My current bathroom book is “A Calendar of Wisdom” by Leo Tolstoy, translated from Russian by Peter Sekirin in Toronto.
I’m fascinated by the lives and whimsies of enlightened artists. Quirks of character are a common trait with this breed, and Leo was no exception. In his lifetime, he journeyed from the privileged youth of a Russian aristocrat, to an ageing maverick condemning war and rejecting the idea of private property.
In his later years, Tolstoy collected what he considered the wisest thoughts from the greatest thinkers across numerous centuries and compiled them in this publication. The many contributors include: Greek philosophers like Epictetus and Socrates, Eastern sages such as Buddha and Lao-tzu, and more contemporary writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and George Eliot. He constructed the book as a calendar, so I can count on an entire year of savouring this treasure.
I’m only a month in and delighted to discover that the quandaries humans face today have changed little over the ages.