Favoritism and the Powers of the Gods
In ancient times, people believed that their lives would be significantly better off if the gods favored them. In the Aeneid, gods were battling with each other over who would control fate. Even the Bible shows us incidences of favoritism. In a society where everything is governed by the gods, the favor of a god bestowed upon a person was extremely important. In the sources, The Aeneid and The Bible, favoritism and the powers of the gods play crucial roles in determining the outcome of the stories.
While reading the Bible, one cannot help but notice the obvious cases of favoritism. In the story of Cain and Abel, the Lord God is portrayed as a supreme being, who demands that the highest respect be paid to Him. In receiving offerings from Cain and Abel, God expects that they would bring Him only the best they could give. He took it for granted that each of the boys would sacrifice anything to please Him. However, this wasn’t to be:
3 In the course of time
Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the soil, 4 while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best first- lings of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on
Cain and his offering he did not.
(Genesis 4:3-5)
This passage shows that by giving an offering that is deemed worthy, the favor of God will shine down. However, the opposite also holds true, that if one’s offering is only sub-par, then God will not look down upon you with favor, as is the case with Cain.
This idea is also portrayed in the story of Noah. The Lord God has seen that his beautiful creation has been corrupted, and decides that he will destroy all living things on Earth. However, God spares Noah and all of Noah’s descendants because, “Noah found this favor with the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). The Bible describes how Noah sought the approval of God. In the story it says he was, “a good man and blameless in that age, for he walked with God” (Genesis 6:9-10). God concludes to save Noah because he obeyed Him and became what God wanted him to be, without ever relinquishing his own convictions and personal identity.
The idea of favoritism in Roman literature is extremely popular. Never was this more apparent than in The Aeneid of Virgil.
Martin Luther King’s speech was very persuading due to his ability to use language. His use of language was brilliant, with the combination of all lit elements, most importantly anaphoras and allusions. Dr. King uses allusions all throughout his speech, an allusion is an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly. An allusion is used to refer back to something in the past and help emphasize a piece of writing. As shown in the text on page 1 paragraph 2, Dr. King uses a piece from the Gettysburg address to start his speech, “ Five score years ago.” Dr. King used a piece from the Gettysburg Address because that was a very important piece of writing in American history and it really helped emphasize his speech. Another allusion used in Dr. King’s speech is stated in the text on page 1 paragraph 4 “ When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the
Siddhartha has the urge to become enlightened There was something telling him to endure on his journey to enlightenment and thus begins the Hero Journey This is the first step towards his journey After seeing the Samanas, he decides he wants to follow in their footsteps to learn more about himself and the world that he has been sheltered from his whole life When he tells his family about his decision of becoming and Samana they refuse to let him go, especially his father who has done most of
(II Corinthians 5: 7) Farming is difficult and all farmers are proud when they are blessed with an exceptional harvest. No doubt, Cain expected that all the hard work, care and time that went into his offering would make it acceptable. This is evident from his reaction to the Lord’s rejection. Cain’s sacrifice was not rejected because he did not worship in earnest. Indications are that Cain was sincere; nonetheless, he did not worship by faith which comes by hearing the word of God. He worshipped according to his feelings by changing, adding and subtracting from God’s Word; however, his feelings were wrong and he violated God’s commandments. (Deuteronomy
Rome was experiencing a great deal of internal turmoil during the period when Virgil wrote the Aeneid. There was somewhat of an identity crisis in Rome as it had no definitive leader, or history. With the ascension of Augustus to the throne, Rome was unified again. Still, it had no great book. The Greeks had their Odyssey, giving them a sense of history and of continuity through time. A commonly held view is that the Aeneid attempts to provide the Romans with this sense of continuity or roots. There is a great deal of textual evidence to support this interpretation. Virgil makes numerous references to the greatness of Rome through "ancient" prophecies. Clearly, the entire poem is an account of the founders of Rome. In some sense, this does make the Aeneid seem as a piece of propaganda. However, upon closer examination, there is another idea that Virgil presents. War is painted as a vicious and bloody, not some glorious event. The image of war condemns the concept of Rome as the all-powerful conqueror of other nations. Not only that, but the strong emphasis on duty is frequently mocked. These underlying ideas would seem to run contrary to the theory that Virgil was simply producing a synthesized history of ancient Romans. In order to determine the true intent of the Aeneid, it is important that both ideas presented be examined.
