,,the ,,world',s ,,best ,,books ,a ,,key ,,to ,,the ,,treasures ,,of ,,literature ,,by ,,frank ,,parsons ,,third ,,edition ,,revised ,,and ,,enlarged ,,boston ,,little1 ,,brown1 ,,and ,,company #ahic ,copyright1 #ahhi1 #ahia1 #ahic1 ,,by ,,frank ,,parsons4 ,,university ,,press3 ,,john ,,wilson ,,and ,,son1 ,,cambridge1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,third ,,edition4 ,at the request of the publishers the following statement is made as a substitute for the former indefinite arrangement in respect to authorship4 ,the plan and composition of the book were mine2 the work of my colleagues1 ,f4 ,e4 ,crawford and ,h4 ,t4 ,richardson1 consisting of criticism1 verifications1 and assistance in gathering materials for the appendix1--services of great value to me1 and of which ,i wish to express my high appreciation4 ,a few additions have been made in this edition1 and the book has been carefully revised throughout4 ,,frank ,,parsons4 ,,boston1 ,january1 #ahic4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,edition4 ,the public and the critics have met us with a welcome far more cordial than we had dared to expect1 though not more so1 of course1 than we hoped for4 ,when did a thing such as that ever happen8 ,we are glad to discover that in forming our expectations we underrated their discernment1 or our own merit 7probably not the latter1 judging by the remarks of two or three of our critics71 and in real earnest we are grateful for their high appreciation of our work4 ,some few--a very few--have found fault with us1 and our thanks are due to them also2 for honest1 kindly1 intelligent criticism is one of the most powerful means of growth4 ,the fact that this little volume is not intended as an infallible guide1 or as anything more than a stimulus to seek the best1 and a suggestion of the method of guiding one's self and one's children1 has been missed by some1 though it appears distinctly in various places through the book1 and is involved in what we deem the most useful part of our work1--the remarks following ,table ,v41 wherein we endeavor to show the student how he may learn to estimate the value of a book for himself4 ,so far were we from wishing to decide matters which manifestly vary with the wants and capacities of each individual1 that we emphatically advised the reader not to accept the opinions of any one as final1 but to form his own judgments4 ,some have failed to perceive that1 in ranking the books1 we have considered1 not merely their intrinsic merit1 but also the needs and abilities of the average ,english reader1 making a compound test by which to judge1 not the relative greatness of the books simply1 but their relative claims on the attention of the ordinary reader4 ,this also was set forth1 as we thought1 quite distinctly1 and was in fact understood by nearly every one1 but not by all1 for some have objected to the order of the books in ,table ,i41 affirming1 for example1 that the ,federalist and ,bryce's ,american ,commonwealth are far superior to ,our ,country1 and should be placed above it4 ,that would be true if intrinsic greatness alone decided the matter4 ,but the average reader with his needs and abilities is a factor in the problem1 as well as the book with its subject and style4 ,now1 the ordinary reader's time and his mental power are both limited4 ,our ,country is briefer and simpler than the others1 and its contents are of vital interest to every ,american1 of even more vital interest than the discussions of the ,federalist or ,bryce2 and so1 although as a work of art it is inferior to these1 it must rank above them in this book1 because of its superior claims upon the attention of the average reader4 ,in a similar manner other questions of precedence are determined on the principles contained in the remarks on ,table ,v4 ,it is not pretended1 however1 that the arrangement is perfect even in respect to our own tests1 especially among the authors on the second shelf of ,table ,i4 ,the difficulties of making a true list may be illustrated by the fact that one critic of much ability affirms that ,marietta ,holley ought to head the tenth column1 as the best humorist of all time2 another says it is absurd to place her above the ,roman wits ,juvenal and ,lucian2 and a third declares with equal positiveness that she ought not to appear in the list at all4 ,we differ from them all1 and think the high place we have given ,miss ,holley is very near the truth4 ,communications have been received from ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes1 ,marietta ,holley1 ,senator ,hoar1 ,phillips ,brooks1 ,bishop ,j4 ,h4 ,vincent1 ,brooke ,herford1 ,francis ,parkman1 ex-,gov4 ,john ,d4 ,long1 ,gen4 ,benj4 ,f4 ,butler1 ,t4 ,w4 ,higginson1 and many other eminent persons1 bringing to us a number of suggestions1 most of which we have adopted to the great advantage of our book1 as we hope and believe4 ,we have added a number of valuable works to the lists of the first edition1 and have written a new chapter on the guidance of children1 the means of training them to good habits of reading1 and the books best adapted to boys and girls of various ages4 ,if any one1 on noting some of the changes that have been made in this edition1 feels inclined to raise the cry of inconsistency1 we ask him to remember the declaration of ,wendell ,phillips1 that ,inconsistency is ,progress4 ,there is room for still further inconsistency1 we do not doubt2 and criticism or suggestion will be gladly received4 ,,frank ,,parsons4 ,,boston1 ,january1 #ahia4 ,,contents4 ,,introductory ,,remarks4 ,purposes of the book briefly stated ,system in reading ,purposes of reading ,its influence on health and mind on character on beauty and accomplishments ,its pleasures ,quantity and quality of reading ,selection of books ,order of reading ,method of reading ,importance of owning the books you read ,effect of bad books useless books good books ,,abbreviations ,,used ,,in ,,this ,,work ,,note ,,of ,,explanation ,,the ,,first ,,two ,,shelves ,,of ,,the ,,world',s ,,library 7,,table47 ,,remarks ,,on ,,table ,i4 ,religion and ,morals ,poetry and the ,drama ,science ,biography ,history ,philosophy ,essays ,fiction ,oratory ,wit and ,humor ,fables and ,fairy ,tales ,travel ,guides ,miscellaneous ,,glimpses ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,fields ,,of ,,thought1 ,arranged for the purpose of securing breadth of mind 7,table ,,ii47 ,a ,,series ,,of ,,brief ,,but ,,very ,,choice ,,selections from general literature1 constituting a year's course for the formation of a true literary taste 7,table ,,iii47 ,groups ,i4 and ,,ii41 ,poetry ,group ,,iii41 ,prose ,group ,,iv41 ,wit and ,humor ,a ,,short ,,course ,,supplementary ,,to ,,the ,,last 7,table ,,iv47 ,,what ,,to ,,give ,,the ,,children ,,special ,,studies ,,the ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,world',s ,,great ,,authors in time and space1 with a parallel column of contemporaneous noted historic events 7,table ,v47 ,,remarks ,,on ,,table ,v4 ,definitions and divisions ,eight tests for the choice of books ,intrinsic merit ,periods of ,english ,literature ,the ,pre-,shakspearian age ,the ,shakspearian age ,the ,post-,shakspearian age ,time of ,milton ,dryden ,pope ,the novelists1 historians1 and scientists ,the greatest names of other literatures3-- ,greece1 ,rome1 ,italy1 ,france1 ,spain1 ,germany1 ,persia1 ,portugal1 ,denmark1 ,russia ,the fountains of national literatures3-- ,homer1 ,nibelungenlied1 ,cid1 ,chansons1 ,morte ,d',arthur1 etc4 ,,appendix ,i4 ,,the ,,best ,,thoughts ,,of ,,great ,,men ,,about ,,books ,,and ,,reading ,,appendix ,,ii4 ,,books ,,used ,,in ,,the ,,boston ,,public ,,schools ,,as ,,supplementary ,,reading1 ,,text-,,books1 etc4 ,,the ,,world',s ,,best ,,books4 ,,introductory ,,remarks4 ,this book is the result of much reading and thought1 teaching1 lecturing1 and conversation1 in the direction of its subject-matter4 ,its purpose is fivefold3 ,first1 to call attention to the importance of reading the best literature to the exclusion of all that is inferior1 by setting forth the benefits that may be derived from the former and the injuries that are sure to result from the latter4 ,second1 to select the best things from all the literatures of the world2 to make a survey of the whole field of literature and locate the mines most worthy of our effort1 where with the smallest amount of digging we may find the richest ore2 and to do this with far greater precision1 definiteness1 and detail than it has ever been done before4 ,third1 to place the great names of the world's literature in their proper relations of time and space to each other and to the great events of history1--accompanying the picture with a few remarks about the several periods of ,english ,literature and the ,golden ,age of literature in each of the great nations4 ,fourth1 to discuss briefly the best methods of reading1 and the importance of system1 quantity1 quality1 due proportion1 and thoroughness in reading1 and of the ownership of books and the order in which they should be read4 ,fifth1 to gather into a shining group1 like a constellation of stars1 the splendid thoughts of the greatest men upon these subjects4 ,the book is meant to be a practical handbook of universal literature for the use of students1 business men1 teachers1 and any other persons who direct the reading of others1 and for the guidance of scholars in departments other than their own4 #a4 ,system in reading is of as much importance as it is in the business of a bank or any other mercantile pursuit4 #b4 ,the ,purposes of ,reading should ever be kept in mind4 ,they are the purposes of life2 namely1 health1 mental power1 character1 beauty1 accomplishments1 pleasure1 and the knowledge which will be of use in relation to our business1 domestic life1 and citizenship4 ,literature can aid the health1 indirectly1 by imparting a knowledge of the means of its attainment and preservation 7as in works on physiology and hygiene72 and directly1 by supplying that exercise of the mind which is essential to the balance of the functions necessary to perfect health4 ,a study of literature will develop the mind--the perception1 memory1 reason 7especially true of science and philosophy71 and the imagination 7especially the study of poetry and science7--directly1 by exercising those all-important faculties2 and indirectly1 by yielding a knowledge of the conditions of their existence and strength4 ,on the other hand1 the mind may be greatly injured1 if not wholly destroyed1 by pouring into it a flood of filth and nonsense2 or by a torrent of even the best in literature1 so rapid and long continued that it cannot be properly absorbed and digested4 ,the evil effects of cramming the mind are only too often seen about us4 ,literature can build or destroy the character both directly and indirectly4 ,poetry1 religion1 philosophy1 fiction1 biography1 history1--indeed1 all sorts of writings in some degree make us more sympathetic1 loving1 tender1 noble1 generous1 kind1 and just1 or the opposite1 by the simple power of exercise1 if for no other reason4 ,if we freely exercise the muscles of the arm1 we shall have more vigor there4 ,if we continually love1 our power and tendency to love will grow4 ,the poet's passion1 passing the gates of the eye and ear into our souls1 rouses our sympathies to kindred states of feeling4 ,we love when he loves1 and weep when he weeps2 and all the while he is moulding our characters1 taking from or adding to the very substance of our souls4 ,brave words change the coward to a hero2 a coward's cry chills the bravest heart4 ,a boy who reads of crime and bravery sadly mixed by some foul traitor to the race1 soon thinks that to be brave and grand he must be coarse and have the blood of villainy and rashness pulsing from his misled heart4 ,not all the books that picture vice are harmful4 ,if they show it in its truth1 they drive us from it by its very loathsomeness2 but if they gild it and plume it with pleasure and power1 beware4 ,literature1 too1 can give us a knowledge of the means for the development of character1 and the inspiration to make the best use of these means4 ,books of morals1 religion1 biography1 science1 poetry1 and fiction especially hold these treasures4 ,in the attainment and enrichment of beauty1 literature has a work to do4 ,the choicest beauty is the loveliness of soul that lights the eye and prints its virtue in the face2 and as our reading moulds the mind and heart to beauty1 their servants at the doorways ever bend to their instructions and put on the livery of their lords4 ,even that beauty which is of the rounded form1 the soft cheek's blooming tinge1 the rosy mouth1 and pearly lip1 owes its debt to health2 and that1 as has been seen1 may profit much by literature4 ,and beyond all this we learn the means of great improvement in our comeliness1--how crooked may be changed to straight1 and hollow cheeks to oval2 frowns to smiles1 and lean or gross to plump2 ill-fitting1 ill-adapted dress to beautiful attire2 a shambling gait to a well-conducted walk1--and even the stupid stare of ignorance be turned to angel glances of indwelling power and interested comprehension4 ,accomplishments1 too1 find help in written works of genius1 not merely as affording a record of the best methods of acquiring any given art1 but directly as supplying the substance of some of the greatest of all accomplishments1--those of inspiring eloquent conversation1 and of writing clear and beautiful ,english4 ,pleasure manifestly is1 by all these aids to beauty1 health1 and power1 much beholden to the books we read2 but more than this1 the very reading of a worthy book is a delicious joy1 and one that does not drain but fills the fount from which the happiness of others comes4 ,plato1 ,fenelon1 ,gibbon1 and a host of others name the love of books the chiefest charm and glory of their lives4 #c4 ,the ,quantity and ,quality of what we read should have our careful thought4 ,whoever lives on literary husks and intoxicants1 when corn and wheat and milk are just as easily within his reach1 is certainly no wiser than one who treats his physical receptacle in the same way1 and will as surely suffer from ill feeding in diminished vital force4 ,indeed1 he may be glad if he escapes acquiring intellectual dyspepsia or spiritual delirium tremens4 ,even of the best of reading there may be too much as well as not enough4 ,more than we can assimilate is waste of time and energy4 ,besides the regulation of the total quantity we read1 with reference to our powers of digestion1 we must watch the relative amounts of all the various kinds of literary sustenance we take4 ,a due proportion ought to be maintained by careful mixture of religious1 scientific1 poetic1 philosophic1 humorous1 and other reading4 ,a man who exercises but one small muscle all his days would violate the laws of health and power4 ,the greatest mind is that which comes the nearest to attainment of a present perfect picture in the mind of all the universe1 past1 present1 and to come4 ,the greatest character is that which gets the greatest happiness for self through fullest and most powerful activities for others1 and requires for its own work1 existence1 and delight1 the least subtraction from the world's resources of enjoyment4 ,the greatest man is he who combines in due proportion and completest harmony the fullest physical1 emotional1 and intellectual life4 #d4 ,the ,selection of books is of the utmost importance1 in view of their influence upon character4 ,all the reasons for care that apply to the choice of friends among the living1 have equal force in reference to the dead4 ,the same tests avail in one case as in the other1--reputation and personal observation of the words and deeds of those we think to make companions4 ,we may at will and at slight cost have all the great and noble for our intimate friends and daily guests1 who will come when we call1 answer the questions we put1 and go when we wish4 ,and better yet1 however long we talk to them1 no other friends will be kept waiting in the anterooms1 longing to take our place4 ,our most engrossing friendship1 though we keep them always with us1 will produce no interference with their equal friendship with all the world besides4 ,we may associate with angels and become angelic1 or with demons and become satanic4 ,besides the difference in the nature of books1 the very number of them commands a choice4 ,in one library there are three million volumes2 in the ,boston ,public ,library about three hundred thousand1 or five hundred thousand including pamphlets4 ,in your short life you can read but a trifling part of the world's literature4 ,suppose you are fortunate enough to be able to read one book a week1 in thirty years you would read but fifteen hundred books4 ,use1 then1 every care to get the best4 ,if it were in your equal choice to go to one of two reputed entertainments and but one1 it surely would be worth your while to know their character before selecting4 ,one might be ,beethoven's loveliest symphony1 the other but a minstrel show4 #e4 ,the ,order of our ,reading must be carefully attended to4 ,the very best books are not always to be first read4 ,if the reader is young or of little culture1 the simplicity of the writing must be taken into account1 for it is of no use to read a book that cannot be understood4 ,one of mature and cultivated mind who begins a course of systematic reading may follow the order of absolute value2 but a child must be supplied with easy books in each department1 and1 as his powers develop1 with works of increasing difficulty1 until he is able to grasp the most complex and abstruse4 ,if you take up a book that is recommended to you as one of the world's best1 and find it uninteresting1 be sure the trouble is in you4 ,do not reject it utterly1 do not tell people you do not like it2 wait a few months or years1 then try it again1 and it may become to you one of the most precious of books4 #f4 ,the ,method of your reading is an important factor in determining its value to you4 ,it is in proportion to your conquest of what is worthy in literature that you gain4 ,if you pour it into your mind so fast that each succeeding wave forces the former out before its form and color have been fixed1 you are not better off1 but rather worse1 because the process washes out the power of memory4 ,memory depends on health1 attention1 repetition1 reflection1 association of ideas1 and practice4 ,some books should be very carefully read1 looking to both thought and form2 the best passages should be marked and marginal notes made2 reflection should digest the best ideas1 until they become a part of the tissue of your own thought2 and the most beautiful and striking expressions should be verbally committed4 ,if you saw a diamond in the sand1 surely you would fix it where it might adorn your person4 ,if you find a sparkling jewel in your reading1 fix it in your heart and let it beautify your conversation4 ,shakspeare1 ,milton1 ,homer1 ,bacon1 ,a,eschylus1 and ,emerson1 and nearly all the selections in ,table ,,iii4 should be read in this way4 ,other books have value principally by reason of the line of thought or argument of which the whole book is an expression2 such for the most part are books of history1 science1 and philosophy4 ,while reading them marks or notes should be made2 so that when the book is finished1 the steps of thought may several times be rapidly retraced1 until the force and meaning of the book becomes your own forever4 ,still other books may be simply glanced through1 it being sufficient for the purposes of the general reader to have an idea of the nature of their contents1 so that he may know what he can find in them if he has need4 ,such books to us are the ,koran1 the works of the lesser essayists1 orators1 and philosophers4 ,ruskin says that no book should be read fast2 but it would be as sensible to say that we should never walk or ride fast over a comparatively uninteresting country4 ,adaptation of method to the work in hand is the true rule4 ,we should not read ,robert ,elsmere as slowly and carefully as ,shakspeare4 ,as the importance of the book diminishes1 the speed of our journey through it ought to increase4 ,otherwise we give an inferior book equal attention with its superiors4 #g4 ,own the ,books you ,read1 if possible1 so that you may mark them and often refer to them4 ,if you are able1 buy the best editions1 with the fullest notes and finest binding1--the more beautiful1 the better4 ,a lovely frame adds beauty to the picture4 ,if you cannot buy the best-dressed books1 get those of modest form and good large type4 ,if pennies must be counted1 get the catalogues of all the cheap libraries that are multiplying so rapidly of late1--the ,elzevir1 ,bohn1 ,morley1 ,camelot1 ,national1 ,cassel1 ,irving1 ,chandos1 ,people's ,library1 ,world's ,library1 etc41--and own the books you learn to love4 ,use the public libraries for reference1 but do not rely on them for the standard literature you read4 ,it is better far to have an eight cent ,bunyan1 twelve cent ,bacon1 or seven cent ,hamlet within your reach from day to day1 and marked to suit yourself1 than to read such books from the library and have to take them back4 ,that is giving up the rich companionship of new-found friends as soon as gained4 ,the difference between talking with a sage or poet for a few brief moments once in your lifetime1 and having him daily with you as your friend and teacher is the difference between the vales and summits of this life4 ,the immense importance of possessing the best books for your own cannot be too strongly impressed upon you1 nor the value of clothing your noble friends as richly as you can4 ,if they come to you with outward beauty1 they will claim more easily their proper share of your attention and regard4 ,get an ,elzevir ,shakspeare if you can afford no other1 but purchase the splendid edition by ,richard ,grant ,white1 if you can4 ,even if you have to save on drink and smoke and pie-crust for the purpose1 you never will regret the barter4 #h4 ,bad ,books corrupt us as bad people do4 ,whenever they are made companions1 insensibly we learn to think and feel and talk and act as they do in degree proportioned to the closeness that we hug them to our hearts4 ,books may be bad1 not only by imparting evil thoughts1 awakening lust and gilding vice1 but by developing a false philosophy1 ignoble views of life1 or errors in whatever parts of science or religion they may touch4 ,avoid foul books as you would shun foul men1 for fear you may be like them2 but seek the errors out and conquer them4 ,spend little time in following a teacher you have tested and found false1 but do the testing for yourselves1 and take no other person's judgment as to what is truth or error4 ,truth is always growing2 you may be the first to catch the morning light4 ,the friend who warns you of some book's untruth may be himself in error1 led by training1 custom1 or tradition1 or unclearly seeing in the darkness of his prejudice4 #i4 ,useless ,books4 ,many books that are not positively bad are yet mere waste of time4 ,a wise man will not spend the capital of his life1 or part with the wealth of his energies except he gets a fair equivalent4 ,he will demand the highest market price for his time1 and will not give his hours and moments--precious pieces of his life--for trash1 when he can buy with them the richest treasures of three thousand years of thought4 ,you have not time to drink the whole of human life from out the many colored bottles of our literature2 will you take the rich cream1 or cast that aside for the skimmed milk below1 or turn it all out on the pathway and swallow the dirt and the dregs in the bottom8 #aj4 ,good ,books4--,a ,short ,sermon4--,if you are a scholar1 professor or lawyer1 doctor or clergyman1 do not stay locked in the narrow prison of your own department1 but go out into the world of thought and breathe the air that comes from all the quarters of the globe4 ,read other books than those that deal with your profession1--poetry1 philosophy1 and travel4 ,get out of the valleys up on to the ridges1 where you can see what relation your home bears to the rest of the world4 ,go stand in the clamor of tongues1 that you may learn that the truth is broader than any man's conception of it and become tolerant4 ,look at the standards that other men use1 and correct your own by them4 ,learn what other thinkers and workers are doing1 that you may appreciate them and aid them4 ,learn the ,past1 that you may know the ,future4 ,do not look out upon the world through one small window2 open all the doorways of your soul1 let all genius and beauty come in1 that your life may be bright with their glory4 ,if you are a busy merchant1 artisan1 or laborer1 you too can give a little time each day to books that are the best4 ,if ,plato1 ,homer1 ,shakspeare1 ,tennyson1 or ,milton came to town to-day1 you would not let the busiest hour prevent your catching sight of him2 you would stand a half day on the street in the sun or the snow to catch but a glimpse of the famous form2 but how much better to receive his spirit in the heart than only get his image on the eye6 ,his choicest thought is yours for the asking4 ,if you are a thoughtless boy or silly girl1 trying the arts that win the matrimonial prize1 remember that there are no wings that fly so high as those of sense and thought and inward beauty4 ,remember the old song that ends1-- ,beauty vanish1 wealth depart1 ,wit has won the lady's heart4 ,even as a preparation for a noble and successful courtship1 the best literature is an absolute necessity4 ,perhaps you cannot travel3 ,humboldt1 ,cook1 and ,darwin1 ,livingstone1 and ,stanley will tell you more than you could see if you should go where they have travelled4 ,perhaps you cannot have the finest teachers in the studies you pursue3 what a splendid education one could get if he could learn philosophy with ,plato1 ,kant1 and ,spencer2 astronomy with ,galileo1 ,herschel1 and ,laplace2 mathematics with ,newton or ,leibniz2 natural history with ,cuvier or ,agassiz2 botany with ,gray2 geology with ,lyell or ,dawson2 history with ,bancroft2 and poetry with ,shakspeare1 ,milton1 ,dante1 and ,homer6 ,well1 those very teachers at their best are yours if you will read their books4 ,each life is a mixture of white and black1 no one is perfect2 but every worthy passage and ennobling thought you read adds to the white and crowds out the black2 and of what enormous import a few brief moments daily spent with noble books may be1 appears when we remember that each act brings after it an infinite series of consequences4 ,it is an awe-inspiring truth to me that with the color of my thought ,i tinge the stream of life to its remotest hour2 that some poor brother far out on the ocean of the future1 struggling to breast the billows of temptation1 may by my hand be pulled beneath the waves1 ruined by the influences ,i put in action now2 that1 standing here1 ,i make the depths of all eternities to follow tremble to the music of my life3 as ,tennyson has put it so beautifully in his ,bugle ,song1-- ,blow1 let us hear the purple glens replying3 ,blow1 bugle2 answer1 echoes1 dying1 dying1 dying4 ,o love1 they die in yon rich sky1 ,they faint on hill or field or river3 ,our echoes roll from soul to soul1 ,and grow for ever and for ever4 ,how careful we should be of every moment if we had imaginative power enough to fully realize the meaning of the truth that slightly differing actions now may build results at last as wide apart as poles of opposite eternities6 ,even idleness1 the negative of goodness1 would have no welcome at our door4 ,some persons dream away two thirds of life1 and deem quiescence joy2 but that is certainly a sad mistake4 ,the nearer to complete inaction we attain1 the nearer we are clay and stone2 the more activity we gain1 that does not draw from future power1 the higher up the cliffs of life we climb1 and nearer to celestial life that never sleeps4 ,let no hour go idly by that can be rendered rich and happy with a glorious bit of ,shakspeare1 ,dante1 or ,carlyle4 ,let us never be deluded with the praise of peace1 excepting that of heart and conscience clear of all remorse4 ,it is ambition that has climbed the heights1 and will through all the future4 ,give me not the dead and hopeless calm of indolent contentment1 but far rather the storm and the battle of life1 with the star of my hopes above me4 ,let me sail the central flow of the stream1 and travel the tides at the river's heart4 ,i do not wish to stay in any shady nook of quiet water1 where the river's rushing current never comes1 and straws and bubbles lie at rest or slowly eddying round and round at anchor in their mimic harbor4 ,how often are we all like these imprisoned straws1 revolving listlessly within the narrow circle of the daily duties of our lives1 gaining no new truth1 nor deeper love or power or tenderness or joy1 while all the world around is sweeping to the sea6 ,how often do we let the days and moments1 with their wealth of life1 fly past us with their treasure6 ,youth lies in her loveliness1 dreaming in her drifting boat1 and wakes to find her necklace has in some way come unfast1 and from the loosened ribbon trailing o'er the rail the lustrous pearls have one by one been slipping far beyond her reach in those deep waters over which her slumbers passed4 ,do not let the pearls be lost4 ,do not let the moments pass you till they yield their wealth and add their beauty to your lives4 #aa4 ,abbreviations4-- ,r4 means1 ,read carefully4 ,d4 means1 ,digest the best passages2 make the thought and feeling your own4 ,c4 means1 ,commit passages in which valuable thought or feeling is exquisitely expressed4 ,g4 means1 ,grasp the idea of the whole book2 that is1 the train of the author's thought1 his conclusions1 and the reasons for them4 ,s4 means1 ,swallow2 that is1 read as fast as you choose1 it not being worth while to do more than get a general impression of the book4 ,t4 means1 ,taste2 that is1 skip here and there1 just to get an idea of the book1 and see if you wish to read more4 e4 means easy2 that is1 of such character as to be within the easy comprehension of one having no more than a grammar-school education or its equivalent2 and it applies to all books that can be understood without either close attention or more than an ordinary ,new ,england grammar-school training4 m4 means medium2 that is1 of such character as to require the close attention called study1 or a high-school education1 or both2 and it applies to books the degree of whose difficulty places them above the class e4 and below the class d4 d4 means difficult2 that is1 beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person having only a ,new ,england high-school education or its equivalent1 even with close study1 unless the reader already has a fair understanding of the subject of the book4 ,in order to read with advantage books that are marked d41 the mind should be prepared by special reading of simpler books in the same department of thought4 ,,table ,i4 ,,note ,,of ,,explanation4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------ ,transcriber's note3 ,the original format of the table exceeded the width requirements for e-text4 ,therefore the table was reformatted4 ,it is now from top to bottom in the order of importance4 ,the first shelf and second shelf are arranged side by side4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------ ,,table ,i4 contains a list of authors whose books1 on principle and authority1 have the strongest claims on the attention of the average reader of ,english4 ,they are arranged from left to right in the order of importance of the divisions of the subject matter regarded as wholes1 and from above downward in the order of their value in relation to the highest standard in their own department4 ,the numbers have nothing to do with the ranking1 but refer to notes that will be found on the pages following the table4 ,there is also1 at the head of the notes relating to each column of the table1 a special note on the subject matter of that column4 ,the upper part of the table represents the first shelf of the world's library1 and contains the books having the very strongest claims upon the attention of all1--books with which every one should endeavor to gain an acquaintance1 at least to the extent indicated in the notes4 ,the lower part of the table represents the second shelf of the world's library1 and contains books which in addition to those of the first shelf should enter into a liberal education4 ,it must be always kept in mind that intrinsic merit alone does not decide the position of a book in this table2 for in order to test the claim of a book upon the attention of a reader we have to consider not only the artistic value of the author's work1 and its subject matter1 but also the needs and abilities of the reader4 ,thus it happens that it is not always the work of the greatest genius which stands highest in the list4 ,moreover1 no claim is made that the ranking is perfect1 especially on the second shelf4 ,the table is an example of the application of the principles set forth in the remarks following ,table ,v41 to the case of the general reader4 ,for every one above or below the average reader the lists would have to be changed1 and even the average list has no quality of the absolute4 ,it is but a suggestion1--a suggestion1 however1 in which we have a good deal of confidence1 one that is based on a very wide induction1--and we have no hesitation in affirming that the upper shelf represents the best literature the world affords4 ,in addition to ,table ,i41 there will be found in ,tables ,,iii4 and ,,iv41 and in the remarks upon the ,guidance of ,children following ,table ,,iv41 a number of pieces of literary work of the very highest merit and value4 ,some of the most important are ,lowell's ,vision of ,sir ,launfal1 one of the very finest ,american poems2 ,browning's ,ivan ,ivanovitch2 ,guyot's ,earth and ,man2 ,mary ,treat's ,home ,book of ,nature2 ,burroughs' ,pepacton1 ,signs and ,seasons1 ,wake ,robin1 etc42 ,buckley's ,fairy ,land of ,science1 etc42 ,ragozin's ,chaldea2 ,fenelon's ,lives of the ,philosophers2 ,bolton's ,poor ,boys who became ,famous2 ,rives' ,story of ,arnon2 ,drake's ,culprit ,fay2 ,dr4 ,brown's ,rab and his ,friends2 ,mary ,mapes ,dodge's ,hans ,brinker2 ,andrews' ,ten ,boys on the ,road2 ,arnold's ,sweetness and ,light2 ,higginson's ,vacations for ,saints2 and ,general ,booth's ,in ,darkest ,england1 and the ,way ,out1 a book of great power1 which sets forth the most practical method yet proposed for the immediate relief of society from the burdens of pauperism and vice4 ,,table ,i4--,,the ,,world',s ,,best ,,books4 ,see explanation on the preceding pages4 7first shelf7 7second shelf7 #a4 ,religion ,morals4 ,bible#a ,milton#aa ,bunyan#b ,keble#ab ,taylor#c ,cicero#ac ,kempis#d ,pascal#ad ,spencer#e ,channing#ae ,m4 ,aurelius#f ,aristotle#af ,plutarch#g ,st4 ,augustine#ag ,seleca#h ,butler#ah ,epictetus#i ,spinoza#ai ,brooks#aj ,drummond#aj #b4 ,poetry the ,drama4 ,shakspeare#bj ,spenser#bg ,homer#ba ,lowell#bh ,dante#bb ,whittier#bi ,goethe#bc ,tennyson#cj ,milton#bd ,scott#cb ,a,eschylus#be ,byron#cc ,fragments#bf ,shelley#cd ,keats#ce ,campbell#cf ,moore#cg ,thomson#ch ,macaulay#ci ,dryden#dj ,collins#da ,ingelow#db ,bryant#dc ,longfellow#dd ,herbert#de ,goldsmith#df ,coleridge#dg ,wordsworth#dh ,pope#di ,southey#ej ,walton#ea ,browning#eb ,young#ec ,jonson#ed ,beaumont ,f4#ee ,marlowe#ef ,sheridan#eg ,carleton#eh ,virgil#fj ,horace#fa ,lucretius#fb ,ovid#fc ,sophocles#fd ,euripides#fe ,aristophanes#ff ,pindar#fg ,hesiod#fh ,heine#fi ,schiller#gj ,corneille#ga ,racine#ga ,moliere#ga ,musset#gd ,calderon#ge ,petrarch#gf ,ariosto#gg ,tasso#gh ,camoens#gi ,omar#hj ,firdusi#ha ,hafiz#ha ,saadi#ha ,arnold#hb ,pushkin#hc ,lermontoff#hd #c4 ,science4 ,physiology and ,hygiene#he ,de ,tocqueville#ii ,our ,country#hf ,von ,holst#ajj ,federalist#hh ,smith#aja ,bryce#hi ,malthus#ajb ,montesquieu#ij ,carey#ajc ,bagehot#ij ,cairnes#ajd ,mill#ia ,freeman#aje ,bain#ib ,jevons#ajf ,spencer#ic ,mulford#ajg ,darwin#id ,hobbes#ajh ,herschel#ie ,machiavelli#aji ,proctor#ie ,max ,mueller#aaj ,lyell#if ,trench#aaa ,lubbock#if ,taylor#aab ,dawson#if ,white#aac ,wood#ig ,cuvier#aad ,whewell#ih ,cook#aae ,tyndall#aaf ,airy#aag ,faraday#aah ,helmholtz#aai ,huxley#abj ,gray#aba ,agassiz#abb ,silliman#abc #d4 ,biography4 ,plutarch#abd ,g4 ,smith#aci ,phillips#abe ,bourrienne#adj ,boswell#abf ,johnson#ada ,lockhart#abg ,walton#adb ,marshall#abh ,stanley#adc ,franklin#abh ,irving#add ,nicolay ,h4#abi ,southey#ade ,grant#abi ,stanhope#adf ,carlyle#acj ,moore#adg ,renan#acj ,jameson#adh ,farrar#aca ,baring-,gould#adi ,emerson#acb ,field#aej #ajj ,greatest ,men#acc ,hamilton#aea ,parton#acd ,darwin#aea ,hale#ace ,alcott#aea ,drake#acf ,talleyrand#aea ,fox#acg ,macaulay#aea ,grimm#ach ,bashkirtseff#aea ,guerin#aea ,jefferson#aea ,american ,statesmen#aea ,english ,men of ,letters#aea #e4 ,history4 ,green#aeb ,creasy #aee;a ,bancroft#aec ,lecky#aef ,guizot#aed ,clarke#aeg ,buckle#aed ,moffat#aeh ,parkman#aee ,draper#aei ,freeman#aee ,hallam#afj ,fiske#aee ,may#afa ,fyffe#aee ,hume#afb ,macaulay#afc ,froude#afd ,gibbon#afe ,grote#aff ,palfrey#afg ,prescott#afh ,motley#afi ,frothingham #afi;a ,wilkinson#agj ,niebuhr#aga ,menzel#agb ,milman#agc ,ranke#agd ,sismondi#age ,michelet#agf ,carlyle#agg ,thierry#agh ,tacitus#agi ,livy#ahj ,sallust#aha ,herodotus#ahb ,xenophon#ahc ,thucydides#ahd ,josephus#ahe ,mackenzie#ahe ,rawlinson#ahe #f4 ,philosophy4 ,spencer#ahf ,mill#aib ,plato#ahg ,mansel#aic ,berkeley#ahh ,buechner#aid ,kant#ahi ,edwards#aie ,locke ,hobbes#aij ,bentham#aif ,comte#aia ,maurice#aig ,lewes ,hume#aih or ,ueberweg ,hamilton#aii or ,schwegler ,aristotle#bjj or ,schlegel ,descartes#bja on the ,cousin#bja ,history of ,hegel ,schelling#bjb ,philosophy4 ,fichte#bjc ,erasmus#bjd ,fiske#bje ,hickok#bjf ,mc,cosh#bjg ,spinoza#bjh #g4 ,essays4 ,emerson#bji ,macaulay ,bacon#baj ,leigh ,hunt ,montaigne#baa ,arnold ,ruskin#bab ,buckle ,carlyle#bab ,hume ,addison#bab ,froude ,symonds ,steele ,browne ,johnson ,de ,quincey ,foster ,hazlitt ,lessing ,sparks ,disraeli ,whipple ,lamb ,schiller ,coleridge #h4 ,fiction4 ,scott#bac ,rousseau#bce ,eliot#bad ,saintine#bce ,dickens#bae ,coffin#bcf ,hawthorne#baf ,reade#bcf ,goldsmith#bag ,warren#bcf ,bulwer#bah ,landor#bcg ,mac,donald#bai ,turgenieff#bcg ,thackeray#bbj ,sue#bcg ,kingsley#bba ,manzoni#bcg ,wallace#bbb ,cottin#bch ,tourgee#bbc ,besant#bch ,hugo#bbd ,stevenson#bch ,dumas#bbd ,ward#bci ,defoe#bbe ,deland#bci ,hughes#bbe ,sewell#bci ,stowe#bbf ,bret ,harte#bci ,cooper#bbf ,green#bdj ,curtis#bbg ,mulock#bdj ,warner#bbg ,disraeli#bdj ,aldrich#bbh ,howells#bdj ,hearn#bbh ,tolstoi#bdj ,ebers#bbi ,sand#bda ,sienkiewicz#bbi ,black#bda ,austen#bcj ,blackmore#bda ,bronte#bcj ,schreiner#bda ,alcott#bca ,bremer#bdb ,burnett#bca ,trollope#bdb ,cable#bcb ,winthrop#bdb ,craddock#bcb ,richardson#bdc ,whitney#bcc ,smollett#bdc ,jewett#bcc ,boccaccio#bdc ,fielding#bcd ,le ,sage#bcd ,balzac#bcd #i4 ,oratory4 ,demosthenes ,sumner ,burke ,henry ,fox ,otis ,pitt ,jay ,webster ,madison ,clay ,jefferson ,phillips ,beecher ,lincoln ,brooks ,everett ,choate ,bright ,garfield ,ingersoll ,erskine ,sheridan ,gladstone ,cicero ,quintilian ,bossuet ,saint ,chrysostom #aj4 ,wit ,humor4 ,lowell#bdd ,ingersoll#bdh ,holmes#bde ,holley#bdi ,dickens#bdf ,curtis#bej ,cervantes#bdg ,depew#bea ,twain#beb ,warner#bec ,edwards#bed ,hale#bee ,nasby#bef ,ward#beg ,jerrold#beh ,voltaire#bei ,byron#bei ,butler#bfj ,swift#bfj ,rabelais#bfa ,sterne#bfa ,juvenal#bfb ,lucian#bfb #aa4 ,fables ,fairy ,tales4 ,andersen#bfc ,bulfinch#bfh ,la ,fontaine#bfd ,saxe#bfi ,a,esop#bfe ,florian#bgj ,grimm#bff ,kipling#bgj ,goethe#bfg ,babrius#bga ,hawthorne#bfg ,hauff#bgb ,ovid#bgc ,curtin#bgc ,fiske#bgc #ab4 ,travel4 ,cook#bgd ,marco ,polo#bgg ,humboldt#bge ,kane#bgh ,darwin#bgf ,livingstone#bgi ,stanley#bhj ,du ,chaillu#bha ,niebuhr#bhb ,bruce#bhc ,heber#bhd ,lander#bhe ,waterton#bhf ,mungo ,park#bhg ,ouseley#bhh ,barth#bhi ,boteler#bij ,maundeville#bia ,warburton#bib #ac4 ,guides4 ,foster#bic ,brook#cjc ,pall ,mall#bid ,leypoldt#cjd ,morley#bie ,richardson#cje ,welsh#bif ,harrison#cjf ,taine#big ,ruskin#cjg ,botta#bih ,bright#cjh ,allibone#bii ,dunlop#cji ,bartlett#cjj ,baldwin#cji ,ballou#cja ,adams#cji ,bryant#cjb ,palgrave#cjb ,roget's ,thesaurus ,dictionaries ,encyclopaedias #ad4 ,miscellaneous4 ,smiles' ,self-,help#caj ,sheking#cbd ,irving's ,sketch ,book#caa ,analects of ,confucius#cbe ,bacon's ,new ,atlantis#cab ,mesnevi#cbf ,bellamy#cac ,buddhism#cbg ,arabian ,nights#cad ,mahabharata#cbh ,munchausen#cae ,ramayana#cbi ,beowulf#caf ,vedas#ccj ,anglo-,saxon ,chronicle#cag ,koran#cca ,froissart#cah ,talmud#ccb ,nibelungenlied#cai ,hooker#ccc ,icelandic ,sagas#cbj ,swedenborg#ccc ,elder ,edda#cba ,newton#ccc ,the ,cid#cbb ,kepler#ccc ,morte ,d',arthur#cbc ,copernicus#ccc ,laplace#ccc ,,remarks ,,on ,,table ,i4 ,,religion ,,and ,,morals4 ,religion and ,morals1 though not identical1 are so closely related that they are grouped together4 ,the books in ,column #a by no means exhaust these subjects1 for they run like threads of gold through the whole warp and woof of poetry4 ,philosophy1 fiction1 and fable1 biography1 history1 and essays1 oratory and humor1 seem rather satellites that attend upon moral feelings than independent orbs1 and even science is not dumb upon these all-absorbing topics4 ,if we are to be as broad-minded in our religious views as we seek to be in other matters1 we must become somewhat acquainted with the worship of races other than our own4 ,this may be done through ,homer1 ,hesiod1 ,ovid1 ,confucius1 ,buddha1 the ,vedas1 ,koran1 ,talmud1 ,edda1 ,sagas1 ,beowulf1 ,nibelungenlied1 ,shah ,nameh1 etc4 7which are all in some sense ,bibles1 or books that have grown out of the hearts of the people71 and through general works1 such as ,clarke's ,ten ,great ,religions4 #a ,especially ,job1 and ,psalms #ai1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #ajg1 in the ,old ,testament2 and in the ,new the four ,gospels1 the ,acts1 and the ,epistles4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g47 #b ,next to the ,bible1 probably no book is so much read by the ,english peoples as ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress1 a simple1 vivid1 helpful story of ,christian life and its obstacles4 ,no writer has so well portrayed the central truths of ,christianity as this great1 untrained1 imaginative genius1 pouring his life upon the deathless pages of his poetic allegory during the twelve long years in the latter part of the #agth century1 when he was imprisoned1 under the ,restoration1 merely because of his religious principles4 7e4 ,r4 ,d47 #c ,taylor's ,holy ,living and ,dying is a wise1 frank talk about the care of our time1 purity of intention1 practice of the presence of ,god1 temperance1 justice1 modesty1 humility1 envy1 contentedness1 etc4 ,some portions of the first hundred and fifty pages are of the utmost practical value4 ,even ,ruskin admits that ,taylor and ,bunyan are rightly placed among the world's best4 7,eng41 #agth cent4--m4 ,r4 ,d47 #d ,imitation of ,christ is a sister book to the last1 written in the #aeth century by ,thomas a ,kempis1 a ,german monk1 of pure and beautiful life and thought4 ,it is a world-famous book1 having been translated into every civilized language1 and having passed through more than five hundred editions in the present century4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 #e ,spencer's ,data of ,ethics is one of the most important books in literature1 having to the science of ethics much the same relation as ,newton's ,principia to astronomy1 or ,darwin's ,origin of ,species to biology4 ,note especially the parts concerning altruistic selfishness1 the morality of health1 and the development of moral feeling in general4 7,eng41 #aith cent4--d4 ,r4 ,d4 ,g47 ,spencer's ,first ,principles is also necessary to an understanding of the scientific religious thinking of the day4 ,in connection with ,spencer's works1 ,the ,idea of ,god and the ,destiny of ,man1 by ,fiske1 may be read with profit4 ,the author of these books is in large part a follower and expounder of ,spencer4 #f ,the ,meditations of ,m4 ,aurelius is a book that is full of deep1 pure beauty and philosophy2 one of the sweetest influences that can be brought into the life1 and one of ,canon ,farrar's twelve favorites out of all literature4 7,rome1 #b;d cent4--m4 ,r4 ,d47 #g ,plutarch's ,morals supplied much of the cream used by ,taylor in the churning that produced the ,holy ,living and ,dying4 ,emerson says that we owe more to ,plutarch than to all the other ancients4 ,many great authors have been indebted to him1--,rabelais1 ,montaigne1 ,montesquieu1 ,voltaire1 ,rousseau1 ,shakspeare1 ,bacon1 and ,dryden1 among the number4 ,plutarch's ,morals is a treasure-house of wisdom and beauty4 ,there is a very fine edition with an introduction by ,emerson4 7,rome1 #ast cent4--m4 ,r4 ,d47 #h ,seneca's ,morals is a fit companion of the preceding six books1 full of deep thought upon topics of every-day import1 set out in clear and forceful language4 ,the ,camelot ,library contains a very good selection from his ethical treatises and his delightful letters1 which are really moral essays4 7,rome1 #ast cent4--m4 ,r4 ,d47 #i ,epictetus was another grand moralist1 the teacher of ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,next to ,bunyan and ,kempis1 the books of these great stoics1 filled as they are with the serenity of minds that had made themselves independent of circumstance and passion1 have the greatest popularity accorded to any ethical works4 ,epictetus was a ,roman slave in the #ast century ,a4 ,d4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 #aj ,the little book on ,tolerance by ,phillips ,brooks ought to be read by every one4 ,see ,table ,,iii4 side ,no4 #bc4 ,the sermons of ,dr4 ,brooks and of ,robertson are among the most helpful and inspiring reading we know4 ,drummond's ,natural ,law in the ,spiritual ,world is a book of ingenious and often poetic analogies between the physical and spiritual worlds4 ,if read as poetry1 no fault can be found with it2 but the reader must be careful to test thoroughly the laws laid down1 and make sure that there is some weightier proof than mere analogy1 before hanging important conclusions on the statements of this author4 ,a later book by ,drummond entitled ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world is also worthy of attention4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #aa ,areopagitica4 ,a noble plea for liberty of speech and press4 7,eng41 early #agth cent47 #ab ,keble's beautiful ,christian ,year4 #ac ,cicero's ,offices is a very valuable ethical work4 ,it directs a young ,roman how he may attain distinction and the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens4 ,its underlying principles are of eternal value1 and its arrangement is admirable4 ,dr4 ,peabody's translation is the best4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #ad ,pensees4 ,pascal's ,thoughts are known the world over for their depth and beauty4 7,france1 #agth cent47 #ae ,the ,perfect ,life and other works4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #af ,ethics4 7,greece1 #dth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #ag ,confessions and ,the ,city of ,god4 7,rome1 #dth cent47 #ah ,analogy of ,religion4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #ai ,ethics and theologico-political speculation4 7,dutch1 #agth cent47 ,,poetry ,,and ,,the ,,drama4 ,the faculty which most widely distinguishes man from his possible relatives1 the lower animals1 and the varying power of which most clearly marks the place of each individual in the scale of superiority1 is imagination4 ,it lies at the bottom of intellect and character4 ,memory1 reason1 and discovery are built upon it2 and sympathy1 the mother of kindness1 tenderness1 and love1 is itself the child of the imagination4 ,poetry is the married harmony of imagination and beauty4 ,the poet is the man of fancy and the man of music4 ,this is why in all ages mankind instinctively feel that poetry is supreme4 ,of all kinds of literature1 it is the most stimulating1 broadening1 beautifying1 and should have a large place in every life4 ,buy the best poets1 read them carefully1 mark the finest passages1 and recur to them many1 many times4 ,a poem is like a violin3 it must be kept and played upon a long time before it yields to us its sweetest music4 ,the drama1 or representation of human thought and life1 has come into being1 among very many peoples1 as a natural outgrowth of the faculty of mimicry in human nature4 ,among the ,south ,sea ,islanders there is a rude drama1 and in ,china such representations have existed from remote ages4 ,greece first brought the art to high perfection2 and her greatest tragic artists1 ,a,eschylus1 ,sophocles1 and ,euripides1 of the fifth century ,b4 ,c41 are still the highest names in tragedy4 ,the ,greek drama with ,a,eschylus was only a dialogue4 ,sophocles introduced a third actor4 ,it would be a dull play to us that should fill the evening with three players4 ,in another thing the ,grecian play was widely different from ours4 ,the aim of ancient playwrights was to bring to view some thought in giant form and with tremendous emphasis4 ,the whole drama was built around1 moulded1 and adapted to one great idea4 ,the aim of ,english writers is to give an interesting glimpse of actual life in all its multiplicity of interwoven thought and passion1 and let it speak its lessons1 as the great schoolmistress1 ,nature1 gives us hers4 ,the ,french and ,italian drama follow that of ,greece1 but ,spain and ,england follow ,nature4 ,mystery and miracle plays were introduced about #aajj ,a4 ,d41 by ,hilarius1 and were intended to enforce religious truths4 ,god1 ,adam1 the ,angels1 ,satan1 ,eve1 ,noah1 etc41 were the characters4 ,in the beginning of the #aeth century1 morality plays became popular4 ,they personified faith1 hope1 sadness1 magnificence1 conceit1 etc41 though there might seem little need of invention to personify the latter4 ,about the time of ,henry ,,viii41 masques were introduced from ,italy4 ,in them the performers wore extravagant costumes and covered the face1 and lords and ladies played the parts4 ,it was at such a frolic that ,king ,henry met ,anne ,boleyn4 ,the first ,english comedy was written in #aedj1 by ,udall2 and the first tragedy in #aefa1 by ,sackville and ,norton4 ,it was called ,ferrex and ,porrex4 ,from this time the ,english drama rapidly rose to its summit in ,shakspeare's richest years at the close of the same century4 ,at first the theatre was in the inn-yard1--just a platform1 with no scenery but what the imagination of the drinking1 swearing1 jeering crowd of common folk standing in the rain or sunlight round the rough-made stage could paint4 ,on the stage sat a few gentlefolk able to pay a shilling for the privilege4 ,they smoked1 played cards1 insulted the pit1 who gave it to them back1 and threw apples at them into the bargain4 ,such were the beginnings of what in ,shakspeare's hands became the greatest drama that the world has ever seen4 ,the manner of reading all good poetry should be3 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g4 ,if the reader wishes to study poetry critically1 he will find abundant materials in ,lanier's ,science of ,english ,verse and ,dowden's ,mind and ,art of ,shakspeare 7books that once read by a lover of poetry will ever after be cherished as among the choicest of his possessions72 ,lowell's ,fable for ,critics1 ,my ,study ,windows1 and ,among my ,books2 ,arnold's ,essays2 ,hazlitt's ,english ,poets2 ,english ,men of ,letters2 ,poe's ,essay on the ,composition of the ,raven2 ,taine's ,english ,literature2 ,swinburne's ,essays and ,studies2 ,stedman's ,victorian ,poets2 ,shairp's ,studies in ,poetry2 ,warton's ,history of ,english ,poetry2 ,ward's ,history of ,english ,dramatic ,literature2 and ,schlegel's ,dramatic ,literature4 #bj ,shakspeare is the summit of the world's literature4 ,in a higher degree than any other man who has lived on this planet1 he possessed that vivid1 accurate1 exhaustive imagination which creates a second universe in the poet's brain4 ,between our thought of a man and the man himself1 or a complete representation of him with all his thoughts1 feelings1 motives1 and possibilities1 there is a vast gulf4 ,if we had a perfect knowledge of him1 we could tell what he would think and do4 ,to this ultimate knowledge ,shakspeare more nearly approached than any other mortal4 ,he so well understood the machinery of human nature1 that he could create men and women beyond our power to detect an error in his work4 ,this grasp of the most difficult subject of thought1 and the oceanic1 myriad-minded greatness of his plays prove him intellectually the greatest of the human race4 ,it is simple nonsense to suppose that ,bacon wrote the dramas that bear the name of ,shakspeare4 ,they were published during ,shakspeare's life under his name2 and ,greene1 ,jonson1 ,milton1 and other contemporaries speak with unmistakable clearness of the great master4 ,donnelly's ,cryptogram is a palpable sham2 and to the argument that an uneducated man like ,shakspeare could not have written such grand poetry1 while ,bacon1 as we know1 did have a splendid ability1 it is a sufficient answer to remark that ,shakspeare's sonnets1 the authorship of which is not and cannot be questioned1 show far higher poetical powers than anything that can be found in ,bacon's acknowledged works4 ,richard ,grant ,white's edition is the best2 and certainly every one should have the very best of ,shakspeare1 if no other book is ever bought4 7#afth cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #a4 ,with ,shakspeare may be used ,dowden's ,shakspeare ,primer1 and ,the ,mind and ,art of ,shakspeare1 ,abbott's ,shakspearian ,grammar1 ,lanier's ,science of ,english ,verse1 ,hazlitt's ,characters of ,shakspeare's ,plays and ,age of ,elizabeth1 ,lamb's ,tales from ,shakspeare1 ,ward's ,english ,dramatic ,literature1 and ,history of the ,drama1 ,lewes' ,actors and the ,art of ,acting1 ,hutton's ,plays and ,players1 ,leigh ,hunt's ,imagination and ,fancy1 and ,whipple's ,literature of the ,age of ,elizabeth4 #ba ,homer is the world's greatest epic poet4 ,he is the brother of ,shakspeare1 full of sublimity and pathos1 tenderness1 simplicity1 and inexhaustible vigor4 ,pope's translation is still the best on the whole1 but should be read with ,derby's ,iliad and ,worsley's ,odyssey4 ,in some parts these are fuller of power and beauty2 in others1 ,pope is far better4 ,flaxman's designs are a great help in enjoying ,homer1 as are also the writings of ,gladstone1 ,arnold1 and ,symonds4 7,greece1 about #ajjj ,b4 ,c47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #b4 #bb ,ruskin thinks ,dante is the first figure of history1 the only man in whom the moral1 intellectual1 and imaginative faculties met in great power and in perfect balance4 7,italy1 #adth cent47 ,follow the advice given in ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #e1 and1 if possible1 read ,longfellow's translation4 ,see note #bd1 p4 #cj4 ,among writings that will be found useful in connection with ,dante1 are ,rossetti's ,shadow of ,dante1 ,lowell's ,essay in ,among my ,books1 ,symonds' ,introduction to the ,study of ,dante1 ,farrar's ,lecture on ,dante1 ,mrs4 ,ward's ,life of ,dante1 ,botta's ,dante as a ,philosopher1 and ,carlyle's ,heroes and ,hero ,worship4 #bc ,goethe is unquestionably the greatest ,german1 and one of the first six names in literature4 ,his ,faust is a history of the soul4 ,read ,bayard ,taylor's translation1 and the explanation of the drama's meaning given in ,taylor's ,studies in ,german ,literature4 ,faust was the work of half a century1 and completed in #ahah1 when ,goethe was past eighty4 ,as a preparation for ,goethe it is interesting to study the story of ,faust in ,butterworth's ,zigzag ,journeys1 and read ,marlowe's ,drama of ,faustus4 ,the novel ,wilhelm ,meister has been splendidly translated by ,carlyle1 and is full of the richest poetic thought1 crammed with wisdom1 and pervaded by a delicious sweetness forever provoking the mind to fresh activity4 ,as a work of genius1 it is preferred by some critics even to ,hamlet4 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ae4 #bd ,milton stands in his age like an oak among hazel-bushes4 ,the nobility of his character1 the sublimity of his thought1 and the classic beauty of his style give him1 in spite of some coldness and some lack of naturalness in his conception of the characters of ,adam and ,eve1 the second place in ,english literature4 ,his ,lycidas is a beautiful elegy4 ,his ,comus is the best masque in ,english1 and certainly a charming picture of chastity and its triumph over temptation4 ,it should be read along with ,spenser's ,britomart4 ,his ,l' ,allegro and ,il ,penseroso1 on mirth and melancholy1 are among the best lyrics of the world4 ,his ,paradise ,lost is the greatest epic in ,english1 and the greatest that any literature has had since ,dante's ,divine ,comedy4 ,the two books should be read together4 ,milton shows us ,satan in all the pride and pomp and power this world oft throws around his cloven ,majesty4 ,dante tears away the wrappings1 and we see the horrid heart and actual loathsomeness of sin4 7,eng41 #agth cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #b4 ,the writings of ,stopford ,brooke1 ,macaulay1 ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,de ,quincey1 and ,pattison about ,milton may be profitably referred to4 #be ,a,eschylus was the greatest of the noble triumvirate of ,greek tragedy writers4 ,sublimity reached in his soul the greatest purity and power that it has yet attained on earth4 ,one can no more afford to tread in life's low levels all his days and never climb above the clouds to thought's clear-ethered heights with ,a,eschylus1 than to dwell at the foot of a cliff in ,new ,mexico and never climb to see the ,rockies in the blue and misty distance1 with their snowy summits shining in the sun4 ,read1 at any rate1 his ,prometheus ,bound and his ,agamemnon4 7#eth cent4 ,b4 ,c41 the ,golden ,age of ,grecian literature47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #d4 ,the student of ,a,eschylus will find much of value to him in ,mahaffy's ,greek ,literature1 ,old ,greek ,life1 and ,social ,life in ,greece2 ,schlegel's ,dramatic ,literature2 ,donaldson's ,theatre of the ,greeks1 and ,froude's ,sea ,studies4 ,following the ,prometheus of ,a,eschylus1 it is a good plan to read the works of ,goethe1 ,shelley1 ,lowell1 and ,longfellow on the same topic4 ,we thus bring close the ideas and fancies of five great minds in respect to the myth of ,prometheus4 #bf ,many a selection in ,table ,,iii4 is of very high merit1 and belongs on the world's first shelf1 although the poetic works of the author as a whole cannot be allowed such honor4 ,in the section preceding ,table ,v4 also will be found a number of short writings of the very highest merit4 ,see explanatory note to ,table ,i4 #bg ,edmund ,spenser is the third name in ,english literature4 ,no modern poet is more like ,homer4 ,he is simple1 clear1 and natural1 redundant and ingenuous4 ,he is a ,platonic dreamer1 and worships beauty1 a love sublime and chaste2 for all the beauty that the eye can see is only1 in his view1 an incomplete expression of celestial beauty in the soul of man and ,nature1 the light within gleaming and sparkling through the loose woven texture of this garment of ,god called ,nature1 or pouring at every pore a flood of soft1 translucent loveliness1 as the radiance of a calcium flame flows through a porcelain globe4 ,spenser was ,milton's model4 ,the ,faerie ,queen1 the ,shepherd's ,calendar1 and the ,wedding ,hymn should be carefully read2 and if the former is studied sufficiently to arrive at the underlying spiritual meaning1 it will ever after be one of the most precious of books4 7,eng41 #afth cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #f4 ,see also ,lowell's ,among my ,books1 ,craik's ,spenser and his ,poetry1 and ,taine's ,english ,literature4 #bh ,lowell is one of the foremost humorists of all time4 ,no one1 except ,shakspeare1 has ever combined so much mastery of the weapons of wit with so much poetic power1 bonhomie1 and common-sense4 ,every ,american should read his poems carefully1 and digest the best4 7,amer41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,nos4 #ab and #bd4 #bi ,whittier is ,america's greatest lyric poet4 ,read what ,lowell says of him in the ,fable for ,critics1 and get acquainted with his poetry of ,nature and quiet country life1 as pure as the snow and as sweet as the clover4 7,amer41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #aa4 #cj ,tennyson is the first poet of our age2 and though he cannot rank with the great names on the upper shelf1 yet his tenderness1 and noble purity1 and the almost absolutely perfect music of much of his poetry commands our love and admiration4 ,read his ,in ,memoriam1 ,princess1 ,idylls of the ,king1 etc4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #aa4 #ca ,burns is like a whiff of the pure sea air4 ,he is a sprig of arbutus under the snow2 full of tenderness and genuine gayety1 always in love1 and singing forever in tune to the throbs of his heart4 ,read ,the ,jolly ,beggars1 ,the ,twa ,dogs1 and see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #aa4 7,scot41 #ahth cent47 #cb ,probably nothing is so likely to awaken a love for poetry as the reading of ,scott4 7,scot41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #g4 #cc ,byron is the greatest ,english poet since ,milton1 and except ,goethe the greatest poet of his age in the world4 ,his music1 his wonderful control of language1 his impassioned strength passing from vehemence to pathos1 his fine sense of the beautiful1 and his combination of passion with beauty would place him high on the first shelf of the world's literature if it were not for his moral aberration4 ,read his ,childe ,harold4 7,eng41 #aghh-ahbd47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ac4 #cd ,shelley is indistinct1 abstract1 impracticable1 but full of love for all that is noble1 of magnificent poetic power and marvellous music4 ,read ,prometheus ,unbound1 and see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ac4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ce ,keats is the poetic brother of ,shelley4 ,he is deserving of the title marvellous boy in a far higher degree than ,chatterton4 ,if the lives of ,shakspeare1 ,milton1 and ,wordsworth had ended at twenty-five1 as did the life of ,keats1 they would have left no poetry comparable with that of this impassioned dreamer4 ,like ,shakspeare1 he had no fortune or opportunity of high education4 ,read ,hyperion1 ,lamia1 ,eve of ,saint ,agnes1 ,endymion1 and see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ac4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #cf ,campbell clothed in romantic sweetness and delicate diction1 the fancies of the fairy land of youthful dreams1 and poured forth with a master voice the pride and grandeur of patriotic song4 ,read his ,pleasures of ,hope1 ,gertrude of ,wyoming1 and see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ab4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #cg ,moore is a singer of wonderful melody and elegance and of inexhaustible imagery4 ,read his ,irish ,melodies4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #aa4 #ch ,thomson is one of the most intense lovers of ,nature1 and sees with a clear eye the correspondences between the inner and outer worlds upon which poetry is built4 ,read his ,seasons and ,the ,castle of ,indolence4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #ci ,read ,macaulay's ,lays of ,ancient ,rome4 ,horatius cannot fail to make the reader pulse with all the heroism and patriotism that is in his heart1 and ,virginia will fill each heart with mutiny and every eye with tears4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ab4 #dj ,dryden's song is not so smooth as ,pope's1 but doubly strong4 ,his translation of ,virgil has more fire than the original1 though less elegance4 ,he was the literary king of his time1 but knew better how to say things than what to say4 7,eng41 #agth cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ad4 #da ,collins was a poet of fine genius4 ,beauty1 simplicity1 and sweet harmony combine in his works1 but he wrote very little4 ,read his odes1 ,to ,pity1 ,to ,evening1 ,to ,mercy1 ,to ,simplicity4 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ad4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #db ,jean ,ingelow's poems deserve at least tasting1 which will scarcely fail to lead to assimilation4 7,eng41 #ahfb47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ad4 #dc ,bryant's ,thanatopsis1 written at eighteen1 gave promise of high poetic power2 but in the life of a journalist the current of energy was drawn away from poetry1 and ,america lost the full fruitage of her best poetic tree4 ,he is serene and lofty in thought1 and strong in his descriptive power and the noble simplicity of his language4 7,amer41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ac4 #dd ,longfellow's poetry is earnest and full of melody1 but as a whole lacks passion and imagery4 ,relatively to a world standard he is not a great poet and has written little worthy of universal reading1 but as bone of our bone he has a claim on us as ,americans for sufficient attention at least to investigate for ourselves his merits4 7,amer41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #aj4 #de ,lowell says that ,george ,herbert is as holy as a flower on a grave4 7,eng41 #afca47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ac4 #df ,goldsmith's ,deserted ,village and ,traveller will live as long as the language4 ,they are full of wisdom and lovely poetry4 ,his dramas abound in fun4 ,read ,the ,good-,natured ,man and ,she ,stoops to ,conquer4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 ,see ,table ,,iv4 #dg ,read ,coleridge's ,christabel1 and get somebody to explain its mysterious beauty to you2 also his ,remorse1 ,ode to the ,departing ,year1 ,ancient ,mariner1 and ,kubla ,khan4 ,the latter is the most magnificent creation of his time1 but needs a good deal of study for most readers to perceive the beautiful underlying thought1 as is the case also with the ,mariner4 ,coleridge is difficult reading4 ,he wrote very little excellently1 but that little should be bound in gold1 and read till the inner light of it shines into the soul of the reader4 ,the terrible opium habit ruined him4 ,read his life2 it is a thrilling story4 7,eng41 #aggb-ahcd47 ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #aa4 #dh ,lowell says1 in his ,fable for ,critics1 that he is always discovering new depths in ,wordsworth1 undreamed of before1-- ,that divinely inspired1 wise1 deep1 tender1 grand--bore4 ,nothing could sum up this poet better than that4 ,his intense delight in ,nature and especially in mountain scenery1 and his pure1 serene1 earnest1 majestic reflectiveness are his great charms4 ,his ,excursion is one of the great works of our literature1 and stands in the front rank of the world's philosophical poetry4 ,its thousand lines of blank verse roll through the soul like the stately music of a cathedral organ4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ac4 #di ,pope is the greatest of the world's machine poets1 the noblest of the great army who place a higher value on skilful execution than on originality and beauty of conception4 ,the ,rape of the ,lock is his most successful effort1 and is the best of all mock-heroic poems4 ,the sharpest wit1 the keenest dissection of the follies of fashionable life1 the finest grace of diction1 and the softest flow of melody adorn a tale in which we learn how a fine gentleman stole a lock of a lady's hair4 ,read also his ,essay on ,man1 and glance at his ,dunciad1 a satire on fellow-writers4 7,eng41 #afhh-agdd47 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,no4 #ac1 and ,table ,,iv4 #ej ,southey had great ideas of what poetry should be1 and strove for purity1 unity1 and fine imagery2 but there was no pathos or depth of emotion in him1 and the stream of his poetry is not the gush of the river1 but the uninteresting flow of the canal4 ,byron says1 ,god help thee1 ,southey1 and thy readers too4 ,glance at his ,thalaba the ,destroyer and ,curse of ,kehama4 7,eng41 #aggd-ahdc47 #ea ,walton's ,compleat ,angler is worthy of a glance4 7,eng41 #afec47 #eb ,browning is very obscure1 and neither on authority nor principle a first-rate poet2 but he is a strong thinker1 and dear to those who have taken the pains to dig out the nuggets of gold4 ,canon ,farrar puts him among the three living authors whose works he would be most anxious to save from the flames4 ,mrs4 ,browning has more imagination than her husband1 and is perhaps his equal in other respects4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ec ,read ,young's ,night ,thoughts4 #ed ,jonson1 on account of his noble aims1 comparative purity1 and classic style1 stands next to ,shakspeare in the history of ,english drama4 ,read ,the ,alchemist1 ,catiline1 ,the ,devil as an ,ass1 ,cynthia's ,revels1 and ,the ,silent ,woman4 ,the plot of the latter is very humorous4 7,eng41 #agjj47 #ee ,the dramas of ,beaumont and ,fletcher are poetically the best in the language except those of ,shakspeare4 ,read ,philaster1 ,the ,fair ,maid of the ,inn1 ,thierry and ,theodoret1 ,the ,maid's ,tragedy4 7,eng41 #agth cent47 #ef ,marlowe's ,mighty ,line is known to all lovers of poetry who have made a wide hunt4 ,his energy is intense4 ,read ,the ,tragical ,history of ,dr4 ,faustus1 based on that wonderfully fascinating story of the doctor who offered his soul to hell in exchange for a short term of power and pleasure1 on which ,goethe expended the flower of his genius1 and around which grew hundreds of plays all over ,europe4 7,eng41 #agth cent47 #eg ,for whimsical and ludicrous situations and a rapid fire of witticisms1 ,sheridan's plays have no equals4 ,read ,the ,school for ,scandal and ,the ,rivals4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #eh ,carleton's poetry is not of a lofty order1 but exceedingly enjoyable4 ,read his ,farm ,ballads4 7,amer41 #aith cent47 #fj ,virgil is the greatest name in ,roman literature4 ,his ,a,eneid is the national poem of ,rome4 ,his poetry is of great purity and elegance1 and for variety1 harmony1 and power second in epic verse only to his great model1 ,homer4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 ,read ,dryden's translation if you cannot read the original4 #fa ,the ,odes of ,horace combine wit1 grace1 sense1 fire1 and affection in a perfection of form never attained by any other writer4 ,he is untranslatable2 but ,martin's version and commentary will give some idea of this most interesting man1 the most modern and most familiar of the ancients4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #fb ,lucretius is a philosophic poet4 ,he aimed to explain ,nature2 and his poem has much of wisdom1 beauty1 sublimity1 and imagination to commend it4 ,virgil imitated whole passages from ,lucretius4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #fc ,ovid is gross but fertile1 and his ,metamorphoses and ,epistles have been great favorites4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #fd ,the ,antigone and ,o,edipus at ,colonus of ,sophocles are of exquisite tenderness and beauty4 ,in pathos ,shakspeare only is his equal4 7,greece1 #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #fe ,euripides is the third of the great triumvirate of ,greek dramatists4 ,his works were very much admired by ,milton and ,fox4 ,read his ,alcestis1 ,iphigenia1 ,medea1 and the ,bacchanals4 7,greece1 #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #ff ,aristophanes is the greatest of ,greek comedy writers4 ,his plays are great favorites with scholars1 as a rule4 ,read the ,clouds1 ,birds1 ,knights1 and ,plutus4 7,greece1 #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #fg ,pindar's triumphal odes stand in the front rank of the world's lyric poetry4 7,greece1 #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #fh ,hesiod's ,theogony contains the religious faith of ,greece4 ,he lived in or near the time of ,homer4 #fi ,heine is the most remarkable ,german poet of this century4 ,he has written many gems of rare beauty1 and many sketches of life unmatched for racy freshness and graphic power4 #gj ,schiller is the second name in ,german literature2 indeed1 as a lover of men and as a poet of exquisite fancy1 he far excels ,goethe4 ,he was a great philosopher1 historian1 and critic4 ,read his ,song of the ,bell1 and his drama of ,wallenstein1 translated by ,coleridge4 7,germany1 #ahth cent47 #ga ,corneille1 ,racine1 and ,moliere are the great ,french triumvirate of dramatists4 ,their object is to produce one massive impression4 ,in this they follow the classic writers4 ,a ,french1 ,greek1 or ,roman drama is to a ,shakspearean play as a statue to a picture1 as an idea carved out of ,nature and rendered magnificently impressive by its isolation and the beauty of its modelling1 to ,nature itself4 ,the historical and ethical value of the ,french plays is very great4 ,corneille is one of the grandest of modern poets4 ,read ,the ,cid 7,as beautiful as the ,cid became a proverb in ,france71 and ,horace 7which is even more original and grand than ,the ,cid71 and ,cinna 7which ,voltaire thought the best of all74 ,racine excels in grace1 tenderness1 and versatility4 ,read his ,phedre4 ,moliere was almost as profound a master of human nature on its humorous side as ,shakspeare4 ,he hates folly1 meanness1 and falsehood2 he is always wise1 tender1 and good4 ,read ,le ,misanthrope1 or ,the ,man-,hater1 and ,tartuffe1 or ,the ,impostor4 7#agth cent47 #gd ,alfred de ,musset is a famous ,french poet of this century1 and is a great favorite with those who can enjoy charming and inspiring thoughts though mixed with the grotesque and extravagant4 #ge ,calderon de la ,barca is one of the greatest dramatists of the world4 ,his purity1 power1 and passion1 his magnificent imagination and wonderful fertility1 will place him in company with ,shakspeare in the eternal society of the great4 ,read ,shelley's fragments from ,calderon1 and ,fitzgerald's translation1 especially ,zalamea and ,the ,wonder-,working ,magician1 two of his greatest plays4 7,spain1 #agth cent47 #gf ,petrarch's lyrics have been models to all the great poets of ,southern ,europe4 ,the subject of nearly all his poems is his hopeless affection for the high-minded and beautiful ,laura de ,sade4 ,his purity is above reproach4 ,he is pre-eminent for sweetness1 pathos1 elegance1 and melody4 7,italy1 #adth cent47 #gg ,ariosto is ,italy's great epic poet4 ,read his ,orlando ,furioso1 a hundred-fold tale of knights and ladies1 giants and magicians4 7,italy1 #adgd-aecc74 #gh ,tasso is the second name in ,italian epic poetry2 and by some he is placed above ,ariosto and named in the same breath with ,homer and ,virgil4 ,read his ,jerusalem ,delivered1 and ,aminta1 and glance at his minor poems composed while in confinement4 7,italy1 #afth cent47 #gi ,camoens is the glory of ,portugal1 her only poet whose fame has flown far beyond her narrow borders4 ,read his grand and beautiful poem1 the ,lusiad1 a national epic grouping together all the great and interesting events in the history of his country4 7#afth cent47 #hj ,omar ,khayyam1 the great astronomer poet of ,persia1 has no equal in the world in the concise magnificence with which he can paint a grand poetic conception in a single complete1 well-rounded1 melodious stanza4 ,read ,fitzgerald's translation4 7#abth cent47 #ha ,firdusi1 the author of the ,shah ,nameh1 or ,poetic ,history of the great deeds of the sultans4 ,hafiz1 the poet of love1 and ,saadi are other great ,persian poets deserving at least a glance of investigation4 7#aath-#adth cents47 #hb ,arnold's ,light of ,asia claims our attention for the additions it can make to our breadth of thought1 giving us as it does briefly and beautifully the current of thinking of a great people very unlike ourselves4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #hc ,pushkin is called the ,byron of ,russia4 ,russian songs have a peculiar1 mournful tenderness4 ,they are the sorrows of a century blended in one everlasting sigh4 7#aith cent47 #hd ,lermontoff is the ,russian ,schiller4 7#aith cent47 ,,science4 ,the most important sciences for the ordinary reader are ,physiology1 ,hygiene1 ,psychology1 ,logic1 ,political ,economy1 ,sociology and the ,science of ,government1 ,astronomy1 ,geology1 and ,natural ,history2 but an elementary knowledge of all the sciences is very desirable on account of the breadth of mind and grasp of method which result therefrom4 ,the ,international ,scientific ,series is very helpful in giving the brief comprehensive treatment of such subjects that is needed for those who are not specialists4 ,the best books in this department are continually changing1 because science is growing fast1 and the latest books are apt to be fuller and better than the old ones4 ,the best thing that can be done by one who wishes to be sure of obtaining the finest works upon any given subject in the region of scientific research1 is to write to a professor who teaches that subject in some good university1--a professor who has not himself written a book on the subject1--and get his judgment on the matter4 #he ,physical health is the basis of all life and activity1 and it is of the utmost importance to secure at once the best knowledge the world has attained in relation to its procurement and preservation4 ,this matter has far too little attention4 ,if a man is going to bring up chickens1 he will study chicken books no end of hours to see just what will make them lay and make them fat and how he may produce the finest stock2 but if he only has to bring up a few children1 he will give no time to the study of the physical conditions of their full and fine development4 ,some few people1 however1 have a strange idea that a child is nearly as valuable as a rooster4 ,there is no book as yet written which gives in clear1 easily understood language the known laws of diet1 exercise1 care of the teeth1 hair1 skin1 lungs1 etc41 and simple remedies4 ,perhaps ,dalton's ,physiology1 ,flint's ,nervous ,system1 ,cutter's ,hygiene1 ,blaikie's ,how to get ,strong1 and ,duncan's ,how to be ,plump1 ,beard's ,eating and ,drinking1 ,bellows' ,philosophy of ,eating1 ,smith on ,foods1 ,holbrook's ,eating for ,strength1 ,fruit and ,bread1 ,hygiene for the ,brain1 ,how to ,strengthen the ,memory1 and ,kay's book on the ,memory1 ,walter's ,nutritive ,cure1 ,clark's ,sex in ,education1 ,alice ,stockham's ,tokology or ,hygiene for ,married ,women1 and ,naphy's ,transmission of ,life will together give some idea of this all-valuable subject1 though none of these books except the first are in themselves1 apart from their subject1 worthy of a place on the first shelf4 #hf ,dr4 ,strong's little book1 ,our ,country1 is of the most intense interest to every ,american who loves his country and wishes its welfare4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #hh ,the ,federalist was a series of essays by ,hamilton1 ,jay1 and ,madison1 in favor of the ,federal ,constitution1 and is the best and deepest book on the science of government that the world contains4 7,amer41 #aghh47 #hi ,bryce on the ,american ,commonwealth is a splendid book1 a complete1 critical1 philosophic work1 an era-making book1 and should be read by every ,american who wishes to know how our institutions appear to a genial1 cultured1 broad-minded foreigner4 ,mr4 ,bryce has the chair of ,political ,economy in ,oxford1 and is a member of ,parliament4 ,his chief criticism of our great republic is that it is hard to fix responsibility for lawlessness under our institutions1 which is always an encouragement to wrongdoers4 ,his book should be read with ,de ,tocqueville4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ij ,montesquieu's ,spirit of ,laws is a profound