DOCSLIB.ORG

The Mirage of International Criminal Law

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Mirage of International Criminal Law The Mirage of International Criminal Law The Mirage of International Criminal Law: Kant’s Metaphysics of Mens Rea By Farhad Malekian The Mirage of International Criminal Law: Kant’s Metaphysics of Mens Rea By Farhad Malekian This book first published 2018 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2018 by Farhad Malekian [email protected] All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-0406-9 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-0406-6 To My father Mohammed Taghi Malekian and Mohammed Mossadegh TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................. x Chapter I ...................................................................................................... 1 The Optical Delusion in International Criminal Law 1. The Mirage of the Rule of the Law .................................................... 1 2. Reaching the Definition of Mirage .................................................... 2 3. Illusion of Mens Rea in Justice .......................................................... 5 4. Knowing Iniquity on Kant’s Mens Rea .............................................. 9 5. Publicists Missing Kant’s Theory of Mens Rea ............................... 13 6. Moral Faculty of Judgment .............................................................. 16 7. Divorcing from Criminal Justice ...................................................... 18 8. The Existence of Non-Existence ...................................................... 21 9. Kant’s Dimension of Predicate Existence ........................................ 25 10. Kant Awakening the Complex Form of Fata Morgana ................. 26 11. Inclination in Mens Rea ................................................................. 28 12. Lawful and Unlawful Mens Rea .................................................... 31 Chapter II ................................................................................................... 34 The Mirage of Intuitionalism in International Criminal Law 1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 34 2. Autonomous Beings ......................................................................... 36 3. Heteronomy in International Criminal Law ..................................... 39 4. Morality Equating Freedom ............................................................. 42 5. Motives Endangering Morality ........................................................ 44 6. Supreme Principle of Morality ......................................................... 45 7. Connections between Reason and Morality ..................................... 47 8. Ground Reason Effecting Will and Duty ......................................... 49 9. The Concept of the Categorical Imperative ..................................... 51 10. False Maxim Against the Categorical Imperative .......................... 53 11. Formula of Humanity in the Categorical Imperative ..................... 55 viii Table of Contents Chapter III ................................................................................................. 58 The Mirage of Security Council’s Resolutions 1. Evility of Unequal Treaties .............................................................. 58 2. The Den of Iniquity in the United Nations ....................................... 60 3. Conditional Value of the Security Council ....................................... 62 4. Resolutions of the Security Council and Bare Reason ..................... 63 5. Kantian Objections to the Security Council’s Morals ...................... 65 6. Chapter VII of the Charter against Kant’s Metaphysics ................... 67 7. Morality in Comic Maxims .............................................................. 69 8. Kant Rejecting the Bad Maxim ........................................................ 70 9. Security Council Preventing Proper Choices ................................... 72 Chapter IV ................................................................................................. 76 Radical Evil Constituting a One-Eyed Justice 1. Self-Love ......................................................................................... 76 2. Transparency in Kant’s Philosophy .................................................. 78 3. Non-Subjective Position of Morality ............................................... 79 4. Accurate Treatment of Human Morality .......................................... 82 5. Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason .................................... 84 6. Substance of a Maxim ...................................................................... 87 7. Self-Interest Violating the Principle of Love for Justice .................. 88 8. Blessing Radical Evil ....................................................................... 90 9. Stabilizing the Notion of Morality ................................................... 93 10. Moral Culpability in the Security Council ..................................... 94 11. Radical Evil Facing Radical Terror ................................................ 95 12. Physical Evil and Criminal Conduct .............................................. 98 13. Mens Rea Assimilating to Radical Evil in the Security Council .... 101 14. Mental Inclination to Mens Rea ................................................... 103 15. The Art of Preventing Radical Evil .............................................. 