)

Chapter 10

Hrothgar and Wealhtheow, the queen, go to bed, but have a guard watch their room in order to prevent the monster from getting to them. The monster being Grendel. (Frankenstein was a monster to everyone)

Beowulf retires for the night and has a guard watch his armor, but he challenges the monster to a battle without armor or weapons. He says the gods will decide who is right.

Everyone laid down to rest not fearing of dying or not returning home the next day. Although many people had not made it back, they had no worries.

Metaphor of one man being different than the rest to god ruling over man-kind. Was Beowulf starting to earn the reputation of a god?

Beowulf was the only man to lie awake looking at the wandering shadow in the hall. Beowulf could only think of the upcoming battle and would not sleep.

Collaborated with Shailynn Joseph, Haley Stowe, Stevie Wisz, Hannah Hurd, Courtney Reyburn

Textbook Pgs. 31-60 Notes

Pgs. 31-37

from Tristia Ovid, Translated by L. R. Lind: Book 10

 -Tristia had moved from her mother country, Dardanian Troy, when it was attacked by the Grecian Army.

   -Now in the Pontus, feels like the days go by like years 

 -Despises the common theme of death races (referring to gladiator games and/or the continuous war between the Romans and their enemies)

 -Feels like a barbarian not being able to communicate with people of the new land, had to use body language

 -Was exiled from Rome

 -"Injured the power of Caesar the god," in result was sent to assimilate with the Scythian race as a punishment

   -Believes she deserved to be exiled but not to such a city

Far Corners of Earth by Tu Fu translated by David Hinton

 Describes a shift from the Chiang-han mountains where clouds begin to hover over to "a new waste of highway."

from Beowulf

 -portrays the Anglo-Saxon culture of eighth century Britain

 -Beowulf: sword-wielding slayer of monsters, upholder of the right, warrior-chieftain

 -Takes place in sixth century Scandinavia, speaks Old English

 -Beowulf seeks to help the Danish King Hrothgar in fighting the swampland monster, Grendel. 

   -first of the three mortal battles

 -Scops often told long narrative poems by mouth in Anglo-Saxon England which resulted in it's change and growth

   -finally written down in eleventh century

 -main themes: bravery, loyalty, heroism

 -The Electronic Beowulf Project revived the burnt original manuscripts of Beowulf.

Epic: a long narrative poem, sometimes developed orally, that celebrates the deeds of a legendary or heroic figure 

  -hero battles for the order of his world

  -story told in serious matter with sophisticated language

Legendary hero: a larger than life character whose accomplishments are celebrated in traditional tales

Important words/vocab (pg. 37)

Kenning 

Caesura 

Reparation

Solace

Purge

Writhing

Massive

Loathsome 

Pgs. 38-41

Beowulf

Background

- England was changing from a pagan to Christianity, when Beowulf was created.

- Pagan Anglo-Saxons told tales rued by fate where people struggled against monsters in regards to their place in the world.

-The Christian converts taught that human choices between good and evil were at the center of creation.

- Beowulf interprets both the Christian and Pagan traditions

- Starts out during a celebration at Herot and outside is the murderous monster, Grendel

The Wrath of Grendel

- Grendel, the powerful monster grew upset with the constant music that played in the banquet hall of the Danish King Hrothgar that rejoiced in the beauty of Earth.

- Thousands of evil spirits formed from their murderous crimes due to God’s banishment of them by Cain’s responsibility for the death of Abel, who opposed God’s will.

- Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve; Cain killed his brother because he was envious of the attention Abel received from God.

- When all the warriors in the hall were done partying, Grendel went inside killed thirty men and took them back to his lair.

- In the morning the king mourned his companions that he lost, and knew it wouldn’t be the end of Grendel’s wrath.

- The only way the warriors could try to stay alive were if they escaped Grendel.

- For twelve winters Grendel’s defeat of the Danes ruled, killing many and most men.

- Grendel wouldn’t make peace or accept a truce or price

- Grendel continued to kill but wouldn’t touch King Hrothgar’s throne because it was protected by God, and the king’s council debated over remedies to get rid of Grendel.

- The King and council were conflicted by doing the Devils work by trying to get rid of Grendel and banishing him to hell, but trying to do right by God.

The Coming of Beowulf

- The death of the King’s son was extremely painful for the King and kingdom.

Pgs. 41-44

- Higlac was the king of the Geats and Beowulf's feudal lord and uncle as well as a very strong man

- Higlac heard that Grendel violently forced and demanded a boat to be fitted out for him to go see Higlac

- Beowulf chose the mightiest, bravest, and best men of the Geats he could find to accompany him on his journey to Hrothgar (14 men total)

- He knew the sea would lead them straight to that distant, Danish shore

- They sailed their boat and arrived fully dressed in mail with the best armor and uninvited

- Hrothgar's lieutenant met them on the shore, demanding to know who they were and why they came unannounced

- He asked Beowulf to immediately explicate their reason for their visit before they take action against them

- Beowulf explained who they were and that they were there to hunt Grendel and protect the people and their King from the monster

- The mounted officer believed their words and that he and his men would guard their ship and protect it, saying that any warriors who battle Grendel successfully should go home bearing their love

- Once Beowulf and his men arrived at Herot, they were called in to see the King

- Beowulf arose and went to meet Hrothgar with some of his men, ordering a few to remain behind with their weapons

Pgs. 45-47

Beowulf and his men arrive at Herot and are called to see the King 

-Beowulf ordered some of his men to stay with their weapons, while he took others and himself "into Hrothgar's Presence"

-Beowulf describes himself to the kind to make him seem more favorable, by saying things like "They have seen my strength for themselves, Have watched me ride form the darkest of war, Dripping with my enemies' blood."

-Beowulf over does it on the compliments to the king then asks for the kings permission to "purge all evil from this hall" (including Grendal, who Beowulf is willing to go into great battle against) Beowulf is willing to die for his cause and exaggeratedly says so. 

The Battle with Grendel 

-Grendal came from the marsh and journeyed to Herot and was met harshly with Herot being so firmly defended. 

-Grendal stormed through the doors quickly, saw the young and sleepy soldiers lining the halls, grabbed one and killed him, snapping shit and drinking the blood. 

-Grendal clutched Beowulf but was suprised by his strength and attack. Grendal's first reaction was to run but Beowulf didn't let him go. 

-Beowulf and Grendal battled violently. Herot shook and trembled, it was built to only come down in fire but the battle was a much great force. 

Pgs. 48-50

He was the strongest man, Beowulf was going to kill the "monster"

Beowulf's men woke up to Beowulf fighting Grendel and were ready to fight, if needed; they were courageous, but Grendel was pretty indestructible against them and he could easily beat them all

But, he(Grendel) was now declining, dying, and had been defeated

His shoulder bone broke, a sign of the battle being over

Beowulf won "glory, Grendel escaped" to his den though, to die a slow and miserable death

Beowulf was very prod, the Danes were happy and his accomplishments were listed; he ended Hrothgar's people's problems

Beowulf hung Grendel's "arm, claw, shoulder and all" on the rafters; it was basically a trophy of the victory and proof of the win

Pg. 49 The Monsters' Lair (there was a celebration of Beowulf's victory, but Grendel's mother kills Hrothgar's best friend and takes Grendel's claw, Beowulf hears from the king about the underwater lair)

The king is talking the whole time

peasants in fields saw female and male creatures and told the king's wise men

Grendel they named the man one, no one knows if there were any before them or any other creatures like them

The creatures lived in a secret wolf den with rocks and a waterfall to an underground lake (my visual interpretation of the text) It's very dark, roots hanging from the top, no one knows how deep

The king wants Beowulf to kill the mother, Beowulf is his only help and hope of "being saved", he will reward him with gold and treasure for winning

Pg. 50 The Battle with Grendel's Mother (Beowulf decides to kill her and goes to the lake)

(Beowulf is speaking to the men) To Hrothgar, if he(Beowulf) should die during battle, he wants Hrothgar to be "Father and protector" of his comrades. He wants Higlac to have the things Hrothgar gave him. To Unferth, who questioned his bravery before the Grendel battle, he leaves his "famous old sword" <symbolic value

He jumped into the lake without others responding

Sank for "hours" before reaching the bottom

Grendel's mother saw him, her "welcome" was trying to kill him, but his armor was too strong to penetrate

She carried him to her home, he couldn't get out his weapon

the fight brought other monsters swimming to see...

Pgs. 51-53

-She brought him into her home which nothing could attack them in

-He attacked her but realized he couldn't hurt her

-They continue to fight, and she draws a blade on him, her only son, but she hit his armor and he was unharmed

-He then struck her across the neck and rejoiced at her death

-He then picked up his sword and went to find Grendel but found him dead

-Beowulf then left taking nothing but Grendels head and the jeweled sword

-The Geats rejoiced when Beowulf returned

-They then gifted the Danes with Grendel's head

The Last Battle Pg. 54-56

Beowulf honored by Hrothgar

He becomes king

rules Greatland for 50 years

Dragon comes into kingdom when Beowulf is an old man

he decided to slay the beast 

before battle, tells his men about the royal house 

wanted to fight without any armor, then realizes the dragon breathes fire 

believes he's the only man who can do it. 

wants to claim dragon's riches

dragon attacked with breathe first

his armor held up, then started to melt

first time in life, he fought with fate against him

his sword broke in two, but got a stab into the dragon

Beowulf fell back, dragon attacked, breathed fire at him, he suffered

once king, now a beaten warrior 

all other men fleed without helping him

only man that stayed was Wiglaf, Wexstan's son

Pgs. 57-60

Onela got armor from the king. 

Wexstan kept the shining gifts for his son but was killed. 

His heir, Wiglaf, inherited the treasures. He went into war with Beowulf and was strong and courageous. 

Wiglaf brought the soldiers together, telling them Beowulf had given them the swords, it is time to defend with them. It is better for them to suffer than to cause agony to the king. He yelled encouragement and went into the dragons deadly flames. 

Wiglaf and Beowulf kill the dragon. The Beowulf is wounded and is dying. He asks Wiglaf to retrieve the treasure the dragon was protecting. 

The Spoils

Wiglaf goes into the cave. Finds lots of gold and sparkling things. He grabs as much as he can and takes it to the dying king. 

Beowulf says he gave his life for this treasure, use it to help and lead his people. 

He said he wanted to be burned high at the waters edge so sailors could see this tower and call it Beowulf's tower. He gave all he had to Wiglaf and said their family had been swept away as warriors and now he was following them. Then he died. 

Wiglaf is mad at those who deserted Beowulf

The Geats burn his body. 

The Farewell

The Geats built the tall and strong tower Beowulf requested, his ashes sealed inside. All the treasure was left at his grave deep in the ground. Twelve men road around the tower telling of their stories and sadness and of his greatness. They said there was not other king worthy of such praise. 

Collaborated with...

Sierra Sanchez, Haley Kestler, Victoria Tonascia, Taylor Williams, Megan Stevens, Elizabeth Smith

Textbook Pgs. 4-14 Notes

From Legend to History (A.D. 449 - 1485) 

Historical Background:

The Conquest of Britain

-Celts invaded British Isles

  -Brythons settled in Britian

  -Gaels settled in Ireland

-Roman rule followed for 300 years.

-Anglo-Saxons began to dominate more and more of England. 

The Coming of Christianity

-With the instigation of monasteries and spread of Christian faith, Augustine set the religious standards for future rulers to rely on the Church

Danish Invasion

-The Norse and the Danes were Vikings who invaded northern, eastern, and central England.

