Ancient Philosophy

Nonostante il tentativo di Aristotele di offrire un’esposizione esaustiva di tutta la problematica del luogo e di darne una soluzione definitiva con l’arcinota definizione di luogo come primo limite immobile del contenente, fin dall’antichità i lettori hanno avuto grande difficoltà a conciliare i diversi aspetti della sua dottrina e, soprattutto, a comprendere il senso esatto di quella definizione, sia riguardo alla realtà dello stesso luogo sia in merito a come il concetto di luogo possa essere un valido sostituto dell’assai più familiare concetto di spazio. Già Teofrasto confessava di non comprendere cosa intendesse il suo maestro e anche i peripatetici Stratone e Eudemo mostrando non poca incertezza. Neanche l’attuale storiografia mostra di avere maggiore facilità, al punto che si è parlato senza mezzi termini di un’evidente inadeguatezza o incompletezza della dottrina, o addirittura di un’inconsapevolezza del problema da parte di Aristotele. Solo una ripresa approfondita, ab initio, di tutto Fisica Δ 1-5 poteva dimostrare che lo Stagirita in verità svolge una dottrina unica e coerente secondo principi e premesse metodologiche che saranno mantenuti pressoché costantemente dal primo al quinto capitolo, e che molte difficoltà incontrate dagli interpreti sono dipese dal non aver riportato ad un unico quadro di riferimento, affermazioni e valutazioni così apparentemente tanto diverse e distanti fra loro. Aristotele ci fa vedere che la realtà del luogo è analizzabile secondo vari punti di vista, tutti utili e legittimi, che devono esser rispettati nello loro irriducibilità, con i quali dobbiamo fare i conti, nessuno escluso, evitando di trasformare i suoi et…et nei nostri aut…aut.

Contrairement aux interprétations coutumières il y a un dialogue permanent entre la République, le Politique et les Lois et non une rupture ou un changement substantiel de la pensée politique de Platon. Une analyse minutieuse de Leg. V 739a1-740a2 montre clairement cette cohérence, en particulière la tournure "dieux ou fils des dieux" qu'y apparaît se rattache à l'état ordonné de l'âme et plus spécifiquement à la connaissance philosophique et n'indique pas l'abandonnement des positions de la République. De cette façon sont réfutées les thèses soutenues par A. Laks depuis quelques années sur le rapport entre la République et les Lois.
In spite of the usual interpretations there is a continuous dialogue between the Republic, the Statesman, and the Laws and not a break or a substantial change in Plato's political thought. A detailed analysis of Laws V 739a1-740a2 shows beyond all doubt this strict coherence, especially the expression "gods or children of gods" that appears in this passage is related to the ordered state of the soul and more specifically to the philosophical knowledge and does not point to a revision of the doctrines defended in the Republic, so that the interpretation of the relationship between the Republic and the Laws defended since the beginning of the 90'ties by A. Laks can be considered as definitively refuted.

Η διδακτική αυτή προσέγγιση αφορά στο σχεδιασμό και την υλοποίηση της διδασκαλίας στο πλαίσιο ενός μαθήματος φιλοσοφίας σχετικά με τις θεωρίες της γνώσης στη Β΄ Γενικού Λυκείου,  με  βάση  το διδακτικό  βιβλίο  Αρχές  Φιλοσοφίας  στο  πλαίσιο  του  αναλυτικού προγράμματος.  Πιο  συγκεκριμένα,  θα  προσπαθήσουμε  να  προτείνουμε  τον  εμπλουτισμό του κεφαλαίου 3: Αναζητώντας τη γνώση, ενότητα τρίτη: Θεωρίες για την πηγή της γνώσης, χρησιμοποιώντας  στοιχεία  θεωρίας  της  γνώσης  και  της  αντίληψης  των  Προσωκρατικών.  Στόχος  μας  είναι  να  εμπλουτίσουμε  το  κεφάλαιο  αυτό  με  στοιχεία  προσωκρατικής  φιλοσοφίας ως παλαιότερης χρονολογικά και προϋπάρχουσας εκείνης της Κλασικής εποχής  και των Νεοτέρων χρόνων.