105 16. The Notion of Evil Resolutions.................................................... 107 17. Mens Rea Occupying the Supreme Principle of Morality ............ 109 18. The Security Council Departing from Morality ............................112 Chapter V..................................................................................................116 Kant Codex versus the Security Council 1. Violation of the Principle of Morality .............................................116 2. Rights of Man beyond Radical Evil ................................................119 3. Dissenting to the Justice of Force .................................................. 122 4. Illusions of Bad Maxims ................................................................ 124 5. The Mirage of Accusation .............................................................. 126 6. Bad Maxim Causing Serious Violations ........................................ 129 The Mirage of International Criminal Law ix 7. Conspiracy Behind the Evil Morality ............................................ 130 8. Underlying Reasons for a Good or Bad Maxim ............................. 132 9. The Mirage of Conceptualising a Maxim − Good for Bad ............ 135 10. Hiding the Evil Intentions of Resolutions .................................... 138 11. Irrationality Violating Reason ...................................................... 140 12. The Gist of Irrational Morality ..................................................... 144 13. Circumventing Justice with Evil Mirage ...................................... 146 14. Show Mirage on Justice ............................................................... 148 15. Permission to Invade by Evil Maxims ......................................... 151 16. Evil Maxims Beyond any Limit ................................................... 154 Chapter VI ............................................................................................... 159 The Fata Morgana of Humanitarian Rights of Children 1. Monopolization of Evil Maxims .................................................... 159 2. Supporting Minor Victims with Metaphysics of Morals ................ 161 3. Fata Morgana Against Minors Rights ........................................... 165 4. Good Will Stemming from Duty .................................................... 167 5. Kant Condemning Evilness Against Minors .................................. 169 6. Edifing Kant’s Philosophy of Justice ............................................. 172 Chapter VII .............................................................................................. 174 Conclusion Appendix ................................................................................................. 178 A Few Selected Texts of the UN Security Council Resolutions which are against the Metaphysics of Morals Bibliography ............................................................................................ 199 Index ........................................................................................................ 213 INTRODUCTION Once upon a time, Alexander the Great captured a notorious pirate and asked him, why are you plundering the high seas? The pirate replied, why are you plundering the lands? I am the king. If you are the king of the lands, I am the king of the high seas. What is the difference? The business is the same for both of us. This book elaborates the metaphysics of the monopolisation of the Security Council in conjunction with Kant’s philosophy of self-love and radical evil in human nature, or the inclination to evil, or the propensity to knowingly commit unlawful behaviour.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PRESS RELEASE the Dallas Film Society Announces the Full
    PRESS RELEASE The Dallas Film Society announces the full schedule for the 10th edition of the Dallas International Film Festival (April 14-24) Academy Award-nominated DP Ed Lachman will receive the Dallas Star Award, and legendary director Monte Hellman will receive the first L.M. “Kit” Carson Maverick Award USA Network’s Queen of the South debuts first episode on the big screen as Centerpiece presentation Nine world premieres include Shaun M. Colón’s A FAT WRECK, Alix Blair and Jeremy M. Lange’s FARMER/VETERAN, Ben Caird’s HALFWAY, Ciaran Creagh’s IN VIEW, Jeff Barry’s OCCUPY, TEXAS, Willie Baronet and Tim Chumley’s SIGNS OF HUMANITY, Jenna Jackson and Anthony Jackson’s UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT, and the next episode in Randal Kleiser’s VR series, Defrost Dallas, TX (March 21, 2016) – The Dallas Film Society today announced the full schedule of film selections for the 10th edition of the Dallas International Film Festival. The list of titles and events are led by an Opening Weekend Celebration at the Dallas City Performance Hall (2520 Flora Street), Presented by One Arts Plaza on April 14-17. Centerpiece Gala presentations include the first episode for the USA Network’s locally shot new television series, Queen of the South, and the previously announced selection of Chris Kelly’s OTHER PEOPLE. The famed Dallas Star Award will be presented to Academy Award-nominated cinematographer, Ed Lachman, and the inaugural presentation of the L.M. Kit Carson Maverick Filmmaker Award to director Monte Hellman. The Opening Weekend Celebration will serve as one of the anchor events for Dallas Arts Week (April 10-17) as DIFF continues to put film on the arts pedestal in the City of Dallas.