King used was repetition. In this paragraph, Dr. King used repetition to reinforce his goal of getting Americans to break the silence. Dr. King stated,
Siddhartha, written by Herman Hesse, is a novel about a man's progression towards his goal to center his life with a combination of peace and balance. Many of the displayed philosophies can be applied to today's world. Through my reading, I noticed many similarities between my life and Siddhartha's. First, Siddhartha felt a need for independence, that to truly be happy with his success, he must attain his achievements in his own way, and not others. Even though, he feels he must acquire this by himself, he tries to be as removed from his human side as possible. Only later does he learn that individuality and freedom from necessity must be united to procure his objectives and free him from his imperfections. Second, Siddhartha discovers that things and riches do not bring happiness. They are only temporary. No matter the extent of wealth a person has this never satisfies the insatiable need for possessions. Lastly, Siddhartha found that balance is the key to peace and happiness. Although a simplistic teaching, it is very complex to learn and apply. In my life, I can relate to his path and lessons, because I feel the same struggles and battles with attaining serenity.
...f the divine world but the kings were in charge of vocalizing god’s wishes on earth. The most famous of these law codes was Hammurabi’s law code. The Hebrews tried to establish order by using Yahweh’s Ten Commandments and the Torah. Mesopotamian deities were hard to please and easily angered. The Mesopotamians constantly felt they were letting their gods down and usually didn’t even know the reason behind it. Hebrews had a much more forgiving god. Through texts like “The Book of Job”, it is apparent that Yahweh was a tough god but always forgiving and fair in the end. He had few demands of his people and all of them were ethical and easy to adhere to. As long as his devotees followed Yahweh’s laws, they were all capable of receiving his blessings. Through it all, it seemed that God and religion was at the center of every aspect of life in the ancient civilization.
Fiscal Policy involves the Government changing the levels of Taxation and Government Spending in order to influence AD (Aggregate Demand) and therefore the level of economic activity.
Virgil. “The Aeneid, Book IV”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 974-95. Print.
The first book of The Aeneid by Virgil takes place in a world ruled by supreme beings. All aspects of nature and life are controlled by gods and goddesses. For example, Venus is the goddess of sex and love; Aeolus is the god of wind; Neptune is the god of the sea. They hold so much power. However, their power is not always used for the good. For instance Juno, the queen of the gods, was extremely angry about the Trojans coming into Carthage, a city that “Juno loved it, they say, beyond all other lands in the world…” (Virgil, lines 17-18) She always had a deep-rooted hatred for the Trojans. She is recalling the time when she fought with them in a previous war, stating that “The goddess never forgot the old campaign that she had waged at Troy
God did not reject Cain’s sacrifice because it was less than the best of his crop. Moses wrote, “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4: 3-5)
III. (Reveal Topic) You simply cannot rely on Social Security to support you in your "Golden Years". You can never start too early to save for your retirement. In fact, the earlier, the better.
Personal financial planning eventually leads to secured retirement years; this is the purpose to plan for the future. With a volatile and erratic economy, and social security benefits undetermined in regards to having enough money to comfortably survive after retirement is critical. There is no magic ball to tell us what the coming years will bring; this is why it is up to each individual to have their own financial lives under control. Having a concrete financial plan now will secure an increased comfortable future.
Retirement comes early for most people. Early meaning that we are not ready for what comes with it. Most people would love to retire today, but unfortunately it is nearly impossible. It takes a lifetime for a person to become financial stable and adequately equip with assets that have been gained throughout someone’s life. Everyone must start young, in fact the sooner the better. Any money, or savings that can be applied today will always come with an enhanced future. So is it worth it to work harder and save now in order to possibly access a pleasant retirement? With out effort now we will be dependent on other sources in our retirement years, sources that may not come through for everyone who needs it. There are three ways to help Americans be better prepared now. These methods include saving money now, and investing in sources with returns. Do not become one of the millions of Americans who fall into government assisted retirement plans by lack of preparation and planning.
The importance of saving for retirement is all based on how the individual wants their lifestyle to be after their career. The sooner they begin saving and investing their money, the more profound lifestyle they are bound to live. There is a saving plan called the 401(k) that lets employees have a percentage of their net pay withdrawn before taxes. This helps significantly if they are planning to retire earlier on in their lifetime because it can also lower the amount of taxes owed each take which essentially is more money in your pocket every paycheck. America as a whole downplays the significance of saving for retirement until they get of a certain age and they are too drained to get up for work and work a full shift as they would when they were of a younger age. Typically, when living in retirement you are free to travel and reach goals you were not able to achieve because life and work got in the way. Enjoying your retirement is the goal, not to make your retirement a burden to you or their