From Marcus Aurelius: “We should remember that even Nature’s inadvertence has its own charm, its own attractiveness. The way loaves of bread split open on top in the oven; the ridges are just by-products of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they rouse our appetite without our knowing why. Or how ripe figs begin toContinue reading “Quote of the day 07/26/23”
Author Archives: Kevin Warstadt
Quote of the day – 07/25/23
From Marcus Aurelius: “You could leave right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”
Sad Machines
I’ve been thinking lately about the continuousness of history. We often think of time as trending toward the positive, extending ever upward with progress, and differentiating us from people of the past. However, if we think of time without progress, as just a continuation of events, it reveals something of the similarity between ourselves andContinue reading “Sad Machines”
Quote of the day 07/24/23
Julian, often called Julien the Apostate for his rejection of Christianity, was Roman emperor from 361 to 363 AD. He was a scholarly youth, educated in the Hellenistic tradition, and would go on to lead a successful campaign against Persia. These were his final words, after being mortally wounded at the Battle of Samarra. “MostContinue reading “Quote of the day 07/24/23”
Quote of the day 07/23/23
From Lucretius: “Trees don’t live in the sky, and clouds don’t swimIn the salt seas, and fish don’t leap in wheatfields,Blood isn’t found in wood, nor sap in rocks.By fixed arrangement, all that live and growsSubmits to limit and restrictions.”
Country Road
I was walking down a country road When I saw a fallen tree Perfect, I thought to myself No better place for it to be
Quote of the day 07/22/23
Here’s another from Marcus Aurelius: “Confine yourself to the present.”
Stoic quote of the day 07/21/23
From Marcus Aurelius: “How good it is when you have roast meat or suchlike foods before you, to impress on your mind that this is the dead body of a fish, this is the dead body of a bird or pig; and again, that the Falernian wine is the mere juice of grapes, and yourContinue reading “Stoic quote of the day 07/21/23”
Diogenes and Alexander
I know that everybody has heard this story, but I was thinking about it this morning and wanted to make a post about it. Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher, was lying in the gutter and was approached by Alexander the Great. Alexander, being one of the most powerful men in the world, says to him, “AskContinue reading “Diogenes and Alexander”
Quote of the day 07/20/23
From Marcus Aurelius: “In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business.”