    [Show full text]
  • Meyerbeer's Robert Le Diable
    Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable : The Premier Opéra Romantique By Robert Ignatius Letellier Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable : The Premier Opéra Romantique , by Robert Ignatius Letellier This book first published 2012 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2012 by Robert Ignatius Letellier All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-4191-9, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-4191-7 Fig. 1 Giacomo Meyerbeer. Lithograph by Delpech after a drawing by Maurin (c. 1836) CONTENTS List of Figures............................................................................................. xi Abbreviations .......................................................................................... xvii Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1. The Origins .............................................................................................. 3 2. The Sources .......................................................................................... 15 The Plot ...............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 2021 Finalist Directory
    2021 Finalist Directory April 29, 2021 ANIMAL SCIENCES ANIM001 Shrimply Clean: Effects of Mussels and Prawn on Water Quality https://projectboard.world/isef/project/51706 Trinity Skaggs, 11th; Wildwood High School, Wildwood, FL ANIM003 Investigation on High Twinning Rates in Cattle Using Sanger Sequencing https://projectboard.world/isef/project/51833 Lilly Figueroa, 10th; Mancos High School, Mancos, CO ANIM004 Utilization of Mechanically Simulated Kangaroo Care as a Novel Homeostatic Method to Treat Mice Carrying a Remutation of the Ppp1r13l Gene as a Model for Humans with Cardiomyopathy https://projectboard.world/isef/project/51789 Nathan Foo, 12th; West Shore Junior/Senior High School, Melbourne, FL ANIM005T Behavior Study and Development of Artificial Nest for Nurturing Assassin Bugs (Sycanus indagator Stal.) Beneficial in Biological Pest Control https://projectboard.world/isef/project/51803 Nonthaporn Srikha, 10th; Natthida Benjapiyaporn, 11th; Pattarapoom Tubtim, 12th; The Demonstration School of Khon Kaen University (Modindaeng), Muang Khonkaen, Khonkaen, Thailand ANIM006 The Survival of the Fairy: An In-Depth Survey into the Behavior and Life Cycle of the Sand Fairy Cicada, Year 3 https://projectboard.world/isef/project/51630 Antonio Rajaratnam, 12th; Redeemer Baptist School, North Parramatta, NSW, Australia ANIM007 Novel Geotaxic Data Show Botanical Therapeutics Slow Parkinson’s Disease in A53T and ParkinKO Models https://projectboard.world/isef/project/51887 Kristi Biswas, 10th; Paxon School for Advanced Studies, Jacksonville,
    [Show full text]
  • Ufos What Is a UFO?
    Alien Visitations “The liberation of the human mind has never been furthered by such learned dunderheads [priests and pedants]; it has been furthered by gay fellows who heaved dead cats into sanctuaries and then went roistering down the highways of the world, proving to all men that doubt, after all, was safe -- that the god in the sanctuary was finite in his power, and hence a fraud. One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent.” HL Mencken Space Travel As we discussed last week: • Space is big • Space travel is slow Barring unknown physics, it is unlikely that alien beings are flitting around our planet in flying saucers Close Encounters • I: Visual sighting of aerial object (UFO) • II: Observation plus physical effects • Heat • Electrical interference • Paralysis; frightened animals • Physical damage • III: Direct observation of extraterrestrials • Little green men • Tall grey aliens • IV: Abductions UFOs What is a UFO? • All are indeed unidentified. • Most are Venus. • Almost certainly none are alien spacecraft Picture from Robert Sheaffer: http://www.debunker.com/ufo.html Fata Morgana (mirage) Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence Is UFOlogy a science ahead of its time? Consider • Scientific study of Witchcraft • Phrenology • Fairies • Homeopathy • N-rays • Orgone • … • Cf Shaeffer 1980 (http://www.debunker.com/historical/ SmithsonianUFOtalk.html) Evidence for Visitations? If they are surveiling us, they have been sloppy • Equivalent of anthropology
    [Show full text]
  • An Exploratory Tryptich
