This is a collection of poems and essays by Ghattas Maqdasi Elias, an important figure in twentieth-century Syrian Orthodox letters and education, also known as ‘Malfono Denho.’ The book contains writings previously published in books and journals as well as items published for the first time in this volume.

Considered one of the greatest works of the Sufi writers, Saadi’s Bostan (The Orchard) is an astounding poetic collection of wisdom that includes anecdotes, proverbs, and quotations that engage the rules of life and psychological observations of individual behavior. Saadi (or Abu Muslih bin Abdallah Shirazi, 1184 – 1283/1291?) was a Persian poet and traveler. Here Bostan is presented in German translation, the work of one of Germany’s great poets, Friedrich Rückert, who also had the distinction of being a professor of oriental languages. The lover of medieval poetry will find this supreme accomplishment of Persian poetry irresistible.

In this essential contribution to the study of Aramaisms in the Bible, noted linguist E. Kautzsch provides a thorough introduction to the subject. Since Aramaisms are not overly abundant in the Bible, Kautzsch has the space to dedicate a significant analysis. For linguists interested in how Aramaic influenced biblical Hebrew, as understood at the turn of the twentieth century, this little book will be of great value.

Westminster Abbey is one of the most important and well-known medieval buildings in Europe but, despite being studied by generations of scholars, there is still much to learn about its history and architecture. The lantern over the centre of the church is a case in point. Edward the Confessor built a great tower here, which is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. When Henry III was rebuilding the Abbey in the 1250s, a new tower was begun which was to have dominated the Westminster skyline, but it was never finished and 150 years later an octagonal lantern like that at Ely Cathedral was built on the roof. It in turn was demolished in the sixteenth century, and in 1710 Sir Christopher Wren designed a 400-foot tower and spire, but did not live to see it built. His successor, Nicholas Hawksmoor, then produced a range of options for completing the lantern tower: a design was chosen and construction began in 1724. However, King George I died in 1727 and the Abbey had to be cleared of scaffolding for the coronation of his son. Although only the first stage of the new tower and spire had been built, construction never resumed and the inelegant stump was capped with a temporary roof. Subsequently, the lantern was burnt out in 1803 and again in 1941, but its shell remains today basically as Hawksmoor left it. In this study, Professor Warwick Rodwell assembles for the first time all the historical and architectural evidence, to tell the remarkable story of Westminster Abbey's unfinished lantern tower over the last 950 years.

Written in the period affected by the Neo-Scholastic movement in philosophy, Perrier’s well-known treatment of the subject is still ubiquitously cited. This handy resource lays out the premises of Scholasticism and traces its development up to the author’s time.

In Philosophical Inquiries, Nicholas Rescher offers his perspectives on many of the foundational concerns of philosophy and reminds us that the purpose of philosophy is to \u201cquestion the questions.\u201d Rescher sees the need to inquire as an evolutionary tool for adapting to a hostile environment and shows how philosophy has thus developed in an evolutionary fashion, building upon acquired knowledge and upon itself. In a historical thread that informs and enriches his overview, Rescher recalls the contributions of Aristotle, Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Hegel, Leibniz, Laplace, Bertrand Russell, and others. Among his many topics, Rescher discusses knowledge and the unattainablity of absolutes, skepticism and its self-defeating nature, the limits of science vs. the limits of cognition, refuting reality as mind-independent, and idealism and divining our role in nature. He considers the universe and intelligence as the product of intelligent design, science and religion as non-conflicting and purposeful pursuits, and determinism and other fallacies surrounding the concept of free will. Rescher views morality in its hierarchal structure, its applicability to human coexistence, and its ontological commitment to the enhancement of value for ourselves and our world. He examines questions of authority and the problem of judging past actions or knowledge by present standards. Overall, he argues for philosophy as an unavoidable tool for rational, cogent responses to large questions.

Having lived for many years in Beirut, John Wortabet grew to know much about the Islamic world. Recognizing the wisdom and integrity of the people and religion of what was then known as Syria, Wortabet set about to preserve the essentials of Arabic wisdom in this little book. The wisdom saying, a literary form of ancient pedigree in this part of the world, is generally a brief but pointed statement of a truth distilled from careful observation. Wortabet here presents these saying arranged according to topic, with the goal of facilitating understanding between the wider world and those who live in what has become a very unsettled region.

Samuel A. Rhea created a brief vocabulary and grammar while doing missionary work with the Kurds. His goal in creating a Kurdish grammar was to translate the Old and New Testaments into Kurdish.

