TABLE I.
Reading edition
NOTE OF EXPLANATION.
Transcriber's note: The original format of the table exceeded the width requirements for e-text. Therefore the table was reformatted. It is now organized from top to bottom in the order of importance. The first shelf and second shelf are arranged side by side.
Table I. contains a list of authors whose books, on principle and authority, have the strongest claims on the attention of the average reader of English. They are arranged from left to right in the order of importance of the divisions of the subject matter regarded as wholes, and from above downward in the order of their value in relation to the highest standard in their own department. The numbers have nothing to do with the ranking, but refer to notes that will be found on the pages following the table. There is also, at the head of the notes relating to each column of the table, a special note on the subject matter of that column.
The upper part of the table represents the first shelf of the world's library, and contains the books having the very strongest claims upon the attention of all,—books with which every one should endeavor to gain an acquaintance, at least to the extent indicated in the notes.
The lower part of the table represents the second shelf of the world's library, and contains books which in addition to those of the first shelf should enter into a liberal education.
It must be always kept in mind that intrinsic merit alone does not decide the position of a book in this table; for in order to test the claim of a book upon the attention of a reader we have to consider not only the artistic value of the author's work, and its subject matter, but also the needs and abilities of the reader. Thus it happens that it is not always the work of the greatest genius which stands highest in the list. Moreover, no claim is made that the ranking is perfect, especially on the second shelf. The table is an example of the application of the principles set forth in the remarks following Table V., to the case of the general reader. For every one above or below the average reader the lists would have to be changed, and even the average list has no quality of the absolute. It is but a suggestion,—a suggestion, however, in which we have a good deal of confidence, one that is based on a very wide induction,—and we have no hesitation in affirming that the upper shelf represents the best literature the world affords.
In addition to Table I., there will be found in Tables III. and IV., and in the remarks upon the Guidance of Children following Table IV., a number of pieces of literary work of the very highest merit and value. Some of the most important are Lowell's "Vision of Sir Launfal," one of the very finest American poems; Browning's "Ivan Ivanovitch;" Guyot's "Earth and Man;" Mary Treat's "Home Book of Nature;" Burroughs' "Pepacton," "Signs and Seasons," "Wake Robin," etc.; Buckley's "Fairy Land of Science," etc.; Ragozin's "Chaldea;" Fénelon's "Lives of the Philosophers;" Bolton's "Poor Boys who became Famous;" Rives' "Story of Arnon;" Drake's "Culprit Fay;" Dr. Brown's "Rab and his Friends;" Mary Mapes Dodge's "Hans Brinker;" Andrews' "Ten Boys on the Road;" Arnold's "Sweetness and Light;" Higginson's "Vacations for Saints;" and General Booth's "In Darkest England, and the Way Out," a book of great power, which sets forth the most practical method yet proposed for the immediate relief of society from the burdens of pauperism and vice.
TABLE I.—THE WORLD'S BEST BOOKS.
[See explanation on the preceding pages.]
(first shelf) (second shelf)
1. Religion & Morals.
Brooks[10]
Drummond[10]
2. Poetry & the Drama.
Shelley[34]
Keats[35]
Campbell[36]
Moore[37]
Thomson[38]
Macaulay[39]
Dryden[40]
Collins[41]
Ingelow[42]
Bryant[43]
Longfellow[44]
Herbert[45]
Goldsmith[46]
Coleridge[47]
Wordsworth[48]
Pope[49]
Southey[50]
Walton[51]
Browning[52]
Young[53]
Jonson[54]
Beaumont & F.[55]
Marlowe[56]
Sheridan[57]
Carleton[58]
Virgil[60]
Horace[61]
Lucretius[62]
Ovid[63]
Sophocles[64]
Euripides[65]
Aristophanes[66]
Pindar[67]
Hesiod[68]
Heine[69]
Schiller[70]
Corneille[71]
Racine[71]
Molière[71]
Musset[74]
Calderon[75]
Petrarch[76]
Ariosto[77]
Tasso[78]
Camoens[79]
Omar[80]
Firdusi[81]
Hafiz[81]
Saadi[81]
Arnold[82]
Pushkin[83]
Lermontoff[84]
3. Science.
Tyndall[116]
Airy[117]
Faraday[118]
Helmholtz[119]
Huxley[120]
Gray[121]
Agassiz[122]
Silliman[123]
4. Biography.
Guerin[151]
Jefferson[151]
American Statesmen[151]
English Men of Letters[151]
5. History.
Macaulay[163]
Froude[164]
Gibbon[165]
Grote[166]
Palfrey[167]
Prescott[168]
Motley[169]
Frothingham [169a]
Wilkinson[170]
Niebuhr[171]
Menzel[172]
Milman[173]
Ranke[174]
Sismondi[175]
Michelet[176]
Carlyle[177]
Thierry[178]
Tacitus[179]
Livy[180]
Sallust[181]
Herodotus[182]
Xenophon[183]
Thucydides[184]
Josephus[185]
Mackenzie[185]
Rawlinson[185]
