首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The Elizabethan world was populated, not only by tough seamen, hard-headed politicians and serious theologians. It was a world o
The Elizabethan world was populated, not only by tough seamen, hard-headed politicians and serious theologians. It was a world o
admin
2013-03-27
59
问题
The Elizabethan world was populated, not only by tough seamen, hard-headed politicians and serious theologians. It was a world of spirits, good and bad, fairies, demons, witches, ghosts, conjurors. This fact about the Elizabethans, reflected in their poetry, is too well known to need elaboration. The epic poem in which the aspirations of the age found expression evolved around a "fairy" queen; one of the most significant figures in the poem is an enchanter. And the greatest plays of the greatest poet of the age are suffused in the atmosphere of the occult. Macbeth meets witches; Hamlet is haunted by the ghost. Was this preoccupation with the occult derived solely from popular traditions or influences? Or did it have some deep-seated connection with the philosophy of the age?
In other words, was there a philosophy of the occult characteristic of the Renaissance which might still have been operating with renewed vigour in the Elizabethan Renaissance? The history of such a philosophy has been the theme of the first part of this book. The second part, now beginning, connects closely with the first part, for it will argue that the dominant philosophy of the Elizabethan age was precisely the occult philosophy, with its magic, its melancholy, its aim of penetrating into profound spheres of knowledge and experience, scientific and spiritual, its fear of the dangers of such a quest, and of the fierce opposition which it encountered.
The characteristic philosopher of the Elizabethan age was John Dee whose mathematical preface to the English translation of Euclid(1570)begins with an invocation to "Divine Plato" and quotes Agrippa von Nettesheim on the three worlds. Dee’s preface is the work of a Renaissance Neoplatonist organically connected with the Hermetic-Cabalist core of the movement, particularly as formulated by the most extreme of its exponents, Agrippa. Dee quotes Pico della Mirandola on number, and follows Pico, Reuchlin, and Agrippa in developing intensely the Pythagorean or mathematical side of the movement. His "mathematical" preface, and his teaching in general, was immensely influential in stimulating the Elizabethan scientific Renaissance.
As is well known, Dee was not only famous as a mathematician but also famous, or infamous, as a "conjuror". How did he manage to reconcile his scientific and occult interests with his earnest claim to be a devout Christian and with his support of the Tudor Reformation? I believe that the answer to this question lies in realising that Dee was a Christian Cabalist, supporting the "more powerful" philosophy implicit in Neoplatonism as understood by Pico, Reuchlin, Giorgi, Agrippa and as developed in the Renaissance occult tradition.
To view Dee as a Christian Cabalist explains, I believe, what appear to be the curious anomalies in his outlook. It explains how the same man could be a brilliant mathematician and ardent propagator of scientific studies, and a "conjuror" of angels, whilst fervently believing himself to be an ardent reformed Christian. It explains, too, his mysterious world-wide schemes of a religious nature, his missionary journey to the continent. As a representative of the inspired melancholy with its three stages of insight as expounded by Agrippa, he would see Christian Cabala the "more powerful" philosophy which was to supersede scholasticism, as potentially a world-wide movement of reform, to be applied not only in Elizabethan England.
If, after studying the history of the occult philosophy in the Renaissance outlined in the first part of this book, we follow the themes into the life and work of Dee, we may begin to see Dee in his true historical context. He appears as truly a man of the late Renaissance developing Renaissance occult philosophy in scientific directions, involved in the religious and reforming side of the movement, but overtaken by the reaction of the later sixteenth century.
It is important to bear in mind the late date of the Elizabethan Renaissance. It begins to flourish at a time when, on the continent, the reaction against Renaissance Neoplatonism and its associated occultisms was growing greatly in intensity as part of the Counter-Reformation effort to apply a restrictive attitude towards Renaissance Neoplatonism. The building up of Queen Elizabeth I as a Neoplatonic heroine by Spenser was in itself a challenge to the Catholic Counter-Reformation powers and their attitude to Renaissance philosophy.
When the author writes, "It was a world of spirits, good and bad, fairies, demons, witches, ghosts, conjurors," she does so to show that______.
