What is the magic of pastoral Greece? What is it that gives to you a sensation of being gently released from the cares of life and the boredom of modern civilization, with its often unmeaning complications, its unnecessary luxuries, its noisy self-satisfactions? This is not the tremendous, the spectacular release of the desert, an almost savage tearing away of bonds. Nothing in the Greece I saw is savage; scarcely anything is spectacular. But, oh, the bright simplicity of the life and the country along the way to Marathon! It was like an early world. One looked, and longed to live in those happy woods like the Turkish Gipsies. Could life offer anything better? The pines are small, exquisitely shaped, with foliage that looks almost as if it had been deftly arranged by a consummate artist. They curl over the slopes with a lightness almost of foam cresting a wave. Their color is quite lovely. The ancient Egyptians had a love color: well, the little pine-trees of Greece are the color of happiness. You smile involuntarily when you see them. And when, descending among them, you are greeted by the shining of the brilliant-blue sea, which stretches along the edge of the plain of Marathon, you know radiance purged of fierceness.? The road winds down among the pines till, at right angles to it, appears another road, or rough track just wide enough for a carriage. This leads to a large mound which bars the way. Upon this mound a habitation was perched. It was raised high above the ground upon a sort of tripod of poles. It had yellow walls of wheat, and a roof and floor of brushwood and maize. A ladder gave access to it, and from it there was a wide outlook over the whole crescent-shaped plain of Marathon. This dwelling belonged to a guardian of the vineyards, and the mound is the tomb of those who died in the great battle. PICTURESQUE DALMATIA ? Chapter I: PICTURESQUE DALMATIA IN AND NEAR ATHENS ? Chapter II: IN AND NEAR ATHENS THE ENVIRONS OF ATHENS ? Chapter III: THE ENVIRONS OF ATHENS DELPHI AND OLYMPIA ? Chapter IV: DELPHI AND OLYMPIA IN CONSTANTINOPLE ? Chapter V: IN CONSTANTINOPLE STAMBOUL, THE CITY OF MOSQUES ? Chapter VI: STAMBOUL, THE CITY OF MOSQUE

Habsburgi, Windsori, Romanovi, Hohenzollerni, familii regale ale Belgiei, Olandei, Italiei, Iugoslaviei, Bulgariei, Rom?niei sau Greciei – monarhiile europene s-au aflat ?n inima celor dou? R?zboaie Mondiale.?ntr-o incursiune istoric? fascinant?, punctat? de portrete, anecdote, momente-cheie, ?nt?lniri decisive, jocuri de alian?e, Jean des Cars ne introduce ?n culisele cur?ilor europene prinse ?n v?rtejul celor dou? conflagra?ii care au zguduit secolul al XX-lea.?Jean des Cars, eminent specialist al marilor dinastii europene, realizeaz? – ?ar? dup? ?ar?, deceniu dup? deceniu – un expozeu al faptelor istorice marcante, construind o lucrare plin? de vivacitate ?i bine documentata, o lectura cu at?t mai captivanta, cu c?t cele aproape 170 de subcapitole care o compun istorisesc, fiecare ?n parte, o adev?rat? poveste." - Le Figaro Magazine?Una dintre cele mai bune c?r?i ale autorului ?i un succes de libr?rie: urm?rim pe parcursul acestor conflicte comportamentele monarhilor, majoritatea ?nrudi?i ?ntre ei. Un secol de istorie a marilor familii, a destinelor europene, iar pentru Europa de Est, o memorie reg?sit?." - Valeurs Actuelles?n vara lui 1914, Europa este majoritar monarhic?: din dou?zeci ?i dou? de state, nou?sprezece sunt regate, imperii, principate sau mari ducate. Ast?zi, nu au mai r?mas dec?t zece. Primul R?zboi Mondial provoac? pr?bu?irea a patru imperii (Germania, Rusia, Austro-Ungaria, Imperiul Otoman), iar al Doilea spulber? patru regate (Italia, Iugoslavia, Rom?nia, Bulgaria).Cine erau ace?ti suverani? Dar femeile care le ?mp?rt??eau destinul?De la ambi?ie la orbire, de la curaj la sl?biciune, de la gelozie la abnega?ie, care au fost triumfurile ?i e?ecurile lor? Cum ?i-au tr?it gloria, dramele, cum s-au confruntat cu ascensiunea extremismelor interbelice, cu apari?ia totalitarismelor? Erau con?tien?i de consecin?ele gesturilor lor? Sau au fost incapabili s? stopeze avansul na?ionalismelor? Care au fost vie?ile lor personale, iubirile ?i pasiunile secrete? Ace?ti monarhi, care se vor alia, se vor ?nfrunta ?i uneori tr?da, sunt to?i ?nrudi?i, uni?i prin leg?turi de s?nge ?i matrimoniale. Astfel, ?r?zboiul regilor" va fi o incredibil? reglare de conturi familial? – la scar? continental?, apoi mondial?.