Hebrews evinces the linked exegetical aporiae of, on the one hand, tension between the asserted perfection of the believer and exhortations to further perfection and, on the other, a similar tension between Christ’s exalted, preexistent nature and claims
about his need for further perfection during his earthly life. The paper proposes the Stoic figure of the “self-eluding sage” as a helpful contextual analogue for explaining the indicative-imperative problem in Hebrews. Originally a product of early epistemological debates among Hellenistic philosophical schools, the “self-eluding sage” (διαλεληθὼς σοφός) was deployed by Philo and Plutarch in Roman-era debates on the nature of moral progress. Terminological and structural similarities between discussions of the Stoic figure and discussions of progress in Hebrews (especially 5:14-6:3) help contextualize the speech’s concern for moral insight and improvement within a general Roman-era focus on moral progress toward filling communal roles.

ABSTRACT: This paper serves two purposes: (i) it can be used by students as an introduction to chapters 1-5 of book iii of the NE; (ii) it suggests an answer to the unresolved question what overall objective this section of the NE has. The paper focuses primarily on Aristotle’s theory of what makes us responsible for our actions and character. After some preliminary observations about praise, blame and responsibility (Section 2), it sets out in detail how all the key notions of NE iii 1-5 are interrelated (Sections 3-9). The setting-out of these interconnections makes it then possible to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the purpose of the passage. Its primary purpose is to explain how agents are responsible for their actions not just insofar as they are actions of this kind or that, but also insofar as they are noble or base: agents are responsible for their actions qua noble or base, because, typically via choice, their character dispositions are a causal factor of those actions (Section 10). The paper illustrates the different ways in which agents can be causes of their actions by means of Aristotle’s four basic types of agents (Section 11). A secondary purpose of NE iii 1-5 is to explain how agents can be held responsible for consequences of their actions (Section 12), in particular for their character dispositions insofar as these are noble or base, i.e. virtues or vices (Section 13). These two goals are not the only ones Aristotle pursues in the passage. But they are the ones Aristotle himself indicates in its first sentence and summarizes in its last paragraph; and the ones that give the passage a systematic unity. The paper also briefly consider the issues of freedom-to-do-otherwise, free choice and free-will in the contexts in which they occur (i.e. in the final paragraphs of Sections 6, 7, 12, 13).

Con i contributi di: Anthony Kenny · Andreas Speer · Jocelyn Benoist · Francesco Fronterotta · Enrico Berti · Riccardo Chiaradonna · Mauro Zonta · Francesco Marrone · Marco Lamanna · Paul Richard Blum · Siegrid Agostini · Igor Agostini · Alice Ragni · Francesco Campagnola · Jan Čížek · Pietro Montani · Pierluigi Valenza · Antonello D’Angelo · Jean-François Courtine · Marco Damonte · Emmanuel Cattin · Vincent Holzer · Andrea Grillo · Andrea Bellocci · Francesco Valerio Tommasi · Philippe Nouzille

Special attention in this Newsletter for pythagorean women.                  Sarah B. Pomeroy  interview + CV, Hypatia,  Museum of Pythagoras,
basilica Pitagorica, Conferences , New books, Book reviews, Book chapters, Journal articles, Internet

Middle Persian zamān is one of the most important terms in the Iranian cultural and religious lexicon. Its origin, however, remains yet controversial, although, the scholarly debate on this lexeme has opened different perspectives with alternative solutions, particularly with regard to its ultimate roots—Semitic or Indo-Iranian. The present study is a thorough examination of all the aspects of the issue with new interpretation of the extant data. The word zamān is one of the most important of the Middle Persian cultural and religious lexicon; in spite of this significance the etymology of zamān remains controversial, in particular if we consider that the scholarly debate has produced three main solutions: 1) an Akkadian loanword in (Old) Persian (from simānu to *ǰamāna-); 2) an Iranian borrowing (from *ǰamāna-) in Aramaic and Hebrew z e man; 3) an Akkadian loanword in Old Persian followed by another one from Old Persian into Aramaic and Hebrew, in order to explain the initial z-of these (later) Semitic forms. In reality, the conspectus of the attestations of Parthian žamān(ak) (and Armenian žaman(ak)), Bactrian ζαµανο (žamā ̆ n) and Sogdian ǰamn-, zamnw-(plus other ones), all referring to " time " , strongly demonstrate the indisputable existence of an ancient Iranian stem *ǰamā ̆ n(a)-(and its possible varieties), which cannot be the fruit of a loanword from Akkadian or any other ancient Semitic language. Furthermore, this article outlines the

