Introductory Note: Thomas Carlyle
Introductory note on Thomas Carlyle (Volume 25, Harvard Classics)

Introductory note on Thomas Carlyle (Volume 25, Harvard Classics)
"Genius, a Secret to Itself." Thus wrote Carlyle, who affirms that great minds are unconscious of their stupendous strength. And each of us has his own peculiar mental attributes. (Volume 25, Harvard Classics) Thomas Carlyle died Feb. 4, 1881.
Introductory note on Ben Jonson (Volume 47, Harvard classics)
While the cat's away the mice will play. Boisterous and ludicrous happenings occur in a house left in charge of a servant. But in midst of merriment the master returns. (Volume 47, Harvard Classics) Ben Jonson receives life pension from James 1, Feb. 3, 1619.
Before his son, Laertes, departs for a foreign country, Polonius advises him as to his conduct and dress, while Hamlet, the king's son, has to learn by experience. (Volume 46, Harvard Classics Shakespeare's twins - Hamnet and Judith - baptized Feb. 2, 1585.
Introductory note on Hamlet by William Shakespeare (Volume 46, Harvard classics)
Introductory note on Sir Thomas Malory (Volume 35, Harvard classics)
The intrepid Knights of the Round Table were startled by "crackling and crying of thunder" which rang through the great hall of the castle. Then there entered "The Holy Grail covered with white samite." (Volume 35, Harvard Classics)
Introductory note on Miguel de Cervantes (Volume 14, Harvard Classics)
Slayer of windmills, rescuer of fair damsels in distress, eccentric Don Quixote, scores of years behind his time, set out on a mad quest of knight-errantry. Worlds of fun and killing satire are in this absorbing story of Cervantes. (Volume 14, Harvard Classics)
Antigone, an orphan princess, defies a king's mandate and risks her life to do her duty to her brother. What is this duty which her brother calls her to perform and the king forbids? (Volume 8, Harvard Classics) Sophocles died at Athens, Jan. 30. 405 B. C.
Introductory note on Sophocles (Volume 8, Harvard Classics)
Introductory note on Charles Darwin (#2) (Volume 29, Harvard Classics)
South of Patagonia is Tierra del Fuego - "The Land of Fire." The natives of that primitive country are today almost extinct. Darwin made a careful and vitally interesting study of that land and its ill-fated inhabitants. (Volume 29, Harvard Classics) Darwin married Emma Wedgewood, Jan. 29, 1839.
Introductory note on Thomas à Kempis (Volume 7, Harvard Classics)
A pure heart, says Thomas à Kempis, comprehends the very depths of Heaven and Hell. And it is by the wings of simplicity and purity that man is lifted above all earthly things. (Volume 7, Harvard Classics)
Dante fell madly in love with Beatrice at first sight; but it is doubted if he ever spoke to her in this world. He tells of his happy meeting with Beatrice in Paradise. (Volume 20, Harvard Classics) Dante victim of political persecution in Florence, Jan. 27, 1302.
Introductory note on Dante Alighieri (Volume 20, Harvard Classics)
Introductory note on Herodotus (Volume 33, Harvard Classics)
A king who entombed his daughter in a golden cow --- the worship of the bull and the cat --- scandal of the court and the gossip of the temples is given by Herodotus in his delightful story of old Egypt. (Volume 33, Harvard Classics)
A humble Scotchman, plowing his fields, turns over the nest of a frightened mouse. He apologizes with the deepest sincerity and explains how "the best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley." (Volume 6, Harvard Classics) Robert Burns born Jan. 25, 1759.
Introductory note on Robert Burns (Volume 6, Harvard Classics)
When his ship approached the siren's rock, Odysseus stuffed the ears of his crew with wax and had himself bound to the mast that he might hear the alluring voice of the siren and yet not wreck his ship on the enchanted rock. (Volume 22, Harvard Classics)
Introductory note on Homer (Volume 22, Harvard Classics)
Pascal, the keen-minded philosopher and mathematician, fathomed the human traits of man's nature with the same accurate measurements which made him famous in the realm of geometry. Read his searching analysis of man's conceit. (Volume 48, Harvard Classics) Pascal publishes "Provincial Letters," Jan. 23, 1656.
Introductory note on Blaise Pascal (Volume 48, Harvard Classics)
Introductory note on Pierre Corneille (Volume 26, Harvard Classics)
The classic plays of French literature are produced to-day precisely as when they were given for the resplendent kings they were written to please. We are fortunate to have in English, excellent translations of these noble plays. (Volume 26, Harvard Classics) Corneille elected to French Academy. Jan. 22, 1647.
Introductory note on Hans Christian Andersen (Volume 17, Harvard Classics)
The Emperor of China lies on his deathbed grieving for the song of his favorite bird. Hark, the song! It charms, coaxes, and bribes Death to depart. It brings new life to the master. (Volume 17, Harvard Classics)