    University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses Fall 12-16-2016 Across the Great Divides: An Exploratory Tryptich Andrew Vaught University of New Orleans, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Part of the Playwriting Commons Recommended Citation Vaught, Andrew, "Across the Great Divides: An Exploratory Tryptich" (2016). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2282. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2282 This Thesis-Restricted is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis-Restricted in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis-Restricted has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Across the Great Divides An Exploratory Tryptic A Thesis Submitted the to Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Playwriting by Andrew Vaught B.A. Kenyon College, 2005 December, 2016 Welcome to the end of exploration. Here are some notes to get you through. CAST This play, in those most perfect of proletariat utopias, could be performed by as large a cast as possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyrighted Material
    1 Herzog and Auteurism Performing Authenticity Brigitte Peucker Michel Ichat ’ s Victoire sur l ’ Annapurna (1953) is incomplete, André Bazin tells the reader of “Cinema and Exploration,” because an avalanche “snatched the camera out of the hands of [Maurice] Herzog” (1967: 162). Bazin ’ s description conjures up a film camera immersed in snow, its lens obscured. No act of photographic registration can take place here: there is no distance between the hapless camera and its object. Struggling to delineate cinematic realism, Bazin evokes a limit case in bringing the real into the film frame, one in which the camera seized by an avalanche figures the collapse of world with filmic apparatus. Its existential weight intensified by its unrepresentability, Maurice Herzog ’ s peak experience is sublime. It ’ s the explorer ’ s brush with death that evokes Bazin ’ s central metaphor for the indexical image: the Veil of Veronica “pressed to the face of human suffering” (1967: 163). I have long suspected that Bazin ’ s account is what inspired Werner Stipetić to change his name to Werner Herzog, perhaps also to assume his particular aesthetic stance, since Bazin ’ s story contains all the lineaments of the portrait Herzog draws of himself as auteur. It ’ s the portrait of someone for whom the conquering of a mountain is co-extensive with filming it, for whom filmmaking demands a physical investment, and landscapes produce essential images because death lurks in the natural world. Most centrally, it ’ s the portrait of a filmmaker for whom authenticity is at stake. But what is the nature of this “authenticity”? It doesn ’ t reside in Bazinian realism in a strict sense, although it ’ s connected to its more metaphorical, expanded expression.
    [Show full text]
  • Mcarthur Binion, Teresita Fernández, Nari Ward February 25 – March 27 Lehmann Maupin Palm Beach #Mcarthurbinion #Teresitafernandez #Nariward | @Lehmannmaupin
    Teresita Fernández, Ghost Vines (Yellow Gold), 2015. Bras s, 92.5 x 130.5 x 4.4 inches (235 x 331.5 x 11.1 cm) Origins: McArthur Binion, Teresita Fernández, Nari Ward February 25 – March 27 Lehmann Maupin Palm Beach #McArthurBinion #TeresitaFernandez #NariWard | @LehmannMaupin Lehmann Maupin is pleased to announce Origins, a group exhibition marking the gallery’s third presentation in Palm Beach, featuring new and recent work by McArthur Binion, Teresita Fernández, and Nari Ward. Over the course of their respective practices and through distinct mediums and diverse approaches, these artists have produced bodies of work that challenge traditional narratives around place, identity, memory, and belonging. New paintings by McArthur Binion will be on view, including works from his iconic DNA:Study and new Modern:Ancient:Brown series. Here, Binion combines collage, drawing, and painting to create autobiographical abstractions of minimalist patterns over an “under surface” of personal documents and photographs. From photocopies of his birth certificate and pages from his address book to pictures from his childhood and found photographs, the poignant and charged images that constitute the tiled base of his work are concealed and abstracted by grids of hand-painted oil stick. Binion’s practice is the subject of a newly published monograph, McArthur Binion: DNA (DelMonico Books, 2021). The artist will have a solo exhibition of new work at Lehmann Maupin New York in September 2021. The featured works by Teresita Fernández exemplify her ability to carefully merge the material and the conceptual. In Ghost Vines (Yellow Gold) (2015), Fernández utilizes reflective materials to draw the viewer in, creating an intimate and interactive experience of wayfinding.
