The 'Sublime' in Literature

A Few Thoughts on the “Sublime”

Right from the times and the climes of Aeschylus, who’s rightfully got on himself the huge honorific, - “Father of Tragedy,” and has, till date, been the benevolent benchmark for the entire gamut of Western literature on the ‘tragic’ genre, and his ardent advocacy of the ‘sublime’ in poetry, the word ‘sublime’ has always sustained in having gotten unto itself such a delightful, mesmerizing haloed aura that bespeaks volumes to its sustained passionate sway over writers and poets all over the planet!

Interestingly, although Euripides advocates the sublime, himself, and is considered one of the triumvirates on the “terrific three tragedians hall of fame on ancient Greece,” Nietzsche ain’t really considers him so!

In his The Birth of Tragedy, his talk tones down on his admiration for the third of the trio!

To him, Euripides is more vulgar than Sophocles! And he’s got his validating reasons for that too!

Furthering on his ponderance on the sublime, he adds, “What gives to everything tragic, the characteristic tendency to the sublime, is the dawning of the knowledge that the world and life can afford us no true satisfaction, and are therefore not worth our attachment to them. In this the tragic spirit consists; accordingly it leads to resignation”!

Hence, according to Nietzsche, tragedy takes a detour to a debilitating downturn and gradually to a decline, with Euripides!

Hence, he avers that, ‘Euripides represents the transition into modernity’ and in the ‘New Comedy’ that succeeded him, there was ‘a womanish (I’d personally say sexist!!!) flight from seriousness and terror’, and hence also from the sublime!

Even to Schopenhauer, one among the trio, Sophocles comes under some attack! ‘Shakespeare is much greater than Sophocles,’ he quips!

Longinus’s immortal treatise On the Sublime, written around the first century A.D., has probably been one of the earliest and of the best advocates on the aura of the ‘sublime’ for us all!

To Longinus, therefore, the truly sublime effect, could only be produced by ‘greatness of soul,’ and one can reach its dazzling heights only as heave-ho as one reaches by an arduous journey, or flight!

And he also alludes to the use of ‘figurative language’ as a vehicle for such a ‘flight,’ of fantasy, and adds (to the delight of Stanley Fish and his comrades) that, it is not just the writer who is transported by the power of the sublime, but the reader as well!

No wonder, Longinus has been such a striking influence on the Romantics, along with Kant, who’s the master-influence on the Romantics, for his advocacy on the subjective, or the ‘I’ to the experience of the ‘sublime’!

Lyotard alludes to the importance of Kant’s take on the sublime in the latter’s Critique of Judgement, for the inquiring mind to get an idea on the intricacies and the delights contained within the modernist art works galore, and on their ‘avant-gardish’ sensibilities in their painting, art and music!

Kant’s intellectual contemporary, and an equally vociferous and vehement votary to the sublime, Edmund Burke has also doled out his delightful deifications on the sublime, in his treatise titled, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and the Beautiful. Well, in many ways, this work of Burke is a pioneering, trendsetter of sorts! It also marks the first defence for the artistic merit of horror in literature!

To Burke, interestingly, the beautiful and the sublime are diametrically contrastive in their appeal!

He says, “There is a wide difference between admiration and love. The sublime, which is the cause of the former, always dwells on great objects, and terrible; the latter on small ones, and pleasing; we submit to what we admire, but we love what submits to us; in one case we are forced, in the other we are flattered into compliance.”

No surprise then, that Kant, quoting his pal Burke, quips on a similar note! To Kant, as with Burke, woman is always associated with the ‘beautiful’ and the male with the ‘sublime’!

He vouches to his facts, rooting that, the ‘fair sex’ has ‘as much understanding as the men’, but still, the woman has ‘a beautiful understanding, whereas the men ought to have a deep understanding, in tangent with the sublime!

[Thanks much to Dr. Angeline, on RR, for providing a delightful spark on the subject]!

To be contd…

Readers of all hues... Unite!

A Rich Tribute to the Joys of Reading!

Nostalgia | Rufus

Three voracious readers with one aim!

Sharing what we’ve read!

Sharing what we read!

Sharing what we are gonna read!

with the avowed objective of sharing our reads, and enriching others in the process, and thereby growing together in this gentle walk on the vibrant road of reading!

Well, it was the first week of November 2017, when the three ignited minds aka passionate readers, who were delightfully sharing their reads across whatsapp over a period of time, decided thus:

“What if we could have a little reading community of like-minded readers, who could share amongst ourselves all that we read, thereby enriching our reads, and enlarging our horizons of knowledge? What say?”

