Michel de Montaigne, “On Cannibals” “On Cannibals” Edited f…
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Michel de Mоntаigne, “On Cаnnibаls” “On Cannibals” Edited fоr clarity and length. When King Pyrrhus invaded Italy, having seen the оrder and discipline of the Roman army sent to meet him, said in surprise, “I know not what kind of barbarians these may be; but the disposition of this army has nothing of barbarism in it” (Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus). This event shows us why prudent men ought to be careful of trusting common opinion, and that we should judge by the eye of reason rather than the most popular view.I long had a man in my house that lived ten or twelve years in the New World, in that part called Brazil where Villegaignon landed. He called that land Antarctic France. I cannot personally vouch for the veracity of what he told me as so many wiser men than he have been deceived in many things. It is as if our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and that we have more curiosity than actual capacity: we try to grasp the whole thing but catch nothing but wind. Question: We are seeing much of Montaigne’s skepticism here, what do you think he means by “trying the grasp the whole thing, but catch nothing but the wind”? The man at my house was a plain fellow, and therefore all the more likely to tell the truth, at least as far as to what he saw. It is clear that well-bred men are much more careful in their observation, and quite often discover a great deal more while they also tend to be more sure of their opinions, which makes them overconfident because they want to convince the listener. And, because they cannot but alter the story a little bit to fit their opinion, they never represent things as they are, but rather as they appeared to them, or even as they want them appear to you. Because they view their opinion as the fact of the matter, they want to try to earn a reputation as a man of judgment, and in order to be more convincing, are quite prone to add details of their own invention... Question: What do you think Montaigne means by “well-bred men…tend to be sure of their opinion”? Can you think of an example from your life of someone like this? There are two ways to trust a man: first, there is a man of irreproachable veracity, who makes it a point of honor to never assist the truth by being well-spoken, or second, a man so plain that he isn’t clever enough to give the tint of truth to falsity, and who has no reason for presenting anything in any other way than he saw it. The man at my house was of the second kind: a sincere and hardy fellow, whose stories cannot be assumed to have been embellished. Moreover, on several occasions he even brought over seamen and merchants who had voyaged with him, who reported many of the same details, and who generally viewed him with the respect of those who have borne great burdens together. Question: who do you think Montaigne prefers, a “well-bred” man that he discussed above, or a “plain man” that he talks of here? Why? I shall therefore present to you the information he provided me first-hand, without inquiring what the speculative cosmographers say to the business, or others who present truth from the number-tables of the stars in the sky…. Now, to return to my subject of the virtues of these cannibals, I find that there is nothing barbarous and savage in this nation, except that we name everything that is not in use in our own country as barbarism. It seems that we have no greater measure of truth and reason than the example and idea of the opinions and customs of the place we live: ours is always the perfect religion, there the perfect government, there the most exact and accomplished usage of all things. Question: think of some examples from contemporary society. Do we Americans ever think that our way is automatically better than other ways? BE SPECIFIC WITH YOUR EXAMPLES. They are savages to the extent that the most genuine, useful, and natural virtues and properties are strong amongst them; these same virtues are weak amongst us because we have accommodated ourselves to the artifices and pleasures of an idle and luxurious life. “All things, are produced either by nature, by fortune, or by art; the greatest and most beautiful by the one or the other of the former, the least and the most imperfect by the last.” Plato, Laws 10 We have added so many additional ornaments and graces to these natural virtues that that we have almost smothered them; yet in the New World these shine in their unadorned beauty and, by some marvel, manage to baffle our vain attempts to improve on their work. Question: What is Montaigne talking about here with the distinction between natural and artificial virtues? Note: by “art” Montaigne doesn’t mean painting. He means anything that is a product of human skill and knowledge. This is a broader (and older) use of the term art, and it includes almost anything that is man-made including language, social roles and expectations, agriculture, metalworking, laws, government, roads, sports, etc. These nations seem to me to be barbarous only insofar as they have received only little from art and human invention, and consequently to be not as remote from their original simplicity. The laws of nature still govern these foreign nations, because their virtues are not yet mixed with as much invention as ours. I am sometimes troubled that were not sooner acquainted with these people, such as with Plato or Lycurgus, who were men much more able to judge of them than we are. Question: what kinds of American qualities or practices seem to be a produce of art? What we see in these supposedly savage nations a way of life that not only surpasses the pictures with which the poets have adorned the ancients, but the very wish of philosophy itself…it is a nation wherein there is no hustle and bustle, no writing or science, math is poorly understood, no domination by the stronger and submission by weaker, no political judges or