This collection of essays covers various topics of contemporary philosophy and religion, as well as current issues concerning education. Says the author, “I made many presentations at scholarly conferences, and the present work gathers what I consider the most significant. There is no single focus, except for the commitment to the pursuit of truth wherever it may lead. ‘Truth,’ I learned from Tertullian, ‘is ashamed of nothing except of being hidden.’ Once exposed, it does not cease being true because we have difficulty stomaching it.”

This volume of Albi Rosenthal's work was originally conceived as a small selection in celebration of his 85th birthday. It rapidly expanded to a larger volume as the range and depth of his scholarship, and the fascination of his material, became apparent. This more comprehensive collection is presented here in the belief that it will now also be of interest to a much wider audience Obiter Scripta spans the author's output of over sixty years, touching on many subjects on which he is an expert. There are specific studies on Mozart--the field in which he is pre-eminent--and on Monteverdi, Paganini, Haydn, Liszt, and Kodály. He also writes on music collecting and bibliography, fakes and frauds, discoveries, the perils of auctions, the earliest depiction of a musical instrument in a printed book, and anecdotes and coincidences. He is a Trustee of the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel and describes how many of the Foundation's major acquisitions were secured. There is a section of tributes, and a number of articles arising from his lifelong interest in Nietzsche. Finally, there are some interviews in which, among other things, Albi talks about himself, his family, and his life in Oxford. Forced by the political situation to leave Germany, Albi Rosenthal had to abandon his hopes of an academic career. He has combined a lifetime of study and business, and in the course of doing so, has become the foremost authority in the field of music manuscripts while simultaneously pursuing academic work--not from an ivory tower, but from the hectic environment of an international businessman, commuting almost daily from Boars Hill to Belsize Park Gardens, with frequent visits to all parts of the world where music manuscripts are appraised, bought or sold.

Although he was born in Spain, George Santayana (1863-1952) became a uniquely American philosopher, critic, poet, and best-selling novelist. Along with his Harvard colleagues William James and Josiah Royce, he is best known as one of the founders of American pragmatism and recognized for his insights into the theory of knowledge, metaphysics, and moral philosophy. The Essential Santayana presents a selection of Santayana's most important and influential literary and philosophical work. Martin A. Coleman's critical introduction sets Santayana into the American philosophical tradition and provides context for contemporary readers, many of whom may be approaching Santayana's writings for the first time. This landmark collection reveals the intellectual and literary diversity of one of American philosophy's most lively minds.

Examines the hidden history through which the Oxford English Dictionary came into being in a study that traces the personal battles involved in chronicling an ever-changing language.

The fifth of eight books of the correspondence of George Santayana.