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Harvard Classics - Reading Guide - FebruaryFeb 1: Malory's THE HOLY GRAILKing Arthur's Knights Find Holy Grail The intrepid Knights of the Round Table were startled by "crackling and crying of thunder" which rang through the great hall of the castle. Then there entered " The Holy Grail covered with white samite." Read from Malory's THE HOLY GRAIL ...... Vol. 35, pp. 112-123 Feb 2: Shakespeare's HAMLET"Apparel Oft Proclaims the Man " Before his son, Laertes, departs for a foreign country, Polonius advises him as to his conduct and dress, while Hamlet, the king's son, has to learn by experience. Read from Shakespeare's HAMLET ........... Vol. 46, pp. 107-120 Feb 3: Jonson's THE ALCHEMISTA House of Mirth and Revelry While the cat's away the mice will play. Boisterous and ludicrous happenings occur in a house left in charge of a servant. But in midst of merriment the master returns. Read from Jonson's THE ALCHEMIST ......... Vol. 47, pp. 543-558 Feb 4: Carlyle's CHARACTERISTICS"Genius, a Secret to Itself" Thus wrote Carlyle, who affirms that great minds are unconscious of their stupendous strength. And each of us has his own peculiar mental attributes. Read from Carlyle's CHARACTERISTICS ......... Vol. 25, pp. 319-327 Feb 5: THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTSDiamonds, Diamonds Everywhere! Trapped in a valley filled with huge diamonds guarded by venomous serpents, Sindibad devised a clever means of escaping with many of the glittering jewels. Read from THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS ..... Vol. 16, pp. 243-250 Feb 6: Marlowe's EDWARD THE SECONDCharles Lamb Suggests To-day's Reading "The reluctant pangs of abdicating royalty in 'Edward' furnished hints which Shakespeare scarcely improved in his 'Richard the Second,' and the death scene of Marlowe's King moves to pity and terror."—CHARLES LAMB. Read from Marlowe's EDWARD THE SECOND ....... Vol. 46, pp. 73-89 Feb 7: LETTER TO LORD CHESTERFIELDA Letter from a Lion Johnson was not always a conventional guest. Graciously treated, he responded in like manner, but offended, Johnson could wield a pen dripping with vitriol. Read: LETTER TO LORD CHESTERFIELD ......... Vol. 39, pp. 206-207 Feb 8: BURNS' POEMSTragic Death of a World-Famous Beauty "But I, the Queen of a' Scotland, maun lie in prison Strang." Burns sings of poor Mary bound by chains, yearning for the day when flowers would "bloom on her peaceful grave." Read from BURNS' POEMS ................... Vol. 6, pp. 396-406 Feb 9: Tacitus ON GERMANYRest Between Wars Tacitus, the historian, visited the virile German tribes in their primitive homes on the banks of the Rhine. He was surprised to learn that the men so active and eager in war lolled in indolence during the intervals between. Read from Tacitus ON GERMANY .................... Vol. 33, pp. 93-102 Feb 10: Voltaire's LETTERS ON THE ENGLISHNo Fancy for a Plain Gentleman Voltaire once visited Congreve. This famous dramatist requested to be regarded only as a plain gentleman. "Had you been that I should never have come to see you," Voltaire cynically replies. Read from Voltaire's LETTERS ON THE ENGLISH .... Vol. 34, pp. 130-140 Feb 11: Descartes' DISCOURSE ON METHODThe Queen Freezes Her Philosophy Descartes was slain through the eccentric whim of a queen who demanded that he tutor her in the freezing dawn in the dead of winter. His philosophy lives in this essay. Read from Descartes' DISCOURSE ON METHOD .... Vol. 34, pp. 5-20 Feb 12: LINCOLN'S WRITINGSOxford Corrects Lincoln's Mistake Lincoln himself thought his famous Gettysburg Address was a failure. To-day the whole world acclaims its greatness. Cast in bronze, it hangs on the wall of Balliol College, Oxford, regarded as the perfection of English prose. Read: LINCOLN'S WRITINGS ....................... Vol. 43, pp. 415-420 Feb 13: CELLINI'S AUTOBIOGRAPHYThe Frank Story of an Amazing Life At the age of fifty-eight Benvenuto Cellini shaved his head and retired to a monastery to write his own story of murder, passion, and great deeds of the Renaissance. His life is a vivid picture of the most colorful period in history, a period when statecraft and religion and black magic and assassination were naively mingled in men's lives. Read from CELLINI'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY .............. Vol. 31, pp. 68-80 Feb 14: Pascal's DISCOURSE ON THE PASSION OF LOVELove Always Young Pascal—an original genius—purposed to master everything that was new in art and science. He was a mathematician and scientist as well as a religious enthusiast and moralist, and he shows a decidedly human side of his nature in this superb essay on Love. Read: Pascal's DISCOURSE ON THE PASSION OF LOVE ...... Vol. 48, pp. 411-421 Feb 15: Dryden's ALL FOR LOVEThe World Well Lost? The romantic and heedless loves of Antony and Cleopatra figure prominently in history, literature, and drama. Dryden made a fascinating play from the story of Antony, who sacrificed the