Chapters of Opera

A Book of Operas

A singular fatality has ruled the destiny of nearly all the most famous of Leonardo da Vinci's works. Two of the three most important were never completed, obstacles having arisen during his life-time, which obliged him to leave them unfinished; namely the Sforza Monument and the Wall-painting of the Battle of Anghiari, while the third—the picture of the Last Supper at Milan—has suffered irremediable injury from decay and the repeated restorations to which it was recklessly subjected during the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. Nevertheless, no other picture of the Renaissance has become so wellknown and popular through copies of every description.

Leviathan is one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. A classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign.

Pour bien comprendre la portée de l'intervention et de l'influence de l'?uvre de Delacroix dans l'école fran?aise, il est nécessaire de se rappeler la situation exacte de la peinture au moment où il parut.??La Révolution avait brutalement traité les ma?tres du XVIIIème siècle finissant. ?prise d'un sévère idéal gréco-romain, dont déjà Vien avait donné des exemples et que David allait porter à son apogée, la génération jacobine avait considéré les peintres légers et délicieux du règne de Louis XVI comme les bénéficiaires de la corruption luxueuse des nobles et des fermiers généraux, et elle les avait rejetés dans le même mouvement d'injuste fureur. Fragonard mourait oublié, chassé de son logis des galeries du Louvre. Hubert Robert échappait gr?ce à une erreur à l'échafaud. Greuze mourait dans la misère noire. On ne parlait plus de Chardin. Un Latour se vendait quelques francs. ??L'?Embarquement pour Cythère?, peint par Watteau pour son entrée à l'Académie, y était criblé de boulettes de papier m?ché par les élèves de David, neveu de Boucher dont ils parlaient en de tels termes, qu'il était obligé, par pudeur, d'excuser à leurs yeux son oncle. Les gravures de Cochin, de Lépicié, de Choffard, de Lavreince, des Saint-Aubin, de Debucourt, de Gravelot, d'Eisen, allaient s'ensevelir dans les soupentes de quelques brocanteurs, et on attendrait quatrevingts ans avant de les rechercher pour les couvrir d'or. Un siècle s'effondrait. Son go?t exquis, sa morale profondément naturelle et humaine, son libéralisme sceptique, tout lui était imputé à vice et à crime. On rêvait d'un art moralisateur, que Greuze avait préparé aux applaudissements de Diderot par ses scènes familiales et son ingénuité bourgeoise, mêlée de libertinage hypocrite. ??On voulait un art héro?que, sévère, propre à élever les consciences. David apparut l'homme d'une telle ?uvre, et créa d'un seul effort la réaction d'une esthétique néo-romaine, d'une peinture con?ue d'après la statuaire antique, et toute consacrée à des expressions de sentiments cornéliens. La discipline de cette école fut plus dure encore que celle imposée, centvingtcinq années auparavant, par Louis XIV, Le Brun et l'école de Rome. Plus de recherches de la nature, plus de gr?ce, plus de vérité, plus de coloris, mais simplement un art allégorique, pompeux, aride, éloigné de la vie et tout entier construit sur des théories, un art aussi opposé que possible au tempérament fran?ais.

"The Spanish Tragedy", or "Hieronimo" is Mad Again is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, The Spanish Tragedy established a new genre in English theatre, the revenge play or revenge tragedy. Its plot contains several violent murders and includes as one of its characters a personification of Revenge. "The Spanish Tragedy "was often referred to (or parodied) in works written by other Elizabethan playwrights, including William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Christopher Marlowe. Many elements of The Spanish Tragedy, such as the play-within-a-play used to trap a murderer and a ghost intent on vengeance, appear in Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Thomas Kyd is frequently proposed as the author of the hypothetical Ur-Hamlet that may have been one of Shakespeare's primary sources for Hamlet.)

