FSc Notes & Essays

This statement of Dr. Samuel Johnson is a half-truth, told in the form of an epigram. If patriotism is the first urge of the best, it is sometimes the last resort of the worst people in the world. If the history of patriotism were written, it would be found to be essentially a Roman virtue. ‘Pro Patria Mori' is a Latin phrase from Horace, the famous Latin poet; it means to die for one’s fatherland. Bertrand Russell in an essay, while tracing the origin of Western civilization, observes that the ancient Romans were the first to develop the conception of loyalty to the state and self-sacrifice for the country’s cause. It is, however, a mistake to think that patriotism was the monopoly of the ancient Romans. In ancient times, Darius the Great of Persia, fired by the ideal of patriotism, led huge hordes against the Greeks in revenge for the interference in Asia Minor in the fifth century B.C. Alexander of Macedon also was inspired by the lofty ideal of patriotism when he undertook worl...

There is a story told in verse about that curious kind of lizard called the chameleon. Two friends talking about it almost quarreled about its color, one saying it was blue and the other swearing it was green. While they were arguing, a third man joined them and he said they were both wrong. He had caught a chameleon the night before, and it was black. All three went to see it; but when its captor took it out of the box where he had put it, lo! and behold it was not blue, or green, or black, but white! The explanation, of course, was that a chameleon has the stranger power of changing its color to suit its surroundings. So at one time, it may appear blue, at another green, at another black, and at another white. So all were right, and at the same time wrong. In the same way, truth is many-sided and different people see different sides. so every question has at least two sides. Narrow-minded people can see only one side, and it takes a broad-minded man to see both. Consider the differe...

Outlines: Introduction Cruelty often due to thoughtlessness The killing of animals for food Conclusion In England, the cruel treatment of animals is a crime punishable by law and there is a “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” which does good work in bringing brutes who maltreat dumb creatures to justice. The Bible says, “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast”, thus making kindness and justice to domestic animals an essential part of human virtue. Those animals, such as the horse, dog, donkey and mule, which men have bred and trained for their own use have a special claim on our mercy and justice; the more so as they are dumb and helpless in our hands, and cannot plead their own cause. The man who starves his horse beats his dog or unmercifully overloads his ass is a brute and a bully. He is also a fool for even a selfish slave-owner knows that it is to his own advantage to have slaves well fed and well cared for. And yet when we think of ...

Outlines: Introduction Advantages of contemplation A number of men contributed their lives for humanity and were in action in while of their life Conclusion This famous quotation from the German poet and Philosopher Goethe contains a valuable idea. Life is not just a reverie, a dream. It is much more than that. It is action, endeavor's great and heroic deeds. Without energetic action, life would stagnate. Without true deeds, life would become static and would lose much of its charm. A life of thought and reflection would be quite futile if the thought never emerges to issue in practical action. This does not, however, mean that contemplation has no place in life. Contemplation induces peace of mind, tranquility, and contentment. Great ideals are usually a product of contemplation. Practically all the germinal ideas of the world have come from thinkers and Philosophers with whom contemplation was a habit. Without mature reflection and cool deliberation, nothing should be done. Medit...