DOCSLIB.ORG

The Magic of Professional Gravitas

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014 ® Volume 160, No. 167 The magic of professional gravitas ince I started this business worlds. our approach in real time. column nearly three As with other things which Maintaining a high level of years ago, I have defy a clear-cut explanation, you PARADIGM SHIFT engagement in these situations is discussed a variety of know it when you see it. People an important element of topics which address with gravitas exude success, an gravitas. Sthe evolution of the legal profes - air of authority and leadership Developing and maintaining sion and the disruptive forces and command respect. They are gravitas takes a lot of hard work. profoundly changing the way in effective communicators and There is an age-old debate about which we practice law. they garner credibility and CHRISTINA whether it is something we are Together, we have explored convey a wisdom often attribut - L. M ARTINI born with. As with most things in ways in which we can weather able to both age and experience. life, there are those who seem to this permanent instability by They have a level of confi - effortlessly demonstrate bettering ourselves as profes - dence which is readily perceived Christina L. Martini is a practicing gravitas, whereas others have a sionals and as people and by by others, yet without attorney, author and columnist. She is more difficult time with it. developing and harnessing those projecting a sense of arrogance. vice chair of the Chicago intellectual Regardless of which camp we qualities and characteristics Those with gravitas are property practice group at DLA Piper are in, everyone can take steps in which help make us uniquely authentic and align what they and has been in private practice since developing and harnessing valuable to our clients and in the say with how they think and 1994. She focuses her practice on gravitas. Working with profes - domestic and international marketplace. what they do, which makes their trademark, copyright, domain name, sionals such as executive coaches I recently examined the lika - communications with others Internet, advertising and unfair and soliciting honest, frank bility factor and how it affects much more powerful and competition law. She frequently speaks feedback from friends and our ability to understand and impactful. They project selfless - and writes regarding the legal and colleagues about our personal relate to others. While it is an ness as their way of being, business landscapes and appears effectiveness and our strengths important component of the rather than selfishness. monthly in Chicago Lawyer magazine and weaknesses can be effective overall package we offer clients, There are a number of as a columnist of “Inside Out.” tools in our development. it is only one of any number of different components to gravitas. You can reach her at We also need to recognize that skills which are critically First, there is a certain level of [email protected]. gravitas is not about bowling important in our ability to mean - substantive knowledge, intellec - others over with how great we ingfully distinguish ourselves tual horsepower and focus which many examples of how we are. Rather, it is in the process of from the competition. is critical in establishing exhibit gravitas. meaningfully connecting and A close cousin to likability is gravitas. We are able to success - Being a great communicator is making a positive difference, and gravitas. It is often used inter - fully leverage our strengths but also an essential ingredient. This in being kind and generous in the changeably with words such as also recognize the limits of what means that we are able to take service of others, that our true charisma and executive we know and understand what our knowledge and insight and essence, our gravitas, shines presence. The Oxford Dictionary we don’t know, which allows us successfully and passionately through. Whether we are born defines it as “dignity, seriousness to seek the assistance of others convey them to others in an with it or are cultivating it from or solemnity of manner” and, as needed. This serves the inspiring way. We wholeheart - scratch, we must always look for according to the Urban greater good and is key in main - edly believe in what we say and ways to improve ourselves and Dictionary, it is “strength of taining our credibility. say what we believe. our skills. character, self-esteem, confi - Our appearance and We are persuasive and project Gravitas is not just for politi - dence.” Wikipedia mentions that demeanor, which include how we confidence and composure in our cians, newscasters and the C- it is one of the Roman virtues, look, dress and present ourselves oral and written communica - suite anymore. Indeed, it has along with pietas, dignitas and in both formal and informal tions. When we have a healthy become increasingly important virtus and that it “conveys a settings, are also important. dose of emotional intelligence, for all professionals, and lawyers certain substance or depth of There is a level of assertiveness we have the tools to take these in particular. Having gravitas personality.” and self-assuredness which goes communications to an even helps to inspire the trust, confi - Notwithstanding the fact that hand in hand with gravitas, and higher level, since we are finely dence and peace of mind of it is defined in any number of these are inextricably linked with attuned to ourselves and others. clients. ways, gravitas still remains a bit our posture, body language and We are keenly aware of our Given the continued flat of a conundrum. Historically, the level of engagement when inter - audience in any given situation demand for legal services, clients term has mainly been used in the acting with others. and understand the various are always seeking meaningful political realm, but, as it has Maintaining eye contact, points of view. differentiators among their become an increasingly main - having a firm handshake, deliv - We hear both what is said and various service providers. stream concept, it is often ering effective presentations and unsaid and are able to read the Gravitas is often part of that applied in other contexts, projecting our voice when room for clues and suggestions “secret sauce” in the recipe for including in the media and speaking are just a few of the on how to make adjustments to effectiveness and success. Copyright © 2014 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company..
Recommended publications
  • Plutarch, Machiavelli and Shakespeare's Coriolanus Patrick