Materialele reunite in acest volum reprezinta o suma de contributii si studii publicate in ultimii ani. Toate materialele au fost selectate pentru a corespunde titlului stabilit: BATALIA PENTRU BASARABIA. Este explicabil de ce, in atare conditii, preocuparile colectivului de autori s-au concentrat asupra epocii celui de-al Doilea Razboi Mondial, cu predilectie tratand sfartecarea teritoriala a Romaniei Mari in 1940 sau rolul si locul Maresalului Ion Antonescu in reluarea luptei nationale pentru eliberarea Basarabiei de sub dominatia Imperiului Rosu stalinist, dupa 1941. Nu au fost neglijate nici anume fapte si consideratii din rastimpul 1945-1989, cand batalia s-a desfasurat indeosebi pe plan politico-diplomatic, dar si ideologic ori istoriografic.

n iunie 2015 am publicat n revista Permanene” (nr. 6) articolul Vladimir Tismneanu - ieri i azi”, motivat de faptul c Preedintele Comisiei Prezideniale pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din Romnia a devenit brusc un atacator al celor susinute n Raportul Final al Comisiei pe care a prezidat-o. Pn n prezent nu exist niciun fel de opinie a dlui Tismneanu i nici a celor de la Institutul Elie Wiesel” - MCA referitor la acest punct de vedere.

The Odyssey (Greek:Odysseia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad being the oldest. It is believed to have been composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia. The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (known as Ulysses in Roman myths) and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage. It continues to be read in the Homeric Greek and translated into modern languages around the world. Many scholars believe that the original poem was composed in an oral tradition by an aoidos (epic poet/singer), perhaps a rhapsode (professional performer), and was more likely intended to be heard than read. The details of the ancient oral performance, and the story's conversion to a written work inspire continual debate among scholars. The Odyssey was written in a poetic dialect of Greek—a literary amalgam of Aeolic Greek, Ionic Greek, and other Ancient Greek dialects—and comprises 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter. Among the most noteworthy elements of the text are its non-linear plot, and the influence on events of choices made by women and serfs, besides the actions of fighting men. In the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage. The Odyssey has a lost sequel, the Telegony, which was not written by Homer. It was usually attributed in Antiquity to Cinaethon of Sparta, but in one source was said to have been stolen from Musaeus by Eugamon or Eugammon of Cyrene (see Cyclic poets). ABOUT AUTHOR: Homeros, In the Western classical tradition, Homer (Ancient Greek: Homeros) is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest of ancient Greek epic poets. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature. When he lived is unknown. Herodotus estimates that Homer lived 400 years before his own time, which would place him at around 850 BC, while other ancient sources claim that he lived much nearer to the supposed time of the Trojan War, in the early 12th century BC. Most modern researchers place Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. The formative influence of the Homeric epics in shaping Greek culture was widely recognized, and Homer was described as the teacher of Greece. Homer's works, which are about fifty percent speeches, provided models in persuasive speaking and writing that were emulated throughout the ancient and medieval Greek worlds. Fragments of Homer account for nearly half of all identifiable Greek literary papyrus finds. PeriodFor modern scholars "the date of Homer" refers not to an individual, but to the period when the epics were created. The consensus is that "the Iliad and the Odyssey date from around the 8th century BC, the Iliad being composed before the Odyssey, perhaps by some decades," i.e. earlier than Hesiod, the Iliad being the oldest work of Western literature. Over the past few decades, some scholars have argued for a 7th-century BC date. Oliver Taplin believes that the conclusion of modern researchers is that Homer dates to between 750 to 650 BC. Some of those who argue that the Homeric poems developed gradually over a long period of time give an even later date for the composition of the poems; according to Gregory Nagy for example, they only became fixed texts in the 6th century BC. The question of the historicity of Homer the individual is known as the "Homeric question"; there is no reliable biographical information handed down from classical antiquity. The poems are generally seen as the culmination of many generations of oral story-telling, in a tradition with a well-developed formulaic system of poetic composition. Some scholars, such as Martin West, claim that "Homer" is "not the name of a historical poet, but a fictitious or constructed name."

