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Harvard Classics - Reading Guide - March


Mar 1: THE SPECTATOR CLUB

Invented Sir Roger de Coverly

Word pictures are often more vivid than photographs. Steele
had a gift for originating characters that are remembered longer
than flesh and blood people. Sir Roger de Coverly and Will
Honeycomb are now bold figures in literature.

Read: THE SPECTATOR CLUB .....................  Vol. 27, pp. 83-87


Mar 2: Dana's TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

What Sailors Do on Sunday

"A sailor's liberty is but for a day," as Dana explains. Dressed
in his Sunday best, the sailor feels like a dashing Beau Brummel;
and sets out to enjoy his freedom. "While it lasts it is perfect.
He is under no one's eye and can do whatever he pleases."

Read from Dana's Two YEARS BEFORE THE MAST ...   Vol. 23, pp. 112-119



Mar 3: Walton's LIFE OF GEORGE HERBERT

For Poets and Fishermen

Isaak Walton, famed patron of fishermen, appreciated other
arts and hobbies. He writes of George Herbert, a preacher
whose hobby was poetry.

Read from Walton's LIFE OF GEORGE HERBERT ....  Vol. 15, pp. 373-382



Mar 4: Penn's SOME FRUITS OF SOLITUDE

Penn—Pioneer, Thinker, and Builder

Penn, true to Quaker beliefs, came before the king with his
hat on. The king overlooked this and later made him governor
of Pennsylvania. A sagacious Penn is revealed in his writings.

Read from Penn's SOME FRUITS OF SOLITUDE .....  Vol. 1, pp. 321-330


Mar 5: CELLINI'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Laughed at Locks

Prison walls were the least of Cellini's troubles. "Lock me well
up and watch me, for I shall certainly contrive to escape." In
spite of this warning, the utmost care of the jailers only furnished
amusement for the dauntless Cellini.

Read from CELLINI'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY ...........  Vol. 31, pp. 214-224



Mar 6: Poe's THE RAVEN

West Point's Outcast, America's First Great Poet

Edgar Allan Poe was expelled from West Point and disinherited.
So poor was he that when his young wife lay dying, he could
not afford a fire to warm her. The weirdness and despair of
"The Raven" is particularly symbolic of his life.

Read: Poe's THE-RAVEN ..................   Vol. 42, pp. 1227-1230



Mar 7: Bacon's OF JUDICATURE

Bacon Warns Judges

Bacon pointed out that a judge's duty was to interpret laws and
not to make laws. This single essay of Bacon's is a richly condensed
summary of the ethics of law.

Read: Bacon OF JUDICATURE .....................   Vol. 3, pp. 130-134



Mar 8: Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE

Dangerous Experiment with a Wife

Anselmo and Lothario were close friends. Anselmo, anxious to
learn if his wife were perfect, as he believed her to be, makes
an unusual proposal to his old friend.

Read from Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE .........  Vol. 14, pp. 307-319



Mar 9: TREATISE ON GOOD MANNERS

Common Sense and Good Manners

Swift regretted the laws against dueling because dueling at least
was a good means of ridding the country of bores and fools.
His keen eye penetrated social customs and saw the common
sense that governed good manners.

Read: TREATISE ON GOOD MANNERS .............  Vol. 27, pp. 99-103



Mar 10: PHILASTER

Beaumont—The Adonis of Elizabethan Playwrights

In the days when contact with the theatre meant exile from the
best society, Beaumont and Fletcher, men from good families,
dared to ally themselves with the stage as playwrights. "Philaster"
won them immortal praise.

Read from PHILASTER .........................    Vol. 47, pp. 667-677



Mar 11: Emerson's COMPENSATION

Gain Gleaned from Suffering

We are paid for our suffering and we pay for our happiness.
Every ache, every sorrow receives its recompense here on earth.
Emerson gives the basis for this conviction.

Read from Emerson's COMPENSATION .............   Vol. 5, pp. 85-92



Mar 12: Berkeley's THREE DIALOGUES

An Irish Bishop's Wit

Berkeley believed in a great religious future for America. He
lived three years in Rhode Island, and made plans for a college
in Bermuda.

Read from Berkeley's THREE DIALOGUES .........  Vol. 37, pp. 228-238



Mar 13: Manzoni's I PROMESSI SPOSI

Before Noblity Ran Tea Rooms

Manzoni has pictured in this thrilling romance of the seventeenth
century nobility, the pompous and sporting life of those good old
days when nobles lived sumptuously in spacious castles surrounded
by vast estates.

Read from Manzoni's I PROMESSI SPOSI ............  Vol. 21, pp. 318-332




Mar 14: THE HOLY GRAIL

A Maiden's Forfeit

"This gentlewoman that ye lead with you is a maid? " demanded
the knight. "Sir," said she, "a maid I am." "Then she must
yield us the custom of this castle."

Read from THE HOLY GRAIL ...................   Vol. 35, pp. 194-200



Mar 15: Plutarch's Caesar

Beware the Ides of March!

Twice warned of the danger that threatened him on the Ides
of March, although "the earth rocked and the stars fell and
headless men walked in the Forum," Caesar goes to the doom
awaiting him in the Senate Chamber.

Read from Plutarch's CESAR ...............   Vol. 12, pp. 315-321



Mar 16: Darwin's VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE

Crabs Climb Trees?

Many amazing things happen in the Malay jungles. For example,
Darwin tells about a crab that climbs trees and walks
down the trunks for an occasional bath in a pool.