Como todas las mananas, el marques de Torrebianca salio tarde de su dormitorio, mostrando cierta inquietud ante la bandeja de plata con cartas y periodicos que el ayuda de camara habia dejado sobre la mesa de su biblioteca. Cuando los sellos de los sobres eran extranjeros, parecia contento, como si acabase de librarse de un peligro. Si las cartas eran de Paris, fruncia el ceno, preparandose a una lectura abundante en sinsabores y humillaciones. Ademas, el membrete impreso en muchas de ellas le anunciaba de antemano la personalidad de tenaces acreedores, haciendole adivinar su contenido. Su esposa, llamada ?la bella Elena?, por una hermosura indiscutible, que sus amigas empezaban a considerar historica a causa de su exagerada duracion, recibia con mas serenidad estas cartas, como si toda su existencia la hubiese pasado entre deudas y reclamaciones. El tenia una concepcion mas anticuada del honor, creyendo que es preferible no contraer deudas, y cuando se contraen, hay que pagarlas. ? AUTOR: Vicente Blasco Ibanez nacio el 29 de enero de 1867 en Valencia (Espana). Era hijo de Ramona Ibanez y del comerciante Gaspar Blanco. Estudio Derecho en la Universidad de Valencia. Participo en la politica uniendose al Partido Republicano". En 1894 fundo el periodico El pueblo. En el ano 1896, fue detenido y condenado a varios meses de prision. En 1889 contrajo matrimonio con Maria Blasco del Cacho, hija del magistrado Rafael Blasco y Moreno. Cuando subio al poder Canovas del Castillo, el escritor se exilio brevemente en la ciudad de Paris. Fue un autor vinculado en muchos aspectos al naturalismo frances. Por otra parte, la explicita intencion politicosocial de algunas de las novelas de Blasco Ibanez, aunada al escaso bagaje intelectual del autor, lo mantuvo alejado de los representantes de la Generacion del 98. Murio el 28 de enero de 1928 en Menton (Francia)a los 60 anos. Entre sus titulos destacan: "Arroz y Tartana" (1894), "La Barraca" (1898), "Entre Naranjos (1900), "Canas y Barro" (1902), "La Horda" (1905), "Sangre y Arena" (1908) o "Los Cuatro Jinetes Del Apocalipsis" (1916).

THE story of Cleopatra is a story of crime. It is a narrative of the course and the consequences of unlawful love. In her strange and romantic history we see this passion portrayed with the most complete and graphic fidelity in all its influences and effects; its uncontrollable impulses, its intoxicating joys, its reckless and mad career, and the dreadful remorse and ultimate despair and ruin in which it always and inevitably ends.??Cleopatra was by birth an Egyptian; by ancestry and descent she was a Greek. Thus, while Alexandria and the delta of the Nile formed the scene of the most im-portant events and incidents of her history, it was the blood of Macedon which flowed in her veins. Her character and action are marked by the genius, the courage, the originality, and the impulsiveness pertaining to the stock from which she sprung. The events of her history, on the other hand, and the peculiar character of her adventures, her sufferings, and her sins, were determined by the circumstances with which she was surrounded, and the influences which were brought to bear upon her in the soft and voluptuous clime where the scenes of her early life were laid..??Egypt has always been considered as physically the most remarkable country on the globe. It is a long and narrow valley of verdure and fruitfulness, completely insulated from the rest of the habitable world. It is more completely insulated, in fact, than any literal island could be, inasmuch as deserts are more impassable than seas. The very existence of Egypt is a most extraordinary phenomenon. If we could but soar with the wings of an eagle into the air, and look down upon the scene, so as to observe the operation of that grand and yet simple process by which this long and wonderful valley, teeming so profusely with animal and vegetable life, has been formed, and is annually revivified and renewed, in the midst of surrounding wastes of silence, desolation, and death, we should gaze upon it with never-ceasing admiration and pleasure. We have not the wings of the eagle, but the generalizations of science furnish us with a sort of substitute for them. The long series of patient, careful, and sagacious observations, which have been continued now for two thousand years, bring us results, by means of which, through our powers of mental conception, we may take a comprehensive survey of the whole scene, analo-gous, in some respects, to that which direct and actual vision would afford us, if we could look down upon it from the eagle's point of view. It is, however, so-mewhat humiliating to our pride of intellect to reflect that long-continued philosophical investigations and learned scientific research are, in such a case as this, after all, in some sense, only a sort of substitute for wings. A human mind connected with a pair of eagle's wings would have solved the mystery of Egypt in a week; whereas science, philosophy, and research, confined to the surface of the ground, have been occupied for twenty centuries in accomplishing the undertaking.

