Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Plato - Essay Example In about his fortieth year Plato is said to have left Athens to study with Pythagoras at Crotona. Plato was perhaps the only Pythagorean whose work and teachings are known today. Traveling to Syracuse, Plato met Dionysius I and became friends with his brother ¬ in-law, Dion, who later became his follower (Jaspers, 1962). After leaving Italy Plato traveled to Egypt, Cyrene, Judea and to the banks of the Ganges. It was said that his mind became a treasure house of the world's wisdom (Thomas & Thomas, 1941). But it was Socrates to whom Plato remained devoted all his life. Plato returned to Athens in 386 to start his Academy, which he patterned after Pythagoras' school in Crotona. Here he immortalized the mental prowess of his master, Socrates, presenting Socratic ideas in the form of dialogues though the mouth of his teacher. He gave us a fair picture of Socrates but little of himself, so that it is hard to tell when Socrates leaves off and Plato takes over. When Plato was sixty (c. 368) Aristotle, then twenty, joined the Academy and continued as Plato's primary student for the next twenty years, until Plato's death in 347 BC. Personal Opinion Merely recalling the name of Plato brings instant and complete admiration in most educational circles. As Alfred North Whitehead put it, it seems that all of Western history is a series of footnotes to Plato. Plato took the liberty of giving his personal philosophy through the mouth of Socrates. The two seem inseparable. Socrates is known to us because Plato took the time to write down the story of his teacher. Everything we know of Socrates was written by Plato. There is no way to know where Socrates' thinking stops and Plato's begins. Body Influences on Plato Plato's early life and writings were very much influenced by Socrates. Plato's beginning works reflected Socrates' thinking, and perhaps ideas that came to him as Socrates was speaking, but which Socrates himself never uttered. As time passed the words of the teacher appeared to reflect the original thinking of the student. In time Socrates became a secondary character, then finally disappeared altogether in Laws (Jaspers, 196 2). Plato and Socrates are distinct in some aspects. They approached life in two utterly different ways. Socrates walked the streets of Athens verbally proclaiming his message while Plato lived in seclusion, away from the evils of society. Socrates was bound to Athens; Plato remained an Athenian but was on his way to becoming a cosmopolitan; he was capable of living and working outside of his native city. Socrates philosophized in the immediate present, Plato indirectly, through his works and the school he founded. Socrates remained in the market place, Plato withdrew to the Academy with a chosen few. Socrates did not write a line, Plato left a monumental work (Jaspers, 1962, p. 121). On their darker sides, the two philosophers shared an acceptance of homosexual attraction between adult males and their young male students that most would not agree with today. In his Symposium Plato creates an argument for homosexual love for boys. He suggests that some men are meant to pursue heaven ly love and some earthy love. Those who look to heaven are more attracted to boys than to women. Why? Because boys are mentally keener, more beautiful, thus closer to the realm of perfection. According to Plato, loving boys is a means of acquiring wisdom. But also necessary to the pursuit of perfection, according to Socrates and Plato, is the exercising of

The Cooking animal Essay Example for Free

The Cooking animal Essay ?Michael Pollan’s article The Cooking Animal, describes the decline of home cooked meals and its effects. Cooking, he says, is what separates us from animals. It’s how we became civilized. By making us come together and share food, we learn about each other and ourselves. Although its importance, cooking is rapidly declining in modern times. What was once a daily ritual is now becoming a special occasion. Replacing cooking is convenient, yet horribly unhealthy, processed foods thus worsening the already increasing obesity problem. †The more time a nation devotes to food preparation at home, the lower its rate of obesity† (Pollan 583). Pollan explains the importance of home cooked meals and it’s correlation with obesity and how we have fallen in the trap of the corporations. He explains how the mass producers made hard to make meals cheap, processed, and convenient leaving us to be forever doomed unless we made dire changes. Pollen raises many thoughts and facts about the importance of home cooked meals, all of which I completely agree with. Cooking is what separates us from animals. When our ancestors learned the ability to cook the new nutrients allowed them to evolve differently. Cooking not only provided us with much better nutrients but provided us with the means of creating our culture. When we gather with other people and eat together, we share ourselves (Pollan 582). When I first read this article the above statements just clicked with me, it all just made so much sense. I knew that cooking is important but crediting it for mankind’s evolution was new to me. When I read this part of the article I couldn’t help but to imagine a group of Neanderthals eating around a fire, slowly creating their own culture. Cooking is very important to many great cultures and can tell us much about said cultures. My family are big advocates of our Mexican culture so food is definitely very important to us. I’ve eaten with American, Indian, Lebanese, Vietnamese, and Egyptian families all of which had their distinct differences in how they ate and how they interacted with each other on the dinner table. Home cooked