As our former President, Dr. Kalam ji says,

“Dream, Dream, Dream! Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.”

He also adds, “for noble actions, you must have noble thoughts!”

Yesss! Our one delightful, noble thought, soon got itself beautifully translated into noble action!

And soon enough was born a vibrant, beautiful and an amazing community of readers under the banner of a lovely WhatsApp group titled, “Readers’ Rendezvous”!

Through this petit yet powerful reading group, our aim was to establish a knowledge bank, or a knowledge repertoire or a knowledge powerhouse that derives its nourishment and succour from the most vibrant of skills – READING!

A delightful and a lovely conclave of excellence, and an amazing paradise of knowledge galore to readers!

Very soon, readers of all hues were added in such quick succession, and the community was teeming with such vibrant thoughts and ideas, over fervent discussions and dynamic threads that was akin to having a gigantic university of learning amidst us, or should I say, a University of Reading!

The three vibrant admins of the group, made sure the reading frenzy was intact, and sustained itself, by organising frequent events on the group.

Reading Challenges were held, and publishers were added. Publishers went ahead and even sponsored prize money of Rs. 2000/- for the winner of every Readers’ Challenge Round!

Saturday nights were meant for exclusive debates and panel discussions with moderators and participants who discussed such interesting academic issues on this vibrant blended learning platform.

Committed groupies took the onus on themselves to focus on contributing something from what they found interesting on the reading front, and hence was born a range of interesting series. Some of them are –

The Joy of Reading Series,

The PG Wodehouse Series,

The Monthly Readers’ Challenge,

Author of the Day Series,

Morning Mantra Season 1, Season 2 Series,

Night Audio Watch Series,

Book Story Series,

Bed-time Literary Ruminations Series,

Shape of iDeas by Grant Snider Series,

E-books Series,

Literary Theory and Criticism Series,

Tri-part Series on Bioregional Studies,

Yet a Little More About Literature Series,

Infinite Discourses Series,

Galleries from the Past Series,

Wanna be a Tharooraurus Series,

Abe Lincoln’s Anecdotes Series,

Quotes Extraordinaire Series,

E-Newspapers and magazine Series,

The Other Side Series,

Infographics @ RR Series,

Connect the Dots Series,

Critical Terms for the Literary Soul Series,

Digging wit(H) RR Series, et al.

The beauty of all these series is that, groupies took time off their busy routines and commented on the threads, and made the posts and series very lively and interactive all along.

These wonderful initiatives so enriched and nourished one another, through our little little shares, cute comments, profound observations, witty remarks, lovely appreciations, beautiful illustrations, insightful opinions, etc etc and thereby served to bring out the rich potential within us all!

Groupies who had been to Literature Festivals, or Book Fairs, Book Stores, etc., gave a live feed/commentary on the vibrant events/books/people they met with, along the way, and made sure they shared of their joys on the group as well.

The only sine qua non to be a groupie on this Garden was this:

Groupies should on no occasion remain passive! Cos it was unanimously decided that, Vibrancy will be our hallmark, all of the time!!!

Admins had already decided that a maximum relaxation for passivity might be given for a week’s time! Beyond which, passive groupies might be quietly removed without much ado! No explanations asked or given!

Over a period of time, many groupies from all parts of India, were added on the group, and they replenished the group with their delightful reads.

The group was gaining much celebrity status over the days, weeks and months. Budding novelists were added, Famous Correspondents and Editors of the leading English dailies were added, reputed publishers were added! Right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, litterateurs of all hues found a place on this lively garden of readers!

When a book was discussed on the group, such was the enthusiasm among groupies, that, within no time they ordered it online for themselves and soon gave a succinct review of their reads too!

In no time, the group branched up, spread its luminous wings, and I am extremely happy to note that, as many as 16 reading groups have come up as a result of our attempt at launching a platform teeming with such a delightful reading community.

At a time and age when reading has taken a beating, it is only a matter of immense pride to note that, our reading group is growing and growing by leaps and bounds!

From being a cherubic toddler this past year, our rolly polly reading group is turning one at the stroke of midnight tonight.

And what an amazing journey it has been thus far.

Well, yes! although with a sad heart, admins had to wield the eject button to rein in passive groupies at times, (yes! 210 groupies had to be given a sad exit, cos of sustained passivity) still, the reading community is gaining such a passionate momentum and is on a tremendous upswing over the past few weeks!

