Heal Your Spirit with a Quote Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marcel Proust

Marcel Proust was born in 1871 in France, in the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War and the radical changes impacting French society at the last quarter of the 19th century. One of the most influential novelists, his most famous work is "In Search of the Lost Time", aka "Remembrance of Things Past".

His name is also given to a questionnaire, which is still widely used today, although Proust did not device the set of questions, but rather answered them as a "confession album".

Answer: Rumi

Rumi was born in 1207 in Central Asia. For all his Persian roots, he was a polyglot and wrote in many languages, including Greek, which was not spoken by Muslims of his era. His most famous work, the "Masnavi", also has mystical and metaphysical overtones, combining Arabic with pre-Islamic Iranian traditions and themes.

Answer: Novalis

Novalis was born in 1772 in Saxony. His full name was Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, and he was a leadng figure in Early German Romanticism, alongside Schlegel and Tieck. Several of his works became widely read in the 19th century, further enhancing his reputation as a master author.

His tragic romance with Sophie Kuhn, his views on the Middle Ages, and the mystical overtones of his poetry make him quite an enigmatic figure.

Answer: Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson was born in 1952 in Texas. She has been a very influential activist and minister, affiliating herself with figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bernie Sanders. She is also active in suggesting solutions to current theaters of conflict and warfare, like the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula.

Answer: Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was born in 1958. Widely acknowledged as the "King of Pop", his music has been loved and admired by countless people around the world. Albums like "Thriller" gained immense popularity immediately upon their release and have been given many accolades, making Jackson the most awarded musician of the twentieth century.

Answer: Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was born in 1928. Her birth name was Marguerite Annie Johnson. Her first work, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", brought her much international acclaim, especially viewed in the context of the Civil Rights movement. Gary Younge, a journalist for "The Guardian", perfectly summed her life story and personality in the following saying: "To know her life story is to simultaneously wonder what on earth you have been doing with your own life and feel glad that you didn't have to go through half the things she has."

Answer: Paracelsus

Paracelsus was born in 1493 in Switzerland. His birth name was Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim". He was one of the most influential medical scientists of his era, known for his interest in toxicology and for his reputed dabblings in alchemy.

He also had contact with other influential people in Europe of the time, like Erasmus, and traveled extensively to gather more and more knowledge. Moreover, he had a strong interest in the revival of neo-Pythagorean and neo-Platonic thought schools of late antiquity, pushed by people like Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola.

Answer: David Hume

David Hume was born in 1711 in Scotland. He was one of the most significant philosophers of the Enlightenment and mostly subscribed to empiricism, albeit with a strong vein of skepticism. His opinion was that reasoning is, and should be, subordinate to the passions. On top of that, he held that there is no universal moral principle and that, instead, ethics is a product of people's feelings and sentiments.

Answer: Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born in 1910. Her birth name was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. A Roman Catholic nun, she spent most of her life in India, caring for the poor and generally those in need. She also expressed her personal stance on issues like abortion, calling the latter "the greatest destroyer of peace".

Her work also attracted considerable criticism, notably by Christopher Hitchens, who likened her activities to that of the medieval Church, an institution he was most vocally opposed to.

Answer: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in 1821 in Russia. The author of works like "Crime and Punishment", "The Brothers Karamazov", "The Idiot" and so on, he has earned the admiration of virtually the whole learned world. His life was as adventurous and full of strife as that of his characters, including deportation in Siberia and narrowly avoiding execution.

The most puzzling fact is that many of his contemporaries actually leveled criticism against him. His novels were also extensively censored by the Soviet regime.