analysis of law in relation to government1 customs1 climate1 religion1 and commerce4 ,it is the greatest book of the #ahth century4 ,read with it ,bagehot's ,physics and ,politics4 #ia ,mill's ,logic and ,political ,economy are simply necessities to any1 even moderately1 thorough preparation for civilized life in ,america4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ib ,read ,bain on the ,emotions and the ,will1 ,mind and ,body1 etc4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ic ,herbert ,spencer is the foremost name in the philosophic literature of the world4 ,he is the ,shakspeare of science4 ,he has a grander grasp of knowledge1 and more perfect conscious correspondence with the external universe1 than any other human being who ever looked wonderingly out into the starry depths2 and his few errors flow from an over-anxiety to exert his splendid power of making beautiful generalizations4 ,read his ,first ,principles1 ,data of ,ethics1 ,education1 and ,classification of the ,sciences1 at any rate2 and if possible1 all he has written4 ,plato and ,spencer are brothers4 ,plato would have done what ,spencer has1 had he lived in the #aith century4 #id ,darwin's ,origin of ,species stands in history by the side of ,newton's ,principia4 ,the thought of both has to a great extent become the common inheritance of the race2 and it is perhaps sufficient for the general reader to refer to a good account of the book and its arguments1 such as may be found in the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ie ,read ,herschel and ,proctor in ,astronomy1 to broaden and deepen the mind with the grand and beautiful conceptions of this most poetic of the sciences4 ,proctor's books are more fascinating than any fiction4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #if ,for a knowledge of what has been going on in this dim spot beneath the sun1 in the ages before man came upon the stage1 and for an idea about what kind of a fellow man was when he first set up housekeeping here1 and how long ago that was1 read ,lyell's ,geology2 ,lubbock's ,prehistoric ,times1 ,origin of ,civilization and ,primitive ,condition of ,man1 and ,lyell's ,antiquity of ,man 7,eng41 #aith cent472 and ,dawson's ,chain of ,life4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #ig ,read ,wood's beautiful and interesting books on ,natural ,history2 especially his ,evidences of ,mind in ,animals1 ,out of ,doors1 ,anecdotes of ,animals1 ,man and ,beast1 ,here and ,hereafter4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ih ,whewell's ,history of the ,inductive ,sciences is a very broadening book4 #ii ,de ,tocqueville's ,democracy in ,america is one of the great books1 and is superior in depth and style even to ,bryce4 ,the two books supplement each other4 ,see note #hi3 7,france1 #ahth cent47 #ajj ,constitutional ,history of the ,united ,states4 7,ger41 #aith cent47 #aja ,wealth of ,nations1 ,moral ,sentiments4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #ajb ,principles of ,population4 ,one of the most celebrated of books4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #ajc ,principles of ,social ,philosophy4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ajd ,essays on ,political ,economy1 ,leading ,principles of ,political ,economy4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aje ,comparative ,politics4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ajf ,the ,theory of ,political ,economy1 ,the ,logic of ,statistics4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ajg ,the ,nation1 the ,foundation of ,civil ,order and ,political ,life in the ,united ,states4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #ajh ,leviathan4 ,see note #aij4 7,eng41 #afth cent47 #aji ,the ,prince4 7,italy1 #adfi-aebg47 #aaj ,chips from a ,german ,workshop1 and various works on ,philology4 7,ger41 #aith cent47 #aaa ,study of ,words1 etc4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aab ,words and ,places4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aac ,natural ,history of ,selborne4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aad ,animal ,kingdom4 7,france1 early #aith cent47 #aae ,voyages4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #aaf ,heat as a ,mode of ,motion1 ,forms of ,water1 etc4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aag ,on ,sound4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aah ,scientific ,researches4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aai ,conservation of ,energy4 ,in a book on this subject edited by ,e4 ,l4 ,youmans4 7,ger41 #aith cent47 #abj ,man's ,place in ,nature4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aba ,botany4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #abb ,methods of ,study in ,natural ,history4 7,u4 ,s4 #aith cent47 #abc ,physics4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,,biography4 ,biography carefully read will cast a flood of light before us on the path of life4 ,read ,longfellow's ,psalm of ,life1 and try to find the teachings he refers to in the lives of great men4 ,the world still lacks what it very much needs1--a book of brief biographies of the greatest and noblest men and women of every age and country1 by a master hand4 ,the aim should be to extract from the past what it can teach us of value for the future2 and to do this biography must become a comparative science1 events and lives must be grouped over the whole range of the years1 that by similarities and contrasts the truth may appear4 ,smiles's ,self-,help is a partial realization of this plan4 ,the manner of reading should be3 ,r4 ,d4 #abd ,plutarch's ,lives comes nearer to a comparative biography than any other book we have4 ,he contrasts his characters in pairs1 a ,greek and a ,roman in each couplet4 ,it is one of the most delightful of books1 and among those most universally read by cultured people of all nations4 ,dryden's translation revised by ,clough is the best4 7,rome1 #ast cent47 #abe ,in ,wendell ,phillips's oration on ,toussaint ,l',ouverture1 there is a fascinating comparison of the noble negro warrior with ,napoleon4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #abf ,boswell's ,johnson is admittedly the greatest life of a single person yet written4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #abg ,lockhart's ,life of ,scott is a favorite with all who read it4 ,wilkie ,collins especially recommends it as finely picturing genius and nobility of character4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #abh ,marshall's ,life of ,washington is an inspiring book4 ,gladstone said to ,mr4 ,depew3 ,sixty years ago ,i read ,chief-,justice ,marshall's ',life of ,washington1' and ,i was forced to the conclusion that he was quite the greatest man that ever lived4 ,the sixty years that have passed have not changed that impression2 and to any ,englishman who seeks my advice in the line of his development and equipment ,i invariably say1 ',begin by reading the ,life of ,george ,washington4' 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,franklin's ,autobiography is brief1 philosophic1 and delightfully frank and clear4 7,u4 ,s41 #ahth cent47 #abi ,the ,life of ,lincoln1 by ,nicolay and ,hay1 is a book that has very strong claims to the attention of every ,american1 and every lover of liberty1 greatness1 nobility1 and kindliness4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,grant's ,memoirs deserves reading for similar reasons4 ,the great ,general lived an epic1 and wrote a classic4 7,u4 ,s4 #aith cent47 #acj ,read ,carlyle's ,life of ,john ,sterling1 ,oliver ,cromwell's ,letters and ,speeches1 and ,heroes and ,hero ,worship4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,renan's ,life of ,christ4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #aca ,canon ,farrar's little ,life of ,dante is1 considering its brevity1 one of the best things in this department4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #acb ,emerson's ,representative ,men most strongly stirs thought and inspires the resolution4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #acc ,the ,portrait ,collection of the ,hundred ,greatest ,men1 published by ,sampson1 ,low1 ,co41 #ahgi4 #acd ,read ,parton's ,sketches of ,men of ,progress4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #ace ,lights of ,two ,centuries4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #acf ,our ,great ,benefactors4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #acg ,book of ,martyrs4 7,eng41 early #afth cent47 #ach ,the ,life and ,times of ,goethe1 and ,michaelangelo4 ,most interesting books4 7,germany1 #aith cent47 #aci ,english ,statesmen4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #adj ,life of ,napoleon4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #ada ,lives of the ,poets4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #adb ,walton's ,lives4 7,eng41 #agth cent47 #adc ,life of ,dr4 ,arnold4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #add ,life of ,washington4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #ade ,life of ,nelson4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #adf ,life of ,pitt4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #adg ,life of ,byron4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #adh ,lives of ,female ,sovereigns and ,illustrious ,women4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #adi ,lives of the ,saints4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aej ,memories of many ,men4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #aea ,reminiscences4 7,u4 ,s41 #ahth cent47 ,the ,life and ,letters of ,darwin1 ,talleyrand1 and ,macaulay2 the ,journals of ,miss ,alcott1 ,marie ,bashkirtseff1 and ,eugenie de ,guerin2 the ,autobiography of ,joseph ,jefferson2 the ,american ,statesmen series1 edited by ,john ,t4 ,morse1 ,jr41 and the ,english ,men of ,letters series are all valuable books4 ,the ,journals of ,miss ,alcott and ,marie ,bashkirtseff are stories of heart struggles1 longings1 failures1 and triumphs1 and are of exceeding interest and great popularity4 ,the ,journal of ,eugenie de ,guerin deserves to be better known than it is1 for the delicate sweetness of feeling that fills its pages4 ,,history4 ,remarks may be made about ,history very similar to those in the special remarks concerning ,biography4 ,the field is too vast for an ordinary life1 and there is no book that will give in brief compass the net results and profits of man's investment in experience and life1--the dividends have not been declared4 ,guizot and ,buckle come nearer to doing this than any other writers2 but the book that shall reduce the past to principles that will guide the future has not yet been written4 ,the student will be greatly assisted by the ,manual of ,historical ,literature1 by ,c4 ,k4 ,adams4 ,it is an admirable guide4 ,putnam's series1 ,the ,stories of the ,nations1 and ,scribner's ,epoch series are very useful1 especially for young people4 ,the manner of reading the best history should be3 ,r4 ,d4 ,g4 #aeb ,green's ,history of the ,english ,people has probably the first claims on the general reader4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aec ,bancroft's ,history of the ,united ,states should be read by every ,american citizen1 along with ,dr4 ,strong's ,our ,country4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,the only trouble with ,bancroft is that he does not bring the history down to recent times4 ,hildreth for the student1 and ,ridpath for practical business men supply this defect4 ,doyle's ,history of the ,united ,states is perhaps the best small book1 and his ,american ,colonies is also good4 ,mc,master's ,history of the ,people of the ,united ,states is a brilliant work1 given largely to an account of the social life of the people4 #aed ,guizot's ,history of ,civilization and ,history of ,france 7,france1 #aith cent47 are among the greatest books of the world2 and with ,buckle's ,history of ,civilization 7,eng41 #aith cent47 will give a careful reader an intellectual breadth and training far above what is attained by the majority even of reading men4 #aee ,parkman is the ,macaulay of the ,new ,world4 ,he invests the truths of sober history with all the charms of poetic imagination and graceful style4 ,his literary work must take its place by the side of ,scott and ,irving4 ,read his ,france and ,england in ,north ,america1 ,conspiracy of ,pontiac1 and ,the ,oregon ,trail4 ,freeman1 ,fiske1 and ,fyffe are also great historians1 who require notice here4 ,freeman's ,comparative ,politics1 ,history of the ,saracens1 ,growth of the ,english ,constitution1 ,history of ,federal ,government1 and ,general ,sketch of ,history are all great works1--the last being the best brief account of general history that we possess4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,fiske's ,civil ,government1 ,war of ,independence1 and ,critical ,period of ,american ,history are standard books4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,fyffe's ,modern ,europe is called the most brilliant picture of the ,revolutionary ,period in existence4 ,it is certainly one of the best of histories4 #aee;a ,fifteen ,decisive ,battles of the ,world4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aef ,history of ,england in the #ahth ,century1 ,history of ,european ,morals4 ,these books take very high rank in respect to style1 accuracy1 and completeness4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aeg ,ten ,great ,religions1 by ,james ,freeman ,clarke4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #aeh ,comparative ,history of ,religion4 #aei ,intellectual ,development of ,europe4 ,a work of great power4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #afj ,middle ,ages4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #afa ,constitutional ,history of ,england4 ,bagehot's ,english ,constitution should be read with the works of ,hallam1 ,freeman1 and ,may on this topic1 because of its brilliant generalizations and ingenious suggestions4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #afb ,history of ,england4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #afc ,history of ,england4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #afd ,history of ,england4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #afe ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #aff ,history of ,greece4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #afg ,history of ,new ,england4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #afh ,conquest of ,mexico1 ,peru1 ,ferdinand and ,isabella1 etc4 ,prescott's style is of the very best1 clear1 graphic1 and ever interesting4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #afi ,rise of the ,dutch ,republic4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #afi;a ,rise of the ,republic of the ,united ,states4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #agj ,ancient ,egyptians4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aga ,history of ,rome4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #agb ,history of the ,germans4 7,ger41 #agih47 #agc ,latin ,christianity4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #agd ,history of the ,papacy in the #afth and #agth ,centuries4 ,ranke is one of the strongest names in history4 7,ger41 #aith cent47 #age ,italian ,republics4 7,france1 #aggc-ahdb47 #agf ,history of ,france4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #agg ,french ,revolution4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #agh ,history of ,france1 ,norman ,conquest of ,england4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #agi ,germania4 ,his ,life of ,agricola is also worthy of note for the insight into character1 the pathos1 vigor1 and affection manifested in its flattering pages4 7,rome1 #ast cent47 #ahj ,history of ,rome4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #aha ,the ,war of ,catiline4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #ahb ,history of nearly all the nations known at the time he wrote4 7,greece1 #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #ahc ,anabasis1 the ,retreat of the ,greek ,mercenaries of the ,persian ,king4 7,greece1 #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #ahd ,history of the ,athenian ,domination of ,greece4 7,greece1 #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #ahe ,history of the ,jewish ,wars4 7,jerusalem1 #ast cent47 ,mackenzie's ,history of the ,nineteenth ,century is the best ,english book on the subject4 ,rawlinson's ,five ,great ,monarchies is strongly recommended4 ,,philosophy4 ,there have been1 since the waters of thought began to flow1 two great streams running side by side1--,rationalism and ,mysticism4 ,those who sail upon the former recognize ,reason as king2 those upon the latter enthrone some vague and shadowy power1 in general known as ,intuition4 ,the tendency of the one is to begin with sense impressions1 and out of these to build up a universe in the brain corresponding to the outer world1 and to arrive at a belief in ,god by climbing the stairway of induction and analogy4 ,the tendency of the other is to start with the affirmed nature of ,god1 arrived at1 the thinker knows not how1 and deduce the universe from the conception of the ,divine ,nature4 ,if this matter is kept in mind1 the earnest student will be able to see through the mists sufficiently to discover what the philosophers are talking about whenever it chances that they themselves knew4 ,spencer1 ,plato1 ,berkeley1 ,kant1 ,locke1 are all worthy of a thorough reading2 and ,comte's philosophy of ,mathematics is of great importance4 ,the manner of reading good philosophic works should be3 ,r4 ,d4 ,g4 #ahf ,spencer's ,philosophy is the grandest body of thought that any one man has ever given to the world4 ,no one who wishes to move with the tide can afford to be unfamiliar with his books1 from ,first ,principles to his ,essays4 ,he believes that all ideas1 or their materials1 have come through the avenues of the senses4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #ahg ,plato and ,socrates are a double star in the sky of ,philosophy that the strongest telescopes have failed to resolve4 ,socrates wrote nothing1 but talked much4 ,plato was a pupil of his1 and makes ,socrates the chief character in his writings4 ,ten schools of philosophy claimed ,socrates as their head1 but ,plato alone represented the master with fulness4 ,considering the times in which he lived1 the grandeur of his thought1 the power of his imagination1 and the nobility1 elegance1 originality1 and beauty of his writings1 ,plato has no superior in the whole range of literature4 ,with ,plato1 ideas are the only realities1 things are imperfect expressions of them1 and all knowledge is reminiscence of what the soul learned when it was in the land of spirit1 face to face with ideas unveiled4 ,read his dialogues1 especially ,phaedo and the ,republic4 7,greece1 #dbi-cdh ,b4 ,c47 #ahh ,a most acute idealist1 whose argument against the existence of matter is one of the great passages of literature4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #ahi ,kant argues that the forms of thought1 time1 and space are necessarily intuitive1 and not derived from sensation1 since they are prerequisites to sensation4 ,read the ,critique of ,pure ,reason1 ,critique of ,practical ,reason1 in which he treats moral philosophy1 and ,observations on the ,sublime and ,beautiful4 7,germany1 #ahth cent47 #aij ,locke bases knowledge on sensation4 ,his ,essay on the ,conduct of the ,understanding is one of the most valuable books in the language4 ,spencer1 ,mill1 and ,locke have so fully imbibed all that was good in ,hobbes that it is scarcely necessary to read him4 7,eng41 #agth cent47 #aia ,comte's ,positive ,philosophy rejects intuitive knowledge4 ,it is characterized by force of logic1 immense research1 great power of generalization 7which is frequently carried beyond the warrant of facts71 and immense bulk4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #aib ,sensationalist4 ,a very strong writer4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aic ,limits of ,religious ,thought4 ,a very powerful exposure of the weakness of human imagination4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aid ,matter and ,force4 ,a powerful presentation of ,materialism4 7,ger41 #aith cent47 #aie ,freedom of the ,will4 ,a demonstration of the impossibility of free will4 7,amer41 #ahth cent47 #aif ,a very acute ,english philosopher4 7,eng41 #agdh-ahcb47 #aig ,moral and ,metaphysical ,philosophy4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #aih ,a deep1 clear thinker1 of sceptical character1 who laid bare the flaws in the old philosophies4 7,eng41 #agaa-aggf47 #aii ,one of the most profound metaphysicians the world can boast1 and inventor of quaternions1 the latest addition to ,mathematics4 7,scot41 #aith cent47 #bjj ,aristotle was the ,bacon of the ,old ,world4 ,his method was the very opposite of ,plato's4 ,he sought knowledge chiefly by carefully looking out upon the world1 instead of by introspection4 ,no one has exerted a greater influence on the thought of the world than this deep and earnest thinker4 7,greece1 #dth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #bja ,a very beautiful writer of the idealist school1 though he claims to be eclectic4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #bjb ,hegel endeavored1 by the method set forth in his ,absolute ,logic1 to reduce all knowledge to one science4 7,ger41 #aggj-ahca47 ,schelling1 in his ,philosophy of ,identity1 tries to prove that the same laws hold in the world of spirit as in the world of matter4 ,schelling bases his system on an intuition superior to reason1 and admitting neither doubt nor explanation4 7,ger41 #agge-ahed47 #bjc ,fichte carries the doctrines of ,kant to their limit3 to him all except the life of the mind is a delusion4 7,ger41 #ahth cent47 #bjd ,a great ,german philosopher of the time of ,luther 7#afth cent471 very learned1 refined1 and witty4 ,read his ,familiar ,colloquies4 #bje ,cosmic ,philosophy4 7,amer4 #aith cent47 #bjf ,rational ,cosmology1 or the ,eternal ,principles and ,necessary ,laws of the ,universe4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bjg ,scottish ,philosophy4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bjh ,theologico-politico-moral1 voluminous dissertations4 7,amsterdam1 #agth cent47 ,,essays4 ,next to ,shakspeare's ,plays1 ,emerson's ,essays and ,lectures are to me the richest inspiration4 ,at every turn new and delightful paths open before the mind2 and the poetic feeling and imagery are often of the best4 ,only the music and the power of discriminating the wheat from the chaff were lacking to have made one of the world's greatest poets4 ,to pour into the life the spirit of ,emerson1 ,bacon1 and ,montaigne is a liberal education in itself4 ,addison's ,spectator is inimitable in its union of humor1 sense1 and imagination4 ,a number of eminent men1 ,franklin among them1 have referred to it as the source of their literary power4 ,read these essays3 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g4 #bji ,emerson's ,essays and ,lectures certainly deserve our first attention in this department1 because of their poetic beauty and stimulating effect upon the imagination and all that is pure and strong and noble in the character4 7,amer41 #aith cent47 #baj ,nowhere can be found so much wit and wisdom to the square inch as in ,bacon's ,essays4 7,eng41 #afjj47 #baa ,montaigne is the most popular of all the world's essayists1 because of his common-sense1 keen insight1 and perfect frankness4 ,the only author we certainly know to have been in ,shakspeare's own library4 7,france1 #aehj47 #bab ,ruskin's ,ethics of the ,dust1 ,crown of ,wild ,olives1 ,sesame and ,lilies1 while somewhat wild in substance as well as in title1 are well worthy of reading for the intellectual stimulus afforded by their breadth of view1 novelty of expression and illustration1 and the intense force--almost fanaticism--which characterizes all that ,ruskin says4 ,ruskin is one of three living writers whom ,farrar says he would first save from a conflagration of the world's library4 ,carlyle is another of the same sort4 ,read his ,past and ,present1 a grand essay on ,justice4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,so far as style is concerned1 ,addison's ,essays in the ,spectator are probably the best in the world4 ,,fiction4 ,in modern times much that is best in literature has gone into the pages of the novel4 ,the men and women of genius who would in other days have been great poets1 philosophers1 dramatists1 essayists1 and humorists have concentrated their powers1 and poured out all their wealth to set in gold a story of human life4 ,don't neglect the novels2 but be sure to read good ones1 and don't read too many4 ,in fiction1 ,england1 ,america1 and ,france are far ahead of the rest of the world4 ,scott may well be held to lead the list1 considering the quantity and quality of what he wrote2 and ,dickens1 ,i presume1 by many would be written next1 though ,i prefer the philosophic novelists1 like ,george ,eliot1 ,macdonald1 ,kingsley1 ,hugo1 etc4 ,fielding1 ,richardson1 ,goldsmith1 ,sterne1 and ,defoe1 ,jane ,austen1 ,cooper1 and ,marryat all claim our attention on one account or another4 ,the ,united ,states can boast of ,hawthorne1 ,tourgee1 ,wallace1 ,hearn1 ,aldrich1 ,warner1 ,curtis1 ,jewett1 ,craddock1 and many others4 ,france has a glorious army1 led by ,victor ,hugo1 ,george ,sand1 ,balzac1 ,dumas1 ,gautier1 ,merimee1 etc4 ,but the magnificent powers of these artists are combined with sad defects4 ,hugo is the greatest literary force since ,goethe and ,scott2 but his digressions are sometimes terribly tedious1 his profundity darkness1 and his unities1 his plot1 and reasons for lugging in certain things hard to find4 ,balzac gives us a monotony of wickedness4 ,george ,sand is prone to idealize lust4 ,notre ,dame and ,les ,miserables1 ,le ,pere ,goriot and ,eugenie ,grandet1 ,consuelo and ,la ,mare au ,diable1 ,capitaine ,fracasse and ,vingt ,ans ,apres1 are great books2 but they will not rank with ,tom ,jones artistically1 nor with the ,vicar of ,wakefield1 ,ivanhoe1 ,adam ,bede1 ,romola1 or ,the ,scarlet ,letter1 considering all the elements that go to make a great novel4 ,germany1 ,italy1 and ,spain have no fiction that compares with ours4 ,no doubt many will be surprised to find ,fielding1 ,balzac1 ,tolstoi1 and others placed so low in the list as they are4 ,the reason is that the moral tone of a book is1 with us1 a weightier test of its claims on the attention of the general reader1 than the style of the author or the merit of his work from an artistic point of view4 ,there might be some doubt whether or no we ought not to exclude from our tables entirely all books that are not noble enough in character to admit of their being read aloud in the family4 ,the trouble is that much of the finest literature of the world would have to be excluded4 ,so there seems to be no course but to admit these men1 with a note as to their character4 ,one who wishes to make a study of the novel will be interested in ,dunlop's ,history of ,fiction1 ,tuckerman's ,history of ,english ,prose ,fiction1 ,hazlitt's ,english ,novelists1 ,lanier's ,novel1 ,masson's ,british ,novelists and their ,styles1 and ,jeaffreson's ,novels and ,novelists4 ,the best fiction should be read3 ,r4 ,d4 ,g4 #bac ,heart of ,midlothian1 ,waverley1 ,ivanhoe1 ,kenilworth1 ,guy ,mannering1 ,the ,antiquary1 ,rob ,roy1 ,old ,mortality1 ,red ,gauntlet1 etc4 ,scott is by very many--and among them some of the greatest--loved more than any other novelist4 ,the purity1 beauty1 breadth1 and power of his works will ever place them among the most desirable reading4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,hutton's ,sir ,walter ,scott1 ,carlyle's ,essay on ,scott1 ,hazlitt's ,essay in ,the ,spirit of the ,age1 and other books referred to in the head notes to ,poetry and ,fiction will be useful to the student of ,scott4 #bad ,adam ,bede1 ,mill on the ,floss1 ,romola1 ,silas ,marner1 etc4 ,deep philosophy and insight into character mark all ,george ,eliot's writings4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,lanier's ,development of the ,novel is practically only an enthusiastic study of ,george ,eliot4 #bae ,pickwick1 ,david ,copperfield1 ,bleak ,house1 ,martin ,chuzzlewit1 ,old ,curiosity ,shop1 etc4 ,dickens needs no comment4 ,his fame is in every house4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #baf ,hawthorne's ,scarlet ,letter1 ,marble ,faun1 ,great ,stone ,face1 etc41 are by universal consent accorded the first place in the lists of ,american novels1 and are among the best to be found anywhere4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bag ,vicar of ,wakefield4 ,one of ,goethe's earliest favorites4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #bah ,rienzi1 ,last ,days of ,pompeii1 ,last of the ,barons1 etc4 ,most powerful1 delightful1 and broadening books4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bai ,malcolm1 ,marquis o' ,lossie1 ,david ,elginbrod1 etc4 ,books of marvellous spiritual helpfulness4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bbj ,esmond1 ,vanity ,fair1 etc4 ,very famous books4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bba ,westward1 ,ho6 ,two ,years ,ago1 etc4 ,among the best and most famous pictures of true ,english character4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bbb ,ben ,hur4 ,this book has been placed close to the ,bible and ,bunyan4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bbc ,hot ,plowshares1 ,the ,fool's ,errand1 ,the ,invisible ,empire1 ,appeal to ,caesar1 etc4 ,books widely known1 but whose great merit is not fully recognized4 ,tourgee1 though uneven1 seems to us a writer of very great power4 ,his ,hot ,plowshares is a powerful historical novel2 and few books in the whole range of literature are so intensely interesting1 and so free from all that is objectionable in subject or execution4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bbd ,les ,miserables1 ,notre ,dame de ,paris1 ,les ,travailleurs de la ,mer1 etc4 ,wraxall's translations of these great ,french novels are most excellent4 7,france1 #aith cent47 ,some critics think that no characters in ,shakspeare are better drawn than those of ,dumas4 ,monte ,cristo1 ,the ,vicomte de ,bragelonne 7,stevenson's favorite71 ,the ,three ,musketeers1 ,twenty ,years ,after1 ,the ,marie ,antoinette ,romances1 etc41 are powerful and intensely interesting novels4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #bbe ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,there are few persons who do not get delight and inspiration from ,defoe's wonderful story4 7,eng41 #affa-agca47 ,tom ,brown at ,rugby and ,tom ,brown at ,oxford1 by ,thomas ,hughes1 are delightful books for boys4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bbf ,mrs4 ,stowe's ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin1 was ,god's bugle-call to the war against slavery4 ,her ,oldtown ,folks and ,sam ,lawson's ,fireside ,stories are very humorous sketches of ,new ,england life4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,cooper's ,the ,spy1 ,the ,pilot1 ,leather ,stocking1 ,deerslayer1 ,pathfinder1 etc41 are books that interfere with food and sleep1 and chain us to their pages4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bbg ,prue and ,i1 by ,george ,william ,curtis1 is one of the most suggestive stories in print1 and is in every way a delightful book4 ,potiphar ,papers1 ,our ,best ,society1 ,trumps1 ,lotus ,eaters1--in fact1 everything ,mr4 ,curtis writes1 is of the highest interest1 and worthy of the most careful attention4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,the same may be said of the works of ,charles ,dudley ,warner1--,being a ,boy1 ,a ,hunting of the ,deer1 ,in the ,wilderness1 ,backlog ,studies1 ,my ,summer in a ,garden1 etc4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bbh ,t4 ,b4 ,aldrich1 while perhaps not destined to rank with ,scott1 ,eliot1 and ,hawthorne1 is nevertheless one of the most wholesome and interesting of living authors4 ,the ,stillwater ,tragedy is his strongest book4 ,prudence ,palfrey1 ,the ,story of a ,bad ,boy1 ,margery ,daw1 and ,the ,queen of ,sheba will doubtless be read by those who once become acquainted with the author4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,the first part of ,hearn's ,chita exceeds in beauty and strength any other piece of descriptive writing with which we are familiar4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bbi ,ebers' ,homo ,sum1 ,uarda1 and ,an ,egyptian ,princess are very powerful studies of ,egyptian life and history4 7,ger41 #aith cent47 ,with ,fire and ,sword1 and its sequels1 ,the ,deluge and ,pan ,michael1 by ,henryk ,sienkiewicz1 are among the greatest books of modern times4 ,they are historical romances of the conflict between ,russia1 ,poland1 and ,sweden2 and their power may be guessed from the fact that critics have compared the author favorably with ,scott1 ,dumas1 ,schiller1 ,cervantes1 ,thackeray1 ,turgenieff1 ,homer1 and even ,shakspeare4 7,poland1 #aith cent47 #bcj ,miss ,austen's ,emma1 ,pride and ,prejudice 7,eng41 #aith cent471 and ,charlotte ,bronte's ,jane ,eyre 7,eng41 #aith cent471 are all noble and renowned novels4 #bca ,louisa ,alcott's ,little ,women is a lovely story of home life2 and its exceeding popularity is one of the most encouraging signs of the growth of a taste for pure1 gentle1 natural literature4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,mrs4 ,burnett's ,little ,lord ,fauntleroy deservedly met at once a high reward of popularity1 and was placed in the front rank among stories of child-life4 ,as a teacher of gentleness and good manners it is invaluable4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bcb ,cable's ,grande ,pointe1 ,the ,grandissimes1 etc41 should be read by all who wish to know the best living novelists4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,craddock's ,where the ,battle was ,fought1 ,despot of ,broomsedge ,cove1 ,prophet of ,great ,smoky ,mountain1 ,story of ,keedon ,bluffs1 and ,down the ,ravine are fascinating stories1 the last two being fine books for children4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bcc ,mrs4 ,a4 ,d4 ,t4 ,whitney's ,sights and ,insights1 though somewhat too wordy for this busy world1 is worthy a place here1 because of its spiritual beauty and its keen common-sense in respect to marriage and courtship4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,sarah ,orne ,jewett has won a good name by her excellent stories1 ,deephaven1 ,betty ,leicester1 etc4 ,her ,play ,days is a fine book for girls4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bcd ,fielding1 ,le ,sage1 and ,balzac are writers of great power1 whose works are studied for their artistic merit1 their wit1 and the intense excitement some of them yield2 but the general moral tone of their writings places them below the purer writers above spoken of in respect to their value to the general reader1 one of whose deepest interests is character-forming4 ,fielding's ,tom ,jones is by many considered the finest novel in existence2 and it undoubtedly would be1 if along with its literary skill it possessed the high tone of ,curtis or ,scott4 ,jonathan ,wild is also a powerful story4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 ,gil ,blas1 by ,le ,sage1 is one of the most famous and widely read books in the world4 7,france1 #affh--agdg47 ,balzac's best are ,le ,pere ,goriot 7and especially the magnificent preface to this book71 ,la ,recherche de l',absolu1 ,eugenie ,grandet1 ,la ,peau de ,chagrin1 etc4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #bce ,rousseau's ,emile has been called the greatest book ever written2 but we presume that bias and limitation of knowledge on the part of critics 7not rare accomplishments of theirs7 might procure a similar judgment in respect to almost any strong and peculiar book4 ,rousseau's ,confessions are worth some attention4 7,france1 #ahth cent47 ,saintine's ,picciola is a beautiful story4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #bcf ,coffin's ,boys of '#gf1 ,boys of '#fa1 ,story of ,liberty1 etc41 are splendid books for young people4 ,the last describes the march of the human race from slavery to freedom4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,charles ,reade's ,hard ,cash1 ,peg ,woffington1 ,cloister and ,hearth are fascinating stories4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,warren's ,ten ,thousand a ,year4 #bcg ,landor's ,imaginary ,conversations of ,great ,men4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 ,turgenieff's ,liza1 ,smoke1 and ,fathers and ,sons4 7,russia1 #aith cent47 ,eugene ,sue's ,wandering ,jew4 ,manzoni's ,i promessi ,sposi4 #bch ,cottin's ,elizabeth4 ,besant's ,all ,sorts and ,conditions of ,men4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,stevenson's ,the ,strange ,case of ,dr4 ,jekyll and ,mr4 ,hyde4 ,a book that teaches the danger of giving way to the evil side of our nature4 #bci ,mrs4 ,ward's ,robert ,elsmere is a famous picture of the struggle in the religious mind to-day4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,margaret ,deland's ,john ,ward1 ,preacher1 is a book of the same class as the last1 but is not as interesting as her ,florida ,days or her ,poems4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,anna ,sewell's ,black ,beauty is the autobiography of a noble horse1 and is tender and intelligent4 ,a book that every one who has anything to do with horses1 or indeed with animals of any sort1 cannot afford to neglect4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,bret ,harte's ,luck of ,roaring ,camp is an interesting picture of ,western life1 and opens a new vein of fiction4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bdj ,green's ,hand and ,ring1 ,leavenworth ,case1 etc41 are splendid examples of reasoning1 without any of the objectionable features usually found in detective stories4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,miss ,mulock's ,john ,halifax1 ,gentleman1 is a great and famous book4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,disraeli's ,lothair1 ,endymion1 etc41 are strong books2 requiring the notice of one who reads widely in ,english fiction4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,howells' ,a ,modern ,instance1 ,the ,undiscovered ,country1 ,a ,hazard of ,new ,fortunes1 ,a ,chance ,acquaintance1 ,lady of the ,aroostook1 etc41 are not objectionable4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,tolstoi's ,anna ,karenina deserves mention1 though we cannot by any means agree with ,howells that ,tolstoi is the greatest of novelists4 ,the motive and atmosphere of his books are not lofty1 and some of his work is positively disgraceful4 7,russia1 #aith cent47 #bda ,george ,sand's ,consuelo is a great book in more senses than one2 and although it deserves a place in this lower list1 yet there are so many better books1 that if one follows the true order1 life would be likely to depart before he had time to read a four-volume novel by an author of the tone of ,george ,sand4 7,france1 #aith cent47 ,black's ,strange ,adventures of a ,phaeton1 ,princess of ,thule4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,blackmore's ,lorna ,doone4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,olive ,schreiner's ,story of an ,african ,farm is powerful1 but not altogether wholesome4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bdb ,bremer's ,the ,neighbors4 7,norway1 #aith cent47 ,trollope's ,last ,chronicles of ,barsetshire4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 ,winthrop's ,cecil ,dreeme1 ,john ,brent4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bdc ,richardson's ,pamela and ,clarissa ,harlowe are interesting1 because they were the beginning of the ,english novel2 but they are not nice or natural1 and have no attractions except their historic position4 7,eng41 #afhi-agfa47 ,smollett's ,humphrey ,clinker is his strongest work4 ,peregrine ,pickle is very witty1 and ,adventures of an ,atom altogether a miserable book4 ,smollett possessed power1 but his work is on a very low plane4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 ,boccaccio's ,decameron is a series of splendidly told tales1 from which ,chaucer drew much besides his inspiration4 ,the book is strong1 but of very inferior moral tone4 ,,oratory4 ,great and successful oratory requires deep knowledge of the human mind and character1 personal force1 vivid imagination1 control of language and temper1 and a faculty of putting the greatest truths in such clear and simple and forceful form1 that they may not only be grasped by untrained minds1 but will break down the barriers of prejudice and interest1 and fight their way to the throne of the will4 ,oratory is religion1 science1 philosophy1 biography1 history1 wit1 pathos1 and poetry in action4 ,this department of literature is therefore of the greatest value in the development of mind and heart1 and of the power to influence and control our fellows4 ,especially read and study ,demosthenes on the ,crown1 ,burke's ,warren ,hastings' ,oration1 ,webster's ,reply to ,hayne1 ,phillips' ,lovejoy and ,toussaint ,l',ouverture1 and ,lincoln's ,gettysburg1 his debates with ,douglas1 and his great speeches in ,new ,york and the ,east before the ,war1 in which fun1 pathos1 and logic were all welded together in such masterly shape that professors of oratory followed him about from city to city1 studying him as a model of eloquence4 ,there is a book called ,great ,orations of ,great ,orators that is very valuable1 and there is a series of three volumes containing the best ,british orations 7fifteen orators71 and another similar series of ,american speeches 7thirty-two orators74 ,,wit ,,and ,,humor4 ,in what wit consists1 and why it is we laugh1 are questions hard to answer 7read on that subject ,spencer and ,hobbes1 and ,mathews' ,wit and ,humor2 their ,use and ,abuse72 but certain it is that a little seasoning of fun makes intellectual food very palatable1 and much better adapts it for universal and permanent assimilation4 ,most men can keep what is tied to their memories with a joke4 ,considering all things1 ,lowell1 ,holmes1 ,dickens1 and ,cervantes are the best humorists the world affords4 ,see ,table ,,iii4 ,group #d4 ,they exhibit a union of power and purpose that is not found elsewhere4 ,they always subordinate wit to wisdom1 always aim at something far higher than making fun for its own sake1 never appear to make any effort for their effects1 and always polish their work to perfection4 ,a great deal of the keenest wit will be found in books whose general character puts them in some other column1--,poetry1 ,fiction1 ,oratory1 etc4 ,the works of ,shakspeare1 ,addison1 ,eliot1 ,sheridan1 ,goldsmith1 ,irving1 ,higginson1 ,carleton1 ,thackeray1 ,hood1 ,saxe1 ,fielding1 ,smollett1 ,aristophanes1 ,moliere1 etc41 abound in wit and humor4 ,the student of humor will be interested in ,hazlitt's ,english ,comic ,writers1 ,thackeray's ,english ,humorists1 and ,besant's ,french ,humorists4 #bdd ,fable for ,critics1 ,biglow ,papers4 ,considering the keenness and variety of wit1 the depth of sarcasm1 the breadth of view1 and the importance of its subject1 the ,biglow ,papers is the greatest humorous work of all history4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bde ,autocrat of the ,breakfast-,table1 ,professor at the ,breakfast-,table1 etc4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bdf ,pickwick ,papers4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bdg ,don ,quixote4 7,spain1 #aedg-afaf47 #bdh ,along with much violent scoffing1 and calling of his betters by hard names1 ,ingersoll's speeches contain some of the keenest wit in the language4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bdi ,marietta ,holley's ,sweet ,cicely1 ,samantha at the ,centennial1 ,betsey ,bobbet1 ,my ,wayward ,pardner1 ,samantha at ,saratoga1 ,samantha among the ,brethren1 etc41 are full of quaint fun1 keen insight1 and common-sense4 ,they are somewhat more wordy than we wish they were1 but they are wholesome1 and the author's purpose is always a lofty one4 ,her fun is not mere fun1 but is like the laughing eye and smiling lip of one whose words are full of thought and elevated feeling4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bej ,g4 ,w4 ,curtis's ,potiphar ,papers is a good example of quiet1 refined humor4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bea ,chauncey ,m4 ,depew's ,orations and ,after-,dinner ,speeches are worthy of perusal by all lovers of wit and sense4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #beb ,mark ,twain is the greatest of those who make humor the primary object4 ,he does not1 like ,artemus ,ward1 make it the sole object1--there is a large amount of keen common-sense in his ,a ,yankee in ,king ,arthur's ,court1 and there is also in it an open-mindedness to the newest currents of thought that proves the author to be one of the most wide-awake men of the day4 ,innocents ,abroad1 ,the ,prince and the ,pauper1 ,roughing ,it1 etc41 are very amusing books1 the only drawback being that the reader is sometimes conscious of an effort to be funny4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bec3 ,charles ,dudley ,warner's ,in the ,wilderness gives some exceedingly amusing sketches of backwoods life4 ,see also other books mentioned under the head of ,fiction4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bed ,s4 ,k4 ,edwards' ,two ,runaways1 and ,other ,stories is a book that no lover of humor can afford to be without4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bee ,e4 ,e4 ,hale's ,my ,double1 and ,how ,he ,undid ,me1 and other stories contain much innocent recreation4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bef ,nasby's ,ekoes from ,kentucky and ,swingin' round the ,circle are full of the keenest political sarcasm4 ,lincoln was so impressed with ,nasby's power1 that he said he had rather possess such gifts than be ,president of the ,united ,states4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #beg ,artemus ,ward ,his ,book1 is funny1 but lacks purpose beyond the raising of a laugh4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #beh ,caudle ,lectures1 ,catspaw1 etc4 ,jerrold is one of the sharpest of wits4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bei ,voltaire was the ,ingersoll of ,france1 only more so4 ,his ,dictionnaire is full of stinging sarcasm and fierce wit4 7,france1 #ahth cent47 ,english ,bards and ,scotch ,reviewers4 ,the sharpest edge of ,byron's keen mind4 7,eng41 #aghh-ahbd47 #bfj ,hudibras4 ,a tirade against the ,puritans4 7,eng41 #agth cent47 ,gulliver's ,travels1 ,tale of a ,tub1 etc4 ,coarse raillery4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #bfa ,gargantua and ,pantagruel4 ,immense coarse wit4 7,france1 #afth cent47 ,tristram ,shandy4 ,not delicate1 but full of humor4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #bfb ,juvenal is one of the world's greatest satirists4 7,rome1 #ast cent47 ,lucian is the ,voltaire of the ,old ,world4 ,in his ,dialogues of the ,gods he covers with ridicule the religious notions of the people4 7,greek ,lit1 #b;d cent4 ,a4 ,d47 ,,fables ,,and ,,fairy ,,tales4 ,fables and fairy tales are condensed dramas1 and some of them are crystal drops from the fountains of poetic thought4 ,often they express in picture language the deepest lessons that mankind have learned2 and one who wishes to gather to himself the intellectual wealth of the nations must not neglect them4 ,in the section of the book devoted to remarks upon the ,guidance of ,children1 the literature of this subject receives more extended attention4 ,among the books that will most interest the student of this subject may be mentioned the works of ,fiske and ,bulfinch1 named below1 ,baldwin's ,story of the ,golden ,age1 ,ragozin's ,chaldea1 ,kingsley's ,greek ,heroes1 ,cox's ,tales of ,ancient ,greece1 ,hanson's ,stories of ,charlemagne1 ,church's ,story of the ,iliad and ,story of the ,a,eneid1 and the books mentioned in connection with the ,morte ,d',arthur1 note #cbc following3-- #bfc ,fairy ,tales1 ,shoes of ,fortune1 etc4 7,denmark1 #aith cent47 #bfd ,the inimitable ,french poet of ,fable4 7,france1 #agth cent47 #bfe ,the world-famous ,greek fabulist4 ,his popularity in all ages has been unbounded4 ,socrates amused himself with his stories4 7,greece1 #fth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #bff ,household ,tales4 7,ger41 early #aith cent47 #bfg ,reineke ,fox4 7,bohn ,lib47 7,ger41 early #aith cent47 ,kipling's ,indian ,tales4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bfh ,age of ,fable1 ,age of ,chivalry1 etc4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bfi ,fables in his poems4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bgj ,a ,french fabulist1 next in fame to ,la ,fontaine4 7#ahth cent47 #bga ,greek ,fables4 7,about com4 ,christ4 era47 #bgb ,tales4 7,ger41 #aith cent47 #bgc ,metamorphoses4 ,an account of the mythology of the ancients4 ,ovid was one of ,rome's greatest poets4 7,rome1 #ast cent4 ,b4 ,c47 ,curtin's ,myths and ,folk-,lore of ,ireland1 ,myths and ,folk-,tales of the ,russians1 etc4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,fiske's ,myths and ,myth ,makers4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 ,,travel4 ,nothing favors breadth more than travel and contact with those of differing modes of life and variant belief4 ,the tolerance and sympathy that are folding in the world in these modern days owe much to the vast increase of travel that has resulted from growth of commerce1 the development of wealth1 and the cheapness and rapidity of steam transportation4 ,even a wider view of the world comes to us through the literature of travel than we could ever gain by personal experience1 however much of wealth and time we had at our disposal2 and though the vividness is less in each particular picture of the written page than if we saw the full original reality that is painted for us1 yet this is more than compensated by the breadth and insight and perception of the meaning of the scenes portrayed1 which we can take at once from the writer1 to whom perhaps the gaining of what he gives so easily has been a very costly1 tedious process1 and would be so to us if we had to rely on personal observation4 ,voyages and travels therefore are of much importance in our studies1 and delightful reading too4 ,stanley's opinions have been much relied on in selecting the following books3-- #bgd ,voyages4 7,eng41 #ahth cent47 #bge ,cosmos2 ,travels4 7,ger41 #agfb-ahcb47 #bgf ,naturalist on the ,beagle4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bgg ,travels4 7,venice1 #adth cent47 #bgh ,arctic ,explorations4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bgi ,south ,africa4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bhj ,through the ,dark ,continent2 ,in ,darkest ,africa4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #bha ,travels in ,africa4 7,france1 #aith cent47 #bhb ,on ,egypt4 7,germany1 #aith cent47 #bhc ,abyssinia4 7,eng41 #aith cent47 #bhd ,india4 #bhe ,niger4 #bhf ,south ,america4 #bhg ,upper ,niger4 #bhh ,persia4 #bhi ,central ,africa4 #bij ,west ,coast of ,africa4 #bia ,travelled for thirty years1 then wrote the marvels he had seen and heard2 and his book became very popular in the #adth and #aeth centuries4 7,eng41 #adth cent47 #bib ,the ,nile4 ,,guides4 ,in this column of ,guides are placed books that will be useful in arriving at a fuller knowledge of literature and authors1 in determining what to read1 and in our own literary efforts4 #bic ,what to ,read on the ,subject of ,reading1 by ,william ,e4 ,foster1 ,librarian of the ,providence ,public ,library4 ,every one who is interested in books should keep an eye on this thorough and enthusiastic worker1 and take advantage of the information he lavishes in his bulletins4 #bid ,the ,pall ,mall ,extra1 containing ,sir ,john ,lubbock's ,list of the ,best ,hundred ,books1 and letters from many distinguished men4 #bie ,english ,literature4 #bif ,english ,literature4 #big ,english ,literature4 ,the most philosophic work on the subject2 but it is difficult1 and requires a previous knowledge of the principal ,english authors4 #bih ,handbook of ,universal ,literature4 #bii ,dictionary of ,authors4 #cjj ,bartlett's ,familiar ,quotations is one of the most famous and valuable of books4 #cja ,edge-,tools of ,speech4 ,brief quotations arranged under heads such as ,books1 ,government1 ,love1 etc4 #cjb ,library of ,poetry and ,song2 but for the general reader ,palgrave's exquisite little ,golden ,treasury is better4 #cjc ,primer of ,english ,literature4 ,the best very brief book on the subject4 #cjd ,bibliographical ,aids4 #cje ,motive and ,habit of ,reading4 #cjf ,choice of ,books4 #cjg ,sesame and ,lilies4 #cjh ,the ,love of ,books4 #cji ,history of ,prose ,fiction4 ,baldwin's ,book ,lover is valuable for its lists of books bearing on special topics4 ,c4 ,k4 ,adams' ,manual of ,historical ,literature is invaluable to the student of history4 ,there ought to be similar books relating to ,philosophy1 ,fiction1 ,science1 etc4 ,,miscellaneous4 ,in the column ,miscellaneous are placed a number of books which should be at least glanced through to open the doors of thought on all sides and to take such account of their riches as will place them at command when needed4 #caj ,one of the noblest little books in existence2 to read it is to pour into the life and character the inspiration of hundreds of the best and most successful lives4 ,every page should be carefully read and digested4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #caa ,an exquisite book2 one of ,robert ,collyer's early favorites4 ,put its beauty in your heart4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #cab ,a book that should be read for its breadth4 7,eng41 early #agth cent47 #cac ,edward ,bellamy's ,looking ,backward is one of the same class of books to which ,bacon's ,new ,atlantis1 ,more's ,utopia1 etc41 belong1 and may be read with much pleasure and profit along with them4 ,it is really a looking forward to an ideal commonwealth1 in which the labor troubles and despotisms of to-day shall be adjusted on the same principle as the political troubles and despotisms of the last century were settled2 namely1 the principle that each citizen shall be industrially the equal of every other1 as all are now political equals4 ,it is a very famous book1 and has been called the greatest book of the century1 which1 happily for the immortality of ,spencer and ,darwin1 ,carlyle and ,ruskin1 ,parkman and ,bancroft1 ,guizot and ,bryce1 ,goethe and ,hugo1 ,byron and ,burns1 ,scott and ,tennyson1 ,whittier and ,lowell1 ,bulwer and ,thackeray1 ,dickens and ,eliot1 is only the judgment of personal friendship and blissful ignorance4 ,but while the book cannot feel at home in the society of the great1 it is nevertheless a very entertaining story1 and one vastly stimulative of thought4 ,the idea of a coming industrial democracy1 bearing more or less analogy to the political democracy1 the triumph of which we have seen1 is one that has probably occurred to every thoughtful person2 and in ,bellamy's book may be found an ingenious expansion of the idea much preferable to the ordinary socialistic plans of the day1 though not wholly free from the injustice that inheres in all social schemes that do not aim to secure to each man the wealth or other advantage that his lawful efforts naturally produce4 7,u4 ,s41 #aith cent47 #cad ,everywhere a favorite4 ,it opens up wide regions of imagination4 ,ruskin says he read it many times when he might have been better employed1 and crosses it from his list4 ,but the very fact that he read the book so often shows that even his deep mind found irresistible attraction in it4 7,first introduced into ,europe in #agth cent47 #cae ,the most colossal lies known to science4 7,ger41 #ahth cent47 #caf ,the poem of ,beowulf should be looked into by all who wish to know the character of the men from whom we sprang1 and therefore realize the basic elements of our own character4 7,eng41 early ,saxon times47 #cag ,should be glanced at for the light it throws on ,english history and development4 7#ith-#abth cents47 #cah ,froissart's ,chronicles constitute a graphic story of the ,states of ,europe from #acbb to the end of the #adth century4 ,scott said that ,froissart was his master4 ,breadth demands at least a glance at the old itinerant tale-gatherer4 ,note especially the great rally of the rebels of ,ghent4 #cai ,this masterpiece of ,old ,german ,minstrelsy is too much neglected by us4 ,read it with the three preceding4 7,early ,german47 #cbj ,saga means tale or narrative1 and is applied in ,iceland to every kind of tradition1 true or fabulous4 ,read the ,heimskringla1 ,njal's ,saga1 and ,grettir's ,saga1 7#ith-#acth cents47 #cba ,along with the last should be read the poems of the elder ,edda4 7,compiled by ,samund the ,wise1 #abth cent47 #cbb ,the epic of ,spain1 containing a wonderful account of the prowess of a great leader and chief4 7,spain1 before the #acth cent47 #cbc ,a collection of fragments about the famous ,king ,arthur and his ,round ,table4 ,they crop out in every age of ,english literature4 ,read the book with ,tennyson's ,idylls of the ,king1--a poem inspired by ,malory's ,morte ,d',arthur1--,cervantes' ,don ,quixote1 and ,twain's ,yankee in the ,court of ,king ,arthur1 ,lanier's ,boy's ,king ,arthur1 ,ritson's ,ancient ,english ,metrical ,romances1 ,ellis' ,introduction to the ,study of the same1 ,preston's ,troubadours and ,trouveres1 ,sismondi's ,literature of ,southern ,europe1 ,chapon's ,troubadours1 and ,van ,laun's ,history of ,french ,literature may be referred to with advantage by the student of ,malory4 #cbd ,a collection of ,chinese odes4 #cbe ,this and the last are recommended1 not for intrinsic merit1 but for breadth1 and to open the way to an understanding of and sympathy with four hundred millions of mankind who hold these books in profound veneration4 7,china1 as early as #eth cent4 ,b4 ,c47 #cbf ,this is the ,bible of the ,sufis of ,persia1 one of the manifestations of that great spirit of mysticism which flows like a great current through the world's history1 side by side with the stream of ,rationalism4 ,it found certain outlets in ,schelling1 ,swedenborg1 ,emerson1 etc41 and is bubbling up even now through the strata of worldliness in the ,united ,states in the shape of ,theosophy4 7#gth cent47 #cbg ,read ,saint ,hilaire's ,buddha and ,arnold's ,light of ,asia4 ,they will open great regions of thought4 #cbh ,these are epitomized by ,talboys ,wheeler in his ,history of ,india4 ,very interesting and broadening4 7,very ancient47 #ccj ,not valuable reading intrinsically1 but as opening the doors of communication with the minds and hearts of whole races of men1 most useful4 ,the ,vedas are the ,bible of the ,hindus1 and contain the revelation of ,brahma 7#aeth cent474 ,the ,koran is the ,mohammedan ,bible 7#fth cent474 ,the ,talmud belongs to the ,rabbinical literature of the ,jews1 and is a collection of ,jewish traditions 7#c;d cent474 #ccc ,the works of ,hooker1 ,swedenborg1 ,newton1 ,kepler1 ,copernicus1 ,laplace1 should be actually handled and glanced through to form a nucleus of experience1 around which may gather a little knowledge of these famous men and what they did4 ,this remark applies with more or less of force to all the names on the second shelf4 ,few can hope to read all these books1 but it is practicable by means of general works1 such as those mentioned in ,column #ac1 to gain an idea of each man1 his character and work2 and there is no better way to put a hook in the memory on which such knowledge of an author may be securely kept1 than to take his book in your hands1 note its size and peculiarities 7visual and tactual impressions are more easily remembered than others as a rule71 glance through its contents1 and read a passage or two4 ,,short ,,courses4 ,when the reader has a special purpose in view1 it is of the greatest advantage to arrange in systematic order the books that will be most helpful in the accomplishment of his purpose1 study them one after the other1 mark them1 compare them1 make cross references from one to another1 digest and assimilate the vital portions of each1 and seek to obtain a mastery of all that the best minds of the past have given us in reference to the object of his effort4 ,for example3 a person who has devoted himself exclusively to one line of ideas will be greatly benefited by reading a short course of books that will give him a glimpse of each of the great fields of thought4 ,one who is lacking in humor should get a good list of fine humorous works and devote himself to them1 and to the society of fun-loving people1 until he can see and enjoy a good joke as keenly as they do1--not only to quicken his perception of humor1 but that the organ of fun 7the gland that secretes wit and humor7 may be roused into normal activity4 ,again1 if a gentleman finds that he does not appreciate ,shakspeare1 ,dante1 ,irving1 etc41 as he sees or is told that literary people do2 if he prefers his newspaper to the ,english classics as a source of pleasure and profit2 if he sees little difference between ,tennyson and ,tupper1 enjoys ,bill ,nye as much or more than ,holmes1 and is able to compare the verses he writes to his sweetheart with ,milton without any very distinct feeling except perhaps a disgust for ,milton1--if any of these things are true1 he has need of a course to develop a literary taste4 ,in the three tables following will be found a suggestion of several important short courses1 and others will be found on page #abc et seq4 ,,table ,,ii4 ,a short special course1 to gather ideas of practical importance to every life1 and to make a beginning in the gaining of that breadth of mind which is of such vital value by reason of its influence on morals and the aid it gives in the attainment of truth4 #a4 ,physiology and ,hygiene4 ,read and digest the best books4 ,see ,table ,i4 ,col4 #c4 #b4 ,our ,country1 by ,strong2 the ,constitution of the ,united ,states2 the ,declaration of ,independence1 and ,washington's ,farewell4 7,all m4 ,r4 ,d47 #c4 ,mill's ,logic2 at any rate1 the ,canons of ,induction and the ,chapter on ,fallacies1 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g47 #d4 ,smiles's ,self-,help4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 #e4 ,wood's books on ,natural ,history2 especially his anecdotes of animals1 and evidences of mind1 etc41 in animals 7e4 ,r4 ,d474 ,proctor's books on ,astronomy1 ,other ,worlds than ,ours1 etc4 7e4 ,r4 ,g474 ,lubbock's ,primitive ,condition of ,man 7m4 ,r474 ,dawson's ,chain of ,life 7m4 ,r474 ,in some good brief way1 as by using the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica1 read about ,copernicus1 ,galileo1 ,kepler1 ,newton1 ,darwin1 ,herschel1 ,lyell1 ,harvey1 and ,torricelli4 #f4 ,spencer's ,first ,principles4 7d4 ,r4 ,d4 ,g47 #g4 ,green's ,short ,history of the ,english ,people 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,g474 ,bancroft's ,history of the ,united ,states 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,g74 ,guizot's ,history of ,civilization 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,g474 #h4 ,max ,mueller's philological works1 or some of them 7m4 ,r474 ,taylor's ,words and ,places 7m4 ,r474 #i4 ,in some public library1 if the books are not accessible elsewhere1 get into your hands the books named in ,columns #ab and #ac of ,table ,i41 and not already spoken of in this table1 and glance through each1 reading a little here and there to make a rapid survey of the ground1 acquire some idea of it1 and note the places where it may seem to you worth while to dig for gold4 ,,table ,,iii4 ,a short course of the choicest selections from the whole field of general literature4 ,it may easily be read through in a year1 and will form a taste and provide a standard that will enable the reader ever after to judge for himself of the quality and value of whatever books may come before the senate of his soul to ask for an appropriation of his time in their behalf4 ,very few books are requisite for this course1 but it will awaken a desire that will demand a library of standard literature4 ,no4 #a1 ,no4 #b1 etc41 refer to the numbers of the #ajj ,choice ,selections4 ,monroe's ,sixth ,reader and ,palgrave's ,golden ,treasury are also referred to1 because they contain a great number of these gems1 and are books likely to be in the possession of the reader4 ,for the meaning of the other abbreviations1 see the last section of the ,introductory ,remarks4 ,,group ,i4--,poetry4 99 in headings denotes ,degree of ,difficulty4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- 99 ,manner of ,where found4 ,reading4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #a4 ,,shakspeare4 ,hamlet1 especially noting ,hamlet's ,shakspeare's conversations with the ,ghost1 ,plays are with his mother and ,ophelia1 his published advice to the players1 his separately1 soliloquy1 and his discourse on d4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 and also the nobleness of man together1 ,merchant of ,venice1 especially ,richard ,grant noting the scene in court1 and ,white's the parts relating to ,portia e4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 edition being ,julius ,caesar1 especially noting the the best4 speeches of ,brutus and ,antony1 and the quarrel of ,brutus and m4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 ,cassius ,taming of the ,shrew e4 ,r4,g4 ,henry the ,eighth m4 ,r4,d4 ,henry the ,fourth1 read for the wit of ,falstaff m4 ,r4,d4 ,henry the ,fifth1 noting especially the wooing m4 ,r4,d4 ,coriolanus1 noting especially the grand fire and force and frankness of ,coriolanus m4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 ,sonnets in ,palgrave's ,golden ,treasury1 ,nos4 #c1 #f1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 #ad1 #ah1 #cf1 #df m4 ,r4,d4,c4 #b4 ,,milton4 ,the ,opening of the ,gates of ,hell1 one of the sublimest conceptions in literature4 ,it is in ,paradise ,lost1 about six pages from the end of ,book ,,ii4 ,read sixty lines beginning1 ,thus saying1 from her side the fatal key1 ,sad instrument of all our woe d4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,milton's ,satan's ,throne1 ten lines at the ,poems4 beginning of ,book ,,ii4 m4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,opening of ,paradise ,lost1 #bf lines at the beginning of ,book ,i4 m4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,the ,angels uprooting the ,mountains and hurling them on the ,rebels4 ,fifty lines beginning about the #fdjth line of ,book ,,vi41 ,so they in pleasant vein1 etc4 m4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,hail1 ,holy ,light1 fifty-five lines at the beginning of ,book m4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,,iii4 ,comus1 a masque1 and one of the masterpieces of ,english d4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 ,milton's literature ,poems4 ,l' ,allegro1 a short poem on mirth d4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 ,the last ,il ,penseroso1 a short poem three of this on melancholy d4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 list are in ,lycidas1 a celebrated elegy d4 ,r4,g4 ,palgrave4 #c4 ,,homer4 ,homer has had many ,pope's translation4 ,at least the translators1 first book of the ,iliad4 ,a ,pope1 ,derby1 simple1 clear story of battles ,worsley1 and quarrels1 and counsels1 ,chapman1 charming in its sublimity1 ,flaxman1 pathos1 vigor1 and naturalness4 ,lang1 ,bryant1 ,the world's greatest epic e4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 etc4 #d4 ,,aeschylus4 ,potter1 ,morshead1 ,prometheus ,bound1 the sublimest of ,swanwick1 the sublime4 ,be sure to reach and ,milman1 and grasp the grand picture of the ,browning have human race and its troubles which translated underlies this most magnificent ,a,eschylus4 ,the poem d4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 first two are ,agamemnon1 the grandest tragedy the best4 in the world m4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,flaxman's designs add much4 #e4 ,,dante4 ,divine ,comedy4 ,read ,farrar's little ,translated by ,life of ,dante 7,john ,alden1 ,longfellow1 ,n4 ,y471 and then take the ,comedy ,carey1 ,john and read the thirty-third canto1 ,carlyle1 the portions relating to the ,butler1 and ,hells of ,incontinence and of ,dean ,church4 ,fraud1 thepicture of ,satan1 and the whole of the ,purgatorio d4 ,r4,d4,g4 #f4 ,,spenser4 ,faerie ,queen1 noting specially the first book and the book of ,britomart1 endeavoring to grasp and apply to your own life the truths that underlie the rich and beautiful imagery d4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,spenser's ,hymn in ,honor of his own ,wedding d4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,poems4 ,the ,fable of the ,oak and the ,briar1 in ,calendar is ,shepherd's ,calendar1 ,february m4 ,r4 published separately4 #g4 ,,scott4 ,lady of the ,lake e4 ,r4 ,scott's ,poems1 ,marmion e4 ,r4 or separate4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ----------------- ,transcriber's note3 ,numbers #h and #i are missing in the original4 ---------------------------------------- ----------------- ,,group ,,ii4--,short ,poetical ,selections4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,manner 99 of ,where found4 ,reading4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #aj4 ,,payne4 ,home1 ,sweet ,home e4 ,c4 ,,longfellow4 ,psalm of ,life4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,longfellow's ,paul ,revere's ,ride ,poems4 ,the ,building of the ,ship e4 ,r4 7,these may be found in most of the reading-books47 e4 ,suspiria1 and the close of ,morituri ,salutamus m4 ,r4,d4 ,,holmes4 ,nautilus2 the last stanza ,autocrat of commit m4 ,r4,d4 the ,the ,stars and ,flowers1 a ,breakfast- lovely little poem1--the ,table4 first verses in the ,autocrat of the ,breakfast-,table e4 ,r4,d4 ,,hunt4 ,abou ,ben ,adhem e4 ,r4,d4 ,monroe4 ,,carew4 ,the ,true ,beauty e4 ,r4,d4 ,palgrave1 #hg4 ,,gray4 ,elegy in a ,country ,churchyard m4 ,r4,d4,c4 #adg4 ,hymn to ,adversity m4 ,r4,d4 #aei4 ,progress of ,poesy m4 ,r4,d4 #adj4 ,the ,bard m4 ,r4,d4 #abc4 ,,saxe4 ,the ,blind ,men and the ,elephant e4 ,r4,d4 ,no4 #d4 ,,jackson4 ,poems of ,the ,release m4 ,r4,d4 ,h4 ,h4 ,jackson4 #aa4 ,,hood4 ,bridge of ,sighs m4 ,r4,d4 ,palgrave1 #bca4 ,song of the ,shirt e4 ,r4,d4 ,no4 #b4 ,,burns4 ,ye ,banks and ,braes o' ,bonnie ,doon e4 ,r4,d4 ,palgrave1 #aci4 ,to a ,field-mouse e4 ,r4,d4 #add4 ,mary ,morrison e4 ,r4,d4 #adh4 ,bonnie ,lesley e4 ,r4,d4 #adi4 ,jean e4 ,r4,d4 #aee4 ,john ,anderson e4 ,r4,d4 #aef4 ,a ,man's a ,man for a' that e4 ,r4,d4 ,burns's ,poems4 ,auld ,lang ,syne e4 ,r4,d4 ,robert ,bruce's ,address to his ,army e4 ,r4,d4 ,,moore4 ,the ,light of other ,days e4 ,r4,d4 ,palgrave1 #bbe4 ,come rest in this ,bosom e4 ,r4,d4 ,irish ,melodies ,at the ,mid ,hour of ,night e4 ,r4,d4 ,irish ,melodies ,those ,evening ,bells e4 ,r4,d4 ,monroe4 ,,coleridge4 ,rime of the ,ancient ,mariner d4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,coleridge's ,kubla ,khan2 a ,picture of the ,poems4 ,stream of ,life d4 ,r4,d4,g4 ,vale of ,chamouni e4 ,r4 ,monroe4 ,,whittier4 ,the ,farmer's ,wooing1 in ,among the ,hills m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,whittier's ,the ,harp at ,nature's ,advent ,poems4 ,strung1 etc41 in ,tent on the ,beach m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,snow ,bound1 ,centennial ,hymn 7,no4 #ac71 and at least glance athis ,voices of ,freedom m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,barefoot ,boy e4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,,tennyson4 ,break1 break1 break1 on thy ,tennyson's cold gray ,stones1 ,o ,sea m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,poems4 ,ring out1 wild ,bells1 in the ,in ,memoriam m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,bugle ,song1 in ,the ,princess m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,no4 #b4 ,charge of the ,light ,brigade e4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,no4 #b4 ,the ,brook e4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,monroe4 ,,chaucer4 ,the ,clerk's ,tale1 or the ,story of ,grisilde1 in the ,chaucer's ,canterbury ,tales m4 ,r4 ,poems4 #ab4 ,,key4 ,the ,star-,spangled ,banner e4 ,c4 ,no4 #d4 ,,drake4 ,the ,american ,flag e4 ,r4 ,no4 #a4 ,,smith4 ,my ,country1 'tis of thee e4 ,c4 ,,boker4 ,the ,black ,regiment e4 ,r4 ,no4 #a4 ,,campbell1 full of fire and martial music4 ,ye ,mariners of ,england m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,palgrave1 #bjf4 ,battle of the ,baltic m4 ,r4,c4 #bjg4 ,soldier's ,dream m4 ,r4,c4 #bfg4 ,hohenlinden m4 ,r4,c4 #bae4 ,lord ,ullin's ,daughter m4 ,r4,c4 #aha4 ,love's ,beginning m4 ,r4,c4 #ahc4 ,ode to ,winter m4 ,r4,c4 #bef4 ,,thomson4 ,rule ,britannia m4 ,r4,c4 ,palgrave1 #abb4 ,,lowell4 ,the ,crisis d4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 ,lowell's ,harvard ,commemoration ,ode d4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 ,poems4 ,the ,fountain e4 ,r4,d4,c4,g4 ,,halleck4 ,marco ,bozzaris e4 ,r4 ,no4 #a4 ,,macaulay4 ,lays of ,ancient ,rome1 especially ,horatius1 and e4 ,r4,d4 ,no4 #b4 ,virginia1 also the ,battle of ,ivry m4 ,r4,d4 ,no4 #e4 ,o',,hara4 ,the ,bivouac of the ,dead ,,mitford4 ,rienzi's ,address m4 ,r4 ,no4 #a4 ,,croly4 ,belshazzar m4 ,r4 ,no4 #d4 #ac4 ,,shelley4 ,shelley's ,poems4 ,ode to the ,west ,wind m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,palgrave1 #bge4 ,ode to a ,skylark m4 ,r4,d4,c4 #bda4 ,to a ,lady with a ,guitar m4 ,r4,d4,c4 #beb4 ,italy m4 ,r4,d4,c4 #bgd4 ,naples m4 ,r4,d4,c4 #bbg4 ,the ,poet's ,dream d4 ,r4,d4,c4 #bgg4 ,the ,cloud1 ,sensitive ,plant1 etc4 m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,,byron4 ,byron's ,poems4 ,all for ,love m4 ,r4,d4 ,palgrave1 #afi4 ,beauty m4 ,r4,d4 #aga4 ,apostrophe to the ,ocean1 and ,the ,eve of ,waterloo m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,monroe4 ,the ,field of ,waterloo m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,no4 #a4 7,these are among the most magnificent poems in any language47 ,,bryant4 ,thanatopsis m4 ,r4,c4,g4 ,no4 #a4 ,,prentice4 ,the ,closing ,year m4 ,r4,c4,g4 ,no4 #a4 ,,poe4 ,the ,bells2 ,the ,raven m4 ,r4,c4,g4 ,no4 #a4 ,annabel ,lee m4 ,r4 ,no4 #e4 ,,keats4 ,keats's ,poems4 ,the ,star m4 ,r4 ,palgrave1 #aih4 ,ode to a ,nightingale m4 ,r4 #bdd4 ,ode to ,autumn m4 ,r4 #bee4 ,ode on the ,poets m4 ,r4 #afg4 ,,wordsworth4 ,a ,beautiful ,woman e4 ,r4,c4 ,palgrave1 #agd4 ,the ,reaper m4 ,r4 #bej4 ,simon ,lee m4 ,r4 #bai4 ,intimations of ,immortality #cfg4 ,,herbert4 ,gifts of ,god e4 ,r4,d4,c4 #gd4 ,,read4 ,drifting m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,no4 #a4 ,sheridan's ,ride e4 ,r4 ,,fletcher4 ,melancholy e4 ,r4 ,palgrave1 #ajd4 ,,pope4 ,rape of the ,lock m4 ,r4 ,pope's ,poems4 #ad4 ,,ingelow4 ,the ,brides of ,enderby m4 ,r4 ,no4 #b4 ,high ,tide1 etc4 ,,cowper4 ,loss of the ,royal ,george e4 ,r4 ,palgrave1 #abi4 ,solitude of ,selkirk m4 ,r4 #afj4 ,,dryden4 ,alexander's ,feast d4 ,r4 #aaf4 ,,collins4 ,the ,passions d4 ,r4 #ada4 ,,jonson4 ,hymn to ,diana m4 ,r4 #gh4 ,,addison4 ,cato's ,soliloquy m4 ,r4 ,no4 #a4 ,,lodge4 ,rosaline m4 ,r4 ,palgrave1 #af4 ,,herrick4 ,counsel to ,girls e4 ,r4 #hb4 ,the ,poetry of ,dress e4 ,r4 #ib4 #ae4 ,,goethe4 ,raphael ,chorus1--a wonderful chorus of three stanzas in ,faust4 ,read ,shelley's translations1 both literal and free1 in his ,fragments m4 ,r4,c4,g4 ,shelley's ,poems4 ,,omar ,,khayyam4 ,rubaiyat1 especially the moving shadow-shape and the phantom caravan stanzas1 for their magnificent imagery m4 ,r4,c4,g4 ,fitzgerald's ,translation4 ,,euripides4 ,chorus in ,medea--,campbell's translation m4 ,r4,c4,g4 ,campbell's ,poems4 ,,calderon4 ,read ,shelley's ,fragments m4 ,r4,c4,g4 ,shelley's ,poems4 ,,schiller4 ,schiller's ,the ,battle m4 ,r4 ,poems4 ,no4 #d4 ,the ,song of the ,bell m4 ,r4 ,publ4 separately4 ,,moliere4 ,tartuffe1 or ,the ,hypocrite e4 ,r4,d4 ,moliere's ,le ,misanthrope1 or ,the ,plays4 ,man-,hater e4 ,r4,d4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,,group ,,iii4--,short ,prose ,selections4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,manner 99 of ,where found4 ,reading4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #af4 ,,lincoln4 ,gettysburg ,oration4 ,famous for its calm1 clear1 simple beauty1 breadth1 and power m4 ,r4,c4 ,no4 #b4 ,,irving our greatest master of style2 his prose is poetry4 ,rip ,van ,winkle e4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,sketch ,book4 ,the ,spectre ,bridegroom e4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,the ,art of ,book-,making e4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,the ,legend of ,sleepy ,hollow e4 ,r4,d4,c4 #ag4 ,,bacon4 ,essay on ,studies4 ,note the clearness and completeness of ,bacon1 and his tremendous condensation of thought m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,bacon's ,essays4 ,,carlyle4 ,apostrophe to ,columbus1 p4 #aic of ,past and ,present1-- ,carlyle's finest passage m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,await the ,issue m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,monroe4 ,the account of the conversational powers of ,coleridge1 given in ,carlyle's ,life of ,sterling e4 ,r4,d4,c4 #ah4 ,,webster4 ,liberty and ,union1--a selection from the answer to ,hayne in the ,united ,states ,senate1 on the question of the power of a ,state to nullify the acts of ,congress1 and to withdraw from the ,union1--the greatest of ,american orations1 and worthy to rank side by side with the world's best m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,no4 #a4 ,,phillips4 ,comparison of ,toussaint ,l',ouverture with ,napoleon1 ,phillips's in his oration on ,toussaint m4 ,r4,d4,c4 ,speeches4 #ai4 ,,everett4 ,discoveries of ,galileo m4 ,r4 ,no4 #a4 ,,burritt4 ,one ,niche the ,highest e4 ,r4 ,no4 #g4 #bj4 ,,hugo4 ,the ,monster ,cannon1 one of the great ,frenchman's master strokes1--a very thrilling scene1 splendidly painted e4 ,r4 ,no4 #aa4 ,rome and ,carthage m4 ,r4 ,no4 #f4 ,,de ,,quincey4 ,noble ,revenge m4 ,r4 ,no4 #g4 #ba4 ,,poe4 ,murders in the ,rue ,morgue d4 ,r4 ,little ,classics4 ,,ingersoll4 ,oration at the funeral of his ,ingersoll's brother m4 ,r4 ,prose ,poems4 #bb4 ,,scott4 ,thirty-sixth chapter of the ,heart of ,midlothian m4 ,r4 ,,curtis4 ,nations and ,humanity m4 ,r4 ,no4 #aa4 #bc4 ,,taylor4 ,the sections on ,temperance and ,chastity in the ,holy ,living and ,dying m4 ,r4,d4 ,,brooks4 ,pamphlet on ,tolerance1--the best book in the world on a most vital subject m4 ,r4,d4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,,group ,,iv4--,wit and ,humor--,short ,list4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,manner 99 of ,where found4 ,reading4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #bd4 ,,lowell4 ,biglow ,papers e4 ,r4,d4 ,lowell's ,fable for ,critics d4 ,r4,d4 ,poems4 ,the ,courtin' e4 ,r4,d4 ,,holmes4 ,autocrat of the ,breakfast-,table m4 ,r4,d4 #be4 ,,carleton4 ,farm ,ballads1 especially the ,visit of the ,school ,committee1 and ,the ,rivals e4 ,s4 ,,stowe4 ,laughin' in ,meetin' e4 ,s4 ,no4 #aa4 ,,twain4 ,on ,new ,england ,weather e4 ,s4 ,no4 #ac4 ,european ,guides1 and ,innocents ,turkish ,baths e4 ,s4 ,abroad4 #bf4 ,,dickens4 ,pickwick ,papers e4 ,s4 ,,james ,,de ,,mille4 ,cumnock's ,a ,senator ,entangled e4 ,s4 ,choice ,readings4 ,,lover4 ,the ,gridiron e4 ,s4 ,,whately4 ,historic ,doubts regarding ,publ4 ,napoleon e4 ,s4 separately4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,,table ,,iv4 ,,supplementary ,,general ,,reading4 ,in addition to the short courses set forth in ,tables ,,ii4 and ,,iii41 at the same time1 if the reader has a sufficiency of spare hours1 but always in subordination to the above courses1 it is recommended that attention be given to the following books3-- ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress4 7e4 ,r4 ,d47 ,defoe's ,robinson ,crusoe4 7e4 ,s47 ,dickens' ,christmas ,carol 7m4 ,r4 ,d472 ,cricket on the ,hearth4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 ,ruskin's ,crown of ,wild ,olive 7m4 ,r4 ,d472 ,ethics of the ,dust 7m4 ,r4 ,d472 ,sesame and ,lilies4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 ,emerson's ,essays 7d4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c472 especially those on ,manners1 ,gifts1 ,love1 ,friendship1 ,the ,poet1 and on ,representative ,men4 ,demosthenes on the ,crown4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g47 ,burke's ,warren ,hastings ,oration4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g47 ,phillips' ,speeches on ,lovejoy and ,garrison4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g47 ,la ,fontaine's ,fables4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 ,short ,biographies of the ,world's ,hundred ,greatest ,men4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 ,marshall's ,life of ,washington4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,g47 ,carlyle's ,cromwell4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,g47 ,tennyson's ,in ,memoriam4 7d4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c47 ,byron's ,childe ,harold4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c47 ,burns' ,cotter's ,saturday ,night4 7m4 ,r4 ,d47 ,keats' ,endymion4 7d4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c47 ,shelley's ,prometheus ,unbound4 7d4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c4 ,g47 ,campbell's ,pleasures of ,hope4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c47 ,goldsmith's ,deserted ,village4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c47 ,pope's ,essay on ,man4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c47 ,thomson's ,seasons4 7m4 ,r4 ,d4 ,c47 ,,children4 ,so far we have spoken of reading for grown people4 ,now we must deal with the reading of young folks1--a subject of the utmost importance4 ,for to give a child good habits of reading1 to make him like to read and master strong1 pure books1--books filled with wisdom and beauty1--and equally eager to shun bad books1 is to do for him and the world a service of the highest possible character2 and to neglect the right care of a child in this matter is to do him an injury far greater than to mutilate his face or cut off his arm4 ,,what ,,to ,,give ,,the ,,children4 ,parents1 teachers1 and others interested in the welfare of young people have not only to solve the problem of selecting books for their own nourishment1 but also the more difficult problem of providing the young folks with appropriate literary food4 ,as literature may be made one of the most powerful influences in the development of a child1 the greatest care should be taken to make the influence true1 pure1 and tender1 and give it in every respect the highest possible character1 which requires as much care to see that bad books do not come into the child's possession and use1 as to see that good books do4 ,the ability to read adds to life a wonderful power1 but it is a power for evil as well as good4 ,as ,lowell says1 ,it is the key which admits us to the whole world of thought and fancy and imagination1--to the company of saint and sage1 of the wisest and wittiest at their wisest and wittiest moments4 ,it enables us to see with the keenest eyes1 hear with the finest ears1 and listen to the sweetest voices of all time4 ,more than that1 it annihilates time and space for us1--reviving without a miracle the ,age of ,wonder1 and endowing us with the shoes of swiftness and the cap of darkness4 ,yes1 but it opens our minds to the thoughts of the vile as well as to those of the virtuous2 it unlocks the prisons and haunts of vice as well as the school and the church2 it drags us through the sewer as well as gives us admission to the palace2 it feeds us on filth as well as the finest food2 it pours upon our souls the deepest degradation as well as the spirit of divinity4 ,parents will do well to keep from their children such books as ,richardson's ,pamela and ,clarissa ,harlowe2 ,fielding's ,joseph ,andrews1 ,jonathan ,wild1 and ,tom ,jones2 ,smollett's ,humphrey ,clinker1 ,peregrine ,pickle1 and ,adventures of an ,atom2 ,sterne's ,tristram ,shandy2 ,swift's ,gulliver1 and their modern relatives4 ,many of these coarse pictures of depravity and microscopic analyses of filth ,i cannot read without feeling insulted by their vulgarity1 as ,i do when some one tells an indecent story in my presence4 ,whatever the power or wit of a book1 if its motive is not high and its expression lofty1 it should not come into contact with any life1 at least until its character is fixed and hardened in the mould of virtue beyond the period of plasticity that might receive the imprint of the badness in the book4 ,there are plenty of splendid books that are pure and ennobling as well as strong and humorous1--more of them than any one person can ever read1--so that there is no necessity of contact with imperfect literature4 ,if a boy comes into possession of a book that he would not like to read aloud to his mother or sister1 he has something that is not good for him to read1--something that is not altogether the very best for anybody to read4 ,some liberty of choice1 however1 ought to be allowed the children4 ,it will add much to the vigor and enthusiasm of a boy's reading if1 instead of prescribing the precise volume he is to have at each step1 he is permitted to make his own selection from a list of three or four chosen by the person who is guiding him4 ,what these three or four should be1 is the problem4 ,i cannot agree with ,lowell1 when he says that young people ought to confine themselves to the supreme books in whatever literature1 or1 still better1 choose some one great author and make themselves thoroughly familiar with him4 ,it is possible to know something of people in general about me without neglecting my best friends4 ,it is possible to enjoy the society of ,shakspeare1 ,goethe1 ,a,eschylus1 ,dante1 ,homer1 ,plato1 ,spencer1 ,scott1 ,eliot1 ,marcus ,aurelius1 and ,irving1 without remaining in ignorance of the power and beauty to be found in ,chaucer1 ,spenser1 ,milton1 ,byron1 ,burns1 ,goldsmith1 ,keats1 ,shelley1 ,tennyson1 ,longfellow1 ,whittier1 ,holmes1 and ,lowell1 ,ingersoll1 ,omar1 ,arnold1 ,brooks1 and ,robertson1 ,curtis1 ,aldrich1 ,warner1 ,jewett1 ,burroughs1 ,bulwer1 ,tourgee1 ,hearn1 ,kingsley1 ,mac,donald1 ,hawthorne1 ,dickens1 ,thackeray1 ,carlyle1 ,ruskin1 ,hugo1 ,bronte1 ,sienkiewicz1 and a host of others4 ,scarcely a day passes that ,i do not spend a little time with ,shakspeare1 ,goethe1 ,a,eschylus1 ,spencer1 and ,irving2 but ,i should be sorry to have any one of those ,i have named beyond call at any time4 ,there are parts of ,holmes1 ,lowell1 ,brooks1 ,emerson1 ,omar1 ,arnold1 ,tourgee1 and ,hearn that are as dear to me as any passages of equal size in ,goethe or ,irving4 ,so it does not seem best to me to confine the attention to the supreme books2 a just proportion is the true rule4 ,let the supreme books have the supreme attention1 absorb them1 print them on the brain1 carry them about in the heart1 but give a due share of time to other books4 ,i like the suggestion of ,marietta ,holley3 ,i would feed children with little sweet crumbs of the best of books1 and teach them that a whole rich feast awaited them in the full pages1 only taking care in each instance that the crumb is well rounded1 the picture not torn or distorted4 ,there are paragraphs and pages in many works of the second rank that are equal to almost anything in the supreme books1 and superior to much the latter contain4 ,these passages should be sought and cherished2 and the work of condensing the thought and beauty of literature--making a sort of literary prayer-book--is an undertaking that ought not to be much longer delayed4 ,until it is done1 however1 there is no way but to read widely1 adapting the speed and care to the value of the volume4 ,some things may be best read by deputy1 as ,mark ,twain climbed the ,alps by agent2 newspapers1 for example1 and many of the novels that flame up like a haystack on fire1 and fade like a meteor in its fall1 striking the earth never to rise again4 ,the time that many a young man spends upon newspapers would be sufficient to make him familiar with a dozen undying books every year4 ,newspapers are not to be despised1 but they should not be allowed to crowd out more important things4 ,i keep track of the progress of events by reading the ,outlook in the ,christian ,union every week1 and glancing at the head-lines of the ,herald or ,journal1 reading a little of anything specially important1 or getting an abstract from a friend who always reads the paper4 ,a good way to economize time is for a number of friends to take the same paper1 the first page being allotted to one1 the second to another1 and so on1 each vocally informing the others of the substance of his page4 ,if time cannot be found for both the newspaper and the classic1 the former1 not the latter1 should receive the neglect4 ,this matter of the use of time is one concerning which parents should strive to give their children good habits from the first4 ,if you teach a child to economize time1 and fill him with a love of good books1 you ensure him an education far beyond anything he can get in the university1--an education that will cease only with his life4 ,the creation of a habit of industrious study of books that will improve the character1 develop the powers1 and store the mind with force and beauty1--that is the great object4 ,a good example is the best teacher4 ,it is well for parents to keep close to the child until he grows old enough to learn how to determine for himself what he should read 7which usually is not before fifteen or twenty1 and in many cases never72 for children1 and grown folks too for that matter1 crave intellectual as much as they do physical companionship4 ,the methods of guiding the young in the paths of literature fall naturally into two groups1--the first being adapted to childhood not yet arrived at the power of reading alone1 the second adapted to later years4 ,there is no sharp line of division or exclusion1 but only a general separation2 for the methods peculiarly appropriate to each period apply to some extent in the other4 ,some children are able to read weighty books at three or four years of age1 but most boys and girls have to plod along till they are eight or ten before they can read much alone4 ,i will consider the periods of child life ,i have referred to1 each by itself4 ,the ,age of ,stories4--,it is not necessary or proper to wait until a child can read1 before introducing it to the best literature4 ,most of the books written for children have no permanent value1 and most of the reading books used in primary and grammar schools contain little or no genuine literature1 and what they do contain is in fragments4 ,portions of good books are useful1 if the story of each part is complete1 but children do not like the middle of a story without the beginning and end2 they have the sense of entirety1 and it should be satisfied4 ,and it is not difficult to do this4 ,literature affords a multitude of beautiful stories of exceeding interest to children1 and of permanent attractiveness through all the after years of their lives4 ,such literature is as available1 as a means of teaching the art of reading1 as is the trash in dreary droning over which the precious years of childhood are spent in our public schools4 ,the development of the child mind follows the same course as the development of the mind of the race4 ,the little boy loves the wonderful and the strong1 and nearly everything is wonderful to him except himself4 ,living things especially interest him4 ,every child is a born naturalist2 his heart turns to birds and beasts1 flowers and stars4 ,he is hungry for stories of animals1 giants1 fairies1 etc4 ,myths and fairy tales are his natural food4 ,his power of absorbing and retaining them is marvellous4 ,one evening a few weeks ago a little boy who is as yet scarcely able to read words of two and three letters asked me for a story4 ,i made an agreement with him that whatever ,i told him1 he should afterward repeat to me1 and then gave him the story of the elephant who squirted muddy water over the cruel tailor that pricked his trunk with a needle4 ,no sooner had ,i finished than he threw his arms around my neck and begged for another story4 ,i told him eight in rapid succession1 some of them occupying three or four minutes1 and then asked him to tell me about the elephants1 dogs1 bears1 etc41 that ,i had spoken of4 ,he recited every story with astonishing accuracy and readiness1 and apparently without effort1 and would have been ready for eight more bits of ,wood or ,andersen1 if his bedtime had not intervened4 ,if parents would take as much pains to satisfy the mind hunger of their children as they do to fulfil their physical wants1 and give them the best literature as well as the best beef and potatoes1 the boys and girls would have digested the greater part of mythology1 natural science1 and the best fiction by the time they are able to read4 ,children should be fed with the literature that represents the childhood of the race4 ,out of that literature has grown all literature4 ,give a child the contents of the great books of the dawn1 and you give him the best foundation for subsequent literary growth1 and in after life he will be able to follow the intricate interweaving of the old threads throughout all modern thought4 ,he has an immense affinity for those old books1 for they are full of music and picturesqueness1 teeming with vigorous life1 bursting with the strange and wonderful4 ,in the following list parents and teachers will find abundant materials for the culture of the little ones1 either by reading aloud to them1 or still better by telling them the substance of what they have gathered by their own reading of these famous stories and ditties4 ,pictures are always of the utmost value in connection with books and stories1 as they impart a vividness of conception that words alone are powerless to produce4 ,one plea for sincerity ,i must make1--truth and frankness from the cradle to the grave4 ,do not delude the children4 ,do not persuade them that a fairy tale is history4 ,i have a sad memory of my disgust and loss of confidence in human probity when ,i discovered the mythical character of ,kriss ,kringle1 and ,i believe many children are needlessly shocked in this way4 ,list of ,materials for ,story-telling and for the ,instruction and ,amusement of ,childhood4 ,mother ,goose1 ,jack and the ,bean-,stalk1 ,jack the ,giant-,killer1 ,three ,bears1 ,red ,riding-,hood1 ,the ,ark1 ,hop o' my ,thumb1 ,puss in ,boots1 ,samson1 ,ugly ,duckling1 ,the ,horse of ,troy 7,virgil71 ,daniel in the ,lion's ,den1 etc4 ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales4 ,delightful to all children4 ,grimm's ,fairy ,tales4 ,de ,garmo's ,fairy ,tales4 ,craik's ,adventures of a ,brownie4 ,parents' ,assistant1 by ,maria ,edgeworth1 recommended by ,george ,william ,curtis1 ,mary ,mapes ,dodge1 ,charles ,dudley ,warner1 etc4 ,zigzag ,journeys1 a series of twelve books1 written by ,hezekiah ,butterworth1 one of the editors of the ,youth's ,companion4 ,as might be supposed1 they are among the very best and most enduringly popular books ever written for young people4 ,wood's books of ,anecdotes about ,animals1 and many other works of similar character1 that may be obtained from the ,american ,society for the ,prevention of ,cruelty to ,animals1 #ai ,milk ,street1 ,boston4 ,the literature distributed by this ,society is filled with the spirit of love and tenderness for all living things1 and is one of the best influences that can come into a child's life4 ,mary ,treat's ,home ,book of ,nature4 ,one of the best books of science for young people4 ,bulfinch's ,age of ,fable4 ,a book that is exhaustive of ,greek and ,roman mythology1 but meant for grown folks4 ,bulfinch's ,age of ,chivalry4 ,fiske's ,myths and ,myth ,makers4 ,brief1 deep1 and suggestive4 ,hawthorne's ,wonder ,book and ,tanglewood ,tales4 ,books that no house containing children should lack4 ,cox's ,tales of ,ancient ,greece4 ,baldwin's ,stories of the ,golden ,age4 ,forestier's ,echoes from ,mist ,land4 ,an interesting study of the ,nibelungenlied4 ,lucian's ,dialogues of the ,gods4 ,written to ridicule ancient superstitions4 ,curtin's ,folk ,lore of ,ireland4 ,stories of ,greek ,heroes1 ,kingsley4 ,stories from ,bryant's ,odyssey4 ,stories from ,church's ,story of the ,iliad4 ,stories from ,church's ,story of the ,a,eneid4 ,stories from ,herodotus1 ,church4 ,stories from the ,greek ,tragedians1 ,church4 ,stories of ,charlemagne1 ,hanson4 ,stories from ,arabian ,nights1 ,bulfinch4 ,stories from ,munchausen1 and ,maundeville4 ,stories from ,chaucer1 especially ,griselda4 7,from ,chaucer1 or from ,mrs4 ,haweis' book47 ,stories told to a ,child1 by ,jean ,ingelow4 ,stories from the ,morte ,d',arthur1 ,malory or ,lanier4 ,stories from ,lanier's ,froissart4 ,stories from ,shakspeare4 ,stories of the ,revolution1 ,riedesel4 ,stories from ,american and ,english ,history about the ,magna ,charta1 ,henry ,,viii41 ,queen ,elizabeth1 ,cromwell1 ,pitt1 ,gladstone1 ,boston ,tea ,party1 ,declaration of ,independence1 ,washington1 ,rebellion1 ,lincoln1 etc4 ,stories of ,american life1 from ,oldtown ,folks1 ,sam ,lawson's ,fireside ,stories1 and from the best novels4 ,stories from the ,book of ,golden ,deeds1 ,miss ,yonge4 ,stories from ,bolton's ,poor ,boys who became ,famous1 and ,girls who became ,famous4 ,stories from ,smiles's ,self-,help4 ,full of brief1 inspiring stories of great men4 ,stones from ,todd's ,students' ,manual4 ,stories from ,irving's ,sketch ,book1 ,rip ,van ,winkle1 etc4 ,stories from ,green's ,short ,history of the ,english ,people4 ,stories from ,doyle's ,history of the ,united ,states4 ,one of the very best brief histories4 ,stories from ,mackenzie's ,history of the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,stories from ,coffin's ,story of ,liberty4 ,stories from ,freeman's ,general ,sketch of ,history4 ,stories from the ,stories of the ,nations4 7,putnam's ,series47 ,stories from the books of ,columns #b1 #c1 #d1 #e1 #h1 #ab1 and #ad of ,table ,i4 ,the story of ,christ and his ,apostles4 7,it is scarcely needful to mention ,bible stories in general4 ,every child born into a civilized family is saturated with them2 but the simple story of ,christ's life as an entirety is too seldom told them47 ,the story of ,buddha1 from the ,light of ,asia4 ,the story of ,mahomet1 ,irving4 ,the story of ,confucius4 ,the story of ,socrates drinking the hemlock1 from ,plato1 or from ,fenelon's ,lives of the ,philosophers1 which contains many splendid ,greek stories4 ,the story of ,prometheus1 from ,a,eschylus4 ,the story of ,diogenes in his ,tub4 ,the story of ,thermopylae and other battles1 from ,cressy4 ,the story of ,carthage1 from ,putnam's series of the ,stories of the ,nations4 7,nine to eleven years47 ,the story of ,roland1 ,baldwin4 ,the story of the ,cid1 ,southey4 ,the story of the ,nibelungenlied4 7,see ,baldwin's ,story of ,siegfried47 ,the story of ,faust1 from ,zigzag ,journeys4 ,the story of ,reynard the ,fox1 ,goethe4 ,the story of ,pythagoras and the transmigration of souls4 ,the story of ,astronomy1 from ,herschel1 ,proctor1 etc4 ,the story of ,geology1 from ,lyell1 ,dawson1 ,miller1 etc41 or from ,dana's ,the ,geological ,story1 ,briefly ,told4 ,the story of ,athena1 ,pluto1 ,neptune1 ,apollo1 ,juno1 ,mars1 ,jupiter1 ,mercury1 ,charon1 ,vulcan1 ,zeus1 ,io1 ,orpheus1 and ,eurydice1 ,phaeton1 ,arachne1 ,ariadne1 ,iphigenia1 ,ceres1 ,vesta1 ,herakles1 ,minerva1 ,venus1 ,scylla and ,charybdis1 ,hercules1 ,ulysses1 ,helen1 ,achilles1 ,a,eneas1 etc41 from ,bulfinch's ,age of ,fable1 ,zigzag ,journeys1 etc4 ,the story of ,william ,tell1 the ,man in the ,moon1 etc41 from ,s4 ,baring ,gould's ,curious ,myths4 ,the story of the ,courtship of ,miles ,standish4 ,the story of the ,nuernburg ,stove1 from ,ouida's ,bimbi4 ,the story of ,robert ,bruce4 ,the story of ,circe's ,palace1 from ,tanglewood ,tales4 ,the story of ,pandora's ,box1 from the ,wonder ,book4 ,the story of ,little ,nell1 from ,the ,old ,curiosity ,shop4 ,the story of the ,boy in ,vanity ,fair4 ,many other books might be placed on the list of parent-helpers4 ,indeed1 the perfect guidance of youth would require a perfect knowledge of literature throughout its breadth and depth2 but the above suggestions1 if followed in any large degree1 will result in a far better training than most children now receive4 ,,the ,,formation ,,of ,a ,,good ,,reading ,,habit4 ,as the child learns to read by itself1 the books from which were drawn the stones it has heard may be given to it1 care being taken that every gift shall be adapted to the ability of the little one4 ,the fact that the boy has heard the story of ,horatius at the ,bridge does not diminish1 but vastly increases1 his desire to read the ,lays of ,ancient ,rome4 ,when he comes to the possession of the book1 it seems to him like a discovery of the face of a dear friend with whose voice he has long been familiar4 ,i well remember with what delight ,i adopted the ,sketch ,book as one of my favorites on finding ,rip ,van ,winkle in it4 ,below will be found a list of books intended as a suggestion of what should be given to children of various ages4 ,the larger the number of good books the child can be induced to read each year1 the better of course1 so long as his powers are not overtaxed1 and the reading is done with due thoroughness4 ,but if only four or five are selected from each year's list1 the boy will know more of standard literature by the time he is sixteen1 than most of his elders do4 ,each book enters the list at the earliest age an ordinary child would be able to read it with ease1 and it may be used then or at any subsequent age2 for no books are mentioned which are not of everlasting interest and profit to childhood1 manhood1 and age4 ,many of the volumes named below may also be used by parents and teachers as story-mines4 ,there is no sharp line between the periods of story-telling and of reading4 ,most children read simple ,english readily at eight or ten years of age2 many do a large amount of reading long before that1 and nearly all do some individual work in the earlier period4 ,the change should be gradual4 ,for the stimulus that comparison gives1 story-telling and reading aloud should be continued long after the child is able to read alone2 in truth1 it ought never to cease4 ,story-telling ought to be a universal practice4 ,stories should be told to and by everybody4 ,one of the best things grown folks can do is to tell each other the substance of their experience from day to day2 and probably no finer means of education exists than to have the children give an account at supper or in the hour or two following1 of what they have seen1 heard1 read1 thought1 and felt during the day4 ,in the same way reading solus should lap over into the early period as far as possible4 ,one of the greatest needs of the day is a class of books that shall put solid sense into very simple words4 ,a child can grasp the wonderful1 strong1 loving1 pathetic1 and even the humorous and critical1 long before it can overcome the mechanical difficulties of reading4 ,by so much as we diminish these1 we push education nearer to the cradle4 ,charles ,dudley ,warner says1 ,as a general thing1 ,i do not believe in books written for children2 and ,phillips ,brooks1 ,marietta ,holley1 ,brooke ,herford1 and others express a similar feeling4 ,but the trouble is not with the plan of writing for children1 but with the execution4 ,if the highest thoughts and feelings were written in the simplest words1--written as a wise parent tells them to his little ones1--then we should have a juvenile literature that could be recommended4 ,as it is1 most writers for babies seem to have far less sense than the babies4 ,their books are filled with unnatural1 make-believe emotions1 and egregious nonsense in the place of ideas4 ,the best prose for young people will be found in the works of ,hawthorne1 ,curtis1 ,warner1 ,holmes1 ,irving1 ,addison1 ,goldsmith1 ,burroughs1 and ,poe2 and the best poets for them are ,longfellow1 ,lowell1 ,whittier1 ,burns1 and ,homer4 ,books that flavor sense with fun1 as do those of ,curtis1 ,holmes1 ,lowell1 ,holley1 ,stowe1 ,irving1 ,goldsmith1 ,warner1 ,addison1 and ,burroughs1 are among the best means of creating in any heart1 young or old1 a love for fine1 pure writing4 ,p4 ,t4 ,barnum1 a man whose great success is largely due to his attainment of that serenity of mind which ,lowell calls the highest result of culture1 says3 ,i should1 above almost everything else1 try to cultivate in the child a kindly sense of humor4 ,wherever a pure1 hearty laugh rings through literature1 he should be permitted and taught to enjoy it4 ,this judgment comes from a knowledge of the sustaining power a love of humor gives a man immersed in mental cares and worriments4 ,lincoln is1 perhaps1 the best example of its power4 ,it is often an inspiration to a boy to know that a book he is reading has helped and been beloved by some one whose name is to him a synonym of greatness1--to know1 for example1 that ,franklin got his style from the ,spectator1 which he studied diligently when a boy2 that ,francis ,parkman from fifteen to twenty-one obtained more pleasure and profit from ,scott than from any other writer2 that ,darwin was very fond of ,mark ,twain's ,treatise on the ,frog2 that ,marietta ,holley places ,emerson1 ,tennyson1 and ,eliot next to the ,bible in her list of favorites2 that ,senator ,hoar writes ,emerson1 ,wordsworth1 and ,scott next after the ,bible and ,shakspeare2 that ,robert ,collyer took great delight in ,irving's ,sketch ,book1 when a youth2 that the great historian ,lecky is said to be in the habit of taking ,irving with him when he goes to bed2 that ,phillips ,brooks read ,jonson many times when a boy1 and that ,lockhart's ,scott was a great favorite with him1 though the ,doctor attaches no special significance to either of these facts2 that ,susan ,coolidge thinks ,hans ,brinker is the best of all ,american books for children1 etc4 ,similar facts may be found in relation to very many of the best books1 and will aid much in arousing an interest in them4 ,plato1 ,bacon1 ,goethe1 ,spencer1 ,emerson1 and many others of the best are for the most part too difficult to be properly grasped until the mind is more mature than it usually is at sixteen4 ,no precise rules1 however1 can be laid down on this subject1 ,i have known a boy read ,spencer's ,first ,principles and ,goethe's ,faust and ,wilhelm ,meister at sixteen1 and gain a mastery of them4 ,all ,i have attempted to do is to make broad suggestions2 experiment in each case must do the rest4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,six or ,eight ,years of ,age and upward4 ,little ,lord ,fauntleroy4 ,a book that cannot fail to delight and improve every reader4 ,king of the ,golden ,river1 ,ruskin4 ,rosebud1 from ,harvard ,sophomore ,stories4 ,christmas all the ,year round1 ,howells4 ,mrs4 ,stowe's ,laughin' in ,meetin'4 ,an exceedingly funny story4 ,each and ,all and ,seven ,little ,sisters1 by ,jane ,andrews4 ,used in the ,boston ,public ,schools as supplementary reading4 ,classics in ,babyland1 ,bates4 ,scudder's ,fables and ,folk ,stories4 ,fine books for little ones4 ,a,esop4 ,rainbows for ,children1 ,lydia ,maria ,child4 ,black ,beauty1 by ,anna ,sewell4 ,the autobiography of a splendid horse1 and the best teacher of kindness to animals we know of4 ,burroughs' ,birds and ,bees4 ,in fact1 all his beautiful and simple stories of ,nature--,pepacton1 ,fresh ,fields1 ,wake ,robin1 ,winter ,sunshine1 ,signs and ,seasons1 etc4--are the delight of children as soon as they can read4 ,winslow's ,fairy ,geography4 ,by ,sea-side and ,wayside1 ,wright4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,eight to ,nine ,years of ,age and upward4 ,sandford and ,merton1 ,day4 ,one of the very best of children's books4 ,play ,days1 ,sarah ,orne ,jewett4 ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales4 ,cannot be too highly praised4 ,stories from ,king ,arthur1 ,hanson4 ,a good foundation for the study of ,malory1 ,tennyson1 etc4 ,winners in ,life's ,race1 and ,life and her ,children1 by ,miss ,arabella ,buckley4 ,books that charm many children of eight or nine4 ,fairy ,frisket2 or1 ,peeps at ,insect ,life4 ,nelson ,sons4 ,physiology1 with pictures4 ,queer ,little ,people1 ,mrs4 ,stowe4 ,kingsley's ,water ,babies4 ,a beautiful book1 as indeed are all of ,kingsley's4 ,longfellow's ,building of the ,ship4 ,the ,fountain1 ,lowell4 ,ye ,mariners of ,england1 ,campbell4 ,carleton's ,farm ,ballads and ,farm ,legends4 ,humorous1 pathetic1 sensible4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,nine to ,ten ,years of ,age and upward4 ,story of a ,bad ,boy1 ,aldrich4 ,a splendid book for boys4 ,boys of '#gf1 ,coffin4 ,an eight-year-old boy read it five times1 he was so pleased with it4 ,new ,year's ,bargain1 ,coolidge4 ,pussy ,willow1 ,stowe4 ,hanson's ,homer and ,virgil4 ,brief1 clear1 simple1 clean4 ,stories from ,homer1 ,hanson4 ,stories from ,pliny1 ,white4 ,grimm's ,fairy ,tales4 ,legend of ,sleeping ,beauty4 ,clodd's ,the ,childhood of the ,world4 ,a splendid book to teach children the development of the world4 ,friends in ,feathers and ,fur1 ,wings and ,fins1 ,paws and ,claws1 by ,johonnot4 ,books much liked by the little ones4 ,first ,book of ,zoology1 ,morse4 ,halleck's ,marco ,bozzaris4 ,wordsworth's ,peter ,bell4 ,mary1 ,queen of ,scots1 ,strickland4 ,the ,prince and the ,pauper1 ,twain4 ,a book that mingles no small amount of sense with its abounding fun and occasional tragedy4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,ten or ,eleven ,years of ,age and upward4 ,being a ,boy1 ,warner4 ,little ,women1 ,alcott4 ,one of the most popular books of the day4 ,a ,dog's ,mission1 ,stowe4 ,two ,years before the ,mast1 ,dana4 ,recommended by ,sarah ,orne ,jewett1 ,george ,william ,curtis1 and others4 ,ten ,boys on the ,road1 ,andrews4 ,a great favorite with the boys4 ,jan of the ,windmill1 ,ewing4 ,the story of a poor boy who becomes a famous painter4 ,hawthorne's ,celestial ,railroad4 ,little ,people of ,asia1 ,miller4 ,hawthorne's ,tanglewood ,tales and ,wonder ,book should belong to every child old enough to read ordinary ,english4 ,adventures of a ,brownie1 ,craik4 ,stories from ,chaucer1 ,seymour4 ,stories from ,livy1 ,church4 ,lives of the ,philosophers1 ,fenelon4 ,an excellent book4 ,what ,darwin saw in his ,trip round the ,world in the ,ship ,beagle4 ,fairy ,land of ,science1 ,miss ,buckley4 ,an author who writes for children to perfection4 ,animal ,life in the ,sea and on the ,land1 ,cooper4 ,very fine indeed4 ,darwin's chapter on the ,habits of ,ants 7in the ,origin of ,species7 is very interesting and amusing to little ones1 and together with ,burroughs' books prepares them to read such works as ,lubbock's ,ants1 ,bees1 and ,wasps4 ,ragozin's ,chaldea4 ,one of the indispensable books for children4 ,longfellow's ,psalm of ,life4 ,longfellow's ,hiawatha4 ,lowell's ,under the ,old ,elm4 ,wordsworth's ,white ,doe of ,rylstone4 ,lamb's ,essay on ,roast ,pig4 ,a piece of fun always enjoyed by boys and girls4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,eleven to ,twelve ,years of ,age and upward4 ,shakspeare's ,merchant of ,venice4 ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,in a school where the book was at their call children from ten to thirteen carried it to and from school1 charmed with its beautiful thoughts4 ,hans ,brinker1 ,mary ,mapes ,dodge4 ,one of the very best stories for children4 ,dickens' ,christmas ,carol4 ,hawthorne's ,great ,stone ,face4 ,highly appreciated by the young folks4 ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin1 ,mrs4 ,stowe4 ,a book that every child should have as soon as he is able to read it4 ,another ,flock of ,girls1 ,nora ,perry4 ,at the ,back of the ,north ,wind1 ,macdonald4 ,a beautiful story1 with a high motive4 ,a ,hunting of the ,deer1 ,warner4 ,crusade of the ,children1 ,gray4 ,a thrilling story4 ,bryant's translation of the ,odyssey4 ,story of the ,iliad1 ,church4 ,stories from ,herodotus1 ,church4 ,mary ,treat's ,home ,book of ,nature4 ,half ,hours with the ,stars1 ,proctor4 ,guyot's ,earth and ,man4 ,a most excellent book4 ,first ,book in ,geology1 ,shaler4 ,first ,steps in ,chemistry1 ,brewster4 ,first ,steps in ,scientific ,knowledge1 ,best4 ,abou ,ben ,adhem1 ,hunt4 ,scott's ,lady of the ,lake4 ,macaulay's ,lays of ,ancient ,rome4 ,longfellow's ,tales of a ,wayside ,inn4 ,whittier's ,snow ,bound4 ,how they ,brought the ,good ,news to ,aix1 ,browning4 ,wordsworth's ,we are ,seven4 ,franklin's ,autobiography4 ,lincoln's ,gettysburg ,speech4 ,samantha at the ,centennial4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,twelve to ,thirteen ,years of ,age and upward4 ,shakspeare's ,julius ,caesar4 ,pilgrim's ,progress1 ,bunyan4 ,indispensable4 ,meditation of ,thomas a ,kempis4 ,a strong influence for sweetness and purity4 ,vicar of ,wakefield1 ,goldsmith4 ,full of fun and good feeling2 one of the most indispensable of books4 ,cooper's novels1 especially ,the ,spy and the ,last of the ,mohicans4 ,books that are fascinating and yet wholesome4 ,my ,summer in a ,garden1 and ,in the ,wilderness1 ,warner4 ,very humorous4 ,the ,dog of ,flanders1 from ,little ,classics4 ,picciola1 ,saintine4 ,a great favorite4 ,the ,story of ,arnon1 ,amelie ,rives4 ,drake's ,culprit ,fay4 ,dr4 ,brown's ,rab and his ,friends4 ,the ,man without a ,country1 ,my ,double and ,how ,he ,undid ,me1 etc41 by ,e4 ,e4 ,hale4 ,the cast is extremely funny4 ,the ,hoosier ,schoolmaster1 ,eggleston4 ,boots and ,saddles1 ,mrs4 ,custer4 ,story of the ,a,eneid1 ,church4 ,stories from ,greek ,tragedians1 ,church4 ,plumptre's ,sophocles4 ,ruskin's ,athena4 ,boys and ,girls in ,biology1 ,stevenson4 ,other ,worlds than ,ours1 ,proctor4 ,captains of ,industry1 ,parton4 ,lowell's ,vision of ,sir ,launfal4 ,one of the great poet's finest productions4 ,byron's ,eve of ,waterloo4 ,longfellow's ,evangeline4 ,scott's ,marmion4 ,milton's ,comus4 ,the ,two ,runaways1 ,the ,born ,inventor1 ,idyl of ,sinkin' ,mountain1 etc41 by ,edwards4 ,very funny4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,thirteen to ,fourteen ,years of ,age and upward4 ,shakspeare's ,coriolanus and ,taming of the ,shrew4 ,scott's ,ivanhoe1 ,heart of ,midlothian1 ,guy ,mannering1 etc4 ,it is the making of a boy if he learns to love ,scott4 ,he will make a gentleman of him1 and give him an undying love of good literature4 ,journal of ,eugenie de ,guerin4 ,full of delicacy and quiet strength4 ,tom ,brown1 ,hughes4 ,an universal favorite4 ,curtis' ,prue and ,i4 ,one of the very choicest books1 both in substance and expression1--especially remarkable for its moral suggestiveness4 ,craddock's ,floating down ,lost ,creek4 ,most excellent4 ,dr4 ,jekyll and ,mr4 ,hyde1 ,stevenson4 ,a story with a powerful moral1--if we give scope to our evil nature1 it will master us4 ,goldsmith's ,good-,natured ,man4 ,carlyle's ,heroes and ,hero ,worship4 ,ben ,hur1 ,wallace4 ,the ,fool's ,errand1 ,tourgee4 ,the ,boys' ,king ,arthur1 ,lanier4 ,epictetus4 ,physiology for ,girls1 ,shepard4 ,physiology for ,boys1 ,shepard4 ,what ,young ,people should ,know1 ,wilder4 ,a book that no boy or girl should be without4 ,how ,plants ,behave1 ,gray4 ,goethe's ,erl ,king4 ,browning's ,ivan ,ivanovitch4 ,a favorite4 ,the ,forsaken ,merman1 ,matthew ,arnold4 ,an exquisite poem4 ,longfellow's ,miles ,standish4 ,scott's ,lay of the ,last ,minstrel4 ,the ,veiled ,statue of ,truth1 ,schiller4 ,guetenburg1 and the ,art of ,printing4 ,doyle's ,united ,states ,history4 ,john ,bright's ,speeches on the ,american ,question4 ,backlog ,studies1 ,warner4 ,encyclopaedia of ,persons and ,places1 and ,encyclopaedia of ,common ,things1 by ,champlin1 should be within the reach of every child over twelve or thirteen years of age4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,fourteen to ,fifteen ,years of ,age4 ,shakespeare's ,henry ,fourth and ,henry ,fifth4 ,autocrat of the ,breakfast-,table1 ,holmes2 and ,irving's ,sketch ,book4 ,two of the best books in all the world4 ,george ,eliot's novels1 especially ,silas ,marner1 ,the ,mill on the ,floss1 ,romola1 and ,adam ,bede4 ,the ,wit and ,wisdom of ,george ,eliot4 ,our ,best ,society1 ,curtis4 ,bulwer's ,rienzi4 ,the ,marble ,faun1 ,hawthorne4 ,sad ,little ,prince1 ,fawcett4 ,chita1 or ,youma1 by ,hearn1 a master of ,english style4 ,grande ,pointe1 ,cable4 ,la ,fontaine's ,fables4 ,plutarch's ,morals4 ,ethics of the ,dust1 ,ruskin4 ,lady ,how and ,madam ,why1 ,kingsley4 ,sketches of ,creation1 ,winchell4 ,very interesting to children of fourteen or fifteen4 ,the ,geological ,story1 ,briefly ,told1 ,dana4 ,ready for ,business1 or ,choosing an ,occupation1 ,fowler and ,wells4 ,ode to a ,skylark1 ,shelley4 ,birds of ,aristophanes1 ,frere4 ,alfred the ,great1 ,hughes4 ,plutarch's ,lives4 ,green's ,short ,history of the ,english ,people4 ,demosthenes on the ,crown4 ,the finest of all orations4 ,the ,biglow ,papers1 ,lowell4 ,the best of fun and sense4 ,sweet ,cicely1 ,holley4 ,quiet humor and unfailing wisdom4 ,higginson's ,vacations for ,saints4 ,a splendid example of humorous writing4 ,literature adapted to a ,child ,fifteen to ,sixteen ,years of ,age and upward4 ,shakspeare's ,hamlet and ,the ,tempest4 ,dante's ,inferno4 ,dickens' ,pickwick ,papers1 ,david ,copperfield1 ,old ,curiosity ,shop1 etc4 ,thackeray's ,vanity ,fair4 ,tourgee's ,hot ,plowshares1 and ,with ,fire and ,sword1 by ,sienkiewicz4 ,two of the greatest historical novels4 ,carlyle's ,past and ,present4 ,arnold's ,sweetness and ,light4 ,ruskin's ,crown of ,wild ,olive4 ,emerson's ,essays on ,manners1 ,self-,reliance1 ,eloquence1 ,friendship1 ,representative ,men1 etc4 ,mrs4 ,whitney's ,sights and ,insights4 ,a book that is filled with beautiful thoughts and unselfish actions4 ,spencer's ,data of ,ethics4 ,indispensable to a complete understanding of ethical subjects4 ,the ,light of ,asia4 ,a book that cannot fail to broaden and deepen every life it touches4 ,ten ,great ,religions1 ,clarke4 ,omar4 ,superb poetry4 ,bryant's ,thanatopsis4 ,coleridge's ,ancient ,mariner4 ,a lesson of the awfulness of cruelty4 ,auld ,lang ,syne1 ,burns4 ,toilers of the ,sea1 ,hugo4 ,huxley's ,man's ,place in ,nature4 ,tyndall's ,forms of ,water4 ,our ,country1 ,strong4 ,a book that ought to be in the hands of every young person4 ,bryce's ,american ,commonwealth4 ,guizot's ,history of ,civilization4 ,mill's ,logic4 ,no young man can afford to remain unacquainted with this book4 ,the ,hand and ,ring1 ,green4 ,one of the finest examples of reasoning in the language4 ,poe's ,murders in the ,rue ,morgue is another such example1 and his ,gold ,bug is another4 ,phillips' ,speeches ,webster's ,liberty and ,union4 ,golden ,treasury1 ,palgrave4 ,the ,spectator4 ,one of the very best books to study1 in order to form a good style4 ,franklin and others attribute their success largely to reading it carefully in boyhood4 ,the ,fable for ,critics1 ,lowell4 ,the ,yankee at the ,court of ,king ,arthur1 ,twain4 ,fun and sense welded together to make the most delightful book the author has written4 ,,special ,,studies4 ,next in value to a love of good reading is a habit of concentrating the attention upon one subject through a long course of reading4 ,in this way only can any thorough mastery be obtained4 ,the child should be taught not to be satisfied with the thought of any one writer1 but to investigate the ideas of all upon the topic in hand1 and then form his own opinion4 ,thus he will gain breadth1 depth1 tolerance1 independence1 and scientific method in the search for truth4 ,of course it is impossible in a work of this kind to map out lines of study for the multitudinous needs of young people4 ,the universities and the libraries provide the means of gaining full information as to the literature of any subject that may be selected4 ,a few topic-clusters may1 however1 be of use here in the way of