6. Philosophy.
Lewes Hume[198]
or Ueberweg Hamilton[199]
or Schwegler Aristotle[200]
or Schlegel Descartes[201]
on the History of Philosophy Cousin[201]
Hegel & Schelling[202]
Fichte[203]
Erasmus[204]
Fiske[205]
Hickok[206]
McCosh[207]
Spinoza[208]
7. Essays.
Emerson[209] Macaulay
Bacon[210] Leigh Hunt
Montaigne[211] Arnold
Ruskin[212] Buckle
Carlyle[212] Hume
Addison[212] Froude
Symonds
Steele
Browne
Johnson
De Quincey
Foster
Hazlitt
Lessing
Sparks
Disraeli
Whipple
Lamb
Schiller
Coleridge
8. Fiction.
Fielding[234]
Le Sage[234]
Balzac[234]
9. Oratory.
Demosthenes Sumner
Burke Henry
Fox Otis
Pitt Jay
Webster Madison
Clay Jefferson
Phillips Beecher
Lincoln Brooks
Everett Choate
Bright Garfield
Ingersoll
Erskine
Sheridan
Gladstone
Cicero
Quintilian
Bossuet
Saint Chrysostom
10. Wit & Humor.
Twain[252]
Warner[253]
Edwards[254]
Hale[255]
Nasby[256]
Ward[257]
Jerrold[258]
Voltaire[259]
Byron[259]
Butler[260]
Swift[260]
Rabelais[261]
Sterne[261]
Juvenal[262]
Lucian[262]
11. Fables & Fairy Tales.
Ovid[273]
Curtin[273]
Fiske[273]
12. Travel.
Stanley[280]
Du Chaillu[281]
Niebuhr[282]
Bruce[283]
Heber[284]
Lander[285]
Waterton[286]
Mungo Park[287]
Ouseley[288]
Barth[289]
Boteler[290]
Maundeville[291]
Warburton[292]
13. Guides.
Bryant[302]
Palgrave[302]
Roget's Thesaurus
Dictionaries
Encyclopædias
14. Miscellaneous.
Notes in this chapter
Note 1 · Especially Job, and Psalms 19, 103, 104, 107, in the Old Testament; and in the New the four Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles. (m. R. D. CNote 2 · "Areopagitica." A noble plea for liberty of speech and press. (Eng., early 17th cent.)Note 3 · Next to the Bible, probably no book is so much read by the English peoples as Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," a simple, vivid, helpful story Note 4 · Keble's beautiful "Christian Year."Note 5 · Taylor's "Holy Living and Dying" is a wise, frank talk about the care of our time, purity of intention, practice of the presence of God, temNote 6 · Cicero's "Offices" is a very valuable ethical work. It directs a young Roman how he may attain distinction and the respect and confidence ofNote 7 · "Imitation of Christ" is a sister book to the last, written in the 15th century by Thomas à Kempis, a German monk, of pure and beautiful lifNote 8 · "Pensées." Pascal's "Thoughts" are known the world over for their depth and beauty. (France, 17th cent.)Note 9 · Spencer's "Data of Ethics" is one of the most important books in literature, having to the science of ethics much the same relation as NewtoNote 10 · "The Perfect Life" and other works. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 11 · The "Meditations" of M. Aurelius is a book that is full of deep, pure beauty and philosophy; one of the sweetest influences that can be brouNote 12 · Ethics. (Greece, 4th cent. b. c.)Note 13 · Plutarch's "Morals" supplied much of the cream used by Taylor in the churning that produced the "Holy Living and Dying." Emerson says that wNote 14 · "Confessions" and "The City of God." (Rome, 4th cent.)Note 15 · Seneca's "Morals" is a fit companion of the preceding six books, full of deep thought upon topics of every-day import, set out in clear and Note 16 · Analogy of Religion. (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 17 · Epictetus was another grand moralist, the teacher of Marcus Aurelius. Next to Bunyan and Kempis, the books of these great stoics, filled as Note 18 · Ethics and theologico-political speculation. (Dutch, 17th cent.)Note 19 · The little book on "Tolerance" by Phillips Brooks ought to be read by every one. See Table III. side No. 23. The sermons of Dr. Brooks and oNote 20 · Shakspeare is the summit of the world's literature. In a higher degree than any other man who has lived on this planet, he possessed that viNote 21 · Edmund Spenser is the third name in English literature. No modern poet is more like Homer. He is simple, clear, and natural, redundant and iNote 22 · Homer is the world's greatest epic poet. He is the brother of Shakspeare, full of sublimity and pathos, tenderness, simplicity, and inexhausNote 23 · Lowell is one of the foremost humorists of all time. No one, except Shakspeare, has ever combined so much mastery of the weapons of wit withNote 24 · Ruskin thinks Dante is the first figure of history, the only man in whom the moral, intellectual, and imaginative faculties met in great powNote 25 · Whittier is America's greatest lyric poet. Read what Lowell says of him in the "Fable for Critics," and get acquainted with his poetry of NaNote 26 · Goethe is unquestionably the greatest German, and one of the first six names in literature. His "Faust" is a history of the soul. Read BayarNote 27 · Tennyson is the first poet of our age; and though he cannot rank with the great names on the upper shelf, yet his tenderness, and noble puriNote 28 · Milton stands in his age like an oak among hazel-bushes. The nobility of his character, the sublimity of his thought, and the classic beautyNote 29 · Burns is like a whiff of the pure sea air. He is a sprig of arbutus under the snow; full of tenderness and genuine gayety, always in love, aNote 30 · Æschylus was the greatest of the noble triumvirate of Greek tragedy writers. Sublimity reached in his soul the greatest purity and power thaNote 31 · Probably nothing is so likely to awaken a love for poetry as the reading of Scott. (Scot., 19th cent.) See Table III. No. 7.Note 32 · Many a selection in Table III. is of very high merit, and belongs on the world's first shelf, although the poetic works of the author as a wNote 33 · Byron is the greatest English poet since Milton, and except Goethe the greatest poet of his age in the world. His