La fel ca ?i precedentele romane ale lui Emil Ra?iu – reactualiz?ri ale marilor noastre mituri – romanul Turnul col?ei... are o tem? major?, anume existen?a problematic? a omului ca fiin?? situat? ?ntre timp ?i eternitate, ?ntre clip? ?i ve?nicie. Dilema major? a vie?ii este ?ndoita fa?? a realit??ii, perceput? prin sim?uri ca etern? trecere ?i fragmentare ?n lucruri, ?n timp ce prin cuget – prin filosofia eleat? a lui Parmenide, Pitagora, Platon ?i a altora – ea este unitate ve?nic? a Fiin?ei, trecerea fiind doar o iluzie a sim?urilor noastre. Omul este prins la mijloc, ?ntre vreme ?i ve?nicie, o soart? pu?in de invidiat...Aceast? existen?? a omului ?ntre clip? ?i ve?nicie, ?n permanent? confruntare cu eternitatea, este nodul central al ontologiei, reflectat? ?n romanul de fa?? prin eroii acestuia, ?ncep?nd cu dasc?lul de la Academia de la Sf?ntul Sava, Mihai Ciubo?el, cu ipostazele sale, adev?rate avataruri, care sintetizeaz? contrariile, ajung?nd p?n? ?n timpurile noastre (secolul XXI), definite ale neo-fanariotismului ?i ale supu?eniei servile la noi centre de putere.Romanul str?bate prin eroii s?i trei sute de ani de istorie, de la Sf?ntul Martir Constantin Br?ncoveanu la Eminescu p?n? ?n vremurile noastre, ?ncheindu-se cu optimism ?i m?rturisind, ?n ciuda tuturor greut??ilor, credin?a ?n victoria final? a luminii ?i adev?rului neamului rom?nesc.

O carte spectaculoas?, care ??i asum? nu pu?ine riscuri, intr?nd pe terenurile pu?in explorate ale romanului. Cercetarea ?n care ne-am angajat este analitic? ?i speculativ?, o ipotez? pe care ne-o ?nchipuim ?n anticamera adev?rurilor simple ?i general-consim?ite despre romanul secolului XX, fiindc? aceste adev?ruri sunt a?teptate ?nc? spre a fi spuse. Istoriile sistematice, studiile exhaustive despre romanul secolului abia ?ncheiat lipsesc deocamdat?. Este ?i prima dificultate majora pe care a trebuit s? o ignoram pur ?i simplu. Risc?m propria noastr? ipoteza ?ntr-un spa?iu ?nc? insuficient ordonat ?i tocmai de aceea ispititor pentru orice c?l?torie critic?.

When his cartoons began to reach America toward the end of 1916 this country was neutral. It is with peculiar satisfaction, therefore, that I base this brief foreword upon press extracts published prior to America’s participation in the war. If it were possible to discover today an individual who was entirely ignorant as to the causes and conduct of the war, he would, after an inspection of a hundred or more of these cartoons, probably utter his conviction somewhat as follows: ?“I do not believe that these drawings have the slightest relation to the truth; I do not believe that it is possible for such things to happen in the twenti-eth century.” ??He would be quite justified, in his ignorance of what has happened in Europe, in expressing such an opinion, just as any of us, with the possible exception of the disciples of Bernhardi himself, would have been justified in expressing a similar view in July, 1914.??What is the view of all informed people today? “To Raemaekers the war is not a topic, or a subject for charity. It is a vivid heartrending reality,” says the New York “Evening Post,” “and you come away from the rooms where his cartoons now hang so aware of what war is that mental neutrality is for you a horror. If you have slackened in your determination to find out, these cartoons are a slap in the face. ??Raemaekers drives home a universal point that concerns not merely Germans, but every country where royal decrees have supreme power. Shall one man ever be given the power to seek his ends, using the people as his pawns? We cannot look at the cartoons and remain in ignorance of exactly what is the basis of truth on which they are built.”?The “Philadelphia American” likens Raemaekers to a sensitized plate upon which the spirit which brought on the war has imprinted itself forever, and adds: ?“What he gives out on that subject is as pitilessly true as a photograph. They look down upon us in their naked truth, those pictures which are to be, before the judgment-seat of history, the last indictment of the German nation. Of all impressions, there is one which will hold you in its inexorable grip: it is that Louis Raemaekers has told you the truth.”

