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All Year 3-5 Noble Arts Pupils
Sep. 6th, 2014 08:32 pmIt was a beautiful day today, was it not? A fine day to visit the Creatures pens, to explore the gardens or walk by the lake, to lunch outdoors, to enjoy a game of pick-up Quidditch or Flight & Pursuit, to indulge in an afternoon nap, to play snap or gobstones or chess after supper, to sit in your common room, chatting the evening away with friends old or new.
I trust you've enjoyed every minute.
Tomorrow, however, I expect we'll all rise early and apply ourselves to the work of preparing for the week to come. To that end, I remind you that you've a two part assignment to prepare, an assignment that begins with careful reading and then proceeds to thoughtful writing.
First, you are to closely read the first section (a mere 5 or 6 pages, depending on the translation) of Intra profundis, wherein you will find an elegant summary of the various branches of the Arts -- things like blood magic, binding magic, compulsion magic, disruptive elemental magic, magic to direct fortune or misfortune towards others, magic that impacts others in more direct or pronounced ways. The work dates from Roman times, so it will interest you to see where the differences and similarities lie between their understanding of these disciplines and our own. Remember that when I say you are to 'closely read', that means you are to engage the material until you understand it well enough to summarise it from memory and to answer questions about it.
Second, you must select one topic from those covered in the introduction that sounds interesting. Locate and read the section about that topic in the main body of the text. You must then write 12-15 inches in a reasonably-sized, legible hand (no less, but also no more) analyzing whether that practice would or would not be considered Dark by at least two of the definitions we discussed in lessons. I am not asking you to regurgitate facts about the type of magic, I am asking for your well-reasoned and well-articulated thoughts about how it would be classified under the definitions we have been discussing.
I trust you've already begun, as the total reading amounts to 20-25 pages and the time required for thought, analysis, planning, drafting and perfecting the required essay will not be insignificant. In any case, I urge you to apply yourself to the task tomorrow. Do not deceive yourselves into thinking that you can cobble something together on the fly before lessons next week.
I'm pleased that the term is off to such a strong start, and I feel certain that you're as eager as I am to dig into our shared topic and explore it as fully and vigorously as we each are able. None of us wishes to get off on the wrong foot, surely.
I trust you've enjoyed every minute.
Tomorrow, however, I expect we'll all rise early and apply ourselves to the work of preparing for the week to come. To that end, I remind you that you've a two part assignment to prepare, an assignment that begins with careful reading and then proceeds to thoughtful writing.
First, you are to closely read the first section (a mere 5 or 6 pages, depending on the translation) of Intra profundis, wherein you will find an elegant summary of the various branches of the Arts -- things like blood magic, binding magic, compulsion magic, disruptive elemental magic, magic to direct fortune or misfortune towards others, magic that impacts others in more direct or pronounced ways. The work dates from Roman times, so it will interest you to see where the differences and similarities lie between their understanding of these disciplines and our own. Remember that when I say you are to 'closely read', that means you are to engage the material until you understand it well enough to summarise it from memory and to answer questions about it.
Second, you must select one topic from those covered in the introduction that sounds interesting. Locate and read the section about that topic in the main body of the text. You must then write 12-15 inches in a reasonably-sized, legible hand (no less, but also no more) analyzing whether that practice would or would not be considered Dark by at least two of the definitions we discussed in lessons. I am not asking you to regurgitate facts about the type of magic, I am asking for your well-reasoned and well-articulated thoughts about how it would be classified under the definitions we have been discussing.
I trust you've already begun, as the total reading amounts to 20-25 pages and the time required for thought, analysis, planning, drafting and perfecting the required essay will not be insignificant. In any case, I urge you to apply yourself to the task tomorrow. Do not deceive yourselves into thinking that you can cobble something together on the fly before lessons next week.
I'm pleased that the term is off to such a strong start, and I feel certain that you're as eager as I am to dig into our shared topic and explore it as fully and vigorously as we each are able. None of us wishes to get off on the wrong foot, surely.
