When Hafiz was once asked: Who is a poet?, he replied: A poet is someone who is capable of pouring light into a glass, then raising it and quenching your beautiful dry, sacred mouth. Iranian poet Shamsuddin Muhammad (around 1320 – 1389), better known by his nickname, Hafiz, which in Arabic means the one who … Read more
During the arduous escape to India across the Himalayas, Tibetan refugees carried hundreds of manuscripts, often sacrificing their own lives to preserve them. Many of these precious texts were handed over to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who established the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, with the aim of preserving and … Read more
Although the attitude of the West towards the values of ancient Chinese culture has improved in the last half century, there is still a great deal of misunderstanding. There are several reasons for this. Apart from the West’s initial perception of other cultures as less valuable, in the study of ancient China we encounter two … Read more
The Renaissance is one of the brightest periods in Western history, a transition from the medieval harsh darkness to classical clarity and elegance. In our time, many thinkers contemplate the coming of a new Middle Ages; the thought of the Renaissance clearly indicates how far we are from it. This era of brilliance in the … Read more
In an old Mediterranean town, I noticed a terracotta amphora being sold alongside various other items… I approached it with curiosity as it was a Roman wine amphora from the 1st century… Taking it in my hands, I saw that it was recently made and that many similar vessels were being offered to passersby a … Read more
“When God created time, he said nothing about hurry, African proverb says. However, regardless of that, the fact is that time escapes us. We suffer from a chronic lack of time. Our time is measured by a chronometer, or a clock, while in other cultures time was weighed, which was the task of Kairos, the … Read more
Division of Istria according to Herman’s comments from his translation of Abu Ma’shar’s Introductiorum maius in astronomy. However, the Renaissance did not happen “overnight”, it started long before through the works of people who, with their fighting spirit, broke the dogmatic image of the world in which they lived and thus, consciously or unconsciously, paved … Read more
Part of a miniature depicting Boethius teaching. Medieval transcript of The Consolation of Philosophy. Boethius’ life Manlius Anicius Severinus Boethius, the last great philosopher of antiquity, born in 480 AD, will make it possible through his works for at least a part of ancient learning to be transmitted to the Middle Ages, which “officially” began … Read more
Albert Einstein, the famous physicist, philosopher, and humanist, never ceases to fascinate and inspire with his originality. Alice Calaprice, the chief editor at Princeton University Press, has collected quotes about Einstein from others, as well as quotes attributed to him, in her book The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Each quote in this inspirational collection is carefully … Read more
