Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sir Isaac’s secretary has left us an engaging portrait of a kindly genius, the absent-minded professor of our fancy.
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By Anonymous (1810), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
When Archimedes discovered the principle of displacement, he was hot on the trail of a clever fraud.
© Marathon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
French travel writer Pierre-Jean Grosley toured Georgian London just in time to witness a culinary revolution: the sandwich.
© cartese, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
A loyal dog shows his initiative in recovering his master’s property, though his timing might have been better.
By Hubert Robert (1733–1808), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
In 64, Nero watched on with fascination as Rome was consumed by fire — the Emperor’s idea of performance art.
Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
An angel appeared to Mary in her home in Nazareth, and offered her the chance to be part of nothing less than the reopening of the doors of Paradise.