Four different areas of concern can be singled out within ‘ancient aesthetics’, if we take the latter term to describe ancient authors’ attempts to theoretically comprehend beauty and the arts:

i. The attempt to understand beauty (to kalon) as an ‘objective’ quality in the world that characterises some objects, people, and nature herself;
ii. The attempt to understand what we would call the ‘subjective’ dimension involved in human responsiveness to beauty and the arts: the way that beautiful things please or move us, and the way that their effect upon us can be edifying, purifying us from negative beliefs or emotions (katharsis), or morally elevating us to be better citizens or human beings (in the context of paideia);
iii. Attempts to understand how artistic objects, from poems to sculptures, are produced: whether through madness or inspiration, or by following codifiable technical norms, and with what ends;
iv. falling between (i.) and (ii.), attempts to theorise the ethical and political significance of the arts, given their capacities to powerfully affect and transform individuals or groups.

The chapter traces these four concerns as they come in and out of focus in the prephilosophical Greeks, Pythagoras and Plato, Aristotle, and then the Hellenistics, led by the Stoics.

The second Book of the Politics has been object of multiple considerations, but it has called the attention of the scholars mainly because of its detailed criticism of Plato's political projects, especially the Republic. In fact Aristotle devotes 6 of the 12 chapters of Book II to examine Plato's proposals. Most of the scholarly contributions are focused on the criticism of Plato trying either to demonstrate the justice of Aristotle's reproaches or to invalidate his chapters on the basis of a supposed inexactness of his words.

Przysługujący widmom wywrotowy, niemalże rewolucyjny potencjał został odsunięty oraz zagubiony poprzez pozbycie się tej kontrowersyjnej kategorii z terytorium metafizyki i zbyt pośpieszne odesłanie jej do przestrzeni badań nad literaturą, sprowadzając ją jedynie do roli użytecznego, bezpiecznego narzędzia interpretacji.

Książka Andrzeja Marca odzyskuje niepokojący charakter widmontologii i ponownie wprowadza widma do myśli metafizycznej. Czym nawiedzona i przeniknięta jest tradycyjna metafizyka, co właściwie ją dręczy, nie daje spokoju oraz nieustannie podmywa jej stabilność?

Kategoria widma Derridy posłużyła Marcowi przede wszystkim do rozważań nad charakterem współczesności i przeobrażeń, jakie dokonały się w obrębie myśli ponowoczesnej. Współczesna kultura, zdaniem Marca, stała się miejscem powstawania widm, nieustannie powracających z przeszłości. Uznając, że nie jesteśmy już w stanie tworzyć utopijnych wizji przyszłości, autor stara się zdać sprawę z widmowego charakteru współczesnej kultury, analizując m. in. strategie vintage, retro, nurt no future w kulturze lat 70. czy nurt fantastyki naukowej w literaturze.

With Empedocles, the qualities of a creative religious, mytho-poetic imagination fluent in Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, and Parmenides allies itself with a rational mind keenly interested in understanding the natural world.:
The first condition for an understanding of Empedocles is to banish the notion of a gulf between religious beliefs and scientific views. His work is a whole, in which religion, poetry, and philosophy are indissolubly united. His imagination is constructive, gathering elements from every available quarter-Hesiodic and Ionian cosmogony, Parmenidean rationalism, Orphic mysticism, poetic legend, the experience of a physician, a poet’s sensuous response to the sights and sounds of mature, and the fears and hopes of a spirit exiled from heaven for ‘a brief span of life that is not life’- but building all these elements together into a unitary vision of the life of the world and the destiny of the human soul, bound, like the macrocosm, upon the wheel of birth and death (Cornford 122).
To give an idea of how Empedocles articulates the elements of muthos and logos in his system,  eleven fragments have been chosen in an attempt to illustrate the basic aspects of his system with an attention to mythical aspects:

Every scholar of ancient philosophy, I suppose, has written a paper on the Third Man Argument. This is my version ... (written in GERMAN)

„Das Argument vom dritten Menschen“, in: Rolf. W. Puster (Hg.), Klassische Argumentationen in der Philosophie, Münster: Mentis 2013, 33-56

There are more types of borders today than ever before in history. Borders of all kinds define every aspect of social life in the twenty-first century. From the biometric data that divides the smallest aspects of our bodies to the aerial drones that patrol the immense expanse of our domestic and international airspace, we are defined by borders. They can no longer simply be understood as the geographical divisions between nation-states. Today, their form and function has become too complex, too hybrid. What we need now is a theory of the border that can make sense of this hybridity across multiple domains of social life.