    [Show full text]
  • The William Harris Papers
    The William Harris Papers Marymount Manhattan College 221 East 71st Street New York, New York 10021 Archives Collection #001 Processed October 2, 2001 Mary Elizabeth Brown William Balber (Billy) Harris was born April 9, 1951, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was an alumnus of the Lawrenceville School and of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Upon graduation, he moved to New York. At one time, he lived on Reade Street in Tribeca, and at the time of his death, he lived in #7C at 160 Front Street near the Fulton Fish Market.1 He divided his time between two kinds of writing, one being business writing. He was a staff writer for Forbes Magazine and Institutional Investor and managing editor of Treasury and Risk Management and The Daily Deal. He was also a drama and dance critic. He became interested in the theater in Pittsburgh, where he worked designing props under Peter Chandler of Periwig Productions, and at the Kirby Arts Center. He recalled coming to New York from Pittsburgh at the age of 17 to pay $9 to see a performance of Hair.2 He was the theater editor for the SoHo Weekly News and managing editor of Theatre Crafts Magazine. He also wrote articles, criticism and reviews for Art Forum, Brooklyn Bridge, The New York Times, The Newark Star Ledger, and The Village Voice. It was in the course of this work that he amassed his collection of papers. Mr. Harris died of a massive coronary July 27, 2000, in New York City at the age of 49. He was survived by his mother Vivienne, of Pittsburgh; his sister, Ellen, who lived in Denver, and his brother John, a physician in the San Francisco area.
    [Show full text]
  • Naam: Machteld Pansier Studie: Keltische Talen En Cultuur Begeleider: Karianne Lemmen Inhoudsopgave
    Naam: Machteld Pansier Studie: Keltische talen en Cultuur Begeleider: Karianne Lemmen Inhoudsopgave: Inleiding pag. 3 De Morrígan in de Ierse literatuur pag. 4 De Morrígan in Sanctuary pag. 6 De verschillen en overeenkomsten tussen de Morrígan in de pag. 9 Oud-Ierse literatuur en de Morrígan in Sanctuary De Morrígan en Morgaine le Fay pag. 11 De Morrígan in de Celtic Twilight pag. 12 Van Cú Chulainn tot Sanctuary pag. 14 Conclusie pag. 17 Bibliografie pag. 19 2 Inleiding „Our purpose is to bring dead to the enemies of the Cabal.‟ Dit zegt de oudste van de drie zussen die samen de Morrígan vormen in de tv-serie Sanctuary. Het kiezen van een onderwerp voor een scriptie of werkstuk is soms moeilijk, zo niet in dit geval. In dit geval liep ik er gewoon tegenaan. Ik was naar een tv-serie aan het kijken en ik dacht: hier wil ik meer over weten. In de serie ging het namelijk over de Morrígan, alleen, het was niet de Morrígan zoals ik die ken uit de Oud-Ierse literatuur. De Morrígan uit de Oud-Ierse literatuur werkt niet in opdracht voor anderen maar werkt voor zichzelf. Bovendien heeft zij niet maar één doel, namelijk het doden van mensen. Zij vervult onder andere ook de rol van profetes. Daarnaast is de naam "Cabal" voor mij volledig nieuw en al helemaal in combinatie met de Morrígan. Ik vroeg me dus af wat nou de precieze verschillen zijn tussen deze twee Morrígans en hoe deze zijn ontstaan. Is er een ontwikkeling te zien in de Ierse folklore of hebben de schrijvers van de serie misschien hun inspiratie nog ergens anders vandaan gehaald? Gaat het hier wel over dezelfde persoon/personen? Veel vragen die interessant zijn om te onderzoeken.
