July 24

It is not things that disturb people, but their opinions about things.

Epictetus Enchiridion, 5

The Second Night

It is not things that disturb people, but their opinions about things.

Epictetus

Wonhyo and Uisang wanted to travel from Korea to China. On the way they were caught in heavy rain and found shelter in a small structure by the roadside. They took it for a shrine and spent the night there without fear.

At daybreak, among the bones, they realised they had been lying in an old tomb. The rain kept on; the sodden ground barely let them make headway. So they stayed a second night. Now, the tradition says, ghosts appeared to them.

Wonhyo sighed. Yesterday they had rested here safely, because they believed they were in a shrine. Today they were afraid in the same place.

Anna Atkins, Asperococcus pusillus, cyanotype
Asperococcus pusillus · Anna Atkins, cyanotype, 1843–53 · from Photographs of British Algae More about Anna Atkins ›
Anna Atkins, Asperococcus pusillus, cyanotype

Asperococcus pusillus · Anna Atkins, cyanotype, 1843–53 · from Photographs of British Algae