Rather than viewing borders as the result or outcome of pre-established social entities like states, Thomas Nail reinterprets social history from the perspective of the continual and constitutive movement of the borders that organize and divide society in the first place. Societies and states are the products of bordering, Nail argues, not the other way around. Applying his original movement-oriented theoretical framework "kinopolitics" to several major historical border regimes (fences, walls, cells, and checkpoints), Theory of the Border pioneers a new methodology of "critical limology," that provides fresh tools for the analysis of contemporary border politics.

The terms Dt and nHH have often been treated as synonyms reflecting notions related to the vastness of time. However, from the study of original source material – the texts and iconography compiled over some three millennia, and authored by those who surely had complete understanding of their subject matter – it becomes clear that those modern interpretations are somewhat questionable. Clues to the connotations which may be ascribed to Dt and nHH are perhaps most clearly apparent in texts and imagery from the reign of Tutankhamun – a time of some political upheaval during which it was more than usually important to express traditional mores with some clarity so as to demonstrate a return to the well-established ideology underpinning pharaonic culture prior to the Amarna interlude. Testing those indications against the wider range of extant literary material confirms that Dt and nHH were neither synonyms, nor were they entirely temporal in nature, but rather referenced a duality of ontological conditions which together were fundamental to the fabric of pharaonic ideology. The reappraisal of this duality of conditions allows the many texts and iconographic depictions surviving from dynastic Egypt to be considered from a new perspective – one providing deeper insight into the character of pharaonic culture. Moreover, it becomes apparent that the influences of an ideology which evolved during times pre-dating the pyramid builders permeated the philosophical and theological treaties of the scholars of ancient Greece and Rome, and thence into more recent times. At least two great gods may live on.

El hombre justo controla sus apetitos por medio de una alianza entre sus partes racional y colérica: mientras la primera determina el objeto de la acción, la segunda da estabilidad y fuerza a la prescripción de la razón. Este trabajo intenta mostrar que la parte colérica puede dar fuerza a las órdenes de la razón, solo si, al mismo tiempo, recibe ella también valor (i.e. la restauración de su imagen dañada). A partir de esto, defenderé que la parte colérica (i) siempre toma partido por la razón en la confrontación con los apetitos (en cuanto enemigos de la libertad del sujeto) y, sin embargo, (ii) puede entrar en conflicto con la razón cuando la parte apetitiva no está en juego (y la pretensión de restauración, i.e. venganza, es reprimida por la razón).

C. S. Lewis, renowned Christian apologist and beloved author of children’s novels, is rarely thought of as a “philosopher” per se despite having both studied and taught philosophy for several years at Oxford. Moreover, Lewis’s long journey to Christianity was essentially philosophical — passing through seven different stages. This journey, as well as every philosophical topic Lewis discussed, including metaphysics, natural theology, epistemology, logic, psychology, ethics, socio-political philosophy, and aesthetics are explained here in detail. Barkman incorporates previously unexplored treasures from Lewis’s unpublished philosophy lecture notes, lost philosophical essays, and hand-written annotations from copies of his philosophical books, such as Aristotle’s Ethics and Augustine’s City of God

It is a precious knowledge of ancient india. this script was originally composed by mahrshi BHARADWAJA, the great indian sage around 5000 BC  ,it content english transtation of some of its sanskrit stotras and shlokas.before wright brothers first aircraft was made by dr Talpade was an Indian scholar who is said to have constructed and flown an unmanned airplane in 1895 with reference of this ancient hindu sanskrit manuscript .

