When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literature and Philosophy
- Ecclesiastes 7:4 (The title)
- Jean de La Bruyère (1.1.95) (2.12.3) – a French essayist
- Sarum Rule (1.2.31) – a Latin liturgy
- Omar Khayyám (1.6.7) – a Persian poet and philosopher
- "If you would forgive your enemy, first inflict a hurt on him", a Malay proverb (1.10.39)
- William Shakespeare, The Tempest ("Caliban" and "Miranda") (1.12.19)
- Aeschylus, The Eumenides (1.13.78)
- "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God", The Gospel of Matthew (1.14.10)
- Paul Verlaine (2.1.33) – a French poet
- Theocritus (2.2.4) – a Greek poet
Mythological References
- Minerva (1.9.61) – the Roman name for the Greek Athena, goddess of wisdom and war
- The Furies (1.13.78, 1.14.78, 1.15.12, 1.15.48, 2.10.96)
- Perseus and Andromeda (1.14.44)
- Venus (2.9.2) – The Roman name for the Greek Aphrodite, the goddess of sex, love, and beauty
Art References
- Richard Wagner (1.10.38) – a German composer known for his operas
- Sandro Botticelli (1.12.14) – an Italian Renaissance painter
- Francisco Goya (1.12.15) – a Spanish painter
- Titian (1.12.15) – an Italian Renaissance painter
- Hugo Wilhelm Kauffmann (1.12.15) – a German painter
- Paulo Veronese (1.12.15) – an Italian Renaissance painter
- Sir Joshua Reynolds, "Mrs. Lloyd" (1.12.17)
- Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1.12.17) – a Venetian painter
Pop Culture
- The New York Times (1.9.11)
- Beatrice Cenci (1.15.13) – an Italian noblewoman involved in a famous murder trial in Rome