Diatribe

En  el  presente  trabajo  se  aborda  la  discusión  que  se  ha generado  acerca  del  lenguaje incluyente,  polémica  que  ha  alcanzado  niveles  álgidos  debido  a  las  posturas  radicales  de quienes están a favor y en contra. En este espacio se hace una revisión (aunque no se agota) de los argumentos tanto  desde la lingüística como de los estudios de  género, con  el fin de llamar  la  atención  sobre  la  seriedad  del  asunto  e  invitar  a  deponer  actitudes  que  en  nada favorecen a la creación de espacios de diálogo.

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Diatribes and dialogues on sexist language

The  study  to  follow  focuses  on  the  ongoing  discussion  regarding  the  need  for  inclusive language, a topic that has stirred great controversy due to the radical positions assumed by those who are in favor and those who are against its widespread implementation. An initial revision of the arguments provided by both Linguistics and Gender studies will be provided here, in an attempt to direct the attention to the urgency of the issue. The emphasis will be placed on the need to depose attitudesthat do not contribute to generating opportunities for a constructive dialogue.

This paper examines how Dio depicts the politician Cicero in his account of the Civil War period.1 According to Fergus Millar's still influential opinion, Dio's view of Cicero is that he was a "complete failure"; we are informed that Cicero is "contemptible."2 Yet objections to such a severe verdict arise after considered and sensitive study of Dio's books 36 to 47. On the one hand, it becomes apparent that Cicero is frequently his own worst enemy, both in regard to himself and his cause, because of his personal weaknesses. On the other hand, however, after extensive consideration of the direct and indirect characterizations featured in these volumes, there is no reason to deny that Dio's Cicero displays a certain degree of commitment to the res publica. That said, we can concede two things to Dio the historian. First, and in contrast to Millar, his genuine

L'apatheia radicale que prône Télès a un caractère cynique marqué, nettement distinct de l'apatheia plus nuancée des stoïciens. Tout le sermon nous fait entrevoir un philosophe bien plus original que celui, dépendant entièrement de Bion et de Stilpon, qu'avaient cru déceler les philologues allemands du xixe s.

"This paper departs from a 19th Century - unauthorized and rather obscure – Hetzschrift on masonic history and rituals, published on request by a deceased freemason, entitled “Sarsena or the Perfect Architect containing the Origin and History of the Order of Freemasons (and 30 more words)” [author’s own translation]. The first German edition of this malicious writing (“Verräterschrift”), published in 1816, became an instant bestseller; Swedish (1820) and Danish (1823) translations followed. An Amsterdam-based publisher, specializing in easily accessible books and magazines often held by libraries and meant to be read by non-intellectuals among the middle classes (‘bourgeoisie’), published the (2nd) Dutch edition of the book in 1840. We found traces of ownership by heritage, bequest, libraries, and institutional re-organisation. The copy we researched was held consecutively by Johan von Schmid (Université Libre de Bruxelles), the Grand Orient de Belgique, and at present by the Brussels-based Masonic Research and Documentation Centre. In spite of the cheap and somewhat ephemeral nature of this publication, consecutive editions of the researched book are still on sale at various online vendors, from Europe or the USA to South Africa, Hong Kong and Japan. We have reconstructed the chronology of the German and Dutch editions, while, nowadays, alongside recent editions up to 2010, the book is also available through print on demand. Therefore, the book may be considered having reached the status of cult book.
This paper will contextualize the book on different levels: that of the Napoleonic era, the revolutionary climate in the first half on the 19th Century, divergent forms of freemasonry due to German territorial fragmentation (“Kleinstaaterei”) and their survival in catholic and protestant societies. The paper also examines the author’s arguments and concludes that he may have been acting in breach of his masonic oath in describing in great detail masonic initiation procedures and ‘secrets’.
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