Mortality and the purpose of life are prominent themes in Thomas Cole’s paintings. Through his paintings, he vividly brings out the human dilemma of mortality, a dilemma we ourselves must wrestle with. Given the inevitability of death, what are we to do with our days? We can try to stave off the inevitable through a mad pursuit of achievement or…
Nietzsche With the Voice of an Angel Ralph Waldo Emerson’s seminal essay, “Self Reliance,” remains the great paean to American individualism. As with all the man’s writings, it’s equal parts quotable and intoxicating, making the task of choosing a representative statement a formidable one. But choose we must and the following will serve our purposes well: "O father, O mother,…