IN preparing a first book of American history, it is necessary to keep in mind the two purposed such a work is required to serve. There are children whose school life is brief; these must get all the instruction they are to receive in their country's history from a book of the grade of this.To another class of pupils the first book of American history is a preparation for the intelligent study of a textbook more advanced. It is a manifest waste of time and energy to require these to learn in a lower class the facts that must be re-studied in a higher grade. Moreover, primary histories which follow the order of larger books are likely to prove dry and unsatisfactory condensations. But a beginner's book ought before all things else to be interesting. A fact received with the attention raised to its highest power remains fixed in the memory; that which is learned listlessly is lost easily, and a lifelong aversion to history is often the main result produced by the use of an unsuitable textbook at the outset.The main peculiarity of the present book is that it aims to teach children the history of the country by making them acquainted with some of the most illustrious actors in it. A child is interested, above all, in persons. Biography is for him the natural door into history. The order of events in a nation's life is somewhat above the reach of younger pupils, but the course of human life and the personal achievements of an individual are intelligible and delightful. In teaching younger pupils by means of biography, which is the very alphabet of history, we are following a sound principle often forgotten, that primary education should be pursued along the line of the least resistance. Moreover, nothing is more important to the young American than an acquaintance with the careers of the great men of his country.

Manifesto of the Communist Party (German: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), often referred to as The Communist Manifesto, was first published on February 21, 1848, and is one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League and written by communist theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, it laid out the League's purposes and program. The Manifesto suggested a course of action for a proletarian (working class) revolution to overthrow the bourgeois social order and to eventually bring about a classless and stateless society, and the abolition of private property.

Part 1: Logic (Organon) Categories, translated by E. M. Edghill On Interpretation, translated by E. M. Edghill Prior Analytics (2 Books), translated by A. J. Jenkinson Posterior Analytics (2 Books), translated by G. R. G. Mure Topics (8 Books), translated by W. A. Pickard-Cambridge Sophistical Refutations, translated by W. A. Pickard-Cambridge Part 2: Universal Physics Physics (8 Books), translated by R. P. Hardie and R. K. Gaye On the Heavens (4 Books), translated by J. L. Stocks On Gerneration and Corruption (2 Books), translated by H. H. Joachim Meteorology (4 Books), translated by E. W. Webster Part 3: Human Physics On the Soul (3 Books), translated by J. A. Smith On Sense and the Sensible, translated by J. I. Beare On Memory and Reminiscence, translated by J. I. Beare On Sleep and Sleeplessness, translated by J. I. Beare On Dreams, translated by J. I. Beare On Prophesying by Dreams, translated by J. I. Beare On Longevity and Shortness of Life, translated by G. R. T. Ross On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration, translated by G. R. T. Ross Part 4: Animal Physics The History of Animals (9 Books), translated by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson On the Parts of Animals (4 Books), translated by William Ogle On the Motion of Animals, translated by A. S. L. Farquharson On the Gait of Animals, translated by A. S. L. Farquharson On the Generation of Animals (5 Books), translated by Arthur Platt Part 5: Metaphysics (15 Books), translated by W. D. Ross Part 6: Ethics and Politics Nicomachean Ethics (10 Books), translated by W. D. Ross Politics (8 Books), translated by Benjamin Jowett The Athenian Constitution, translated by Sir Frederic G. Kenyon Part 7: Aesthetic Writings Rhetoric (3 Books), translated by W. Rhys Roberts Poetics, translated by S. H. Butcher