meals are being neglected by America causing obesity to become more prominent. The iconic image of the American family gathered around the dinner table is becoming a rare one. Today’s American would much rather pick up a large order of fries than actually get the potatoes and make them yourself, and why not? The restaurants and super markets make it so cheap and easy that you would be a time wasting fool if you cooked it yourself at home. Pollen says that as the preparation time has gone down, calorie consumption has gone up. â€Å"As the amount of time Americans spend cooking has dropped by about half, the number of meals Americans eat in a day has climbed; since 1977, we’ve added approximately half a meal to our daily intake† (583). That’s no surprise considering what goes into the fast food and mass produced foods. I remember I saw a video on what McDonalds chicken nuggets look like before they fry them and I never wanted to eat one ever again. If the chicken looks like pink silly putty, maybe we shouldn’t be eat it regularly. Thankfully I grew up on my mothers cooking. She has a full time job, three kids, and manages to make the best food everyday. I’ve always believed that all my physical and athletic achievements have been greatly attributed by my diet. Apart from home cooked meals being generally far better nutritiously, they generally taste way better. Perhaps they taste better because theyre made with love? That’s up to the consumer to decide. Corporations that mass produce food have one motivation, profit. It’s their job to mass produce food the quickest and cheapest way to earn the most profit so obviously nutrition is going to be neglected. The marketing revolves around habits. If we form the habits of just relying on them for food we will not go back thus more profit for them. It makes me think of an evil villain who’s bent on destroying the human race or at least making us all fat and lazy because that’s what’s happening. We’re becoming lazy which means our children will be lazy and the ability to cook will vanish and it will all go downhill from there. In Pollen’s article, he asked Harry Balzer what we can one do to fix this problem and he said â€Å"Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself† (584). Cooking is something that has been around since the beginning and something that we cannot afford to loose. Cooking is what makes us human, what provides us with the right nutrients and what keeps us from falling into the industries trap. Michael Pollan’s The Cooking Animal reinforced my belief on the importance of home cooked meals and also expands it. Works Cited Pollan, Micheal. The Cooking Animal. The Bedford Guide for College Writers withReader. By X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Marcia F. Muth. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 581-85. Print.

Earnest Hemingways Farewell To Arms English Literature Essay

Earnest Hemingways Farewell To Arms English Literature Essay Thesis: Farewells to arms by Earnest Hemingway concentrates on negative impacts of war, overall loss and how it affects people by making them lose the capacity for moral judgment and rational thought. I. Introduction II. Brief synopsis of A Farewell to Arms III. Factors that motivated Ernest Hemingway to write the novel IV. Symbolism in the novel The rain Catherines hair V. The theme of realism The harsh reality of war Love and Pain Escape from reality VI. Negative impact of the war V. Conclusion A Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms is an autobiographical novel written between 1899 and1961 by Ernest Hemingway and first published in 1929.The novel was written through a view point of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American who serves as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during the First Worlds War. The novel is about a catastrophic romance between Catherine Barkley, a British nurse and Frederick Henry, an American soldier. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway concentrates on negative impacts of war, overall loss and how it affects people by making them lose the capacity for moral judgment and rational thought. Brief synopsis Henry, while serving in the front line of the Italian forces is wounded on the knee by a mortar shell and is admitted to a hospital in Milan. While in the hospital, he meets Catherine whom he falls in love with. The relationship blossoms in summer as they spent time together in Milan. After three months of staying together, Catherine gets pregnant. Henry returns to his unit but after a short period, he engages in the battle of Caporetto where Austro-German forces overpowered the Italian forces and forced them to retreat. While escaping from the enemys onslaught, their car is stuck in the mud and when two sergeants engineers picked on the way refuse to take an order of assisting in getting the car out of mud, Henry kills one of them. On realizing that they will be killed, Henry and other drivers seek refuge in a farm house and resurface on the next day. Henry is seized by the battle police and after hearing that a Lt. Colonel had been executed; Henry sets himself free from the grip of the battle police and dive into a river thus escaping from a possible execution. Henry and Catherine reunite and using a boat, they flee to Switzerland. They live a quiet life in a mountainous region in Switzerland and after a while, Catherine goes into labor. After a painful and long labor, Catherine gives birth to a stillborn son, gets a Hemorrhage and soon passes on leaving Henry who gets back to the hotel in the rain (Bakers 56). Factors that motivated Ernest Hemingway to write the Novel In 1918, during the First World War, Hemingway joined the Italian Red cross as an ambulance