Philosophy & Rhetoric Aug 2014

When the Greek King Alexander the Great Laughed in India: The Rhetoric of Laughter and the Philosophy of Living

Dominique de Courcelles Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Abstract

AbstractThe laughter of Alexander, the unvanquished hero, is a wordless message, a sign of his mastery and intelligent force, a sign of his art in deciphering signs. Alexander's laughter signifies that true force scorns force, just as true eloquence scorns eloquence. Intelligence turns force into a dynamic and laughing force and laughter thus becomes a fundamental capacity of force in order to better conceive the phenomenon of life and survival. It is true ritual laughter, “theurgic” laughter. The laughter of Alexander in India was perhaps the laughter of a holy man as defined by the sage Yang Xiong.

Journal
Philosophy & Rhetoric
Published
2014-08-01
DOI
10.5325/philrhet.47.3.0323
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism
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References (5)

  1. Alexandre de Paris. 1994. Le roman d'Alexandre. Ed. L. Harf-Lancner. Trans. N. Briggs. Paris: Le Livre de Poc…
  2. Montaigne, Michel de. 1988. Les essais. Ed. P. Villey. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France/Quadrige.
  3. Montaigne, Michel de. Essays. 1910/1946. Trans. J. Florio. London: J. M. Dent & Sons.
  4. Thompson, Stith. 1955. Motif-Index of Folk Literature. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger.
     ↗
  5. Yang Xiong. 2013. Exemplary Figures/Fayan. Trans. M. Nylan. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
     ↗
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