When the Duke of Vendôme accused Marshal de Bassompierre of plotting against Richelieu, hinting at the marshal's secret marriage to the sister of the Duke of Guise with the words "You will doubtless take the side of Monsieur de Guise, because you kiss his

When the Duke of Vendôme accused Marshal de Bassompierre of plotting against Richelieu, hinting at the marshal's secret marriage to the sister of the Duke of Guise with the words "You will doubtless take the side of Monsieur de Guise, because you kiss his sister, Madame de Conti", Bassompierre, famed for his wit and verve, replied: "No matter. I have had all your aunts, and it did not make me love you any the better."

The aunts of the Duke of Vendôme were the sisters of that very Gabrielle d'Estrées, whom people called "the seven deadly sins"

Report a translation error

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

When the Duke of Vendôme accused Marshal de Bassompierre of plotting against Richelieu, hinting at the marshal's secret marriage to the sister of the Duke of Guise with the words "You will doubtless take the side of Monsieur de Guise, because you kiss his

Read more

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s