In this fragment by German mystic Meister Eckhart (1260-c. 1328) he seeks to explain why "the divine One is a negation of negations", that is God is the fullness of being thus by defining what God is we limit what is unlimited. The Christian mystic's vision of God can't be translated into human language. One of the ways to describe this boundless vision is by way of negation or via negativa (apophatic way) where anything we say of God must negate every attribute due to unknowability= "divine darkness"

His life is not poor
He has riches beyond measure
Pointing to the moon
Gazing at the moon
This old guest follows the way

Hotei, 10th c. wandering Chinese monk venerated as “god of good fortune” with his treasure bag,he points to the moon, expressing the pure joy of nonattachment Fugai Ekun (1568–1654) Hotei Pointing to the Moon, hanging scroll, ink on paper.

P.S The Hotei figure is executed in grey, wet strokes, with only spare use of black, which characterizes the Zen figural style known as “ghost” or “apparition” painting [1]

Did you know Julius Caesar famous phrase before crossing the Rubicon “let the die be cast! (anerrhíphthō kúbos) was declaimed in Greek as it was written by the Greek comic playwright Menander?

In 49 BC (perhaps) on January 10,
Caesar leads his legion across the Rubicon. Did Caesar really utter this phrase? Yes according to Suetonius, who recorded as alea iacta est ('the die is cast') & Plutarch in Greek

Caesar knew his Greek, also had a great sense for the dramatic, it was a momentous occasion & he wanted these words to pass unto history books.

"Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more."

-William Cowper, English poet (1731–1800) Gerrit Dou- Astronomer, after 1665 at Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna [1]

The evocative candlelit night scenes of Dutch Romantic painter Petrus van Schendel (1806-1870 Petrus van Schendel paintings:

1-Market by candlelight, 1865
2-Market by candlelight, 1860s
3-Before the Ball, 1835
4-The Apple Seller, 1863

The Art of Judgment derives from discerning truth beyond appearances and emotions so the fool judges out of ignorance, the proud out of scorn and the wise out of character. Daniele da Volterra-Head of a Bearded Old Man-drawing ca. 1550s [1]

Oenomeli οἰνόμελι or "wine-honey" was a beverage made by the ancient Greeks by mixing oinos (wine) and meli (honey) where strength and sweetness were combined. Red-figured kylix detail showing a bearded symposiast holding up a kylix or drinking cup by the Douris Painter ca. 450 BC at Museo Archeologico Etrusco, Florence [1]

Rules of the Athenian Library of Pantainos built ca. AD 100:

“No book is to be taken out because we have sworn an oath. (The library) is to be open from the first hour until the sixth.”

Pantainos is the only library from antiquity where the hours & circulation rules are known. The Greco-Roman custom of dividing the natural day into twelve equal parts or hours started in Rome 45 BC a new regulation of the calendar mandated by J. Caesar.

If these are summer hours, the Library of Pantainos would've been opened around 5 AM (1st hr)
to 11 AM (6th hr)

The Aristotelian Happiness

True human flourishing (eudaimonia) is finding a fullfilling purpose (telos) in life through the realization of your rational potentiality (dynamis) as a human being. Eudaimonia (Eu-: good
Daimon: "soul" or “self.”) is often translated as “happiness,” but more accurately is "human flourishing"

By working to become the better part of your rational self cultivating virtues & excelling at tasks, thus finding your purpose & human potential.

Is the youth's soul diving into a sea of eternity or is it just a happy memory depicted?

Tomb of the Diver, fresco on limestone slab/ceiling, Paestum, ca. 470 BC This unique depiction of the diver is one of the most fascinating & mysterious artistic imagery from antiquity.

Somehow it always reminds me of Gilgamesh diving into the sea to bring up the "Flower of Immortality"

The Japanese Mind

Words
separate us

Silence
unifies us Ryoryosai Koshuku (1775–1825)
Enso, hanging scroll: ink on paper [1]

#OTD 1832 German poet, philosopher & humanist Johann W. von Goethe died, age 82

"Not everything desirable is attainable; not everything that can be known is knowable."