Art, with its finite means, cannot hope to record the infinite variety and com-plexity of Nature, and so contents itself with a partial statement, addressing this to the imagination for the full and perfect meaning. This inadequation, and the artificial ad-justments which it involves, are tolerated by right of what is known as artistic convention; and as each art has its own particular limitations, so each has its own particular conventions. Sculpture reproduces the forms of Nature, but discards the color without any shock to our ideas of verity; Painting gives us the color, but not the third dimension, and we are satisfied; and Architecture ispurely conventional, since it does not even aim at the imitation of natural form. The Conventions of Line Drawing,Of the kindred arts which group themselves under the head of Painting, none is based on such broad conventions as that with which we are immediately concerned—the art of Pen Drawing. In this medium, Nature's variety of color, when not positively ignored, is suggested by means of sharp black lines, of varying thickness, placed more or less closely together upon white paper; while natural form depends primarily for its representation upon arbitrary boundary lines. There is, of course, no authority in Na-ture for a positive outline: we see objects only by the difference in color of the other objects behind and around them. The technical capacity of the pen and ink medium, however, does not provide a value corresponding to every natural one, so that a broad interpretation has to be adopted which eliminates the less positive values; and, that form may not likewise be sacrificed, the outline becomes necessary, that light objects may stand relieved against light. This outline is the most characteristic, as it is the most indispensable, of the conventions of line drawing. To seek to abolish it only involves a resort to expedients no less artificial, and the results of all such attempts, dependent as they necessarily are upon elaboration of color, and a general indirectness of method, lack some of the best characteristics of pen drawing. More frequently, however, an elaborate color-scheme is merely a straining at the technical limitations of the pen in an effort to render the greatest possible number of values. It may be worth while to inquire whether excellence in pen drawing consists in thus dispensing with its recognized conventions, or in otherwise taxing the technical re-sources of the instrument. This involves the question of Style,—of what characteristic pen methods are,—a question which we will briefly consider...