-Alfred the Great took the Wessex throne and settled peace so that the the Danish ruled in the easy and north while the Danes agreed to accept Saxon rule in the south.

The Norman Conquest

-Once Edward the Confessor died, Harold II took the throne but William of Normandy claimed the dead king promised his throne.

  -At Battle of Hastings, Harold II died, William took over.

-Feudal system began to form

  -king to barons to lords to knights to serfs

The Reign of the Plantagenets:

-Henry II took the throne

  -appointed friend Thomas Becker as the archbishop after conflict with the church, Becker instead sided with the Pope

  -The king's knights misunderstood and killed Becket.

  -pilgrimage to Becket's shrine at Canterbury became a symbol of religious devotion

The Magna Carta

-King Richard I signed document promising to not tax land without talking to the barons, marked the beginning of a constitutional government in England.

Landcasters, Yorks, and Tudors

-War of Roses: Yorks vs Landcasters united under Tudor's marital ties to 

Richard's niece (Yorkist)

Decline of the Feudal System

-Serfs began to revolt against discriminatory laws and taxes, in result, replaced with free peasantry.

Literature of the Period:

Anglo-Saxon Literature

-Began with spoken verse and incantations 

-Most prose written in Latin but monks began to transcribe into the language of common people.

Literature of the English Middle Ages

-Geoffrey Chaucer described medieval life.

-Morality play depicted the lives of ordinary people and taught moral lessons.

-Johann Gutenberg perfected printing of the movable type.

-Geoffrey Chaucer took the common themes of courtly love and knightly adventure by adding passionate humor and lively realism.

-Medieval romances were about knight adventures

-Lyrics came from the harp instrument lyre.

-Ballads were folk songs that told a story 

VOCABULARY #1

adumbrate - verb give to understand; describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of

I adumbrated a draft before I started my final project.

apotheosis - noun the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god); model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal

The apotheosis of the player's attitude showed great sportsmanship.

ascetic - adj. practicing great self-denial; pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; noun someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline

Her ascetic values trained her to become a more responsible individual.

bauble - noun a mock scepter carried by a court jester; cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing

The bauble attracted the eyes of the audience.

beguile - verb attract; cause to be enamored; influence by slyness

The diamond beguiled me into buying it.

burgeon - verb grow and flourish

Flowers began to burgeon the newly planted garden.

complement - noun something added to complete or make perfect; either of two parts that mutually complete each other; a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction; number needed to make up a whole force; a complete number or quantity; one of a series of enzymes in the blood serum that are part of the immune response; verb make complete or perfect; supply what is wanting or form the complement to

The color lavender complements your skin tone.

contumacious - adj. wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient

Her contumacious attitude angered her disciplinary parents

curmudgeon - noun a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas

Her conservative view points made her into a curmudgeon.

didactic - adj. instructive (especially excessively)

Her didactic directions allowed me to get to my destination within the short amount of time I had.

disingenuous - adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness

The disingenuous child frustrated the teacher who tried to resolve the fight between his students.

exculpate - verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

The judge exculpated the criminal.

faux pas - noun social blunder: an embarrassing mistake that breaks a social convention

She made a faux pax out of herself by making an inappropriate comment in a serious discussion.

fulminate - noun a salt or ester of fulminic acid; verb cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; criticize severely

Jane fulminated her friend for not being there for her when her dad passed away.

fustian - noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap; pompous or pretentious talk or writing

Her fustian language made her look like an uneducated student.

hauteur - noun overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors

Her hauteur attitude backfired on her as many looked down on her for acting too prideful.

inhibit - verb limit the range or extent of; to put down by force or authority

The insurgents were inhibited by the army.

jeremiad - noun a long and mournful complaint

Her jeremiad made the teacher re-think about assigning the class another essay.

opportunist - adj. taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit; noun a person who places expediency above principle

Be an opportunist when engaging in your classes.

unconscionable - adj morally unacceptable 

Her nonrelgious acts made the Christian view her as unconscionable.

MY OPINION ISN'T (A) RIGHT

REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 1

1. I think that I have all the useful tools as far as to what can help me. The blogger app has been extremely helpful as far as posting and working on my blog. I just need to find a balance between schoolwork, tennis, and my other extracurricular activities. 2. The best learning experience I ever had was when I was volunteering at the Boy and Girls Club with Hannah Hurd over summer. There, we engaged with 6-10 year old children on science experiments. It was awesome to not only learn about the pure innocence of young children, but also to learn about myself. Never did I know that I loved kids so much! It made me realize that I wanted a career in working with young children. I especially admired their innocent questions and the sincerely confused looks on their faces. I was glad to answer their questions. I also found it very interesting how such intelligent remarks came out of such young souls.  3. I am most excited about improving my writing and being able to have intellectual conversations with fellow peers. I feel that this class gives an opportunity to address both elements. It will help me build a solid foundation for future, scholarly material.

1987 AP Exam Essays

Question #2

     Society, as well as individuals, are so quick to put the blame on others in order to avoid future consequences. In the play, The Crucible, the religious town of Salem is chaotic with news of practicing witchcraft by the women. Abigail's leadership of pointing fingers at inferior woman, conveys Miller's message that society as a whole needs to take a step back and look at the effects of it's unsupported accusations. This is done through the character development of the antagonist, Abigail, as well as the usage of direct dialogue and the overall dark tone. 

     Rumors of witchcraft are manipulated by the young character Abigail. She is first introduced as the rebelling niece of the town's reverend. Progressively, she is known to hold an intense grudge against Mrs. Proctor, the wife of the man she has an affair with, John Proctor. The author develops Abigail in order to produce a central figure to do the vicious blaming. Now to further elaborate his idea, the author uses a gloomy tone to add onto the effect that society's actions are abominable. Miller seems to detest the concept of putting innocent others to fault and in effect, calls to action, society's need to change. The direct usage of dialogue, put into a play, allows the readers to understand the exact vibe of the situations encountered by the characters. Salem suffers a depressing aura as almost all women are accused to participating in witchcraft. This also support's the author's claim on how wrongful accusations have an effect on the direct denizens of society and also what it does to a society as a whole.

     The disorder occurring in Salem represents the author's claim of chaotic society when no one admits to their faults and instead blames it on others. Miller was able to successfully send this message across with Abigail's blaming nature.

Question #1

Eliot seems to admire "old leisure" as it possessed an innocent, uncorrupted form. She paints these examples through vivid imagery and personification. She mentions, "... he only reads one newspaper, innocent of leaders..." by personifying old leisure itself, as one of a friendly, one-sided persona. It is too traditional to be seditious, but too unique to fall under conservative. Her drawing of words of old leisure's actions further extends the message of innocence. "... scenting the apricots when they were warned by the morning sunshine." This not only serves as an example of outstanding imagery but also gives birth to the idea of tradition. During "old leisure," it was only natural to follow the morning routine of a stroll, but in a time of such variation, there is no natural instinct to scenic enjoyment. 

I followed the allotted times and in result, found it difficult to successfully develop my essays. My conclusion in question two isn't even close to being fully done. In question one, I spent way too much time reading and interpreting the text that by the time I was writing the essay, I was itching for more time. I think a part of it had to do with the fact that I started losing focus. One thing I need to work on for the AP essays: being aware of the time and using it well!

Your Life is Your Life Recitation

I CAN READ

I made 9 mistakes and it took me 5:25.
By the way, I totally mispronounced "sews" haha. My bad.

Montaigne/Austen Essay

     An author's style of writing, often times, reveals his or her personal character, whether it be on his or her complex thoughts, or it be the development of creativity. David Foster Wallace had once stated that the brain is too complex to fully draw the imagined connections; Montaigne's essays fall right under this category. His most personal opinions on life are written out, yet the reader cannot fully understand the picture as he jumps from one topic to another. On the other hand, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has a more structured storyline with the traditional elements: rising action, plot, climax, etc. 

     Giving readers insight to his stream of consciousness, Montaigne writes on the revolving themes in life: friendship, death, love, religion, politics, and education. Each essay builds upon another essay, but it also webs out to a new concept of no relativity. For example, he develops on the essay "Of one Defect in our Government" but then the following essay is based on clothing in "Of the Custom of Wearing Clothes." This comes to show his different style of writing based on his immediate preceding thoughts. His countless use of allusions to the Bible and ancient writers and philosophers can be quite confusing, but by doing so, his immense amount of intellectual knowledge is expressed. Montaigne embeds his personal experiences into these essays that at times, it seems too personal to share. Though it may not meet the traditional structure of most books, Montaigne's essays serve as a noteworthy piece of literature as he is able to put all these complex thoughts into an organized fashion by separating them into three books and within it essays.

    Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, contradicts Montaigne's style of writing, with a romantic narrative to follow. The novel is in unison as the next chapter further develops the story in the eyes of the character Elizabeth Bennet.
She serves as the narrator of the story and like Montaigne, gives her sides of the occurring events. Dramatic irony is used in the novel as Elizabeth, most of the times, does not know the true side of Mr. Darcy. The author gives innuendos that Darcy is a genuine man when he is attracted to what she has to say and where it is she goes. For example, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy reside in the same household, Mr. Bingley's, where the reader understands his appeal towards Elizabeth's intelligence and charms despite her social status. 

    Although the book itself is over a thousand pages, Montaigne's essays only skim the surface of his innermost thoughts. His stream of consciousness, like many others, possess such complexity, that to be merely put into words is not enough. Meanwhile, Pride and Predudice contradicts his free style as the structured novel follows a line of events. Like Wallace mentioned, the brain works in mysterious ways that sometimes even the owner cannot control how it processes information and ideas. 

1987 AP Exam

POETRY #1

1. This commercial borrows from Charles Bukowski's "The Laughing Heart."

2. The usage of Bukowski's piece is ironic in that it states, "your life is your life.... submission" yet Levi's is using this as to promote their product and convince their customers to buy it. Life your life freely but make sure to buy our product...

3. This poem represents his reputation as many viewed him as a offensive writer who often used his rebellious, personal background to write his pieces. In "The Laughing Heart," he writes about being free and not falling to submission.

4. I went to google to type in "Levi Go Forth Commercial" when the suggested searches suggested "Levi Go Forth Commercial Charles Bukowski" I clicked on it and found several links to Bukowski's "The Laughing Heart." I assumed that this was the source of Levi's inspiration for question number one.

Next, on the same page of links I went to

http://milan-poetry.blogspot.com/2007/03/laughing-heart-charles-bukowski.html?m=1 

in order to read his poem. From there I was able to answer the second question. 

Lastly, into google I searched "Charles Bukowski's reputation" and clicked on 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/charles-bukowski

to find my third answer.

My BIG Question

What is the purpose of human life on earth? We all eventually die so then what is the reason for this continuous cycle? How did we become this diverse unit of life: racially and morally? 

What defines a person? Actions? Appearance? Personality? 

Is is fair that we humans can manipulate different species for scientific research or for experimental fun?

What is the definition of true happiness?

When young children are curious, most are not afraid to ask and answer their curiosity? Why do teenagers not participate in class when asked for an opinion or an answer by a teacher? 