driver, where the Italian forces allied to French, British and Americans were fighting against Germany and Austrian Hungary. While serving in the Red Cross during the war, there are a number of experiences that prompted him to write the novel. The first experience occurred in July 8, 1918 when he together with three soldiers was hit by a trench mortar shell while crouching beyond the front line. Although Hemingway overstated the story over the years, it is clear that he was transferred to Milan where he falls in love with Agnes von Kurowsky, a Red Cross nurse. It is believed that the relationship between Henry and Catherine in the novel echoes Hemingways relationship with the Red Cross nurse. When Hemingway was working as a freelance journalist in Turkey and Greece, he witnessed the retreat of Greece army and its civilian which provided him a major foundation in writing his story .The story on retreat of the Italian troops was based on his experience on the retreat of Greece army and its civilians. The work by some authors has had a major influence on Hemingway Novel. In 1921 when he married his first of the four wives, he settled in Paris where he made important connections with American writers such as Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. In his collection of stories, In Our Time, he introduced Nick Adams; one of his favorite authors whose difficult road from Youth into maturity he had recorded influenced him into writing his novels. Hemingway uses two major symbols to drive his point home by stating that war shows the dark side of humanity and causes more harm than good. Symbolism in the Novel The novel uses symbolic language to connect to readers emotion by showing how war can affect peoples mode of living and thinking which results in them looking for an escapade that in the long run might have negative consequences. These symbols wrap up the major themes in the novel and are used by the writer in a big way. The widely used symbols are rain and Catherines hair. The rain In the context of the novel, rain symbolizes the foreseeable collapse of a happy life. While Catherine and Henry were sleeping on Bed listening to the storm outside, Catherine introduces the meaning of the rain. As the rain dropped on the roof, Catherine admits the fact that rain frightens her and goes further to state that it has a tendency of destroying things for lovers. In real life situation, meteorological phenomena do not have such power but symbolically, Catherine fears is shown to be prophetic where after a short while, doom befalls the lovers. After the death of Catherine, Henry leaves the Hospital and walks home in the rain. In this case, the falling rain verifies Catherines anxiety and confirms one of the argument of the novel that great love just like other things in the world however good or bad they may be do not last forever (Mellow 103). Catherines hair Catherines hair is an important symbol in the novel. In the early stages of their relationship, as Catherine and Henry lie in bed, Catherine takes down her hair and lets it flow over Henrys head. The fall of Catherines hair reminds Henry of being behind a water fall or enclosed in a tent. The picture exhibited by the hair stand as a symbol of the isolation of the couples from the world. With a fierce war around them, they successful secure a wonderful seclusion which they believe is protected by something that is as delicate as hair. Later, when they are completely isolated from devastation of war and living in peace in Switzerland, they learn a cruel lesson that affection in the face of harsh reality is as short-lived and delicate as hair (Meyers 87) The impact of symbolism in defining the theme of Realism Symbols have been used well to define major themes in the novel and have been echoed in the theme of realism that encompass the harsh reality of war, love and pain, and escape from reality. The rain shows the reality that befalls Henry where he uses love as a guise in running away from war but ends up in tragedy. The war caused him to engage in a wrong relationship that ultimately ended in death of Catherine and the baby. The reality within the symbol of the rain is that anything however genuine it is has a short lifespan and this is well exhibited in the love relationship he engages with Catherine that takes a short span. The delicate nature of the love affair is symbolized by Catherines hair. The symbols bring out the theme of realism in a number of ways. The harsh reality of war The title of the novel is depicted in line of war which Frederic Henry struggles to set himself free from and leave it behind. Few characters such as Gino and Ettore Moretti support the war but majority of them are hesitant about the war, doubtful of the glory it allegedly brings and resentful of the havoc it brings about. The novel provides a clear description of the violent chaos and senseless brutality brought about by the conflict. As the values and integrity of men in the society begin to disintegrate, the negative effect is felt in the soldiers minds, nerves and their capacity for moral judgment and rational thought. For instance, Henry shoots an Engineer for refusing to help him free the car that had stuck in the mud, a violent outburst that contradict his coolly detached character. The murder of the engineer seemed to be justified because it is an expected result of violence and disorder of war (Waldhorn 76). Love and Pain The theme of realism is depicted well in the relationship between love and pain. Against the background of the ravages of war, Hemingway offers a mournful, deep mediation on the nature of love. Catherine initiates a game meant to seduce Henry while still mourning her dead fiancà © with an aim of distancing herself from the pain of her