    Plutarch, Machiavelli and Shakespeare's Coriolanus Patrick

    The Changing Faces of Virtue: Plutarch, Machiavelli and Shakespeare’s Coriolanus Patrick Ashby University of Bristol [email protected] Introduction: The hinges of virtue ‘Let it be virtuous to be obstinate’, says Caius Martius Coriolanus, shortly before the catastrophe of Shakespeare’s tragedy (Coriolanus, 5.3.26).1 In uttering these words, he articulates a moral hypothesis which is of central importance to Coriolanus: the supposition that steadfastness of principle is a fundamental good. This is a theory which the play puts to the test. The idea of ‘virtue’ — in a variety of guises — is a key focus of this essay, which identifies as crucial those moments at which definitions of virtue are unsettled, transformed, or confronted with a range of alternatives. Several commentators have connected Shakespeare’s Coriolanus with the political ideas of Niccolò Machiavelli, the Florentine theorist whose notoriety rests upon his recommendation of moral flexibility for political leaders. For Anne Barton, who reads the play in the context of Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy’s history of early Rome, Coriolanus dramatises the futile persistence of obsolescent virtues (the valorisation of battlefield heroics) in an environment of subtler needs and growing political sophistication.2 In Shakespeare and the Popular Voice, Annabel Patterson hints at Shakespeare’s sympathy with the idea of popular political representation, proposing that ‘there is nothing in the play to challenge that famous interpretation of the tribunate which [. .] Machiavelli made a premise of Renaissance political theory’.3 John Plotz 1 William Shakespeare, Coriolanus, The Norton Shakespeare, ed. by Stephen Greenblatt, Katherine Eisaman Maus, Jean E.
  • IMPERIAL EXEMPLA Military Prowess, Or Virtus, Is but One Quality That

    IMPERIAL EXEMPLA Military Prowess, Or Virtus, Is but One Quality That

    CHAPTER FOUR IMPERIAL EXEMPLA Military prowess, or virtus, is but one quality that characterized an efffec- tive emperor. Ideally, a ‘good’ emperor was not just a competent general but also displayed other virtues. These imperial virtutes were propagated throughout the Roman Empire by means of imperial panegyric, decrees, inscriptions, biographies, and coins.1 On coinage in particular, juxtaposi- tions of AVG or AVGG with the virtue and/or the imperial portrait on the obverse would connect the virtues mentioned on the reverses directly with the emperor(s). Not all emperors emphasized the same virtues on their coinage. For example, Elagabalus seems not to have felt the need to stress virtus, whereas his successor Severus Alexander did try to convince the Roman people of his military prowess by propagating it on his coins. The presence or absence of particular virtues on coins issued by diffferent emperors brings us to the question as to whether an imperial canon of virtues existed. But before elaborating on this, the concept ‘virtue’ must be clarifijied.2 Modern scholars investigating imperial virtues on coinage consider vir- tues to be personifijications with divine power – in other words, deifijied abstractions or, as Fears puts it, ‘specifijic impersonal numina’.3 For many, the terms ‘personifijication’ and ‘virtue’ are interchangeable.4 Indeed, vir- tues can be considered personifijications. Yet, not all personifijications are 1 Noreña, “The communication of the emperor’s virtues”, p. 153. 2 ‘But if one is to compare coins with other sources, particularly philosopically inspired ones (i.e. in talking of the virtues of the ideal statesman) it is vital to distinguish what is a virtue and what is not’, A.
  • Coriolanus: the Tragedy of Virtus ANTHONY MILLER