illustration4 ,many examples will be found in ,baldwin's ,the ,book ,lover4 ,the ,industrial ,question4--,suppose a young man desired to study the industrial question1 which is one of the most important subjects of to-day1 the proper method would be to go to one of the great libraries1 or examine the catalogues of the large publishing-houses1 to discover the names of recent books on the given topic1 or on such subjects as ,labor and ,capital1 ,socialism1 ,co-operation1 etc4 ,such books usually refer to others1 and name many kindred works on the last pages4 ,thus the student's list will swell4 ,i have myself investigated more than two hundred books on this topic and those it led me to4 ,a few of the more important ,i will name as a starting-point for any one wishing to follow this research4 ,labor1 ,thornton4 ,conflict of ,labor and ,capital1 ,bolles2 also1 ,howell4 ,political ,economy1 ,mill4 ,progress and ,poverty1 ,george4 ,profit-,sharing1 ,gilman4 ,in ,darkest ,england1 ,booth4 ,wages and the ,wages ,class1 ,walker4 ,book of the ,new ,moral ,world1 ,owen4 ,communistic ,societies of the ,united ,states1 ,nordhoff4 ,dynamic ,sociology1 ,ward4 ,looking ,backward1 ,bellamy4 ,destinee ,sociale1 ,considerant4 ,more's ,utopia4 ,co-operative ,societies1 ,watts4 ,history of ,co-operation1 ,holyoake4 ,the ,margin of ,profits1 ,atkinson4 ,gronlund's ,co-operative ,commonwealth4 ,capital1 ,karl ,marx4 ,the ,state in relation to ,labor1 ,jevons4 ,organisation du ,travail1 ,louis ,blanc4 ,co-operative ,stores1 ,morrison4 ,labor and ,capital1 ,jervis4 ,newton's ,co-operative ,production and ,co-operative ,distribution in the ,united ,states4 ,property and ,progress1 ,mallock4 ,principles of ,sociology1 ,spencer4 ,mill on ,socialism4 ,the ,progress of the ,working ,classes1 ,giffen4 ,ely's ,french and ,german ,socialism1 ,problems of ,to-day1 and ,labor ,movement in ,america4 ,dilke's ,problems of ,greater ,britain4 ,contemporary ,socialism1 ,rae4 ,outlines of an ,industrial ,science1 ,symes4 ,early ,history of ,land-holding among the ,germans1 ,ross2 etc4 ,malthusianism4--,to take a smaller example4 ,suppose the student wishes to make a thorough study of the doctrine of ,malthusius in regard to population1 he will have to refer to ,macaulay's ,essay on ,sadler1 and the works on ,political ,economy of ,ricardo1 ,chalmers1 ,roscher1 etc41 in support of ,malthus1 and to ,george's ,progress and ,poverty1 ,spencer's ,biology 7,vol4 ,,ii471 ,sadler's ,law of ,population1 and the works of ,godwin1 ,greg1 ,rickards1 ,doubleday1 ,carey1 ,alison1 etc41 against him4 ,for an example of a very different kind1 cluster about the myth of ,cupid the poems ,cupid and my ,campaspe1 by ,lilly2 ,the ,threat of ,cupid1 translated by ,herrick2 ,cupid ,drowned1 by ,leigh ,hunt2 and ,cupid ,stung1 by ,moore4 ,a great deal depends on selecting some department of thought and exhausting it4 ,to know something of everything and everything of something is the true aim4 ,if a child displays fine musical or artistic ability1 among the books given it ought to be many that bear upon music and art1--the ,autobiography of ,rubenstein2 the ,lives of ,beethoven1 ,mozart1 ,schubert1 ,chopin1 ,mendelssohn2 and ,rocksho's ,history of ,music1 ,upton's ,woman in ,music1 ,clayton's ,queens of ,song1 ,lillie's ,music and the ,musician1 ,haweis' ,music and ,morals1 ,jameson's ,lives of the ,painters1 ,crowest's ,tone ,poets1 ,clement's ,painting and ,sculpture1 ,mereweather's ,semele1 or the ,spirit of ,beauty1 etc4 ,probably these examples1 with those to be found in the notes to ,table ,i41 are amply sufficient to show what is meant by grouping the lights of literature about a single point so as to illuminate it intensely2 but one more specimen will be given1 because of the interest the subject has for us now and is likely to have for many years4 ,the ,tariff ,question may be studied in ,ely's ,problems of ,to-day1 ,greeley's ,political ,economy1 ,carey's ,principles of ,social ,science1 ,e4 ,p4 ,smith's ,manual of ,political ,economy1 ,byles's ,sophisms of ,free ,trade1 ,thompson's ,social ,science and ,national ,economy1 ,bastiat's ,sophisms of ,protection1 ,mill's ,political ,economy1 ,sumner's ,lectures on the ,history of ,protection in the ,united ,states1 ,fawcett's ,free ,trade and ,protection1 ,mongredien's ,history of the ,free ,trade ,movement1 ,butt's ,protection ,free ,trade1 ,walters' ,what is ,free ,trade1 ,the ,gladstone-,blaine ,debate1 etc4 ,,table ,v4 ,showing the ,distribution of the ,best ,literature in ,time and ,space1 with a ,parallel ,reference to some of the ,world's ,great ,events4 ,it was impossible to get the writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries into the unit space4 ,the former fills a space twice the unit width1 and the latter1 when it is complete1 will require five units4 ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ,,greece ,b4,c4 ,,israel ,homer #ajjj ,david1 ,the ,hesiod ,psalms ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #ijj ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #hjj ,rome founded ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,a,esop #gjj ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #fjj ,,india ,nebuchadnezzar1 ,buddha king of ,babylon ,republic established at ,rome ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,the ,,golden ,,age ,,of ,,grecian #ejj ,mahabharata ,darius1 king of ,,literature ,ramayana ,persia ,pindar ,a,eschylus ,herodotus 7,epics of ,india7 ,,greece ,sophocles ,thucydides ,battle of ,marathon ,pericles ,euripides ,xenophon ,thermopylae ,aristophanes ,salamis ,cincinnatus at ,rome ,socrates ,ezra at ,jerusalem ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,plato #djj ,alexander ,aristotle ,the ,gauls burn ,demosthenes ,rome ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #cjj ,wars of ,rome against ,carthage ,hannibal in ,italy ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #bjj ,greece becomes a ,roman ,province ,,rome ,the ,gracchi1 ,marius1 and ,sylla ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,rome4 ,,augustan ,,age1 #ca #ajj ,,rome ,b4 ,c4 ,,to ,a4 ,d4 #ad4 ,reatinus ,ovid ,pompey ,sallust ,livy ,civil ,war1 ,cicero ,lucretius ,empire ,virgil established ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,tacitus ,a4,d4 ,jerusalem taken by ,titus ,plutarch ,juvenal ,pompeii overwhelmed ,pliny ,josephus ,romans conquer ,britain ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,epictetus #ajj ,church ,fathers ,marcus ,aurelius ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #bjj ,aurelian conquers ,zenobia ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #cjj ,under ,constantine ,christianity becomes the ,state religion ,roman ,empire divided ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #djj ,angles and ,saxons drive out the ,britons ,huns under ,attila invade the ,roman ,empire ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #ejj ,christianity carried to ,england by ,augustine ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,english ,,literature #fjj ,,arabia ,caedmon ,mahomet ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,baeda #gjj ,,france ,cynewulf ,charlemagne founds the ,empire of the ,west ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,a,elfred1 #hej-ijj #hjj ,danes overrun ,england ,a,elfred's glorious reign ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #ijj ,chivalry begins ,capetian kings in ,france ,,england ,saint ,dunstan ,papal supremacy ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- #ajjj ,,persia ,,england ,firdusi's ,shah ,canute the ,great ,nameh #ajff4 ,norman ,conquest ,peter the ,hermit ,first ,crusade ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,geoffrey of ,monmouth #aajj ,,persia ,,england ,omar ,khayyam ,plantagenets ,,germany ,richard ,i4 ,nibelungenlied ,,spain ,,france ,chronicle of ,second and ,third the ,cid ,crusades ,saint ,bernard ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,layamon #abjj ,,persia ,,england ,roger ,bacon ,saadi #abae4 ,runnymede1 ,magna ,charta ,edward ,i4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,mandeville #acjj ,,italy ,,england ,langland ,dante ,chivalry at its ,wycliffe ,chaucer ,petrarch height ,gower ,boccaccio ,the ,black ,prince ,gunpowder ,,persia ,,france ,hafiz ,battles of ,crecy1 ,poictiers1 and ,agincourt ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,lydgate #adjj ,,germany ,,england ,fortescue ,thomas a ,henry ,,viii4 ,malory ,kempis shook off the ,pope ,arabian ,nights ,movable ,type 7probably7 ,discovery of ,,persia ,america ,jami ,joan of ,arc ,wars of the ,roses ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,copernicus ,more ,ascham #aejj ,,italy ,kepler ,lyly ,sackville ,ariosto ,the ,armada ,sidney ,tasso ,,england ,marlowe ,fox ,galileo ,henry ,,viii41 ,spenser ,hooker ,elizabeth ,,germany ,,france #aeae4 ,luther's ,montaigne ,reformation ,,france ,massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,jonson ,bacon ,herbert #afjj ,,spain4 #afbj4 ,plymouth ,shakspeare ,newton ,j4,taylor ,cervantes ,rock and the ,chapman ,hobbes ,calderon ,mayflower ,beaumont ,walton ,,germany #afdi ,fletcher ,s4 ,butler ,kepler ,cromwell ,milton ,locke ,,france #affj ,restoration ,bunyan ,pepys ,descartes #afhh ,revolution ,dryden ,corneille ,william and ,mary ,racine ,,france4 ,moliere ,louis ,,xiv4 ,la ,fontain ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,addison ,cowper ,otis #agjj ,,france #aggf4 ,american ,steele ,burns ,jay ,montesquieu ,revolution ,pope ,rogers ,adams ,le ,sage #aghi-id4 ,french ,defoe ,hume ,hamilton ,rousseau ,revolution ,swift ,edwards ,madison ,voltaire ,,england ,berkeley ,a4 ,smith ,jefferson ,marlborough ,j4 ,butler ,bentham ,pitt ,,germany ,moore ,gibbon ,burke ,munchausen ,thomson ,johnson ,fox ,lessing ,young ,boswell ,erskine ,gray ,malthus ,p4 ,henry4 ,goldsmith ,mackintosh ,sterne ,paine ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,scott ,herschel ,de,quincey #ahjj ,,germany #ahjg4 ,fulton's ,byron ,whewell ,whately ,schiller ,steamboat ,bryant ,ricardo ,jeffrey ,goethe ,wellington ,drake ,carey ,brougham ,kant #ahae4 ,waterloo ,wordsworth ,faraday ,s4 ,smith ,fichte #ahae4 ,white wives ,keats ,lyell ,c4 ,north ,hegel sold in ,england ,shelley ,agassiz ,n4 ,webster ,schelling #ahcj4 ,passenger ,payne ,whitney ,h4 ,h4 ,white ,niebuhr railway ,keble ,a4 ,gray ,d4 ,webster ,schlosser #ahcc4 ,matches ,halleck ,hallam ,sparks ,heine #ahdd4 ,telegraph ,key ,prescott ,story ,haeckel #ahde4 ,mexican ,war ,macaulay ,lewes ,gould ,helmholtz ,hood ,milman ,cooper ,grimm ,poe ,buckle ,disraeli ,froebel ,read ,merivale ,dickens ,tennyson ,hildreth ,thackeray ,,france #ahfj4 ,rebellion ,browning ,freeman ,bronte ,la ,place #ahfc4 ,emancipation ,lowell ,draper ,hawthorne ,guizot ,longfellow ,froude ,irving ,de ,tocqueville ,carleton ,walpole ,hughes ,comte ,ingelow ,lecky ,kingsley ,hugo ,whittier ,parkman ,eliot ,dumas #ahgj4 ,franco- ,mill ,bancroft ,collins ,balzac ,german ,war ,spencer ,whipple ,macdonald ,renan #ahgd4 ,the ,ruskin ,twain ,hunt ,taine ,telephone ,arnold ,jerrold ,wallace ,emancipation of ,curtis ,choate ,clarke ,,russia serfs in ,holmes ,lincoln ,landor ,pushkin ,russia ,mansel ,phillips ,tourgee ,lermontoff ,carlyle ,everett ,holland ,bashkirtseff ,emerson ,sumner ,howells ,tolstoi ,darwin ,garfield ,mrs4 ,whitney ,huxley ,gladstone ,miss ,alcott ,,denmark ,dana ,a4 ,d4 ,white ,bellamy ,andersen ,tyndall ,beecher ,gronlund ,lubbock ,p4 ,brooks ,gilman ,,poland ,proctor ,lamb ,holley ,sienkiewicz ,davy ,hazlitt ,dodge ,proctor ,lamb ,jewett ,davy ,hazlitt ,burroughs ,bright ,rives ,stowe ,fiske ,aldrich ,hearn ,curtin ,warner ,burnett ,hale ,curtis ,edwards ,higginson #aijj ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,remarks ,,on ,,table ,v4 ,definitions and ,divisions4--,literature is life pulsing through life upon life2 but only when the middle life imparts new beauty to the first is literature produced in any true and proper sense4 ,the last life is that of the reader2 the middle one that of the author2 the first that of the person or age he pictures4 ,literature is the past pouring itself into the present4 ,every great man consumes and digests his own times4 ,shakspeare gives us the ,england of the #afth century1 with the added qualities of beauty1 ideality1 and order4 ,when we read ,gibbon's ,rome1 it is really the life of all those turbulent times of which he writes that is pouring upon us through the channels of genius4 ,dante paints with his own sublime skill the portraits of ,italy in the #adth century1 of his own rich1 inner life1 and of the universal human soul in one composite masterpiece of art4 ,in one of ,munchausen's stories1 a bugler on the stage-top in ,st4 ,petersburg was surprised to find that the bugle stopped in the middle of the song4 ,afterward1 in ,italy1 sweet music was heard1 and upon investigation it was found that a part of the song had been frozen in the instrument in ,russia1 and thawed in the warmer air of ,italy4 ,so the music of river and breeze1 of battle and banquet1 was frozen in the verse of ,homer nearly three thousand years ago1 and is ready at any time1 under the heat of our earnest study1 to pour its harmony into our lives4 ,it is the fact that beauty is added by the author which distinguishes ,literature from the pictures of life that are given to us by newspaper reporters1 tables of statistics1 etc4 ,literature is not merely life1--it is life crystallized in art4 ,this is the first great line dividing the ,literary from the ,non-,literary4 ,the first class is again divided into ,poetry and ,prose4 ,in the first the form is measured1 and the substance imagery and imagination4 ,in the latter the form is unmeasured1 and the substance direct4 ,imagery is the heart of poetry1 and rhythm its body4 ,the thought must be expressed not in words merely1 but in words that convey other thoughts through which the first shines4 ,the inner life is pictured in the language of external ,nature1 and ,nature is painted in the colors of the heart4 ,the poet must dip his brush in that eternal paint-pot from which the forests and fields1 the mountains1 the sky1 and the stars were painted4 ,he must throw human life out upon the world1 and draw the world into the stream of his own thought4 ,sometimes we find the substance of the poetic in the dress of prose1 as in ,emerson's and in ,ingersoll's lectures1 and then we have the prose poem2 and sometimes we find the form of poetry with only the direct expression1 which is the substance of prose1 or perhaps without even the substance of literary prose1 as in parts of ,wordsworth1 ,pope1 ,longfellow1 ,homer1 ,tennyson1 and even sometimes in ,shakspeare2 see1 for example1 ,tennyson's ,dirge4 ,tests for the ,choice of ,books4--,in deciding which of those glorious ships that sail the ages1 bringing their precious freight of genius to every time and people1 we shall invite into our ports1 we must consider the nature of the crew1 the beauty1 strength1 and size of the vessel1 the depth of our harbor1 the character of the cargo1 and our own wants4 ,in estimating the value of a book1 we have to note 7#a7 the kind of life that forms its material2 7#b7 the qualities of the author1--that is1 of the life through which the stream comes to us1 and whose spirit is caught by the current1 as the breezes that come through the garden bear with them the perfume of flowers that they touch2 7#c7 the form of the book1 its music1 simplicity1 size1 and artistic shape2 7#d7 its merits1 compared with the rest of the books in its own sphere of thought2 7#e7 its fame2 7#f7 our abilities2 and 7#g7 our needs4 ,there result several tests of the claims of any book upon our attention4 ,i4 ,what effect will it have upon character8 ,will it make me more careful1 earnest1 sincere1 placid1 sympathetic1 gay1 enthusiastic1 loving1 generous1 pure1 and brave by exercising these emotions in me1 and more abhorrent of evil by showing me its loathsomeness2 or more sorrowful1 fretful1 cruel1 envious1 vindictive1 cowardly1 and false1 less reverent of right and more attracted by evil1 by picturing good as coming from contemptible sources1 and evil as clothed with beauty8 ,is the author such a man as ,i would wish to be the companion of my heart1 or such as ,i must study to avoid8 ,,ii4 ,what effect will the book produce upon the mind8 ,will it exercise and strengthen my fancy1 imagination1 memory1 invention1 originality1 insight1 breadth1 common-sense1 and philosophic power8 ,will it make me bright1 witty1 reasonable1 and tolerant8 ,will it give me the quality of intellectual beauty8 ,will it give me a deeper knowledge of human life1 of ,nature1 and of my business1 or open the doorways of any great temple of science where ,i am as yet a stranger8 ,will it help to build a standard of taste in literature for the guidance of myself and others8 ,will it give me a knowledge of what other people are thinking and feeling1 thus opening the avenues of communication between my life and theirs8 ,,iii4 ,what will be the effect on my skills and accomplishments8 ,will it store my mind full of beautiful thoughts and images that will make my conversation a delight and profit to my friends8 ,will it teach me how to write with power1 give me the art of thinking clearly and expressing my thought with force and attractiveness8 ,will it supply a knowledge of the best means of attaining any other desired art or accomplishment8 ,,iv4 ,is the book simple enough for me8 ,is it within my grasp8 ,if not1 ,i must wait till ,i have come upon a level with it4 ,v4 ,will the book impart a pleasure in the very reading8 ,this test alone is not reliable2 for till our taste is formed1 the trouble may not be in it but in ourselves4 ,,vi4 ,has it been superseded by a later book1 or has its truth passed into the every-day life of the race8 ,if so1 ,i do not need to read it4 ,other things equal1 the authors nearest to us in time and space have the greatest claims on our attention4 ,especially is this true in science1 in which each succeeding great book sucks the life out of all its predecessors4 ,in poetry there is a principle that operates in the opposite direction2 for what comes last is often but an imitation1 that lacks the fire and force of the original4 ,nature is best painted1 not from books1 but from her own sweet face4 ,,vii4 ,what is the relation of the book to the completeness of my development8 ,will it fill a gap in the walls of my building8 ,other things equal1 ,i had better read about something ,i know nothing of than about something ,i am familiar with2 for the aim is to get a picture of the universe in my brain1 and a full development of my whole nature4 ,it is a good plan to read everything of something and something of everything4 ,a too general reader seems vague and hazy1 as if he were fed on fog2 and a too special reader is narrow and hard1 as if fed on needles4 ,,viii4 ,is the matter inviting my attention of permanent value8 ,the profits of reading what is merely of the moment are not so great as those accruing from the reading of literature that is of all time4 ,to hear the gossip of the street is not as valuable as to hear the lectures of ,joseph ,cook1 or the sermons of ,beecher and ,brooks4 ,on this principle1 most of our time should be spent on classics1 and very little upon transient matter4 ,there is a vast amount of energy wasted in this country in the reading of newspapers and periodicals4 ,the newspaper is a wonderful thing4 ,it brings the whole huge earth to me in a little brown wrapper every morning4 ,the editor is a sort of travelling stage-manager1 who sets up his booth on my desk every day1 bringing with him the greatest performers from all the countries of the world1 to play their parts before my eyes4 ,yonder is an immense mass-meeting2 and that mite1 brandishing his mandibles in an excited manner1 is the great ,mr4 ,so-and-,so1 explaining his position amid the tumultuous explosions of an appreciative multitude4 ,that puffet of smoke and dust to the right is a revolution4 ,there in the shadow of the wood comes an old man who lays down a scythe and glass while he shifts the scenes1 and we see a bony hand reaching out to snatch back a player in the midst of his part1 and even trying to clutch the showman himself4 ,for three dollars a year ,i can buy a season ticket to this great ,globe theatre1 for which ,god writes the dramas1 whose scene-shifter is ,time1 and whose curtain is rung down by ,death4#a ,but theatre-going1 if kept up continuously1 is very enervating4 ',t is better far to read the hand-bills and placards at the door1 and only when the play is great go in4 ,glance at the head-lines of the paper always2 read the mighty pages seldom4 ,the editors could save the nation millions of rich hours by a daily column of brief but complete statements of the paper's contents1 instead of those flaring head-lines that allure but do not satisfy1 and only lead us on to read that ,mr4 ,windbag nominated ,mr4 ,darkhorse amid great applause1 and that ,mr4 ,darkhorse accepted in a three-column speech skilfully constructed so as to commit himself to nothing2 or that ,mr4 ,bondholder's daughter was married1 and that ,mrs4 ,so-and-,so wore cream satin and point lace1 with roses1 etc4 #a ,adapted from ,lowell4 ,intrinsic ,merit4--,it must be noted that the tests of intrinsic merit are not precisely the same as the tests for the choice of books4 ,the latter include the former and more4 ,intrinsic merit depends on the character impressed upon the book by its subject-matter and the author2 but in determining the claims of a book upon the attention of the ordinary ,english reader1 it is necessary not only to look at the book itself1 but also to consider the needs and abilities of the reader4 ,one may not be able to read the book that is intrinsically the best1 because of the want of time or lack of sufficient mental development4 ,green's ,short ,history of ,england and ,dickens' ,child's ,history of ,england may not be the greatest works in their department1 but they may have the greatest claims on the attention of one whose time or ability is limited4 ,a chief need of every one is to know what others are thinking and feeling4 ,to open up avenues of communication between mind and mind is one of the great objects of reading4 ,now it often happens that a book of no very high merit artistically considered--a book that can never take rank as a classic--becomes very famous1 and is for a time the subject of much comment and conversation4 ,in such cases all who would remain in thorough sympathy with their fellows must give the book at least a hasty reading1 or in some way gain a knowledge of its contents4 ,intrinsically ,robert ,elsmere and ,looking ,backward may not be worthy of high rank 7though ,i am by no means so sure of this as many of the critics seem to be72 but their fame1 joined as it is with high motive1 entitles them to a reading4 ,it is always a good plan1 however1 to endeavor to ascertain the absolute or intrinsic merit of a book first1 and afterward arrive at the relative value or claim upon the attention by making the correction required by the time and place1 later publications in the same department1 the peculiar needs and abilities of readers1 etc4 ,in testing intrinsic worth we must consider-- ,motive4 ,magnitude4 ,unity4 ,universality4 ,suggestiveness4 ,expression4 ,motive4--,the purpose of the author and the emotional character of the subject matter are of great importance4 ,a noble subject nobly handled begets nobility in the reader1 and a spirit of meanness brought into a book by its subject or author also impresses itself upon those who come in contact with it4 ,kind1 loving books make the world more tender-hearted2 coarse and lustful books degrade mankind4 ,the nobility of the sentiment in and underlying a work is therefore a test of prime importance4 ,whittier's ,voices of ,freedom1 ,lowell's ,vision of ,sir ,launfal1 ,tennyson's ,locksley ,hall1 ,warner's ,a-,hunting of the ,deer1 ,shakspeare's ,coriolanus1 ,macaulay's ,horatius and ,virginia1 ,a,eschylus' ,prometheus1 ,dickens' ,christmas ,carol1 ,sewell's ,black ,beauty1 ,chaucer's ,griselda1 ,browning's ,ivan ,ivanovitch1 ,arnold's ,forsaken ,merman1 and ,the ,light of ,asia1 are fine examples of high motive4 ,magnitude4--,the grander the subject1 the deeper the impression upon us4 ,in reading a book like ,the ,light of ,asia1 that reveals the heart of a great religion1 or ,guizot's ,civilization in ,europe1 that deals with the life of a continent1 or ,darwin's ,origin of ,species1 or ,spencer's ,nebular ,hypothesis1 that grapples with problems as wide as the world and as deep as the starry spaces1--in reading such books we receive into ourselves a larger part of the universe than when we devote ourselves to the history of the town we live in1 or the account of the latest game of base ball4 ,unity4--,a book1 picture1 statue1 play1 or oratorio is an artistic unity when no part of it could be removed without injury to the whole effect4 ,true art masses many forces to a single central purpose4 ,the more complex a book is in its substance 7not its expression71--that is to say1 the greater the variety of thoughts and feelings compressed within its lids1--the higher it will rank1 if the parts are good in themselves and are so related as to produce one tremendous effect4 ,but no intrusion of anything not essentially related to the supreme purpose can be tolerated4 ,a good book is like a soldier who will not burden himself with anything that will not increase his fighting power1 because1 if he did1 its weight would diminish his fighting force4 ,in the same way1 if a book contains unnecessary matter1 a portion of the attention that should be concentrated upon the real purpose of the volume1 is absorbed by the superfluous pages1 rendering the effect less powerful than it would otherwise be4 ,most of the examples of high motive named above1 would be in place here1 especially1-- ,prometheus4 ,the ,forsaken ,merman4 ,the ,light of ,asia4 ,other fine specimens of unity are1-- ,holmes's ,nautilus4 ,hood's ,bridge of ,sighs4 ,gray's ,elegy4 ,hunt's ,abou ,ben ,adhem4 ,longfellow's ,psalm of ,life4 ,whittier's ,barefoot ,boy4 ,shelley's ,ode to a ,skylark4 ,shelley's ,ode to the ,west ,wind4 ,byron's ,eve of ,waterloo4 ,bryant's ,thanatopsis4 ,reed's ,drifting4 ,drake's ,culprit ,fay4 ,irving's ,art of ,bookmaking1 etc4 7in ,sketch ,book74 ,rives' ,story of ,arnon4 ,dante's ,divine ,comedy4 ,schiller's ,veiled ,statue of ,truth4 ,goethe's ,erl ,king4 ,humor alone has a right to violate unity even apparently2 and although wit and humor produce their effects by displaying incongruities1 yet underlying all high art1 in this department as in others1 there is always a deep unity1--a truth revealed and enforced by the destruction of its contradictories accomplished by the sallies of wit and humor4 ,universality4--,other things equal1 the more people interested in the subject the more important the book4 ,a matter which affects a million people is of more consequence than one which affects only a single person4 ,national affairs1 and all matters of magnitude1 of course possess this quality2 but magnitude is not necessary to universality1--the thoughts1 feelings1 and actions of an unpretentious person in a little village may be types of what passes in the life of every human being1 and by their representativeness attain a more universal interest for mankind than the business and politics of a state4 ,the rules of tennis are not of so wide importance as an ,english grammar1 nor is the latter so universal as ,dante's ,inferno or ,the ,meditations of ,marcus ,aurelius1--these being among the books that in the highest degree possess the quality under discussion4 ,other fine examples are-- ,goethe's ,faust4 ,shakespeare's ,plays and ,sonnets4 ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,arnold's ,light of ,asia4 ,bacon's and ,emerson's ,essays4 ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin4 ,sewell's ,black ,beauty4 ,eliot's ,romola4 ,curtis' ,prue and ,i4 ,cooper's ,last of the ,mohicans4 ,tourgee's ,hot ,plowshares4 ,irving's ,sketch ,book4 ,plato1 ,spencer1 etc4 ,in fact1 all books that express love1 longing1 admiration1 tenderness1 sorrow1 laughter1 joy1 victory over nature or man1 or any other thought or feeling common to men1 have the attribute of universality in greater or less degree4 ,suggestiveness4--,every great work of art suggests far more than it expresses4 ,this truth is illustrated by paintings like ,bierstadt's ,yosemite or his ,drummer ,boy1 ,millet's ,angelus1 or ,turner's ,slave ,ship4 ,statues like the ,greek ,slave or ,the ,forced ,prayer2 speeches like those of ,phillips1 ,fox1 ,clay1 ,pitt1 ,bright1 ,webster1 and ,brooks2 songs like ,home1 ,sweet ,home1 ,my ,country1 ,douglas1 ,annie ,laurie2 and books like ,emerson's ,essays4 ,a,eschylus' ,prometheus4 ,goethe's ,faust and ,wilhelm ,meister4 ,dante's ,divine ,comedy4 ,hamlet and many other of ,shakspeare's ,plays4 ,curtis' ,prue and ,i4 ,the ,meditations of ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,the ,sermons of ,phillips ,brooks and ,robertson4 ,my ,summer in a ,garden1 by ,warner2 etc4 ,a single sentence in ,emerson often suggests a train of thought that would fill a volume2 and a single inflection of ,patti's voice in singing ,home1 ,sweet ,home will fill the heart to overflowing4 ,expression4--,like a musician1 an author must study technique4 ,a book may possess high motive1 artistic unity1 universality1 suggestiveness1 magnitude of thought1 and yet be lacking in clearness1 purity1 music1 smoothness1 force1 finish1 tone-color1 or even in proper grammatical construction4 ,the style ought to be carefully adapted to the subject and to the readers likely to be interested in it4 ,force and beauty may be imparted to the subject by a good style4 ,in poetry beauty is the supreme object1 the projection of truth upon the mind being subordinate4 ,poetry expresses the truths of the soul4 ,in prose1 on the other hand1 truth is the main purpose1 and beauty is used as a helper4 ,as a soldier studies his guns1 and a dentist his tools1 so a writer must study the laws of rhythm1 accent1 phrasing1 alliteration1 phonetic syzygy1 run-on and double-ending lines1 rhyme1 and1 last but not least1 the melodies of common speech4 ,the first three and the last are the most important1 and should be thoroughly studied in ,shakspeare1 ,addison1 ,irving1 and other masters of style by every one who wishes to write or to judge the work of others4 ,except as to rhyme1 the arts of writing prose and poetry are substantially the same4 ,theoretically there is a fundamental difference in respect to rhythm1--that of a poem being limited to the repetition of some chosen type1 that of prose being unlimited4 ,a little study makes it clear1 however1 that the highest poetry1 as that of ,shakspeare's later plays1 crowds the type with the forms of common speech2 while the highest efforts of prose1 as that of ,addison1 ,irving1 ,phillips1 ,ingersoll's oration over his dead brother1 etc41 display rhythms that approach the order and precision of poetry4 ,in practice the best prose and the best poetry approach each other very closely1 moving from different directions toward the same point4 ,it is of great advantage to form the habit of noticing the tunes of speech used by those around us2 the study will soon become very pleasurable1 and will be highly profitable by teaching the observer what mode of expression is appropriate to each variety of thought and feeling4 ,there is a rhythm that of itself produces a comic effect1 no matter how sober the words may be2 and it is the same that we find in ,pinafore1 in the ,mariner's ,duet in the opera of ,paul ,jones1 and in the minstrel dance4 ,for fifteen centuries all the great battle-songs have been written in the same rhythm2 they fall into it naturally1 because it expresses the movement of mighty conflict4 ,see ,lanier's ,science of ,english ,verse1 pages #aea et seq41 #bca et seq4 ,this is the best book upon technique2 but ,spencer's ,essay on the ,philosophy of ,style1 and ,poe's ,essay on his composition of ,the ,raven should not be overlooked4 ,franklin and many others have discovered the laws of style simply by careful study of the ,spectator4 ,of course it is not easy to decide the true rank of a book1 even when we have tested it in respect to all the elements we have named4 ,one book may be superior in expression1 another in suggestiveness1 and so on4 ,then we have to take note of the relative importance of these various elements of greatness4 ,a little superiority in motive or suggestiveness is worth far more than the same degree of superiority as to unity or magnitude4 ,a book filled with noble sentiment1 though lacking unity1 should rank far above ,don ,juan1 or any other volume that expresses the ignoble part of human nature1 however perfect the work may be from an artistic point of view4 ,having now examined the tests of intrinsic merit1 let me revert for a moment to my remark1 a few pages back1 to the effect that ,looking ,backward and ,robert ,elsmere deserve a high rank4 ,they are books of lofty aim1 great magnitude of subject and thought1 fine unity1 wide universality1 exhaustless suggestiveness1 and more than ordinary power of expression4 ,doubtless they are not absolute classics1--not books of all time1--for their subjects are transitional1 not eternal4 ,they deal with doubts1 religious and industrial2 when these have passed away1 the mission of the books will be fulfilled1 and their importance will be less4 ,but they are relative classics1--books that are of great value to their age1 and will be great as long as their subjects are prominent4 ,,supreme ,,books ,,in ,,the ,,literatures ,,of ,,england1 ,,america1 ,,greece1 ,,rome1 ,,italy1 ,,france1 ,,spain1 ,,germany1 ,,persia1 ,,portugal1 ,,denmark1 ,,russia4 ,,periods ,,of ,,english ,,literature4 ,the highest summit of our literature--and indeed of the literature of the world--is ,shakspeare4 ,he brings us life in the greatest force and volume1 of the highest quality1 and clothed in the richest beauty4 ,his age1 which was practically identical with the reign of ,elizabeth1 is the golden age of ,english letters2 and taking it for a basis of division1 we have the ,pre-,shakspearian ,age from #fjj to #aeei1 the ,shakspearian ,age from #aeei to #afbj1 and the ,post-,shakspearian ,age from #afbj to the present4 ,the first age is divided into three periods4 ,first1 the ,early ,period1 from #fjj to the ,norman ,conquest in #ajff1 which holds the names of ,beowulf1#b ,caedmon1#c ,baeda1#d ,cynewulf1 and ,a,elfred1 the great king who did so much for the learning of his country1 bringing many great scholars into ,england from all over the world1 and himself writing the best prose that had been produced in ,english1 and changing the ,anglo-,saxon ,chronicle--till his time a mere record of noble births and deaths--into a valuable periodical1 the progenitor of the vast horde that threatens to expel the classics in our day4 ,the literature of this period has little claim upon us except on the ground of breadth4 ,the ,anglo-,saxon ,chronicle1 and the poems of ,beowulf1 ,caedmon1 and ,cynewulf1 should be glanced at to see what sort of people our ancestors were4 #b ,an epic poem1 full of the life1 in peace and war1 of our ,saxon fathers before they came to ,england4 #c ,the writer of a paraphrase on the ,bible2 a feeble ,milton4 #d ,a very learned man1 who gathered many scholars about him1 and who finished translating the ,gospel of ,john on his death-bed and with his latest breath4 ,second1 the ,period of ,chaucer1 from #ajff to the death of ,chaucer in #adjj4 ,the great books of this period were ,mandeville's ,travels1 ,langland's ,piers the ,ploughman4 ,wycliffe's translation of the ,bible 7these two books1 with ,wycliffe's tracts1 went all over ,england among the common people1 rousing them against the ,catholic ,church1 and starting the reformation that afterward grew into ,puritanism1 and gained control of the nation under ,cromwell71 ,gower's ,poems1 and ,chaucer's ,canterbury ,tales4 ,those in italics are the only books that claim our reading4 ,mandeville travelled thirty years1 and then wrote all he saw and all he heard from the mouth of rumor4 ,chaucer is half ,french and two-thirds ,italian4 ,he drank in the spirit of the ,golden ,age of ,italy1 which was in the early part of his own century4 ,probably he met ,petrarch and ,boccaccio1 and certainly he drew largely from their works as well as from ,dante's1 and he dug into poor ,gower as into a stone quarry4 ,he is still our best story-teller in verse1 and one of our most musical poets2 and every one should know something of this morning star of ,english poetry1 by far the greatest light before the ,elizabethan age1 and still easily among the first five or six of our poets4 ,third1 the ,later ,period1 from #adjj to #aeei1 in which ,malory's ,morte ,d',arthur1 containing fragments of the stories about ,king ,arthur and the knights of his round table1 which like a bed-rock crop out so often in ,english ,literature1 should be read while reading ,tennyson's ,idylls of the ,king1 which is based upon ,malory2 and ,sir ,thomas ,more's ,utopia also claims some attention on the plea of breadth1 as it is the work of a great mind1 thoroughly and practically versed in government1 and sets forth his idea of a perfect commonwealth4 ,in this age of nine and a half centuries there were1 then1 ten noteworthy books and one great book2 eight only of the eleven1 however1 have any claim upon our attention1 the last three being all that are entitled to more than a rapid reading by the general student2 and only ,chaucer for continuous companionship can rank high1 and even he cannot be put on the first shelf4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the ,shakspearian ,age the great books were 7#a7 ,roger ,ascham's ,schoolmaster1 which was a fine argument for kindness in teaching and nobility in the teacher1 but has been superseded by ,spencer's ,education4 7#b7 ,sackville's ,induction to a series of political tragedies1 called ,a ,mirror for ,magistrates4 ,the poet goes down into hell like ,dante1 and meets ,remorse1 ,famine1 ,war1 ,misery1 ,care1 ,sleep1 ,death1 etc41 and talks with noted ,englishmen who had fallen4 ,this ,mirror was of great fame and influence in its day2 and the ,induction1 though far inferior to both ,chaucer and ,spenser1 is yet the best poetic work done in the time between those masters4 7#c7 ,john ,lyly's ,euphues1 a book that expressed the thought of ,ascham's ,schoolmaster in a style peculiar for its puns1 antitheses1 and floweriness1--a style which made a witty handling of language the chief aim of writing4 ,lyly was a master of the art1 and the ladies of the court committed his sentences in great numbers1 that they might shine in society4 ,the book has given a word to the language2 that affected word-placing style is known as euphuistic4 ,the book has no claims upon our reading4 7#d7 ,sir ,philip ,sidney's ,arcadia1 a romance in the same conceited style as the ,euphues1 and only valuable as a mine for poetic images4 7#e7 ,hooker's ,ecclesiastical ,polity1 which was a defence of the church system against the ,puritans4 ,the latter said that no such system of church government could be found in the ,bible1 and therefore should not exist4 ,hooker answered that ,nature was a revelation from ,god as well as the ,bible2 and if in ,nature and society there were good reasons for the existence of an institution1 that was enough4 ,the book is not of importance to the general reader to-day1 for the truth of its principles is universally admitted4 7#f7 ,the ,plays of ,marlowe1 a very powerful but gross writer4 ,his ,dr4 ,faustus may very properly receive attention1 but only after the best plays of ,shakspeare1 ,jonson1 ,calderon1 ,racine1 ,moliere1 ,corneille1 ,a,eschylus1 ,sophocles1 ,euripides1 and ,aristophanes have been carefully read4 7#g7 ,the ,plays of ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 which are filled with beauty and imagination1 mingled with the immodesty and