On this delightful occasion, let me thank all our committed, delightful groupies – past and present, who have enriched and nurtured this vibrant reading community with their lively reads and shares all along!

For making our amazing reading garden so memorable, we extend our personal, heartfelt thanks to you all.

We at Readers’ Rendezvous sincerely believe that, a reading community shouldn’t be huge on the numbers!

We've always felt that, a reading commune should be huge on thoughts, should be huge on ideas, should be huge on meaningful interactions, should be huge on thought-provoking discussions, should be huge on positive energy, should be huge on appreciating other groupies, and finally, should be huge on their reading quotient.

As one of our admins Prof. Prem rightly put it, We @ Rendezvous, ‘Read and Grow Together’!

What an amazing premise that fits our group to a tee!

On the eve of the first anniversary of our lively reading group, “Readers’ Rendezvous”, here’s wishing our delightful Readers’ Garden many many many more eventful years of reading in a vibrant, dynamic community of readers of all hues and colours!

Viva la Readers’ Rendezvous!

Viva la Readers!

Love,

Admins @ Readers’ Rendezvous

Prem/Rasheeda/Rufus

Georg Simmel’s work on culture |Urs Fuhrer

The origins of the term “culture” can be traced back to the Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero, who claimed in his Tusculum Disputations, 2000 years ago: “Cultura animi philosophia est.”

This formulation makes sense only if “cultura” denotes a process, as it also does in “agri cultura.”

The cultivation of land, plants, and animals was the congenial basis on which Cicero postulated a cultivation of the mind, which we called philosophy.

Cicero’s approach had long receded into the collective memory of the European nations when the Baltic vicar Johann Gottfried Herder took it up 1800 years later in his Ideas towards a Philosophy of History of Mankind, which appeared in 1778.

For Herder, culture also denotes a process, but one which he relates to the central goal of his age, i.e. enlightenment.

Along the Herderian line of reasoning, Hegel came up with his idea of culture as “objective spirit.”

The era of the “cultured individual:” the 1840s to the 1920s

Hegel’s “objective spirit” inspired metaphors for a new orientation towards culture.

The guiding metaphor of the theories of objective spirit, was that culture was the “coagulated spirit” that, through the hermeneutic-understanding view of the subject, becomes re-subjectifiable.

Excerpted from: Cultivating Minds: Identity as Meaning-making Practice, Routledge, 2004.

Know Thyself!

Celebrating “YOU!” | Ideas from Great Minds

The ‘Courage’ to be Yourself!

We, as human beings in general, and as learners in particular, always regard the ‘cultured’ self, which is conditioned by the society in which we live, as the true form of self-identity that establishes our individual worth, truth and merit!

Any personal development, professional growth or career advancement is always seen from this ‘vantage’ point of view, that we fear and dread the very fact to be different!

‘Why did you take to Engineering?’

“My parents forced me into it. So I had no other option.”

‘But why-o-why?’

“That’s the way of the world, they say!”

‘What do you mean by the ‘way of the world’?’

“The way society goes about doing things in general.”

‘What if you don’t go by the ‘normative’ dictates of ‘society’?”

‘I probably would be stereotyped as a ‘cultural misfit’!’

Many of us are, like this pavapetta learner, easily swayed by the ‘dictums of society’ imposed on us, the restrictions and the clutters, the pressures and the pulls, from parents and kith and kin, that inhibit and retard our free selves, the stale, clichéd normatives of society that stifle us from celebrating the true, liberated ‘self’ within us all!

‘Society’ hates it with such fierce hatred, when you try to celebrate your own personal space, by stepping aside and gently moving away from the ‘basic givens!’

‘Society’ looks down upon you with contempt when you attempt at venturing into a field that people would call ‘highly insane’!

‘Society’ would even call you a ‘misfit’ if your thoughts, your ideas, your way of life and your sense of self, are way out of the box!

But you can’t blame society for it!

That’s because, that’s the way society has always been!

At the same time, there have been great thinkers, stalwarts, philosophers and motivational authors down the ages who have always exhorted us hard to celebrate our sense of ‘self’!

To Aristotle, “Knowing oneself is the beginning of true wisdom!”

To Pythagoras, ‘Only if you know yourself, you can then know the universe and God!’

To Jiddu Krishnamurti, ‘To know yourself you need not go to any book, to any priest, to any psychologist. The whole treasure is within yourself’ and so, ‘the more you know yourself, the more clarity there is’!

Similarly, there have also been a host of motivational experts who have exhorted us all to ‘dare to be different’!

