The Architecture of the Library of Congress Essay -- Architectural Str

The Architecture of the Library of Congress Constructed between 1888 and 1897, the Library of Congress is located in Washington, D.C. at the intersection of 1st St. and Independance Avenue. It's beautiful, large-scale building is comprised mainly of marble, granite, iron, and bronze. The Library's architectural style is reminiscent of that of ancient Greece. It's typical Greek characteristics include columns of the Ionic order, relief sculpture, and statues of Greek god figures, such as Poseidon, god of the sea. These attributes are significantly comparable to those of the altar of Pergamon located in present day Turkey. Housing thousands of books, music, and art collections, the Library of Congress contains numerous reading rooms used by the public people. It is not restricted to use by special officials, but welcomes everybody as it was constructed specifically to serve as the American national library. The present Library of Congress had a difficult time getting started in its early stages. Originally located in the United States Capitol building between 1806 and 1814(U.S. Government, 1), a fire caused the Library to be relocated to a temporary hotel location. Soon it was replaced into the north wing of the Capitol, and then into the center of the west front (U.S. Government, 2). Unfortunately, another disastrous fire burned the Library and yet again it had to be repaired. The Librarian of Congress at this time in 1865, Ainsworth Rand Spofford, realized the Library was expanding to the point where it would soon need it's own separate building from the Capitol. He drew up an architectural plan in 1872 and presented it to Congress who authorized it. The new structure, named the Jefferson Building, was elaborately deco... ...nce is that the Library of Congress celebrates mental values while the altar of Pergamon celebrates physical values. The architecture of the Library of Congress expresses a modern presence of the past. It's similarities to the altar of Pergamon lie in physical appearances and in deeper meanings. Both reflect the beauty of Greek architecture and the values of the people who designed them. Bibliography Schwartz, Nancy B. District of Columbia Catalog. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1974. Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995. United States Government. "Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress." http://lcweb.loc.gov/loc/legacy/bldgs.html. (1996): 1-12. Allen, William C. The Dome of the United States Capitol: An Architectural History. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992.