ESSAY #1

    Although the concept of losing an intrinsic element of one's life may be devastating news in the moment, change can also be an enlightenment to a new world of perspectives or possibly even a new way of life. In The Poisonwood Bible, Leah Price embodies the Christian way of life due to her dad's devotion as a missionary. After experiencing life in the Congo, she develops into an individual who forms her own opinions and philosophies on life even rebelling against her father's. This new environment serves as a double-edged sword for Leah. She has no choice but to break away from her accommodating homeland and to adjust to new grounds that actually structures her life.
    Leah had wholeheartedly followed her dad's religious beliefs; she was blinded by the innate nature of religion in the Price household. At the age of fifteen, Leah had to move from America to the small village of Kilanga in the Congo. There, she continued to follow her father's footsteps and revolved around the Americanized mind set. To prove his usefulness, Reverend Nathan, with Leah, planted a demonstrative garden. Mama Tataba, a Kilanga denizen, suggested that they build little hills for the seeds, but Mr. Price and Leah were adamant about sticking to their procedures. This situation represents the tension between two different cultures coming to a middle ground. Leah plays the role of standing by her traditional values, not letting go of her old ways, while Mama Tataba serves as the bulldozer trying to break that barrier. Leah expresses multiple times the oddness of this new culture. She finds it surprising to see girls her age already married and with kids. 
    Gradually, her outlook begins to change. Leah's first sign of rebellion begins with her adventures with Pascal. She explores the Congolese culture chewing sugarcane and secretly invites him to the kitchen without her parent's approval. Decades pass, and her admiration towards the African culture grows. Her relationship with Anatole, a schoolteacher and translator, establishes her desire to continue her adventure in the Congo. Her sudden adaptation even causes a division between her and her father, but at heart she knows she is where she wants to be. As the story progresses, Leah develops into a mature character who is able to learn on her own by being thrown into a new world of ideas. 
    Leah knew of no other form of moral standards but surrounding herself in a completely new culture opened her eyes to the rest of the world. She had no say in this life changing decision, but it ultimately brought her to the place she wanted to be, with her husband, Anatole, and four lively sons. Although Leah had to realize her father's zeal for religion ended up harming what was important, family, she was able to discover her true self as a human and a woman during this adaptation. 

The Essays by Michel Montaigne Notes

Collaborated with…
Taylor Williams, Haley Stowe, Haley Kestler, Megan Stevens, Imanie Patel, Elizabeth Smith, Victoria Tonascia, Shailynn Joseph, Sierra Sanchez, and Hannah Hurd

The Life of Montaigne 
-Born Feb 28, 1533
-father was Pierre Eyquem, cared about his children's education 
-well educated and multi lingual
-went to college of Guienne at 6yrs old
-joined military after his oldest brother died
-Began writing essays after retirement from public affairs and continued adding until he died 
-Traveled often
-earned a diploma of citizenship in Rome

Book I
Essays 1-21
-tells of the death of La Boetie; Montaigne never leaves his side during death, knows La Boetie's wishes and thoughts; he thanked Montaigne prior to death and also read his own will out loud; La Boetie called for Montaigne with his last breath
-disagrees with views of "Natural Theology"
-frowns upon the hands of man destroying nature for his own selfish wants
-Talks about how he learned about the kind of man he wants to be through the death of his friend
-Speaks extensively of self worth 
-Feels his service in government is unnecessary and may hinder his own life
-A religious man who believes the will of God follows you even after death
-Believes the soul will turn bad if no force opposed the negative
-Asks rhetorical questions throughout the essays
-Often uses nature to portray moral teachings
-speaks of women needing to be ornate and eloquent in all that they do
-beliefs manners and etiquette rule a society
-thinks that to study philosophy is to learn to die
-Talks about how for one man to gain something, another must lose something else
-Eludes to far fetched ideas
-References Aristotle as a teacher of his
-concludes that nobody can wholeheartedly love two people. Instead, can only love parts of many people or a whole of a single person

22. One man’s profit is another man’s loss

*Someone has to fail in order for us to grow

*Not unnatural to hope that others fail so that we can aid the situation and become seen as a hero

*Failures of others allows us to gain respect

*It is necessary for others to fail so we can continue to be employed

      Lawyers- others have to be unhappy so lawyers can keep their jobs

      Doctors- people have to remain unhealthy so doctors can continue their practice

     Architects- buildings have to fall apart to allow architects to think of new designs  

 

23. On habit: and on never easily changing a traditional law

*Points out how absurd some of things we think are normal actually are

            -Most of what we think is normal is just customary- we haven't been exposed to anything else

*After awhile we do things less for ourselves but for the appeasement of others

            -Habits provide stability in our lives and in other people's lives

*Suggests that our personalities are made of habits we learned very early in life

-For that reason our weakness and faults in ourselves can be traced back to our earliest influences in life

*Customs/habits have the power to affect our judgments and beliefs

*The beliefs and ideas we hear everyday appear to us as universal and natural so we normally don't question the reasoning behind some of society's beliefs and values

-When we hear about beliefs from other parts of the world it's hard for us to understand them because we have only embraced what our society believes is "normal"

*This results in ignorance

 

24. Same design: differing outcomes

*You need to have good luck to be successful

-Examples Montaigne points out are in the success of physicians the success of artists and the success of the military

*It's hard for people to believe good outcomes will happen to them because they only have the willingness to look short term instead of long-term

-People are apprehensive to be generous with their time because they're afraid that if they are too generous they will lose sight of what they're trying to accomplish and run out of time

*Jealousy and hypocrisy are what cause bad outcomes to happen to a lot of people because they lose sight of what is morally important

*In the end it's easier to trust no one because that way you have sole control over how an outcome will turn out for yourself

 

25. On schoolmasters’ learning

*Diversity should be encouraged because it teaches strength and self-confidence

*Diversity should be more widely encouraged because that is how technology and ideas advance

*When applying yourself to an education you can't be short-term oriented and you must think of what is going to better yourself and your peers in the long run

*Teachers focus too much on the memory aspect of an education instead of the application of an education

*Through the application of an education we find new inspirations and allow ourselves inspire others

*Trust is the foundation on which education is built

            -For this reason we need to be able to apply an education to real life situations in order to reach our full potential

*It is a teacher's responsibility to develop trust between them and their student in order to be a successful teacher

 

26. On educating children

*Studying history is a better way to educate yourself than reading any book

*Reading is too subjective so they are reliable sources to build an education upon

*The greatest difficulty of human science is the education of children

            -It's hard to judge what they are thinking because their natural inclinations are so different from those of adults

*We need to teach children a wide variety of opinions instead of focusing solely on facts to educate them

*Conversation should be encouraged because it allows children to build upon the opinions of others

              -Socrates and Plato for example drew on the opinions of multiple people to redefine their own opinions and beliefs

*We should encourage students and children to consider how and why everything is done and judge and regulate their own lives

             -It's not enough to be able to define something, you have to be able to express how it is of use and why it is the way it is

*The value of a true virtue depends on its application to daily life and teachers need to teach their students the importance of having these true virtues

 

27. That it is madness to judge the true and the false from our own capacities

*The power of persuasion comes from our own ignorance

*To condemn anything as impossible is arrogant and ignorant

      - In this sense Montaigne says he once pitied the people who did not believe in The power of God's will but after stepping back and reevaluating his life he found himself just as pitied by others

*Just because our own reason cannot comprehend something seemingly supernatural doesn’t make it false or impossible

            -Montaigne restates it as just because you can't see something doesn't make it impossible

*It is better to come off as self-assured and introverted then to openly over share your opinions of others and their actions

*He ends the essay with asking why don't we consider the conflictions in our own judgment and what hypocrisies we hold to be true

 

28. On affectionate relationships

*Aristotle believed that good politicians respected friendship more than justice

            -Those who seek anything but happiness and friendship from friendship itself won't be able to make genuine relationships with others

            - It is easier to identify a non-genuine friend than it is to identify a dishonest stranger

*The relationship between children an their parents is based on respect

            - Friendship is built by a communication that is impossible between parents and children simply because children can't tell their parents everything they tell their friends

*The relationship between siblings isn't natural friendship

            - Siblings pursuing the same interest often hinder each other

            - Siblings in the same business weaken each other because the wealth and property they accumulate has to be shared

*Relationships between siblings or parents and children are imposed on us be natural obligation and are not true friendships

*Love toward women can't be compared to friendship either even though unlike family relationships it's our own choice

            - Love is "more active, more eager and sharper" than friendship and is also a lot more inconsistent and takes hard work and is more inclined to conflict

            -Love is driven by sensual motives and therefore it is easy for it to become disproportionally desired while friendship is only improved by enjoying the other person and is always proportionally desired

-Marriage is compulsory and continuance is often forced

* Often continued because of things other than our own will (money, children, etc.)

*Marriage becomes too complicated and women do not have the communication skills necessary to support long lasting marriages

* If there was a way to make marriage less complicated and more like a friendship but "allows the bodies to give into sensual desires" it would be perfect "but women have not yet arrived at such perfection"

*People we commonly think as friends are only familiarities to serve some purpose  

            -In real friendship "the souls mix so universally" that one person is nothing without the other

            -In ordinary friendships you have to be careful about what you say so as to not ruin the friendship

            - In real friendships there are no ideas of obligations or benefits and opinions, thoughts and wills are shared

            - In the friendships Montaigne speaks of each person gives themselves so entirely to a friend that they have nothing left to give others

             - In relationships that hold a single purpose we have to worry about imperfections and so a genuine friendship like the one Montaigne refers to can never be established

 

29. Nine- and –twenty sonnets of Estienne de la Boetie

*Montaigne is writing to madam de Grammot

            - Doesn’t believe he has anything worth value to offer her because she either already has it or he can't find anything worthy of her

            - Hopes that his literature will do her name justice and present her name in an honorable way

            - Says she is one of the few women in France that is a good judge of poetry and no one can make as good us of it as she can

             - Hopes she finds the value in his work for years to come

 

29. On Moderation

*Sometimes we have the natural inclination to believe in something too much that it becomes corrupt and we embrace it too wholeheartedly

            - This is where prejudices and racism stems from

*Philosophy is best taught to those who are able to control their own liberties and opinions

            - This doesn't include women because women tend to over think and complicate natural laws and thoughts

             - This is why people have a natural inclination to get married: husbands are supposed to be able balance the over complicated thoughts of their wives and continue to teach he next generation basic philosophical ideas

 

30. On cannibals

*Cannibals refer to Native American Indians

*Believes there is nothing there is nothing barbaric about North American Indians

             -Believes people think they are barbaric because their culture and traditions are different from those in Europe

            -They have a perfect religion and perfect legal system to serve their needs

*Believe the Indians are pure because they have not been corrupted by European laws and still believe in traditional Values

            -They are brave and noble because they fight with minimal clothing and simple weapons

            -They show the values of patriotism and nationalism within their own tribes

*Believes that Europeans are so busy judging Indians that they are blind to their own faults

33. That we are to Avoid Pleasures, Even at the Expense of Life
The opinions of the ancients agreed that it is time to die when there is more ill than good in the world and to preserve their torture goes against the very rules of nature
St. Hilary murdered his only daughter, Abra, because she was sought in marriage by the greatest nobleman of the country and was hypnotized by all the wealth and jewels promised to her
His wife agreed with his actions so much that he killed her as well and her death was “embraced with singular and mutual content.”
If he was so concerned about their growing appetite for such lavish articles, why did he not just move his family to a village that was unable to produce and administer them?