music, his wonderful contrNote 34 · Shelley is indistinct, abstract, impracticable, but full of love for all that is noble, of magnificent poetic power and marvellous music. ReNote 35 · Keats is the poetic brother of Shelley. He is deserving of the title "marvellous boy" in a far higher degree than Chatterton. If the lives oNote 36 · Campbell clothed in romantic sweetness and delicate diction, the fancies of the fairy land of youthful dreams, and poured forth with a masteNote 37 · Moore is a singer of wonderful melody and elegance and of inexhaustible imagery. Read his "Irish Melodies." (Eng., 19th cent.) See Table IIINote 38 · Thomson is one of the most intense lovers of Nature, and sees with a clear eye the correspondences between the inner and outer worlds upon wNote 39 · Read Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome." "Horatius" cannot fail to make the reader pulse with all the heroism and patriotism that is in his hNote 40 · Dryden's song is not so smooth as Pope's, but doubly strong. His translation of Virgil has more fire than the original, though less eleganceNote 41 · Collins was a poet of fine genius. Beauty, simplicity, and sweet harmony combine in his works, but he wrote very little. Read his odes, "To Note 42 · Jean Ingelow's poems deserve at least tasting, which will scarcely fail to lead to assimilation. (Eng., 1862.) See Table III. No. 14.Note 43 · Bryant's "Thanatopsis," written at eighteen, gave promise of high poetic power; but in the life of a journalist the current of energy was drNote 44 · Longfellow's poetry is earnest and full of melody, but as a whole lacks passion and imagery. Relatively to a world standard he is not a greaNote 45 · Lowell says that George Herbert is as "holy as a flower on a grave." (Eng., 1631.) See Table III. No. 13.Note 46 · Goldsmith's "Deserted Village" and "Traveller" will live as long as the language. They are full of wisdom and lovely poetry. His dramas abouNote 47 · Read Coleridge's "Christabel," and get somebody to explain its mysterious beauty to you; also his "Remorse," "Ode to the Departing Year," "ANote 48 · Lowell says, in his "Fable for Critics," that he is always discovering new depths "in Wordsworth, undreamed of before,—
That divinely inspirNote 49 · Pope is the greatest of the world's machine poets, the noblest of the great army who place a higher value on skilful execution than on origiNote 50 · Southey had great ideas of what poetry should be, and strove for purity, unity, and fine imagery; but there was no pathos or depth of emotioNote 51 · Walton's "Compleat Angler" is worthy of a glance. (Eng., 1653.)Note 52 · Browning is very obscure, and neither on authority nor principle a first-rate poet; but he is a strong thinker, and dear to those who have tNote 53 · Read Young's "Night Thoughts."Note 54 · Jonson, on account of his noble aims, comparative purity, and classic style, stands next to Shakspeare in the history of English drama. ReadNote 55 · The dramas of Beaumont and Fletcher are poetically the best in the language except those of Shakspeare. Read "Philaster," "The Fair Maid of Note 56 · Marlowe's "Mighty Line" is known to all lovers of poetry who have made a wide hunt. His energy is intense. Read "The Tragical History of Dr.Note 57 · For whimsical and ludicrous situations and a rapid fire of witticisms, Sheridan's plays have no equals. Read "The School for Scandal" and "TNote 58 · Carleton's poetry is not of a lofty order, but exceedingly enjoyable. Read his "Farm Ballads." (Amer., 19th cent.)Note 59 · Virgil is the greatest name in Roman literature. His "Æneid" is the national poem of Rome. His poetry is of great purity and elegance, and fNote 60 · The Odes of Horace combine wit, grace, sense, fire, and affection in a perfection of form never attained by any other writer. He is untranslNote 61 · Lucretius is a philosophic poet. He aimed to explain Nature; and his poem has much of wisdom, beauty, sublimity, and imagination to commend Note 62 · Ovid is gross but fertile, and his "Metamorphoses" and "Epistles" have been great favorites. (Rome, 1st cent. b. c.)Note 63 · The "Antigone" and "Œdipus at Colonus" of Sophocles are of exquisite tenderness and beauty. In pathos Shakspeare only is his equal. (Greece,Note 64 · Euripides is the third of the great triumvirate of Greek dramatists. His works were very much admired by Milton and Fox. Read his "Alcestis,Note 65 · Aristophanes is the greatest of Greek comedy writers. His plays are great favorites with scholars, as a rule. Read the "Clouds," "Birds," "KNote 66 · Pindar's triumphal odes stand in the front rank of the world's lyric poetry. (Greece, 5th cent. b. c.)Note 67 · Hesiod's "Theogony" contains the religious faith of Greece. He lived in or near the time of Homer.Note 68 · Heine is the most remarkable German poet of this century. He has written many gems of rare beauty, and many sketches of life unmatched for rNote 69 · Schiller is the second name in German literature; indeed, as a lover of men and as a poet of exquisite fancy, he far excels Goethe. He was aNote 70 · Corneille, Racine, and Molière are the great French triumvirate of dramatists. Their object is to produce one massive impression. In this thNote 71 · Alfred de Musset is a famous French poet of this century, and is a great favorite with those who can enjoy charming and inspiring thoughts tNote 72 · Calderon de la Barca is one of the greatest dramatists of the world. His purity, power, and passion, his magnificent imagination and wonderfNote 73 · Petrarch's lyrics have been models to all the great poets of Southern Europe. The subject of nearly all his poems is his hopeless affection Note 74 · Ariosto