Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Forza, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
In this fable from India, a sly little insect teaches a jackdaw that all that glisters is not necessarily edible.
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© Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.5
Back in the 6th century, Mary was consumed by an addiction so compulsive that she would use and discard anyone to satisfy it.
Photo by NASA, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Pliny was only about nine when his uncle left to go and help rescue the terrified townspeople of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
John’s enduring influence is evident today in the rich sights and sounds of Christian liturgy.
By William Hamilton (1751–1801), via the National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: ? Public domain.
John Wesley urged the medical profession (and his fellow clergy) to remember that drugs are not the answer to every sickness.
© Roger Templeman, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
When farmhand and lay preacher George Loveless was convicted of conspiracy, both charge and sentence made the country gasp.