    [Show full text]
  • Letter 386B Nuenen, Late November 1884 Dear Brother, Thank You for Your Letter and the Money
    © Copyright 2001 R. G. Harrison Letter 386b Nuenen, late November 1884 Dear brother, Thank you for your letter and the money. Assuming what you say is true, namely that you have repeatedly started to write to me, but that you did not succeed in finishing the letter – well, I find myself in the same situation, for twice already I have thrown away what I had written into the fire, because I thought it either too bitter or too sad. What shall I say to you? Your letter sounds very correct, and has the tone of a good ministre des Beaux Arts. But this does not alter the fact that it is not much use to me, and that I am not satisfied with it – and especially in your “later on, when you have expressed yourself more clearly, we shall perhaps find something in your present work, and then we shall not act as we do now…” I see only a fair promise – but in reality a ministerial fata morgana in the eyes of a fellow like me, who would rather find an outlet for his work in a more pedestrian way, provided that it is at the present moment. There you are – if need be an outlet at the present moment, but preferably not with third-class dealers – and this is something I cannot demand of you, considering your position – que soit – but on the other hand you cannot demand of me that I resign myself to a ministerial fata morgana. After all, I am too practical for that! Kindly appreciate that I call you a good minister – and you know well enough how damned bad the fellows elevated above solid ground are as a rule, so that I am only too happy to value a few bright spots even in the ministerial sphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Aspects of King Maclain in Eudora Welty's the Golden Apples
    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Theses Department of English 8-3-2006 Aspects of King MacLain in Eudora Welty's The Golden Apples James Hammond Shimkus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Shimkus, James Hammond, "Aspects of King MacLain in Eudora Welty's The Golden Apples." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2006. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_theses/13 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ASPECTS OF KING MACLAIN IN EUDORA WELTY’S THE GOLDEN APPLES by James Shimkus Under the Direction of Pearl A. McHaney ABSTRACT Much of the scholarship on Eudora Welty’s The Golden Apples focuses on Welty’s use of folklore and myth, particularly as presented in several of W. B. Yeats’s poems. The character King MacLain is most often associated with Zeus, Perseus, and Aengus. A close examination of King MacLain’s development during Welty’s composition and revision of The Golden Apples reveals associations between King and other figures from myth and folklore, including Odin, Loki, Finn MacCool, Brer Rabbit, the King of the Wood from James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough, and several types of Irish fairies. The many layers of allusion revealed by studying King MacLain suggest that close studies of other characters in The Golden Apples will illustrate the complexity and scope of Welty’s story-cycle.
    [Show full text]
  • Facts and Fancies About Java
    Facts and fancies about Java Augusta de Wit bron Augusta de Wit, Facts and fancies about Java. Straits Times Press, Singapore 1898 Zie voor verantwoording: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/wit_001fact01_01/colofon.php Let op: werken die korter dan 140 jaar geleden verschenen zijn, kunnen auteursrechtelijk beschermd zijn. IV AUGUSTA DE WIT Augusta de Wit, Facts and fancies about Java 1 Facts and Fancies about Java. WHEN the Lady Dolly van der Deeken, in answer to questions anent her legendary husband's whereabouts, murmured something vague about ‘Java, Japan, or Jupiter,’ she had Java in her mind as the most ‘impossible’ of those impossible places. And, indeed, every schoolboy points the finger of unceremonious acquaintance at Jupiter: and Japan lies transparent on the egg-shell porcelain of many an elegant teatable. But Java? What far forlorn shore may it be that owns the strange-sounding name; and in what sail-less seas may this other Ultima Thule be Augusta de Wit, Facts and fancies about Java 2 fancied to float? Time was when I never saw a globe - all spun about with net of parallels and degrees, as with some vast spider's web - without a little shock of surprise at finding ‘Java’ hanging in the meshes. How could there be latitude and longitude to such a thing of dreams and fancies? An attempt at determining the acreage of the rainbow, or the geological strata of a Fata Morgana, would hardly have seemed less absurd. I would have none of such vain exactitude: but still chose to think of Java as situate in the same region with the Island of Avallon, the Land of the Lotos-Eaters, palm-shaded Bohemia by the sea, and the Forest of Broceliand, Merlin's melodious grave.
    [Show full text]