The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

Finished “Lives Of The Stoics”

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In the spirit of Plutarch’s “Lives,” Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman present “The Lives of The Stoics. The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius.” The work is an uncomplicated biographical history of Stoicism starting in late Greece through the Roman Empire, centralized on practicing Stoics, who they were and what they did. Students of the Bible should give careful attention to this book, as it provides insight to the world of the early church from a historical perspective. Most telling are the trends that led to the persecution and exiles of the philosophers long before Christianity appeared on the scene. That so many notable Stoics came from Tarsus should be of particular interest. While the book provides an indirect introduction to the thinking of those who met Paul on Mars Hill (Acts 17), the authors present principles for present-day living. 


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