Read from Darwin's VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE ....   Vol. 29, pp. 466-475




Mar 17: THE POETRY OF THE CELTIC RACES

An Old Irish Legend

An old Irish legend tells how, while St. Patrick was preaching
about Paradise and Hell, several of his audience begged to be
allowed to investigate the reality of these places. St. Patrick
actually satisfied their curiosity.

Read from THE POETRY OF THE CELTIC RACES ....  Vol. 32, pp. 174-182




Mar 18: A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS

New Way to Pay Old Debts

A cunning uncle cheats his worthless nephew out of his fortune.
The nephew, laughing stock of his former servants, sets out to
retrieve his old position and riches.

Read from A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS .....  Vol. 47, pp. 859-870




Mar 19: Herodotus' AN ACCOUNT OF EGYPT

Seeing Old Egypt

The mysterious Egyptian temples, the floating islands, the huge
pyramids and the many wonders of ancient Egypt are pictured
for you by Herodotus.

Read from Herodotus' AN ACCOUNT OF EGYPT ....  Vol. 33, pp. 72-84




Mar 20: Voltaire's LETTERS ON THE ENGLISH

Apples, Feathers, and Coals

Sir Isaac Newton was aided in his momentous discoveries by the
most insignificant objects—even apples, feathers, and coal. Voltaire
discusses the wondrous discoveries of Newton.

Read from Voltaire's LETTERS ON THE ENGLISH ....  Vol. 34, pp. 113-124



Mar 21: Virgil's AENEID

1,000 Years of History on the Surface of a Shield

Venus, mother of Aeneas and wife of Vulcan, obtained from
her husband, by seductive witchery, a marvelous shield whose
surface reflected a thousand years of future events. Venus describes
the wonders of the magic armor.

Read from Virgil's AENEID ...........................   Vol. 13, pp. 280-292



Mar 22: Goethe's FAUST

From Puppet Show to Majestic Drama

The Faust legend, which can be traced to puppet shows of earlier
days, portrays a philosopher who, through Satan's aid and in return
for the price of his soul, works magic at will. From this
rude framework Goethe has reared a drama of sublime grandeur.

Read from Goethe's FAUST ..........................   Vol. 19, pp. 23-36



Mar 23: THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS

First of a Thousand Harem Stories

Shahrazad, favorite of the treacherous Sultan's harem, selected
a most thrilling story for her bridal night. By leaving it unfinished
she was privileged to live to continue it the next night—and
so on for a thousand and one nights.

Read from THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS .......  Vol. 16, pp. 15-24



Mar 24: Morris' DEFENSE OF GUENEVERE

A Queen Pleads

Guenevere, King Arthur's queen, justly accused but harshly
treated, makes a noble and brave attempt to convince her court
that Gawaine lied and that Launcelot was true.

Read: Morris' DEFENSE OF GUENEVERE ......  Vol. 42, pp. 1183-1193




Mar 25: Shakespeare's HAMLET

How Conscience Makes Cowards of Us All

Hamlet pondered over which course contained the least unhappiness—
whether to suffer here and not incur new dangers, or
whether to end it all and chance the unknown terrors of the
next world. See how Hamlet reasoned.

Read from Shakespeare's HAMLET ..................   Vol. 46, pp. 144-158



Mar 26: Aesop’s FABLES

"2,500 Years Ago Aesop Said . . ."

Men in all ages have recognized the ingenuity of the practical
philosophy and freshness of Aesop's allegories. Spend a few
delightful moments with the wit and wisdom of Aesop.

Read from Aesop's FABLES ...................   Vol. 17, pp. 21-30



Mar 27: Stevenson's TRUTH OF INTERCOURSE

When Is a Lie Not a Lie?

Is lying or quibbling ever permissible? May one juggle words
so a truth is conveyed through a lie and a lie told by a truth?
Stevenson unravels this puzzle.

Read: Stevenson's TRUTH OF INTERCOURSE .....  Vol. 28, pp. 277-284




Mar 28: Adam Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONS

Pins and Other Points

The making of a simple pin is one of the most complex affairs
of modern industry. Adam Smith regards the process from the
worker's point of view, and shows the many and varied economic
principles that are involved in pin making.

Read from Adam Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONS ....  Vol. 10, pp. 9-17



Mar 29: EPIC AND SAGA

Hero and Goddess Break Engagement

Brynhild, favorite goddess of Norse mythology, plighted troth
with Sigurd, fearless warrior. But Sigurd forgot Brynhild and
married Gudrun, whose brother, Gunner, then set out to win
the beautiful Brynhild. Complications very like a modern triangle
arose.

Read from EPIC AND SAGA ....................   Vol. 49, pp. 307-317




Mar 30: Manzoni's I PROMESSI SPOSI

The Plague of Milan

"I Promessi Sposi," a seventeenth century novel, vividly describes
the devastating plague of Milan. Then whole families sickened
in a few hours and died in less than a day's time of strange and
violent complaints whose symptoms were unknown to physicians.

Read from Manzoni's I PROMESSI SPOSI ........  Vol. 21, pp. 500-512



Mar 31: Walton's LIFE OF DR. DONNE

The Ghastly Whim of John Donne

Monuments are usually made from death masks, but John Donne
took pleasure in posing for his, wrapped from head to foot in a
shroud. Isaak Walton tells of this in his fascinating biography
of the eccentric poet.

Read from Walton's LIFE OF DR. DONNE .......  Vol. 15, pp. 364-369