1. The architect should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for it is by his judgement that all work done by the other arts is put to test. This knowledge is the child of practice and theory. Practice is the continuous and regular exercise of employment where manual work is done with any necessary material according to the design of a drawing. Theory, on the other hand, is the ability to demonstrate and explain the productions of dexterity on the principles of proportion. 2. It follows, therefore, that architects who have aimed at acquiring manual skill without scholarship have never been able to reach a position of authority to correspond to their pains, while those who relied only upon theories and scholarship were obviously hunting the shadow, not the substance. But those who have a thorough knowledge of both, like men armed at all points, have the sooner attained their object and carried authority with them. 3. In all matters, but particularly in architecture, there are these two points:—the thing signified, and that which gives it its significance. That which is signified is the subject of which we may be speaking; and that which gives significance is a demonstration on scientific principles. It appears, then, that one who professes himself an architect should be well versed in both directions. He ought, therefore, to be both naturally gifted and amenable to instruction. Neither natural ability without instruction nor instruction without natural ability can make the perfect artist. Let him be educated, skilful with the pencil, instructed in geometry, know much history, have followed the philosophers with attention, understand music, have some knowledge of medicine, know the opinions of the jurists, and be acquainted with astronomy and the theory of the heavens. 4. The reasons for all this are as follows. An architect ought to be an educated man so as to leave a more lasting remembrance in his treatises. Secondly, he must have a knowledge of drawing so that he can readily make sketches to show the appearance of the work which he proposes. Geometry, also, is of much assistance in architecture, and in particular it teaches us the use of the rule and compasses, by which especially we acquire readiness in making plans for buildings in their grounds, and rightly apply the square, the level, and the plummet. By means of optics, again, the light in buildings can be drawn from fixed quarters of the sky. It is true that it is by arithmetic that the total cost of buildings is calculated and measurements are computed, but difficult questions involving symmetry are solved by means of geometrical theories and methods. 5. A wide knowledge of history is requisite because, among the ornamental parts of an architect's design for a work, there are many the underlying idea of whose employment he should be able to explain toGree inquirers. For instance, suppose him to set up the marble statues of women in long robes, called Caryatides, to take the place of columns, with the mutules and coronas placed directly above their heads, he will give the following explanation to his questioners. Caryae, a state in Peloponnesus, sided with the Persian enemies against Greece; later the Greeks, having gloriously won their freedom by victory in the war, made common cause and declared war against the people of Caryae. They took the town, killed the men, abandoned the State to desolation, and carried off their wives into slavery, without permitting them, however, to lay aside the long robes and other marks of their rank as married women, so that they might be obliged not only to march in the triumph but to appear forever after as a type of slavery, burdened with the weight of their shame and so making atonement for their State. Hence, the architects of the time designed for public buildings statues of these women, placed so as to carry a load..

Milyen állambiztonsági kockázatokat rejtett magában egy futball-világbajnokság? Vajon miért volt olyan fontos a titkosszolgálat számára Puskás, hogy még a hatvanas évek végén is érkeztek róla jelentések? Valóban kiváltságos klubként kezelte a rendszer Kádár kedvenc csapatát, a Vasast? A politikai rend?rség szempontjából miért voltak kiemelten veszélyesek a Ferencváros mérk?zései? ?s vajon mi igaz abból, hogy a magyar válogatott nem nyerhetett a Szovjetunió ellen? ?s egyáltalán: miért érdekelte mindez az állambiztonságot? TAK?CS TIBOR k?nyvéb?l kiderül, hogy a sport, így a futball egyre fokozódó állambiztonsági ellen?rzését mindenekel?tt a kiszélesed? nemzetk?zi kapcsolatok indokolták, de egyes sportvezet?ket, játékosokat és szurkolókat is folyamatosan megfigyelés alatt tartottak. Ezzel együtt a kádári politikai rend?rség olykor maga sem tudta pontosan, mi dolga a labdarúgás k?rül – ilyenkor aztán m?k?désbe lépett az állambiztonsági paranoia, amely egy egyszer? szurkolói megnyilvánulásban is ?ellenséges tevékenységet” szimatolt. A t?rténész arra vállalkozik, hogy bemutassa: milyen tevékenységet végzett a Kádár-korszak állambiztonsága a legnagyobb t?megeket vonzó t?megsport, a labdarúgás k?rül. Futball és állambiztonság kapcsolatáról kül?nb?z?, néha párhuzamosan futó, olykor egymást metsz? t?rténeteken keresztül ad átfogó képet, mik?zben felvázolja az 1956 utáni állami sportirányítási rendszer és a politikai rend?rség m?k?désének f?bb vonásait és jellemz?it is. TAK?CS TIBOR Nyíregyházán született 1974-ben. A Kossuth Lajos Tudományegyetem B?lcsészettudományi Karán diplomázott 1997-ben. Ezt k?vet?en doktori ?szt?ndíjas volt, majd a nyíregyházi levéltárban dolgozott. 2002-t?l a T?rténeti Hivatal, illetve utódintézménye, az ?llambiztonsági Szolgálatok T?rténeti Levéltára munkatársa. 2005-ben a Debreceni Egyetemen doktori címet szerzett. F? kutatási területe az 1945 utáni magyar t?rténelem, kül?n?s tekintettel a politikai rend?rség m?k?désére

