

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
― Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
― Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“Don’t let yourself forget how many doctors have died, furrowing their brows over how many deathbeds. How many astrologers, after pompous forecasts about others’ ends. How many philosophers, after endless disquisitions on death and immortality. How many warriors, after inflicting thousands of casualties themselves. How many tyrants, after abusing the power of life and death atrociously, as if they were themselves immortal.
How many whole cities have met their end: Helike, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and countless others.
And all the ones you know yourself, one after another. One who laid out another for burial, and was buried himself, and then the man who buried him - all in the same short space of time.
In short, know this: Human lives are brief and trivial. Yesterday a blob of semen; tomorrow embalming fluid, ash.
To pass through this brief life as nature demands. To give it up without complaint.
Like an olive that ripens and falls.
Praising its mother, thanking the tree it grew on.”
― Meditations
How many whole cities have met their end: Helike, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and countless others.
And all the ones you know yourself, one after another. One who laid out another for burial, and was buried himself, and then the man who buried him - all in the same short space of time.
In short, know this: Human lives are brief and trivial. Yesterday a blob of semen; tomorrow embalming fluid, ash.
To pass through this brief life as nature demands. To give it up without complaint.
Like an olive that ripens and falls.
Praising its mother, thanking the tree it grew on.”
― Meditations

“When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.”
― Brida
― Brida

“Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence.”
― Meditations
― Meditations

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
― Alma Mater
― Alma Mater
Ralph’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Ralph’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Ralph
Lists liked by Ralph