    Coriolanus: the Tragedy of Virtus ANTHONY MILLER

    SYDNEY STUDIES Coriolanus: The Tragedy of Virtus ANTHONY MILLER From the opening entry of "a company of mntinous Citizens, with staves, clubs, and other weapons" to the next to last, barely coherent action-"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill him!" "Hold, hold, hold, hold!"-Coriolanus displays an ancient world riven by war and civic turmoil.l For all its occasional evocations of a mar­ moreal Romanitas, it is also a busy play. Its protagonist accepts with relish and superhuman energy the opportunities for martial action that his world presents: Coriolanus is probably the most active of Shakespeare's tragic heroes, certainly the one least given to reflection. Yet the play's busyness is not always warlike. Much of it consists of talk, especially the contentious talk of political debate. Characters plan courses of action, rehearse public appearances, plot acts of vengeance, conjure with names, report off-stage events-and even events that the audience has seen occur on-stage. Much of the discussion revolves around Coriolanus himself. His nature and motives, his martial prowess and farouche political manners, are incessantly and variously canvassed. To a belligerent citizen, Coriolanus's heroics are performed to please his mother, and to be partly proud; to the indulgent Menenius, his nature is too noble for the world; to Aufidius, shrewd and grudgingly admiring, his actions are a matter for almost obsessive, but inconclusive, rumination: Whether 'twas pride, Which out of daily fortune ever taints The happy man; whether defect of judgement, To fail in the disposing of those chances Which he was lord of; or whether nature, Not to be other than one thing, not moving From th'casque to th'cushion, but commanding peace Even with the same austerity and garb As he controll'd the war; but one of these­ As he hath spices of them all, not all, For I dare so far free him-made him fear'd, So hated, and so banish'd.
  • Some Aspects of the Concept of Virtus in Roman Literature Until Livy

    Some Aspects of the Concept of Virtus in Roman Literature Until Livy

    STUDIA PHILOLOGICA JYV ASKYLAENSIA 16 JUHANI SARSILA SOME ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUS IN ROMAN LITERATURE UNTIL LIVY ACADEMIC DISSERTATION TO THE PUBLICLY DISCUSSED, BY PERMISSION OF THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF JYVASKYLA, IN AUDITORIUM S 212, ON APRIL 7, 1982, AT 12 O'CLOCK NOON UNIVERSITY OF ]YVASKYLA, JYVASKYLA 1982 SOME ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUS IN ROMAN LITERATURE UNTIL LIVY STUDIA PHILOLOGICA JYVASKYLAENSIA 16 JUHANI SARSILA SOME ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUS IN ROMAN LITERATURE UNTIL LIVY UNIVERSITY OF JYVASKYLA, JYVASKYLA 1982 URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8309-3 ISBN 978-951-39-8309-3 (PDF) ISSN 0585-5462 lSBN 951-678-661-8 ISSN 0585-5462 COPYRIGHT © 1982, by University of Jyvliskylli Jyvliskyllin yliopisto monistuskeskus Kirjapaino Oy Sisa-Suomi. Jyvliskylli 1982 ABSTRACT Sarsila, Juhani, Some Aspects of the Concept of Virtus in Roman Literature until Livy / Juhani Sarsila. - Jyvaskyla Jyvaskylan yliopisto, 1981. - 153 s. - (Studia Philologica Jyvaskylaensia, ISSN 0585-5462; 16) ISBN 951-678-661-8 Diss. This study is an interpretation of some essential occurrences of virtus in the Roman literature from the beginnings until Livy. The method can be characterized as philological, more precisely compara­ tive-diachronical. Despite the great variety of literary genres, virtus remains rather similar from one author to another. The fact that the Romans repeatedly emphasized the importance of virtus goes to show the fundamental significance of this concept for their so­ ciety. Originally the conception of virtus was quite narrow consisting in the readiness of the agrarian and militant community to wage war and to endure hard toil.
  • Virgil, Aeneid 11 (Pallas & Camilla) 1–224, 498–521, 532–96, 648–89, 725–835 G