K?ztudott, hogy a pártállami diktatúra idején minden jobboldali gondolat eredend?en üld?zend?nek számított. De vajon hogyan élték túl a hagyományos politikai felosztás szerint jobboldalinak tekintett személyek és mozgalmak a Rákosi-, majd a Kádár-rendszer üld?ztetéseit? Kik választották az évtizedekre szóló, csendes ?alámerülést”, és kik azok, akik továbbra is aktívan képviselték korábbi eszméiket? ?s vajon a rendelkezésünkre álló dokumentumok alapján meg lehet-e kül?nb?ztetni a jobboldalhoz k?thet? valós társadalmi jelenségeket az állambiztonság konstruált ügyeit?l? Az UNGV?RY KRISZTI?N által szerkesztett tanulmányk?tet a Kádár-rendszer állambiztonsága szempontjából ?jobboldalinak” tekintett hagyomány és gondolkodás, illetve az ezt képvisel? csoportok 1945 és 1990 k?z?tti t?rténetéb?l ad reprezentatív válogatást. Mivel e meglehet?sen széles – a progresszív konzervatív eszmét?l a kisgazdákon át az egyetemi szervezkedésekig és a radikális széls?jobboldali mozgalmakig terjed? – politikai paletta szerepl?i és nézetei a kommunista és államszocialista diktatúra idején egyként ?ellenségesnek” min?sültek, a k?tet tanulmányai mindenekel?tt az állambiztonsági iratok feldolgozására épülnek. Az ?sszeállítás áttekintést nyújt az olvasónak a belügyminisztérium ?jobboldali” ellenségképér?l, részletesen tárgyalja a prominens kisgazda és kereszténydemokrata politikusok sorsát, illetve nyomon k?veti a háború el?tti széls?jobboldalhoz k?thet? mozgalmak utóéletét is. E hiánypótló k?tet kit?n? írásai nem csupán arra világítanak rá, hogy a jobboldali hagyományok hogyan élték túl búvópatakszer?en a háborút k?vet? fél évszázadot, de a ma jobboldalinak tekintett attit?d?ket és mentalitásokat is jobban érthet?vé teszik.

Hogyan váltak a lovak az emberiség kiszolgálóivá?A lovak évezredek óta jelen vannak az emberek életében: hatalmas erejüket és engedelmességüket kihasználva dolgoznak, küzdenek, hódítanak.De hogyan lehetséges, hogy a 60-65 millió éve a F?ld?n él? állatokat végül az ember igába hajthatta? Ez a regény err?l is szól, fantasztikus, mesés elemekkel telet?zdelve. Kül?n?s mozzanat a t?rténetben a lovak találkozása az emberekkel, akik a F?ldész nev?, egy a F?ldh?z hasonló élhet? bolygóról érkeztek, és egyedül ezekben csodás állatokban találták meg azt az akarater?t és intelligenciát, ami alkalmassá teszi ?ket majd a f?ldi emberi társadalmak kialakítására.Fuli Sándor kalandos regénye az életigenlésr?l felhívja fiatal olvasói figyelmét a minden nehézséggel való bátor szembenézés fontosságára.