选项
A、the Elizabethan age was an enchanted time
B、there was a side to the Elizabethan age that was occult
C、the occult played important part in the Elizabethan age
D、the "supernatural" was a matter-of-fact part of daily life in the Elizabethan age
答案
D
解析
根据第一段的“The Elizabethan world was populated,not only by tough seamen,hard-headed politicians and serious theologians. It was a world of spirits,good andbad,fairies,demons,witches,ghosts,conjurors.This fact about the Elizabethans,re-flected in their poetry,is too well known to need elaboration.”可知,伊丽莎白一世时代不仅由坚韧的海员、冷静的政客和严肃的神学家构成,同时也是一个充满了神灵、善良和邪恶、小精灵、恶魔、女巫、幽灵和魔术师的世界。这种情形在相关的诗歌中体现出来,并且也是众人皆知、毋庸赘述的。据此可知,“超自然的事物”实际上是伊丽莎白时代日常生活的一部分。D项正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/vVmO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
AtleastsincetheIndustrialRevolution,genderroleshavebeeninastateoftransition.Asaresult,culturalscriptsaboutm
Lovecan’tconquerall.So,beforecouplestietheknot,theyshouldknowwhatthey’regettinginto.Thetabooagainstcouplesl
Thedirectoroftheresearchinstitutecameinpersonto_____thateverythingwasallright.
Anewmaterial_____,wehavegoodreasontobeoptimistic.
Perhapsallcriminalsshouldberequiredtocarrycardswhichread;Fragile;HandlewithCare.Itwillneverso,thesedaystog
Intoday’srapidlychangingeconomy,opportunities______forthosewhoaremotivatedanddedicatedtoachievingtheircareergo
Almostsincethebeginningofmankind,governmentshavebeenrecordingthenumbersoftheirpopulace.Thefirstknowncensusrepo
Duringhistwo-monthstayinChina,Tomnever______achancetopracticehisChinese.
Hedemandedthateffectivemeasuresbetakentoputanendtocheatinginexams.
AleadingBritishscholarhasproposedtranslatingShakespeareintocontemporaryEnglish______youngaudiencewhoareconfused
随机试题
患者,女,77岁。间断咳嗽、喘息30余年,近5年出现下肢水肿。2周前着凉后咳喘加重。查体:球结膜水肿,双肺可闻及干、湿哕音,双下肢水肿(++)。血气分析:pH7.32,PaCO278mmHg,PaO251mmHg。不宜采用的措施是
冬季,某500头保育猪群,出现体温升高,被毛粗乱。部分猪喜卧,不愿运动,强行驱赶可见跛行,仔细检查发现后肢关节肿大。部分猪出现心包炎和腹膜炎。死亡率约3%。将关节液接种TSA培养基,病原生长严格依赖NAD。我国现阶段预防该病的疫苗是
根据《条约法公约》第51条的规定,使条约无效的情况有?
4.某公司上年销售额为1000万元,销售净利率为12%。其他有关资料如下:(1)上年的财务杠杆系数为1.2,今年的财务杠杆系数为1.5;(2)上年固定经营成本为240万元,今年保持不变;(3)所得税税率为25%;(4
XYZ股份有限公司(以下简称XYZ公司)是一家以电子产品加工为主营业务的上市公司,在2×10年度的财务报表审计中,北京P会计师事务所决定由合伙人注册会计师X负责该项审计业务,并指派注册会计师Y担任该项业务的项目经理。2×11年2月12日,注册会计师Y开始执
把下面的六个图形分成两类,使每一类图形都有各自的共同特征或规律,分类正确的一项是:
WhenAdamsservedasthesixthU.S.president,______.Choosethebesttitleforthispassage.
Smokingisconsidereddangeroustothehealth.Ourtobacco-seller,Mr.Smith,therefore,alwaysaskedhiscustomers,iftheyare
Youwillhearapieceofnews.Foreachquestion(23-30),markoneletter(A,BorC)forthecorrectanswer.Afteryouhavelis
ThevariousminoritygroupsintheUnitedStates,suchasAsian-Americans,BlackAmericans,HispanicAmericansandNativeAmeric
最新回复
(
0
)