leadership of Rome, reputation, and life itself for love of the Egyptian queen, who followed h im in death. Read from Dryden's ALL FOR LOVE ........... Vol. 18, pp. 53-69 Feb 16: Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIESSocial Circles Among Ants Ants have slaves who work for them. These slaves make the nests, feed the master ants, tend the eggs, and do the moving when a colony of ants migrate. Darwin minutely describes the habits and lives of the industrious ants and their marvelous social organization—a wonder to mankind. Read from Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES ......... Vol. 11, pp. 264-268 Feb 17: Moliere's TARTUFFEDeath His Curtain Call While acting in one of his own plays, Moliere was suddenly stricken and died shortly after the final curtain. He took an important role in "Tartuffe" which introduces to literature a character as famous as Shakespeare's Falstaff. Read from Moliere's TARTUFFE .................... Vol. 26, pp. 199-217 Feb 18: TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAINLasting Peace with Great Britain All Americans should know this treaty which finally inaugurated an era of peace and good understanding with England. For over a hundred years this peace has been unbroken. Read: TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN (1814) ....... Vol. 43, pp. 255-264 Feb 19: BUDDHIST WRITINGSEarthly Experience of a Chinese Goddess The thousandth celestial wife of the Garland God slipped and fell to earth, where she took mertal form and served as an attendant in a temple. Death finally released her and she went back to heaven to tell her lord of the ways of men. Read from the BUDDHIST WRITINGS ............... Vol. 45, pp. 693-701 Feb 20: Voltaire's LETTERS ON THE ENGLISHVoltaire Observes the Quakers Because the early Quakers shook, trembled, and quaked when they became inspired—they received the title of "Quakers." This sect attracted the keen-minded Voltaire, who made interesting notes on them during his visit to England. Read from Voltaire's LETTERS ON THE ENGLISH .... Vol. 34, pp. 65-78 Feb 21: Newman's THE IDEA OF A UNIVERSITYDoes Football Make a College? Just what makes a university? A group of fine buildings? A library? A staff of well-trained teachers? A body of eager students? A winning football team? Cardinal Newman defines the prime functions of a university. Read from Newman's THE IDEA OF A UNIVERSITY .... Vol. 28, pp. 31-39 Feb 22: BURNS' POEMSAn Ode for Washington's Birthday Burns asks for Columbia's harp, and then sings of liberty. He bewails the sad state of the land of Alfred and Wallace which once championed liberty, and now fights for tyranny. Read from BURNS' POEMS .................. Vol. 6, pp. 492-494 Feb 23: Stevenson's SAMUEL PEPYSPepys' Nose for News Gossipy, witty Pepys had a curiosity that made him famous. He knew all the news of court and street. Stevenson, who never put his pen to a dull subject, writes of Pepys. Read from Stevenson's SAMUEL PEPYS ..... Vol. 28, pp. 285-292 Feb 24: MILTON'S POEMSLights and Shadows of Milton In a superb poem, Milton bids Loathed Melancholy begone to some dark cell. He calls for the joys of youth and vows eternal faith with them. Read: MILTON'S POEMS ......................... Vol. 4, pp. 30-38 Feb 25: THE SHORTEST WAY WITH DISSENTERSPunished for Too Sharp a Wit The brilliant wit and cutting satire of Defoe made for him friends and enemies—but mostly enemies. So piercing and twoedged was "The Shortest-Way with Dissenters" that he was fined, imprisoned and pilloried. Read: THE SHORTEST-WAY WITH DISSENTERS ..... Vol. 27, pp. 133-147 Feb 26: HUGO'S PREFACE TO CROMWELLA David Who Side-stepped Goliath Hugo was insulted by the most powerful critics in France. He put into the preface of a play "his sling and his stone" by which others might slay "the classical Goliath." Read: HUGO'S PREFACE TO CROMWELL ..... Vol. 39, pp. 337-349 Feb 27: LONGFELLOW'S POEMSPoet Apostle of Good Cheer "Tell me not in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream . . ." "Stars of the summer night! Far in yon azure deeps—" So begin poems that have charmed and cheered thousands. Read from LONGFELLOW'S POEMS .......... Vol. 42, pp. 1264-1280 Feb 28: Montaigne's ESSAYSSpoke Latin First Proficient in Latin even before he knew his own tongue, Montaigne received an unusual education. His whole life was spent in storing up his choice thoughts for our profit and pleasure. Read from Montaigne's ESSAYS ...................... Vol. 32, pp. 29-40 Feb 29: HERMANN AND DOROTHEAGoethe's Tale of a Maiden in Love To either Saint Patrick or the Scottish Parliament of 1228 go the honors—or dishonors—of originating the traditions attending this day; says the latter, "ilka maiden ladee, of baith high and lowe estait, shall hae libeitie to speak ye man she likes." The course of true love runs smooth in Goethe's narrative poem, enduring today for its characterization and swift-flowing lines. Begin HERMANN AND DOROTHEA ............. Vol. 19, p. 337; also pp. 395-410 |