A Kádár-kori titkosszolgálatok m?k?dése a rendszerváltás óta mind a mai napig a magyar k?zélet egyik meghatározó és kibeszéletlen témájának számít. Az 1962-ben új m?k?dési kereteket kialakító egykori szervezet legismertebb részlege – els?sorban egyes k?zéleti szerepl?k utóbb leleplez?d? ügyn?kmúltja miatt – a bels? elhárítással foglalkozó III/III. Csoportf?n?kség lett. E részleg tényleges tevékenysége ugyanakkor ma is csak t?redékesen ismert, mik?zben továbbra is számtalan félreértés, legenda és mítosz él a III/III-mal kapcsolatban. TABAJDI G?BOR k?tete az elmúlt évek kutatási eredményeinek felhasználásával a pártállami titkosszolgálatok, azon belül is a bels?reakció-elhárítás m?k?désének átfogó krónikáját adja. A k?nyv az események id?rendi tárgyalása során a sok esetben félrevezet? ügyn?kt?rténetek helyett magára a szervezetre helyezi hangsúlyt, így a jól dokumentálható, konkrét esetek kapcsán a bels? elhárítás nagyszabású akciói mellett a III/III-asok mindennapjait befolyásoló egyéb hatásokat is igyekszik bemutatni, a pártutasítások fogadtatásától kezdve a szabadid?s tevékenységeken át egészen az állomány társadalmi helyzetéig. Az egyes szócikkekhez tartozó események arra is rávilágítanak, hogy a ?létez? szocializmus” világában milyen hétk?znapi tevékenységi formák válhattak politikai kérdéssé, és melyek voltak azok, amelyek a hatalom megtorló intézkedéseit kiváltották. A szócikkekkel párhuzamosan futó k?zt?rténeti kronológia és a kor hangulatát megidéz? dokumentumok ugyanakkor eddig kevésbé érzékelt ?sszefüggéseket is megvilágítanak. A Budapest a diktatúrák árnyékában cím? nagy siker? t?rténelmi útikalauz szerz?je új néz?pontból, a III/III szervezeti oldaláról láttatja e sz?k három évtized t?rténéseit, és ennek k?sz?nhet?en az olvasó el?tt oldalról oldalra feltárul a pártállami Magyarország titkos t?rténete. A Kádár-kori titkosszolgálatok m?k?dése a rendszerváltás óta mind a mai napig a magyar k?zélet egyik meghatározó és kibeszéletlen témájának számít. Az 1962-ben új m?k?dési kereteket kialakító egykori szervezet legismertebb részlege – els?sorban egyes k?zéleti szerepl?k utóbb leleplez?d? ügyn?kmúltja miatt – a bels? elhárítással foglalkozó III/III. Csoportf?n?kség lett. E részleg tényleges tevékenysége ugyanakkor ma is csak t?redékesen ismert, mik?zben továbbra is számtalan félreértés, legenda és mítosz él a III/III-mal kapcsolatban. TABAJDI G?BOR k?tete az elmúlt évek kutatási eredményeinek felhasználásával a pártállami titkosszolgálatok, azon belül is a bels?reakció-elhárítás m?k?désének átfogó krónikáját adja. A k?nyv az események id?rendi tárgyalása során a sok esetben félrevezet? ügyn?kt?rténetek helyett magára a szervezetre helyezi hangsúlyt, így a jól dokumentálható, konkrét esetek kapcsán a bels? elhárítás nagyszabású akciói mellett a III/III-asok mindennapjait befolyásoló egyéb hatásokat is igyekszik bemutatni, a pártutasítások fogadtatásától kezdve a szabadid?s tevékenységeken át egészen az állomány társadalmi helyzetéig. Az egyes szócikkekhez tartozó események arra is rávilágítanak, hogy a ?létez? szocializmus” világában milyen hétk?znapi tevékenységi formák válhattak politikai kérdéssé, és melyek voltak azok, amelyek a hatalom megtorló intézkedéseit kiváltották. A szócikkekkel párhuzamosan futó k?zt?rténeti kronológia és a kor hangulatát megidéz? dokumentumok ugyanakkor eddig kevésbé érzékelt ?sszefüggéseket is megvilágítanak. A Budapest a diktatúrák árnyékában cím? nagy siker? t?rténelmi útikalauz szerz?je új néz?pontból, a III/III szervezeti oldaláról láttatja e sz?k három évtized t?rténéseit, és ennek k?sz?nhet?en az olvasó el?tt oldalról oldalra feltárul a pártállami Magyarország titkos t?rténete.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640), was a Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasised movement, colour, and sensuality. He is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.In addition to running a large studio in Antwerp that produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe.. Early lifeRubens was born in the German city of Siegen, Westphalia to Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks. His father, a Calvinist, and mother fled Antwerp for Cologne in 1568, after increased religious turmoil and persecution of Protestants during the rule of the Spanish Netherlands by the Duke of Alba. Jan Rubens became the legal advisor (and lover) of Anna of Saxony, the second wife of William I of Orange, and settled at her court in Siegen in 1570; their daughter Christine was born in 1571. Following Jan Rubens's imprisonment for the affair, Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577. The family returned to Cologne the next year. In 1589, two years after his father's death, Rubens moved with his mother Maria Pypelincks to Antwerp, where he was raised as a Catholic. Religion figured prominently in much of his work and Rubens later became one of the leading voices of the Catholic Counter-Reformation style of painting (he had said "My passion comes from the heavens, not from earthly musings").In Antwerp, Rubens received a humanist education, studying Latin and classical literature. By fourteen he began his artistic apprenticeship with Tobias Verhaeght. Subsequently, he studied under two of the city's leading painters of the time, the late Mannerist artists Adam van Noort and Otto van Veen. Much of his earliest training involved copying earlier artists' works, such as woodcuts by Hans Holbein the Younger and Marcantonio Raimondi's engravings after Raphael. Rubens completed his education in 1598, at which time he entered the Guild of St. Luke as an independent master. Italy (1600–1608)In 1600, Rubens travelled to Italy. He stopped first in Venice, where he saw paintings by Titian, Veronese, and Tintoretto, before settling in Mantua at the court of Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga. The coloring and compositions of Veronese and Tintoretto had an immediate effect on Rubens's painting, and his later, mature style was profoundly influenced by Titian. With financial support from the Duke, Rubens travelled to Rome by way of Florence in 1601. Last decade (1630–1640)The Exchange of Princesses, from the Marie de' Medici Cycle. Louvre, ParisRubens's last decade was spent in and around Antwerp. Major works for foreign patrons still occupied him, such as the ceiling paintings for the Banqueting House at Inigo Jones's Palace of Whitehall, but he also explored more personal artistic directions.In 1630, four years after the death of his first wife, the 53-year-old painter married 16-year-old Hélène Fourment. Hélène inspired the voluptuous figures in many of his paintings from the 1630s, including The Feast of Venus (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), The Three Graces and The Judgment of Paris (both Prado, Madrid). In the latter painting, which was made for the Spanish court, the artist's young wife was recognized by viewers in the figure of Venus. In an intimate portrait of her, Hélène Fourment in a Fur Wrap, also known as Het Pelsken, Rubens's wife is even partially modelled after classical sculptures of the Venus Pudica, such as the Medici Venus. In 1635, Rubens bought an estate outside of Antwerp, the Steen, where he spent much of his time. Landscapes, such as his Ch?teau de Steen with Hunter (National Gallery, London) and Farmers Returning from the Fields (Pitti Gallery, Florence), reflect the more personal nature of many of his later works. He also drew upon the Netherlandish traditions of Pieter Bruegel the Elder for inspiration in later works like Flemish Kermis (c. 1630; Louvre, Paris).

