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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

The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel

There she was undoing her hair -- the loveliest woman the eyes of men ever beheld, the light of wooing in her regal eyes. A longing for her overwhelmed the warrior-king. (Volume 49, Harvard Classics)

Sep 08, 202123 minSeason 1Ep. 745

Sir Walter Scott, by Thomas Carlyle

Many sons of Scotland have striven eagerly for the great place held by Sir Walter Scott. Carlyle describes the qualities that combined to make him the idol of his people and the master of historical romance. (Volume 25, Harvard Classics)

Sep 06, 202124 minSeason 1Ep. 743

The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin

Just as the individual has a definite length of life, so have species a limited duration. The progress and transition of the world, Darwin declares, will see the extinction of certain variants of human life. (Volume 11, Harvard Classics) Darwin first outlines his theory of natural selection, Sept. 5. 1857.

Sep 06, 202115 minSeason 1Ep. 741

Letters on the English, by Voltaire

Voltaire's daring courage led him to publish a series of letters which contained unfavorable comparisons of French customs with the English. For this he was threatened with the Bastille. (Volume 34, Harvard Classics)

Sep 05, 202118 minSeason 1Ep. 739

Treaty with Great Britain (1783)

Until 1783 the British refused to believe that the Liberty Bell had rung. Then they signed a treaty formally recognizing the Colonies as free and independent states. (Volume 43, Harvard Classics) Treaty between England and the United States signed Sept. 3, 1783.

Sep 04, 202112 minSeason 1Ep. 737

All for Love (Act V), by John Dryden

While his soldiers fought the battle of Actium, Antony fled to the arms of Cleopatra. By his flight he forfeited his right to an empire. Dryden's story of Antony's love makes us realize the folly of his infatuation for the Nile siren. (Volume 18, Harvard Classics) Battle of Actium, Sept. 2, 31 B. C.

Sep 03, 202135 minSeason 1Ep. 735

Some Fruits of Solitude, by William Penn

While at Oxford, Penn rejected the student's gown and thereby created a furore. Later he founded a city where he sought to put his new ideas into practice. (Volume 1, Harvard Classics) Penn arrested for preaching in London, Sept. 1, 1670.

Sep 02, 202123 minSeason 1Ep. 733

The American Scholar, by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson was included in Dr. Eliot's recent selection of the world's ten greatest educators of all time. Here the great thinker discusses this force within man that makes him a scholar. (Volume 5, Harvard Classics) Emerson delivers "American Scholar" lecture, Aug. 31, 1837.

Sep 01, 202122 minSeason 1Ep. 731

Parallel Lives of Famous Greeks and Romans (Anthony), by Plutarch

Cleopatra rode to meet Antony in a gilded barge with sails of purple; oars of silver beat time to the music of flutes and fifes and harps. She went as Venus, and her attendants were dressed as Cupids and Nymphs. (Volume 12, Harvard Classics) Cleopatra dies after Antony's suicide, Aug. 29, 30 B. C.

Aug 30, 202115 minSeason 1Ep. 727

Faust (Part I), by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Almighty God, I am undone." With this cry of despair, Margaret witnessed the fiendish work of Faust, her lover, who bartered his immortal soul for worldly pleasure. A thrilling drama, based on a famous medieval legend. (Volume 19, Harvard Classics) Johann Wolfgang Goethe born Aug. 28, 1749.

Aug 29, 202111 minSeason 1Ep. 725

Poems, by Robert Burns

"A man's a man for a' that." "Should auld acquaintance be forgot." "To see her is to love her and love but her forever." "Flow gently, sweet Afton." Every stanza of Burns is treasured. How many have you stored up? (Volume 6, Harvard Classics)

Aug 28, 202110 minSeason 1Ep. 723

The Chronicles of Froissart (The Campaign of Crecy), by Jean Froissart

A brilliant victory for the English king was gained in this battle, a fight in which vast numbers of French nobility, many princes, and the aged King John of Bohemia were slain. Froissart describes all in detail. (Volume 35, Harvard Classics) Battle of Crecy, Aug. 26, 1346.

Aug 27, 202114 minSeason 1Ep. 721

The Tides, by Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)

We to-day know that there is a direct relation between the moon and tides. When Julius Cæsar went to conquer Britain his transports were wrecked because he did not know the tides on the English coast; a knowledge of which might have changed the whole course of history. (Volume 30, Harvard Classics) Kelvin delivers lecture on "Tides," Aug. 25, 1882.

Aug 26, 202124 minSeason 1Ep. 719

Pliny's Letters, by Pliny the Younger

The eruption of Vesuvius that demolished Pompeii and buried thousands of people was witnessed by Pliny. He describes his panic-stricken flight with his mother from the doomed villa through falling ashes and sulphurous fumes. His famous uncle, the elder Pliny, lost his life while investigating the eruption and aiding refugees. (Volume 9, Harvard Classics)

Aug 25, 202121 minSeason 1Ep. 717
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