Supernatural
The Ghosts of Iceland
“These spectres make those who are ignorant of their death receive them as though they were alive and offer their right hands; nor is the mistake detected before the shades have vanished.” […]
Repost
Britons and Celts
A Dog’s Reward
“In appreciation of what had happened and as a mark of favour to the dog, which had almost died of starvation, the English, who nevertheless hated the Welsh, had the corpse buried with all due ceremony.” […]
Viking
Hamlet’s Viking Funeral
“O valiant Amleth, and worthy of immortal fame, who being shrewdly armed with a feint of folly, covered a wisdom too high for human wit under a marvellous disguise of silliness!” […]
Greek and Roman
The Governance of Bees
“The general bee population shows a remarkable obedience to her. When she sets out, the whole swarm goes too, and the groups round her, encircling and protecting her, and not allowing anyone to see her. At other times, when the bees are at work, she goes round all the works inside, like someone offering encouragement, while she alone is free from any duties.” […]
Britons and Celts
Live Free or Die: Unicorn Edition
“It can be killed but never subdued alive. And if ever by the exertion of hunters it happens to be taken alive, it immediately dies.” […]
Greek and Roman
Insults from the Battlements
“Did those pygmy Romans, they asked, wither their feeble hands and muscles, imagine that they could mount such a heavy tower on top of a wall?” […]
Violence
A Duel By Night
“I would rather die here and now than let the 9 king’s daughters or their mother see me bound, and after that be insulted by all ladies and maidens as long as I live.” […]
Human Affairs
The Dangerous World of Ice-Skating
“You are never in greater peril or nearer to death than when you set off skating while the ice is covered with even the thinnest layer of snow.” […]
Britons and Celts
A Self-Proclaimed Master
“They are surprised that, from all the great and striking subjects which the world can offer, I choose to extol in my writings and to adorn with all the flowers of my rhetoric those rugged countries.” […]
Greek and Roman
The Scandalous Empress
“Messalina, the wife of Claudius Ceasar, thinking it would be a royal triumph, chose to compete against a certain notorious prostitute.” […]