NB! · Books · Observations · Humour
Section
· 1788 stories
Books
Archive · Art · Books
Good night!
“Paradiso”, Canto XXVII of the “Divine Comedy”: The Sphere of the Fixed Stars. Edition of c. 1564. Collection of Cornell University Library.
Archive · Books · Nature · Ethnography
A 17th-century English bestiary describes the Florida beast Succarath and how it was caught
In Florida, which is part of the West Indies, there dwells a beast that cannot be passed over in silence on account of its strangeness and ugliness. The natives call it Succarath, and the cannibals Su. It lives chiefly by rivers and along the seashore, and feeds on its prey.
NB! · Books · Observations
As Heidegger says, we are close to losing the last spiritual powers that allow us to see the decline: the darkness, "the flight of the gods" and "the world's night"
Archive · Books · London · People · Humour
First poem by Agatha Christie, published when she was 14, found in the London newspaper Ealing and Hanwell Post of 8 July 1905
The poem, “Steam versus Electricity”, long remained unknown because Christie, in her memoirs, made a slip and stated that she had been 11 when she wrote it, rather than 14. The poem is devoted to the breakdown of electric trains. In jocular form it describes how a steam locomotive comes
Faith · Books · Mores
Bürger’s Ballad “Lenore” and Zhukovsky’s Adaptations “Lyudmila” and “Svetlana”
Frederick II's troops were returning home after the Battle of Prague in 1757. Young Lenore awaited her Wilhelm, but he was not among those who came back. Lenore's heart contracted with pain, and complaints against the will of God burst from her through her tears. When
Art · Books · Observations
The Sorceress in Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” as a Trial for Gerda, Not an Enemy
The old witch combed Gerda's hair with a golden comb and told her: "You will stay here for ever, my little angel" Illustration by the Scottish artist Eleanor Vere Boyle for an edition of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen", 1872. In
Faith · Art · Books · Society
Maximilian Voloshin's 1919 poem on Rus' in flames and the city of Kitezh
All Russia is a bonfire. An unquenchable flame From border to border, from age to age Hums, roars... And the stone cracks. And every torch is a man. Have we not ourselves, like our forefathers, Set the grass fire? And the hurricane Has fanned it, and in acrid smoke are
Art · Books · People
Gennady Shpalikov's poem on the impossibility of return and the wish to go back to 1945
Whether by misfortune or by luck, The truth is simple: Never return To the former places. Even if the burnt-out site Looks quite decent, What we are looking for cannot be found, Neither by you nor by me. A journey backwards I would forbid, I ask you as a
Faith · Art · Books · Museums · Saint Petersburg
Nabokov's poem “The Guardian Angel” and a Guardian Angel icon from the Russian Museum
In the hour of mournful midnight the beating of the heart grows more distinct, and nearer comes the bright-winged companion, my grieved and gentle friend. He draws near, but soon I lose myself, and in my sleep I see a storm, I see the sea And maidens laughing on
Books · Society
Perhaps all this is trifles, And the main thing, the very main thing, Which is more terrible even than mortal anguish, Is coarseness of spirit, coarseness of matter, Coarseness of life, of love, of everything; Coarseness of the native she-beast, the U.S.S
Perhaps all this is trifles, And the main thing, the very main thing, Is that which is more terrible even than mortal anguish: Coarseness of spirit, coarseness of matter, Coarseness of life, of love, of everything; Coarseness of the native she-beast, the U.S.S.R., – Coarseness, savagery – and
Art · Books · Monarchies · Observations · Paris
Execution of Marie Antoinette in 1793, her trial and the role of David in the Terror
On the other hand, David's sketch indubitably depicts not the majestic Queen of France but a condemned, emaciated woman, made ready for execution. Marie Antoinette was only 37 at the time of her execution on 16 October 1793. After her trial she spent 10 months in the Temple