vulgarity that were natural to this age4 ,the remark just made about ,marlowe applies here4 7#h7 ,fox's ,book of ,martyrs1 which for the sake of breadth should be glanced at by every one4 ,the marvellous heroism and devotion to faith on one side1 and cruelty on the other that come to us through the pages of this history1 open a new world to the modern mind4 7#i7 ,edmund ,spenser's ,faerie ,queene1 which combines the poetry of a ,homer with the allegory of a ,bunyan4 ,it presents moral truth under vast and beautiful imagery4 ,in ,english poetry it claims our attention next to ,shakspeare and ,milton4 7#aj7 ,ben ,jonson's ,plays1 which stand next to those of ,shakspeare in ,english drama4 7#aa7 ,the ,plays of ,shakspeare1 which need no comment1 as they have already been placed at the summit of all literature2 and 7#ab7 ,bacon's ,works1 including the ,novum ,organum1 the ,new ,atlantis1 and the ,essays1 the first of which1 though one of the greatest books of the world1 setting forth the true methods of arriving at truth by experiment and observation and the collation of facts1 we do not need to read1 because the substance of it may be found in better form in ,mill's ,logic4 ,the ,essays1 however1 are world-famed for their condensed wit and wisdom on topics of never-dying interest1 and stand among the very best books on the upper shelf4 ,the ,new ,atlantis also should be read for breadth1 with ,more's ,utopia2 the subject being the same1 namely1 an ideal commonwealth4 ,from this sixty-one years of prolific writing1 in which no less than two hundred and thirty authors gathered their poems together and published them1 to say nothing of all the scattered writings1 twelve volumes have come down to us with a large measure of fame4 ,only the last seven call for our reading2 but two of them1 ,shakspeare and ,bacon1 are among the very most important books on the first shelf of the world's library4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,post-,shakspearian ,age is divided into four times1 or periods1--the ,time of ,milton2 the ,time of ,dryden2 the ,time of ,pope2 and the ,time of the ,novelists1 ,historians1 and ,scientists4 ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,milton1 from #afbj to #afgd1 was contemporary with the ,golden ,age of literature in ,france4 ,the great ,english books of this time were 7#a7 ,chapman's ,translation of ,homer1 which is superseded by ,pope's4 7#b7 ,hobbes's ,leviathan1 a discourse on government4 ,hobbes taught that government exists for the people1 and rests not on the divine right of kings1 but on a compact or agreement of all the citizens to give up a portion of their liberties in order by social co-operation the better to secure the remainder4 ,he is one of our greatest philosophers2 but the general reader will find the substance of ,hobbes's whole philosophy better put in ,locke1 ,mill1 and ,herbert ,spencer4 7#c7 ,walton's ,complete ,angler1 the work of a retired merchant who combined a love of fishing with a poetic perception of the beauties of ,nature4 ,it will repay a glance4 7#d7 ,s4 ,butler's ,hudibras1 a keen satire on the ,puritans who went too far in their effort to compel all men to conform their lives to the ,puritan standard of abstinence from worldly pleasures4 ,in spite of its vulgarity1 the book stands very high in the literature of humor4 7#e7 ,george ,herbert's ,poems1 many of which are as sweet and holy as a flower upon a grave1 and are beloved by all spiritually minded people4 7#f7 ,jeremy ,taylor's ,holy ,living and ,dying1 a book that in the strength of its claim upon us must rank close after the ,bible1 ,shakspeare1 and the ,science of ,physiology and ,hygiene4 7#g7 ,milton's ,poems1 of which the ,paradise ,lost and ,comus1 for their sublimity and beauty1 rank next after ,shakspeare in ,english poetry4 ,a,eschylus1 ,dante1 and ,milton are the three sublimest souls in history4 ,from this time of fifty-four years seven great books have come to us1 ,milton and ,taylor being among our most precious possessions4 ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,dryden4--,from the death of ,milton1 in #afgd1 to the death of ,dryden1 in #agjj1 the latter held undisputed kingship in the realm of letters4 ,this and the succeeding time of ,pope were marked by the development of a classic style and a fine literary and critical taste1 but were lacking in great creative power4 ,the great books were 7#a7 ,newton's ,principia1 the highest summit in the region of astronomy1 unless the ,mecanique ,celeste of ,laplace must be excepted4 ,newton's discovery of the law of gravitation1 and his theory of fluxions place him at the head of the mathematical thinkers of the world4 ,his books1 however1 need not be read by the general student1 for in these sciences the later books are better4 7#b7 ,locke's ,works upon ,government and the ,understanding are among the best in the world1 but their results will all be found in the later works of ,spencer1 ,mill1 and ,bryce2 and the only part of the writings of ,locke that claims our reading to-day is the little book upon the ,conduct of the ,understanding1 which tells us how to watch the processes of our thought1 to keep clear of prejudice1 careless observation1 etc41 and should be in the hands of every one who ever presumes to do any thinking4 7#c7 ,dryden's ,translation of ,virgil is the best we have1 and contains the finest writing of our great ,john4 7#d7 ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress picturing in magnificent allegory the journey of a ,christian soul toward heaven1 and his ,holy ,war1 telling of the conflict between good and evil1 and the devil's efforts to capture and hold the town of ,mansoul1 should be among the first books we read4 ,the ,progress holds a place in the affections of all ,english-speaking peoples second only to the ,bible4 7#e7 ,sam ,pepys's ,diary is the greatest book of its kind in the world1 and is much read for its vividness and interesting detail4 ,it has1 however1 no claims to be read until all the books on the first shelf of ,table ,i4 have been mastered1 and a large portion of the second shelf pretty thoroughly looked into4 ,of the five great works of these twenty-six years1 ,bunyan and ,locke are far the most important for us4 ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,pope1 or the ,time of the ,essayists and ,satirists1 covers a period of forty years1 from #agjj to #agdj1 during which the great translator of ,homer held the sceptre of literary power by unanimous assent4 ,the great works of this time were 7#a7 ,the ,essays of ,addison and ,steele in the ,tatler and ,spectator1 which1 though of great merit1 must rank below those of ,emerson1 ,bacon1 and ,montaigne4 7#b7 ,defoe's ,robinson ,crusoe1 the boy's own book4 7#c7 ,swift's ,satires1--the ,tale of a ,tub1 ,gulliver's ,travels1 and the ,battle of the ,books1--all full of the strongest mixture of grossness1 fierceness1 and intense wit that the world has seen4 ,the ,battle of the ,books may be read with great advantage by the general reader as well as by the student of humor4 7#d7 ,berkeley's ,human ,knowledge1 exceedingly interesting for the keenness of its confutation of any knowledge of the existence of matter4 7#e7 ,pope's ,poems--the ,rape of the ,lock 7which means the theft of a lock of hair71 the ,essay on ,man1 and his translation of ,homer--must form a part of every wide course of reading4 ,their mechanical execution1 especially1 is of the very finest4 7#f7 ,thomson's ,seasons1 a beautiful poem of the second class4 7#g7 ,butler's ,analogy1 chiefly noted for its proof of the existence of ,god from the fact that there is evidence of design in ,nature4 ,of these writers1 ,pope and ,defoe are far the most important for us4 ,we have1 down to this time of #agdj1 out of a literature covering eleven and a half centuries1 recommended to the chief attention of the reader ten great authors1--,chaucer and ,spenser1 ,shakspeare and ,bacon1 ,milton and ,taylor1 ,bunyan and ,locke1 ,pope and ,defoe4 ,we now come to the ,,time ,,of ,,novelists1 ,,historians1 ,,and ,,scientists1 a period in the history of our literature that is so prolific of great writers in all the vastly multiplied departments of thought1 that it is no longer possible to particularize in the manner we have done in regard to the preceding ages4 ,a sufficient illustration has been given of the methods of judging books and the results of their application4 ,with the ample materials of ,table ,i4 before him1 the reader must now be left to make his own judgments in regard to the relative merits of the books of the modern period4 ,we shall confine our remarks on this last time of ,english literature to the recommendation of ten great authors to match the ten great names of former times4 ,in history1 we shall name ,parkman1 the greatest of ,american historians2 in philosophy1 ,herbert ,spencer1 the greatest name in the whole list of philosophers2 in poetry1 ,byron and ,tennyson1 neither of them equal to ,shakspeare and ,milton1 but standing in the next file behind them2 in fiction1 ,scott1 ,eliot1 and ,dickens2 in poetic humor1 ,lowell1 the greatest of all names in this department2 and in general literature1 ,carlyle and ,ruskin1 two of the purest1 wisest1 and most forcible writers of all the past1 and1 curiously enough1 both of them very eccentric and very wordy1--a sort of ,english double star1 which will be counted in this list as a unit1 in order to crowd in ,emerson1 who belongs in this great company1 and is not by any means the least worthy member of it4 ,one more writer there is in this time greater than any we have named1 except ,spencer and ,scott2 namely1 the author of ,the ,origin of ,species4 ,darwin stands by the side of ,newton in the history of scientific thought2 but1 like his great compeer1 the essence of his book has come to be a part of modern thought that floats in the air we breathe2 and so his claims to being read are less than those of authors who cannot be called so great when speaking of intrinsic merit4 ,having introduced the greatest ten of old1 and ten that may be deemed the greatest of the new1 in ,english letters1 we shall pass to take a bird's-eye view of what is best in ,greece and ,rome1 ,france1 ,italy1 and ,spain1 and say a word of ,persia1 ,germany1 and ,portugal4 ,,the ,,greatest ,,names ,,of ,,other ,,literatures4 ,greece1 in her thirteen centuries of almost continuous literary productiveness from ,homer to ,longus1 gave the world its greatest epic poet1 ,homer2 the finest of lyric poets1 ,pindar2 the prince of orators1 ,demosthenes2 aside from our own ,bacon and ,spencer1 the greatest philosophers of all the ages1 ,plato and ,aristotle2 the most noted of fabulists1 ,a,esop2 the most powerful writer of comedy1 ,aristophanes 7,moliere1 however1 is much to be preferred for modern reading1 because of his fuller applicability to our life72 and the three greatest writers of pure tragedy1 ,a,eschylus1 ,sophocles1 and ,euripides1--the first remarkable for his gloomy grandeur and gigantic1 dark1 and terrible sublimity2 the second for his sweet majesty and pathos2 and third for the power with which he paints men as they are in real life4 ,euripides was a great favorite with ,milton and ,fox4 ,to one who is not acquainted with these ten great ,greeks1 much of the sweetest and grandest of life remains untasted and unknown4 ,begin with ,homer1 ,plato's ,phaedo and ,republic1 ,a,eschylus' ,prometheus ,bound1 ,sophocles' ,o,edipus1 and ,demosthenes' ,on the ,crown4 ,a liberal reading must also include the ,greek historians ,herodotus1 ,thucydides1 and ,xenophon4 ,rome taught the world the art of war1 but was herself a pupil in the halls of ,grecian letters4 ,only three writers--,plutarch1 ,marcus ,aurelius 7who both wrote in ,greek71 and ,epictetus--can claim our attention in anything like an equal degree with the authors of ,athens named just above4 ,its literature as a whole is on a far lower plane than that of ,greece or ,england4 ,a liberal education must include ,virgil's ,a,eneid1 the national epic of ,rome 7which1 however1 must take its place in our lives and hearts far after ,homer1 ,shakspeare1 ,milton1 ,dante1 and ,goethe71 for its elegance and imagination2 ,horace1 for his wit1 grace1 sense1 and inimitable witchery of phrase2 ,lucretius1 for his depth of meditation2 ,tacitus1 for knowledge of our ancestors2 ,ovid and ,catullus1 for their beauty of expression2 ,juvenal1 for the keenness of his satire2 and ,plautus and ,terence1 for their insight into the characters of men4 ,but these books should wait until at least the three first named in this paragraph1 with the ten ,greek and twenty ,english writers spoken of in the preceding paragraphs1 have come to be familiar friends4 ,italy1 in ,chaucer's century1 produced a noble literature4 ,dante is the ,shakspeare of the ,latin races4 ,he stands among the first creators of sublimity4 ,a,eschylus and ,milton only can claim a place beside him4 ,petrarch takes lofty rank as a lyric poet1 breathing the heart of love4 ,boccaccio may be put with ,chaucer4 ,ariosto and ,tasso wrote the finest epics of ,italian poetry4 ,a liberal education must neglect no one of these4 ,every life should hold communion with the soul of ,dante1 and get a taste at least of ,petrarch4 ,france has a glorious literature2 in science1 the best in the world4 ,in history1 ,guizot2 in jurisprudence1 in its widest sense1 ,montesquieu2 and in picturing the literary history of a nation1 ,taine1 stand unrivalled anywhere4 ,among essayists1 ,montaigne2 among writers of fiction1 ,le ,sage1 ,victor ,hugo1 and ,balzac2 among the dramatists1 ,corneille the grand1 ,racine the graceful and tender1 and ,moliere the creator of modern comedy2 and among fabulists1 the inimitable poet of fable1 ,la ,fontaine1 demand a share of our time with the best4 ,descartes1 ,pascal1 ,rousseau1 ,voltaire1 and ,comte belong in every liberal scheme of culture and to every student of philosophy4 ,spain gives us two most glorious names1 ,cervantes and ,pedro ,calderon de la ,barca1--the former one of the world's very greatest humorists1 the brother spirit of ,lowell2 the latter1 a princely dramatist1 the brother of ,shakspeare4 ,germany boasts one summit on which the shadow of no other falls4 ,goethe's ,faust and ,wilhelm ,meister and his minor poems cannot be neglected if we want the best the world affords2 ,schiller1 too1 and ,humboldt1 ,kant and ,heine1 ,helmholtz and ,haeckel must be read4 ,in science and history1 the list of ,german greatness is a very long and bright one4 ,persia calls us to read her magnificent astronomer-poet1 ,omar ,khayyam2 her splendid epic1 the ,shah ,nameh of ,firdusi1 the story of whose labors1 successes1 and misfortunes is one of the most interesting passages in the history of poetry2 and taste at least of her extravagant singer of the troubles and ecstasies of love1 ,hafiz4 ,portugal has given us ,camoens1 with his great poem the ,luciad4 ,denmark brings us her charming ,andersen2 and ,russia comes to us with her ,byronic ,pushkin and her ,schiller-hearted poet1 ,lermontoff1 at least for a glance4 ,we have thus named as the chiefs1 twenty authors in ,english1 ten in ,greek1 three of ,rome1 two of ,italy1 ten of ,france1 two of ,spain1 seven of ,germany1 three of ,persia1 one of ,portugal1 one of ,denmark1 and two of ,russia1--sixty-one in all1--which1 if read in the manner indicated1 will impart a pretty thorough knowledge of the literary treasures of the world4 ,,the ,,fountains ,,of ,,national ,,literatures4 ,in the early history of every great people there has grown up a body of songs celebrating the heroism of their valiant warriors and the charms of their beautiful women4 ,these have1 generation after generation1 been passed by word of mouth from one group of singers to their successors1--by each new set of artists somewhat polished and improved1--until they come to us as ,homer's ,iliad1 the ,nibelungenlied of the ,germans1 the ,chronicle of the ,cid of the ,spanish1 the ,chansons de ,gestes1 the ,romans1 and the ,fabliaux of the ,french1 and ,beowulf and the ,morte ,d',arthur of ,english literature4 ,these great poems are the sources of a vast portion of what is best in subsequent art4 ,from them ,virgil1 ,boccaccio1 ,chaucer1 ,rabelais1 ,moliere1 ,shakspeare1 ,calderon1 and a host of others have drawn their inspiration4 ,malory has wrought the ,arthurian songs into a mould of the purest ,english4 ,the closing books1 in their quiet pathos and reserved strength1--in their melody1 winged words1 and inimitable turns of phrase1--rank with the best poetry of ,europe4 ,southey called the ,cid the finest poem in the ,spanish language1 and ,prescott said it was the most remarkable performance of the ,middle ,ages4 ,this may be going rather too far2 but it certainly stands in the very front rank of national poems4 ,it has been translated by ,lockhart in verse1 by ,southey in prose1 and there is a splendid fragment by ,frere4 ,of the ,french early epics1 the ,chanson de ,roland and the ,roman du ,renart are the best4 ,the ,nibelungenlied is the embodiment of the wild and tragic1--the highest note of the barbaric drama of the ,north4 ,that last terrific scene in the ,hall of ,etzel will rest forever in the memory of every reader of the book4 ,carlyle has given a sketch of the poem in his ,miscellanies1 vol4 iii41 and there exists a complete but prolix and altogether miserable translation of the great epic1 but we sadly need a condensed version of the myth of ,siegfried the brave1 and ,chriemhild the beautiful1 in the stirring prose of ,malory or ,southey4 ,no reader will regret a perusal of these songs of the people2 it is a journey to the head-waters of the literary ,nile4 ,the reader of this little book we hope has gained an inspiration--if it were not his before--that1 with a strong and steady step1 will lead him into all the paths of beauty and of truth4 ,each glorious emotion and each glowing thought that comes to us1 becomes a centre of new growth4 ,each wave of pathos1 humor1 or sublimity that pulses through the heart or passes to the brain1 sets up vibrations that will never die1 but beautify the hours and years that follow to the end of life4 ,these waves that pass into the soul do not conceal their music in the heart1 but echo back upon the world in waves of kindred power2 and these return forever from the world into the heart that gave them forth4 ,it is as on the evening river1 where the boatman bends his homeward oar4 ,each lusty call that leaves his lips1 or song1 or bugle blast that slips the tensioned bars1 and wings the breeze1 to teach its rhythm to the trees that crown the rocky twilight steep o'er which the lengthening shadows creep1 returns and enters1 softened1 sweet1 and clear1 the waiting portal of the sender's ear4 ,the man who fills his being with the noblest books1 and pours their beauty out in word and deed1 is like the merry singers on the placid moonlit lake4 ,backward the ripples o'er the silver sheet come on the echoes' winged feet2 the hills and valleys all around gather the gentle shower of sound1 and pour the stream upon the boat in which the happy singers float1 chanting the hymns they loved of yore1 shipping the glistening wave-washed oar1 to hear reflected from the shore their every charmed note4 ,oh1 loosen from thy lip1 my friend1 no tone thine ear would with remorseful sorrow hear1 hurling it back from far and near1 the listening landscape oft repeat6 ,rather a melody send to greet the mountains beyond the silver sheet4 ,life's the soul's song2 sing sweetly1 then1 that when the silence comes again1 and ere it comes1 from every glen the echoes shall be sweet4 ,,appendix4 ,,the ,,best ,,thoughts ,,of ,,great ,,men ,,about ,,books ,,and ,,reading4 ,,appendix ,i4 ,,the ,,best ,,thoughts ,,of ,,great ,,men ,,about ,,books ,,and ,,reading4 ,addison4 ,books are the legacies that genius leaves to mankind4 ,knowledge of books is a torch in the hands of one who is willing and able to show those who are bewildered the way which leads to prosperity and welfare4 ,alcott1 ,a4 ,b4 ,my favorite books have a personality and complexion as distinctly drawn as if the author's portrait were framed into the paragraphs1 and smiled upon me as ,i read his illustrated pages4 ,next to a friend's discourse1 no morsel is more delicious than a ripe book1--a book whose flavor is as refreshing at the thousandth tasting as at the first4 ,next to a personal introduction1 a list of one's favorite authors were the best admittance to his character and manners4 ,a good book perpetuates its fame from age to age1 and makes eras in the lives of its readers4 ,atkinson1 ,w4 ,p4 ,who can over-estimate the value of good books1--those ships of thought1 as ,bacon so finely calls them1 voyaging through the sea of time1 and carrying their precious freight so safely from generation to generation8 ,arnott1 ,dr4 ,books1--the miracle of all possessions1 more wonderful than the wishing-cap of the ,arabian tales2 for they transport instantly1 not only to all places1 but to all times4 ,bacon4 ,studies serve for pastimes1 for ornaments1 for abilities4 ,their chief use for pastimes is in privateness and retiring2 for ornaments1 in discourse2 and for ability1 in judgment4444 ,to spend too much time in them is sloth2 to use them too much for ornament is affectation2 to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar4 ,they perfect nature1 and are themselves perfected by experience4 ,crafty men contemn them1 wise men use them1 simple men admire them2 for they teach not their own use1 but that there is a wisdom without them and above them won by observation4 ,read not to contradict1 nor to believe1 but to weigh and consider4444 ,reading maketh a full man1 conference a ready1 and writing an exact man4 ,therefore1 if a man write little1 he had need of a great memory2 if he confer little1 he hath need of a present wit2 and if he read little1 he had need have much cunning to seem to know that he doth not know4 ,histories make men wise1 poets witty1 the mathematicians subtile1 natural philosophy deep1 moral grave1 logic and rhetoric able to contend4 ,barrow4 ,he who loveth a book will never want a faithful friend1 a wholesome counsellor1 a cheerful companion1 or an effectual comforter4 ,bartholin4 ,without books ,god is silent1 justice dormant1 natural science at a stand1 philosophy lame1 letters dumb1 and all things involved in ,cimmerian darkness4 ,beaconsfield1 ,lord4 ,the idea that human happiness is dependent on the cultivation of the mind and on the discovery of truth is1 next to the conviction of our immortality1 the idea the most full of consolation to man2 for the cultivation of the mind has no limits1 and truth is the only thing that is eternal4 ,knowledge is like the mystic ladder in the patriarch's dream4 ,its base rests on the primeval earth1 its crest is lost in the shadowy splendor of the empyrean2 while the great authors1 who for traditionary ages have held the chain of science and philosophy1 of poesy and erudition1 are the angels ascending and descending the sacred scale1 and maintaining1 as it were1 the communication between man and heaven4 ,beecher1 ,henry ,ward4 ,a book is good company4 ,it seems to enter the memory1 and to hover in a silvery transformation there until the outward book is but a body1 and its soul and spirit are flown to you1 and possess your memory like a spirit4 ,books are the windows through which the soul looks out4 ,a home without books is like a room without windows4444 ,bright1 ,john4 ,what is a great love of books8 ,it is something like a personal introduction to the great and good men of all past time4 ,brooks1 ,phillips4 ,is it not a new ,england for a child to be born in since ,shakspeare gathered up the centuries and told the story of humanity up to his time8 ,will not ,carlyle and ,tennyson make the man who begins to live from them the 'heir of all ages' which have distilled their richness into the books of the sage and the singer of the nineteenth century8 ,browning1 ,elizabeth ,barrett4 ,when we gloriously forget ourselves and plunge ,soul forward1 headlong into a book's profound1 ,impassioned for its beauty1 and salt of truth-- ',tis then we get the right good from a book4 ,bruyere4 ,when a book raises your spirit1 and inspires you with noble and courageous feelings1 seek for no other rule to judge the event by2 it is good1 and made by a good workman4 ,bury1 ,richard de4 ,you1 ,o ,books6 are golden urns in which manna is laid up2 rocks flowing with honey1 or rather1 indeed1 honeycombs2 udders most copiously yielding the milk of life1 store-rooms ever full2 the four-streamed river of ,paradise1 where the human mind is fed1 and the arid intellect moistened and watered2 fruitful olives1 vines of ,engaddi1 fig-trees knowing no sterility2 burning lamps to be ever held in the hand4 ,in books we find the dead1 as it were1 living4444 ,the truth written in a book 444 enters the chamber of intellect1 reposes itself upon the couch of memory1 and there congenerates the eternal truth of the mind4 ,carlyle4 ,evermore is ,wisdom the highest of conquests to every son of ,adam1--nay1 in a large sense1 the one conquest2 and the precept to every one of us is ever1 ',above all thy gettings get understanding4' ,of all the things which man can do or make here below1 by far the most momentous1 wonderful1 and worthy are the things we call books4 ,all that mankind has done1 thought1 gained1 and been1 is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books4 ,channing1 ,dr4 ,wm4 ,e4 ,god be thanked for books6 ,they are the voices of the distant and the dead1 and make us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages4 ,books are the true levellers4 ,they give to all who will faithfully use them the society1 the spiritual presence1 of the best and greatest of our race4 ,no matter how poor ,i am2 no matter though the prosperous of my own time will not enter my obscure dwelling3 if the sacred writers will enter and take up their abode under my roof1--if ,milton will cross my threshold to sing to me of ,paradise2 and ,shakspeare1 to open to me the worlds of imagination and the workings of the human heart2 and ,franklin1 to enrich me with his practical wisdom1--,i shall not pine for want of intellectual companionship1 and ,i may become a cultivated man1 though excluded from what is called the best society in the place where ,i live4 ,chaucer4 ,and as for me1 though that ,i know but lyte#e ,on bokes for to rede ,i me delyte1 ,and to them give ,i 7feyth#f7 and ful credence1 ,and in myn herte have them in reverence ,so hertily that there is pastime noon1#g ,that from my bokes maketh me to goon ,but yt be seldom on the holy day1 ,save1 certeynly1 whan that the monethe of ,may ,is comen1 and ,i here the foules synge1 ,and that the floures gynnen for to sprynge2 ,farewell my boke1 and my devocioun4 #e ,little4 #f ,faith4 #g ,none4 ,cicero4 ,studies are the aliment of youth1 the comfort of old age1 an adornment of prosperity1 a refuge and a solace in adversity1 and a delight in our home4 ,clarke1 ,james ,freeman4 ,when ,i consider what some books have done for the world1 and what they are doing1--how they keep up our hope1 awaken new courage and faith1 give an ideal life to those whose homes are hard and cold1 bind together distant ages and foreign lands1 create new worlds of beauty1 bring down truths from ,heaven1--,i give eternal blessings for this gift1 and pray that we may use it aright1 and abuse it not4 ,coleridge4 ,some readers are like the hour-glass4 ,their reading is as the sand2 it runs in and runs out1 but leaves not a vestige behind4 ,some1 like a sponge1 which imbibes everything1 and returns it in the same state1 only a little dirtier4 ,some1 like a jelly-bag1 which allows all that is pure to pass away1 and retains only the refuse and dregs4 ,the fourth class may be compared to the slave of ,golconda1 who1 casting away all that is worthless1 preserves only the pure gems4 ,collyer1 ,robert4 ,do you want to know how ,i manage to talk to you in this simple ,saxon8 ,i will tell you4 ,i read ,bunyan1 ,crusoe1 and ,goldsmith when ,i was a boy1 morning1 noon1 and night2 all the rest was task work4 ,these were my delight1 with the stories in the ,bible1 and with ,shakspeare1 when at last the mighty master came within our doors4 ,these were like a well of pure water2 and this is the first step ,i seem to have taken of my own free will toward the pulpit4 ,from the days when we used to spell out ,crusoe and old ,bunyan1 there had grown up in me a devouring hunger to read books4444 ,i could not go home for the ,christmas of #ahci1 and was feeling very sad about it all1 for ,i was only a boy2 and sitting by the fire1 an old farmer came in and said1 ',i notice thou's fond o' reading1 so ,i brought thee summat to read4' ,it was ,irving's ',sketch ,book4' ,i had never heard of the work4 ,i went at it1 and was 'as them that dream4' ,no such delight had touched me since the old days of ,crusoe4 ,curtis1 ,g4 ,w4 ,books are the ever-burning lamps of accumulated wisdom4 ,de ,quincey4 ,every one owes to the impassioned books he has read many a thousand more of emotions than he can consciously trace back to them4444 ,a great scholar depends not simply on an infinite memory1 but also on an infinite and electrical power of combination1--bringing together from the four winds1 like the ,angel of the ,resurrection1 what else were dust from dead men's bones into the unity of breathing life4 ,diodorus4 ,books are the medicine of the mind4 ,emerson4 ,the profit of books is according to the sensibility of the reader4 ,erasmus4 ,a little before you go to sleep read something that is exquisite and worth remembering1 and contemplate upon it till you fall asleep2 and when you awake in the morning call yourself to an account for it4 ,farrar1 ,canon4 ,if all the books of the world were in a blaze1 the first twelve which ,i should snatch out of the flames would be the ,bible1 the ,imitation of ,christ1 ,homer1 ,a,eschylus1 ,thucydides1 ,tacitus1 ,virgil1 ,marcus ,aurelius1 ,dante1 ,shakspeare1 ,milton1 ,wordsworth4 ,of living writers ,i would save1 first1 the works of ,tennyson1 ,browning1 and ,ruskin4 ,fenelon4 ,if the crowns of all the kingdoms of the empire were laid down at my feet in exchange for my books and my love of reading1 ,i would spurn them all4 ,freeman1 ,e4 ,a4 7the historian74 ,i feel myself quite unable to draw up a list 7of the best books71 as ,i could not trust my own judgment on any matters not bearing on my special studies1 and ,i should be doubtless tempted to give too great prominence to them4 ,fuller1 ,thomas4 ,it is thought and digestion which make books serviceable1 and give health and vigor to the mind4 ,gibbon4 ,a taste for books is the pleasure and glory of my life4 ,i would not exchange it for the glory of the ,indies4 ,gladstone4 ,when ,i was a boy ,i used to be fond of looking into a bookseller's shop2 but there was nothing to be seen there that was accessible to the working-man of that day4 ,take a ,shakspeare1 for example4 ,i remember very well that ,i gave ,l#b #afs4 #j;d4 for my first copy2 but you can get any one of ,shakspeare's ,plays for seven cents4 ,those books are accessible now which were formerly quite inaccessible4 ,we may be told that you want amusement1 but that does not include improvement4 ,there are a set of worthless books written now and at times which you should avoid1 which profess to give amusement2 but in reading the works of such authors as ,shakspeare and ,scott there is the greatest possible amusement in its best form4 ,do you suppose when you see men engaged in study that they dislike it8 ,no6444 ,i want you to understand that multitudes of books are constantly being prepared and placed within reach of the population at large1 for the most part executed by writers of a high stamp1 having subjects of the greatest interest1 and which enable you1 at a moderate price1 not to get cheap literature which is secondary in its quality1 but to go straight into the very heart1--if ,i may so say1 into the sanctuary of the temple of literature1--and become acquainted with the greatest and best works that men of our country have produced4 ,godwin1 ,william4 ,it is impossible that we can be much accustomed to such companions without attaining some resemblance to them4 ,goldsmith4 ,an author may be considered as a merciful substitute to the legislature4 ,he acts not by punishing crimes1 but by preventing them4 ,hale1 ,sir ,matthew4 ,read the ,bible reverently and attentively1 set your heart upon it1 and lay it up in your memory1 and make it the direction of your life2 it will make you a wise and good man4 ,hamerton1 ,p4 ,h4 ,the art of reading is to skip judiciously4 ,harrison1 ,frederic4 ,the best authors are never dark horses4 ,the world has long ago closed the great assize of letters1 and judged the first places everywhere4 ,the reading of great books is usually an acquired faculty1 not a natural gift4 ,if you have not got the faculty1 seek for it with all your might4 ,of ,walter ,scott one need as little speak as of ,shakspeare4 ,he belongs to mankind1--to every age and race2 and he certainly must be counted as in the first line of the great creative minds of the world4 ,his unique glory is to have definitely succeeded in the ideal reproduction of historical types1 so as to preserve at once beauty1 life1 and truth1--a task which neither ,ariosto and ,tasso1 nor ,corneille and ,racine1 nor ,alfieri1 nor ,goethe1 nor ,schiller1--no1 nor even ,shakspeare himself1 entirely achieved4444 ,in brilliancy of conception1 in wealth of character1 in dramatic art1 in glow and harmony of color1 ,scott put forth all the powers of a master poet4444 ,the genius of ,scott has raised up a school of historical romance2 and though the best work of ,chateaubriand1 ,manzoni1 and ,bulwer may take rank as true art1 the endless crowd of inferior imitations are nothing but a weariness to the flesh4444 ,scott is a perfect library in himself4444 ,the poetic beauty of ,scott's creations is almost the least of his great qualities4 ,it is the universality of his sympathy that is so truly great1 the justice of his estimates1 the insight into the spirit of each age1 his intense absorption of self in the vast epic of human civilization4 ,hazlitt1 ,william4 ,books let us into the souls of men1 and lay open to us the secrets of our own4 ,heinsius4 ,i no sooner come into the library but ,i bolt the door to me1 excluding ,lust1 ,ambition1 ,avarice1 and all such vices1 whose nurse is ,idleness1 the ,mother of ,ignorance and ,melancholy4 ,in the very lap of eternity1 among so many divine souls1 ,i take my seat with so lofty a spirit and sweet content1 that ,i pity all that know not this happiness4 ,herbert1 ,george4 ,this book of stars the ,bible lights to eternal bliss4 ,herschel1 ,sir ,j4 ,give a man this taste for good books and the means of gratifying it1 and you can hardly fail of making a happy man4 ,you place him in contact with the best society in every period of history1--with the wisest1 the wittiest1 the tenderest1 the bravest1 and the purest characters who have adorned humanity4 ,you make him a denizen of all nations1 a contemporary of all ages4 ,hillard1 ,george ,s4 ,here we have immortal flowers of poetry1 wet with ,castilian dew1 and the golden fruit of ,wisdom that had long ripened on the bough4444 ,we should any of us esteem it a great privilege to pass an evening with ,shakspeare or ,bacon4444 ,we may be sure that ,shakspeare never out-talked his ',hamlet1' nor ,bacon his ',essays4'444 ,to the gentle hearted youth1 far from his home1 in the midst of a pitiless city1 'homeless among a thousand homes1' the approach of evening brings with it an aching sense of loneliness and desolation4 ,in this mood his best impulses become a snare to him2 and he is led astray because he is social1 affectionate1 sympathetic1 and warm-hearted4 ,the hours from sunset to bedtime are his hours of peril4 ,let me say to such young men that books are the friends of the friendless1 and that a library is the home of the homeless4 ,holmes1 ,o4 ,w4 ,books are the 'negative' pictures of thought2 and the more sensitive the mind that receives the images1 the more nicely the finest lines are reproduced4 ,houghton1 ,lord4 ,it a book is a portion of the eternal mind1 caught in its process through the world1 stamped in an instant1 and preserved for eternity4 ,irving4 ,the scholar only knows how dear these silent yet eloquent companions of pure thoughts and innocent hours become in the season of adversity4 ,johnson1 ,dr4 ,no man should consider so highly of himself as to think he can receive but little light from books1 nor so meanly as to believe he can discover nothing but what is to be learned from them4 ,jonson1 ,ben4 ,a prince without letters is a pilot without eyes4 ,king1 ,thomas ,starr4 ,by cultivating an interest in a few good books1 which contain the result of the toil or the quintessence of the genius of some of the most gifted thinkers of the world1 we need not live on the marsh and in the mists2 the slopes and the summits invite us4 ,kingsley1 ,charles4 ,except a living man1 there is nothing more wonderful than a book6--a message to us from the dead1 from human souls whom we never saw1 who lived1 perhaps1 thousands of miles away2 and yet these1 on those little sheets of paper1 speak to us1 amuse us1 vivify us1 teach us1 comfort us1 open their hearts to us as to brothers4 ,lamb1 ,charles4 ,milton almost requires a solemn service of music to be played before you enter upon him4 ,but he brings his music1 to which who listens had need bring docile thoughts and purged ears4 ,landor1 ,walter ,savage4 ,the writings of the wise are the only riches our posterity cannot squander4 ,langford4 ,strong as man and tender as woman1 they welcome you in every mood1 and never turn from you in distress4 ,lowell4 ,have you ever rightly considered what the mere ability to read means8 ,that it is the key that admits us to the whole world of thought and fancy and imagination1 to the company of saint and sage1 of the wisest and the wittiest at their wisest and wittiest moments8 ,that it enables us to see with the keenest eyes1 hear with the finest ears1 and listen to the sweetest voices of all time8444 ,one is sometimes asked by young people to recommend a course of reading4 ,my advice would be that they should confine themselves to the supreme books in whatever literature1 or1 still better1 to choose some one great author1 and make themselves thoroughly familiar with him4 ,luther4 ,to read many books produceth confusion1 rather than learning1 like as those who dwell everywhere are not anywhere at home4 ,lyly1 ,john4 ,far more seemly were it 444 to have thy study full of books than thy purse full of money4 ,lytton1 ,lord4 ,laws die1 books never4 ,beneath the rule of men entirely great ,the pen is mightier than the sword4 ,ye ever-living and imperial ,souls1 ,who rule us from the page in which ye breathe4 ,the ,wise 7,minstrel or ,sage7 out of their books are clay2 ,but in their books1 as from their graves1 they rise1 ,angels--that1 side by side1 upon our way1 ,walk with and warn us6 ,we call some books immortal6 ,do they live8 ,if so1 believe me1 ,,time hath made them pure4 ,in ,books the veriest wicked rest in peace1-- ,god wills that nothing evil should endure2 ,the grosser parts fly off and leave the whole1 ,as the dust leaves the disembodied soul6 ,macaulay4 ,a great writer is the friend and benefactor of his readers4 ,milton4 ,as good almost kill a man as kill a good book4 ,who kills a man kills a reasonable creature1 ,god's image2 but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself1--kills the image of ,god1 as it were1 in the eye4 ,many a man lives a burden to the earth2 but a good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit1 embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond4 ,montaigne4 ,to divert myself from a troublesome fancy1 'tis but to run to my books4 ,as to what concerns my other reading1 that mixes a little more profit with the pleasure1 and from whence ,i learn how to marshal my opinions and qualities1 the books that serve me to this purpose are ,plutarch and ,seneca1--both