Plato did more than hang out in Athens’ gymnasia, he actually set up a
philosophical school in one. How education in Plato’s Academy differed from traditional
Greek gymnasia is the subject of Chapter 5. In the utopian vision of Republic, Plato used
athletics as part of the guardians’ education explicitly for the purpose of selecting and
developing souls capable of forgoing personal pleasures, studying philosophy and,
eventually, becoming leaders (Reid 2007). He seems to have believed that athletics can
promote arete, which he describes as harmony among the intellectual, spirited and
appetitive parts of the soul, because sport requires the intellect to apprehend the rules of
the game and then to recruit the spirit and appetite to its cause. Plato’s real-life
gymnasium, however, did not exist in the utopian kallipolis but rather in democratic
Athens. An aristocrat by heritage, Plato was critical of democracy, but he did believe that
arete was a matter of training rather than birth, and that training citizens for virtue is the
best way to ensure good democratic government. The methods used to cultivate arete in
Plato’s Academy probably reflected the customary values of the gymnasium: military
preparedness, athletic beauty (kalokagathia), even erotic partnerships.
The Academy no doubt remained a place for gymnastic training under Plato, but the
focus of kalokagathia (being beautiful and good) shifted from the body to the soul.
Military training, too, probably focused on cultivating virtues such as courage and wisdom
rather than mere weapons skills. And educational pederasty was exchanged for chaste
partnerships that directed erotic desire away from the body and towards ideals such as
wisdom. Plato’s emphasis on the soul also prompted the inclusion of females, both in the
utopian Republic and the real-world Academy. It is likely, of course, that Plato added
philosophical dialogue and maybe even lectures to the existing gymnastic curriculum at
the academy. But it is unlikely that he reduced or eliminated the gymnastic training and athletic games traditionally associated with that place. Sport is made educational by its
ends, not simply its practice, and Plato adapted sport quite explicitly to the end of arete.

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/716031

Babylonian hermeneutics has been the subject of several studies in recent years that have showed that speculative thought exploited the potentiality of the cuneiform system through analogical reasoning in order to find and create new meanings according to phonetic, semantic and graphic similarities. Analogical hermeneutics was prompted by the polysemic and homophonic nature of cuneiform writing and was intended as an inquiry into the cuneiform system itself. Analogical reasoning is also well known in ancient Greece particularly in Heraclitus producing semantic proliferation and ambiguity. A comparison between Mesopotamian and Greek sources shows that Heraclitus’ fragments share with cuneiform scholarship a similar epistemic reasoning based on analogy. The present contribution aims at setting the Babylonian epistemological system in light of Heraclitus' philosophy.

In the article, I discuss some theoretical and methodological views of Aristotle and Theophrastus, designed to illustrate their approaches to natural phenomena. It becomes clear that, indeed, the student of Aristotle frequently professes ideas that would surprise the philosopher of Stagira. For instance, he insists that the kosmos is a living and ordered whole, and its innate movement is something which cannot be explained with the help of such ad hoc teleological constructions, as the first mover. The analysis of Theophrastus' Metaphysics is supplemented in the article by observations based on his Syriac Meteorology and a selection of the fragments of his and Aristotle's lost scientific works.

This book examines the relationship between athletics and philosophy in ancient Greece and
Rome with special emphasis on changing ideas about the connection between athleticism and
virtue. Its aim is to enable a foundational understanding of ancient sport and philosophy that
makes a sincere dialogue with modern practices both possible and fruitful. The book begins by
observing that the link between athleticism and virtue is older than sport, reaching back to the
athletic feats of kings and pharaohs in early Egypt and Mesopotamia. It then traces the role of
athletics and the Olympic Games in transforming of the idea of aristocracy as something acquired
by birth to something that can be trained. The idea of training virtue through the techniques and
practice of athletics is examined in relation to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Then Roman
spectacles such as chariot racing and gladiator games are studied in light of the philosophy of
Lucretius, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. The concluding chapter connects the book’s ancient
observations with contemporary sports issues such as the use of athletes as role models, the
relationship between money and corruption, the relative worth of participation and spectatorship,
and the role of females in sport. The author argues that there is a strong link between sport and
philosophy in the ancient world, calling them offspring of common parents: concern about virtue
and the spirit of free enquiry. In order to preserve this connection between enquiry, virtue, and
sport, she concludes, we must understand its ancient origins.

This book examines the relationship between athletics and philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome focused on the connection between athleticism and virtue. It begins by observing that the link between athleticism and virtue is older than sport, reaching back to the athletic feats of kings and pharaohs in early Egypt and Mesopotamia. It then traces the role of athletics and the Olympic Games in transforming the idea of aristocracy as something acquired by birth to something that can be trained. This idea of training virtue through the techniques and practice of athletics is examined in relation to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Then Roman spectacles such as chariot racing and gladiator games are studied in light of the philosophy of Lucretius, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. The concluding chapter connects the book’s ancient observations with contemporary issues such as the use of athletes as role models, the relationship between money and corruption, the relative worth of participation and spectatorship, and the role of females in sport.

