Friday, August 25, 2006
"There is not any memory with less satisfaction than the memory of some temptation we resisted." James Branch Cabell
James Branch Cabell (April 14, 1879 - May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. Cabell's surname is often mispronounced "Ka-BELL", he himself pronounced it "CAB-ble". To remind an editor of the correct pronunciation, Cabell composed this rhyme: "Tell the rabble my name is Cabell."
Read Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell,
one of a dozen works availble free from Project Gutenberg.
James Branch Cabell
08/25/06 |
Posted by teacher | Category General
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Thursday, August 03, 2006
"Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice." Baruch Spinoza
Benedictus de Spinoza (November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677), named Baruch Spinoza by his synagogue elders and known as Bento de Espinosa or Bento d'Espiñoza in his native Amsterdam, was a Jewish-Dutch philosopher. He is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy and, by virtue of his magnum opus the Ethics, one of the definitive ethicists. His writings, like those of his fellow rationalists, reveal considerable mathematical training and facility. Spinoza was a lens crafter by trade, an exciting engineering field at the time because of great discoveries being made by telescopes. The full impact of his work only took effect some time after his death and after the publication of his Opera Posthuma. He is now seen as having prepared the way for the 18th century Enlightenment, and as a founder of modern biblical criticism. Gilles Deleuze referred to Spinoza as "The absolute philosopher, whose Ethics is the foremost book on concepts". (Deleuze, 1990.)
Read Spinoza's The Ethics, one of
12 examples of his work available free from
Project Gutenberg.
Baruch Spinoza
08/03/06 |
Posted by teacher | Category General
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