lost love. Love can bring about misery and can as well be used as a cure for the misery. Henry intends to move far away from war as possible and so together with his love, they find temporary solace from things that affect them. Henry understands how critical his love for Catherine is, offsets any concern for abstract ideals such as fame in order to flee the war and look for her. This is a clear indication that love can go as far as distracting a person from everyday life. The tragedy faced by the couple show that love, however genuine it may be is always temporary as other things of the world as depicted in the symbol of the rain while at the same tim e it is as delicate as Catherines hair (Oliver, 68). Escape from reality Escape from reality expounds on the theme of realism in a number of ways. Henrys involvement with Catherine is aimed at escaping the insanity of war. Actually the extreme circumstance of the war brought the two together thus creating an environment that allowed them to fall in love. The love affair provides Henry an emotionally safe landing where he can evade the reality of the war. Under normal circumstances, the relationship would not have occurred but due to the conditions that surrounded both Catherine and Henry, the relationship was initiated with ease. In order to escape the reality of war by getting into a love relationship with Catherine, Henry had misunderstood his actions. He had alienated himself from the environment of war which he believed had no place in his life but when Aymo is killed by his own army, he discovers that he is not really separated at all from the events and gets into a reality that he is an integral part of the war and has no chance of avoiding it. At t his instance, he gets scared and so in order to escape immediately, he separates himself through love. When Catherine is about to deliver her first child, Henry becomes nervous. Although the baby is the product of their love, he becomes an important tool in connecting Henry to the reality of his current situation even though the insanity of war is over. The symbol of the rain as prophesized by Catherines fear of the rain is well explained where neither Catherine nor Henry handles the situation at hand. Catherine shows her inability to cope with the situation physically through her death and the death of the child. Fredrick exhibits his inability to cope with the circumstances through his peculiar behavior such as getting frightened of numbers over two (Bloom 88). Symbolism as used in explaining the Negative impact of the war Basing on the rain as a symbol, the ultimate decision of Henry abandoning the war and settling for love ends tragically which clearly signify that war has numerous negative effects. War forces people to engage in things that might seem good at the start but end in a bad note. Through the symbol of rain, the negative effect of war is well depicted where Henry engages in acts of escapism to evade insanity caused by the war. His escape from the negative reality of war ultimately leaves him a dejected man. War is a major theme in the novel and defines many evils that result from its madness. Generally, war has defined human beings for many years and shows how deeply people hate each other. The novel has little combat but exhibits numerous effects of war. For instance the town, Gorizia, functions normally although there are people dying around it. More people die from diseases than in combat which is one of the effects of war. The act of war within the novel is involved in everything and this can be proved by the act of Henry and others making fun of the priest. Actually, war is always in the background. The confusion of war causes some members of the forces to engage in unethical acts in the name of duty. For instance Rinaldi and Fred chase their women and carry on with their duties. The action of chasing the women indicates that war moulds people who have no feelings and can thus do anything to win it. When the business of war commences, the men express their feeling about it where the drivers state that it is a conflict in terms of class struggle and so they were not willing to fight it at all. Shelling and shooting in the war results in injuries and death. Henrys legs are torn apart while one of his men is killed by an explosion which rocks them. War results in people losing their moral judgment and rational thought and thus engages in horrendous acts. For instance, Fred learns a shocking fact that the wounded soldiers must be left behind the hills as it is diff icult to defend the mountains against attack by the Germans and so they retreat abandoning them instead of offering assistance to them. In this case, war promotes selfishness and kills the spirit of assistance as specified by wounded people being left in the battle field. Negative impact of the war gets intense as the retreat continues. Henry shoots and kills one of the engineers after they refused to take his orders and injures another who in the long run is killed by Bonello. It is apparent that the drivers do not want to be engaged in the war but they are forced to and develop heartlessness which in turn has negative effects on their conscience. Retreat by Italian forces brought about confusion where Italian officers panicked, started interrogating and executing anyone who was not Italian. This obviously shows that war causes people to lose their sense of humanity and allows impunity to sets in. The emotional effect of the war causes people to make wrong decisions and undertake w rong actions that under normal circumstances would not have happened. As a result of the war and quest to escape from it, Henry engages in a love relationship with Catherine. Although he managed to run away from the effects of the