"Madam Bubble," or this vain world, presented both herself and her purse to the wayfarer. Repulsed and scorned, yet she serenely flaunts her bribes enticingly before his bewildered eyes. (Volume 15, Harvard Classics) John Bunyan made leader of Non-Conformist congregation, Dec. 21, 1671.
Dec 21, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 955
Introductory note on John Bunyan (Volume 15, Harvard Classics)
Dec 21, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 956
Introductory note on Herodotus (Volume 33, Harvard Classics)
Dec 21, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 954
All phases of life were pictured by Herodotus in his history. Like a modern newspaper reporter, he combines weird stories, scandals, and battle accounts with descriptions of places, persons, and sights about town. (Volume 33, Harvard Classics)
Dec 21, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 953
The mighty Samson was blinded while a captive of the Philistines. He sought revenge - a revenge devastating and costly. Milton, himself a giant of intellect, blind and imprisoned, wrote of this sightless giant of other days. (Volume 4, Harvard Classics) Milton released from prison, Dec. 19, 1660.
Dec 19, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 951
Introductory note on Samson Agonistes by John Milton (Volume 4, Harvard Classics)
Dec 19, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 952
Introductory note on John Locke (Volume 37, Harvard Classics)
Dec 19, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 950
Every schoolboy asks: "What's the use of learning Latin?" John Locke, one of the greatest educators of all time, maintains that Latin is absolutely essential to a well-bred gentleman, and explains why. (Volume 37, Harvard Classics)
Dec 19, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 949
Introductory note on Saint Augustine (Volume 7, Harvard Classics)
Dec 17, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 948
The mother of St. Augustine prayed unceasingly for her son's conversion. The most touching, most soul-revealing writing St. Augustine did is in the description of his mother's death. (Volume 7, Harvard Classics)
Dec 17, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 947
Introductory note on Edmund Burke (#3) (Volume 24, Harvard Classics)
Dec 16, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 946
Beauty is an important factor in the attraction between man and woman. It is knowing beauty that differentiates man from the animals, which only require that their mates be of the same species. (Volume 24, Harvard Classics)
Dec 16, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 945
Introductory note on Homer (Volume 22, Harvard Classics)
Dec 16, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 944
This is another of those marvelous and unforgetable tales of the wandering Odysseus. The fantasy takes him into regions where he discourses with deceased heroes. (Volume 22, Harvard Classics)
Dec 16, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 943
Introductory note on Andrew Marvell (Wikipedia)
Dec 14, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 942
The many-sided Marvell, who wielded a pen that was both feared and courted, is seen at his best in stirring verse. "A Garden," "Prospect of Flowers," with the "Horatian Ode upon Cromwell," show the power of his genius. (Volume 40, Harvard Classics) Marvell entered Cambridge, Dec. 14, 1633.
Dec 14, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 941
Introductory note on Sir Francis Drake (Volume 33, Harvard Classics)
Dec 14, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 940
A famous voyage was Sir Francis Drake's around the world. Drake's crew, the first white men to visit many parts of the world, received amazing receptions from the natives. (Volume 33, Harvard Classics) Sir Francis Drake embarked for South Seas, Dec. 13, 1577.
Dec 14, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 939
Three brave men began the heroic ride from Ghent to Aix. Only one man arrived to tell the thrilling story of the tempestuous ride. In one of his most bewitching poems, in lines that haunt the memory, Browning retells the story. (Volume 42, Harvard Classics) Robert Browning died Dec. 12, 1889.
Dec 12, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 937
Introductory note on Robert Browning (the Ridpath Library of Universal Literature)
Dec 12, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 938
Introductory note on Plutarch (Volume 12, Harvard Classics)
Dec 12, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 936
The handsome Alcibiades, cunning in politics, bold in war, was the lion of Athenian society until he violated the secrets of a mysterious religious cult. Then all outraged Athens united to dash their idol to the ground. (Volume 12, Harvard Classics)
Dec 12, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 935
Introductory note on Benvenuto Cellini (Volume 31, Harvard Classics)
Dec 10, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 934
Taking offense at a soldier who made advances toward his favorite lady, Cellini jumped from the window, knife in hand, to avenge himself. This incident was recorded with characteristic conceit by Cellini in his amazing diary. (Volume 31, Harvard Classics)
Dec 10, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 933
Introductory note on American Historical Documents (Volume 43, Harvard Classics)
Dec 10, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 932
By the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 stringent laws were made to prevent assistance being given to any slaves attempting to escape. The antislavery answer to these laws was a perfection of the "Underground Railroad." (Volume 43, Harvard Classics)
Dec 10, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 931
Introductory note on Thomas De Quincey (Volume 27, Harvard Classics)
Dec 08, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 930
De Quincey imagined that three women were sent to him so that he might know the depths of his soul. Real women could not have wielded greater influence. It is fortunate that everyone does not meet these weird women. (Volume 27, Harvard Classics) Thomas De Quincey died Dec. 8, 1859.
Dec 08, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 929
Introductory note on Plutarch (Volume 12, Harvard Classics)
Dec 08, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 928
After being governor of Sicily, Cicero returned to Rome expecting a hero's welcome. When he asked what the Romans thought of his recent achievements, he received an astounding answer. (Volume 12, Harvard Classics) Cicero slain by Mark Antony's soldiers, Dec. 7, 43 B. C.
Dec 08, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 927