Hans Thoma, Sea awakening, 1893

Frederick Stuart Church, Circe, 1910

William Mortensen, Circe, 1935

Jean-Joseph Perraud, Despair, 1869

Gustav Vigeland , Kneeling Man Embracing a Standing Woman , 1908

Zdzisław Jasiński , Tempest , 1925

Joseph Urban , Sphynxe, 1903

Mesopotamian god Ninurta (with thunderbolts) battles the gryphon-like Anzû (from the ruins of Nimrud approximately 1000 BC)

Henri-Paul Motte, The Fiancée of Belus, 1885

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember 
what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, 
without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, 
even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious 
to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you 
may become vain or bitter, for always there will be 
greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. 
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; 
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the 
world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you 
to what virtue there is; many persons strive for 
high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. 
Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of 
all aridity and disenchantment, 
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, 
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. 
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. 
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. 
You are a child of the universe no less than the 
trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt 
the universe is unfolding as it should. 
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you 
conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors 
and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, 
keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery 
and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. 
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

I Go My Way by Max Ehrmann

All round is haste, confusion, noise.
For power and wealth men stretch the day
From dawn till dusk. But quietly 
I go my way.

For glitter, show, to taunt the crowd,
Desire-tossed in wild dismay,
Men sell their souls. But quietly 
I go my way.

The green of all the fields is mine;
The stars, the night, the wind at play,
A peaceful heart, while quietly
I go my way.

Julio Romero de Torres , The Fortune-telling , 1921

Karl Alexander Wilke, Your Way ( from Die Muskete #27), 1912

Karl Alexander Wilke, Woman Reading, 1912

Luc-Olivier Merson , Allegory of Time , 1896

Hans Makart , The Death Of Cleopatra , 1875

Jerusalem by William Blake

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen!
 
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
 
Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
 
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land.

Domenico di Michelino, Dante's Divine Comedy (on the wall of Florence Cathedral), 1465

Octave Tassaert, Heaven and Hell, 1850

Dust of Snow by Robert Frost

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.