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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

Sonnets, by William Shakespeare

The most concentrated beauty of Shakespeare's unbounded creative genius is found in his sonnets. Written as personal messages to friends and not intended for publication, they reveal the inner Shakespeare more truly than do any of his great plays. (Volume 40, Harvard Classics) Sonnets entered in the London Stationers' Register, May 20, 1609.

May 20, 202217 minSeason 1Ep. 1255

The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, by Epictetus

When a man is invited to a banquet he must be satisfied with the dishes put before him. Epictetus reasoned that man should be content with what life offers, and in serenity find happiness. (Volume 2, Harvard Classics)

May 20, 202222 minSeason 1Ep. 1253

Little Ida’s Flowers, by Hans Christian Andersen

Flowers often tire of their stationary life and sometimes at night frolic away to a ball in a beautiful castle. Thus a fanciful story-teller accounts for their drooping condition in the morning. (Volume 17, Harvard Classics)

May 18, 202216 minSeason 1Ep. 1251

The Apology of Socrates, by Plato

Condemned for impiety, Socrates felt so justified in the virtue of his past action that instead of receiving a death sentence, he told the judges he should be maintained at public expense as a public benefactor. (Volume 2, Harvard Classics)

May 17, 202218 minSeason 1Ep. 1249

The Poetry of the Celtic Races (Ch. II), by Ernest Renan

Chessboards on which, of their own accord, black pieces played against white; chariots that swiftly turned hither and yon without a driver; pots in which a coward's meat would not cook --- all these are woven into bewitching stories. (Volume 32, Harvard Classics)

May 16, 202223 minSeason 1Ep. 1247

The Divine Comedy (Inferno XXV-XXVII), by Dante Alighieri

The best part of the Divine Comedy for a few minutes' reading is the "Inferno." There the reader finds the most vivid descriptions, the most startling and unforgettable pictures. (Volume 20, Harvard Classics) Dante born May 15, 1265.

May 15, 202223 minSeason 1Ep. 1245

The Two Dogs, by Robert Burns

Two dogs fell a-gossiping about their masters and about a dog's life among the humble Scotch folk. Each "rejoic'd they werena men but dogs; an' each took aff his several way." (Volume 6, Harvard Classics)

May 13, 202211 minSeason 1Ep. 1241

Poems, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The manuscripts of many of the best poems of Rossetti were buried with his wife. Friends prevailed upon him to allow them to be exhumed --- and these poems, once buried with the dead, are now a treasure of the living. (Volume 42, Harvard Classics) Rossetti born May 12, 1828.

May 12, 202212 minSeason 1Ep. 1239

The Duchess of Malfi (Act IV), by John Webster

Latest news abroad in Malfi: The Duchess has run off with her butler. But this happened before the days of newspapers or radio, so Webster made from it an exciting play. (Volume 47, Harvard Classics)

May 11, 202232 minSeason 1Ep. 1237

The Discovery of Guiana, by Sir Walter Raleigh

Savages who drink the powdered bones of their dead mixed with wine, Amazons who hold riotous festivals, the worship of golden statues, all the primitive wonders of Guiana are described by the famous Elizabethan gallant, Sir Walter Raleigh. (Volume 33, Harvard Classics)

May 11, 202234 minSeason 1Ep. 1235

The School for Scandal (Act IV, Scene III), by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Lady Teazle hides in haste when her husband is unexpectedly announced. Situations which set many tongues wagging and fed the fire of gossip in Scandal-land, startle the reader. (Volume 18, Harvard Classics) "School for Scandal" produced at Drury Lane, May 8, 1777.

May 08, 202226 minSeason 1Ep. 1231

Poems, by Robert Browning

A haughty aristocrat, who murdered his wife for enjoying life more than he, now bargaining for a new bride; a crafty bishop begging and bullying his heirs for a tomb richer than that of his rival; these are subjects of Browning's pen. (Volume 42, Harvard Classics) Robert Browning born May 7, 1812.

May 07, 202210 minSeason 1Ep. 1229

Autobiography (Vol. 2, Ch. 73-79), by Benvenuto Cellini

"Benvenuto, the figure cannot succeed in bronze," so spoke the patron Duke. Cellini, stung to fury, passionately burst out: "You do not understand art." Feverishly he began the casting of the statue --- but read his own account of the tilt with the Duke. (Volume 31, Harvard Classics)

May 06, 202230 minSeason 1Ep. 1227
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