Volumul Sublimul tr?d?rii reprezint? o incursiune ?n lumea ?multidimensional?“ a crea?iei teatrale. Convins de existen?a unor straturi rarefiate ale spiritului, ?n care reprezenta?ia a fost h?r?zit? s? existe, autorul se ?ndep?rteaz? de orice interpretare ?vulgar?“, la prima m?n?, a artei scenice. F?c?ndu-se apel la teorii ale esteticii teatrale, dar ?i ale filosofiei, psihanalizei, exegezei ?i criticii literare, ne este relevat un univers artistic complicat, complex, predispus unei analize profunde. Astfel, locul care ?i este destinat spectatorului nu mai este acela de privitor pasiv, ci de partener al actorilor.?Oper?nd alegerea de sine“, spectatorul iese din plasa esteticului nu pentru a-i desfide rostul, ci pentru a se proiecta ?n centrul ac?iunii scenice, ?ntr-un loc ?n care ??i poate afirma prezen?a. Actul ?lecturii“ teatrului implic? ?ndatoriri egale cu cele din spa?iul public, for??ndu-l pe insul aflat ?n sala de spectacol s? faca o eschiva printre imperativele vie?ii, consider?nd interpretarea ca circumscriere concret? ?n ?legea universal?“ a eticului. Doar ?n acest fel, spectatorul poate accepta responsabilit??i legate de ceea ce i se ?nt?mpl?, atent la (?i preocupat de) via?a sa superioar?, spiritual?.“

** Pamella Singh – Miss India 1982… spioan? de pat la NATO ** Frumoasele Miss, prad? u?oar? pentru trafican?ii de stupefiante ** Angela Nichitin – Miss Johannesburg, victim? a traficului de carne vie ** O Miss pentru solda?ii americani din Irak ** Miss Diaspora… uneori important poten?ial pentru spionaj ?i contraspionaj? ** Momeal? pentru pedofili ** Tita Cristescu, fost? Miss Rom?nia, ucis? cu cianur? de potasiu ** Concursurile Miss ?i reginele alese, motiv de scandal ?i crim?? ** Heather Whitestone – Miss America 1994, sub teroarea unui obsedat ** Evreica Lise Goldarbeiter – Miss Univers 1929 a supravie?uit nazismului ** C?teva regine… surpriz? **** Zsa Zsa Gabor – Miss Ungaria 1936. Nou? c?s?torii ?i scandaluri cu duiumul ** Rosemarie Frankland – Miss Univers 1961, ucis? de singur?tate? ** Imelda Marcos – Miss Leyte ?i ?Muza Manilei“ al?turi de un dictator ** Bess Myerson – Miss America 1945, de la politicieni, la mafio?i ** Plou? cu Miss-uri: Nud, Fund Mare, Jumbo ?i mai tr?snite ** Miss Penitenciar sau… Miss Pu?c?rie? ** Zig-zag ?n lumea concursurilor de frumuse?e ?i a concurentelor. Pilule dulciFiecare om, evident, are destinul s?u. Reginele au avut ?i au, ?i ele, firesc, destinul lor. Cele ?ncoronate ?i declarate ca atare datorit? frumuse?ii lor fizice ?i intelectuale sunt, de multe ori, superioare celor n?scute cu s?nge albastru, dar totodat? ele sunt expuse ?i mai mult unor pericole ce le dau t?rcoale. Tenta?iile ce apar des ?i capcanele ce li se ?ntind fostelor Miss sunt de multe ori ?irezistibile“. Din nefericire, unele tinere nu le-au sesizat la timp ?i, treptat, uneori f?r? voia lor, au c?zut ?n plasa unor servicii de spionaj sau a unor re?ele mafiote interna?ionale, implicate ?n traficul cu droguri, armament ?i fiin?e umane. Altele, ?ns?, au avut un destin ?i mai tragic, ajung?nd dup? gratii sau devenind ?inta unor asasinate care au f?cut v?lv? ?n pres?.Au fost ?ns? ?i ?Regine“ fericite. Din p?cate, pu?ine ?i pentru o perioad? scurt? de timp. Nici ?n lumea Miss-urilor n-au fost ?i nu vor fi dou? destine la fel.O carte ce cuprinde un soi de miniromane poli?iste, axate pe soarta, uneori-adeseori, dramatic? a reginelor frumuse?ii.