34. That Fortune is Oftentimes Observed to Act by the Rules of Reason
The Duke of Valentinois attempted to poison Adrian, Cardinal of Corneto, with a bottle of wine that was given to the butler to keep safe. He was confident that they had not meddled with the poisoned wine so he took a cup too, but it was indeed and he passed shortly after
One man had an imposthume in his breast and wanted to rid himself of the pain by dying, so he entered into battle and was wounded so thoroughly that the imposthume was broken and he was cured
A painted was once so frustrated with his work that he threw a sponge at it, hoping to destroy and deface it, but ultimately made the painting better and it became his signature style 
The chapter concludes with a father and son striking equally mortal wounds upon one another, yet still containing enough strength to behead one another “leaving the bodies still fast linked together in this noble bond,...” 
The author personifies fortune and describes it as being almost human-like in its presence and the way that it affects others and this book even states that fortune has more judgment than we; this chapter is basically describing both good and bad karma

35. Of one Defect in our Government
contemptible: despicable - polity: a state or other organized community or body
His father told him of a plan to have a place in every city that specified in repairs and was entered by an officer appointed for that purpose
He states that the world in not generally corrupted, do you agree?
He says that his father employed a man to essentially keep a journal for him and that he wished he did not neglect this idea of imitating his father, but do you think that these essays have anything to do with that?

36. Of the Custom of Wearing Clothes

He states that we were sufficiently clothed and covered to defend ourselves from the injuries of weather, like animals and plants, but that our artificial fashions have destroyed them
He declares that if we needed to wear “petticoats and breeches” to survive, then nature would have provided us with thicker skin (like the soles of our feet) 
Plato advised for the health of the whole body not to wear anything on your head and feet
Used Alexander from Greece as being sensible and the King of Mexico as being superfluous as he changed his clothes four times a day and never used the same dishes twice, essentially using them as foils for one another

37. Of Cato the Younger
continence: self-restraint or abstinence -inimitable: surpassing imitation
States that the age in which we live has grown so stupid and that the very imagination of virtue is defective and appears only to be college jargon
Plutarch complains that Cato died because of his fear of Caesar and that Cato was in truth a pattern that nature chose out to show to what height human virtue and constancy could arrive
States that “we have far more poets than judges and interpreters of poetry; it is easier to write it than to understand it.” Why do you think this is?

38. That we Laugh and Cry for the Same Thing
States that children and their innocence laugh and cry at the same thing, why do you think the majority of adults have lost nature?
Uses a simile to compare how the sun darts new rays so thick upon another that we can't perceive the intermission to how the soul darts out its passions imperceptibly
countenance: appearance, especially the look or expression of the face
Of Solitude
pretermit: to leave undone; neglect; omit -palliate: to alleviate, mitigate
States that we should either imitate the vicious or hate them and that both are dangerous things because there are many when you resemble or to hate them because they are unresembling to ourselves. Do you think he would allow another attitude to be considered toward the vicious?
Declares that it is not enough to move to a remote region away from the public, but one must sequester and come again to himself to remove himself from the conditions that have taken possession of his soul.
Says that “Our disease lies in the mind, which cannot escape from itself; and therefore is to be called home and confined within itself: that is true solitude,...” What disease do you think he is referring to and how do is relate to “true solitude”?
Why do you think that he states “Virtue is satisfied with herself, without discipline, without words, without effects.”? What is he truly trying to explicate?
Why is it that our own death does not sufficiently terrify us, rather the death of our family and friends if we are naturally selfish?

39. That the Relish of Good & Evil Depends in a Great Measure Upon the Opinion we Have of Them
States men are tormented by their opinion of things rather than the things themselves
Why do we consider death, pain, and poverty our principal enemies? What exactly is it about them that makes us all fear them so much? Are there actually things worse than them?
In the kingdom of Narsinga, the wives of priests are buried alive with their husband's bodies, all other wives are burnt at their husband's funeral, which the joyfully undergo. When the king dies, his wives, concubines, officers, domestic servants, and anyone else who works for him are all burnt alive with him and see it as a singular honor to accompany their master in death.
peradventure: chance, doubt, uncertainty, or surmise -indigence: poverty
Plato believes that pain and pleasure knit and ally the soul together but Montaigne believes that they separate and disunite them
cicatrice: new tissue that forms over a wound and them contracts into a scar
aspers: former silver coins of Turkey and Egypt
The Turks give themselves great scars in honor of their mistresses, it is not explicated in the text and it makes one wonder why they feel such pride

41. Not to Communicate a Man's Honour
States that honor is so deeply rooted in all of us that he does not believe anyone was ever successful from discharging themselves from it
Also declares that even after you have come up with your best arguments you still have little power to resist it as it is not vanity but rather inscribed into our DNA
Personal honor and respect have a tendency to make the brain and heart go numb as it extricates morals, values, and feelings from the situation
cudgel: a short, thick stick used as a weapon; a club

42. Of the Inequality Amongst Us
- In giving your “estimate of people” you judge them on their clothing and other possessions, rather than their legs, feet, arms, etc. which are in fact of greater use and value to them
“The pedestal is no part of the statue. Measure him without his stilts; let him lay aside his revenues and his titles, let him present himself in his shirt.” Although Montaigne is basically saying not to judge and assess someone based on the materials they wear and own, he is referring to their physical body parts and that if they are strong and properly function, then they are a worthy person. He also makes hints that if they are a physically strong and capable person, then their physique must parallel their soul
disparity: lack of similarity or equality -rabble: a disorderly crowd; a mob
Compares kings and their behavior in public as opposed to their behavior in their castles to that of the present day actors who portray them to who the actors really are outside of the theater
caprice: a sudden, unpredictable change -apoplexy: a hemorrhage into an organ cavity 
“Tis fruition, and not possession, that renders us happy.” Why does attaining such a desirable object bear us more joy than actually owning the object?
States that the mind and body are in disorder when they serve the external conveniences
Montaigne believes that it is much more easy and pleasant to follow than it is to lead, which I believe to be true at times as well, but in contrast being a successful leader is much more rewarding and fulfilling than being an obedient follower, which are you?
He also says that it is great satisfaction having to only answer to yourself and one path to walk in, but do you think some people naturally desire to serve and help others, essentially be followers, or do you think that it is acquired over time? People say that some people are just natural leaders, do you agree with this or do you think they become a leader over time as well? Based on Montaigne's perspective, what would you categorize him to be?

43. Of Sumptuary Laws
beget: to procreate or generate - agog: highly excited by eagerness, curiosity, anticipation
Believes that it is contradicting how their laws attempt to regulate laws pertaining to vain and idle expenses in meat and clothes because they were contrived by royalty; the very people whose environment is fabricated in gold, which is why he thinks that they should be the first ones to end their fascination and necessity for the most lavish materials if it is expect to disseminate among the common people
He praises Zeleucus for his laws that diverted the Locrians from superfluities and pernicious pleasures in order to attract men by honor and ambition to their duty and obedience. How do you think the modern public would react if such strict laws were enacted? Do you think they would be more accepting if their moral reason was explicated to them?

44. Of Sleep
“Reason directs that we should always go the way, but not always at the same pace.” Can you think of any instances where this may and may not apply?
He tells stories of princes and kings who fall asleep and the majority of them die during their rest or finally wake up and then have their lives taken from them. He concludes the chapter by saying that physicians do not know whether sleep is so necessary that our lives depend on it because one man was killed by preventing him from falling asleep and other men have accounted for not sleeping for months. What point do you think he was trying to get across with this chapter? 

46. Of Names
There is an old saying that it is a good thing to have a good name, but besides this, it is really convenient to have a well-sounding name, such as is easy of pronunciation and easy to be remembered. Socrates also wrote that it was worthy of a father's time to give fine names to his children. Do you think Socrates meant for them to give their children well-sounding names or good names in general? What is the distinction between the two?
Debauched: corrupted; debased -perforce: of necessity; by force of circumstance
“... I am very pleased with Jacques Amyot for leaving, throughout a whole French oration, the Latin names entire, without varying and garbling them to give them a French cadence.” Why do you think Montaigne awarded him such praise?

48. Of War-Horses, or Destriers
rote: a fixed, habitual routine -rout: any overwhelming defeat
Believes that a sword is a more promising weapon in battle than a gun because with a gun, one must account for the powder, the stone, the wheel, etc. just to get one shot off whereas the sword is about to produce the more effective outcome because “A man himself strikes much surer than the air can direct his blow.” Do you think Montaigne would hold the same thought even with modern weaponry?
This chapter is about how trained war-horses can help in battle if they can distinguish the enemy and learn to fall straight down rather than on their back to save their master and basically how important they are when it comes to serving those who ride their backs, but Montaigne discusses how their horses of service are called destriers and their romances commonly use the phrase of adestrer for accompagner (to accompany) in the inception of this particular chapter, why is he drawing this the comparison between war-horses and lovers?

49. Of Ancient Customs
This whole chapter was basically about how everyone makes fun of the way that their ancestors used to live and the bizarre customs they used to take part in because things appear to be so “different” now even though the same thing will be said by their descendants in the future
Although Montaigne understands where they are coming from, he criticizes them for altering their actions and opinions of their ancestors based on the authority of their present age and their “singular indiscretion” instead of forming their own judgments. Do you think this chapter can relate to modern day? Who would be the authority of our present age virtually controlling the way we think and view what is desirable perfection?

51. Of the Vanity of Words
tumultuous: raising a great clatter and commotion; highly agitated, as the mind or emotions
Aristo defined rhetoric as “a science to persuade the people” whereas Plato and Socratoes described it as “an art to flatter and deceive.” Who do you think Montaigne would have agreed with? What are some popular examples of rhetoric today?

53. Of a Saying of Caesar
infirm: not firm, solid, or strong -sprightly: animated, vivacious, lively
This chapter was about our never-ending thirst for for new things and how once we attain something we wished for, we immediately want something new. Why is it that we always want something that we can't or don't have? Why do we long for material objects rather than enjoy the people and relationships that truly matter to us? It really makes you wonder why it appears that everyone wants something different, and yet we all want the same thing.

54. Of Vain Subtleties
subtlety: delicacy or nicety of character or meaning -
States that “Stupidity and wisdom meet in the same centre of sentiment and resolution, in the suffering of human accidents.” What does he mean by they “meet” and why do they “meet” in the suffering of human accidents? What does he mean by this?


Ch.56, Pg.355: On Prayer (Book 1) 
Summery: “In short, this particular chapter focuses on Montaigne’s strong religious beliefs and costumes. He believes that people often follow religion blindly and just go through the motions without the intent of actually understanding the Lord’s prayers. He thinks most people who try to follow God are often corrupt and have evil within them making them unable to actually live by God’s message.” 
Details: 
-In the opening sentence, Montaigne compares Universities to his notions that he puts forward. He describes it as “…Advising questions for debate…Seeking the truth not laying it down.” 
-Montaigne embodies his life around the ideas of the Catholic church. His views are philosophical rather than theological. He submits himself to the lord, and by doing so, submits his judgement, writings, and very own thoughts. From this, we see how his life as well as his mind are surrendered to the Catholic ways, unable to express anything against their teachings. 
-He states that prayers should be less casual and deserve the recognition of being God’s own words. Prayers should be done rigorously, not just in times of special occasion. 
-“I was wondering recently how the error arose…to have recourse to God in all our doings…calling upon him in every kind of need…without considering if the occasion is just or unjust.” This quote struck importance in the sense that it’s the first sign of Montaigne questioning any type of religious doings. He questions Catholic followers as to why they need or don't need to pray in the first place due to the severity of their situation. He describes God’s work as “justice” and “powerful”. God grants favors according to “criteria,” not “petition.” 
-Montaigne also states that God’s power and justice are inseparable. if we expect him to lash his power it grants us no benefit unless our “souls are pure.” In other words, in order to gain God’s powers, one must life a pure and good life. (To follow the religious teachings.) 
-Believes that people who pray over and over again out of habit and custom, are the real evildoers. People continuously praying the to the lord while filled with hatred, covetousness, and injustice are the ones in the wrong of the lords message. Those who demand from God that lack the true qualities of a follower of christ, will only fall again-at once. 
-States religion is no longer promised “mysteries” but now serve as “amusements.” Religious stories should evoke emotion; Feared, adored, knowledge, etc. (Not just told.) There should be a spiritual connection of some sort. Montaigne believes a reproduction of these religious stories (similar to that of the bible) should never be translated/scripted into different languages because it is “forbidden.” 
-He believes that saying Gods name as an exclamation or an interjection is wrong because it makes society softened to the real meaning and the severity of the Lords name. He quotes one of the most famous prayer lines: “Forgive us. As we forgive those who trespass against us.” He connects this to the idea that people pray to him forgiveness after committing wrong doings, and yet we expect him to secretly allow us to slide by and be forgiven: This being a sin in itself. We are “inviting God to be unjust.” 
-The constant analogies, allusions to well known religious stories, and his intense opinions/thoughts created this unraveling paradox of constant debate.This also becomes a main idea throughout his work. His Catholicism is embedded into him like DNA as it influences his life, mind, and his writings. 

