"Of course, her pleasant face bore traces of corpulence," – I recommend all ageists to read Byron's description of Catherine II, the imperial mistress of Don Juan

"Of course, her pleasant face bore traces of corpulence," – I recommend all ageists to read Byron's description of Catherine II, the imperial mistress of Don Juan. A not especially flattering beginning, one would think. But in fact Byron is kind and benevolent towards the 62-year-old Empress of All the Russias, speaking of her years as maturity and the very prime of life: "her lively, juicy bloom... her smile, the smoothness of her plumpness and the regal whim of preference... all this together, needless to say, could turn a boy's head."

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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

"Of course, her pleasant face bore traces of corpulence," – I recommend all ageists to read Byron's description of Catherine II, the imperial mistress of Don Juan

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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