The Nun Who Wept for a Mouse
A close reading of the Prioress's portrait in Chaucer's General Prologue — her manners, her tears for a mouse, and the ambiguity of Amor…
Ethics
Self-Sacrifice, Selfishness, and the Pigeons of Totes
A woman gives everything twice and receives nothing back. The pigeons of Totes — and what they reveal about language charged with meaning —…
Nothing Happens to You That You’re Not Formed to Bear
Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditation V.18 that nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear. Jimmy’s analysis of…
“Ah Bartleby! Ah Humanity!” — What the Ending of Bartleby the Scrivener Really Means
At the very end of Bartleby, the Scrivener, after Bartleby has died of starvation in the Tombs — the New York prison where he…
I Wish I Could Have Known Him
When Jimmy finished the Meditations, he said three words: I wish I could have known him. Not studied him — known him. A personal…
Don’t Let Future Things Disturb You
Marcus Aurelius wrote Meditation VII.8 on a battlefield where he might die the next morning. Don’t be disturbed by future things — you’ll have…
Margaret Knew Something Faust Never Did. That’s Why She’s Saved and He Isn’t.
The ending of Goethe's Faust confuses people. Faust flies off with Mephistopheles for more experiences. The play just stops. No damnation, no reckoning, no…
Can You Be a 100% Listener?
A room full of executives said you can’t be a 100% listener. Marcus Aurelius wrote five words that say you can. Jimmy’s analysis of…
Three Kinds of People — and Marcus Aurelius Knew Which One He Was
Jim Lovell said there are three kinds of people. Machiavelli agreed. So did Marcus Aurelius — from a battlefield, without a spacecraft. Jimmy's analysis…
Goethe Didn’t Start Faust on Earth. He Started It in Heaven. That’s Not an Accident.
Most dramas begin with a problem. A man in a room. A conflict brewing. A situation that needs resolving. You establish the world, introduce…
Erase Your Blackboard
Marcus Aurelius wrote that a limit of time is fixed for thee to clear the clouds from thy mind. John Locke said the mind…
What a Rubber Band Has to Do With Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditation I that the same man can be both resolute and yielding. Jimmy explains what that means with a rubber…
