"If mountaineering is about gaining knowledge and hence solace from nature, then surely you gain the most knowledge and the highest degree of solace from solo mountaineering."
https://t.co/0NQPEGAQeP
Julius Evola on art:
“I see art as an interest-free creation that comes from an individual's higher consciousness and is therefore capable of transcending the passions and the crystallizations that are based upon common experiences, and which is independent of them.”
Paul Thiébault described the Bashkir regiments in the Russian army as excellent archers, able to hit a coin at 100 paces.
Marcellin Marbot, conversely, wrote that the Bashkirs in 1812 were "the least dangerous troop that exists in the world," and missed 9 out of every 10 arrows.
In jener dunklen Kammer
Sind eines Geist und Maus,
Denn jeder Schreck und Jammer
Nimmt sich wie einer aus.
Da öffnet sich die Türe;
Es dringt ein Licht hinein.
Nur zu! Es scheint, ich fühle,
Kein guter Traum zu sein.
@arethusaspake @raumzeitler If you can read German then I would recommend Benn's essay on Goethe: Goethe und die Naturwissenschaften. Very eye-opening.
Four generations of the Cassini family led an extraordinary long-term project - the full topographical map of France (often considered the first systematic, nationwide topographic map of a country).
The project spanned over a century, from the 1680s to the 1780s, and experienced many ups and downs depending on the financial and political situation in France. The measurements were largely based on triangulation, supported by astronomical determinations of latitude and longitude.
Images here: Portraits of some members of the Cassini family (Cassini I, Cassini III, Cassini IV). Authentic portraits of Jacques Cassini (Cassini II) are uncertain or poorly documented.
Flintlock rifle of the Manufacture of Versailles, designed by the famous gunsmith Nicolas-Noël Boutet, given to Director Lazare Carnot. His initials (LC) are engraved, in a similar fashion as for the models made for other Directors of the First French Republic.
Footage of the infamous Pingyuang Street Raid conducted by over 3,000 People's Armed Police and local Yunnan Police against local gangs in Yunnan Province (August 30, 1995)
Here's a photo of the sun captured just moments ago from my backyard, using a specially modified telescope.
You're looking at a large active region that has already flared repeatedly. I'm going to keep an eye on it today and let you know what it does!
Hercules’ Campaign and the Sea Peoples — Thread 🧵
Following previous threads about Lixus and the fall of King Antaeus, let's explore the story of the army that fought the locals and moved into Spain.
"Par de belles journées comme celle-ci me revient le désir de voir Paris ; c'est bien peu dire : ce désir qui est toujours en moi atteint dans ces moments-là une acuité terrible. Notre ville me manque non comme une ville mais comme un être. Qui peut me comprendre ? Un exilé peut-être, mais tant d'entre eux s'accoutument déjà à l'Amérique, après deux ans. Moi c'est à Paris que je veux vivre, pas ici. Hier soir, avec Robert (lui me comprend), conversation assez triste sur l'avenir de la France. Nous ne reverrons jamais la France de 1920, c'est sûr. Nous sommes trop vieux pour cela, mais j'espère, je crois (autrement, à quoi bon vivre ?), je crois que nous reverrons une France libre, saine et française. Que la France ait perdu sa place parmi les nations qui mènent le monde, cela se peut, militairement et politiquement tout au moins, mais elle sera toujours la première pour ceux qui la connaissent, qui la comprennent et qui l'aiment de tout leur cœur. Ce que je crois également, c'est que mon pays est juste et qu'il aidera la France à se relever. On commence à dire que les Alliés ont des vues sur les colonies françaises. Cela se peut. Je disais hier à Robert : « Ce qui m'intéresse le plus dans l'histoire de l'humanité, c'est le bonheur de l'individu. » Pauvre bonheur on ne peut plus menacé.
Pensé avec tristesse que mes parents et trois de mes sœurs dorment en terre occupée."
Julien Green - Journal, 29 janvier 1943
Chaudron de la tombe du prince de Lavau.
Démesure (au moins 200 litres) et usage (partager du vin rouge) qui appuient l'idée d'un pouvoir moins lié à la guerre qu'à d'autres fonctions.
Qualité, associant influences locales et extérieures, peut-être liée à un artisanat de cour.
《莊子 - Zhuangzi - 至樂 - Perfect Enjoyment》
夜半,髑髏見夢曰:「子之談者似辯士。視子所言,皆生人之累也,死則無此矣。子欲聞死之說乎?」莊子曰:「然。」髑髏曰:「死,無君於上,無臣於下,亦無四時之事,從然以天地為春秋,雖南面王樂,不能過也。」莊子不信,曰:「吾使司命復生子形,為子骨肉肌膚,反子父母妻子、閭里、知識,子欲之乎?」髑髏深矉蹙頞曰:「吾安能棄南面王樂而復為人間之勞乎?」
At midnight the skull appeared to him in a dream, and said, 'What you said to me was after the fashion of an orator. All your words were about the entanglements of men in their lifetime. There are none of those things after death. Would you like to hear me, Sir, tell you about death?' 'I should,' said Zhuangzi, and the skull resumed: 'In death there are not (the distinctions of) ruler above and minister below. There are none of the phenomena of the four seasons. Tranquil and at ease, our years are those of heaven and earth. No king in his court has greater enjoyment than we have.' Zhuangzi did not believe it, and said, 'If I could get the Ruler of our Destiny to restore your body to life with its bones and flesh and skin, and to give you back your father and mother, your wife and children, and all your village acquaintances, would you wish me to do so?' The skull stared fixedly at him, knitted its brows, and said, 'How should I cast away the enjoyment of my royal court, and undertake again the toils of life among mankind?'
Excerpts from 'On Not Knowing Greek' by Virginia Woolf, relating to the Greek language, its poets, and turning away from our age and Christianity's consolations. With mention of Dostoevsky and Shakespeare.