CelticStoic 🏴
@celticstoic.bsky.social
Chipping away at literature, history, and other interests, whilst navigating stormy seas and a lee shore. #WhitmanWednesday 🌾
Locus: New England & the abyss of MECFS / FQAD
🌤️Sol Omnibus Lucet
– Petronius
Locus: New England & the abyss of MECFS / FQAD
🌤️Sol Omnibus Lucet
– Petronius
Pinned
🕊️
"It's very, very simple: It's the love of people. Add to that, two simple ideals: The freedom of each individual, and the equal importance of each individual, and you have the principle upon which I've based all my films."
- Frank Capra
"It's very, very simple: It's the love of people. Add to that, two simple ideals: The freedom of each individual, and the equal importance of each individual, and you have the principle upon which I've based all my films."
- Frank Capra
"All vice is at its acme; up with your sails and shake out every stitch of canvas."
- Juvenal, Satire I (c. 110 CE)
*Translated by G. G. Ramsay
Loeb Classical Library (1928)
- Juvenal, Satire I (c. 110 CE)
*Translated by G. G. Ramsay
Loeb Classical Library (1928)
February 13, 2026 at 5:01 PM
"All vice is at its acme; up with your sails and shake out every stitch of canvas."
- Juvenal, Satire I (c. 110 CE)
*Translated by G. G. Ramsay
Loeb Classical Library (1928)
- Juvenal, Satire I (c. 110 CE)
*Translated by G. G. Ramsay
Loeb Classical Library (1928)
"The religion that sets men to rebel and fight against their government, because, as they think, that government does not sufficiently help some men to eat their bread on the sweat of other men's faces, is not the sort of religion upon which people can get to heaven!"
- Lincoln, c. 1864
[+]
- Lincoln, c. 1864
[+]
February 12, 2026 at 9:48 PM
"The religion that sets men to rebel and fight against their government, because, as they think, that government does not sufficiently help some men to eat their bread on the sweat of other men's faces, is not the sort of religion upon which people can get to heaven!"
- Lincoln, c. 1864
[+]
- Lincoln, c. 1864
[+]
Lincoln was born on this day in 1809.
"I remember his cheer, his story-telling—always the good story well told. His ways were beautiful and simple. And he was the same man in all relationships—for instance, to the boys—the messenger boys."
- Walt Whitman
Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad.
"I remember his cheer, his story-telling—always the good story well told. His ways were beautiful and simple. And he was the same man in all relationships—for instance, to the boys—the messenger boys."
- Walt Whitman
Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad.
February 12, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Lincoln was born on this day in 1809.
"I remember his cheer, his story-telling—always the good story well told. His ways were beautiful and simple. And he was the same man in all relationships—for instance, to the boys—the messenger boys."
- Walt Whitman
Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad.
"I remember his cheer, his story-telling—always the good story well told. His ways were beautiful and simple. And he was the same man in all relationships—for instance, to the boys—the messenger boys."
- Walt Whitman
Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad.
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
I lie abstracted and hear beautiful tales of things and the
reasons of things,
They are so beautiful I nudge myself to listen.
I cannot say to any person what I hear . . . . I cannot say it
to myself . . . . it is very wonderful.
- Walt Whitman
I lie abstracted and hear beautiful tales of things and the
reasons of things,
They are so beautiful I nudge myself to listen.
I cannot say to any person what I hear . . . . I cannot say it
to myself . . . . it is very wonderful.
- Walt Whitman
![• Frontispiece engraving of Walt Whitman [age 36] by Samuel Hollyer, based on a daguerreotype by Gabriel Harrison, for the first edition of Leaves of Grass, 1855, which was self-published.
• Source: Walt Whitman at the Lilly (curated by Christoph Irmscher), Indiana University Library, Bloomington.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c7ex5lsw6ieo65txcbw7of2r/bafkreih5l35r7kiw3jedkb7cyvkb5qk5jaemyynf7qct53ue6m4fwbs5au@jpeg)
February 11, 2026 at 4:41 PM
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
I lie abstracted and hear beautiful tales of things and the
reasons of things,
They are so beautiful I nudge myself to listen.
I cannot say to any person what I hear . . . . I cannot say it
to myself . . . . it is very wonderful.