police, no servants, no contracts, no successions, no dividends, no property, no clothing, no agriculture, no metalworking, no depravity and no superiority. The very words that signify lying, treachery, dissimulation, avarice, envy, gossip, and pardon are nonexistent, as are the vices they designate. "These were the manners first taught by nature." Virgil, Georgics, ii. 20.The peoples of this foreign nation live in a country very pleasant and temperate, so that, as my witnesses inform me, it is strange to hear of a sick person, and they moreover assure me, that they never saw any of the natives, either paralytic, toothless, or crooked with age…They have great store of fish and meat that have no resemblance to those of ours: which they eat without any other cookery, than plain boiling, roasting, and broiling… Their buildings are quite long, and can hold two or three hundred people, made of the barks of tall trees…their beds are of cotton, hung swinging from the roof, like our seamen's hammocks, every man his own, for the wives lie apart from their husbands…They make use, instead of bread, of a certain white compound, like coriander seeds; I have tasted of it; the taste is sweet and a little flat. The whole day is spent dancing. The young men hunt with bows and arrows... Martial valor in battle and love for their wives are their two cardinal virtues...They believe in the immortality of the soul, and that those who have done great deeds are akin to the gods, and live in that part of heaven where the sun rises; the accursed live in the west. Question: how do these two virtues compare to the chivalric code, the Bushido, or Stoicism? They have a certain kind of priest or prophet, who live in the mountains and come rarely to preach to the people. There is always a great feast upon their arrival, and a respectful assembly of many villages: each house, as I have described, makes a village, and they are each about a league apart. This prophet speaks to them in public, exhorting them to virtue and duty: but all their ethics are comprised in these two articles: resolution in war, and affection to their wives. The prophets also claim to divine the future, the difficulties to expect from their endeavors, and either hastes or diverts them from war. But risky is his profession as well: if he fails to accurate tell the future then he is cut into a thousand pieces and condemned as a false prophet, with the result that those who are mistaken are heard of no more. Question: why do you think they would murder their prophets if they fail to prophesize accurately? They have a continual war with other peoples that live farther away from the coast, beyond their mountains. They fight naked, with no weapons other than bows and wooden swords. The ferocity of their battles is astounding and they never end without enormous bloodshed. As for the cowardice of running away, they know not what it is. Each man brings the head of an enemy he has killed as a trophy and fixes it over the door of his house. When they take prisoners, they treat them as if they were noble guests, who are fed well and respected, but after a time, the person to whom the prisoner belongs calls together a great assembly of his friends. He ties a rope to one of the arms of the prisoner and gives the other arm in a similar manner to a friend he wishes to honor. This being done, the two use their swords to kill him, in the presence of those assembled. The whole group then roasts the prisoner, shares his meat with each other, and sends some to their absent friends. Question: why would they treat their prisoners (who they will eat soon enough) so well? Why do you think they do that? They do not do this, as some think, simply for food but as a representation of an extreme revenge. I believe this to be the case because after they witnessed the Portuguese bury their prisoners in sand and shoot at them until struck through with arrows before finally hanging them, the inhabitant of the New World must have imagined that this revenge was not without meaning, and even that it must be more painful than theirs, so that they began to give up their old way and imitate the Portuguese. I do not apologize for the fact that we are so quick to note the barbarous horror of their actions and that, in perceiving so easily their cruelty, we become blind to our own. I believe it is crueler to eat a man alive than dead; that there is more cruelty in tearing a body limb from limb by racks and torments, which to us makes perfect sense, than there is in roasting it by degrees; more pain in causing it to be bitten and devoured by dogs and swine (as we have both read and seen happen, not only by sworn enemies, but also neighbors and fellow-citizens, and worse, all of this in the name of faith and religion), than there is to eat him after he is dead. Question: what American practices might Montaigne criticize? BE SPECIFIC. Chrysippus and Zeno, the two heads of the Stoic sect, were of opinion that there was no hurt in making use of our dead carcasses… And doctors are able to put it to all sorts of use in healing. But no one has ever held an opinion so bizarre that they justify treachery, disloyalty, tyranny, and cruelty, which are our vices. We may then call these people barbarous, in respect to the rules of reason: but not in respect to ourselves, who in all sorts of barbarity exceed them. Question: Define treachery, disloyalty, tyranny, and cruelty. Do you agree with Montaigne that these are vices? They fight their wars with nobility and generosity, and they fight for no other reason than the glory of valor. Their disputes are not to conquer new lands, for those they have supply them bountifully with all necessities that they have no need to enlarge their borders.
Which оne оf the fоllowing is the most common primаry intrаcrаnial tumor?
When blооd sugаr levels ___________, glucаgоn is releаsed to ____________ blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels ___________, insulin is released to ____________ blood sugar levels.