Ch.57, Pg.366: On The Length Of Life (Book 1) 
Summary: “This chapter is the closing to book 1 of Montaigne’s essays. He questions the meaning of life, and how to measure accomplishments along the way. Also, he explores the fear of death we all universally share. He believes we should live fearlessly and have faith in what will be, and that growing old is an adventure we must all undergo to fully understand the value of a life. Lastly, he explains the balance of work and play in a lifetime. We must take advantage of the days we are given and make them worth living. And in the end, pass down all that we learn for younger generations to grow.” 
-“I can not accept the way we determine the span of our lives.” Montaigne explores the delicate balance between life and death, and how we define a fulfilled life. What makes one’s life worth living? And how to we measure whether or not our lives are satisfied? 
-Montaigne flawlessly depicts death of old age as the most desirable way to go. He believes that if one is able to outlive the events and adventure within life, reaching old age is a sign of fulfillment. Old age allows us to be able to grow wise, and look back at the life we lived. It is viewed positively, for it is proof of growth and embodies the real meaning of life: to live happily. 
-Believed life should never be a race. All are viewed as powerful, unique, and self driven individuals. One is never too young to make a difference in the world, but one should also be wise enough to know how to. Life should never be a battle of surpassing the people next to you, but rather to surpass your own limitations and to become a better person within yourself as days pass. 
-“Sometimes it’s the body which is the first to surrender to old age, sometimes too the soul…” We are in charge of our own lives, our futures, our dreams, our success. We do not realize how much power we have in our own life, happiness, and fulfillment until it is too late and we have grown old. 
-We often get lost along the trail of life as we get caught up in work and materialistic things, that we lose sight of what really matters. The phrase “leisure” that Montaigne repeats, more closely means “adventure.” Not so much time relaxing, but instead living. We focus so much on the work side of life, we forget to have enjoyment in the events we part take in. Theres a balance of work and play. as we grow old, we begin its too late to take advantage of the time we had.
-“…We should not allow such a large place to be born, to leisure and to our apprenticeship.” The word “apprenticeship” in this form does not mean the basic definition, but rather a better idea being to “teach”. As we grow old, we must give our wisdom to the youth to teach them, to grow, and allow them to become greater learning from mistakes they have already seen. Thats the key to life, to learn, and be able to pass your teachings down from generation to generation. 

Book II
Ch.1, Pg.373: On The Inconstancy Of Our Actions (Book 2) 
Summary: “Montaigne opens book two with insight into human tendencies, flaws, and actions. He explains how people are too quick on their judgement; How one mistake can define a person, even what their good out weighs the bad. Also, he explains how we all think so differently and diversely. Its near impossible for us to find large scale peace because not everyone in the world thinks the same, and are able to find the same solution and reason to common problems. In life its difficult to come together because each person is so complex and unique in thought and action.” 
-“Those who strive to account for a man’s deeds are never more bewildered than when they try to knit them into one whole, to show under one light”…Montaigne talks about the division among people. To this very day, society is often divided up and unable to agree on problems and solutions. He hopes the world will know peace one day, because the world is filled with injustices. 
-“It seems reasonable enough to base our judgement of a man on the more usual features of his life…but natural inconstancy of our behavior…” Montaigne argues that it is unfair to judge someone by their past, actions, or opinions, because we all undoubtedly make mistakes. But we must learn from them. It is hard to force everyone to one belief and accept one answer to all of life’s greatest questions. But we must judge one another “piece by piece” rather than letting one bad move make us a bad person outweighing the good we have done. 
-“ One courageous action must not be taken as proof that a man is brave, a man who is truly brave will always be brave on all occasions.” We define our character through our actions, and the cliche saying runs true: Actions speak louder than words. 
-“We are entirely made up of bits and pieces, woven together, so diversely and so shapelessly that each one of them pulls its own way at every moment.” Meaning people are fighting a battle within themselves of good and bad actions, that when we combine ourselves with ours it creates a bigger picture of battles amongst us all. 

Ch.2, Pg.381: On Drunkenness (Book 2) 
Summary: “Consumption of alcohol should be controlled and treated like an award as we enter adulthood. Drinking should not be overlooked as it is a strong sin in Montaigne”s view because it destroys the mind and soul. In the process, drunkenness reveals our true character and darkest secrets that are buried inside all of us.” 
-“Even though they are equally vices, thy are not equal vices.” In other words, wrongdoings are equal in the sense they are all literally wrongdoings, but they are not equal in their severity. It is not easy to define the rank and importance of each sin. 
-Now drunkenness, “Other vices harm our intellect: this one over throws it.” Drunkenness is considered a more severe sin in Montaigne's eyes because he believes the worst state for a man is when he loses all consciousness and control of himself. It also causes a person to release their most intimate secrets. When one is completely intoxicated, the darker side of us is revealed. 
-Montaigne applies an allusion through the story of Julius Caesar when he quotes, “Should I bear the weight of a tyrant, which i cannot bear the weight of my wine.” 
-“If you base your pleasure on drinking good wine, you are bound to suffer sometimes from drinking bad.” The phrase “bad” used here means if you get drunk continuously it leads your mind into a world of depression, despair, and sin. 
-“Wisdom is a controlled handling of our soul, carried out, on our soul’s responsibility, measure in proportion.” Drinking is an award over the years entering adulthood and should be treated as such. It teaches the body and mind its own limits, but still treated as a gift of small consumption. It should be enjoyed, never abused. 

Ch. 3, Pg.392: A Custom of the Isle of Cea 
Summary: “Montaigne shows that philosophy has it’s own way of favoring self-destruction and of opposing it with equally strong reasons.Theology classes suicide as a crime because it is defines as prime despair; where as hope is considered a theological virtue. Montaigne contradicts these views as he believes suicide can be provoked by anything-including hope. Montaigne is bold, and even said to be “Anti-Christian” due to his contradicting views. Even then, he uses the same arguments that that biblical text does, showing how it bares fault.” 
-“I will show you what you have bought; it would be a shameful for me to be slave when freedom is at hand [jumps to his death].” This quote is from a story given in the text that depicts a man who was held captive and sold into slavery. Once given his slave job, he told his owner this before jumping to his death. The moral being that he would rather die in his freedom than to live in captivity. This being an analogy towards religious texts saying how we should be living our lives. 
-“We are often brought to it by a 


13. On Judging Someone Else's Death 
Dying is most noteworthy thing in mans life, though it's hard for man to believe his last hour has come. 
The higher we believe our importance is, the more we believe we cannot die. So rare and perfect, the world would be unable to function without us there. 
Emperors would prolong prisoners death through torture. 
Suicides are planned but not always followed through by the person so it must be finished by someone else. 
It is strange to have no fear of death and want to taste it 

14. How Our Mind Tangles Itself Up 
If we had to choose between food or drink, we would die of theist and hunger. 

15. That Difficulty Increases Desire 
When it is difficult to do or get something it makes us prize things 
Leap over what is fixed in your path, to chase whatever runs away 
You are found more beautiful if their are difficulties and hazards to faced rather than those who are easy 
What is allowed has no charm: what is not allowed, we burn to do 
Defenses in home attract offenses. Where leaving door open protects it 

16. On Glory 
Glory may be won but not always earned 
Glory is not worth it if no one is looking 
Glory is only worth it when someone can bring news back of your valor 
Honor is found not in glory but in good deeds 
Even if I did not follow the right road for its rightness, I would still follow it because I have found from that experience that, at the end of the day, it is usually the happiest one and the most useful. 
We are more concerned that our named be known rather than what is being said about it 
Those who dies in war are forgotten 
Through speech and thought, good people are distinguished from bad 

17. On Presumption 
Over high opinion of our own self worth 
Greeting all with no regard to status has no meaning 
Some get pleasure from there writing, others don't 
When I read it over, I am ashamed to have written it, because even I who wrote it judge it worth erasing 
Men are judged on height, and without it they are given woman tasks. Not his face nor hair could make him beautiful 
Some men gamble all they have once they finally earn it 
Say what you think, if you pretend and lie it is wicked 
Sometimes we must tell someone our idea before it vanishes in our soul 
When you give your self little worth and admirance, it is hard for others to say worse than you have already divulged 
Many men consider themselves great, but it is those who value themselves the least who are never displeased with themselves 

18. On Giving The Lie 
You can see so many people lying and insulting each other to the face, makes narrator proud to be honest person 

19. On Freedom Of Conscience 
The Christian ruler did some good things of society like lowering taxes and honored his religion 
The kings could not do what they wished so they pretended to wish to do what they could

26 On thumbs 
anecdote- story of barbarian kings making treaties by pressing right thumbs together, pricking, then sucking each other's blood. 
thumb=master finger according to doctors 
French word=pouce from Latin verb pollere=to excel in strength; Greek=anticheir- "another hand" 
Rome- sign of approval to turn and twist thumbs downward; dissaproval to extend and raise upward 
Romans didnt have to serve in army if they had an injured thumb (couldn't hold weapons) 
Augustus took away property of Roman knight who cut off his sons' thumbs so ...^ 
Cauis V cut off L thumb to not fight and punnished to life imrisonment 
General cut off thumbs of defeated enemies 
Athenians cut off Aeginan men's thumbs to deprive of "naval superiority" 
schoolmaster punnished by biting thumbs

II:27 On cowardice, the mother of cruelty 
he's experienced that the worst people have a "womanish weakness" [patriarchal society, women percieved as weak, an insult to men] 
frivolous= little of value/trivial; silly/light minded 
crying is a weakness 
"valour stops short when it sees the enemy at its mercy"= loss of courage/bravery/honor when there's an open target in battle 
pusillanimity(cowardly) to murder someone 
he questions why all arguments have to end in death and killing. Says cowardice is the cause. 
revenge must be felt by both parties to enjoy on one side and to learn from on the other(he cant leanr if he dies) 
he says battle scome from men too scared to duel on their own 
different views on fencing; art/craft 
not liking how gentlemen act as soldiers in all affairs 
tyrants "fearing all, he strikes at all"- cowardly to exterminate those w/the potential to do harm to you 
torture-sucks

II:28 There is a season for everything 
^including good- "the wise man sets limits even to things which are good" 
"'Youth should make provisions: Old Age should enjoy them,' say the wise"- how human nature is always wanting youth 
always wanting to learn and start new again, even if old 
He likes closure in his own life and doesn't do anything for more than a year; he starts new and says goodbye
for him, old age just seccures the worries he has about everything in life
"we can always continue our studies, but not our school-work" 
study something suitable to our circumstances-study to happily leave it behind you when you die 
Young Cato- killed himself- why?; he died to stop the wondering,is anyone ever ready to go? even when they're still learning?