- Walt Whitman
I lie abstracted and hear beautiful tales of things and the
reasons of things,
They are so beautiful I nudge myself to listen.
I cannot say to any person what I hear . . . . I cannot say it
to myself . . . . it is very wonderful.
- Walt Whitman
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"It was not my purpose to produce a work to dazzle the scholar but to tell a simple story."
- Horace Traubel (Whitman's oral biographer)
"It was not my purpose to produce a work to dazzle the scholar but to tell a simple story."
- Horace Traubel (Whitman's oral biographer)
February 11, 2026 at 1:38 PM
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"It was not my purpose to produce a work to dazzle the scholar but to tell a simple story."
- Horace Traubel (Whitman's oral biographer)
"It was not my purpose to produce a work to dazzle the scholar but to tell a simple story."
- Horace Traubel (Whitman's oral biographer)
"The thing at issue is buried intentions—the secret allegiances of the alienated heart, always the main threat to the theocratic mind, as well as its immemorial quarry."
- Arthur Miller (died on this day, 2005)
From:
"Why I Wrote 'The Crucible'", The New Yorker, Oct 19, 1996.
- Arthur Miller (died on this day, 2005)
From:
"Why I Wrote 'The Crucible'", The New Yorker, Oct 19, 1996.
February 10, 2026 at 2:53 PM
"The thing at issue is buried intentions—the secret allegiances of the alienated heart, always the main threat to the theocratic mind, as well as its immemorial quarry."
- Arthur Miller (died on this day, 2005)
From:
"Why I Wrote 'The Crucible'", The New Yorker, Oct 19, 1996.
- Arthur Miller (died on this day, 2005)
From:
"Why I Wrote 'The Crucible'", The New Yorker, Oct 19, 1996.
"But everything was grist to the Iron Heel."
- Jack London, The Iron Heel (1908)
- Jack London, The Iron Heel (1908)
February 10, 2026 at 12:49 PM
"But everything was grist to the Iron Heel."
- Jack London, The Iron Heel (1908)
- Jack London, The Iron Heel (1908)
#MelvilleMonday
"I took the fairy-mountain's bearings […] and away I sailed, free voyager as an autumn leaf. Early dawn; and, sallying westward, I sowed the morning before me."
- Herman Melville, The Piazza (1856)
Mount Greylock, Berkshire County, Massachusetts (📷 National Park Service).
"I took the fairy-mountain's bearings […] and away I sailed, free voyager as an autumn leaf. Early dawn; and, sallying westward, I sowed the morning before me."
- Herman Melville, The Piazza (1856)
Mount Greylock, Berkshire County, Massachusetts (📷 National Park Service).
February 9, 2026 at 5:07 PM
#MelvilleMonday
"I took the fairy-mountain's bearings […] and away I sailed, free voyager as an autumn leaf. Early dawn; and, sallying westward, I sowed the morning before me."
- Herman Melville, The Piazza (1856)
Mount Greylock, Berkshire County, Massachusetts (📷 National Park Service).
"I took the fairy-mountain's bearings […] and away I sailed, free voyager as an autumn leaf. Early dawn; and, sallying westward, I sowed the morning before me."
- Herman Melville, The Piazza (1856)
Mount Greylock, Berkshire County, Massachusetts (📷 National Park Service).
#MelvilleMonday
"Browse, they did not—the enchanted never eat. At least, so says Don Quixote, that sagest sage that ever lived."
- The Piazza (1856)
"Browse, they did not—the enchanted never eat. At least, so says Don Quixote, that sagest sage that ever lived."
- The Piazza (1856)
February 9, 2026 at 2:36 PM
#MelvilleMonday
"Browse, they did not—the enchanted never eat. At least, so says Don Quixote, that sagest sage that ever lived."
- The Piazza (1856)
"Browse, they did not—the enchanted never eat. At least, so says Don Quixote, that sagest sage that ever lived."
- The Piazza (1856)
More snow today❄️
"If you walk through a grove of balsam trees
You will notice that the young trees are silent; they are listening.
But the old tall ones—especially the firs—are whispering."
- Christopher Morley (1890-1957)
"If you walk through a grove of balsam trees
You will notice that the young trees are silent; they are listening.
But the old tall ones—especially the firs—are whispering."
