Agaat's Law. Reflections on Law and Literature with Reference to Marlene Van Niekerk's novel Agaat

This essay explores the relation between law and literature from the literary Marxist position that Jean-Luc Nancy develops in his work La Communauté Désoeuvrée. It does so with specific reference to Marlene van Niekerk’s novel Agaat and to the Lacanian problematic of imaginary selves caught up in the confines of their speculative or mirroring images of others. It takes leave of approaches to law and literature studies such as Martha Nussbaum’s in terms of which literature can be invoked to edify or improve the law. It argues that law and literature can both benefit from a comparative exchange, provided this exchange takes seriously the fundamental and irreducible tension and hiatus between characteristically “legal” and characteristically “literary” discourses

Pumping of the 4.8 GHz H2_{\text{2}}CO masers and its implications for the periodic masers in G37.55+0.20

Periodic or regular flaring of class II methanol masers in nine high mass star forming regions is now a well established phenomenon. Amongst the nine star forming regions, G37.55+0.20 is the only case at present where apart from the presence of a periodic class II methanol maser, correlated flaring of another masing species, formaldehyde in this case, has been detected. We perform numerical calculations to investigate under which conditions the 4.8 GHz transition of ortho-formaldehyde is inverted in order to address the question of the correlated flaring of the 6.7 GHz methanol and 4.8 GHz formaldehyde masers in G37.55+0.20. We developed a numerical code to study the population inversion of o-formaldehyde. Equilibrium solutions for the level populations are found by integrating the rate equations using Heun's method. It is found that collisional excitation with H$_2$ as well as radiative excitation by the free-free radio continuum radiation from a nearby ultra- or hyper-compact HII region can invert the 4.8 GHz transition. It is also found that radiative excitation by the dust infrared radiation field does not lead to an inversion of the 4.8 GHz transition. The 14.5 GHz and 28.9 GHz transitions are inverted only in the presence of the free-free continuum radiation field of a very compact HII region. Due to the different pumping mechanisms of the formaldehyde and methanol masers it is unlikely that the near simultaneous flaring of the methanol and formaldehyde masers in G37.55+0.20 is due to changes in the pumping of the masers.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Die rituaal van die Nagmaal

The ritual of Communion. Christian rituals are a two-way channel of communication, expressing the believer’s deepest hopes and prayers, and dramatizing God’s promises and warnings. Thus the rituals in the Lord's Supper are of the greatest importance. The prayers, the meal with the sursum corda and the doxology are rituals through which communication is expressed between the Holy Trinity and the congregation. In this holy communion each Person of the Trinity has His own place and works according to the pactum salutis and the economy of the covenant in the Holy Trinity

Twee teëgestelde kekkliedbegrippe

A. Vanaf die begin vail sy hervormingswerk het Calvyn die nood- saaklikheid van gemeentesang in die erediens beklemtoon. Hy het dit beskou as ’n gesonge gelied, aangehef ,,in die teenwoordigheid van God en sy engele ’ (voonvoonl tot die lSW-uitgawe van die Geneefse Psalmboek), en dit sodoendc saam met die bediening van Woord en Sakramente, ’n inlcgrale deel van die erediens geniaak. Dr. J. D. du Toit bet dieselfde gedagte beklemtoon en dit nog verder uitgebou: „Oor die algemeen kan ons sê dat daar te win in 011s kerke gesing word. Dis ’n font. Die predikasie is nodig, en die sent rale betekenis daarvan in ’n Protestantse erediens word deur ons nie oor die hoof gesien nie. Maar die aanbidding en lofsang mag daardeur nie teruggedring word nie. Dan sou die prediking juis sy sent rale plek en betekenis inboet. Want in Gods Woord word 011s verkondig dat ons sal kom lot die vernaamste stuk van dankbaarheid, nl. die gebed, waaronder aanbidding en lofsegging begrepe is. ’n Loisang is selfs ’11 dubbele gebed, soos die kerkvader Augustinus gesê het, sodat ons daarin nie mag verflou nie” (voorwoord tot 36 Psalme in Afrikaans, p. xii)

The reformed presbyterial church government*

The basic principle is: Christ is the only Head of the church, his body, and not the summum caput. This comprises three main principles

Pastoraat met betrekking tot kerklike bydraes

In mindere of meerdere mate is finansies in elke gemeente ’n probleem. Weinig gemeentes het genoeg geld vir die taak na binne en buite (bv. evan- gelisasie en sending) wat die Here aan sy kerk opgedra het. Daar is ook die lidmate wat op die ander se rug ry en nie hulle voile deel bydra nie. As dit bloot ’n finansiële saak in terme van die balansstaat van ’n handelsondeme- ming was, kan daar gemaklik met die totale eindresultaat van ’n inkomste- en-uitgawerekening wat klop, volstaan word, sonder dat die kerkraad enige verdere pastorale opdrag het om uit te voer