of which have this great convenience suited to my humor1 that the knowledge ,i seek is discoursed in loose pieces that do not engage me in any great trouble of reading long1 of which ,i am impatient4444 ,plutarch is frank throughout4 ,seneca abounds with brisk touches and sallies4 ,plutarch1 with things that heat and move you more2 this contents and pays you better4 ,as to ,cicero1 those of his works that are most useful to my design are they that treat of philosophy1 especially moral2 but boldly to confess the truth1 his way of writing1 and that of all other long-winded authors1 appears to me very tedious4 ,morley1 ,john4 ,the consolation of reading is not futile nor imaginary4 ,it is no chimera of the recluse or the bookworm1 but a potent reality4 ,as a stimulus to flagging energies1 as an inspirer of lofty aim1 literature stands unrivalled4 ,morris1 ,william4 ,the greater part of the ,latins ,i should call sham classics4 ,i suppose that they have some good literary qualities2 but ,i cannot help thinking that it is difficult to find out how much4 ,i suspect superstition and authority have influenced our estimate of them till it has become a mere matter of convention4 ,of modern fiction1 ,i should like to say here that ,i yield to no one1 not even ,ruskin1 in my love and admiration for ,scott2 also that1 to my mind1 of the novelists of our generation1 ,dickens is immeasurably ahead4 ,mueller1 ,max4 ,i know few books1 if any1 which ,i should call good from beginning to end4 ,take the greatest poet of antiquity1 and if ,i am to speak the truth1 the whole truth1 and nothing but the truth1 ,i must say that there are long passages1 even in ,homer1 which seem to me extremely tedious4 ,parker1 ,theodore4 ,what a joy is there in a good book1 writ by some great master of thought1 who breaks into beauty1 as in summer the meadow into grass and dandelions and violets1 with geraniums and manifold sweetness4444 ,the books which help you most are those which make you think most4444 ,a great book 444 is a ship of thought deep freighted with thought1 with beauty too4 ,it sails the ocean1 driven by the winds of heaven1 breaking the level sea of life into beauty where it goes1 leaving behind it a train of sparkling loveliness1 widening as the ship goes on4 ,and what treasures it brings to every land1 scattering the seeds of truth1 justice1 love1 and piety1 to bless the world in ages yet to come4 ,peacham1 ,henry4 ,to desire to have many books and never to use them1 is like a child that will have a candle burning by him all the while he is sleeping4 ,petrarch4 ,i have friends whose society is extremely agreeable to me2 they are of all ages and of every country4 ,they have distinguished themselves both in the cabinet and in the field1 and obtained high honors for their knowledge of the sciences4 ,it is easy to gain access to them1 for they are always at my service2 and ,i admit them to my company and dismiss them from it whenever ,i please4 ,they are never troublesome1 but immediately answer every question ,i ask them4 ,some relate to me the events of past ages1 while others reveal to me the secrets of ,nature4 ,some teach me how to live1 and others how to die4 ,some1 by their vivacity1 drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits2 while others give fortitude to my mind1 and teach me the important lesson how to restrain my desires and to depend wholly on myself4 ,they open to me1 in short1 the various avenues of all the arts and sciences1 and upon their information ,i safely rely in all emergencies4 ,phelps1 ,e4 ,j4 7,united ,states ,minister to the ,court of ,st4 ,james74 ,i cannot think the finis et fructus of liberal reading is reached by him who has not obtained in the best writings of our ,english tongue the generous acquaintance that ripens into affection4 ,if he must stint himself1 let him save elsewhere4 ,plato4 ,books are the immortal sons deifying their sires4 ,plutarch4 ,we ought to regard books as we do sweetmeats1--not wholly to aim at the pleasantest1 but chiefly to respect the wholesomest4 ,potter1 ,dr4 ,it is nearly an axiom that people will not be better than the books they read4 ,raleigh1 ,walter4 ,we may gather out of history a policy no less wise than eternal1 by the comparison and application of other men's fore-passed miseries with our own like errors and ill-deservings4 ,richardson1 ,c4 ,f4 ,no book1 indeed1 is of universal value and appropriateness4444 ,here1 as in every other question involved in the choice of books1 the golden key to knowledge1 a key that will only fit its own proper doors1 is purpose4 ,ruskin4 ,all books are divisible into two classes1--the books of the hour and the books of all time4 ,books of the hour1 though useful1 are1 strictly speaking1 not books at all1 but merely letters or newspapers in good print1 and should not be allowed to usurp the place of true books4 ,of all the plagues that afflict mortality1 the venom of a bad book to weak people1 and the charms of a foolish one to simple people1 are without question the deadliest2 and they are so far from being redeemed by the too imperfect work of the best writers1 that ,i never would wish to see a child taught to read at all1 unless the other conditions of its education were alike gentle and judicious4 ,ruskin says a well-trained man should know the literature of his own country and half a dozen classics thoroughly2 but unless he wishes to travel1 the language and literature of modern ,europe and of the ,east are unnecessary4 ,to read fast any book worth reading is folly4 ,ruskin would not have us read ,grote's ,history of ,greece1 for any one could write it if he had the vanity to waste his time2 ,confessions of ,saint ,augustine1 for it is not good to think so much about ourselves2 ,john ,stuart ,mill1 for his day is over2 ,charles ,kingsley1 for his sentiment is false1 his tragedy frightful4 ,hypatia is the most ghastly story in ,christian tradition1 and should forever have been left in silence2 ,darwin1 for we should know what we are1 not what our embryo was1 or our skeleton will be2 ,gibbon1 for we should study the growth and standing of things1 not the ,decline and ,fall 7moreover1 he wrote the worst ,english ever written by an educated ,englishmen72 ,voltaire1 for his work is to good literature what nitric acid is to wine1 and sulphuretted hydrogen to air4 ,ruskin also crosses out ,marcus ,aurelius1 ,confucius1 ,aristotle 7except his ,politics71 ,mahomet1 ,saint ,augustine1 ,thomas a ,kempis1 ,pascal1 ,spinoza1 ,butler1 ,keble1 ,lucretius1 the ,nibelungenlied1 ,malory's ,morte ,d',arthur1 ,firdusi1 the ,mahabharata1 and ,ramayana1 the ,sheking1 ,sophocles1 and ,euripides1 ,hume1 ,adam ,smith1 ,locke1 ,descartes1 ,berkeley1 ,lewes1 ,southey1 ,longfellow1 ,swift1 ,macaulay1 ,emerson1 ,goethe1 ,thackeray1 ,kingsley1 ,george ,eliot1 and ,bulwer4 ,his especial favorites are ,scott1 ,carlyle1 ,plato1 and ,dickens4 ,a,eschylus1 ,taylor1 ,bunyan1 ,bacon1 ,shakspeare1 ,milton1 ,dante1 ,spenser1 ,wordsworth1 ,pope1 ,goldsmith1 ,defoe1 ,boswell1 ,burke1 ,addison1 ,montaigne1 ,moliere1 ,sheridan1 ,a,esop1 ,demosthenes1 ,plutarch1 ,horace1 ,cicero1 ,homer1 ,hesiod1 ,virgil1 ,aristophanes1 ,herodotus1 ,xenophon1 ,thucydides1 and ,tacitus1 he condescends to admit as proper to be read4 ,schopenhauer4 ,recollect that he who writes for fools finds an enormous audience4 ,seneca4 ,if you devote your time to study1 you will avoid all the irksomeness of this life4 ,it does not matter how many1 but how good1 books you have4 ,leisure without study is death1 and the grave of a living man4 ,shakspeare4 ,a book6 oh1 rare one6 be not1 as in this fangled world1 a garment nobler than it covers4 ,my library was dukedom large enough4 ,sidney1 ,sir ,philip4 ,nature never set forth the earth in so rich tapestry as divers poets have done4 ,smiles1 ,sam4 ,men often discover their affinity to each other by the mutual love they have for a book4 ,smith1 ,alexander4 ,we read books not so much for what they say as for what they suggest4 ,socrates4 ,employ your time in improving yourselves by other men's documents2 so shall you come easily by what others have labored hard to win4 ,solomon4 ,he that walketh with wise men shall be wise4 ,spencer1 ,herbert4 ,my reading has been much more in the direction of science than in the direction of general literature2 and of such works in general literature as ,i have looked into1 ,i know comparatively little1 being an impatient reader1 and usually soon satisfied4 ,stanley1 ,henry ,m4 ,i carried across ,africa a great many books1--three loads1 or about one hundred and eighty pounds' weight2 but as my men lessened in numbers1--stricken by famine1 fighting1 and sickness1--one by one they were reluctantly thrown away1 until finally1 when less than three hundred miles from the ,atlantic1 ,i possessed only the ,bible1 ,shakspeare1 ,carlyle's ,sartor ,resartus1 ,norie's ,navigation1 and the ,nautical ,almanac for #ahgg4 ,poor ,shakspeare was afterwards burned by demand of the foolish people of ,zinga4 ,at ,bonea1 ,carlyle and ,norie and the ,nautical ,almanac were pitched away1 and ,i had only the old ,bible left4 ,swinburne1 ,a4 ,c4 ,it would be superfluous for any educated ,englishman to say that he does not question the pre-eminence of such names as ,bacon and ,darwin4 ,taylor1 ,bayard4 ,not many1 but good books4 ,thoreau4 ,books that are books are all that you want1 and there are but half a dozen in any thousand4 ,trollope1 ,anthony4 ,the habit of reading is the only enjoyment ,i know in which there is no alloy2 it lasts when all other pleasures fade4 ,waller1 ,sir ,william4 ,in my study ,i am sure to converse with none but wise men2 but abroad1 it is impossible for me to avoid the society of fools4 ,whateley1 ,richard4 ,if1 in reading books1 a man does not choose wisely1 at any rate he has the chance offered him of doing so4 ,whipple1 ,edwin ,p4 ,books1--lighthouses erected in the sea of time4 ,white1 ,andrew ,d41 ,president of ,cornell1 speaking of ,scott1 says3 ,never was there a more healthful and health-ministering literature than that which he gave to the world4 ,to go back to it from ,flaubert and ,daudet and ,tolstoi is like listening to the song of the lark after the shrieking passion of the midnight pianoforte2 nay1 it is like coming out of the glare and heat and reeking vapor of a palace ball into a grove in the first light and music and breezes of the morning4444 ,so far from stimulating an unhealthy taste1 the enjoyment of this fiction created distinctly a taste for what is usually called 'solid reading1' and especially a love for that historical reading and study which has been a leading inspiration and solace of a busy life4 ,whitman1 ,walt4 ,for us1 along the great highways of time1 those monuments stand1--those forms of majesty and beauty4 ,for us those beacons burn through all the night4 ,wolseley1 ,gen4 ,lord4 ,during the mutiny and ,china war ,i carried a ,testament1 two volumes of ,shakspeare that contained his best plays2 and since then1 when in the field1 ,i have always carried a ,book of ,common ,prayer1 ,thomas a ,kempis1 ,soldier's ,pocket ,book1 depending on a well-organized postal service to supply me weekly with plenty of newspapers4 ,wordsworth4 ,these hoards of wealth you can unlock at will4 ,,appendix ,,ii4 ,,books ,,for ,,supplementary ,,reading4 ,,boys' ,,latin ,,school4 ,moss' ,first ,greek ,reader4 ,tomlinson's ,latin for ,sight ,reading4 ,walford's ,extracts from ,cicero 7,part ,i474 ,jackson's ,manual of ,astronomical ,geography4 ,ritchie's ,fabulae ,faciles4 ,,girls' ,,latin ,,school4 ,sheldon's ,greek and ,roman ,history4 ,ritchie's ,fabulae ,faciles4 ,,latin ,,and ,,high ,,schools4 ,books required for admission to ,harvard ,college4 ,a list of suitable books1 carefully prepared under the direction of the ,committee on ,text-,books1 is presented to the ,board for adoption4 ,after this list has been adopted1 a master may make requisition on the ,committee on ,supplies for one set 7of not more than thirty-five copies7 of a book4 ,this committee1 after the approval of the ,committee on ,text-,books has been obtained1 will purchase the books and send them to the school for permanent use4 ,no book will be purchased until called for in the manner described4 ,english4--,barnes's ,history of ,ancient ,peoples2 ,church's ,stories from the ,east1 from ,herodotus2 ,church's ,story of the ,persian ,war1 from ,herodotus2 ,church's ,stories from the ,greek ,tragedians2 ,kingsley's ,greek ,heroes2 ,abbott's ,lives of ,cyrus and ,alexander2 ,froude's ,caesar2 ,forsythe's ,life of ,cicero2 ,ware's ,aurelian2 ,cox's ,crusades2 ,masson's ,abridgment of ,guizot's ,history of ,france2 ,scott's ,abbot2 ,scott's ,monastery2 ,scott's ,talisman2 ,scott's ,quentin ,durward2 ,scott's ,marmion 7,rolfe's ,student series72 ,scott's ,lay of the ,last ,minstrel 7,rolfe's ,student series72 ,kingsley's ,hereward2 ,kingsley's ,westward ,ho2 ,melville's ,holmby ,house2 ,macaulay's ,essay on ,frederic2 ,macaulay's ,essay on ,clive2 ,macaulay's ,essay on ,dr4 ,johnson2 ,motley's ,essay on ,peter the ,great2 ,thackeray's ,henry ,esmond2 ,thackeray's ,the ,virginians2 ,thackeray's ,the ,four ,georges2 ,dickens' ,tale of ,two ,cities2 ,george ,eliot's ,silas ,marner2 ,irving's ,alhambra2 ,irving's ,bracebridge ,hall2 ,miss ,buckley's ,life and her ,children2 ,miss ,buckley's ,winners in ,life's ,race2 ,bulfinch's ,age of ,fable 7revised edition72 ,the ,boy's ,froissart2 ,ballads and ,lyrics2 ,vicar of ,wakefield2 ,essays of ,elia2 ,tennyson's ,selected ,poems 7,rolfe's ,student series72 ,tennyson's ,elaine2 ,tennyson's ,in ,memoriam2 ,byron's ,prisoner of ,chillon2 ,goldsmith's ,deserted ,village2 ,goldsmith's ,traveller2 ,coleridge's ,ancient ,mariner2 ,wordsworth's ,excursion2 ,monroe's ,sixth ,reader2 ,webster--,section #b ,annotated ,english ,classics1 ,ginn ,co42 ,wordsworth's ,poems--,section #b ,annotated ,english ,classics1 ,ginn ,co42 ,sheldon's ,greek and ,roman ,history2 ,monroe's ,fifth ,reader 7old edition74 ,french4--,st4 ,german's ,pour une ,epingle2 ,achard's ,le ,clos ,pommier2 ,feuillet's ,roman d'un ,homme ,pauvre2 ,dumas's ,la ,tulipe ,noire2 ,vigny's ,cinq ,mars2 ,lacombe's ,la ,petite ,histoire du ,peuple ,francais4 ,german4--,andersen's ,maerchen2 ,simmondson's ,balladenbuch2 ,krurnmacher's ,parabeln2 ,goethe's ,iphigenie auf ,tauris2 ,goethe's ,prose2 ,schiller's ,jungfrau von ,orleans2 ,schiller's ,prose2 ,boisen's ,german ,prose2 ,bernhardt's ,novellen ,bibliothek4 ,,grammar ,,schools4 ,,class ,,vi4 7about ,ten ,years old74 ,seven ,little ,sisters1 first half-year4 ,each and ,all1 second half-year4 ,this is simple1 interesting class-reading1 which will aid the geography1 and furnish material for both oral and written language lessons4 ,hooker's ,child's ,book of ,nature2 those chapters of ,parts ,i4 and ,,ii41 which will supplement properly the observational studies of plants and animals1 and those chapters of ,part ,,iii41 on air1 water1 and heat1 which will aid the instruction in ,geography4 ,our ,world ,reader1 ,,no4 #a4 ,our ,world1 ,,no4 #a2 the reading to be kept parallel with the instruction in ,geography through the year4 ,poetry for ,children2 selections appropriate for reading and recitation4 ,,class ,v4 7about ,eleven ,years old74 ,stories of ,american ,history2 for practice in reading at sight1 and for material for language lessons4 ,guyot's ,introduction to ,geography2 the reading to be kept parallel with the instruction in ,geography through the year4 ,hooker's ,child's ,book of ,nature1 and ,poetry for ,children2 as in ,class ,,vi4 ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,,class ,,iv4 7about ,twelve ,years old74 ,the ,wonder ,book and ,tanglewood ,tales1 as collateral to the oral instruction in ,stories in ,mythology4 ,hooker's ,child's ,book of ,nature1 and ,poetry for ,children2 as in ,classes ,,vi4 and ,v4 ,readings from ,nature's ,book 7revised edition74 ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,,class ,,iii4 7about ,thirteen ,years old74 ,hooker's ,child's ,book of ,nature2 as supplementary to oral lessons4 ,american ,poems1 with ,biographical ,sketches and ,notes2 appropriate selections therefrom4 ,,class ,,ii4 7about ,fourteen ,years old74 ,selections from ,american authors2 as in part collateral to the ,united ,states ,history4 ,american ,poems2 appropriate selections therefrom4 ,,class ,i4 7about ,fifteen ,years old74 ,selections from ,american authors4 ,early ,england--,harper's ,half-,hour ,series1 ,nos4 #f and #ad4 ,american ,poems2 selections therefrom4 ,green's ,readings from ,english ,history4 ,phillips's ,historical ,readers1 ,nos4 #a1 #b1 #c1 #d4 ,,any ,,class4 ,six ,stories from the ,arabian ,nights4 ,holmes' and ,longfellow ,leaflets1 published by ,houghton1 ,mifflin1 ,co4 ,book of ,golden ,deeds4 ,jackson's ,manual of ,astronomical ,geography4 ,parkman ,leaflets1 published by ,little1 ,brown1 ,co4 ,,circulating ,,library ,,for ,,grammar ,,schools4 ,zigzag ,journeys in ,europe 7revised edition72 ,zigzag ,journeys in the ,orient 7revised edition72 ,scudder's ,boston ,town2 ,drake's ,the ,making of ,new ,england2 ,towle's ,pizarro2 ,towle's ,vasco da ,gama2 ,towle's ,magellan2 ,fairy ,land of ,science2 ,hawthorne's ,true ,stories2 ,higginson's ,young ,folks' ,book of ,explorers2 ,scott's ,ivanhoe2 ,longfellow's ,evangeline2 ,little ,folks in ,feathers and ,fur2 ,what ,mr4 ,darwin saw in his ,voyage around the ,world in the ,ship ,beagle2 ,muloch's ,a ,noble ,life2 ,m4 ,e4 ,dodge's ,hans ,brinker2 ,lambert's ,robinson ,crusoe2 ,lamb's ,tales from ,shakspeare 7revised edition1 ,houghton1 ,mifflin1 ,co472 ,abbott's ,jonas on a ,farm in ,summer2 ,smiles' ,robert ,dick1 ,geologist and ,botanist2 ,eyes ,right2 ,alcott's ,little ,men2 ,alcott's ,little ,women2 ,stoddard's ,dab ,kinzer2 ,scott's ,kenilworth2 ,tom ,brown's ,school-,days at ,rugby2 ,abbott's ,mary ,queen of ,scots2 ,abbott's ,charles ,i42 ,taylor's ,boys of ,other ,countries2 ,how ,marjory ,helped2 ,little ,people in ,asia2 ,gilman's ,magna ,charta ,stories2 ,overhead2 ,yonge's ,lances of ,linwood2 ,memory ,gems2 ,geographical ,plays2 ,ten ,boys ,who ,lived on the ,road from ,long ,ago till ,now2 ,scott's ,tales of a ,grandfather2 ,hayes' ,cast ,away in the ,cold2 ,sharp ,eyes and other ,papers2 ,lessons on ,practical ,subjects2 ,stories of ,mother ,nature2 ,play ,days2 ,jackanapes2 ,children's ,stories of ,american ,progress2 ,little ,lord ,fauntleroy2 ,gilman's ,historical ,readers 7three volumes72 ,pilgrims and ,puritans2 ,the ,patriotic ,reader2 ,ballou's ,footprints of ,travel4 ,,primary ,,schools4 ,,permanent ,,supplementary ,,reading4 ,easy ,steps for ,little ,feet4 ,popular ,tales 7first and second series47 ,parker ,marvel's ,supplementary ,reading 7first book74 ,tweed's ,graded ,supplementary ,reading4 ,modern ,series ,primary ,reading1 ,part ,i4 ,an ,illustrated ,primer 7,d4 ,c4 ,heath ,co474 ,,circulating ,,supplementary ,,reading4 ,first ,readers4--,monroe's1 ,monroe's ,advanced ,first1 ,appleton's1 ,harvey's1 ,eclectic1 ,sheldon's1 ,barnes' ,new ,national1 ,sheldon ,co4's1 ,harper's1 ,the ,nursery ,primer1 ,parker ,marvel's ,supplementary ,reading 7second book71 ,wood's ,first ,natural ,history ,reader1 ,stickney's ,first ,reader1 ,stickney's ,first ,reader 7new edition71 ,mc,guffey's ,alternate ,first ,reader4 ,second ,readers4--,monroe's1 ,monroe's ,advanced ,second1 ,appleton's1 ,harvey's1 ,lippincott's1 ,sheldon ,co4's1 ,barnes' ,new ,national1 ,analytical1 ,macmillan's1 ,swinton's1 ,new ,normal1 ,stickney's ,second ,reader 7new edition71 ,harper's ,easy ,book 7published by ,shorey71 ,turner's ,stories for ,young ,children1 ,our ,little ,ones1 ,golden ,book of ,choice ,reading1 ,when ,i was a ,little ,girl1 ,johonnot's ,friends in ,feathers and ,fur1 ,woodward's ,number ,stories1 ,wood's ,second ,natural ,history ,reader1 ,young ,folks' ,library1 ,nos4 #e and #f 7,silver1 ,burdett1 ,co474 ,,supplementary ,,reading ,,in ,,one ,,building1 ,,november1 #ahij4 ,,grammar ,,school4 ,,class ,i4 7about ,fifteen ,years old74 ,longfellow's ,poems4 ,,class ,,ii4 7about ,fourteen ,years old74 ,hans ,brinker4 ,mary ,mapes ,dodge4 ,how ,marjory ,helped4 ,m4 ,caroll4 ,magellan's ,voyages4 ,ivanhoe4 ,scott4 ,,class ,,iii4 7about ,thirteen ,years old74 ,american ,explorers4 ,higginson4 ,,class ,,iv4 7about ,twelve ,years old74 ,playdays4 ,sarah ,o4 ,jewett4 ,water ,babies4 ,kingsley4 ,physiology4 ,a ,child's ,book of ,nature4 ,w4 ,hooker4 ,,class ,v4 7about ,eleven ,years old74 ,stories of ,american ,history4 ,n4 ,s4 ,dodge4 ,guyot's ,geography4 ,,class ,,vi4 7about ,ten ,years old74 ,the ,arabian ,nights' ,entertainments4 ,six stories by ,samuel ,eliot4 ,our ,world4 ,mary ,l4 ,hall4 ,the ,seven ,little ,sisters4 ,jane ,andrews4 ,each and ,all4 ,jane ,andrews4 ,poetry for ,children4 ,samuel ,eliot4 ,,text-,,books4 ,,primary ,,schools4 ,third ,class4--,franklin ,primer and ,advanced ,first ,reader4 ,munroe's ,primary ,reading ,charts4 ,second ,class4--,franklin ,second ,reader4 ,franklin ,advanced ,second ,reader4 ,first ,music ,reader4 ,first ,class4--,franklin ,third ,reader4 #h,new ,franklin ,third ,reader4 ,first ,music ,reader4 #h ,to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies4 ,upper ,classes4--#i;,franklin ,primary ,arithmetic4 ,first ,lessons in ,natural ,history and ,language1 ,parts ,i4 and ,,ii4 ,child's ,book of ,language1 ,nos4 #a1 #b1 #c4 ,by ,j4 ,h4 ,stickney4 #i ,each ,primary-,school building occupied by a first or second class to be supplied with one set of the ,franklin ,primary ,arithmetic2 the number in a set to be sixty1 or1 if less be needed1 less than sixty2 the ,committee on ,supplies are authorized to supply additional copies of the book at their discretion1 if needed4 ,all the ,classes4--,american ,text-books of ,art ,education4 ,first ,primary ,music ,chart4 ,prang's ,natural ,history ,series1 one set for each building4 ,magnus ,jeffries's ,color ,chart2 ,color ,blindness1 by ,dr4 ,b4 ,joy ,jeffries4--,one copy of the ,chart and one copy of the book for use in each ,primary-,school building4 ,normal ,music ,course in the ,rice ,training ,school and in the schools of the third and sixth divisions4 ,national ,music ,course 7revised edition7 in the schools of the first and second divisions4 ,,grammar ,,schools4 ,sixth ,class4--,franklin ,advanced ,third ,reader4 #aj,warren's ,primary ,geography4 ,intermediate ,music ,reader4 ,franklin ,elementary ,arithmetic4 #aa;,greenleaf's ,manual of ,mental ,arithmetic4 ,worcester's ,spelling-,book4 #aj ,swinton's ,introductory ,geography allowed in ,charlestown ,schools4 #aa ,to be used in the manner recommended by the ,board of ,supervisors in ,school ,document ,no4 #ad1 #ahhc2 one set of sixty copies to be supplied for the classes on each floor of a ,grammar-,school building occupied by pupils in either of the four lower classes1 and for each colony of a ,grammar ,school4 ,fifth ,class4--,franklin ,intermediate ,reader4 #ab ,new ,franklin ,fourth ,reader4 ,franklin ,elementary ,arithmetic4 #ac;,greenleaf's ,manual of ,mental ,arithmetic4 #ad,warren's ,primary ,geography4 ,intermediate ,music ,reader4 ,worcester's ,spelling-,book4 #ab ,to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies4 #ac ,to be used in the manner recommended by the ,board of ,supervisors in ,school ,document ,no4 #ad1 #ahhc2 one set of sixty copies to be supplied for the classes on each floor of a ,grammar-,school building occupied by pupils in either of the four lower classes1 and for each colony of a ,grammar ,school4 #ad ,the revised edition to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies to schools where this book is used4 ,swinton's ,grammar-,school ,geography allowed in ,charlestown ,schools4 ,fourth ,class4--,franklin ,fourth ,reader4 #ae,new ,franklin ,fourth ,reader4 ,worcester's ,comprehensive ,dictionary4 ,franklin ,written ,arithmetic4 #af;,greenleaf's ,manual of ,mental ,arithmetic4 #ag,warren's ,common-,school ,geography4 ,intermediate ,music ,reader4 ,worcester's ,spelling-,book4 #ah;,blaisdell's ,how to ,keep ,well4 #ae ,to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies4 #af ,to be used in the manner recommended by the ,board of ,supervisors in ,school ,document ,no4 #ad1 #ahhc2 one set of sixty copies to be supplied for the classes on each floor of a ,grammar-,school building occupied by pupils in either of the four lower classes1 and for each colony of a ,grammar ,school4 #ag ,the revised edition to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies to schools where this book is used4 ,swinton's ,grammar-,school ,geography allowed in ,charlestown ,schools4 #ah ,one set of not more than sixty copies1 or1 if determined by the ,committee on ,supplies to be necessary1 more than one set1 be placed in each ,grammar ,school1 for use as collateral reading in the third and fourth classes4 ,third ,class4--,franklin ,fifth ,reader4 #ai,new ,franklin ,fifth ,reader4 ,franklin ,written ,arithmetic4 #bj;,greenleaf's ,manual of ,mental ,arithmetic4 #ba,warren's ,common-,school ,geography4 ,swinton's ,new ,language ,lessons4 ,worcester's ,comprehensive ,dictionary4 ,higginson's ,history of the ,united ,states4 #bb;,fourth ,music ,reader4 ,revised edition4 #bc;,blaisdell's ,how to ,keep ,well4 #ai ,to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies4 #bj ,to be used in the manner recommended by the ,board of ,supervisors in ,school ,document ,no4 #ad1 #ahhc2 one set of sixty copies to be supplied for the classes on each floor of a ,grammar-,school building occupied by pupils in either of the four lower classes1 and for each colony of a ,grammar ,school4 #ba ,the revised edition to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies to schools where this book is used4 ,swinton's ,grammar-,school ,geography allowed in ,charlestown ,schools4 #bb ,the revised edition to be supplied as new books are needed4 #bc ,one set of not more than sixty copies1 or1 if determined by the ,committee on ,supplies to be necessary1 more than one set1 be placed in each ,grammar ,school1 for use as collateral reading in the third and fourth classes4 ,second ,class4--,franklin ,fifth ,reader4 #bd,new ,franklin ,fifth ,reader4 ,franklin ,written ,arithmetic4 #be,warren's ,common-,school ,geography4 ,tweed's ,grammar for ,common ,schools4 ,worcester's ,comprehensive ,dictionary4 ,higginson's ,history of the ,united ,states4 #bf;,fourth ,music ,reader4 ,revised edition4 ,smith's ,elementary ,physiology and ,hygiene4 #bd ,to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies4 #be ,the revised edition to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies to schools where this book is used4 ,swinton's ,grammar-,school ,geography allowed in ,charlestown ,schools4 #bf ,the revised edition to be supplied as new books are needed4 ,first ,class4--,franklin ,sixth ,reader4 ,franklin ,written ,arithmetic4 ,meservey's ,book-keeping1 ,single ,entry4 #bg,warren's ,common ,school ,geography4 ,tweed's ,grammar for ,common ,schools4 ,worcester's ,comprehensive ,dictionary4 ,stone's ,history of ,england4 ,cooley's ,elements of ,philosophy4 #bh;,fourth ,music ,reader4 ,revised edition4 #bg ,the revised edition to be furnished at the discretion of the ,committee on ,supplies to schools where this book is used4 ,swinton's ,grammar-,school ,geography allowed in ,charlestown ,schools4 #bh ,the revised edition to be supplied as new books are needed4 ,fifth and ,sixth ,classes4--,first ,lessons in ,natural ,history and ,language4 ,parts ,,iii4 and ,,iv4 ,all ,classes4--,american ,text-books of ,art ,education4 ,writing-,books3 ,duntonian ,series2 ,payson1 ,dunton1 and ,scribner's2 ,harper's ,copy-books2 ,appleton's ,writing-,books4 ,child's ,book of ,language2 and ,letters and ,lessons in ,language1 ,nos4 #a1 #b1 #c1 #d4 ,by ,j4 ,h4 ,stickney4 ,prang's ,aids for ,object ,teaching1 ,trades1 one set for each building4 ,normal ,music ,course in the ,rice ,training ,school and the schools of the third and sixth divisions4 ,national ,music ,course 7revised edition7 in the schools of the first and second divisions4 ,,high ,,schools4 ,english4--,abbott's ,how to ,write ,clearly4 ,hill's or ,kellogg's ,rhetoric4 ,meiklejohn's ,english ,language4 ,scott's ,lady of the ,lake4 ,selections from ,addison's ,papers in the ,spectator1 with ,macaulay's ,essay on ,addison4 ,irving's ,sketch-,book4 ,trevelyan's ,selections from ,macaulay4 ,hales' ,longer ,english ,poems4 ,shakspeare1--,rolfe's or ,hudson's ,selections4 ,selections from ,chaucer4 ,selections from ,milton4 ,clarendon ,press ,edition4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,worcester's ,comprehensive ,dictionary4 ,latin4--,allen ,greenough's ,latin ,grammar4 ,roxbury1 ,w4 ,roxbury1 and ,brighton ,high ,schools4 ,harkness' ,latin ,grammar4 ,english1 ,girls'1 ,dorchester1 ,charlestown1 and ,east ,boston ,high ,schools4 ,harkness' ,complete ,course in ,latin for the first year4 ,gildersleeve's ,latin ,primer4 ,collar ,daniell's ,beginners' ,latin ,book4 ,roxbury1 ,west ,roxbury1 and ,brighton ,high ,schools4 ,harkness' ,caesar4 ,lindsey's ,cornelius ,nepos4 ,chase's1 ,frieze's1 or ,greenough's ,virgil1 or any edition approved by the ,committee on ,text-,books4 ,greenough's or ,harkness' ,cicero4 ,chase's or ,lincoln's ,horace1 or any edition approved by the ,committee on ,text-books4 ,history4--#bi;,anderson's ,new ,general ,history4 ,martin's ,civil ,government4 #bi ,to be dropped from list of authorized text-books1 ,july #a1 #ahij4 ,mythology4--,berens's ,hand-book of ,mythology4 ,mathematics4--,meservey's ,book-keeping4 ,bradbury ,emery's ,academic ,algebra4 #cj,wentworth ,hill's ,exercises in ,algebra4 ,bradbury's ,elementary ,geometry1 or ,chauvenet's ,geometry1 or ,wells's ,geometry4 ,greenleaf's ,trigonometry4 #ca,metric ,apparatus4 #cj ,this book is not intended to1 and does not in fact displace any text-book now in use1 but is intended merely to furnish additional problems in algebra4 #ca ,not exceeding #ae for each school4 ,physics4--,cooley's ,new ,text-book of ,physics4 ,avery's ,physics1 or ,gage's ,introduction to ,physical ,science4 ,astronomy4--,sharpless ,phillips' ,astronomy4 ,chemistry4--,williams's ,chemistry4 ,williams's ,laboratory ,manual4 ,eliot ,storer's ,elementary ,manual of ,chemistry1 edited by ,nichols4 ,eliot ,storer's ,qualitative ,analysis4 ,hill's ,lecture ,notes on ,qualitative ,analysis4 ,tables for the ,determination of ,common ,minerals4 ,girls' ,high ,school4 ,white's ,outlines of ,chemical ,theory4 ,botany4--,gray's ,school and ,field ,book of ,botany4 ,zoology4--,morse's ,zoology and ,packard's ,zoology4 ,physiology4--,hutchinson's ,physiology4 ,blaisdell's ,our ,bodies and ,how ,we ,live4 ,drawing4--,american ,text-books of ,art ,education4 ,music4--,eichberg's ,high-,school ,music ,reader4 ,eichberg's ,girls' ,high-,school ,music ,reader4 ,girls' ,high ,school4 ,,latin ,,schools4 ,latin4--,white's ,abridged ,lexicon4 ,harkness' ,grammar4 ,harkness' ,reader4 ,harkness' ,complete ,course in ,latin for the first year4 ,harkness' ,prose ,composition1 or ,allen's ,latin ,composition4 ,harkness' ,caesar4 ,lindsey's ,cornelius ,nepos4 ,greenough's ,catiline of ,sallust4 ,lincoln's ,ovid4 ,greenough's ,ovid4 ,greenough's ,virgil4 ,greenough's or ,harkness' ,orations of ,cicero4 ,smith's ,principia ,latina1 ,part ,,ii4 ,greek4--,liddell ,scott's ,abridged ,lexicon4 ,goodwin's ,grammar4 ,white's ,lessons4 ,jones' ,prose ,composition4 ,goodwin's ,reader4 ,the ,anabasis of ,xenophon4 ,boise's ,homer's ,iliad4 ,beaumlein's ,edition of ,homer's ,iliad4 ,english4--,soule's ,hand-book of ,pronunciation4 ,hill's ,general ,rules for ,punctuation4 ,tweed's ,grammar for ,common ,schools 7in fifth and sixth classes74 ,hawthorne's ,wonder ,book4 ,hawthorne's ,tanglewood ,tales4 ,plutarch's ,lives of ,famous ,greeks and ,romans4 ,macaulay's ,lays of ,ancient ,rome4 ,higginson's ,history of the ,united ,states4 ,hughes' ,tom ,brown's ,school-,days at ,rugby4 ,dana's ,two ,years before the ,mast4 ,charles and ,mary ,lamb's ,tales from ,shakspeare4 ,revised ,edition1 ,houghton1 ,mifflin1 ,co4 ,scott's ,ivanhoe4 ,hawthorne's ,true ,stories4 ,greene's ,readings from ,english ,history4 #cb;,church's ,stories from ,homer4 #cb;,church's ,stories of the ,old ,world4 ,selections from ,american ,authors1--,franklin1 ,adams1 ,cooper1 and ,longfellow4 ,american ,poems1 with ,biographical ,sketches and ,notes4 ,irving's ,sketch-,book4 ,selections from ,addison's ,papers in the ,spectator4 ,ballads and ,lyrics4 ,hales' ,longer ,english ,poems4 ,three plays of ,shakspeare1--,rolfe's or ,hudson's ,selections4 #cb ,no more copies of ,church's ,stories from ,homer to be purchased1 but as books are worn out their place to be supplied with ,church's ,stories of the ,old ,world4 ,history4--,leighton's ,history of ,rome4 ,smith's ,smaller ,history of ,greece4 ,long's or ,ginn ,heath's ,classical ,atlas4 ,smith's ,smaller ,classical ,dictionary1--,student's ,series4 ,mythology4--,bulfinch's ,age of ,fable4 ,geography4--,geikie's ,primer of ,physical ,geography4 ,warren's ,common-,school ,geography4 ,physiology4--,mace's ,history of a ,mouthful of ,bread4 ,foster's ,physiology 7,science ,primer74 ,blaisdell's ,our ,bodies and ,how ,we ,live4 ,botany4--,gray's ,school and ,field ,book of ,botany4 ,zoology4--,morse's ,zoology and ,packard's ,zoology4 ,mineralogy4--,tables for the ,determination of ,common ,minerals4 ,girls' ,latin ,school4 ,mathematics4--,the ,franklin ,written ,arithmetic4 ,bradbury's ,eaton's ,algebra4 #cc,wentworth ,hill's ,exercises in ,algebra4 ,chauvenet's ,geometry4 ,lodge's ,elementary ,mechanics4 #cc ,this book is not intended to1 and does not in fact1 displace any text-book now in use1 but is intended merely to furnish additional problems in algebra4 ,physics4--,arnott's or ,avery's ,physics1 or ,gage's ,physics4 ,drawing4--,american ,text-books of ,art ,education4 ,music4--,eichberg's ,high-,school ,music ,reader4 ,eichberg's ,girls' ,high-,school ,music ,reader4 ,girls' ,latin ,school ,,latin ,,and ,,high ,,schools4 ,french4--,keetel's ,elementary ,grammar4 ,keetel's ,analytical ,french ,reader4 ,super's ,french ,reader4 #cd,sauveur's ,petites ,causeries4 ,hennequin's ,lessons in ,idiomatic ,french4 ,gasc's ,french ,dictionary4 ,erckmann-,chatrian's ,le ,conscrit de #ahac4 ,erckmann-,chatrian's ,madame ,therese4 ,bocher's ,college ,series of ,french ,plays4 ,nouvelles ,genevoises4 ,souvestre's ,au ,coin du ,feu4 ,racine's ,andromaque4 ,racine's ,iphigenie4 ,racine's ,athalie4 ,moliere's ,bourgeois ,gentilhomme4 ,moliere's ,precieuses ,ridicules4 ,corneille's ,les ,horaces4 ,corneille's ,cid4 ,herrig's ,la ,france ,litteraire4 ,roemer's ,french ,course1 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,ventura's ,peppino4 ,halevy's ,l',abbe ,constantin4 ,la ,fontaine's ,fables4 ,about's ,la ,mere de la ,marquise4 ,daudet's ,siege de ,berlin4 ,daudet's ,extraits4 ,daudet's ,la ,belle ,nivarnaise4 #cd ,to be furnished as new ,french ,readers are needed4 ,the use of the book confined for this year to the ,english1 ,charlestown1 ,roxbury1 and ,west ,roxbury ,high ,schools4 ,german4--,whitney's ,german ,dictionary4 ,whitney's ,grammar4 ,collar's ,eysenbach4 ,otto's or ,whitney's ,reader4 ,der ,zerbrochene ,krug4 ,schiller's ,wilhelm ,tell4 ,schiller's ,maria ,stuart4 ,goethe's ,hermann und ,dorothea4 ,putlitz's ,das ,herz ,vergessen4 ,grimm's ,maerchen4 ,goethe's ,prose4 ,schiller's ,prose4 ,stein's ,german ,exercises4 ,heine's ,die ,harzreise4 ,im ,zwielicht4 ,vols4 ,i4 and ,,ii4 ,traumerein4 ,buckheim's ,german ,poetry for ,repetition4 ,,normal ,,school ,,text-,,books4 ,the text-books used in this school shall be such of the text-books used in the other public schools of the city as are needed for the course of study1 and such others as shall be authorized by the ,board4 ,normal ,music ,course4 ,,horace ,,mann ,,school ,,text-,,books4 ,such text-books shall be supplied to the ,horace ,mann ,school as the committee on that school shall approve4 ,,evening ,,high ,,school ,,text-,,books4 ,benn ,pitman's ,manual of ,phonography4 ,reporter's ,companion4 ,the ,phonographic ,reader4 ,the ,reporter's ,first ,reader4 ,bradbury's ,elementary ,geometry4 ,the text-books used in this school shall be such of the text-books authorized in the other public schools as are approved by the ,committee on ,evening ,schools and the ,committee on ,supplies4 ,east ,boston ,branch4--,graded ,lessons in ,shorthand4 ,parts #a and #b1 by ,mrs4 ,mary ,a4 ,chandler4 ,,evening ,,elementary ,,school ,,text-,,books4 ,munroe's ,charts4 ,franklin ,primer4 ,franklin ,reader4 ,stories of ,american ,history4 ,harper's ,introductory ,geography4 ,the ,franklin ,elementary ,arithmetic4 ,the ,franklin ,written ,arithmetic4 #ce;,andersen's ,maerchen4 ,writing-books1 ,plain ,copy-books2 and such of the text-books authorized in the other public schools as are approved by the ,committee on ,evening ,schools and the ,committee on ,supplies4 #ce ,in schools in which the ,english language is taught to ,german pupils4 ,,schools ,,of ,,cookery4 ,boston ,school ,kitchen ,text-book1 by ,mrs4 ,d4 ,a4 ,lincoln4 ,,reference-,,books4 ,,primary ,,schools4 ,worcester's ,comprehensive ,dictionary4 ,national ,music ,teacher4 ,munroe's ,vocal ,gymnastics4 ,lessons in ,color 7one copy for each ,primary-,school teacher's desk74 ,white's ,oral ,lessons in ,number 7one copy for each ,primary-,school teacher's desk74 ,smith's ,primer of ,physiology and ,hygiene 7one copy for each ,primary-,school teacher's desk74 ,observation ,lessons in the ,primary ,schools1 by ,mrs4 ,l4 ,p4 ,hopkins 7one copy for each ,primary-,school teacher's desk74 ,simple ,object ,lessons 7two series71 by ,w4 ,hewitt ,beck4 ,natural ,history ,object ,lessons1 by ,g4 ,ricks 7one set of books of each title for each ,primary-,school teacher's desk74 ,,grammar ,,schools4 ,appleton's ,american ,encyclopaedia or ,johnson's ,encyclopaedia4 ,chambers's ,encyclopaedia4 ,anthon's ,classical ,dictionary4 ,thomas's ,dictionary of ,biography and ,mythology4 ,worcester's ,quarto ,unabridged ,dictionary4 ,webster's ,quarto ,unabridged ,dictionary4 ,webster's ,national ,pictorial ,dictionary4 ,lippincott's ,gazetteer4 ,johnson's ,atlas4 ,reclus' ,earth4 ,reclus' ,ocean4 ,flammarion's ,atmosphere4 ,weber's ,universal ,history4 ,bancroft's ,history of the ,united ,states4 ,battle ,maps of the ,revolution4 ,palfrey's ,history of ,new ,england4 ,martin's ,civil ,government4 ,frothingham's ,rise of the ,republic4 ,lossing's ,field-book of the ,revolution4 ,shurtleff's ,topographical ,history of ,boston4 ,frothingham's ,siege of ,boston4 ,lingard's ,history of ,england4 ,smith's ,primer of ,physiology and ,hygiene 7one copy for the desk of each teacher of the fifth and sixth classes74 ,goold-,brown's ,grammar of ,english ,grammars4 ,wilson's ,punctuation4 ,philbrick's ,union ,speaker4 ,methods of ,teaching ,geography 7one copy for each teacher of ,geography74 ,first ,classes4--,physiography 7,longmans ,co474 ,copies for teachers' desks4 ,second ,classes4--,harper's ,cyclopaedia of ,united ,states ,history4 ,maps and ,globes4--,cutter's ,physiological ,charts4 ,charts of the ,human ,body 7,milton ,bradley ,co474 ,white's ,manikin4 ,cornell's ,series ,maps1 or ,guyot's ,series ,maps1 ,nos4 #a1 #b1 #c4 7,not exceeding one set to each floor47 ,hughes's ,series of ,maps4 ,joslyn's fifteen-inch ,terrestrial ,globe1 on ,tripod 7one for each ,grammar ,school74 ,nine-inch ,hand ,globe1 ,loring's ,magnetic 7one for each ,grammar ,school room74 ,cosmograph4 ,o4 ,w4 ,gray ,son's ,atlas4 7,to be furnished as new atlases are needed47 ,,latin ,,and ,,high ,,schools4 ,lingard's ,history of ,england4 ,harper's ,latin ,lexicon4 ,liddell ,scott's ,greek ,lexicon1 unabridged4 ,eugene's ,french ,grammar4 ,labberton's ,historical ,atlas and ,general ,history 7one book for the desk of each teacher74 ,guyot's and ,cameron's ,maps of the ,roman ,empire1 ,greece1 and ,italy4 ,strang's ,english ,lessons 7for use on teachers' desks74 ,,normal ,,school4 ,observation ,lessons in ,primary ,schools1 by ,mrs4 ,l4 ,p4 ,hopkins 7one set74 ,,normal ,,and ,,high ,,schools4 ,charts of ,life4 ,wilson's ,human ,anatomical and ,physiological ,charts4 ,hough's ,american ,woods4