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Harvard Classics - Reading Guide - OctoberOct 1: Machiavelli's THE PRINCEPrinces To-day and Yesterday To-day the chief duty of a prince is to be the nation's friend maker. Years ago princes desired supreme power and, by fair means or foul, strove for control. Machiavelli was a guide for such ambitious princes. Read from Machiavelli's THE PRINCE ........ Vol. 36, pp. 36-44 Oct 2: Darwin's VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLEVeteran Tells of Indian War Just before Darwin visited Bahia Blanca, an Indian insurrection had been ruthlessly put down. A veteran of the Indian war told Darwin how Indians had been treated. Read from Darwin's VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE ...... Vol. 29, pp. 107-111 Oct 3: CHAUCER'S POEMSGood Enough for Chaucer When polite English society conversed in French—considering English a vulgar tongue, fit only for servants and working people— Chaucer, nevertheless, wrote poems in this "vulgar" English, which charm us because of their quaint words. Read: CHAUCER'S POEMS ........................ Vol. 40, pp. 11-20 Oct 4: Plutarch's DEMOSTHENESHis Mouth Full of Pebbles The man who put pebbles in his mouth and orated to the sea, shaved one-half of his head so that he would be obliged to stay at home until he had perfected his oratory—a strange method of attaining eminence, but a successful one. Read from Plutarch's DEMOSTHENES ............. Vol. 12, pp. 196-205 Oct 5: Newman's UNIVERSITY LIFE AT ATHENSAmateur Athlete in Old Athens A boxer in public games desired to study philosophy at Athens. There were no furnaces to tend, no tables to wait on, no books or magazines to peddle, yet this sturdy young Greek managed to work his way through college. Read from Newman's UNIVERSITY LIFE AT ATHENS ....... Vol. 28, pp. 51-61 Oct 6: Burke's REVOLUTION IN FRANCEThe Atrocious Spectacle of October 6th Wakened by the death cries of her sentry, Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, fled by a secret passage from the fury of a vile mob. The royal family was arrested and taken to Paris to await their fate. Read from Burke's REVOLUTION IN FRANCE ........ Vol. 24, pp. 208-217 Oct 7: THE JOURNAL OF JOHN WOOLMANAn Uncanonized American Saint John Woolman was the foremost leader of the early Quakers and contributed much to the spiritual life of the American Colonies. He was a pioneer in the crusade against slavery. Read from THE JOURNAL OF JOHN WOOLMAN .......... Vol. 1, pp. 283-288 Oct 8: Fielding's PREFACE TO JOSEPH ANDREWSFielding's Parody Becomes History Fielding wrote a lengthy story to burlesque a novel of Richardson. But the travesty overshot its mark. Instead of a mere parody, it became a masterpiece. Read: Fielding's PREFACE TO JOSEPH ANDREWS ...... Vol. 39, pp. 176-181 Oct 9: LATIN HYMNSSongs Shake the Walls of Jericho Do you know that many of your favorite hymns have echoed for hundreds of years through vast cathedrals, and resounded from the walls of Jericho during the Crusades? Read: LATIN HYMNS ........... Vol. 45, pp. 546-556; also pp. 567-568 Oct 10: Cervantes' DON QUIXOTEA Fugitive in Boy's Clothes The romance-stricken Don Quixote sees a fair youth seated by the side of a stream, "his feet like two crystals, his hands like snowflakes." The youth was a charming girl! Read from Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE ................ Vol. 14, pp. 252-266 Oct 11: Virgil's AENEIDAeneas Flees from an Inconsolable Love Aeneas, mythological founder of the Roman race, leaving Carthage and its lovely Queen Dido, was driven by a storm to the coast of Sicily. There the hospitality of King Acestes helped him to forget his relinquished love. Read from Virgil's AENEID ....................... Vol. 13, pp. 178-188 Oct 12: LETTER OF COLUMBUSColumbus' Letter Miraculously Found Historical documents, now priceless, were often used as wrapping paper. Rescued by chance was a letter of Columbus telling of his voyages—of the amazing bargains made with timid natives— of Amazon women who fought like men and made marriage treaties with cannibals. Read: LETTER OF COLUMBUS..................... Vol. 43, pp. 21-27 Oct 13: Marcus Aurelius' MEDITATIONSPagan Virtue Perpetuated A man of virtue, although a pagan, Marcus Aurelius ruled with benevolence and wisdom. Cruel in persecution of Christians as lawbreakers, no trace of this sternness appears in his writings. Read from Marcus Aurelius' MEDITATIONS .......... Vol. 2, pp. 193-199 Oct 14: Adam Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONSNo Spice and Little Gold All colonies are founded to gain territory or treasure. Spain expected spice and gold from Columbus's expedition, but got no spice and little gold. Adam Smith tells the true motive of the colonizing Greeks, Romans, English, and Spaniards. Read from Adam Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONS ......... Vol. 10, pp. 395-404 Oct 15: VESPUCCI'S ACCOUNT OF HIS FIRST VOYAGEFirst Families of America "They are a people smooth and clean of body because of continually washing themselves—they eat all their enemies whom they kill or capture." Amerigo Vespucci thus writes of the New World inhabitants. Read: VESPUCCI'S ACCOUNT OF HIS FIRST VOYAGE ....... Vol. 43, pp. 28-44 Oct 16: HIPPOCRATES' OATH AND LAWWhen Medicine Was a Mystery Once physicians treated the sick with a mixture of medicine and charms. In those days medicine was regarded as a dark art like magic, and those practicing it formed guilds to protect themselves. Read: HIPPOCRATES' OATH AND LAW ................ Vol. 38, pp. 3-5 Oct 17: Browne's RELIGIO MEDICIReason His Only Religion The religion of Thomas Browne—a liberal man in a most intolerant time—was not taken from either Rome or Geneva, but from his own reason. Read from Browne's RELIGIO MEDICI ................ Vol. 3, pp. 253-265 Oct 18: SHELLEY'S POEMS"If Winter Comes" From the title of a recently popular novel, we know that one prominent fiction writer of to-day was inspired by the verses of Shelley. Many others have also felt the stirring vigor of his poetry. What is your reaction? Read: SHELLEY'S POEMS .......................... Vol. 41, pp. 829-835 Oct 19: Hunt's ESSAYSVirtue in Smiles Weep if you must. It is far better than to repress your tears. But Leigh Hunt finds greater virtue in cheerfulness. Fanciful and graceful—his writings exerted a wholesome influence on all nineteenth century journalism. Read: Hunt's ESSAYS ........................... Vol. 27, pp. 285-295 Oct 20: Homer's ODYSSEUSOdysseus Adrift on a Raft The gods met in council and decreed that Odysseus be set adrift. Poseidon, God of the Sea, shattered the raft and Odysseus was cast ashore to encounter further adventures. Read from Homer's ODYSSEUS .......................... Vol. 22, pp. 68-80 Oct 21: Cicero's ON OLD AGENo Fault to Find with Old Age Cicero agrees with Browning that old age is the golden time of life, when the fruits of a well-spent life are harvested. Cicero, the wise Roman, welcomed old age for its gifts: wisdom, sound judgment, and contentment. Read from Cicero's ON OLD AGE ................ Vol. 9, pp. 45-56 Oct 22: Thackeray's JONATHAN SWIFTSwift's Love Problems Swift was embarrassed by two women; Stella, whom he really loved, and Vanessa, with whom he had flirted and who had taken him seriously. Marriage to either one would break the heart of the other. Read from Thackeray's JONATHAN SWIFT ........... Vol. 28, pp. 23-28 Oct 23: Plutarch's CAESARWhen Caesar Turned the Tables When only a boy, Caesar was captured by pirates. While awaiting ransom he entered into every sport and game with them. Once freed, he quickly returned with forces that captured the outlaws. Then he took deliberate revenge. Read from Plutarch's CESAR .................... Vol. 12, pp. 264-273 Oct 24: Aeschylus' AGAMEMNONClytemnestra Meets Her Rival Cassandra knew through a prophetic vision that a sword would pierce her heart. Agamemnon, her captor, took her to his home where an avenging wife, Clytemnestra, awaited. The tragedies of the doom that requited the sins of the House of Atreus are among the most powerful ever written. Read from Aeschylus' AGAMEMNON .............. Vol. 8, pp. 52-64 Oct 25: Macaulay's MACHIAVELLIGreatly Encouraged Intrigue After the publication of Machiavelli's " The Prince," the Sultans became more addicted to strangling their brothers, tyrants became more merciless, and murderous plots increased. The influence of that book, as Macaulay points out, spread over Europe and Asia. Read from Macaulay's MACHIAVELLI ................ Vol. 27, pp. 363-372 Oct 26: Franklin's AUTOBIOGRAPHYFranklin Learned the Secret Poor at twenty, rich at forty, internationally famous at fifty. Benjamin Franklin once walked the streets of Philadelphia alone, poor, and with no education. Yet he rose to be a leader because he learned the secret of careful reading. Read from Franklin's AUTOBIOGRAPHY ................... Vol. 1, pp. 14-21 Oct 27: BUDDHIST WRITINGSFruit of Seven Years' Silence Siddhartha Gautama, who became the god Buddha, renounced the world and spent seven years in meditation. Then one day, while sitting under a fig tree, he became inspired with exalted and sublime conceptions of life and death. The rest of his life was spent in teaching and converting mankind. Read from BUDDHIST WRITINGS ............... Vol. 45, pp. 661-674 Oct 28: SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING EDUCATIONHow Dice Taught Spelling Locke taught children by means of games. He tells of a game whereby children were taught to spell with dice on which the letters of the alphabet were pasted. This was more than 200 years before modern kindergarten methods. Today's children would respond to such wise direction as Locke recommends. Read: SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING EDUCATION ......... Vol. 37, pp. 128-136 Oct 29: KEATS' POEMSGenius Rises from a Stable Though the son of a stable man, John Keats wrote the most exquisite and sublime poetry in our language. He was the friend of Shelley, Lord Byron, and the other literary leaders of the time— his genius recognized by all. Read: KEATS' POEMS ................................ Vol. 41, pp. 874-882 Oct 30: Lyell's THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGYGeology's Greatest Benefactor Lyell has been called the founder of modern geology. Darwin, the master scientist, called h im "Geology's Greatest Benefactor." Lyell's research revolutionized ideas on that subject. Read from Lyell's THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY ........... Vol. 38, pp. 385-391 Oct 31: BURNS' POEMSWitches Walk To-night Beware of magic! Once a year uneasy spirits are released and walk the earth from midnight until dawn. Spooks and goblins invade the most secure homes and the canniest must watch out for danger lurking in every dark corner. Read from BURNS' POEMS ........................... Vol. 6, pp. 110-119 |