The East · Books · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
There is a legend that Fath Ali, Shah of Iran (1772-1834), having received in 1797 the 18-volume edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, read it from cover to cover and added to his royal title the words "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the Encyclopaedia Britannica". It
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NB! · Faith · Observations
Faith · Books · Observations · People
I have a naive but perfectly achievable wish: that good, true translations of the English poet and saint Robert Southwell might at last be published in Russian. It is hard to find an author who describes the Christian universe so eloquently and uplifts the spirit so, or who conveys metaphysical
Art · Observations · Heritage · Society
The pre-sale estimate for the maiolica is impressive, with figures of up to a million dollars being mentioned. That is a good deal for polychrome glazed terracotta of the Quattrocento, but it should be remembered that the work belongs to the master who all but created the style, and
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Faith · Society · Rome
Pope Francis today, for the first time as far as I can remember, recited the Angelus on the Feast of Saint Stephen alone, in support of Italy's lockdown measures. Traditionally, after Christmas, Catholics honour Stephen, the martyr stoned to death in the very first persecutions of the Christians.
Books · Observations
Spacing (the Russian shpatsiya, from the German Spatium) is a typographical term for a thin plate used to make gaps narrower than the body of a type. As for the rule concerning the gap between initials, I find it very hard to observe, simply because the standard interval in that
NB! · Faith · Art · Museums · New York
Madonna and Child, Andrea della Robbia, 1470–1475. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Della Robbia made a good many different sculptures of the Virgin, but this one draws the eye because above Mary and Jesus the Lord Himself keeps a solicitous watch, surrounded by angels
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Books · Observations · Humour
Эней был парубок бедовый И хлопец хоть куда казак, На шашни прыткий, непутевый, Затмил он записных гуляк. Когда же Трою в битве грозной Сровняли с кучею навозной, Котомку сгреб и тягу дал; С собою прихватил троянцев, Бритоголовых голодранцев, И грекам пятки показал. Literal translation I have discovered an incredible pleasure,
NB! · Observations