Without Lifting A Finger

Searching for a "good read." Enjoyed some of the intro to Arnold's prose. * A few "clips": One result of a perusal of the poems is to counteract the impression often produced by the jaunty air assumed in the prose. The real substance of Arnold's thought is characterized by a deep seriousness; no one felt more deeply the spiritual unrest and distraction of his age. More than one poem is an expression of its mental and spiritual sickness, its doubt, ennui, and melancholy. Yet beside such poems as Dover Beach and Stagirius should be placed the lines from Westminster Abbey:— For this and that way swings The flux of mortal things, Though moving inly to one far-set goal. * Arnold's chief guides for life are, then, these: two Greek poets, Sophocles and Homer; two ancient philosophers, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus; two modern poets, Goethe and Wordsworth.  * The most noticeable thing about his definition of criticism is its lofty ambition. ...

The gospels of Matthew , Mark , and Luke are referred to specifically as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and similar wording. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] This degree of parallelism in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence structures can only be accounted for by literary interdependence. Many scholars believe that these gospels share the same point of view and are clearly linked. [ 4 ] The term synoptic comes from the Greek syn , meaning "together", and optic , meaning "seen". [ 3 ] According to the majority viewpoint, Mark was the first gospel written . Matthew and Luke then used Mark as a source, as well as a hypothetical sayings gospel known as Q . Matthew and Luke also included unique material, and the sources for this material are designated M and L , respectively. The Synoptic Gospels are the primary source for historical information about Jesus . [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Apocryphal gospel...

Got a new Kindle for my birthday: a duplicate (my wife said wait for the newer models, but I said: I just want a replacement). I knew all my "library" was archived (except for the freebies from Gutenberg, which I must download again) but I didn't think it'd save all my Notes & Marks. It did. Not knowing that I went to an approximate starting point--i.e., about where I'd left off before I lost my Kindle--in the Sand/Flaubert Letters (I wanted a short something before bedtime), and read a couple letters (#280 & #281). From #280 (Sand to Flaubert): You ought to do as I do and IGNORE criticism when it is not serious, and even when it is. I have never been able to see what good it is to the author criticised. Criticism always starts from a personal point of view, the authority of which the artist does not recognize.