-Maxims & Reflections "I pray that my existence may develop further, the stem grow taller, the flowers blossom forth in greater abundance and beauty. If I cannot come back reborn, it would be much better not to come back at all"

-Goethe's diary entry on March 22, 1787, Naples from 'Italian Journey'

This is Bach 'Sonata For Flute & Harpsichord' in B minor, Andante (ca. 1730s) played exquisitely by Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute) Trevor Pinnock (harpsichord) from their 1985 LP recording.

Such a thrillingly hopeful tune & full of life! Here you can listen to the complete Bach 'Sonata For Flute & Harpsichord' in B minor (ca. 1730s) played by Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute) & Trevor Pinnock (harpsichord) from 1985 LP recording.

Worth your time, you'll feel better after a listen!

This is Bach Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin, Adagio (1720) wonderfully performed by Nathan Milstein.

This is my favorite Bach's violin movement as well as my favorite interpretation. From Nathan Milstein LP "J.B.Bach Sonatas & Partitas" 1975 To continue this is part of the 2nd movement Fuga. Allegro from Bach Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin played by Nathan Milstein. Superb virtuoso!

#OTD 1685 J.S.Bach was born.
To celebrate his genius let's enjoy the sublimity of the Aria from 'Goldberg Variations' (1741)

Here masterfully played by an older Glenn Gould in 1981 with an autumnal, contemplative tempo, which I personally preferred. To continue here's the end of the Aria in Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' & most of the first Variation played by an older Glenn Gould. Sublime!

Salvador Dalí- 'Visage of the War' (El rostro de la guerra) 1940 Salvador Dalí painting 'El Rostro de la Guerra' (Visage of the War) in California, 1940

They plunder, they butcher, they ravish & call it by the lying name of empire.They make a desert and call it peace

auferre trucidare rapere falsis 
nominibus imperium, atque ubi 
solitudinem faciunt, pacem 
appellant

-Tacitus, Agricola

*Calgacus' Speech vs Rome's expansionism This is the famous speech against Rome's rapacious expansionism by Calgacus, chieftain of Caledonian Confederacy who fought the Roman army of Gnaeus Julius Agricola (Tacitus' father-in-law) at the Battle of Mons Graupius, northern Scotland in AD 83-84.
Here's more of the speech:

One of the greatest masterpieces of Greek art, Nike of Samothrace is unrivaled in the personification of that victorious divine spirit carrying human perseverance beneath her wings.

Nike of Samothrace (with wings details) Parian marble, Hellenistic c. 200–190 BC-The Louvre One of my favorite Nike depictions is this striking "one-wing" Nike, which seems to have survived by losing one of her wings, thus heralding a prophetic cry: Victory is never gained unscathed.

Nike Bronze statuette-Hellenistic period at The Louvre.

Three Greek poetic epithets describing Ares, God of War:

Λαοσσοος- Laossoos: "He Who Rallies Men"

Μιαιφονος- Miaiphonos: "Blood-stained"

Ανδρειφοντης- Andreiphontês: "Destroyer of Men"

-Bronze Corinthian Helmet [detail] 5th c. BC These two Homeric epithets for Ares: Areiphatos & Areiktamenos mean respectively "killed by Ares" & "killed in War", i.e. Ares ultimately embodies every death in war.

"Fighting men are the city's battlements."

-Alcaeus of Mytilene, fragment 112 In other words, fortresses win no war, the fighting spirit of men do.

Greek Bronze Helmet of the Corinthian Type-5th century B.C. at The Met [1]

I'd like to imagine this is how Plato's soul remembered the equine head's timeless, unchangeable Form.

A Greek terracotta horse head from Taras (Taranto) Magna Graecia-ca. 4th c. BC Plato's Theory of Forms/Reminiscence:

A Form is both aspatial (transcendent to space) and atemporal (transcendent to time)

Immortality of the soul grants us
anamnesis i.e re-membrance by the soul of knowledge of the perfect forms [horseness] attained in a previous existence[1]