war, the end result of this love is tragic where both Catherine and the child die leaving Henry a dejected man. Despite the fact that the novel talks about the effects of the war, it fails to condemn it harshly but states that war is an inevitable outcome of senseless and cruel world. Hemingway puts forward his opinion by stating that war is nothing more than murderous and dark extension of a world that fails to protect, acknowledge and preserve true love (Hemingway 12). Conclusion A Farewell to Arms written by Ernest Hemingway describes how war affects the moral judgment and rational thought of people. People make wrong decisions and end up in tragedies as symbolized by the rain in Henrys situation. For instance, Henry engages in a relationship that ends in the death of Catherine and their baby. War affects the economic, social and political aspect of any society as it is an extension of the world that fails to acknowledge, protect and preserve true love.

U.s Monetary Policy In 1995 :: essays research papers

U.S Monetary Policy in 1995 When Alan Greenspan presented the Federal Reserve's semi-annual report on monetary policy to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, and the U.S. House of Representatives on February, Dr. Greenspan touted a cautionary yet favorable view of the U.S. economy. He states that "With inflationary pressures apparently receding, the previous degree of restraint in monetary policy was no longer deemed necessary, and the FOMC consequently implemented a small reduction in reserve market pressures last July." (Greenspan, 1996, Speech) During the Summer and Fall of 1995, the economy experienced a strengthening of aggregate demand growth. According to Greenspan, this increase in aggregate demand brought finished goods inventories and sales into near equilibrium. The Fed's fine tuning of the economy seemed to be paying off. Greenspan had a positive outlook for the economy for the rest of 1995. He states "the economy, as hoped has moved onto a trajectory that could be maintained--one less steep than in 1994, when the rate of growth was clearly unsustainable, but one that nevertheless would imply continued significant growth and incomes." (Greenspan, 1996, Speech) Towards the end of the year, the economy showed signs of slowing. Fearing a prolonged slowdown or even a recession in the economy, and with inflationary expectations waning, Chairman Greenspan and the Federal Reserve cut rates again in December. (Greenspan, 1996, Speech) There are, of course, critics of 1995's monetary policy. Most of the criticism came in the early part of 1995 when the Fed raised rates again. In the article "Are We Losing Altitude Too Fast" from the May 1, 1995 issue of Time magazine written by John Greenwald, he explains that the economy might not be coming in for a "soft landing" like the fed predicts. Trying to sustain 2 to 3 percent growth might lead us into a recession. Mr. Greenwald explains how the Fed's actions in 1994 and early 1995 has hurt individuals and the economy as a whole. "Corporate layoffs are far from over," says Greenwald, "they generally accelerate when firms find themselves in an economy that is weakening." (Greenwald, Time, 5/1/95, p80) Unemployment and layoffs aren't the only thing to worry about according to Mr. Greenwald. The automobile industry and the housing markets are both getting hit in the pocket books. Paul Speigel, owner of a New York car dealership explains his woes by saying '"We're doing our best to keep up the volume by discounting, working on our customers, but the Fed's rate hikes have dampened the ability of many Chevrolet customers to buy that new vehicle."' John Tuccillo, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors states

Dult learning Essay

Knowles adult learning theory is an attempt to develop adult learning in which he emphasizes that adults are mature people responsible for making sound decisions. There are certain assumptions about the design for learning by Knowles in his theory (Brookfield Stephen, 1994). First, it is assumed that adults need to know the reasons for learning something. Second, adults should learn through experience. Third, adults approach learning as a way of problem solving. Finally, adults learn best whereby the topic is of immediate value. These assumptions are important because they reflect the significance of Knowles adult learning theory. In health care organizations, Knowles theory is of paramount importance because it helps them to handle any form of health problem as a way of maintaining safety at work place. Experience and responsibility is of paramount importance and teaching adults on how to handle health issues at work place controls occurrence of health hazards. There are certain barriers to education or learning which include first, inability of adults to focus on topics. This is a major barrier because the adults have many things to attend to such as family, work and assignments. Second, weak study or critical thinking skills which do not allow the learners to concentrate in class are a major barrier. It is barrier to learning process because the tutor has to commit a lot of his or time trying to explain a simple concept to old adults (Taylor Edward, 1999). Third, unlearning old knowledge and low self-esteem is a major barrier to learning process because of old age which makes adult learners to have low esteem. Fourth, adults have very tight schedule during the day and this means that they have a challenge of time constraints and commitments. References Brookfield Stephen, 1994, Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis of Analysis of Principles and Effective Practices, Open University Press. Taylor Edward, 1999, Adult Education Philosophy Informs Practice, Adult Learning.