    Virgil, Aeneid 11 (Pallas & Camilla) 1–224, 498–521, 532–96, 648–89, 725–835 G

    Virgil, Aeneid 11 (Pallas & Camilla) 1–224, 498–521, 532–96, 648–89, 725–835 G Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and commentary ILDENHARD INGO GILDENHARD AND JOHN HENDERSON A dead boy (Pallas) and the death of a girl (Camilla) loom over the opening and the closing part of the eleventh book of the Aeneid. Following the savage slaughter in Aeneid 10, the AND book opens in a mournful mood as the warring parti es revisit yesterday’s killing fi elds to att end to their dead. One casualty in parti cular commands att enti on: Aeneas’ protégé H Pallas, killed and despoiled by Turnus in the previous book. His death plunges his father ENDERSON Evander and his surrogate father Aeneas into heart-rending despair – and helps set up the foundati onal act of sacrifi cial brutality that caps the poem, when Aeneas seeks to avenge Pallas by slaying Turnus in wrathful fury. Turnus’ departure from the living is prefi gured by that of his ally Camilla, a maiden schooled in the marti al arts, who sets the mold for warrior princesses such as Xena and Wonder Woman. In the fi nal third of Aeneid 11, she wreaks havoc not just on the batt lefi eld but on gender stereotypes and the conventi ons of the epic genre, before she too succumbs to a premature death. In the porti ons of the book selected for discussion here, Virgil off ers some of his most emoti ve (and disturbing) meditati ons on the tragic nature of human existence – but also knows how to lighten the mood with a bit of drag.
  • The Holy Lance of Antioch

    The Holy Lance of Antioch

    The Holy Lance of Antioch A Study on the Impact of a Perceived Relic during the First Crusade Master Thesis By Marius Kjørmo The crucified Jesus and the Roman soldier Longinus with the spear that would become the Holy Lance. Portrait by Fra Angelico from the Dominican cloister San Marco, Florence. A Master Thesis in History, Institute of Archaeology, History, Culture Studies and Religion, University of Bergen, Spring 2009. 2 Contents Preface.........................................................................................................................................5 List of Maps..................................................................................................................................6 List of Illustrations.......................................................................................................................6 Cast of Characters.......................................................................................................................7 1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................9 1.1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................9 1.2. Lance Historiography..........................................................................................................11 1.3. Terms and Expressions.......................................................................................................13
  • Libertas and Virtus of the Citizen in Cicero's De Republica*

    Libertas and Virtus of the Citizen in Cicero's De Republica*

    Libertas and Virtus of the Citizen in Cicero’s De Republica* Valentina Arena Introduction In 54 ΒὈ. Cicero began the composition of the De republica, a work that he presented to his brother Quintus as a treatise on the best organization of the commonwealth and on the best citizen (de optimo statu civitatis et de optimo cive)} In 51 ΒὈ. the completed work took the form of six books, structured in three pairs, each corresponding to one of the three days in which the dialogue allegedly took place, and characterised by a theo­ retical analysis followed by a historical account. Its subject matter, however, as Cicero himself suggests to his brother, can also be read in a twofold manner. The first three books of the treatise, concerning the government as a whole, present an analysis of the different constitutions (Book I), an account of Roman history (Book II), and an investi­ gation of the role of justice in the foundation of governments (Book III). The last three books, centred on the optimus civis, focus on the education and institutions that produce good citizens (Book IV), the qualities and activities of the rector (Book V), and the du­ ties of the rector at the moment of crisis, followed by the Somnium Scipionis (Book VI).I 2 I would like to thank Michael Crawford, Miriam Griffm, Fergus Millar, and Wilfried Nip­ pel, as well as seminar audiences in London, Berlin, and Zaragoza, for their very helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Many thanks are also due to the anonymous readers of SCI for their very useful suggestions.
  • Excellence Redefined: the Evolution of Virtus in Ancient Rome