- Christopher Morley (1890-1957)
February 7, 2026 at 8:19 PM
More snow today❄️
"If you walk through a grove of balsam trees
You will notice that the young trees are silent; they are listening.
But the old tall ones—especially the firs—are whispering."
- Christopher Morley (1890-1957)
"If you walk through a grove of balsam trees
You will notice that the young trees are silent; they are listening.
But the old tall ones—especially the firs—are whispering."
- Christopher Morley (1890-1957)
L'ENVOl, from Bar-Room Ballads
by Robert W. Service (aka "The Bard of the Yukon")
"I've come to know that storing health
Is better far than storing wealth;
That smug success has little worth
Beside the simple joys of earth;
[+]
🎨Northern Lights (1891) by Theodor Severin Kittelsen.
by Robert W. Service (aka "The Bard of the Yukon")
"I've come to know that storing health
Is better far than storing wealth;
That smug success has little worth
Beside the simple joys of earth;
[+]
🎨Northern Lights (1891) by Theodor Severin Kittelsen.
February 6, 2026 at 9:41 PM
L'ENVOl, from Bar-Room Ballads
by Robert W. Service (aka "The Bard of the Yukon")
"I've come to know that storing health
Is better far than storing wealth;
That smug success has little worth
Beside the simple joys of earth;
[+]
🎨Northern Lights (1891) by Theodor Severin Kittelsen.
by Robert W. Service (aka "The Bard of the Yukon")
"I've come to know that storing health
Is better far than storing wealth;
That smug success has little worth
Beside the simple joys of earth;
[+]
🎨Northern Lights (1891) by Theodor Severin Kittelsen.
"And through it all, with a serenity and certitude that was terrifying, continued to rise the form of that monster of the ages, the Oligarchy."
- Jack London, c. 1908
- Jack London, c. 1908
February 6, 2026 at 7:11 PM
"And through it all, with a serenity and certitude that was terrifying, continued to rise the form of that monster of the ages, the Oligarchy."
- Jack London, c. 1908
- Jack London, c. 1908
#TodaysPoem 🕊️
Each that we lose takes part of us;
A crescent still abides,
Which like the moon, some turbid night,
Is summoned by the tides.
- Emily Dickinson
Each that we lose takes part of us;
A crescent still abides,
Which like the moon, some turbid night,
Is summoned by the tides.
- Emily Dickinson
February 5, 2026 at 11:07 PM
#TodaysPoem 🕊️
Each that we lose takes part of us;
A crescent still abides,
Which like the moon, some turbid night,
Is summoned by the tides.
- Emily Dickinson
Each that we lose takes part of us;
A crescent still abides,
Which like the moon, some turbid night,
Is summoned by the tides.
- Emily Dickinson
"Times have changed since Christ's day. A rich man to-day who gives all he has to the poor is crazy. There is no discussion. Society has spoken."
- Jack London, c. 1908
- Jack London, c. 1908
February 5, 2026 at 3:10 PM
"Times have changed since Christ's day. A rich man to-day who gives all he has to the poor is crazy. There is no discussion. Society has spoken."
- Jack London, c. 1908
- Jack London, c. 1908
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"We carry our fresh air with us, wherever we go. He who has it, has it anywhere — nothing can rob him of it."
- Walt Whitman
From my wife's walk:
"We carry our fresh air with us, wherever we go. He who has it, has it anywhere — nothing can rob him of it."
- Walt Whitman
From my wife's walk:
February 4, 2026 at 6:24 PM
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"We carry our fresh air with us, wherever we go. He who has it, has it anywhere — nothing can rob him of it."
- Walt Whitman
From my wife's walk:
"We carry our fresh air with us, wherever we go. He who has it, has it anywhere — nothing can rob him of it."
- Walt Whitman
From my wife's walk:
"His spirit was too gentle. It had not been mighty enough to face the organized wolf-pack of society."
- Jack London (Ch. XII, The Bishop)
[+]
- Jack London (Ch. XII, The Bishop)
[+]
February 3, 2026 at 5:13 PM
"His spirit was too gentle. It had not been mighty enough to face the organized wolf-pack of society."
- Jack London (Ch. XII, The Bishop)
[+]
- Jack London (Ch. XII, The Bishop)
[+]
"You've merely got a foretaste of the Iron Heel."
