Lessons from the masters

A unique testament to the lofty vocation of teaching and the risks that surround the true teacher and his apprentice. Lessons from the Masters – a book based on the six lectures in the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures series, given by George Steiner at Harvard University, on the art of teaching and learning – addresses the relationship between teachers and students, taking as examples Socrates and Plato, Jesus and his disciples, Virgil and Dante, Heloise and Abelard, the sages of Confucianism and Buddhism, the sad relationship between Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, and the worldwide devotion among the followers of the musician Nadia Boulanger. Steiner highlights a complex and fascinating arrangement of traditions and disciplines, always resorting to three themes: the master's power to exploit the disciple's dependence and vulnerability; the threat of subversion and betrayal of the mentor by his pupil; and the reciprocal exchange of trust and love, of learning and instruction, between student and master.