The author argues that there is a strong link between sport and philosophy in the ancient world, calling them offspring of common parents: concern about virtue and the spirit of free enquiry.

The reassuring belief that “sport builds character” is firmly entrenched in
popular opinion despite repeated examples of athlete misbehavior and widespread
disagreement over just what character is and how it can be measured. Scholarly
claims that sport can and should be a form of moral education are usually greeted
with skepticism by philosophers and physical educators alike. Such proposals have a
long and venerable pedigree, however, one that might originate with a foundational
document of western philosophy: Plato’s Republic. In our modern quest to understand
how sport might contribute to moral education, of children in particular, and
to design and implement athletic programs that do in fact “build character,” it seems
worthwhile to look back at what Plato thought on the subject. In Plato’s Republic
sport serves the educational objectives of personal virtue, intellectual achievement,
and political harmony. But to understand and perhaps apply Plato’s insight today,
we must revisit our conceptual dichotomies of mind versus body, academics versus
athletics, and individual versus community. Plato’s historical reality and his ideal
city might seem impossibly distant from today’s concerns. But understanding the
contrasts as well as the similarities might enlighten our efforts to fulfill the hollow
promise that sport may function as moral education.

"KEYWORDS:
Greek philosophy, analytical philosophy, presocratics, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Heraclitus, atomism, interpretative charity, degrees of existence, true contradictions, J. Barnes, M. Schofield, Charles H. Kahn.
RESUMEN:
Los tres libros abordan problemas importantes de la historia de la filosofía griega a través de la filosofía analítica. Los tres tratan de ofrecer interpretaciones de los presocráticos que eviten atribuirles contradicciones; y los tres fracasan en ese intento hermenéutico, aplicando una caridad interpretativa innecesaria. Y es que es racional reconocer grados de existencia y afirmar que hay contradicciones verdaderas."

Le zoonosi contemporanee ci costringono a porci una domanda che già gli antichi pensatori si erano posti più o meno esplicitamente. Le risposte sono spiazzanti e per molti versi attuali: mangiamo gli animali perché non siamo dèi (e quindi perché non siamo mai stati – o non siamo più – puri) o perché, semplicemente, siamo onnivori. Per Aristotele, nello specifico, mangiamo gli animali perché le tecniche a nostra disposizione ce lo permettono, anche se in ciò che ci viene permesso – secondo lui – dovrebbe sempre esserci una misura.

In this essay I argue that 1 Tim 3:16 establishes its own contentious position within a marketplace of competing claims about piety and the nature of the divine. The author reappropriates an elite philosophical discourse that functioned to distinguish philosophers’ intellectual goods over against other competing intellectuals and religious experts. Both the author’s rhetoric of piety and conceptualization of the Christological hymn as a mystery serve to legitimate not only the teaching but also the authorial voice of the author for audiences habituated to discern the symbolic capital or cultural prestige associated with such terms and concepts. This short foray into reading 1 Timothy alongside a broader historical scope of tactics of persuasion employed by contemporary philosophers (i.e. Philo of Alexandria and Plutarch) demonstrates the fresh interpretative horizons and questions made possible by such a mode of analysis.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: "Avoir un maître en Chine ancienne, c’est tenir sous les yeux non pas tant un professeur savant versé dans une matière particulière, qu’un modèle constant, total et omniprésent. Le maître, par différence avec le professeur ou l’instructeur, désigne le summum dans la typologie du pédagogue, qui s’échelonne de l’enseignement routinier conçu comme gagne-pain à l’influence transformatrice d’une présence tutélaire. Celui qui est tenu pour maître incarne une façon optimale d’exister et de se situer dans la vie en répondant de façon souple et sagace à la diversité des événements et des affaires sur le chemin parcouru. C’est là que réside la source de son autorité. Il enseigne de façon privilégiée en situation, par l’exemple, au gré, en repérant à l’occasion d’une rencontre de hasard, d’une péripétie de voyage, le profit à tirer pour ceux qui suivent ses pas. La valeur de cet enseignement...