Virtue in Several Dialogues

Plato presents Socrates views on the question whether virtue can be taught in several dialogues, most notably in Protagoras and Meno. In Meno Menon puts the question to Socrates this way: â€Å"Can you tell me, Socrates–can virtue be taught? Or if not, does it come by practice? Or does it come neither by practice nor by teaching, but do people get it by nature, or in some other way?† [35]. Socrates claims to not â€Å"know the least little thing about virtue† and unable to speak as to its qualities. Moreover, he claims to know no one that does. [29]. There follows a discussion as to whether Gorgias, the Sophist, might not be such a person. Both Socrates and Menon know Gorgias' teaching. Menon obviously has a higher opinion of Gorgias' teaching than does Socrates. It is agreed, upon Socrates suggestion, that the conversation should proceed to explore what Menon, not Gorgias, knows about virtue. And so Socrates, puts the question to Menon: â€Å"[W]hat do you say virtue is?† [29] Menon finds â€Å"nothing difficult† in the question and attempts, forthwith, to answer it. But there are complications with the answer, for Menon has suggested that men, slaves, children, women all demonstrate a different kind of virtue, and concludes that there is a virtue â€Å"for doing each sort of work† associated with being a slave, a child, a woman, a free man. Menon's idea of virtue is what we would call role specific. Socrates attempts to show that Menon's initial answer misses the point because it does not show what is common to the virtues of these various actors. If the virtue of men and women, free men and slaves, does not share something in common then it cannot be said to be the same thing and one would necessarily call the one virtue, and the other something else. As Socrates puts it, â€Å"Even if there are many different kinds of them [virtues], they all have one something, the same in all, which makes them virtues.† [30]. Menon accepts Socrates criticism and argues that it is indeed one thing of which he speaks. In order to determine what the common quality of virtue is, Socrates observes that Menon has associated virtue with the ability to manage public affairs well. Socrates now sets out to question Menon on whether virtue would be present in the management of public affairs in the absence of temperance and justice and Menon readily agrees that it would not. Socrates has already disclaimed any personal knowledge of virtue and he has steered Menon away from a discussion of Gorgias' view of virtue. But when Menon fails to provide a persuasive account of his conception of virtue, Socrates poses a question with substantive content. Socrates may know nothing about virtue, but he knows enough to ask whether virtue can be present without temperance and justice. The question suggest that it is Socrates rather than Menon who knows enough about virtue to keep the conversation going. Socrates interrupts the dialogue to make a brief statement about the conversation he has been having with Menon. He distinguishes the conversation he is having with Menon from those where the questioner is â€Å"one of those clever fellow, who just chop logic and argue to win.† Questions such as the one that Socrates and Menon are discussing — whether virtue can be taught? — are best left, says Socrates, to â€Å"friends† who wish to talk together. In such a relationship argues Socrates, â€Å"I must answer more gently and more like friends talking together; and perhaps it is more like friends talking together, not only to answer with truth, but to use only what the one who is questioned admits that he knows.† [34] Socrates, in rapport with Menon, tries to clear up a possible confusion as to whether it is possible to seek that which is bad. Socrates suggests, as he does in other dialogues, that we â€Å"all desire good things.† Menon has responded to Socrates question by saying that one can desire bad things. Socrates tries to clarify this point by asking whether one desires that which is bad because of a mistake, that it is assumed to be bad. But Menon does not pick up on the point and contends that one desires the bad both as a result of a misplaced assumption as to its value and we can also desire the bad even when it is known to be bad. But upon further questions, Menon agrees with Socrates that no one seeks to inflict injury and misery upon himself, and it is injury and misery that are the results of that which is bad. Socrates summary of their agreement goes like this: â€Å"Then it is plain that those who desire bad things are those who don't know what they are, but they desire what they thought were good whereas they really are bad. . . .† [37] Menon has mentioned in passing that virtue consists of the desire of good things and to provide the good. Menon admits that one good thing it is possible to desire is â€Å"to possess gold and silver and public honour and appointments.† [38]. Socrates inquires now whether the virtue of possession of gold and silver must be qualified so that its possession is fair and just. Menon agrees that it is not a virtue to have such possessions if they have been unjustly acquired. On the contrary it would be a vice. â€Å"It is necessary,† Socrates says, â€Å"to add to this getting, justice or temperance or piety or some other bit of virtue, or else it will not be virtue, although it provides good things.† [39] Socrates rebuffs Menon for trying to talk about virtue by looking at it piece by piece and drawing into the discussion a sense of virtue that he has not yet presented. Menon agrees that it is a problem and comments on his reaction to what has gone on: Well now, my dear Socrates, you are just like what I always heard before I met you: always puzzled yourself and puzzling everybody else. And now you seem to me to be a regular wizard, you dose me with drugs and bewitch me with charms and spells, and drown me in puzzledom. I'll tell you just what you are like, if you will forgive a little jest: your looks and the rest of you are exactly like a flatfish and you sting like this stingray–only go near and touch one of those fish and you go numb, and that is the sort of thing you seem to have done to me. [40] Socrates response to Menon's description of his puzzlement is that he himself is â€Å"not clear-headed† when he puzzles others, and that he is â€Å"as puzzled as puzzled can be, and thus I make others puzzled too.† [41]. And where can the conversation go from here? Socrates says, that he wishes to investigate virtue with Menon's help so â€Å"that we may both try to find out what it is.† [41] Socrates argues that there is no such thing as teaching, only remembering. This notion of teaching comes out of Socrates belief in the immortality of the soul. The soul dies but is reborn and thus never destroyed. (This is given by Socrates as a reason for why â€Å"we must live our lives as much as we can in holiness. . . .†) â€Å"Then, since the soul is immortal and often born, having seen what is on earth and what is in the house of Hades, and everything, there is nothing it has not learnt; so there is no wonder it can remember about virtue and other things, because it knew about these before. For since all nature is akin, and the soul has learnt everything, there is nothing to hinder a man, remembering one thing only–which men call learning–from himself finding out all else, if he is brave and does not weary in seeking; for seeking and learning is all remembrance.† [42] After questioning the slave boy about geometry Socrates seeks Menon's concurrence in the proposition that the boy, shown to have been in error about geometry, is better off now, that he too is numbed but has knowledge about the limits of what he knows. By being numbed by the sting of Socrates' conversation the slave has come a step â€Å"onwards, as it seems, to find out how he stands.† [29]. Menon answers yes, when Socrates asked: â€Å"Then do you think he would have tried to find out or to learn what he thought he knew, not knowing, until he tumbled into difficulty by thinking he did not know, and longed to know?† Menon agrees, that he does not think he would and thus gains from being numbed. Menon takes up again his original question, whether virtue can be taught, or one gets it by nature or in some other way. Socrates agrees to proceed but contends that they need a common ground as neither of them can say at this point what virtue is. Socrates has Menon agree that if virtue is knowledge then it can be taught, and if not a knowledge then it cannot be taught. (Conclusion: All that is taught call be called knowledge.)

