Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
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John McPhee • Annals of the Former World
And if railroads are not built, how shall we get to heaven in season? But if we stay at home and mind our business, who will want railroads? We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they ar
... See moreHenry David Thoreau • Walden (AmazonClassics Edition)
Any city that has the Library of Congress is my capital. Some of the best, most productive days of my life have been spent in its manuscript collection or working with its newspaper files. It is one of the wonders of the world. The statistics are staggering—twenty million books, of which less than a fourth are in English, nearly six million pieces
... See moreDavid McCullough • Brave Companions
What does one conclude, in the final analysis, about this remarkable man? Surely, the Northwest will never again witness an individual with such sweeping power, simply because the unique opportunity provided by an opening frontier and a transportation monopoly will never again appear. It is entirely appropriate that the prime passenger train from C
... See moreMichael P. Malone • James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest (The Oklahoma Western Biographies Book 12)
le Yosemite réel tel qu’il existe maintenant, n’a pas tant d’importance pour comprendre Muir, n’importe quelle montagne sublime fera l’affaire, ce qui compte c’est le regard, la posture, l’élan. Pourtant, j’ai pensé y aller, emporté moi aussi par cette naïve croyance que l’expérience est nécessaire pour écrire, obéissant machinalement à cet impérat
... See moreAlexis Jenni • J'aurais pu devenir millionnaire, j'ai choisi d'être vagabond (French Edition)
The Panama Railroad—the first steam road to El Dorado—was begun in 1850, at the height of the California gold craze. And by anyone’s standards it was a stunning demonstration of man’s “wonderful skill, endurance, and perseverance,” just as Pim said, even though its full length was only forty-seven and a half miles. It was, for example, and as almos
... See moreDavid McCullough • Brave Companions
He interested me because he was so quiet and solitary and so happy withal; a well of good humor and contentment which overflowed at his eyes. His mirth was without alloy. Sometimes I saw him at his work in the woods, felling trees, and he would greet me with a laugh of inexpressible satisfaction, and a salutation in Canadian French, though he spoke
... See moreHenry David Thoreau • Walden (AmazonClassics Edition)
After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, love, and so on—have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear—what remains? Nature remains; to bring out from their torpid recesses, the affinities of a man or woman with the open air, the trees, fields, the changes of seasons—the sun by day and the sta
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