A collection of 48 prose and poetry selections written principally in the 18th Century. These works of world literature are written in the English language or are in English translation. [chương_files]
“On the road to Cairo one may see twenty groups exactly like that of the Holy Family in the pictures of the Flight into Egypt; with only one difference. The man is riding on the ass.” “The real mistake of the Muslims is something much more modern in its application than any particular passing persecution of Christians as such. It lay in the very fact that they did think they had a simpler and saner sort of Christianity, as do many modern Christians. They thought it could be made universal merely by being made uninteresting. Now a man preaching what he thinks is a platitude is far more intolerant than a man preaching what he admits is a paradox. It was exactly because it seemed self-evident, to Muslims as to Bolshevists, that their simple creed was suited to everybody, that they wished in that particular sweeping fashion to impose it on everybody.” [chương_files]
A collection of reprinted articles on a wide-range of subject, all in the unique style of G. K. Chesterton. Using wit, paradox, and good humor he “defends” a series of seeming harmless things that need no defense, and in so doing he exposes many of the broken assumptions and dogmatic notions of secular humanism and other trends of his age and of ours. [chương_files]
In July 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson left Scotland to meet his future wife in her native California. Leaving by ship from Glasgow, Scotland, he determined to travel in steerage class to see how the working classes fared. At the last minute he was convinced by friends to purchase a ticket one grade above the lowest price, for which he was later thankful after seeing the conditions in steerage, but he still lived among the ‘lower’ classes. His comments on the experience make interesting reading. His father however was so shocked at the thought of his son associating with people ‘beneath him’ that the work was not published for a number of years, [chương_files]
A selection of Shakespeare’s poems from The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900. (Summary by Clarica) [chương_files]
“Second, when telling such lies as may seem necessary to your international standing, do not tell the lies to the people who know the truth. Do not tell the Eskimos that snow is bright green; nor tell the negroes in Africa that the sun never shines in that Dark Continent. Rather tell the Eskimos that the sun never shines in Africa; and then, turning to the tropical Africans, see if they will believe that snow is green. Similarly, the course indicated for you is to slander the Russians to the English and the English to the Russians; and there are hundreds of good old reliable slanders which can still be used against both of them. There are probably still Russians who believe that every English gentleman puts a rope round his wife’s neck and sells her in Smithfield. There are certainly still Englishmen who believe that every Russian gentleman takes a rope to his wife’s back and whips her every day. But these stories, picturesque and useful as they are, have a limit to their use like everything else; and the limit consists in the fact that they are not true, and that there necessarily exists a group of persons who know they are not true. It is so with matters of fact about which you asseverate so positively to us, as if they were matters of opinion.” (Gilbert Keith Chesterton) [chương_files]
LibriVox’s Short Poetry Collection 062: a collection of 20 public-domain poems. [chương_files]
_Good people all, of every degree, I pray, ye all be warned by me: I advise ye all to pause and think, And never more to taste strong drink. Some people do say it is good when taken in moderation, But, when taken to excess, it leads to tribulation, Also to starvation and loss of reputation, Likewise your eternal soul’s damnation._ McGonagall has been widely acclaimed as the worst poet in British history. He campaigned vigorously against excessive drinking, appearing in pubs and bars to give edifying poems and speeches. These were very popular, the people of Dundee possibly recognising that McGonagall was “so giftedly bad he backed unwittingly into genius”. Six of those poems are recited here. (Summary collated from McGonagall’s verse and Wikipedia by Cori Samuel.) [chương_files]
This collection of 14 stories collected by Lafcadio Hearn, contains Japanese ghost stories, but also several non-fiction pieces. Hearn tries to give a glimpse into the customs of the Japanese, by giving examples of Buddhist Proverbs and explaining the use of incense and the nation wide fascination with poetry. Furthermore, he has again translated several hair-rising ghost stories, like “A Passional Karma” about the truly undying love of a young couple. [chương_files]
A second helping of Alphabet Books! This collection has a wide-ranging variety of short books, and not only for younger readers, but also for young and not so young adults. Opening with a book based on the colorful language of London’s street vendors, this collection winds its way through a book of tongue-twisters, two primers of nonsense poetry by the inimitable Edward Lear, and early readers from 19th century England. For older readers, there is the biting, sardonic humor of Hilaire Belloc’s satirical alphabet verses. There is even a “Baseball ABC,” a recording which will be released in time for the World Series playoffs! Soup’s on! (Summary by Denny Sayers) [chương_files]
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