The present monograph would never have seen completion without the generous and patient support of mentors, family, and friends. My heartfelt thanks go to all who have provided me the space, the means, and the motivation to see this project through. Professor Robert Wisnovsky has been a constant, kind, and unstinting pillar of encouragement and support; and Professor Wael Hallaq has been an unfl agging source of inspiration, strength, and bounteous good cheer. Both of these friends and mentors deserve more gratitude than I can properly express. A special word of thanks is owed to Professor Stephen Menn of McGill University and Professor Joseph Lowry of the University of Pennsylvania for their sound counsel and suggestions on numerous issues. It goes without saying that such faults as persist in the following pages are a measure of my falling away from the sound advice of all these benevolent teachers.