From Edward de Bono, who’s given us tips to go out of the box in our thinking,

To Steven Covey who’s given us motivation enough to prioritise the individual ‘character ethic’ over the ‘personality ethic’,

To Daniel Goleman who has prioritized the ‘emotional’ over the ‘Intellectual’,

To Malcolm Gladwell, who’s given us the 80/20 principle, where the 80% of the work are done by the 20 percent of the participants,

To Norman Vincent Peale, who’s waxed eloquent on the power that comes along with positive thinking, to help people suffering from huge inferiority complexes and those having lost faith in themselves to come out of these quagmire stuff, and regain self-esteem and faith.

To Luminita D. Saviuc, author of the inspirational book titled, 15 Things You Should Give Up to be Happy, she quotes a very interesting study done by Professors at Harvard University who found out that,

‘All children are born geniuses; 9,999 out of every 10,000 are swiftly, inadvertently degeniusized by grown-ups’.

This study proves a very interesting and inspiring thought, she says!

That -  

Intelligence is not an inherited trait, nor is it something that only special people possess, but rather there is genius in each and every one of us.

This is something you should never doubt. Something you should never forget. And even though at times your mind will try to convince you that there’s nothing unique and special about you, you should never doubt that there truly is.

You should never doubt that there is something in you that is unique, powerful and of great value, that there is a beautiful reason for your existence and a great purpose for your life, because there is.

We are all born gifted; we are all born geniuses.

There is something unique, valuable and very precious in each and every one of us.

We all possess unique gifts and talents that are meant to be our gifts to the world.

And in time we will be able to realize that who we are matters, and that the work we hold in our hearts is of great value and of great importance.

There’s no such thing as intelligent and less intelligent people.

There’s no such thing as worthy and unworthy people.

There’s no such thing as valuable and less valuable people.

There’s no such thing as people who can make the impossible possible and people who can’t.

There’s no such thing as special and less special people.

These are nothing but mind-created barriers and limitations - limitations that are meant to keep us stuck in a very dark, lonely and unhappy place.

There’s something unique and precious about each and every one of us.

We are all valuable human beings; we are all intelligent and capable of achieving many beautiful and wonderful things.

We each have a very important role to play in this world, and who we are matters.

Who you are matters.

What you know matters.

Your unique gifts and talents matter.

Your presence and your work matter, and whether you believe it or not, the world needs you.

The world needs you to be you, to do your part and to play your role as beautifully as possible.

That’s the challenge!

And that’s the first step, the baby step, towards living an authentic life!

Yes! An authentic life!

There are quite a few possible ways to celebrate your sense of self-worth!

I would like to enumerate just two for the moment, down below –

First and foremost,

Cultivate your Personal (Sacred) Space!

Yes! It IS a sacred space!

Every individual who wishes to have a high sense of self-esteem must needs do this in their life for sure!

People who tend to follow the crowd, the passive majority, are always known for their fickle-mindedness! (Julius Caesar, Shakespeare)! They ain’t gonna have a sense of self-esteem anytime, anywhere!

But people with a good sense of self-esteem will always cherish their personal space!

A Personal space, is one’s cherished sacred space, where there ain’t gonna be any intruders of any sort!

Celebrate this personal space, - a minimum of say, one hour a day, or two hours a day, every day of the week, every week of the month, and every month of the year, until you gently exit this dwelling!

So what exactly do I do with this thingy called a ‘personal space’, you may ask?

Well, you can literally do anything.

Simply put, be yourself. Indulge yourself in whatever you like doing the most! In your own treasured private space!

A Space where you are not gonna have any dictates from anyone!

The mantra to celebrating your personal space is this:

Dare to come out of anything that clutters your life.

Rightaway!

Anything that exercises an uninterrupted power over your little lovely life, cut it off rightaway!

Don’t be a slave to anyone! To anything! You weren’t born to be a slave to anyone, anything, and anywhere!

Secondly,

Discuss Ideas, NOT people!

As the good old adage goes, “Small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, great minds discuss ideas.”

Well, there’s more to this quote than meets the eye!

SMALL MINDS DISCUSS PEOPLE!

So how do we identify a “small mind”? Quite simple!

A “Small mind” is a person, who, when he/she gets to know something about someone else that no one else knows, they get such great inspiration and a huge boost to their lowly, lackluster, wayward lives!

And when they share it with another person, they experience such a great sense of satisfaction, or a sense of accomplishment, and this alone forms the basis for establishing a shared intimate connection with the other person!

And the obnoxious cycle just goes on and on amongst these small, petty minds!