What Makes A Hero - 1541 Words

What is a hero? Is it superman? Is it your mom or dad? Is it your teacher? There are many people that are considered heroes. Some are just every day people, and some are super-human. Characteristics of heroes vary from era to era. Now people who are just simply a good person are considered a hero. But, back in ancient times to become a hero took much more. It took honesty, wisdom, and in some cases, wealth and superhuman abilities. With time new stories and beliefs are uncovered. In ancient times there were heroes that we can study today through books. Some of the most well known heroes are: Achilles, Odysseus, Aneius, Socrates, Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and King Arthur. Achilles was a well known Greek hero. He was a warrior that†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"These are my orders: to be obeyed at once Jove is with us. Let nobody be the slower because this change of plan is a sudden one: today I propose to raze this city, the cause of the war, Latinus’ capital. Unless I will level its smoking turrets with the ground. To fight me?—and, beaten, ask for a second chance? O Countrymen, here is the root and branch of this evil war! Fetch faggots! Exact with fire the restoration of the broken treaty.†(Virgil) In this quote, Aeneas is showing his bravery when it came to the battles and triumphs he had to overcome to get his people to a new city. Being a hero takes a lot of bravery to keep people moving and keep them safe. Today keeping people safe is one of the most known characteristics of a hero. There are people who are heroes because they are a wise scholar; an excellent example of this is Socrates. Socrates was a man that was viewed as a horrible person. He was a teacher that taught people to think for themselves. He was a man that was very fond of justice and knowledge. Socrates is known for saying, â€Å"I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.† It is sad to think that people were so stubborn they would have a man that was simply being a genius and a scholar in jail because of the way he made people think. He was a hero to many people because he enforced what he believedShow MoreRelatedWhat Makes A Hero Or Hero?812 Words   |  4 Pagesthat man may be, in essence, a hero. Because of this stereotypical â€Å"hero†, we do not see the real heroes in life. What really IS a hero or heroine? A hero is what we make of them, although some are undeserving of this title. We make a hero. You, me, society; we all make heroes. We give them this title. Heroes are role models, and role models, in my eyes, should possess three very significant qualities. Courage, humbleness, and morality; these form a hero. The classic hero. Ah, he’s brave and bold. HeRead MoreWhat Makes A Hero?1168 Words   |  5 PagesSuperman, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, what do these three have in common? They’re all heroes. But what truly is a hero? Is it one who wins independence for his country, or one that helps an old lady cross the street? And should we aspire to be like this person? Using Brecht’s Life of Galileo, Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, we’ll attempt to answer that question. A hero typically in today’s culture is considered as someone who is admired for his courage and otherRead MoreWhat Makes a Hero?1209 Words   |  5 PagesWhat is a Hero? What is a hero? What makes him or her different from everyone else? In Phillip Zimbardo’s article â€Å"What Makes a Hero?† he states that heroes surround us. One in five or 20 percent of people qualify as heroes. Seventy-two percent of people report helping another person in a dangerous emergency. Sixteen percent report whistle blowing on an injustice. Six percent report sacrificing for a non-relative or stranger and fifteen percent report defying an unjust authority (1). AlthoughRead MoreWhat Makes A Hero?934 Words   |  4 Pages Most people have theories on what makes a hero a hero. Many authors over time have created books, comics and so forth on heroes and what they feel makes them the hero. There are also the ancient legends and myths from all over the world. So what is it that makes them a hero? Well Joseph Campbell has a pretty good outline of what he thinks should define a hero. A hero is a person who in some way breaks the molds of a normal human being. Their wisdom, courage, and durability ect. exceedsRead MoreWhat Makes a Hero1664 Words   |  7 Pages2011 What Makes A Hero What makes a hero? Saving a puppy from a burning building? Or what about being a single mother raising three kids and working two jobs? Both of these could be good candidates for heroes since they both possess the characteristic of strength—not just physical strength, but mental strength. This is one of the most important traits of a hero but it is not the only one. Courage, intelligence, and morality are also necessary in order to really get penciled in to the â€Å"hero† categoryRead MoreWhat Makes A Hero? Essay902 Words   |  4 PagesA true hero is oneself who is compassionate and able to lift the pain of the world without suffering. Some hero’s are not real people while some are fantasy creatures. The word hero is known as someone who is strong, brave and has courage. Heroes can be defined as people who take up challenges in situations for the sake of their fellow being. Heroism is no matter the obstacle that come your way, the needs of you or someone else has to be fulfilled. Heros endure hardship and they learn about valuableRead MoreWhat Makes A Hero?1722 Words   |  7 PagesBatman.† That is a typical response from a preschooler if they are asked what they want to be when they grow up. However, heroes are not always wearing capes. They can simply be an Indian man that changed his mindset into something more inspirational. There is one thing that Superman and a policeman have in common. They are both heroes. No matter how different the fields are, they are brave, helpful, and hardworking. A hero can be someone known for courageous achievements. They are normally men,Read MoreWhat Makes A Hero?1115 Words   |  5 PagesWhat makes someone a hero? The usual response someone would give is courage, bravery, and honor. But one of the most important aspects than all of those things combined is humility. This is a characteristic of Achilles personality that has not been learned yet. Although will later on thanks to a journey that will befall him. Learning that there is more to life than pride. One of the most important things to Achilles is his pride and this is shown in the line â€Å"mother since you bore me for a shortRead MoreHero Essay : What Makes A Hero A Hero?832 Words   |  4 PagesWhat Makes a Hero a Hero? As I have recently sat down with my grandmother, Mary, I asked her questions about a hero and herself being a hero. My grandmother has such an impact on me in daily life along with being a personal hero to me. She is such an inspiration to me in so many ways that I could never think of taking for granted. I chose my grandmother as my hero because of obstacles I have faced, she was the one to show me the love and support I was in need of at the time. Mary shows theRead MoreWhat Makes A True Hero?1546 Words   |  7 Pages What inspires writers to create unique heroic figures in their fantasy stories and action movies? Is it from their own imagination or is from what they see in real life, and an addition of their own imagination? Well it is certainly what they see in real life and their imagination. However, it is reasonable to say those writers have used too much of their imagination, to communicate through a piece of writing or film, of who a true hero is and what a true hero does. The excessive usage of imagination