Macrocosm:

the sum total of all symbols (which are all things, ideas, mathematics, science) in relation to a single person; between men of the same Culture, the Macrocosms are interrelated allowing intuition, communication & sensations between men, as words or signs (themselves symbols).

 

visage:

the face, usually with reference to shape, features, expression; countenance; aspect; appearance

 

wont:

accustomed; used (usually followed by an infinitive)

Atman:

concept from Hinduism, the World Soul, from which all individual souls derive, and to which they return as the supreme goal of existence.

 

Tao:

concept in philosophical Taoism, for which all things happen or exist; the rational basis of human activity or conduct; a universal, regarded as an ideal attained to a greater or lesser degree by those embodying it.

 

the Laocoon group (& Renaissance sculpture): * see Endnote 1

When the Laocoon was discovered (Rome, 1506) Michelangelo was present; it was immediately recognized from Pliny's description.  Pope Julius II, a lover of antiquities, acquired the work & placed it in the newly constructed Belvedere Garden (Vatican).  Michelangelo, a friend of Julius, was able to study it extensively.  The statue is very Hellenistic, portraying action & emotion rather than Classical attributes (perfection, harmony, symmetry). It shows 3 people struggling for their lives.  Their expressions of pain are profound.  Michelangelo was especially influenced by the figures’ violent conflict with the serpents; he wished to depict muscular movement in some way other than showing strength; this was a blueprint for such art.  He was at the forefront of the emerging Baroque style & we can see the this statue's influence on this new style.

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Seneca & French Classicist drama:

Senecan tragedy refers to a set of 10 ancient Roman tragedies, of which 8 were written by the Stoic philosopher & politician Seneca (4 BC- 65 AD).  The group includes: The Madness of Hercules, The Trojan Women, The Phoenician Women, Medea, Phaedra, Oedipus, Agamemnon & Thyestes. Usually his tragedies focus heavily on supernatural elements.  French Neo-classical tragedy drew inspiration from Seneca.  This dramatic tradition peaked in the 17th century tragedies of Corneille (1606 -1684) & Racine (1639-1699).  Both drew on Seneca for form and style (grandeur).  They adopted his innovation of the confidant (usually a servant), his substitution of speech for action & his moral hair splitting.

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Symbol:

that which is actualized, in the extended (space) and BECOME (not BECOMING); rigid & subject to laws of space; all are sensible and characterized by the word form.