    Excellence Redefined: the Evolution of Virtus in Ancient Rome

    Excellence Redefined: The Evolution of Virtus in Ancient Rome A thesis submitted to Miami University Honors Program in partial fulfillment of the requirements for University Honors with Distinction by Emily J. Trygstad May 2010 Oxford, Ohio i Abstract While there has been extensive academic research for over a thousand years in the field of Classics, it is impressive to note just how much research still needs to be done. For my thesis, I plan to take some of my own personal academic interest and channel it into a largely understudied topic: the evolution of the Roman value of virtus, and the effects that this change produced in Roman society. Virtus, which was in many ways held to be the paramount quality an ancient Roman male could possess, was initially expressed through an assertion of martial prowess. No simple translation for this ideal exists, however; “bravery” or “manliness”, while sometimes used, do not fully render the complex importance of virtus. Historian Myles McDonnell sums the notion up best: “the relationship... between virtus and all the other things the Romans valued – liberty, property, family, and fatherland – is one of dependence. Virtus embraces all that is good because it is virtus that guards and preserves all that is good” (McDonnell, 32). Over the course of time, however, history sees virtus make a gradual shift as an ideal manifested through military distinction to a more liberal celebration of “excellence”, not dissimilar from the Greek notion of‟αρετή. While most classicists and historians alike seem to agree that the ideal did indeed evolve over time, the study of what caused this shift has only barely been explored.
  • OEAGR Kaster

    OEAGR Kaster

    Values and Virtues, Roman. Roman morality was in decline for much of Rome’s history—or so we would infer from a recurrent refrain heard virtually from one end of classical antiquity to the other . Here is one voice among many, the historian Tacitus (c. 56–after 118 CE), drawing a contrast between ancient virtue and subsequent vice (Annals 3. 26): Nor was there need for rewards when honorable ends were by their very nature sought; and since people desired nothing contrary to established customs, they were forbidden nothing through fear of punishment. But after the principle of equality was stripped away, and ambition and force strode about in place of restraint and shame, forms of lordly power arose . For Tacitus, “established customs” guaranteed an unforced virtue, which in turn allowed a cooperative community of just, pious, and rugged equals to flourish spontaneously, needing no reward but the good opinion of their neighbors and fearing no punishment save their disapproval. It was only when those customs—collectively, mos maiorum, “the way of the elders”—were trampled underfoot by self-seeking ambition that law became necessary. But by then it was too late for law to undo the damage. So ran the story the Romans told themselves, though it is very doubtful that the idyllic community of pristine times ever existed as a historical fact. It is far more likely that the Romans wishfully projected their better selves onto an idealized past, where they might live in their imaginations the best human life they could conceive. Considered in that light, the “way of the elders” represented an ethical ideal that people might strive to attain rather than a tradition preserved from generation to generation before it was corrupted.
  • Mystical Rome V 2.0- July Release Morra Universal Cinematic Game System Contents Chapter Eight: Genre: Mystical Rome

    Mystical Rome V 2.0- July Release Morra Universal Cinematic Game System Contents Chapter Eight: Genre: Mystical Rome

