Lecture IICIRCUMSCRIPTION OF THE TOPICMost books on the philosophy of religion try to begin with aprecise definition of what its essence consists of. Some ofthese would-be definitions may possibly come before us in laterportions of this course, and I shall not be pedantic enough toenumerate any of them to you now. Meanwhile the very fact thatthey are so many and so different from one another is enough toprove that the word "religion" cannot stand for any singleprinciple or essence, but is rather a collective name. Thetheorizing mind tends always to the oversimplification of its...
Evergreensby Jerome K. JeromeThey look so dull and dowdy in the spring weather, when the snow dropsand the crocuses are putting on their dainty frocks of white and mauveand yellow, and the baby-buds from every branch are peeping withbright eyes out on the world, and stretching forth soft little leavestoward the coming gladness of their lives. They stand apart, so coldand hard amid the stirring hope and joy that are throbbing all aroundthem.And in the deep full summer-time, when all the rest of nature dons itsrichest garb of green, and the roses clamber round the porch, and thegrass waves waist-high in the meadow, and the fields are gay with...
The Magic Skinby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Ellen MarriageTo Monsieur Savary, Member of Le Academie des Sciences.ITHE TALISMANTowards the end of the month of October 1829 a young man entered thePalais-Royal just as the gaming-houses opened, agreeably to the lawwhich protects a passion by its very nature easily excisable. Hemounted the staircase of one of the gambling hells distinguished bythe number 36, without too much deliberation."Your hat, sir, if you please?" a thin, querulous voice called out. Alittle old man, crouching in the darkness behind a railing, suddenlyrose and exhibited his features, carved after a mean design.As you enter a gaming-house the law despoils you of your hat a
A Plea for Captain John Brownby Henry David Thoreau[Read to the citizens of Concord, Mass., Sunday Evening, October 30, 1859.]I trust that you will pardon me for being here. I do not wish toforce my thoughts upon you, but I feel forced myself. Little as Iknow of Captain Brown, I would fain do my part to correct the toneand the statements of the newspapers, and of my countrymen generally,respecting his character and actions. It costs us nothing to bejust. We can at least express our sympathy with, and admirationof, him and his companions, and that is what I now propose to do.First, as to his history. I will endeavor to omit, as much...
The Way of All Fleshby Samuel ButlerCHAPTER IWhen I was a small boy at the beginning of the century I remember anold man who wore knee-breeches and worsted stockings, and who usedto hobble about the street of our village with the help of a stick.He must have been getting on for eighty in the year 1807, earlierthan which date I suppose I can hardly remember him, for I was bornin 1802. A few white locks hung about his ears, his shoulders werebent and his knees feeble, but he was still hale, and was muchrespected in our little world of Paleham. His name was Pontifex.His wife was said to be his master; I have been told she brought hima little money, but it cannot have been much. She was a ta
Many a blond, northern moonrise,like a muted reflection, will softlyremind me and remind me again and again.It will be my bride, my alter ego.An incentive to find myself. I myselfam the moonrise of the south. -Paul Klee, The Tunisian Diaries Prologue It was just past midday, not long before the third summons to prayer, that Ammar ibn Khairan passed through the Gate of the Bells and entered the palace of Al-Fontina in Silvenes to kill the last of the khalifs of Al-Rassan. Passing into the Court of Lions he came to the three sets of double doors and paused before those that led to the gardens. There were eunuchs guarding the doors. He knew them by name. They had been dealt with. One of th
AGIS264-241 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenTHE fable of Ixion, who, embracing a cloud instead of Juno, begotthe Centaurs, has been ingeniously enough supposed to have beeninvented to represent to us ambitious men, whose minds, doting onglory, which is a mere image of virtue, produce nothing that isgenuine or uniform, but only, as might be expected of such aconjunction, misshapen and unnatural actions. Running after theiremulations and passions, and carried away by the impulses of themoment, they may say with the herdsmen in the tragedy of Sophocles-...
A Millionaire of Rough-and-Readyby Bret HartePROLOGUEThere was no mistake this time: he had struck gold at last!It had lain there before him a moment agoa misshapen piece ofbrown-stained quartz, interspersed with dull yellow metal; yieldingenough to have allowed the points of his pick to penetrate itshoneycombed recesses, yet heavy enough to drop from the point ofhis pick as he endeavored to lift it from the red earth.He was seeing all this plainly, although he found himself, he knewnot why, at some distance from the scene of his discovery, hisheart foolishly beating, his breath impotently hurried. Yet he waswalking slowly and vaguely; conscious of stopping and staring at...
ELECBOOK CLASSICSAdam BedeGeorge Eliot- Page 2-ELECBOOK CLASSICSebc0021. George Eliot: Adam BedeThis file is free for individual use only. It must not be altered or resold.Organisations wishing to use it must first obtain a licence.Low cost licenses are available. Contact us through our web site(C) The Electric Book Co 1998The Electric Book Company Ltd20 Cambridge Drive, London SE12 8AJ, UK+44 (0)181 488 3872 www.elecbook.com- Page 3-ADAM BEDE...
Ismailiaby Samuel W. BakerContents.Chap.I. IntroductoryII. English PartyIII. The RetreatIV. The Camp at TewfikeeyahV. Exploration of the Old White NileVI. The StartVII. Arrival at GondokoroVIII. Official AnnexationIX. New EnemiesX. Destruction of the Shir DetachmentXI. Spirit of DisaffectionXII. Vessels Return to KhartoumXIII. Moral Results of the HuntXIV. The Advance SouthXV. The Advance to LoboreXVI. Arrival at PatikoXVII. The March to UnyoroXVIII. March to MasindiXIX. Restoration of the Liberated SlavesXX. Establish Commerce...
ARIZONA NIGHTSARIZONA NIGHTSby STEWART EDWARD WHITE1- Page 2-ARIZONA NIGHTSCHAPTER ONE THE OLEVIRGINIAThe ring around the sun had thickened all day long, and the turquoiseblue of the Arizona sky had filmed. Storms in the dry countries areinfrequent, but heavy; and this surely meant storm.We had ridden since sun-up over broad mesas, down and out of deepcanons, along the base of the mountain in the wildest parts of the territory....