II:29 On virtue 
"There is nothing we cannot do" 
once ideas are planted in one's mind and the person is determined, anything can happen 
Pyrrho-philosopher, adiaphora(not required in the church but still allowed); perserverent and consistent 
one man chopped off body parts because his wife was annoying 
another man cut off his penis because he was the one failing in the relationship 
a woman jumped off a bridge becaue she gossipped(planned it in one day); although in India it is an honor to kill herself if she's the most loved wife (juxtaposition of stories) 
God forsees, but is seeing at present bc of his existence outside of time- "we see things because they happen, they do not happen because we see them" 
causes (fortuitious [like chance] and voluntary [we choose]) from free will given by God 
we don't have the power to change fate 
two assassins, one is caught and the other isn't. The one caught is "ready"- "fate"

II:30 On a monster child 
"monsters" believed to be portents of God's will 
portent= sign/warning that something will happen 
joined twin boys- one perfect, the other missing head into smomach of other (looks like a 'k' bc one is perpindicular and dangling) ; a whole body 
metaphor- all limbs work under one head^, king keeps order of state under his laws 
interpreting things into prophesies 
"monsters" show the infinite possibilities of God's creation 
people see things as the usual and dont wonder where they come from, but when something is abnormal they see is as a portent 
whatever is against the norm is said to be against nature, but nothing really can be

II:31 On anger 
he doesnt like the way parent beat and yell at their children; he realises that children are the future of the state 
"No passion disturbs the soundness of our judgement as anger does"- Reflection on how i can be a completely different person 
punishments out of anger are unfair 
"saying is one thing;doing is another"- he hsows how men have not practiced what they preach (some litterally) 
anger isnt always visible (as seen in Plutarch) 
if i wasnt so angry i'd ... (threat still use today) 
so many times we get all worked up for a dumb reason then find a way to defend/excuse it but in reality we're so wrong 
says that women get angry only to make men mad 
this man masks himself of imperfections and is "eating his insides out"- relatable; by hiding what we feel, it stays and builds inside 
choler= one of four bodily humors (anger) 
rodomontades= boastful in talk/behavior 
his anger spells are short and sweet 
once a person is mad, there's no stopping it so you might as wee be polite and accept it
II:32 In defense of Seneca and Plutarch 
Seneca-philosopher, several people have differing viewpoints about him (Dion the historian wrong) Executive decision on him by Michel from reading his work 
Plutarch- biographer/writer 
stories- pride and honor (?) reason why people would let bad things happen to themselves (like turture, which always sucks) 
^endurance, obsinate resistance, stubborness common 
dont judge what's possible/impossible by what seems cridible/incredible in your own mind 
defends Plutarch's comparrisons of Romans and Greeks- obviosly one has to be the victor, but he's (Bodin) making a general criticism that the Greeks are being favored. What Bodin doesnt understand is that it's carefully planned; he's choosing an irrevelent factor- relates to how many people dont see the big picture 
II:33 the tale of Spurina 
2 apetites- of the mind/soul (ambiton, covetousness...) and of the body (lust)
pretty much talking up Julius Caesar: ladies' man- many lovers (including Cleopatra); very ambitios- orator, writer; kind to those who werent on his side-rare; even to men who spoke bad about him-gracious 
but, ambition got the best of him and let himself be worshiped, his owrds into laws, overthrew the State 
rare to "damn" your own beauty for making others "arouse"; Spurina- made so beautifully, slashed his own face to no longer loathe himself. Michel's viewon ^- good intentions but actions lack wisdom= duhhhh 
moderation- good virtue, balance in life
II:34 Observation on Julius Caesar's methods of waging war 
Caesar (C.)- MM's opinion is that his style is uncomparable 
C. told his troops that the enemy was much greater than they believed. Better to find the enemy weaker than sronger than expected 
C. told his men just to do as they're told 
C. seized oppotunities at the right moments and acted w/speed 
he let his men have some reward; good looking armor built confidence; they were companions in Rome- aiders and abettors were = in crime 
eloquent, his own speaking style , speeches wriiten 
"preffered his victories to be won by thought than by might" 
risked his life for others, yada yada yada 
"boldness, insane confidence" 
as time passed, he was slow and deliberate 
"emotion dominates us more vigorously than reason" Reflection- impulsive actions 
his soldiers granted life to captured, but when they were captured they'd rather kill themselves than fight against 
II:35 On three good wives 
fathers dont show love to their sons in order to be honored and respected- is that how it still is today? 
women do the same to their husbamds, Michel doesnt like it- it's better to laugh w/her husband alive than dead 
(low class woman) tied herself to her husband and jumped into ocean so his pain (which caused her pain) could end together 
rich woman (rare virtue bc rich) w/a husband taken away to be sentenced to death couldnt go w/him so she was determined to kill herself, but family wouldnt let her. When she saw him again he was to kill himself-she stabbed herself first ("see it doesnt hurt") then he did (shameful bc he had his wife die first and he learned a lesson) 
Seneca sentenced to death by Nero, he was welcoming death w/a little joy-he's leaving everyone w/his actions and memories; Paulina (wife,young) wants to die w/him. Theyre dying when Nero has Paulina saved for his reputation- she's lost a certain life 
they'd die because their loved ones will die 
why are these fictious tales of women sacrificing? Why arnt the men killing themselves for the women?
II:36 On the most excellent of men 
3 men he puts above all others 
Homer- created lasting gods;Virgil's teacher; no other poets can compare; big names have Homer's works, an insult if they dont; created common ground for several nations' origins 
Alexander the Great- done so much by 33, said he "owed his virtues to Nature, his vices to Fortune", admits that he was lucky, so accomplished 
makes a case that Caesar v. Alexander made him do a double take
Epaminondad- Michel likes the best; wisdom and reason; umanimously votes first man among the Greeks (huge deal, like best on earth); knoew much and spoke sparingly; morals (right/wrong) greater than everyone's; humane 


Book III

1. On the useful and the honourable
Montaigne's definition of useful, "what is profitable to a man or to his country and every sort of public and private interest." 
-- reference to the ancient Roman's aggression of seeking revenge against enemies as an example of "what was useful for what was honourable." 
Nothing is useless; everything in Nature has a purpose and a place but it is sometimes diseased with malicious qualities (jealousy, vengeance, superstition...)
Refers to himself as a "weak" who cannot take on the roles of "vigorous and less timorous citizens" (soldiers) who sacrifice their lives for their country
Believes that authority should not abuse power but equitably use it for justice
-- On the Emperor's order, the Romans must punish a pretender but could not legally forgo their mission, therefore they committed their duty "usefully" but not "honourably." 
When Montaigne gives the previous example as an act of usefulness but not honor, isn't he going against his own definition of "useful"?
Pretender: a person who claims or aspires to a title or position
Ignominy: public shame or disgrace 
Lists examples of an inferior betraying it's authority and the consequences behind it --a slave runs away from his or her master is hung as an example for other insurgents
"The master flogs the pupil because he was willing to learn, and the guide flogs the blind man." The cruel reality of what we call justice.
"We wrongfully adduce the honour and beauty of an activity from it's usefulness..." 
-- a soldier is 'honored' for killing his own brother during the Civil War fought against the same side and blood
-- Why is society corrupting the beauty of honor for it's materialistic reward?

2. On repenting
Montaigne states that "repenting consists not in regret but in denying the rightness of what one had formerly willed."
Only repent in the presence of God.
Symbolizes the world as a perennial see-saw with instability in it's realm
-- people change whether it be from a sudden epiphany or a sudden gain of different attributes or aspects from life
"... I rarely repent and that my conscience is happy with itself - not as the consciences of an angel... of a man"
-- ties in the religious element that all men are sinners in the eyes of the Lord; no man is perfect
Montaigne states that only you know yourself well enough to make a judgement on whether or not you are evil, no one else can because others can only surmise about you from your outside standards which does not reveal the true character
-- society can only judge the outer shell of a person
Alludes to Alexander the Great and Socrates, neither can replace the other, as one is a man of strength and the other of poetic expression. 
Nature vs nurture, breaking away from parental supervision and finding one's own form of expression
A story about a peasant is told, his name Pincher. One day, he decides to become a thief to escape the poverty. He began growing vegetables on other men's land and in one night, would load all the produce on his back and sell it in the market. In his old age, he was a wealthy man as the money added up. He swore to compensate the victims he stole from but he does not repent on his actions as he would choose wealth over poverty any day.
-- Is repentance a form of action or a mental revival?
Condemning one's self and wishing to be reborn is not a form of repentance; repenting is being in harmony with one's self.

3. On three kinds of social intercourse
Loving friendship, loving relationships with women, and reading books
--all three engage the whole man, soul and body; synonymous to honor and decent
People should adapt to change to show more variety and flexibility like Cato who is the epitome of versatility.
Exceptional friendship is difficult to find and should be hungered for.
Montaigne expresses that discussion is the key to an intimate friendship whether it be one with depth or a casual conversation.
States that love can come in forms of pleasure or a relationship, doesn't find intimate pleasure as a bad thing but describes love as dangerous
-- shared intimacy with a prostitute and in result got syphilis
The presence of a book alone should be comforting, one does not necessarily have to read a book to understand the pleasures of it.
Introduces a flashback where Montaigne would spent time in his library as it oversaw his backyard, garden, and the majority of his house with a book in hand.
Humans have the power to choose a good book but often do not select the "right" one. In a deeper meaning, people often are tempted into the wrong path when they have the power to choose which road to take.

4. On diversion 
Diversion: an instance of turning something aside from its course
Pain and grief cannot be easily cured but it can be diverted into a less agonizing scar; most people search for diversion to assuage their pain(s).
-- military diversions often used in history to lure the enemy from their lands, political diversion also common but does not wish to explain it (Why?)
Examples of different types of diversion: 
--Personal gain: Atalanta was a woman of outstanding beauty with whom many men wished to wed. She proposed that any man who could beat her in a race could have her hand in marriage, but those who lost would be killed. Hippomenes, a possible suitor, prayed to the goddess of amorous passion who offered him beautiful golden apples. During his race against Atalanta, he dropped the diversion and she immediately stopped at it's beauty. He had won the race.
--Acceptance: Socrates was a man of wisdom who greeted death as an normal countenance. He had trained himself to accept the irrevocable death.

