Chris Via > Recent Status Updates

This is the third consecutive book I've read that references the 14th-century work THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING. I think I know what my next read will be!

Berkeley begins by laying the groundwork for the case that we can only know objects through perception: they only exist insofar as they are being perceived. Most striking with Berkeley, on an aesthetic level, is the readability of his prose (especially in light of, say, Kant or Hegel).

I've long been fascinated with the concept of immaterialism, so it's time I read through one of its sources!

Despite being a reminder of how much I dislike English prose of the Georgian and Victorian eras, De Quincey is catching my attention. The density of the syntax has caused me to resort to reading the book in small bits over a larger expanse of time than my usual pace. Perhaps this is just as it should be. The man on the train and the search for Ann have captured my attention and emotion.

This book is impacting me in a rare way. Highlighting and marginalia abound!

I have had to take this one in small sips. What a wealth of information. My only complaint thus far is that Eco doesn't step in nearly enough. His pure essays (as opposed to visual essays) resonate much better with me.

"The mind is certainly its own cosmos."

"Science does not reveal the meaning of our existence, but it does draw back some of the veils."

"An enemy is someone whose story you have not heard."

One of the pinnacles of American poetry: "The Sleepers"

Re-reading this early work of comparative religious study. In the first 13 chapters, Voltaire concludes that there was a Supreme Being for the Chinese, Indians, Chaldeans, Persians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans. Now begins his analysis of the Hebrews and their literature.

Montaigne! Mon frère! Mon semblable!

Time to reacquaint myself with the founding of Rome!