Mankind remains virtually unchanged, in essence or fundamental behavior, during the past 2,400 years. There is a great deal in Aristotle’s description of “the perfect man” to recommend as a path for living now, just as there was during his lifetime ca. 350 B.C.E..
Aristotle (384 BCE — 322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato’s teacher), Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. Aristotle’s writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy, encompassing morality and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics.
The Japanese haiku and the English language haiku have several critical differences. In Japanese the haiku is composed of 17 sound units divided into three parts – one with 5 units, one with 7 units and another with 5 units. Since sound units are much shorter than English syllables, it has been found that following the Japanese example results in a much longer poem often filled up to make the count with unnecessary words.
The Japanese write their haiku in one line, in order to see clearly the parts of the haiku. In English each part is given a line. This allows the reader time to form an image in the mind before the eyes go back to the left margin for more words. The line breaks also act as a type of punctuation. The kigo, or season word, is a vital part of the Japanese haiku, but in English it is often ignored and not well understood. Therefore, a great number of English haiku do not have a season word and yet are considered to be haiku. The Japanese, because of their longer history of reading haiku, understand that there are two parts to the poem. In English these are called the phrase and fragment. One line is the fragment and the other two lines combine grammatically to become the phrase. Without this combining the two lines together the haiku will sound ‘choppy’ as the voice drops at the end of each line. (WikiHow.com)
Reincarnation is believed to occur when the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, comes back to life in a new form. However, once born sometime things from a person’s previous life are forgotten. (Or not…)
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond their level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding field of endeavor.
Here is a possible example, in the form of an operatic diva:
Maria Callas (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her remarkable musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina. (Wikipedia)
Jacqueline Marie “Jackie” Evancho (born April 9, 2000) is also an American singer. Evancho started singing when she first watched the musical The Phantom of the Opera on DVD. Her mother heard her singing songs from the musical and allowed her to enter the 2008 Kean Idol, a local talent contest. She sang “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”, finishing, on the cusp of her 8th birthday, as first runner-up;the winner was 20 years old. Eventually Evancho participated in other talent contests and started a YouTube channel. She began taking vocal lessons for a short period of time when she was 8, in June 2008, after her success in the 2008 Kean Idol contest. (Wikipedia)
