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Harvard Classics

Rich E Bookhc.richebook.net
Former President of Harvard University Charles W. Eliot wrote in his introduction to the Harvard Classics, "In my opinion, a five-foot shelf would hold books enough to give a liberal education to any one who would read them with devotion, even if he could spare but fifteen minutes a day for reading." Here you are, you can easily listen to his entire 15-minutes-a-day study guide while commuting to and from work (most of us spend far more than 15 minutes a day commuting each day), doing mundane work in the office, washing dishes at home, or doing most of the things day in and day out. It is so easy, so entertaining, and so educational that they can be listened to again and again, until they permeate into our own thinking and into our characters. Perhaps, in one year's time, you will become someone you barely recognize, all for the better. Who knows? -- Rich E Book
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Episodes

Life Is a Dream (Act I, Scene I), by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Disguised as a man, a Russian noblewoman exploring the mountains of Poland came upon a secret prison. Fate linked the lives of this woman and the unknown prisoner. (Volume 26, Harvard Classics) Calderon, after a life of adventure, died May 5, 1681.

May 06, 202227 minSeason 1Ep. 1225

Science and Culture, by Thomas Henry Huxley

When science was struggling for a place in popular education, Huxley distinguished himself as its champion. While the arts were to beautify life and increase pleasure, Huxley saw science as a means of benefiting man's prosperity. (Volume 28, Harvard Classics) Huxley born May 4, 1825.

May 04, 202225 minSeason 1Ep. 1223

The Prince (Ch. 1-3), by Niccolo Machiavelli

Traveling from court to court in the stirring days of the Renaissance, Machiavelli studied the intrigues of princes. His writings have affected the destiny of mighty dynasties. (Volume 36, Harvard Classics) Machiavelli born May 3, 1469.

May 03, 202221 minSeason 1Ep. 1221

Magnetism—Electricity, by Michael Faraday

Everything has to have a beginning, so too with the science of electricity. Here we learn the very rudiments, the inceptions of science that have revolutionized the world. Faraday explains in a simple way the truths of electricity. (Volume 30, Harvard Classics)

May 02, 202221 minSeason 1Ep. 1219

Of Persons One Would Wish to Have Seen, by William Hazlitt

Once Hazlitt and his friends took to discussing the famous people they would like to meet --- Guy Fawkes, Sir Isaac Newton, Chaucer, Boccaccio, Cromwell, Garrick, and Judas. (Volume 27, Harvard Classics)

May 01, 202231 minSeason 1Ep. 1217

Washington’s First Inaugural Address, by George Washington

Washington declared that the strength of the new nation lay in the "pure and immutable principles of private morality." A free government, fortified by the virtues and affection of its citizens, can command the respect of the world. (Volume 43, Harvard Classics) Washington inaugurated April 30, 1789.

Apr 30, 20229 minSeason 1Ep. 1215

The Thousand and One Nights

Sindbad, a poor man, recited woeful verses before the magnificent dwelling of Sindbad of the Sea. The great Sindbad, hearing him, invited the poor Sindbad to a feast and told the wonderful story of his fabulous fortune. (Volume 16, Harvard Classics)

Apr 29, 202231 minSeason 1Ep. 1213

The Book of Ecclesiastes (Ch. 1-5)

Three hundred years before Christ, a preacher in Jerusalem complained that there was no new thing under the sun. Everything considered new had really existed in the time of the fathers. Sophisticated and modern is this writer of 2,300 years ago. (Volume 44, Harvard Classics)

Apr 28, 202217 minSeason 1Ep. 1211

Beauty, by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Puritan world feared Beauty. Emerson, great American essayist and philosopher, declared that the world was made for beauty, and openly worshiped at beauty's shrine. (Volume 5, Harvard Classics) Emerson died April 27, 1882.

Apr 27, 202233 minSeason 1Ep. 1209

Germany, by Tacitus

Men who danced among sharp swords --- who gambled with their lives --- who took their women to the battlefields to encourage the brave and shame the cowardly --- these were the primitive Germans who made Roman emperors tremble. (Volume 33, Harvard Classics)

Apr 25, 202233 minSeason 1Ep. 1205

The Origin of Species (Ch. III), by Charles Darwin

At the rate at which elephants naturally increase, Darwin estimated that in 750 years there could be nearly 19,000,000 elephants. But did Darwin consider the ravages of civilization and circuses? (Volume 11, Harvard Classics)

Apr 24, 202231 minSeason 1Ep. 1203

The Tragedy of King Lear (Act IV, Scene 6-7), by William Shakespeare

Shaken and disillusioned by the treachery of his elder daughter, King Lear suspected even the faithful Cordelia of evil designs. Her most tender efforts to comfort him failed to drive away the insistent specter of his madness. (Volume 46, Harvard Classics) Shakespeare died April 23, 1616.

Apr 23, 202227 minSeason 1Ep. 1201

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals (Sec. I), by Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant, the most influential of German philosophers, taught that it was man's duty to be happy, for an unhappy man is tempted to sin. Seekers after happiness find aid and inspiration in Kant's writings. (Volume 32, Harvard Classics) Immanuel Kant born April 22, 1724.

Apr 22, 202222 minSeason 1Ep. 1199

Introduction to the History of English Literature, by Hippolyte Adolphe Taine

Through the pages of a book the reader sees the life of past days. Carnivals, processions, battles, coronations, voyages - the whole history of the world and its people is revealed in a stupendous pageant. Taine was a Frenchman who wrote an unsurpassed history of English literature; its introduction reveals the unusual combination of an imaginative and an analytical style. (Volume 39, Harvard Classics) H. A. Taine born April 21, 1828.

Apr 21, 202222 minSeason 1Ep. 1197
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