The Rosetta Stone

An ancient Egyptian artifact that enabled modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs -- Three languages (two Ancient Egyptian languages and classical Greek) of the same passage of a royal decree were carved on this stone, which was discovered by the French in 1799 at the harbor of Rosetta on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The original is now on display at the British Museum while a replica is on display at the Cairo Museum.

Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair (1929)

Designed for German Pavilion at the Barcelona Exposition of 1929. It was put into production and became so popular that it has been continuously manufactured ever since.

Antea

Cognoscenti's ''Mona Lisa.'' By Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, the Renaissance painter better known as PARMIGIANINO (1503 to 1540) Capodimonte Museum, Naples, Italy.

Broken Love

‘Let us agree to give up love,
And root up the Infernal Grove;
Then shall we return and see
The worlds of happy Eternity.

‘And throughout all Eternity
I forgive you, you forgive me.
As our dear Redeemer said:
“This the Wine, and this the Bread.”’

"Broken Love" (last two stanzas only) by William Blake (1757-1827)

Impermanence

晚明的散文大家張岱，「極愛繁華，好精舍，好美婢，好孌童，好 鮮衣，好美食，好駿馬，好華燈，好煙火，好梨園，好鼓吹，好古董 ，好花鳥，兼以茶淫橘虐，書蠹詩魔」。能這樣過日子，是因為他把 杭州當安身立命之處。明朝覆亡，他腳下的土，也被抽走了。「年至 五十，國破家亡，避跡山居。所存者，破床碎幾，折鼎病琴，與殘書 數帙，缺硯一方而已。布衣疏莨，常至斷炊。回首二十年前，真如隔 世。」

From: 中國時報 A15/人間副刊 2008/02/08 《三少四壯集》絲瓜 【龍應台】

富貴學道難

佛說人有二十難--

貧窮布施難，富貴學道難；棄命必死難，得睹佛經難；

生值佛世難，忍色忍欲難；見好不求難，被辱不瞋難；

有勢不臨難，觸事無心難；廣學博究難，除滅我慢難；

不輕未學難，心行平等難；不說是非難，會善知識難；

見性學道難，隨化度人難；睹境不動難，善解方便難。