Satan is not God’s enemy in the Bible, and he’s not always bad—much less evil. Through the lens of the Old and New Testaments, Erik Butler explores the Devil in literature, theology, visual art, and music from antiquity up to the present, discussing canonical authors (Dante, Milton, and Goethe among them) and a wealth of lesser-known sources. Since his first appearance in the Book of Job, Satan has pursued a single objective: to test human beings, whose moral worth and piety leave plenty of room for doubt. Satan can be manipulative, but at worst he facilitates what mortals are inclined to do anyway. “The Devil made me do it” does not hold up in the court of cosmic law. With wit and surprising examples, this book explains why.
Before Bella and Edward; Stefan and Damon Salvatore; and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, there was Lestat and Louis, The Lost Boys, and Buffy Summers. Before True Blood and Let the Right One In, there was Dark Shadows and Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. And then there is the most prominent of them all: Dracula, immortalized by Bram Stoker in 1897. Whether they’re evil, bloodsucking monsters or sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight, vampires have been capturing our imagination since their modest beginnings in the rustic fantasies of southeastern Europe in the early eighteenth century. Today, they’re everywhere, appearing even in movies in Japan and Korea and in reggae music in Jamaica and South Africa. Why have vampires gone viral in recent years? In The Rise of the Vampire, Erik Butler seeks to explain our enduring fascination with the creatures of the night. Exploring why a being of humble origins has achieved success of such monstrous proportions, Butler considers the vampire in myth, literature, film, journalism, political cartoons, music, television, and video games. He describes how and why they have come to give expression to the darker side of human life—though vampires evoke age-old mystery, they also embody many of the uncertainties of the modern world. Butler also ponders the role global markets and digital technology have played in making vampires a worldwide phenomenon. Whether you’re a fan of classic vampire tales or new additions to the mythology, The Rise of the Vampire is a fascinating look at our collective obsession with the undead.
For the last three hundred years, fictions of the vampire have fed off anxieties about cultural continuity. Though commonly represented as a parasitic aggressor from without, the vampire is in fact a native of Europe, and its "metamorphoses," to quote Baudelaire, a distorted image of social transformation. Because the vampire grows strong whenever and wherever traditions weaken, its representations have multiplied with every political, economic, and technological revolution from the eighteenth century on. Today, in the age of globalization, vampire fictions are more virulent than ever, and the monster enjoys hunting grounds as vast as the international market. Metamorphoses of the Vampire explains why representations of vampirism began in the eighteenth century, flourished in the nineteenth, and came to eclipse nearly all other forms of monstrosity in the early twentieth century. Many of the works by French and German authors discussed here have never been presented to students and scholars in the English-speaking world. While there are many excellent studies that examine Victorian vampires, the undead in cinema, contemporary vampire fictions, and the vampire in folklore, until now no work has attempted to account for the unifying logic that underlies the vampire's many and often apparently contradictory forms. Erik Butler holds a PhD from Yale University and has taught at Emory University and Swarthmore College. His publications include The Bellum Gramaticale and the Rise of European Literature (2010) and a translation with commentary of Regrowth (Vidervuks) by the Soviet Jewish author Der Nister (2011).
The now-forgotten genre of the bellum grammaticale flourished in the sixteenth- and seventeenth centuries as a means of satirizing outmoded cultural institutions and promoting new methods of instruction. In light of works written in Renaissance Italy, ancien régime France, and baroque Germany (Andrea Guarna's Bellum Grammaticale [1511], Antoine Furetière's Nouvelle allégorique [1658], and Justus Georg Schottelius' Horrendum Bellum Grammaticale [1673]), this study explores early modern representations of language as war. While often playful in form and intent, the texts examined address serious issues of enduring relevance: the relationship between tradition and innovation, the power of language to divide and unite peoples, and canon-formation. Moreover, the author contends, the "language wars" illuminate the shift from a Latin-based understanding of learning to the acceptance of vernacular erudition and the emergence of national literature.
Praise for "Whitewash" "F***ing Brilliant"-The Estate of Euan O'Dell "How does Blair do it? Everyone in this town talks to Erik Blair, because if you don't, you're screwed."-Paris Biddle Blumenthal "Blair's paroxysms of outrage at being a victim of deception speak for all of us who thought we knew what we knew when we knew it. And his unparalleled gift for the intimate anecdote reveals an inner Washington we all should have seen coming a long time ago"-Frank Arouet "A disarming account which reveals the salient fact of modern political life: the perpetual war between honesty and loyalty. Whitewash" should awaken us from our dogmatic slumbers"-Samantha Franken Butler When Erik Blair took in a homeless woman, injured by the roadside, he could not possibly have imagined the staggering rise to fame and power that the future held for her. Nor could he have known that she was hiding a secret life. The CIA, the President, and his staff most certainly could discern her true identity, though, if only they would dare to look. But is there anyone willing to pay the price of honor ?
Planning the Perfect Seattle Wedding is a compilation of interviews with wedding industry experts in the Greater Seattle area who have shared their insider information and advice on how to plan the perfect wedding. Some of the interviews include La Belle Reve Bridal Salon, Kirk Mastin Photography, Ravishing Radish Catering, Bugsie Productions DJ Company and many more expert wedding professionals. Planning the Perfect Seattle Wedding is the one must-have book that any couple should pick-up before planning their big day.
