The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads by Maria Popova

Into the Chute of Time: Annie Dillard on the Stunning Otherworldliness of a Total Solar Eclipse
Into the Chute of Time: Annie Dillard on the Stunning Otherworldliness of a Total Solar Eclipse

“What you see in a total eclipse is entirely different from what you know.”

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How Bach Will Save Your Soul: German Philosopher Josef Pieper on the Hidden Source of Music’s Supreme Power
How Bach Will Save Your Soul: German Philosopher Josef Pieper on the Hidden Source of Music’s Supreme Power

“Music opens a path into the realm of silence.”

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Albert Camus on the Three Antidotes to the Absurdity of Life
Albert Camus on the Three Antidotes to the Absurdity of Life

“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among men, a greater sincerity.”

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Memory and the Value of the Forgotten
Memory and the Value of the Forgotten

“Are we not … parts of a greater organism, kept alive through the ever more vividly circulating blood of an enormous past?”

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The World’s First Celestial Spectator Sport: Astronomer Maria Mitchell’s Stunning Account of the 1869 Total Solar Eclipse
The World’s First Celestial Spectator Sport: Astronomer Maria Mitchell’s Stunning Account of the 1869 Total Solar Eclipse

“All nature rejoiced, and … we rejoiced with Nature.”

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Sir Thomas Browne on the Transcendent Torture of Romantic Friendship
Sir Thomas Browne on the Transcendent Torture of Romantic Friendship

“United souls are not satisfied with embraces, but desire to be truly each other.”

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Advice to the Young from Pioneering Astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Who Discovered the Composition of the Universe
Advice to the Young from Pioneering Astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Who Discovered the Composition of the Universe

Work with love, embrace the unexpected, let no one else make intellectual decisions for you, and always remain in direct touch with the fountain-head.

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The Drift Called the Infinite: Emily Dickinson on Making Sense of Loss
The Drift Called the Infinite: Emily Dickinson on Making Sense of Loss

Reflections on silence and eternity from the poet laureate of death.

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When Things Fall Apart: Tibetan Buddhist Nun and Teacher Pema Chödrön on Transformation Through Difficult Times
When Things Fall Apart: Tibetan Buddhist Nun and Teacher Pema Chödrön on Transformation Through Difficult Times

“Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.”

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Thoreau on Writing and the Splendors of Mystery in an Age of Knowledge
Thoreau on Writing and the Splendors of Mystery in an Age of Knowledge

“Do not seek expressions, seek thoughts to be expressed.”

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