"Romeo and Juliet" is a tragic play written early in the career of William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-cross'd lovers" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding households. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal "young lovers"??PROLOGUE:?Two households, both alike in dignity,?In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,?From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,?Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.?From forth the fatal loins of these two foes?A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;?Whole misadventured piteous overthrows?Do with their death bury their parents' strife.?The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,?And the continuance of their parents' rage,?Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,?Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;?The which if you with patient ears attend,?What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Societatea deschis? contra societ??ii deschise. Societatea rom?neasc? ?ntre utopie ?i realitate este o carte de analiz? profund? ?i complex?, ce ?i-a ales ca obiect de studiu cea mai important? paradigm? sociopolitic? a postmodernit??ii, ?mpreun? cu realit??ile concrete ce se configureaz? ?n jurul acesteia. O paradigm? care ?i-a propus s? schimbe fa?a lumii, sens ?n care, de mai bine de 25 de ani o putem observa manifest?ndu-se pe multiple coordonate ?i ?n planul realit??ilor sociale ?i politice autohtone, pe care, de altfel, autorul le radiografiaz? extrem de atent, cu ochiul, mintea ?i bagajul de cuno?tin?e proprii specialistului, dar ?i cu sufletul ?i con?tiin?a celui care apar?ine societ??ii rom?ne?ti. Cartea de fa?? este, ?n acela?i timp, ?i despre societatea deschis?, dar ?i despre trecutul, prezentul ?i viitorul prefigurat lumii ?n aceast? paradigm?, c?t ?i despre evolu?ia societ??ii rom?ne?ti ca parte integrant? a acestei lumi. Ea surprinde ?i problematizeaz? o multitudine de aspecte ?in?nd at?t de natura intrinsec? a conceptului de societate deschis?, c?t ?i de schimb?rile pe care implementarea acestui concept ca realitate social? le presupune ?i le antreneaz? ?n societ??ile contemporane. Prin aceasta, ea se recomand? ca o lectur? util?, provocatoare ?i, totodat?, revelatoare tuturor celor preocupa?i de c?mpul ?tiin?elor sociale ?i politice, dar ?i celor interesa?i s? ?n?eleag? ceva ?n plus din sistemul cauzalit??ilor profunde care influen?eaz? mersul lumii, ?n general, ?i al societ??ii rom?ne?ti, ?n particular. (Maria Voinea)

“THE TEMPEST” is Shakespeare's last book. The story Prospero relates is that he is the rightful Duke of Milan and that his younger brother, Antonio, betrayed him, seizing his title and property. Twelve years earlier, Prospero and Miranda were put out to sea in little more than a raft. Miraculously, they both survived and arrived safely on this island, where Prospero learned to control the magic that he now uses to manipulate everyone on the island. Upon his arrival, Prospero rescued a sprite, Ariel, who had been imprisoned by the witch Sycorax. Ariel wishes to be free and his freedom has been promised within two days.??The last inhabitant of the island is the child of Sycorax and the devil: Caliban, whom Prospero has enslaved. Caliban is a natural man, uncivilized and wishing only to have his island returned to him to that he can live alone in peace.??Soon the royal party from the ship is cast ashore and separated into three groups. The king's son, Ferdinand, is brought to Prospero, where he sees Miranda, and the two fall instantly in love. Meanwhile, Alonso, the king of Naples, and the rest of his party have come ashore on another part of the island. Alonso fears that Ferdinand is dead and grieves for the loss of his son. Antonio, Prospero's younger brother, has also been washed ashore with the king's younger brother, Sebastian. ??Antonio easily convinces Sebastian that Sebastian should murder his brother and seize the throne for himself. This plot to murder Alonso is similar to Antonio's plot against his own brother, Prospero, 12 years earlier.??Another part of the royal party — the court jester and the butler — has also come ashore. Trinculo and Stefano each stumble upon Caliban, and each immediately sees a way to make money by exhibiting Caliban as a monster recovered from this uninhabited island. Stefano has come ashore in a wine cask, and soon Caliban, Trinculo, and Stefano are drunk. While drinking, Caliban hatches a plot to murder Prospero and enrolls his two new acquaintances as accomplices. Ariel is listening, however, and reports the plot to Prospero.??Next, Prospero stages a masque to celebrate the young couple's betrothal, with goddesses and nymphs entertaining the couple with singing and dancing. While Ferdinand and Miranda have been celebrating their love, Alonso and the rest of the royal party have been searching for the king's son. Exhausted from the search and with the king despairing of ever seeing his son alive, Prospero has ghosts and an imaginary banquet brought before the king's party. A god-like voice accuses Antonio, Alonso, and Sebastian of their sins, and the banquet vanishes. The men are all frightened, and Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian run away.??Prospero punishes Caliban, Trinculo, and Stefano with a run through a briar patch and swim in a scummy pond. Having accomplished what he set out to do, Prospero has the king's party brought in. Prospero is clothed as the rightful Duke of Milan, and when the spell has been removed, Alonso rejects all claims to Prospero's dukedom and apologizes for his mistakes. Within moments, Prospero reunites the king with his son, Ferdinand. Alonso is especially pleased to learn of Miranda's existence and that Ferdinand will marry her.?Prospero then turns to his brother, Antonio, who offers no regrets or apology for his perfidy. ??Nevertheless, Prospero promises not to punish Antonio as a traitor. When Caliban is brought in, Caliban tells Prospero that he has learned his lesson. His two co-conspirators, Trinculo and Stefano, will be punished by the king. Soon, the entire party retires to Prospero's cell to celebrate and await their departure home. Only Prospero is left on stage.??In a final speech, Prospero tells the audience that only with their applause will he be able to leave the island with the rest of the party. Prospero leaves the stage to the audience's applause.