Candide is characterised by its sarcastic tone, as well as by its erratic, fantastical and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel with a story similar to that of a more serious bildungsroman, it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is mordantly matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. As philosophers of Voltaire's day contended with the problem of evil, so too does Candide in this short novel, albeit more directly and humorously. Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers through allegory; most conspicuously, he assaults Leibniz and his optimism. Voltaire's men and women point his case against optimism by starting high and falling low. A modern could not go about it after this fashion.?He would not plunge his people into an unfamiliar misery. He would just keep them in the misery they were born to. But such an account of Voltaire's procedure is as misleading as the plaster cast of a dance. Look at his procedure again. Mademoiselle Cunégonde, the illustrious Westphalian, sprung from a family that could prove seventy-one quarterings, descends and descends until we find her earning her keep by washing dishes in the Propontis. The aged faithful attendant, victim of a hundred acts of rape by negro pirates, remembers that she is the daughter of a pope, and that in honor of her approaching marriage with a Prince of Massa-Carrara all Italy wrote sonnets of which not one was passable. We do not need to know French literature before Voltaire in order to feel, although the lurking parody may escape us, that he is poking fun at us and at himself. His laughter at his own methods grows more unmistakable at the last, when he caricatures them by casually assembling six fallen monarchs in an inn at Venice. A modern assailant of optimism would arm himself with social pity. There is no social pity in "Candide." Voltaire, whose light touch on familiar institutions opens them and reveals their absurdity, likes to remind us that the slaughter and pillage and murder which Candide?witnessed among the Bulgarians was perfectly regular, having been conducted according to the laws and usages of war. Had Voltaire lived today he would have done to poverty what he did to war. Pitying the poor, he would have shown us poverty as a ridiculous anachronism, and both the ridicule and the pity would have expressed his indignation. About Author: VOLTAIREFran?ois-Marie Arouet (1694 – 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day.

