How She Came to Power Shortly after 4pm on Xmas Day 1761, the doors from the bedchamber were flung open. The Prince Nikita Trubetskoi, one of the oldest senators, appeared in the doorway. He was in tears, as were all present, and then, controlling his emotion, he announced the death of the Empress, Elisabeth, and proclaimed the new sovereign. Emperor Peter III. Catherine was at least nearing her goal. Eighteen years had passed since as a young girl she had first arrived in Russia, ambitious to make a glorious career for herself. Those years had passed for the most part in boredom and isolation, from which she had escaped into books and riding. She was now thirty

Catherine the Great ( Panting by Johann Baptist Lompi the Elder - 1793 ) Catherine the Great Introduction In England the period of the New Monarchy from Edward IV to Elizabeth, in France the great Bourbon period from Henry IV to Louis XIV in Spain the epoch which extends from Ferdinand to Philip II, in Russia the rule of Peter the Great and Catherine were the time in which these nations reached their maturity, formed fully and confirmed their spirit and attained to a robust organisation. And all these were periods of absolutism or of movement to absolutism and a certain foundation of uniformity or attempt to found it. This absolutism clot

-06_An Artist^s View of the Human Body - Introduction.htm Leonardo's drawing: human proportions Page – 78 An Artist's View of the Human Body Introduction The Renaissance is the period of European history which is marked by a break with the Middle Ages. Renaissance means re-birth. The first people to speak of the birth of a new and luminous age, who saw the previous period, the Middle Ages, as Dark Ages, were the Italians. While the Middle Ages had lived strongly and with a sort of sombre force, but always under the burden of an obligation to aspire through suffering to a beyond, in Italy a new confidence, a new optimism was born: the Renaissance was an enthusia

Part IX Perfection of the Body Painting: Veronique Nicolet, Auroville Perfection of the Body The perfection of the body, as great a perfection as we can bring about by the means at our disposal, must be the ultimate aim of physical culture. Perfection is the true aim of all culture, the spiritual and psychic, the mental, the vital and it must be the aim of our physical culture also. If our seeking is for a total perfection of the being, the physical part of it cannot be left aside; for the body is the material basis, the body is the instrument which we have to use. Sariram khalu dharmasadhan

Notes Body-Building glossary Barbells — a rod of one meter to which disks of varying weights are attached at each end and lifted with two hands. Dumbbells — two metal balls connected by a rigid handle long enough for the grip of one hand. Machines — exercising machines with weights on cables and pulleys, making it possible to use weight resistance in all directions. Workout — exercise Pecs — pectorals, the muscles of the chest. Squat — to sit on the heels with the knees bent. Bench Press — a lift of weights (barbells or dumbbells) until the arms are extended; whi

The Greek hero Heracles slaying the Nemean lion Strength Introduction Man, and particularly modern man, is the weakest of the large animals. If he has come to dominate the terrestrial creation it is by the power of his mind rather than the strength of his frame. And yet, at the beginning of his long journey on Earth, sheer physical strength was an essential condition of his survival; prehistoric humans ran long distances in search of fire or food and were able to kill animals much larger than themselves. Only the strong tended to survive. As societies developed and men's activities diversified, strength became the goal of specialized members of society su

Notes Life's Chronology of Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1882 Birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Hyde Park, New York. 1900 Studies at Harvard University 1904 Law studies at New York City's Columbia University 1905 Marriage with Eleanor, a distant cousin, niece of Theodore Roosevelt 1910 Enter into the political arena. Elected as a Democrat to the New York State Senate 1912 Re-election. Appointed by Wilson as Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1920 Chosen as the running mate of presidential candidate James M.Cox. Defeat of their team 1921 Stricken by poliomyelitis 1924 Resumes his political career. (Beginning of treatment at

Physical Education in Ancient India India has had a long history of physical education, far more ancient than Greece. But in our times When the Olympic Games occurring every four years have become probably the biggest planetary event, most people know that the Games originated more than two thousand years ago in Greece. In addition, Greeks have given the Western world through many beautiful statues a keen sense of bodily perfection, an ideal of physical beauty unsurpassed to this day. There was such an emphasis on the importance of beauty and physical prowesses that some of the highest honours in Greek society were bestowed on athletes, to an e

Cricket The Jam Sahib of Nawanagar* As cricket is a very special game in India, we felt that, even if we could not hope to bring stories about every possible games, we should at least have one on cricket. We found a very refreshing short essay by A.G. Gardiner about Ranjit Singh, a Prince Batsman who enchanted quite long ago the British and Indian crowds, a legend in the annals of cricket. The last ball has been bowled, the bats have been oiled and put away, and around Lord's the grandstands are empty and sad looking. We have said goodbye to cricket. We have said good bye, too, to cricket's king. The game will come again with the sp

Notes On the positive effect of laughter on health ... While scientists had earlier studied the general effects of laughter on the body, Cousins' experience has spurred the medical profession to new efforts to find out how beneficial laughter is in aiding the body's healing process. Studies have shown that humour has a profound connection with physiological states and that a surprising number of patients have laughed themselves back to health, as Cousins did, or at any rate have exploited their sense of humour as a positive, adaptive response to their illnesses. In fact, a link between humour and longevity has been established. Further, laughter has a definite