NB! · Archive · The East · Books · People
Konstantin Lipskerov, 1916
Konstantin Lipskerov, 1916. Poems written under the impression of a journey to Turkestan
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Books · Observations · People
Prosper de Crébillon Asks for Leniency in the Preface to His Unsuccessful “Triumvirate”
The French dramatist Prosper de Crébillon (1674-1762), named among Voltaire's chief rivals, took very hard the failure of his play "The Triumvirate", about Roman history and the events preceding the murder of Cicero, and the open rejection of it by the public. Crébillon was so
Art · Books · Observations · Rome
"Gods!
"Gods! What horror! My father's head!" cries Tullia, beholding the remains of the executed Cicero. Mark Antony, who together with Lepidus and Octavian Augustus had established in Rome the regime of the Second Triumvirate, declared Cicero, the most influential of the senators, an enemy of the
Books · Science · Mores
Origin of the English phrase skeleton in the cupboard and the ban on doctors working with corpses
A skeleton in the cupboard. The expression came to us from English and is connected with the history of medicine, or, to be more precise, with the ban in England on physicians working with dead bodies, the bodies of executed criminals alone excepted. This "scientific material", being very
Faith · Books · People
Tolkien's words to his son Michael about Holy Communion and talk of canonisation
Pope Francis quoted Tolkien's letter to his son in his Christmas address:. "Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the
Books · Society · Humour
Blaise Pascal on how the number of lackeys decides who yields the way
How right it is to distinguish men not by their inner qualities but by their outward signs! Which of us two is to go first? Which is to yield the way to the other? The one who is less nimble. But we are equally nimble, so force will have to
NB! · Art · Books
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin's "Behind the Samovar" on the cover of the French edition of Ivan Bunin's "The Life of Arseniev"
NB! · Art · Books · Observations
Incredible, Enchanting Illustrations for the 1989 "Hobbit" by the Wonderful Latvian Artist Laima Eglīte
Incredible, enchanting illustrations for the 1989 "Hobbit" by the wonderful Latvian artist Laima Eglīte. Just look at this curly-haired ginger Bilbo and the kindly Gandalf! A lovely, heartfelt piece of work
Cinema · Books · Observations · Pop Culture
Rights acquired, producers prepare new films based on Tolkien's books
More Tolkien films are on the way. The vast, intricate and dazzling universe devised by Tolkien remains almost entirely unexplored on screen, and the producers mean to put that right. The rights have been bought, and work is under way. Judging by last year's «Rings of Power», with
Coming Up · Books · Moscow · Society
Moscow Libraries Are Giving Away Books Again
Moscow libraries are giving away books again. The traditional campaign Withdrawn Books has begun. The mechanism is very simple. Find the nearest library on the portal, see which books are available, reserve up to 10 books a day and take them home.
NB! · Archive · Books · People
Jorge Luis Borges at the Edgar Allan Poe Memorial in 1983
Books · Society
Clive Staples Lewis on the impossibility of making people good by law
You cannot make people good by law, and without good people there can be no good society. That is why we must think about the second thing: morality within the individual. Clive Staples Lewis