5. On some lines by Virgil 
Historical background: concern over marriage and human sexuality during the Renaissance period
-- Montaigne is more open; he had scandalous affairs with "young unmarried men and married ladies."
Afraid to be weighed down by wisdom and therefore fears excess wisdom.
-- He then contradicts himself saying the deeper one's knowledge is, the better.
Expresses his sadness in growing old, but is young still young at heat, also more sentimental
Old age should not stop one from creative imagination
Malady: a disease of ailment 
Believes in self-content
Poetry is a beautiful form of expression
Likes the idea of arranged marriage (take into consideration the time period and how important family lineage was)
Marriage is a fellowship which does not necessarily involve Cupid (love), it is more of an investment for a solid foundation for the future.
Recalcitrant: having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline
"Serve him like a master: watch him like a traitor." Refers to a woman who watches her husband.
Supportive of women rights as society's moral rules were created by just men in the first place
Women have been trained since they were young to marry: cooking, cleaning, primping, etc, while men wait find their partner through destiny.
Women of different cultures behave differently towards men (men lure women by any means)
-- Kingdom of Pegu, women wore nothing but a kirtle slit which basically revealed everything 
-- Livia, women see a naked man as nothing but a statue
-- Sparta, women witness young men take everything off for their exercises
Women can be just as disnatured and damaging as men
Jealously corrupts the beauty of a relationship
Compares a wild animal to a woman, both possess avid and greedy nature
Enjoys to travel as he can put on a new persona and not have any pre-judgments on him
Mankind is cruel as we manipulate Nature to please our accommodations.
His passion for love drives him to live life.
Reciprocity very important in love life as women often times portray a relationship entirely in their heads.

Book III Essay 6. On coaches
• Links the ideas of luxury, generosity, and magnificence against cruelty, vulgarity, greed, and ostentation (flashiness).
• The concept of Coaches resembles symbols of status as in chariots or all wheeled vehicles. Are put in comparison to American Indian Cultures.
• Describes that authors must use originality, beauty, and have a sense of ingenious about their writing.
• Throughout the text the author inserts quotes from other philosophers or poets that support his points in his text.
• Origin of the sneeze in how people state Bless you due to the last shot of wind out of three, the first dirty, the second, gluttony and the third, blameless. Depicts that many customs are followed without great understanding and the human race must understand.
• “Must blend art with nature” within authors writing
• Authors need to write from experience not just for the sake of argument.
• Relates to Socrates to depict his quote, “... A great Captain, teaching us that nothing casts us into dangers so much as a rash hunger to get out of them.” Therefore implying that like Socrates and Laches retreat in battle, the human race is more afraid to stand up for themselves than to face the issue at hand. Therefore causing more danger or harm to the subject at hand.
• Personification of fear, nature, and courage. “Nature, having exposed me on one flank has covered me on the other, having stripped me of fortitude she has equipped me with an inability to feel and with blunted balanced powers of anticipation.”
• Uses references to Mark Antony, Heliogabalus, Theophrastus (On Riches) and Aristotle. To show the lack of confidence that people have within Monarchs and that speculation on all authority due to tales of kings personal interests on themselves rather than their people.
• “Moreover to their subjects who form the spectators of these festivities, it seems that it is their own wealth that is being flaunted and that they are being feasted at their own expense.” Resembles greed of the wealthy.
• “If you want a good crop, you must broadcast your seed not pour it from your sack.” In this it means you must not focus in one area in that you have to be well rounded. 
• The author talks from subject to subject as if in a conversation with random inserts. Also called stream of consciousness.
• Goes into house and loan payments and the difference between taking and giving.
• Embraces the beauty of architecture of the French amphitheaters. Talks about the trap doors and wild attractions. Also show the elaborate decorations of wealth that are displayed by the king. Author states that the people feel in great events like they are being celebrated so the wealth is equalized.
• However, over the years author says that generations lack knowledge of other generations. In this I see that this does occur because when I look back to my own history I can’t recall the names of many of my ancestors who have long passed. Showing a lack of communication in all generations and “…a very false idea of everything.”
• Also suggests that memories don’t retain all the information given.
• Uses of metaphors. “It was still naked at the breast, living only by what its nursing Mother provided.” Referring to the Earth.
• Harquebuses- an early type of portable gun supported by a forked rest.
• Contrasts the European and Indian lifestyle in that some would rather self-inflict death than have another power take over the control of their country. Spoke of the Conquistadors and the Aztec people of South America, had historical back ground.
• Transitions into the fortune of death and religious beliefs that were to be forced onto the Indian people of South America.
• Enters into greed of the Spanish with the Killing of the King of Peru and the King of Mexico.
• In the end of the essay the author relates everything back to the beginning in that coaches resemble a chance to flee or to pursue.

Book III Essay 7. On high rank as a disadvantage
• “… there are defects in all things, no matter how beautiful or desirable they may be.” The topic of the essay was to show that in highly prominent people of every society there are flaws.
• The author states I am young, I have a lot to learn in that nature and others will have to teach me a lot before I have the slightest of knowledge.
• The author says he has never wished of a higher rank and says he appreciates his rank as it is. Although he states that everyone wants to fit in.
• With these statements he then says that he tends to contradict himself a lot within each essay. However, he has an open mind but never said he was smart because he doesn’t necessarily believe in it.
• “.. I do not measure my fortune by its height: I measure it by its pleasantness.” Meaning that wealth isn’t a matter of money but of happiness.
• Expresses his thoughts with examples of Cicero, Marcus Regulus, Lucius Thorius Balbus and Otanes.
• “There are few matters on which we can give an unbiased judgement because there are few in which we do not have a private interest some way or other.”
• Use of rhetorical questions. ‘What part can they play in a friendly skirmish if everyone in it is on their side?”
• “Further still, lechery has been in fashion and every kind of licentiousness, as also have disloyalty, blasphemy, cruelty, as well as heresy and superstition, irreligion and decadence, and even worse things if worse there be…” Showing the problems of the higher rank.

Book III Essay 8. On the art of conversation
• The essay gives the overall character of Montaigne on how he thinks about and talks to others. 
• “We do not improve the man we hang: we improve others by him.” Showing that in punishment we show what you don’t want to happen so you don’t end in the same way. Lead by example of what not or what to do.
• Author says that the most important thing for the mind is conversation.
• “…Elder Cato was thinking of when he said that the wise have more to learn from the fools than the fools from the wise.” In this the author uses an outside source to support his idea that the smart learn more effectively.
• “What hits you affects you and wakes you up more than what pleases you.” The quote reflects on the fact that a loss teaches you more than a win in that you have to look back at what you did wrong in order to fix it because if you never see what you are doing wrong in a winning situation you will find out when it really matters.
• “Rivalry, competitiveness and glory will drive me and raise me above my own level.” Showing that healthy competition will make you a better person or better at a certain trade than opponents, increasing your level of status or ability.
• Again uses rhetorical questions
• Goes into the subject of judgment in how others are seen within conversation and how he perceives others. Talks about others as rude for passing judgment but he does the same, in stating that other people are “stupid” when they speak. Also he hates disordered conversation; however he doesn’t have order to his own essays and tends to go off on tangents. 
• Gives advice on how it is sometimes better to remain silent instead of speaking because status is perceived from intelligence in conversation.
• Erudition- the quality of having or showing great knowledge
• “…What greater victory do you want than to teach your enemy that he cannot stand up to you?” Reflects on the idea that the author wants to teach his prominence to others when he speaks.
• Uses people as examples such as Plato, Timon, Democritus,
• Escutcheon- a small shield or emblem
• “A hundred times a day when we go mocking our neighbor we are really mocking ourselves.” Showing that we shouldn’t make fun of others in terms of conversation.
• Author says that you learn from experiences shown by nature.
• Minds are always thinking and emotions are always flowing so you can never be quite sure what the other is thinking.
• “My reason was not made for bending and bowing, my knees were.” Emphasizing that he isn’t going to make himself dumb for other people who are smarter than her is but he will respect people of higher status.
• Debonair- confident, stylish, and charming
• Uses analogies to try and make ideas simpler to the reader and clarifications. 
• Talks about how people can make derogatory comments when they are joking that would otherwise be rude in serious situations.
• “No huckster wins every haggle.” In addition means that in order for comments to be taught in a joking situation you also have to take a few hits as the author points out.
• The author also writes about perspectives and says that certain people would be better at governing Rome than the modern ruler of the time. Talking about Pompey as the ruler and Tacitus. However later states he doesn’t trust Tacitus which completely contradicts his first statement.
• Grosso modo (in French)- means roughly in English

Book III Essay 9. On vanity
• Talks about authors and people who only go in circles with their writings like Pythagoras. States, “So many words about nothing but words!” The statement is sort of ironic because this book is enormous.
• “When my condition is bad I cling violently to my illness: I abandon myself to despair and let myself go towards catastrophe, casting as they say the haft after the axe-head; stubbornly, I want to get worse and think myself no longer worth curing.” In this the author means that in times of illness you crave affection from others and are self-concerned and when others are you aren’t as likely to feel as much as if it were yourself.
• The author finds himself more prayerful in good fortune rather than bad. He speaks a lot of fortune throughout the essay.
• Talks about religion in how many believe a king is who brings good weather to the people when it is an act of God.
• Awry- away from the appropriate, planned, or expected course.
• “His foolishness would not justify my wishing him more.” The author states this because he doesn’t think he needs to help fools because if you give fools more wealth they will just lose it again. Also has another example of this in that a man gave a banker money to give to his sons if they turned out to be fools. However the idea doesn’t make sense because the fools will again lose the money. The point showing that some people can’t be given things because they won’t learn.
• The author then transitions into problems in saying you can’t let water keep dripping into a rock because one of these days it will cause a crack, which means that if you let the small problems keep going by, one of these days it will turn into a huge problem.
• There is always going to be someone better than you at something so when someone is asked whose wine is better it is typically going to be the others in reality because sometimes you aren’t better than.
• Author states that you can’t have knowledge without logic and it would be ridiculous if you only had one.
• Refers to Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Pacuvius Calavius, and Ceaser.
• Says that he trusts the young more because they are less corrupt by bad example and they are more open minded.
• Puerile- childish, silly and trivial
• “Many by their fear of being cheated have taught others to cheat; others have found justification for wrong-doing in suspicion thrown upon them.” Showing that by example people find that cheating and lying is a good way to get out of situations that they knew were wrong but did it anyway.
• “Slavery is the obedience of a weak and despondent mind lacking in will.” I strongly disagree in this particular subject because many people have the will and strength to puch to be free however they can’t escape, that is not of weak mind because they never stop trying.
• Author uses similes. “Once I am away my soul can easily find detachment; when I am there she frets like a wine-grower’s.”
• Talks about how he doesn’t like when people talk poorly to their servants or about their servants while the host has company. He would rather it be done in private, therefore showing his inability to accept lower classes and his inability to say what is right in that they shouldn’t be treated poorly at all.
• Says that everyone tries to mold and fit into the common opinion, including himself, even though he claims he doesn’t, but his writing contradicts himself.
• Nations can be well sustained under strong customs, but when traveling it is important to have an open mind and learn about other customs of other nations in which they live by.
• Many people don’t want to change within a society, they want to over throw what they don’t like which is proven in many examples of every revolution that has occurred throughout history.
• Oligarchy- a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution
• If we all fall together then nobody really falls, meaning that if everyone lowers a class or losses a class then it doesn’t really change the status of the nation.
• Author goes into memory and states that you can’t rely on your memory because it won’t work for you in situations. Gives an example of Lyncestes who was accused of conspiring against Alexander, in which Lyncestes prepares a speech but when it comes time to preform it he loses the words and his silence looks as if he were guilty, so he is killed due to his brain.
• On a side note the author talks about how he feels that he should never go back and fix punctuation or grammar because he thinks that he should finish his thought even if it doesn’t make sense. Also he feels that by revising the essays he would change pieces too much that audience members would have to buy a whole new book.
• Then goes back into the essay talking about trust, in that you should never be obligated to give more trust than is received.
• Says when someone is told to do a duty they should want to the duty or else the duty will be done “slakingly.”
• Personifies fortune. “My fortune has not allowed me to give much to others, and the little she has allowed me has been lodged with the very poor. “
• Says that his most cherished characteristics are idleness and frankness.
• Simile. “I take to rain and mud like a duck.”
• Says he needs a wife to be a housekeeper that is the most important thing when he is away traveling. Alternates between home and travel. 
• “Adapting myself to common prejudice.” Shows that he wants to be “common” or “normal” in the eyes of others.
• We are the only ones who give the power for others to judge us.
“ Our life is governed by Fortune not philosophy.” Showing that what happens is meant to be.
• “…all wisdom is vanity.” Reflecting on why the chapter is called what it is even though the titles don’t resemble what each essay is about.
• We are in rules with our own morals not Gods. Author says that he will do as he pleases.
• Many people take things for granted and aren’t responsible for their deeds.
• Goes into poetry and again states, “I change subject violently and chaotically. My pen and my mind both go a-roaming.”
• Says that actual sites or ruins of past wondrous places are more often seen rather than old texts that should hold more value.
• At the end of the essay the author talks about his citizenship, “Authentic Bull of Roman Citizenship,” and talks about a few of the versions till the completion of the essay.

