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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 4 page paper discusses the writings of Jacobus de Voragine, who described the life of St. Martin, and Chou Yi-liang, who wrote about Shan-wu-wei, and how they created the saintly image of their subjects. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVsaints.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
especially if the authors were anxious to flatter their subjects. This paper discusses accounts of the lives of these two men, and argues that the similarities in the accounts makes
it seem likely that the authors were constructing lives they felt were appropriate for these mens accomplishments, and not objectively reporting facts. Discussion The first thing that is of interest
is that the prompt describes the compilations of these saints lives as "hagiographies." This means that the writers idealized their subjects, either because they admired them greatly or perhaps because
it was expedient for them to present an extremely flattering picture of these men. At any rate, the student knows going in that the accounts are exaggerated to make the
subject look particularly appealing, brave or divine; its necessary to take the writings with a grain of salt. The overall shape of the narratives is quite similar: the main "characters"
are introduced, they are recognized as holy, and then they begin to wander through various lands, having a series of adventures or facing challenges during this period. They finally settle
in one place where they prove of great value to an important and powerful ruler; and they both die peacefully, at greatly advanced ages. In fact, both accounts contain detailed
descriptions of the deaths, which are very similar. In addition, throughout both accounts, the men repeatedly encounter gods and devils; St. Martin in particular repeatedly resists the temptations of Satan.
What makes a holy person? The two accounts seem to agree that it is deeds, not words, which make someone holy. Saint Martin establishes monasteries, teaches, gives money and clothing
to the poor and so on. He takes nothing for himself; in one instance, he cuts his threadbare cape in half and shares it with a beggar; later he has
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