Quote of August 2026: “Fortune favours the brave. Audentis fortuna iuvat.”

Various: Terence, Virgil, Pliny (the Younger), and so forth.

About

Hello, my name is Alban, nicknamed Abel. I am an undergraduate at the University of Oxford, reading a BA in Philosophy and Theology. The Sisyphean is my own quiet private labour, a site intended to share my creative and academic writing with others (or rather, pseudo-academic, for they are not truly polished papers).

One of my favourite biblical episodes: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (at Jabbok), c. 1855-1861, Eugène Delacroix. Housed in the Chapel of the Holy Angels; the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris

In philosophy, I hold especial interests in post-structuralism, Derrida, Laruelle, Deleuze, to be specific, Hegel, general phenomenology, and epistemology, incl. moral/metaethical theory. Theologically, I am inclined towards Christology, for the figure of Jesus is alluringly fascinating, soteriology, Old Testament hermeneutics (especially Genesis, Exodus), and biblical materialism. I like to explore “queerer” aspects of both fields, pun intended, for Christian transsexualism and the ontology of sex are keen, marginally less-than-respectable interests of mine. Analytic pursuits like topology and holes, Lewisian metaphysics, also tickle my fancy, though I am less persistent with them.

I live in Oxford, England, and I enjoy reading, writing, drinking tea, and long walks on the beach. I am an avid hiker, for the beauty of God’s creation is endless, and I aim to complete Wye Valley this winter.

For contact, please email author@the-sisyphean.com.

My namesake, St Alban, protomartyr of Britain and patron of converts, in Lancaster Priory.