Book III Essay 10: On Restraining You’re Will
Will- the mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action.
Restrain- to exhibit from doing, exhibiting, or expressing something.
- For someone to restrain their own will means for that person to make a choice and to stop taking action on a certain subject or matter that may naturally occur for them to do without really thinking about it.
“I exercise great care to extend by reason and reflection this privileged lack of emotion, which is by nature well advanced in me”
- He is saying in order for him to restrain from what human nature usually intends him to move towards, he exercises this emotion by reason and reflection in order to control this way of life.
“The only reasons why they seek occupations are to be occupied.” 
- He says this to prove a point that the only reason people either choose to start an argument or get pulled into a specific course of action is to stay busy. It may not always be a person wanting to constantly be doing something but instead that person is just unable to stay still, so they choose to start a fight, or take action, or revolt because it is their will to do so.
“He who does not live a little for others hardly lives at all for himself.”
- He explains that a man who doesn’t know his true duties and doesn’t practice them doesn’t live for himself and therefore will never truly be happy without a loving friendship not only between other people but more importantly himself.
“A man who reacts with greater moderation towards winning or losing is always ‘at home’: the less he goads himself on and the less passionate he is about the game, the mot surely and successfully he plays it.”
- I disagree with this statement because the more passionate a person is about something the more likely they are to achieve it and win. He is trying to say that the better a person handles winning or losing in a situation, the game will be successfully played no matter what. If we really want something bad enough losing it won’t be an option we would find a way to successfully play out whatever situation we are put in. Even if we do by some chance lose it we would come to terms knowing that we tried all we can to ensure we wouldn’t. Knowing there wasn’t anything we could do, and then be able to move on from it.
“If you do not stop the start, you will never stop the race.”
- Here he is talking about a person’s emotions, that if a person cannot stop their emotions they won’t ever be able to chase them out. Once emotions have taken over it indulges the body into being shaken and vulnerable to weaknesses that can venture on deep within oneself and will never be able to be controlled.
Overall in this essay he talks about human nature and the evils that come along with it and how he restrains from his own will in a calm and sensible way that human nature doesn’t naturally allow us to do. In explaining his beliefs he references the Bible, philosophers, and writers.

Book III Essay 11: On the Lame
Lame- disabled so that movement, especially walking, is difficult or impossible.
“I was recently letting my mind range wildly (as I often do) over our human reason and what a rambling and roving instrument it is”
- He states here that he lets his mind wander all the time which deduces stream of consciousness. Then he goes into how people point out facts without reasons behind them for being true.
“By man’s tendency to work hard at feeding rumors.”
- He goes onto explain that it is human nature for even facts to be questioned because not everybody who relays information onto another person knows where the truth or story first took place. People keep on relaying the information they heard onto other people because it is natural to feed into these so called facts that along the way could have exaggerated a little bit to make what has been told more interesting. We as humans have a natural tendency to twist the truth to make it more appealing.
“Men place more trust in whatever they do not understand.”
- He elaborates on the local witches and how so many people believe that they are real because it is easier for them to believe things that are unknown to them and that more of the majority believes than the minority. While he believes in God and doesn’t believe in these false pretenses. People are afraid to stand alone in something so they rather ride the bandwagon and become involved with a belief that is more interesting.
“The lame man does it best.”
- Was a saying applied to both male and females and lame references crippled body parts that didn’t function properly. He states that he got the most pleasure from a deformed woman but was very charming. It is famous ancient saying that applied to Venus.
In this essay he explains how it is a natural tendency for humans to not know the truth but make inferences about what they believe to be true. The truth can be turned into many opinions based and how the truth extended is from its staring point. People tend to stick with what they believe to be true rather than forming or staying true to their own thoughts.

Book III Essay 12: On Physiognomy
Physiognomy- the art of judging human character from facial features.
“In learning as in everything else, we suffer from lack of temperance.”
- He explains that when it comes to wealth, pleasure, and power we as humans are greedy and don’t know how to control our want for such desires. The same goes for knowledge we get too consumed in attaining these desires, that instead of gaining wealth, power, or pleasure these wants that we all are fighting for will burden us and destroy us rather than help and nourish us.
- “According to Plato, the ultimate species of injustice is when what is unjust is held to be just.”
- According to him, he believes that there is nothing more unjust than when something wicked becomes lawful. Bad situations are bad for a reason and they don’t change unless justice takes place. In scenarios where cruel events take place and they are trying to be proved to be just is when the worst case scenario becomes unimaginable. Injustice is just that, it is wrong for a reason and in no way shape or form should it be proven to be right.
“True freedom is to have power over oneself to do anything with oneself.”
- He says this to show that a man can never truly be free of restraints and obstacles unless they our within their own boundaries under their own terms. A man who has control over himself is free to choose his own way of life and make his own decisions without worrying about what other people think or how they feel. Nobody can make you happy unless a person is happy with themselves first. The power of freedom over oneself can be harder to attain but is not unlikely to have, a person just has to be willing to fight for it.
“The possibility of suffering makes one as sad as actual suffering.”
- Here he states this because he is in a period of war and illness and with people awaiting death all around him. People who think about suffering feel the grief of actual suffering, because knowing something is going to happen can be a blessing or a curse. In this case it’s a curse because preparing to die is as excruciating as actual pain. The thought of knowing something’s going to happen makes that person become tormented by when it’s going to take place. The feeling of not knowing when a person’s time to feel pain is coming is already torture in itself. Anticipating the future of death is as bad as actual suffering because everybody’s afraid of the unknown.
“It matters much to souls in what sort of body they are lodged: for many of the body’s qualities serve to sharpen the mind and many others make it obtuse.” 
- He goes on to talk about physical appearances and how ugliness and deformity can have an effect on a person and on what other people think of them. In the case of Socrates who was an ugly man, he had the most beautiful mind and soul. The saying might not mean a person has to be beautiful to have a beautiful soul it could mean in Socrates case, that maybe he was made ugly in order to show people how the beauty in his words made him appear not only beautiful on the inside but a more appealing person on the outside. Being beautiful can have two different meanings but by a person being beautiful on the outside doesn’t make them beautiful on the inside, because true beauty comes from within.
Here in this essay he goes on to talk about some human nature qualities and how we as people tend to have greedy desires which causes us to not be free from ourselves. He skips around to a lot of different subjects to suffering to referencing God, Plato, and Socrates, and explaining occurrences he had with people. In some places he was talking in second person and he would always compare Socrates morals to his beliefs. This essay had a lot of jumping around but its main purpose was to prove that beauty on the outside may have some influence on other people but if a person had true beauty within themselves then they will be seen as beautiful to all who listen to them.

Book 3: Essay 13 (pgs 1206-1269)
• Desire for knowledge is most natural
• Use experience when reason fails
• Have to recognize differences and variety which comes with experience
o Allude to story of Delphi and picking which egg went to which hen (important)
o Allude to Perrozet and ability to decipher cards
• Being similar doesn’t make people “one” as much as being different make people “other” (nature favors)
• No relationship between actions and fixed unchanging laws
• Uses rhetorical questions
• Our laws are too entangled and complicated
o Favors simplicity and nature
o Lawyers are example of bad laws (spread us thin and increase doubts)
• How do we change our ways?
• Man is ironic because gets caught in own works/mess
o Reference to Aesop and of licking path in river and drowns
• Create pictures with descriptions to help reader understand
o Concept of highest achieving man having climbed one more step than predecessor. Should he be praised?
• Laws turn us against each other and we fear what it can make of us. Stripped of humanity
o Run from someone who is stabbed for fear of questioning
o Ironic: sentences more criminal than actual crime
• Growth and continual learning is key to mind and powers
• French laws vague and people disobey because no order or clarity. What if absolutely no law, what happens then?
• Have to learn abut yourself before you can learn about something else: endless wisdom and experience, shows how much left to still learn
• Trust Socrates because same philosophy as Montaigne and wise
o Be blunt and take criticism with grain of salt which will release love
o Example of experience in medical profession; only trust dr who have has illness they are trying to cure
o If know yourself then don’t need a doctor because know what hurts you and helps you: experience
• Pleasure is acceptable but wrong to get pulled from habits in which medicine and illness do
• Life is suffering so learn to deal with it(everyone suffers not only one person)
o Reference God, Plato, Aescolapius
• Montaigne has big ego, why does he rebel against authority? (possibly believe in “trust no one and find out for yourself)
o Yet he is religious and goes to church and follows the doctrine?
• Describes in great detail the experience of painful illness (possibly kidney stones?)
o Tries to hide pain of his illness
o Dislikes medicine and doctors from bad care?
• References death and soul has “she”, does this represent view of women?
o Continually references nature as “she” so death and soul coincide?
o Reference Dantes Inferno and Styx River
o Death is inevitable, comes whenever, born to die
• Was a healthy and active man but illness has deteriorated him inside and out (aged)
• Fancied father because taught him values of the poor and as a boy Montaigne was picky and strange
o Example referenced to habits of Flaminius and Pyrrhus
o Montaigne learned to help others, no matter class
• Eats in excess and talks of diets so joins dinner parties later (change habits/routines) to refrain from over eating
o Emphasizes and repeats that he over eats yet is picky and still looks down upon excess?
• CONTINUAL THEME: Change and variation from experiences: appetite, law, medicine, child from parent, habits
• Values nature
o He has seen death and has new found respect whereas someone who hasn’t experienced death can’t appreciate life
• Keeps referring to drinking and justifying why he drinks but advocating for temperance?
• Told stories of Socrates and daring, brave, and restrained in values and why he is so respected (pg 1260-1261)
o Reflected how Montaigne tries to live life
• Utilizes oxymoron’s to convey point about pleasure and pain
• Write this to find peace in death?
• “Your only gain lies in the chase”- keep striving to be better, continual learning
• Montaigne emphasizes that he is his own person and wants to die knowing he did the right thing in life and in the after life won’t have to subject himself to another
• MAIN IDEAS: Independent person, his sickness, unjust laws, too persistent medicine, nature is beauty, and continual change and versatility comes from EXPERIENCE
Vocab
1. Assay- examine, analyze
2. Animus- strong dislike, hostile attitude
3. Licentious- unrestrained
4. Pullulate- produce, increase rapidly
5. Macerate- to soften, decompose, separate into pieces
6. Exegesis- Critical interpretation/ explanation of text
7. Quibbling- ambiguous language to avoid the point
8. Dearth- lack of scarcity
9. Belabour- work on persistency