The A-Z of Sega Master System Games: Volume 1 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases in the mid-eighties to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the Sega Master System and how it put Sega on the path to success.

Are you addicted to reality TV? Do you watch all the shows from Britain's Got Talent to The Apprentice? Can you name every contestant ever to walk through the doors of the Big Brother house? Then The Reality Television Quiz Book is definitely for you. Who can forget Jade Goody, Peter Andre and Jordan, Leona Lewis or Paul Potts? They are all inside in this book alongside the many memorable characters who have become household names by appearing live on our television screens. The 1,000 brain-teasing questions in this quiz book cover every aspect of reality TV, from the celebrities and wannabes to the strange and the bizarre, including all the heroes, villains, tears and tantrums we have come to expect from the genre in recent years. Packed with behind the scenes information about all your favourite shows, this book is guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment for the whole family and is a must have for all fans of reality television.

Did you know that you're almost two thousand times more likely to die from an asteroid hitting the earth than you are from a terrorist attack? Would you be shocked to learn that almost half of pilots surveyed admitted to falling asleep during a flight? Do you think world population growth is increasing or declining? And does a regular social drinker earn more or less than their alcohol-free counterpart? This fascinating book contains over one hundred statistics that will surprise, shock and amaze you. With sections covering life, death, crime, education, the environment and much more, this is a great quick read for readers of any age.

The A-Z of Sega Mega Drive Games: Volume 1 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases in the mid-eighties to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the Sega Mega Drive and how it became one of the most popular consoles of all-time.

The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 2 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases in the 70s to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the Atari 2600 and how it became one of the best selling consoles of all time.

The A-Z of Nintendo Game Boy Games: Volume 1 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases in 1989 to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the Nintendo Game Boy and how it became one of the most popular consoles of all-time.

Many people may not have heard of actor Jim Whelan but he has appeared in some of the most iconic programmes on British television over the past four decades, from Crown Court and Last of the Summer Wine to The Royle Family and Heartbeat. What a Life is the story of one man's passion for acting and his determination to follow his dream at all costs. From humble beginnings and an unpromising start, leaving school with no qualifications and few job prospects, Jim went on to enjoy a long TV career, receiving accolades from respected directors and working alongside such famous actors as Ray Winstone, Martin Clunes, David Tennant, Christian Bale and Rod Steiger. This autobiography explains how a shy and insecure Salford boy went from being a dockland worker to become a recurring character in Coronation Street and documents the successes and disappointments of a jobbing actor. In this honest account of his life Jim spills the beans on some of the big name stars he has worked with and provides the reader with a fascinating insight to the television industry and some of the larger than life characters who inhabit the world of 'soap'. This book is a riveting read that is certain to hold your attention from the first page to the last.

Are you a fan of Olly Murs? Do you enjoy listening to his music? Have you followed his journey from X Factor runner-up to award winning pop star and popular TV presenter. If you think you know all about Olly Murs or would like to find out more, The Olly Murs Quiz Book is for you.Which American male singer was Olly's role model whilst growing up? Which song did he sing when he auditioned for The X Factor in 2009? For how many weeks was Olly's song 'Thinking of Me' in the top 10 in the UK single charts? The answers to all these questions and more can be found in this exciting new quiz book.With 100 questions and fascinating facts all about Olly Murs, including many personal details, you are certain to learn something new about the man and his music. This is a must-have book for everyone who supported Olly during his time on The X Factor and all the many fans, old and young, who have watched him grow into a polished performer.