In his private life Brahms was considered by his friends as an egotist. He had an extremely lofty opinion of himself and his talents. He was noted for his humility. Along with this quality, Brahms was not known for his pungent sense of humor. While his closest friend could accept his biting jokes, others found …
Kategori: Words You Need To Know
A Worthy Successor
A successor to Beethoven was Johannes Brahms. Also a prodigy, he was the object of vitriolic attacks by other composer because of the individuality of his work. They heaped invective upon him for the intensely emotional quality and Germanic style of his writings. However, it was impossible besmirch his talents for long, and he was …
A Musical World
Music reached its pinnacle in the nineteenth century. Every leading nation produced its share of great composer. There was a bewildering array of national schools and musical styles as the once obscure musician came into his own. Music became a widespread and democratic art. The ardent music lover turned to Vienna as the music center …
A Dangerous Sport
Racing car drivers are vulnerable to dangers that other sportsmen seldom face. Drivers agree that controlling a car at top speeds on a winding course is a singularly* awesome* experience. There is the bedlam caused by the roaring motors that move the car from a standing start to 100 miles an hour in eight seconds. …
Forbidden
An outgrowth of the idea of a fetish is the closely related practice of taboo. Whereas the gods or supernatural powers merely inhibit an object that is a fetish and lend it magic, they will punish the imprudent native who violates their prohibition of an act or use of an object or word which has …
In the Nature of Educational Reform
Mr. Sloane did not want to perpetuate the disorders which stemmed from the alphabetical arrangement. Not only did he reverse the seating in his other classes, but he began to badger the school’s administration for a mandate to bring about such changes throughout the building. He called it a compensatory factor to neutralize the catastrophic …
The Perils of the Alphabet
Dr. Weston is convinced that the pedagogue is the culprit. Since teachers seat their pupils in alphabetical order, the “S” to “Z” child is usually the last to receive his test marks, the last to eat lunch, the last to be dismissed, and so on. As they are the last to recite, these youngsters feel …
What’s In a Name?
As Mr. Sloane pursued his investigation of the phenomenon, he discovered that a Dr. Trevor Weston of the British Medical Association had corroborated his finding. Dr. Weston had studied British mortality rates over a decade, finding that people whose names began with letters ranging from “S” to “Z” had a life expectancy which averaged twelve …
Primitive Magic
In the course of their studies of other cultures, anthropologists have reported numerous customs and practices that seem bizarre to the average American. Many primitive people believe that certain inanimate objects have a will of their own and possess some magical powers. These fetishes may be simple things like a particular feather of a bird …
From A to Z
Ellis Sloane, a teacher of science at a large metropolitan high school, first paid little attention to the fact that his two biology classes were so disparate in their performance. In most schools the classes are alphabetically heterogeneous, with youngsters’ name running in the gamut from Adam to Zilch. But Biology 121 had only A’s …