Day 2,497: magisterial, dabble
A magisterial teacher demands obedience, while a good teacher earns respect.
China has now begun to dabble in diplomacy, meeting Iran’s foreign minister this week.
https://economist.com/leaders/2026/05/07/the-trump-xi-summit-will-expose-a-dysfunctional-duo
Artwork of the day
Title: The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (with a Truncated Pyramid on the Right)
Artist: Giovanni_Domenico_Tiepolo (Italian, Venice 1727–1804 Venice)
Date: ca. 1770
Medium: Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over rough black chalk
Dimensions: 18 1/2 x 14 15/16 in. (47 x 37.9 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Object Number: 1975.1.474
Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection
Word of the day
magisterial: pertaining to a master; pompously assured and commanding; authoritative; dictatorial
dabble: to take a slight and not very serious interest in a subject, or try a particular activity for a short period:
Quote of the day
“Each person is oriented toward a quest for his personal invisible guide, or . . . he entrusts himself to the collective, magisterial authority as the intermediary between himself and Revelation.”
― Ibn Arabi