is Italy's great epic poet. Read his "Orlando Furioso," a hundred-fold tale of knights and ladies, giants and magicians. (Italy, 147Note 75 · Tasso is the second name in Italian epic poetry; and by some he is placed above Ariosto and named in the same breath with Homer and Virgil. Note 76 · Camoens is the glory of Portugal, her only poet whose fame has flown far beyond her narrow borders. Read his grand and beautiful poem, the "Note 77 · Omar Khayyám, the great astronomer poet of Persia, has no equal in the world in the concise magnificence with which he can paint a grand poeNote 78 · Firdusi, the author of the "Shah Nameh," or Poetic History of the great deeds of the sultans. Hafiz, the poet of love, and Saadi are other gNote 79 · Arnold's "Light of Asia" claims our attention for the additions it can make to our breadth of thought, giving us as it does briefly and beauNote 80 · Pushkin is called the Byron of Russia. Russian songs have a peculiar, mournful tenderness. "They are the sorrows of a century blended in oneNote 81 · Lermontoff is the Russian Schiller. (19th cent.)Note 82 · Physical health is the basis of all life and activity, and it is of the utmost importance to secure at once the best knowledge the world hasNote 83 · De Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" is one of the great books, and is superior in depth and style even to Bryce. The two books supplemenNote 84 · Dr. Strong's little book, "Our Country," is of the most intense interest to every American who loves his country and wishes its welfare. (U.Note 85 · "Constitutional History of the United States." (Ger., 19th cent.)Note 86 · The "Federalist" was a series of essays by Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, in favor of the Federal Constitution, and is the best and deepest booNote 87 · "Wealth of Nations," "Moral Sentiments." (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 88 · Bryce on the American Commonwealth is a splendid book, a complete, critical, philosophic work, an era-making book, and should be read by eveNote 89 · "Principles of Population." One of the most celebrated of books. (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 90 · Montesquieu's "Spirit of Laws" is a profound analysis of law in relation to government, customs, climate, religion, and commerce. It is the Note 91 · "Principles of Social Philosophy." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 92 · "Essays on Political Economy," "Leading Principles of Political Economy." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 93 · Mill's "Logic" and "Political Economy" are simply necessities to any, even moderately, thorough preparation for civilized life in America. (Note 94 · "Comparative Politics." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 95 · Read Bain on the "Emotions and the Will," "Mind and Body," etc. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 96 · "The Theory of Political Economy," "The Logic of Statistics." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 97 · Herbert Spencer is the foremost name in the philosophic literature of the world. He is the Shakspeare of science. He has a grander grasp of Note 98 · "The Nation, the Foundation of Civil Order and Political Life in the United States." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 99 · Darwin's "Origin of Species" stands in history by the side of Newton's "Principia." The thought of both has to a great extent become the comNote 100 · "Leviathan." See note 190. (Eng., 16th cent.)Note 101 · Read Herschel and Proctor in Astronomy, to broaden and deepen the mind with the grand and beautiful conceptions of this most poetic of the sNote 102 · "The Prince." (Italy, 1469-1527.)Note 103 · "Chips from a German Workshop," and various works on Philology. (Ger., 19th cent.)Note 104 · For a knowledge of what has been going on in this dim spot beneath the sun, in the ages before man came upon the stage, and for an idea abouNote 105 · "Study of Words," etc. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 106 · "Words and Places." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 107 · "Natural History of Selborne." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 108 · Read Wood's beautiful and interesting books on Natural History; especially his "Evidences of Mind in Animals," "Out of Doors," "Anecdotes ofNote 109 · "Animal Kingdom." (France, early 19th cent.)Note 110 · Whewell's "History of the Inductive Sciences" is a very broadening book.Note 111 · "Voyages." (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 112 · "Heat as a Mode of Motion," "Forms of Water," etc. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 113 · "On Sound." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 114 · "Scientific Researches." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 115 · "Conservation of Energy." In a book on this subject edited by E. L. Youmans. (Ger., 19th cent.)Note 116 · "Man's Place in Nature." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 117 · Botany. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 118 · "Methods of Study in Natural History." (U. S. 19th cent.)Note 119 · Physics. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 120 · Plutarch's "Lives" comes nearer to a comparative biography than any other book we have. He contrasts his characters in pairs, a Greek and a Note 121 · "English Statesmen." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 122 · In Wendell Phillips's oration on "Toussaint L'Ouverture," there is a fascinating comparison of the noble negro warrior with Napoleon. (U. S.Note 123 · "Life of Napoleon." (France, 19th cent.)Note 124 · Boswell's "Johnson" is admittedly the greatest life of a single person yet written. (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 125 · "Lives of the Poets." (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 126 · Lockhart's "Life of Scott" is a favorite with all who read it. Wilkie Collins especially recommends it as finely picturing genius and nobiliNote 127 · Walton's "Lives." (Eng., 17th cent.)Note 128 · Marshall's "Life of Washington" is an inspiring book. Gladstone said to Mr. Depew: "Sixty years ago I read Chief-Justice Marshall's 'Life ofNote 129 · "Life of Dr. Arnold." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 130 · "Life of Washington." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 131 · "The Life of Lincoln," by Nicolay and Hay, is a book that has very strong claims to the attention of every American, and every lover of libeNote 132 · "Life of Nelson." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 133 · "Life of Pitt." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 134 · Read Carlyle's "Life of John Sterling," "Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches," and "Heroes and Hero Worship." (Eng., 19th cent.) Renan's Note 135 · "Life of Byron." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 136 · "Lives of Female Sovereigns and Illustrious Women." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 137 · Canon Farrar's little "Life of Dante" is, considering its brevity, one of the best things in this department. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 138 · "Lives of the Saints." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 139 · Emerson's "Representative Men" most strongly stirs thought and inspires the resolution. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 140 · "Memories of many Men." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 141 · "The Portrait Collection of the Hundred Greatest Men," published by Sampson, Low, & Co., 1879.Note 142 · "Reminiscences." (U. S., 18th cent.) The Life and Letters of Darwin, Talleyrand, and Macaulay; the Journals of Miss Alcott, Marie BashkirtseNote 143 · Read Parton's "Sketches of Men of Progress." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 144 · "Lights of Two Centuries." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 145 · "Our Great Benefactors." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 146 · "Book of Martyrs." (Eng., early 16th cent.)Note 147 · "The Life and Times of Goethe," and "Michaelangelo." Most interesting books. (Germany, 19th cent.)Note 148 · Green's "History of the English People" has probably the first claims on the general reader. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 149 · "Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 150 · Bancroft's "History of the United States" should be read by every American citizen, along with Dr. Strong's "Our Country." (U. S., 19th centNote 151 · "History of England in the 18th Century," "History of European Morals." These books take very high rank in respect to style, accuracy, and cNote 152 · Guizot's "History of Civilization" and "History of France" (France, 19th cent.) are among the greatest books of the world; and with Buckle'sNote 153 · "Ten Great Religions," by James Freeman Clarke. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 154 · "Comparative History of Religion."Note 155 · Parkman is the Macaulay of the New World. He invests the truths of sober history with all the charms of poetic imagination and graceful stylNote 156 · "Intellectual Development of Europe." A work of great power. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 157 · "Middle Ages." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 158 · "Constitutional History of England." Bagehot's "English Constitution" should be read with the works of Hallam, Freeman, and May on this topiNote 159 · "History of England." (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 160 · "History of England." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 161 · "History of England." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 162 · "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 163 · "History of Greece." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 164 · "History of New England." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 165 · "Conquest of Mexico," "Peru," "Ferdinand and Isabella," etc. Prescott's style is of the very best, clear, graphic, and ever interesting. (U.Note 166 · "Rise of the Dutch Republic." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 167 · "Rise of the Republic of the United States." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 168 · "Ancient Egyptians." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 169 · "History of Rome." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 170 · "History of the Germans." (Ger., 1798.)Note 171 · "Latin Christianity." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 172 · "History of the Papacy in the 16th and 17th Centuries." Ranke is one of the strongest names in history. (Ger., 19th cent.)Note 173 · "Italian Republics." (France, 1773-1842.)Note 174 · "History of France." (France, 19th cent.)Note 175 · "French Revolution." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 176 · "History of France," "Norman Conquest of England." (France, 19th cent.)Note 177 · "Germania." His "Life of Agricola" is also worthy of note for the insight into character, the pathos, vigor, and affection manifested in itsNote 178 · "History of Rome." (Rome, 1st cent. b. c.)Note 179 · "The War of Catiline." (Rome, 1st cent. b. c.)Note 180 · History of nearly all the nations known at the time he wrote. (Greece, 5th cent. b. c.)Note 181 · "Anabasis, the Retreat of the Greek Mercenaries of the Persian King." (Greece, 5th cent. b. c.)Note 182 · "History of the Athenian Domination of Greece." (Greece, 5th cent. b. c.)Note 183 · "History of the Jewish Wars." (Jerusalem, 1st cent.) Mackenzie's "History of the Nineteenth Century" is the best English book on the subjectNote 184 · Spencer's Philosophy is the grandest body of thought that any one man has ever given to the world. No one who wishes to move with the tide cNote 185 · Sensationalist. A very strong writer. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 186 · Plato and Socrates are a double star in the sky of Philosophy that the strongest telescopes have failed to resolve. Socrates wrote nothing, Note 187 · "Limits of Religious Thought." A very powerful exposure of the weakness of human imagination. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 188 · A most acute idealist, whose argument against the existence of matter is one of the great passages of literature. (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 189 · "Matter and Force." A powerful presentation of Materialism. (Ger., 19th cent.)Note 190 · Kant argues that the forms of thought, time, and space are necessarily intuitive, and not derived from sensation, since they are prerequisitNote 191 · "Freedom of the Will." A demonstration of the impossibility of free will. (Amer., 18th cent.)Note 192 · Locke bases knowledge on sensation. His "Essay on the Conduct of the Understanding" is one of the most valuable books in the language. SpencNote 193 · A very acute English philosopher. (Eng., 1748-1832.)Note 194 · Comte's "Positive Philosophy" rejects intuitive knowledge. It is characterized by force of logic, immense research, great power of generalizNote 195 · Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 196 · A deep, clear thinker, of sceptical character, who laid bare the flaws in the old philosophies. (Eng., 1711-1776.)Note 197 · One of the most profound metaphysicians the world can boast, and inventor of quaternions, the latest addition to Mathematics. (Scot., 19th cNote 198 · Aristotle was the Bacon of the Old World. His method was the very opposite of Plato's. He sought knowledge chiefly by carefully looking out Note 199 · A very beautiful writer of the idealist school, though he claims to be eclectic. (France, 19th cent.)Note 200 · Hegel endeavored, by the method set forth in his "Absolute Logic," to reduce all knowledge to one science. (Ger., 1770-1831.) Schelling, in Note 201 · Fichte carries the doctrines of Kant to their limit: to him all except the life of the mind is a delusion. (Ger., 18th cent.)Note 202 · A great German philosopher of the time of Luther (16th cent.), very learned, refined, and witty. Read his "Familiar Colloquies."Note 203 · "Cosmic Philosophy." (Amer. 19th cent.)Note 204 · "Rational Cosmology, or the Eternal Principles and Necessary Laws of the Universe." (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 205 · Scottish Philosophy. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 206 · Theologico-politico-moral, voluminous dissertations. (Amsterdam, 17th cent.)Note 207 · Emerson's Essays and Lectures certainly deserve our first attention in this department, because of their poetic beauty and stimulating effecNote 208 · Nowhere can be found so much wit and wisdom to the square inch as in Bacon's Essays. (Eng., 1600.)Note 209 · Montaigne is the most popular of all the world's essayists, because of his common-sense, keen insight, and perfect frankness. The only authoNote 210 · Ruskin's "Ethics of the Dust," "Crown of Wild Olives," "Sesame and Lilies," while somewhat wild in substance as well as in title, are well wNote 211 · "Heart of Midlothian," "Waverley," "Ivanhoe," "Kenilworth," "Guy Mannering," "The Antiquary," "Rob Roy," "Old Mortality," "Red Gauntlet," etNote 212 · Rousseau's "Emile" has been called the greatest book ever written; but we presume that bias and limitation of knowledge on the part of critiNote 213 · "Adam Bede," "Mill on the Floss," "Romola," "Silas Marner," etc. Deep philosophy and insight into character mark all George Eliot's writingsNote 214 · "Pickwick," "David Copperfield," "Bleak House," "Martin Chuzzlewit," "Old Curiosity Shop," etc. Dickens needs no comment. His fame is in eveNote 215 · Coffin's "Boys of '76," "Boys of '61," "Story of Liberty," etc., are splendid books for young people. The last describes the march of the huNote 216 · Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter," "Marble Faun," "Great Stone Face," etc., are by universal consent accorded the first place in the lists of AmeNote 217 · "Vicar of Wakefield." One of Goethe's earliest favorites. (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 218 · "Rienzi," "Last Days of Pompeii," "Last of the Barons," etc. Most powerful, delightful, and broadening books. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 219 · Landor's "Imaginary Conversations of Great Men." (Eng., 18th cent.) Turgenieff's "Liza," "Smoke," and "Fathers and Sons." (Russia, 19th centNote 220 · "Malcolm," "Marquis o' Lossie," "David Elginbrod," etc. Books of marvellous spiritual helpfulness. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 221 · "Esmond," "Vanity Fair," etc. Very famous books. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 222 · "Westward, Ho!" "Two Years Ago," etc. Among the best and most famous pictures of true English character. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 223 · "Ben Hur." This book has been placed close to the Bible and Bunyan. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 224 · Cottin's "Elizabeth." Besant's "All Sorts and Conditions of Men." (Eng., 19th cent.) Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydNote 225 · "Hot Plowshares," "The Fool's Errand," "The Invisible Empire," "Appeal to Cæsar," etc. Books widely known, but whose great merit is not fullNote 226 · "Les Misérables," "Notre Dame de Paris," "Les Travailleurs de la Mer," etc. Wraxall's translations of these great French novels are most excNote 227 · Mrs. Ward's "Robert Elsmere" is a famous picture of the struggle in the religious mind to-day. (Eng., 19th cent.) Margaret Deland's "John WaNote 228 · "Robinson Crusoe." There are few persons who do not get delight and inspiration from Defoe's wonderful story. (Eng., 1661-1731.) "Tom Brown Note 229 · Mrs. Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was God's bugle-call to the war against slavery. Her "Oldtown Folks" and "Sam Lawson's Fireside Stories" aNote 230 · Green's "Hand and Ring," "Leavenworth Case," etc., are splendid examples of reasoning, without any of the objectionable features usually fouNote 231 · "Prue and I," by George William Curtis, is one of the most suggestive stories in print, and is in every way a delightful book. "Potiphar PapNote 232 · T. B. Aldrich, while perhaps not destined to rank with Scott, Eliot, and Hawthorne, is nevertheless one of the most wholesome and interestinNote 233 · Ebers' "Homo Sum," "Uarda," and "An Egyptian Princess" are very powerful studies of Egyptian life and history. (Ger., 19th cent.) "With FireNote 234 · George Sand's "Consuelo" is a great book in more senses than one; and although it deserves a place in this lower list, yet there are so manyNote 235 · Miss Austen's "Emma," "Pride and Prejudice" (Eng., 19th cent.), and Charlotte Bronté's "Jane Eyre" (Eng., 19th cent.), are all noble and renNote 236 · Louisa Alcott's "Little Women" is a lovely story of home life; and its exceeding popularity is one of the most encouraging signs of the growNote 237 · Bremer's "The Neighbors." (Norway, 19th cent.) Trollope's "Last Chronicles of Barsetshire." (Eng., 19th cent.) Winthrop's "Cecil Dreeme," "JNote 238 · Cable's "Grande Pointe," "The Grandissimes," etc., should be read by all who wish to know the best living novelists. (U. S., 19th cent.) CraNote 239 · Richardson's "Pamela" and "Clarissa Harlowe" are interesting, because they were the beginning of the English novel; but they are not nice orNote 240 · Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney's "Sights and Insights," though somewhat too wordy for this busy world, is worthy a place here, because of its spirituNote 241 · Fielding, Le Sage, and Balzac are writers of great power, whose works are studied for their artistic merit, their wit, and the intense excitNote 242 · "Fable for Critics," "Biglow Papers." Considering the keenness and variety of wit, the depth of sarcasm, the breadth of view, and the importNote 243 · Along with much violent scoffing, and calling of his betters by hard names, Ingersoll's speeches contain some of the keenest wit in the langNote 244 · "Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table," "Professor at the Breakfast-Table," etc. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 245 · Marietta Holley's "Sweet Cicely," "Samantha at the Centennial," "Betsey Bobbet," "My Wayward Pardner," "Samantha at Saratoga," "Samantha amoNote 246 · "Pickwick Papers." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 247 · G. W. Curtis's "Potiphar Papers" is a good example of quiet, refined humor. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 248 · "Don Quixote." (Spain, 1547-1616.)Note 249 · Chauncey M. Depew's Orations and After-Dinner Speeches are worthy of perusal by all lovers of wit and sense. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 250 · Mark Twain is the greatest of those who make humor the primary object. He does not, like Artemus Ward, make it the sole object,—there is a lNote 251 · Charles Dudley Warner's "In the Wilderness" gives some exceedingly amusing sketches of backwoods life. See also other books mentioned under Note 252 · S. K. Edwards' "Two Runaways, and Other Stories" is a book that no lover of humor can afford to be without. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 253 · E. E. Hale's "My Double, and How He Undid Me," and other stories contain much innocent recreation. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 254 · Nasby's "Ekoes from Kentucky" and "Swingin' round the Circle" are full of the keenest political sarcasm. Lincoln was so impressed with NasbyNote 255 · "Artemus Ward His Book," is funny, but lacks purpose beyond the raising of a laugh. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 256 · "Caudle Lectures," "Catspaw," etc. Jerrold is one of the sharpest of wits. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 257 · Voltaire was the Ingersoll of France, only more so. His "Dictionnaire" is full of stinging sarcasm and fierce wit. (France, 18th cent.) "EngNote 258 · "Hudibras." A tirade against the Puritans. (Eng., 17th cent.) "Gulliver's Travels," "Tale of a Tub," etc. Coarse raillery. (Eng., 18th cent.Note 259 · "Gargantua and Pantagruel." Immense coarse wit. (France, 16th cent.) "Tristram Shandy." Not delicate, but full of humor. (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 260 · Juvenal is one of the world's greatest satirists. (Rome, 1st cent.) Lucian is the Voltaire of the Old World. In his "Dialogues of the Gods" Note 261 · "Fairy Tales," "Shoes of Fortune," etc. (Denmark, 19th cent.)Note 262 · "Age of Fable," "Age of Chivalry," etc. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 263 · The inimitable French poet of Fable. (France, 17th cent.)Note 264 · Fables in his poems. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 265 · The world-famous Greek fabulist. His popularity in all ages has been unbounded. Socrates amused himself with his stories. (Greece, 6th cent.Note 266 · A French fabulist, next in fame to La Fontaine. (18th cent.)Note 267 · "Household Tales." (Ger., early 19th cent.)Note 268 · "Reineke Fox." (Bohn Lib.) (Ger., early 19th cent.) Kipling's "Indian Tales." (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 269 · Greek Fables. (About com. Christ. era.)Note 270 · "Tales." (Ger., 19th cent.)Note 271 · "Metamorphoses." An account of the mythology of the ancients. Ovid was one of Rome's greatest poets. (Rome, 1st cent. b. c.) Curtin's "MythsNote 272 · Voyages. (Eng., 18th cent.)Note 273 · Travels. (Venice, 14th cent.)Note 274 · Cosmos; Travels. (Ger., 1762-1832.)Note 275 · Arctic Explorations. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 276 · Naturalist on the Beagle. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 277 · South Africa. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 278 · Through the Dark Continent; In Darkest Africa. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 279 · Travels in Africa. (France, 19th cent.)Note 280 · On Egypt. (Germany, 19th cent.)Note 281 · Abyssinia. (Eng., 19th cent.)Note 282 · India.Note 283 · Niger.Note 284 · South America.Note 285 · Upper Niger.Note 286 · Persia.Note 287 · Central Africa.Note 288 · West Coast of Africa.Note 289 · Travelled for thirty years, then wrote the marvels he had seen and heard; and his book became very popular in the 14th and 15th centuries. (Note 290 · The Nile.Note 291 · "What to Read on the Subject of Reading," by William E. Foster, Librarian of the Providence Public Library. Every one who is interested in bNote 292 · "Primer of English Literature." The best very brief book on the subject.Note 293 · The "Pall Mall Extra," containing Sir John Lubbock's "List of the Best Hundred Books," and letters from many distinguished men.Note 294 · Bibliographical Aids.Note 295 · English Literature.Note 296 · "Motive and Habit of Reading."Note 297 · English Literature.Note 298 · "Choice of Books."Note 299 · "English Literature." The most philosophic work on the subject; but it is difficult, and requires a previous knowledge of the principal EnglNote 300 · "Sesame and Lilies."Note 301 · Handbook of Universal Literature.Note 302 · "The Love of Books."Note 303 · Dictionary of Authors.Note 304 · "History of Prose Fiction." Baldwin's "Book Lover" is valuable for its lists of books bearing on special topics. C. K. Adams' "Manual of HisNote 305 · Bartlett's "Familiar Quotations" is one of the most famous and valuable of books.Note 306 · "Edge-Tools of Speech." Brief quotations arranged under heads such as Books, Government, Love, etc.Note 307 · "Library of Poetry and Song;" but for the general reader Palgrave's exquisite little "Golden Treasury" is better.Note 308 · One of the noblest little books in existence; to read it is to pour into the life and character the inspiration of hundreds of the best and Note 309 · A collection of Chinese odes.Note 310 · An exquisite book; one of Robert Collyer's early favorites. Put its beauty in your heart. (U. S., 19th cent.)Note 311 · This and the last are recommended, not for intrinsic merit, but for breadth, and to open the way to an understanding of and sympathy with foNote 312 · A book that should be read for its breadth. (Eng., early 17th cent.)Note 313 · This is the Bible of the Sufis of Persia, one of the manifestations of that great spirit of mysticism which flows like a great current throuNote 314 · Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" is one of the same class of books to which Bacon's "New Atlantis," More's "Utopia," etc., belong, and maNote 315 · Read Saint Hilaire's "Buddha" and Arnold's "Light of Asia." They will open great regions of thought.Note 316 · Everywhere a favorite. It opens up wide regions of imagination. Ruskin says he read it many times when he might have been better employed, aNote 317 · , 329] These are epitomized by Talboys Wheeler in his "History of India." Very interesting and broadening. (Very ancient.)Note 318 · The most colossal lies known to science. (Ger., 18th cent.)Note 319 · The poem of "Beowulf" should be looked into by all who wish to know the character of the men from whom we sprang, and therefore realize the Note 320 · -332] Not valuable reading intrinsically, but as opening the doors of communication with the minds and hearts of whole races of men, most usNote 321 · Should be glanced at for the light it throws on English history and development. (9th-12th cents.)Note 322 · Froissart's "Chronicles" constitute a graphic story of the States of Europe from 1322 to the end of the 14th century. Scott said that FroissNote 323 · This masterpiece of Old German Minstrelsy is too much neglected by us. Read it with the three preceding. (Early German.)Note 324 · The works of Hooker, Swedenborg, Newton, Kepler, Copernicus, Laplace, should be actually handled and glanced through to form a nucleus of exNote 325 · Saga means "tale" or "narrative," and is applied in Iceland to every kind of tradition, true or fabulous. Read the "Heimskringla," Njal's SaNote 326 · Along with the last should be read the poems of the elder Edda. (Compiled by Samund the Wise, 12th cent.)Note 327 · The epic of Spain, containing a wonderful account of the prowess of a great leader and chief. (Spain, before the 13th cent.)Note 328 · A collection of fragments about the famous King Arthur and his Round Table. They crop out in every age of English literature. Read the book