Take Charge

Mr. Elphinston talked of a new book that was much admired, and asked Dr. Johnson if he had read it.  JOHNSON:  “I have looked into it.”  “What (said Elphinston) have you not read it through?” …

Up to Me

Buddhist nontheism teaches us that no one else is going to liberate us. We are each responsible for our own liberation. Thus, self-self-liberation first is most important because without self-self-liberation true compassion, the fuel to…

Biographilia

I have often thought that there has rarely passed a life of which a judicious and faithful narrative would not be useful. For, not only every man has, in the mighty mass of the world,…

Walt, Various

1. I was simmering, simmering, simmering; Emerson brought me to a boil.–Walt Whitman 2. In 1968 Susan Sontag visited Hanoi for two weeks. In her account of her experiences, she seemed a bit surprised the…

Readerwriters

During this active seedtime, Emerson was also reading in all directions. He read systematically only for a particular project. He read current books and old books…And from almost everything he read he culled phrases, details,…

Exciting Curiosity

Robert D. Richardson Jr., Emerson: The Mind on Fire University of California Peress, 1995 In the summer of 2017 I had the immense pleasure of reading Richardson’s stunning biography of the U.S. sage, and noted…