Their very existence on this planet hinges on these little gossips that rule their lives with an iron hand, all through their small, petty lives!

In fact, discussing people is never a bad proposition after all!

But we should ask ourselves the reason for going ahead and sharing the information about another person!

Is it for slander, for gossip, for maligning their character, or for telling/celebrating the little good things that we have observed in that person?

Yes! it’s the intention that matters!

AVERAGE MINDS DISCUSS EVENTS!

This is not the Derridean ‘event’, but it could be any ordinary event like your friend’s wedding, betrothal, or birthday!

Average minds excel in discussing the little uneventful things that happened in these ‘auspicious’ occasions, and revel with happiness in highlighting the negatives and the weaknesses that happened at the event/s.

When this event is shared or discussed with their ‘friend’, opinions are given, criticisms are made and judgments are pronounced, and even verdicts are passed with such intense joy and mirth!

GREAT MINDS DISCUSS IDEAS!

Great minds always take delight in indulging themselves with meaningful conversations, intellectual chatter, ideas that question the status quo, that critique the present by presenting alternative ‘what if’s, and create pathways or policies that can chart a delightful future ahead, for others to follow!

Great minds are ennobling minds, who ‘apply thought’ to whatever they do, are so intellectually mature, that they do not have the time to talk about gossips, about people, about events etc.

They think it below their dignity to stoop to the levels of gossiping, or wasting their precious time talking stuff about people or events!

That’s because their thoughts are always focused on the betterment of themselves and the society at large!

Thirdly,

Avoid Negative People!

It’s an innate quality within us all to strive to be happy and to make others happy, and thereby attain happiness, peace and joy in our little, beautiful lives on this planet!

However, there are people who are an embodiment of negativity, who are always lurking behind us, trying to kill the chirpy, happy spirit within us!

They can never ever produce any positive vibes or happiness around them, and they will take away all your precious attention, all your valuable time, and all your vibrant energy, even as they pull you deeper and deeper into their bottomless pit of negativity!

And yesss!

Always surround yourself with people who inspire you, encourage you and help you realize your value and your potential.

Oprah Winfrey vouches to the success of this great method! She says,

“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”

And, as the saying goes – “Life is simply too short to be friends with negative people! -  and added,  there are a lot of great people out there”!

Most importantly, ‘It’s time for you to be saying ‘Yes’, only when you feel it in your heart that you should be saying, ‘yes!’ and ‘No’ when ‘no’ is needed. It is time for you to Love, Honour and Respect Yourself once more!’

‘Always remember that life is too short to live a life that is not yours to live. So yes! Let go of your fears, and Be Yourself fully!’

Because, that’s the apt definition of the word ‘Courage’ for you!

The Courage to be Yourself!

I chanced upon a lovely read, titled, The Courage to Be Yourself, edited by Al Desetta, a book that celebrates true stories from 26 young minds, teens to be specific, on how they all faced peer pressure, teasing, bullying, exclusion, or just feeling “different” from everyone else.

Giving a peek from the delightful Introduction to the book, for y’all, and then, me thought of suggesting a story for you to read, by Dwan Carter, which was such a huge inspiration to me, and a must-read for us all!

Just excerpts from the Introduction –

Nadishia gets harassed because she doesn’t wear the latest designer clothes. Rana, who is Arab American, becomes the target of hate after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Cassandra’s friends make fun of her for sitting with kids from other races in the school cafeteria. Yen gets teased for being Chinese, Jeremiah for being gay, and Jamel for not wanting to smoke marijuana. One anonymous teen is so afraid of being ridiculed for liking musicals that he keeps his tastes a secret. All these writers ask themselves tough questions: Why does everyone have such a problem with me? How come people can’t accept me for who I am? Is it okay to be different? Should I change myself to fit in?

This book, The Courage to Be Yourself is about the conflicts that teens go through when they get labeled and judged because they seem different. Differences can be threatening. Most people trust what they’re familiar with and fear the unfamiliar.

Labels are hard to avoid. You make statements by the friends you choose, where you sit at lunch, where you hang out, the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, the way you talk, and even the way you walk. At the same time, people make assumptions about you because of things you don’t choose or have control over, such as your race, physical appearance, where you live, or your sexual orientation. People are quick to judge by using labels because, in a sense, what else do they have to go by? We’re all limited by our own points of view and the groups we belong to—our families, neighborhoods, schools, and cultural backgrounds.