Walter Serner's first story collection, published in German in 1921, brought to narrative form the essential philosophy he espoused in his earlier Dada manifesto/handbook, Last Loosening: A Handbook for the Con Artist and Those Who Wish to Be One -- life is a con job and demands the skills of a swindler. With its depiction of a world of appearances, in which nothing can be trusted, At the Blue Monkey helped establish the ex-doctor and renounced Dadaist as a literary 'Maupaussant of crime.' This first English translation offers thirty-three stories of criminals, con artists, prostitutes, and gadabouts engaged in a variety of forms of financial insolvency, embezzlement, sexual hijinks, long and short cons, and dalliances with venereal diseases and drugs. With a mordant humor that renders the criminal code into something nearly occult, Serner describes a bevy of hoodlums, pimps, and swindlers utilizing a potpourri of European argot to disquieting effect, waging a secret war against anything crossing their paths -- especially in affairs of the ultimate confidence scheme, the heart. Told in a baroque, sometimes baffling poetry of underworld slang in an urban world of bars and rent-a-rooms where human animals are either on unsavory display or on the make, these short tales are presented like so many three-card Montes in which the reader may well be on the literary mark." -- Back cover.
Transmission of Alchemy is a new literal translation from two versions of an ancient Arabic source-work known as The Epistle of Morienus to Prince Khālid bin Yazīd. Morienus draws on Hermetic and Gnostic as well as Persian, Greek, Jewish and Egyptian sources of wisdom - a delight for those interested in alchemy, spirituality and mysticism.
Transmission of Alchemy is a new literal translation from two versions of an ancient Arabic source-work known as The Epistle of Morienus to Prince Khālid bin Yazīd. Morienus draws on Hermetic and Gnostic as well as Persian, Greek, Jewish and Egyptian sources of wisdom - a delight for those interested in alchemy, spirituality and mysticism.
Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2014 im Fachbereich Anglistik - Literatur, Note: 1,7, Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: “Stolen Child” is a short story written by Colum McCann. It is part of “Fishing in the sloe-black river”, a collection of short stories by the same author and was first published in 1994. As Yeats is a famous Irish Poet and Colum McCann is an Irish writer, there is a high chance that he knew the poem and weaved in some of its topics on purpose. The most remarkable indication is the story’s title, which goes like the title of Yeats’s poem: "Stolen child", but other themes such as that of the Irish goddess Dana or the topic of fairies seem to fit both works. I hereby pose the thesis that Irish mythology and Yeats’ poem influenced the short story written by Colum McCann. In first step, I will pick out important aspects from the two texts and give detail on topics such as fairies and Irish mythology as far as concerning either the poem or the short story. This allows me, in a second step, to connect the knowledge about the aspects shared by both works and give interpretations in a stringent manner, with all necessary background knowledge already given.
Are you a student of Napoleon Hill's classic from 1937 Think and Grow Rich?Has your life or business benefited from the timeless truths of this global classic?Experience these foundational principles of success that carry on from generation to generation.Presenting: 13 Steps to Riches by Habitude Warrior Special Edition Volume 1 DESIREBased on the timeless truths of Napoleon Hill's classic Think and Grow Rich, the 13 steps come alive in this modern-day journey by each hand-selected author in this first-ever series:The 13 Steps to Riches by Habitude Warrior Special Edition Volume 1 DESIREIn this professionally published limited author series the entire 13-set series is being made available globally by Beyond Publishing, in all formats. Available in bookstores, libraries, and online stores everywhere.Each volume features a Celebrity Author:Volume 1: Denis Waitley - DESIREVolume 2: Sharon Lechter - FAITHVolume 3: Jim Cathcart - AUTO SUGGESTIONVolume 4: Steve Sims - SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGEVolume 5: Glenn Lundy - IMAGINATIONVolume 6: Marie Diamond - ORGANIZED PLANNINGVolume 7: Dan Clark - DECISIONVolume 8: Alec Stern - PERSISTENCEVolume 9 Erik Swanson - MASTERMINDVolume 10 Loral Langemeier - TRANSMUTATIONVolume 11 Doria Cordova - SUBCONSCIOUS MINDVolume 12: John Assaraf - THE BRAINVolume 13 Kevin Harrington - SIXTH SENSEIn this signature volume, each of the contributing authors share their experience & journey of success in business and life overcoming obstacles & triumphs...Authors Denis Waitley, Erik Swanson, Jon Kovach Jr., Michael Butler, Adora Evans, Amado & Adriana Hernandez, Angelika Ullsperger, Anthony Criniti, Barry Bevier, Brian Schulman, Bryce McKinley, Candace & David Rose, Collier Landry, Corey Poirier, David Nicholson, Deb Scott, Dori Ray, Elaine Sugimura, Elizabeth Walker, Erin Ley, Fatima Hurd, Frankie Fegurgur, Freeman Witherspoon, Gina & Jay Bacalski, Griselda Beck, Jason Curtis, Jeff Levine, Lacey & Adam Platt, Louisa Jovanovich, Maris Segal & Ken Ashby, Mel Mason, Miatta Hampton, Michelle Cameron & Allan Coulter, Michelle Mras, Mickey Stewart, Natalie Susi, Nita Patel, Olga Geidane, Paul Capozio, Paul Andrés, Robyn Scott, Shannon Whittington, Soraiya Vasanji, Theresa Cundiff, Vera Thomas, and Yuri Choi.
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