Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
Psalm 50:90
Psalm 50:90
The head of an old man with gray beard - 1858 - Jan Matejko
He used to say that a man should cut the hair from the head for the same reason that we prune a vine, that is merely to remove what is useless. (But just as the eyebrows or eyelashes which perform a service in protecting the eyes should not be cut), so neither should the beard be cut from the chin (for it is not superfluous), but it too has been provided for us by nature as a kind of cover or protection. Moreover, the beard is nature's symbol of the male just as is the crest of the cock and the mane of the lion; so one ought to remove the growth of hair that becomes burdensome, but nothing of the beard; for the beard is no burden so long as the body is healthy and not afflicted with any disease for which it is necessary to cut the hair from the chin.
Musonius Rufus, on cutting the hair
He used to say that a man should cut the hair from the head for the same reason that we prune a vine, that is merely to remove what is useless. (But just as the eyebrows or eyelashes which perform a service in protecting the eyes should not be cut), so neither should the beard be cut from the chin (for it is not superfluous), but it too has been provided for us by nature as a kind of cover or protection. Moreover, the beard is nature's symbol of the male just as is the crest of the cock and the mane of the lion; so one ought to remove the growth of hair that becomes burdensome, but nothing of the beard; for the beard is no burden so long as the body is healthy and not afflicted with any disease for which it is necessary to cut the hair from the chin.
Musonius Rufus, on cutting the hair
Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The binding was weak. The pages brittle after decades of the paper dehidrating. Fragments of the text were missing: corners of many pages had been torn out. The imprimatur said 1903.
What once was a catalyst of transcendence had now become a mere exhibition piece.
Introibo ad altare Dei.
But the book would experience rebirth some time soon.
The book was not the binding nor the pages. But the ideas within, and those could be re-written.
What once was a catalyst of transcendence had now become a mere exhibition piece.
Introibo ad altare Dei.
But the book would experience rebirth some time soon.
The book was not the binding nor the pages. But the ideas within, and those could be re-written.
Retirado en la paz de estos desiertos,
con pocos, pero doctos libros juntos,
vivo en conversación con los difuntos,
y escucho con mis ojos a los muertos.
Si no siempre entendidos, siempre abiertos,
o enmiendan, o fecundan mis asuntos;
y en músicos callados contrapuntos
al sueño de la vida hablan despiertos.
Las grandes almas que la muerte ausenta,
de injurias de los años vengadora,
libra, ¡oh gran don Joseph!, docta la imprenta.
En fuga irrevocable huye la hora;
pero aquélla el mejor cálculo cuenta,
que en la lección y estudios nos mejora.
Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas
con pocos, pero doctos libros juntos,
vivo en conversación con los difuntos,
y escucho con mis ojos a los muertos.
Si no siempre entendidos, siempre abiertos,
o enmiendan, o fecundan mis asuntos;
y en músicos callados contrapuntos
al sueño de la vida hablan despiertos.
Las grandes almas que la muerte ausenta,
de injurias de los años vengadora,
libra, ¡oh gran don Joseph!, docta la imprenta.
En fuga irrevocable huye la hora;
pero aquélla el mejor cálculo cuenta,
que en la lección y estudios nos mejora.
Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas
It is better to be invited to herbs with love, than to a fatted calf with hatred.
—Proverbs 15:17
—Proverbs 15:17