It’s okay, and even important, to belong to a group, because groups help people feel secure. But it’s important not to let groups define individuals. When race or dress or sexual orientation—or another label—is all you know about an individual, that individual becomes less of a person. And that can lead to conflict.

The underlying message is that, one way teens can solve conflicts with each other is by understanding and respecting the differences among themselves. And part of that process involves understanding and respecting yourself.

The teens in this book have used conflict to become stronger, better people, and you can too.

The choices and changes they made weren’t easy—their stories don’t always end happily, with all difficulties solved. Some writers lose friends who mean a lot to them, others continue to be teased and harassed, and many continue to struggle with difficult emotions.

As Jonathan Lear says, "To be human is necessarily to be a vulnerable risk-taker; to be a courageous human is to be good at it. That is, a courageous person has the psychological resources to face the risks with dignity and to make good judgments in the light of them." (Radical Hope, 123). 

How trueeey! 

But that is exactly also the value of The Courage to Be Yourself.

LitFest'18 @ MGR University! Revised Dates - 3, 4, 5 October

Teacher's Day Musings from Literature!

At the dawn of yet another delightful Teachers’ Day that acknowledges and celebrates the power and the charm of the teacher, their esteem and their value, and how they shape and mould and impact and influence their students for eternity, here’s a small gleaning from some of literature’s most endearing teachers, both in writers and in their writings.

I believe these personal literary gleanings, would sure motivate all of us to becoming better teachers in the delightful and noble service of dispelling the ‘darkness of ignorance’ from the students entrusted in our noblest care, towards making them better human beings and better citizens of this great nation.

Here’s wishing y’all a Happy teachers’ day and happy inspirational reading too!

Here goes -

1. Teacher Recommends his prodigious Student Achebe!

In 1957, Achebe went to London to attend the British Broadcasting Corporation Staff School. One of his teachers there was the British novelist and literary critic Gilbert Phelps, who recommended Things Fall Apart for publication.

2. To Amis, School life was more rewarding than even family life

To Kingsley Amis, thanks to his teachers, his School was more rewarding than family life. Amis attended Norbury College, where at the age of eleven he had his first story, ‘‘The Sacred Rhino of Uganda,’’ published in the school magazine.

Amis writes enthusiastically about his years at this excellent day school, recalling the broad range of social strata from which its students were drawn and its humane spirit of tolerance: ‘‘I have never in my life known a community where factions of any kind were less in evidence, where differences of class, upbringing, income group and religion counted for so little.’’ Academic standards were high, and Amis, specializing first in classics and then in English, maintained a level that earned him a scholarship to St. John’s College, Oxford.

3. Aristotle, the “most brilliant student” of his master Plato!

Teacher nicknames student as ‘the reader’!

At age seventeen, Aristotle was sent to Athens to attend the most famous school in Greece, the Academy of the great philosopher Plato. At the time, Athens was the intellectual center of the world, and Plato’s Academy was the center of Athens.

Aristotle won recognition as the master’s most brilliant student, and his energetic gathering of research and general love of books led Plato to nickname him ‘‘the reader.’’ During his time at the Academy, Aristotle studied mathematics and dialectic, a form of argumentative reasoning. Aristotle spent twenty years at the Academy, until Plato’s death in 347 B.C.

4. Camus inspired to read widely by his teacher

Albert Camus was greatly inspired to read widely and deeply by his high school teacher, philosopher Jean Grenier, Camus was well versed in the classics of Western philosophy, including the works of Plato, Søren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche—all of whom influenced his work.

5. Chesterton says, ‘I prefer to change society through my teaching’

As a literary journalist, Chesterton was very much in the tradition of the Victorian sage. He was at once a teacher and a literary artist. He sought to change society through his teaching, using symbol, parable, and religious allegory as the most effective way of doing so. Like his close friends George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells, he preferred the role of teacher and prophet to that of literary man.

6. Plato’s Treatise in honour of his Teacher

The Republic is a philosophical treatise by Plato. In this text, Plato outlines much of the political theory of his teacher, Socrates.

7. For Dahl, it will be harsh memories of school days!

Roald Dahl recalled in his short autobiographical story ‘‘Lucky Break’’ that the ‘‘beatings at Repton were more fierce and more frequent than anything I had yet experienced.’’ Standing six feet, six inches tall, Dahl played soccer and served as the captain of the squash and handball teams but did not excel in academics. One teacher commented on the fourteen-year-old boy’s English composition work: ‘‘I have never met a boy who so persistently writes the exact opposite of what he means. He seems incapable of marshaling his thoughts on paper.’’