Cant and Chant

Cant and Chant Cant and Chant Cant and Chant By Mark Nichol Cant is jargon or trite commentary, or singsong speech. A chant is a type of song. Is there a connection between the words? Yes, and many other words are more or less obviously related. They are both derived from the Latin verb canare, which means â€Å"sing.† Cant originally referred to the repetitive, practiced patter of beggars seeking attention (and alms) and, by extension, came to pertain to the jargon of the underworld and then to terminology promulgated by anyone one opposes or holds in contempt. Cant is also an unrelated term from Latin (possibly by way of an earlier Celtic word) meaning â€Å"angle† or â€Å"slope†; this is the source of canton (meaning â€Å"corner† and used in reference to regions, as in the divisions of Switzerland) and possibly cantilever, which refers to a projecting structural element anchored only at one end. Chant is a noun referring to a simple, repetitive form of singing and, by extension, rhythmic repetitive speaking, often spoken loudly and in groups, as in a protest or at an athletic competition; it is also a verb describing such performances. A chanter is one who chants; the feminine French form, chanteuse, was adopted into English to refer to a female singer, especially a nightclub entertainer. The variant cantor, from the Latin word referring to a vocal performer, is now used primarily to an official singer and prayer leader in a Jewish religious ceremony or service; precentor (â€Å"singer before†) is an equivalent term for a choirmaster in some other religious traditions. Other related terms include canto, an Italian word for song that now usually pertains to a section of a long poem; â€Å"bel canto† (in Italian, literally â€Å"beautiful singing†), a form of opera; cantata, which refers to a song, often religious in character, with voice and instruments and sung in several parts; canticle, meaning â€Å"little song† (with the same diminutive ending element as, for example, article and particle) and referring to a hymn; and canzone (Italian for â€Å"singing† or â€Å"song†), a word for a medieval sung poem. Descant, with a prefix that means â€Å"apart,† refers to a high melody sung distinct from the main melody of a song. Additional words include chanson, which is from an Old French word for â€Å"song† and refers to a cabaret-style song; chantey (with the variations chanty and shanty)- likely from chantez, the imperative form of chanter, a French word that means â€Å"song†- which refers to a sailor’s work song; and chanticleer, which derives from the character of a rooster in medieval verse narratives. Also descended from canere, we have recant, which means â€Å"renounce an opinion† and stems from requiring heretics to disavow their beliefs by chanting the renunciation. An incantation, meanwhile, is a chanted spell or other vocalization as part of a ritual, and enchantment, which originally pertained to being subject to a magic spell, by extension came to mean â€Å"charmed by beauty or another quality†; an enchantress is a woman who has this effect on others. (Charm itself, which pertains to the action of charming or to the quality of charm or to a magic amulet, is indirectly related as well.) More obscure relatives include accent, which refers to a particular pronunciation or emphasis, and incentive, which originally applied to that which stirs one’s mind or soul but in the mid-twentieth century acquired the mundane sense of â€Å"something that motivates.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?Between vs. In BetweenHow Verbs Become Adjectives