    Mystical Rome V 2.0- July Release Morra Universal Cinematic Game System Contents Chapter Eight: Genre: Mystical Rome ................................................................ 4 Mystical Rome Credits .................................................................................... 5 Target Audience ............................................................................................ 5 Rating and Descriptors: R ............................................................................... 5 Mystical Rome Inspiration ............................................................................... 6 Mystical Rome Budget .................................................................................... 7 Mystical Rome Archetypes ............................................................................... 7 Artisan .................................................................................................... 7 Barbarian ................................................................................................. 9 Bureaucrat ..............................................................................................10 Clergy ....................................................................................................11 Criminal ..................................................................................................12 Druid ......................................................................................................13 Gladiator .................................................................................................14
  • Virtues for the People Aspects of Plutarchan Ethics PLUTARCHEA HYPOMNEMATA

    Virtues for the People Aspects of Plutarchan Ethics PLUTARCHEA HYPOMNEMATA

    virtues for the people aspects of plutarchan ethics PLUTARCHEA HYPOMNEMATA Editorial Board Jan Opsomer (K.U.Leuven) Geert Roskam (K.U.Leuven) Frances Titchener (Utah State University, Logan) Luc Van der Stockt (K.U.Leuven) Advisory Board F. Alesse (ILIESI-CNR, Roma) M. Beck (University of South Carolina, Columbia) J. Beneker (University of Wisconsin, Madison) H.-G. Ingenkamp (Universität Bonn) A.G. Nikolaidis (University of Crete, Rethymno) Chr. Pelling (Christ Church, Oxford) A. Pérez Jiménez (Universidad de Málaga) Th. Schmidt (Université de Fribourg) P.A. Stadter (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) VIRTUES FOR THE PEOPLE ASPECTS OF PLUTARCHAN ETHICS Edited by GEERT ROSKAM and LUC VAN DER STOCKT Leuven University Press © 2011 Leuven University Press / Presses Universitaires de Louvain / Universitaire Pers Leuven. Minderbroedersstraat 4, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium) All rights reserved. Except in those cases expressly determined by law, no part of this publication may be multiplied, saved in an automated datafile or made public in any way whatsoever without the express prior written consent of the publishers. ISBN 978 90 5867 858 4 D/2011/1869/3 NUR: 735-732 Design cover: Joke Klaassen Contents Efficiency and Effectiveness of Plutarch’s Broadcasting Ethics 7 G. Roskam – L. Van der Stockt 1. Virtues for the people Semper duo, numquam tres? Plutarch’s Popularphilosophie on Friendship and Virtue in On having many friends 19 L. Van der Stockt What is Popular about Plutarch’s ‘Popular Philosophy’? 41 Chr. Pelling Plutarch’s Lives and the Critical Reader 59 T.E. Duff Greek Poleis and the Roman Empire: Nature and Features of Political Virtues in an Autocratic System 83 P.
  • Pudicitia: the Construction and Application of Female Morality in the Roman Republic and Early Empire

    Pudicitia: the Construction and Application of Female Morality in the Roman Republic and Early Empire

    Pudicitia: The Construction and Application of Female Morality in the Roman Republic and Early Empire Master’s Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Graduate Program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies Professor Cheryl Walker, Advisor In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies by Kathryn Joseph May 2018 Copyright by Kathryn Elizabeth Spillman Joseph © 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisors for their patience and advice as well as my cohort in the Graduate Program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies. Y’all know what you did. iii ABSTRACT Pudicitia: The Construction and Application of Female Morality in the Roman Republic and Early Empire A thesis presented to the Graduate Program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts By Kathryn Joseph In the Roman Republic and early Empire, pudicitia, a woman’s sexual modesty, was an important part of the traditional concept of female morality. This thesis strives to explain how traditional Roman morals, derived from the foundational myths in Livy’s History of Rome, were applied to women and how women functioned within these moral constructs. The traditional constructs could be manipulated under the right circumstances and for the right reasons, allowing women to act outside of traditional gender roles. By examining literary examples of women who were able to step outside of traditional gender roles, it becomes possible to understand the difference between projected male ideas on ideal female morality, primarily pudicitia, and actuality.