#4 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

Shakespeare spoke and taught Greek and Latin before becoming a successful playwright ...

Speaking of languages, I wonder if anyone's ever hired any of the Iraqi ethnic groups who speak Neo-Aramaic (Chaldean, Yazidis, etc) to directly translate any ancient religious scrolls written in Aramaic into English. Today's English texts, as you know, went through translations into other languages before being translated into English. That would be interesting if it hasn't been done.

Any idea? Also, I wonder how close they could get to translating from original Aramaic 2000-year-old texts, if there are any, considering the "Neo" aspect of modern Aramaic?

I've had a bust of Beethoven given to me when I was 8 because I loved his music so much. Beethoven gets inside the soul. One can feel the unrequited love behind his Moonlight Sonata, for instance.

... unrequited love for Beethoven's student Countess Giulietta Guicciardi

Are you enjoying the book about the Kurds?

#13 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

It's definitely dark. That young man went through SO much but still found the courage to memorialize his tragic journey seeking a better life.

We also have oodles of books here (all of them read). Currently only a couple of hundred after donating many of them.

Let me recommend another book about letters, which I found to be a fascinating, instructive read:

Galileo's Daughter - A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love

"Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel is a 1999 book that uses the letters of Galileo's cloistered nun daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, to explore the life of the famous astronomer, his conflict with the Inquisition, and the relationship between science and religion during the Renaissance. The book highlights the deep bond between father and daughter, revealing Galileo as a man of faith and a devoted parent, while chronicling his scientific discoveries and his struggle to reconcile them with Church doctrine."