/lit/ - Literature

best books to get a wide summary on fine art?

been digging the painting posting happening on here - has introduced me to lots of good shit - keep it up, real patrician.

looking for passages in ancient greek or latin that discuss either the practices of divination from the flight of birds/haruspicy/etc. or just use birds as symbols of knowledge/messages from god. there's a great example in plato when socrates uses the aviary as a metaphor when he's lookinh for a potential solution to how wrong ideas come about.

perfect example from the odyssey:

>Two eagles flew on and on with the wind, from the top of the mountain sailing side by side in their own lordly flight. When they were right over the middle of the assembly they wheeled and circled about, beating the air with their wings and glaring death into the eyes of them that were below; then, fighting fiercely and tearing at one another, they flew off towards the right over the town. The people wondered as they saw them, and asked each other what an this might be; whereon the best prophet and reader of omens among them, spoke to them plainly and in all honesty, saying:

>"Hear me, for I see mischief brewing. Ulysses is not going to be away much longer; indeed he is close at hand to deal out death and destruction. Let us then be wise in time, and put a stop to this wickedness before he comes. Let the suitors do so of their own accord; it will be better for them, for I am not prophesying without due knowledge; everything has happened to Ulysses as I foretold. I said that after going through much hardship and losing all his men he should come home again in the twentieth year and that no one would know him; and now all this is coming true."

>One of the townsmen then said, "Go home, old man, and prophesy to your own children.. I can read these omens myself much better than you can; birds are always flying about in the sunshine somewhere or other, but they seldom mean anything."

anytging else juicy come to mind? don't worry if it's from some other time period or anything - i interested to see anything you guys think of.

went to as you like it last night. if you live in dc - it was pretty decent.

anyways, there's a character named touchstone who says this:

>Upon a lie seven times removed.—Bear your body more seeming, Audrey.—As thus, sir: I did dislike the cut of a certain courtier’s beard. He sent me word if I said his beard was not cut well, he was in the mind it was. This is called “the retort courteous.” If I sent him word again it was not well cut, he would send me word he cut it to please himself. This is called “the quip modest.” If again it was not well cut, he disabled my judgment. This is called “the reply churlish.” If again it was not well cut, he would answer I spake not true. This is called “the reproof valiant.” If again it was not well cut, he would say I lie. This is called “the countercheck quarrelsome,” and so to “the lie circumstantial” and “the lie direct.”

can anyone break this down for me? don't get it.

what are some good books about/set-in mexico city? fiction or non-fiction

new thing i'm working on. let me know what you guys think.

http://pastebin.com/PzKE7DdB

looking for more esoteric novels/novellas that are either mysteries or thrillers and set amongst rich people. anyone have anything good for me?