- Chapter X, The Vortex
- Chapter X, The Vortex
February 3, 2026 at 4:44 PM
"You've merely got a foretaste of the Iron Heel."
- Chapter X, The Vortex
- Chapter X, The Vortex
Some relief today from the recent bitter cold...
From my wife's walk:
From my wife's walk:
February 2, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Some relief today from the recent bitter cold...
From my wife's walk:
From my wife's walk:
#MelvilleMonday
"And beauty is like piety—you cannot run and read it; tranquillity and constancy, with, now-a-days, an easy chair, are needed."
- Melville, The Piazza (1856)
[+]
"And beauty is like piety—you cannot run and read it; tranquillity and constancy, with, now-a-days, an easy chair, are needed."
- Melville, The Piazza (1856)
[+]
February 2, 2026 at 7:16 PM
#MelvilleMonday
"And beauty is like piety—you cannot run and read it; tranquillity and constancy, with, now-a-days, an easy chair, are needed."
- Melville, The Piazza (1856)
[+]
"And beauty is like piety—you cannot run and read it; tranquillity and constancy, with, now-a-days, an easy chair, are needed."
- Melville, The Piazza (1856)
[+]
#MelvilleMonday
For how, otherwise, could it have entered the builder's mind, that, upon the clearing being made, such a purple prospect would be his! — nothing less than Greylock, with all his hills about him, like Charlemagne among his peers.
- The Piazza
Mount Greylock, 1873, by Jesse Talbot.
For how, otherwise, could it have entered the builder's mind, that, upon the clearing being made, such a purple prospect would be his! — nothing less than Greylock, with all his hills about him, like Charlemagne among his peers.
- The Piazza
Mount Greylock, 1873, by Jesse Talbot.
February 2, 2026 at 4:32 PM
#MelvilleMonday
For how, otherwise, could it have entered the builder's mind, that, upon the clearing being made, such a purple prospect would be his! — nothing less than Greylock, with all his hills about him, like Charlemagne among his peers.
- The Piazza
Mount Greylock, 1873, by Jesse Talbot.
For how, otherwise, could it have entered the builder's mind, that, upon the clearing being made, such a purple prospect would be his! — nothing less than Greylock, with all his hills about him, like Charlemagne among his peers.
- The Piazza
Mount Greylock, 1873, by Jesse Talbot.
From the last snowstorm . . . angle of repose
February 1, 2026 at 6:18 PM
From the last snowstorm . . . angle of repose
When I drain life's glass
Of all its rainbow gleams,
The hapless plight of eternal night
Shall be none too long for my dreams.
- Jack London, c. 1908
[+]
Of all its rainbow gleams,
The hapless plight of eternal night
Shall be none too long for my dreams.
- Jack London, c. 1908
[+]
January 31, 2026 at 8:36 PM
When I drain life's glass
Of all its rainbow gleams,
The hapless plight of eternal night
Shall be none too long for my dreams.
- Jack London, c. 1908
[+]
Of all its rainbow gleams,
The hapless plight of eternal night
Shall be none too long for my dreams.
- Jack London, c. 1908
[+]
@yoonkim.bsky.social : So kind of you.🫶
January 30, 2026 at 9:20 PM
@yoonkim.bsky.social : So kind of you.🫶
"In Soapy's opinion the Law was more benign than Philanthropy. […] As Cæsar had his Brutus, every bed of charity must have its toll of a bath, every loaf of bread its compensation of a private and personal inquisition."
- O. Henry, c. 1904
- O. Henry, c. 1904
![Born William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina, 1862.
Died in New York City, 1910.
📷 Porter, age 35 +/-, probably while residing in Texas. [Source: Corbis.]
Public domain.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c7ex5lsw6ieo65txcbw7of2r/bafkreibdor3qub7jywgdzvipddnuprql3s5kz6x4gqoirhar5bfxb4kowe@jpeg)
January 30, 2026 at 5:49 PM
"In Soapy's opinion the Law was more benign than Philanthropy. […] As Cæsar had his Brutus, every bed of charity must have its toll of a bath, every loaf of bread its compensation of a private and personal inquisition."
- O. Henry, c. 1904
- O. Henry, c. 1904