The Royal Navy victualling yard was excavated in 1983-8 as part of the Royal Mint site. Founded in 1560, on the site of a Black Death cemetery and the suppressed Cistercian abbey of St Mary Graces, it was the first large-scale naval food supply base in Britain and remained the principal one until the 18th century. The yard closed in 1785, having proved inadequate for the needs of the expanding Georgian navy. A substantial part of the ground plan of the yard was recorded, including salt houses and pickling sheds, slaughterhouses and yards, bakeries, coopers workshops, storehouses, and the offices and dwellings of yard personnel. The evidence suggests that food processing was increasingly industrialised from the late 17th century onwards. The excavated remains are compared to the substantial documentary evidence available, particularly two detailed plans of 1635 and 1776. The success and ultimate failure of the yard as a supply depot is assessed, including the extent to which former abbey buildings were reused by the navy and the deleterious effect this had. The work reported on here represents the most extensive excavation and post-excavation analysis of an early post-medieval naval victualling establishment in this country.

Bhartrharinirveda of Harihara is a play that glorifies the Yoga philosophy, which teaches that the summum bonuzz is the discrimination and separation of soul from matter, thus leading through renunciation of the world to isolation of the ego.

The name Asur is difficult. In cuneiform, it is designated for the city, country, and deity. However, it appears that the deity was named after the city, which emerged first.

In Wit’s End, Sean Zwagerman offers an original perspective on women’s use of humor as a performative strategy as seen in works of twentieth-century American literature. He argues that women whose direct, explicit performative speech has been traditionally denied, or not taken seriously, have often turned to humor as a means of communicating with men.The book examines both the potential and limits of women’s humor as a rhetorical strategy in the writings of James Thurber, Zora Neale Hurston, Dorothy Parker, Edward Albee, Louise Erdrich, and others. For Zwagerman, these texts “talk back” to important arguments in humor studies and speech-act theory. He deconstructs the use of humor in select passages by employing the theories of J. L. Austin, John Searle, Jacques Derrida, Shoshana Felman, J. Hillis Miller, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. Zwagerman offers arguments both for and against these approaches while advancing new thinking on humor as the “end”—both the goal and limit—of performative strategy, and as a means of expressing a full range of serious purposes.Zwagerman contends that women’s humor is not solely a subversive act, but instead it should be viewed in the total speech situation through context, motives, and intended audience. Not strictly a transgressive influence, women’s humor is seen as both a social corrective and a reinforcement of established ideologies. Humor has become an epistemology, an “attitude” or slant on one’s relation to society.Zwagerman seeks to broaden the scope of performativity theory beyond the logical pragmatism of deconstruction and looks to the use of humor in literature as a deliberate stylization of experiences found in real-world social structures, and as a tool for change.Zwagerman contends that women\u2019s humor is not solely a subversive act, but instead it should be viewed in the total speech situation through context, motives, and intended audience. Not strictly a transgressive influence, women\u2019s humor is seen as both a social corrective and a reinforcement of established ideologies. Humor has become an epistemology, an \u201cattitude\u201d or slant on one\u2019s relation to society.Zwagerman seeks to broaden the scope of performativity theory beyond the logical pragmatism of deconstruction and looks to the use of humor in literature as a deliberate stylization of experiences found in real-world social structures, and as a tool for change.

"Sometimes we have questions that seem to defy answers or even suppositions but then we find Love and Strange Horses to help us map out a course to continue loving life. A really wonderful, thoughtful read by an intriguing new voice."—Nikki Giovanni

Makings of the Sea is an inquiry into the makings of the Mediterranean imagination in the 20th century, focusing on specific cases in the visual and performing arts, music and literature. It also questions a number of populist perceptions of the Mediterranean and its cultures. Following a thematic structure that falls broadly under the headings of journey, doubt and nostalgia, this is an essay on Mediterranean aesthetics.

Thousands of books and articles have been written about Gettysburg, but the operation remains one of the most complex and difficult to understand. Bradley Gottfried’s groundbreaking The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3 – July 13, 1863 is a unique and thorough study of this multifaceted campaign.The Maps of Gettysburg breaks down the entire operation into thirty map sets or “action-sections” enriched with 144 detailed, full-page colour maps comprising the entire campaign. These cartographic originals bore down to the regimental and battery level and include the march to and from the battlefield and virtually every significant event in between. At least two, and as many as twenty, maps accompany each map set. Keyed to each piece of cartography is a full facing page of detailed text describing the units, personalities, movements, and combat (including quotes from eyewitnesses) depicted on the accompanying map, all of which makes the Gettysburg story come alive.About the AuthorBradley M. Gottfried, Ph.D., is the President of the College of Southern Maryland. An avid Civil War historian, Dr. Gottfried is the author of five books.

The JCSSS is an annual refereed journal containing the transcripts of public lectures presented at the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies Inc. It focuses on the literature, art, and archaeology of Syriac Christianity from the 2nd century to modern times. Contributors include Judith H. Newman, Frederick McLeod, George Bevan, Sidney H. Griffith, Mat Immerzeel, Mary Hansbury, and George Kiraz.