Dintre toate scrierile Svetlanei Aleksievici, Ultimii martori este cea mai sf??ietoare. C?ci ce poate fi mai cumplit dec?t copil?ria ?n timp de r?zboi, mai tragic dec?t inocen?a supus? violen?ei ?i anihil?rii? Personajele acestei c?r?i, b?ie?i ?i fete, aveau, ?n perioada celui de al Doilea R?zboi Mondial – conflictul poate cel mai inuman din istorie –, ?ntre trei ?i doisprezece ani, dar r?nile c?p?tate atunci le s?ngereaz? p?n? ?n ziua de azi. ?i totu?i, ?n pofida suferin?elor descrise, textul dob?nde?te o extraordinar? for?? evocatoare pentru c? reu?e?te s? reconstituie poezia inerent? v?rstei copil?riei. Tulbur?tor prin ?nc?rc?tura sa de adev?r ?i r?v??itor suflete?te, Ultimii martori ne schimb? perspectiva asupra istoriei, a r?zboiului, a copil?riei ?i a vie?ii.

Boris Johnson exploreaz?, ?n paginile acestui volum, din ce anume este constituit ?factorul Churchill“ – acea inteligen?? unic? a unuia dintre cei mai importan?i lideri ai secolului XX. Demont?nd miturile ?i prejudec??ile care au d?inuit al?turi de realitate, Johnson realizeaz? – cu inteligen?a ?i pasiunea caracteristice – portretul unui om al contradic?iilor, al curajului contagios, ?nzestrat cu o elocin?? uimitoare ?i cu o putere inegalabil? de a croi strategii. Curajos pe c?mpul de lupt?, Churchill a trebuit s? primeasc? ordin de la rege pentru a sta departe de focul b?t?liei ?n Ziua Z; a fost de acord cu bombardamentele strategice la scar? extins?, cu toate c? ura distrugerile produse de r?zboi ?i ?i dispre?uia pe politicienii care nu ?i tr?iser? ororile. A fost un jurnalist apreciat, un mare orator ?i a c??tigat Premiul Nobel pentru Literatur?. A fost faimos pentru capacitatea de a combina serile de dineuri oficiale cu nop?ile ?n care lua decizii cruciale pentru soarta r?zboiului. Viziunea sa progresist? asupra lumii l-a f?cut un pionier ?n dezvoltarea sistemului public de s?n?tate, de educa?ie ?i de asisten?? social?, de?i a r?mas un adept incorigibil al incorectitudinii politice. Factorul Churchill nu este o carte doar pe gustul pasiona?ilor de istorie. Este o lectur? esen?ial? pentru to?i cei care doresc s? afle din ce material anume e f?cut un mare lider.