TABLE III.
Reading edition
A short course of the choicest selections from the whole field of general literature. It may easily be read through in a year, and will form a taste and provide a standard that will enable the reader ever after to judge for himself of the quality and value of whatever books may come before the senate of his soul to ask for an appropriation of his time in their behalf.
Very few books are requisite for this course, but it will awaken a desire that will demand a library of standard literature. No. 1, No. 2, etc., refer to the numbers of the "100 Choice Selections." Monroe's "Sixth Reader" and Palgrave's "Golden Treasury" are also referred to, because they contain a great number of these gems, and are books likely to be in the possession of the reader.
For the meaning of the other abbreviations, see the last section of the Introductory Remarks.
Group I.—Poetry.
[*] in headings denotes "Degree of Difficulty."
[*] Manner of Reading. Where found.
1. Shakspeare.
Hamlet, especially noting Hamlet's conversations with the Ghost, with his mother and Ophelia, his advice to the players, his soliloquy, and his discourse on the nobleness of man d. R.D.C.G. Shakspeare's Plays are published separately, and also together, Richard Grant White's edition being the best.
Merchant of Venice, especially noting the scene in court, and the parts relating to Portia e. R.D.C.G.
Julius Cæsar, especially noting the speeches of Brutus and Antony, and the quarrel of Brutus and Cassius m. R.D.C.G.
Taming of the Shrew e. R.G.
Henry the Eighth m. R.D.
Henry the Fourth, read for the wit of Falstaff m. R.D.
Henry the Fifth, noting especially the wooing m. R.D.
Coriolanus, noting especially the grand fire and force and frankness of Coriolanus m. R.D.C.G.
Sonnets in Palgrave's Golden Treasury, Nos. 3, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 36, 46 m. R.D.C.
2. Milton.
The Opening of the Gates of Hell, one of the sublimest conceptions in literature. It is in Paradise Lost, about six pages from the end of Book II. Read sixty lines beginning, "Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, Sad instrument of all our woe" d. R.D.G. Milton's Poems.
Satan's Throne, ten lines at the beginning of Book II. m. R.D.G.
Opening of Paradise Lost, 26 lines at the beginning of Book I. m. R.D.G.
The Angels uprooting the Mountains and hurling them on the Rebels. Fifty lines beginning about the 640th line of Book VI., "So they in pleasant vein," etc. m. R.D.G.
"Hail, Holy Light," fifty-five lines at the beginning of Book III. m. R.D.G.
Comus, a masque, and one of the masterpieces of English literature d. R.D.C.G. Milton's Poems. The last three of this list are in Palgrave.
L' Allegro, a short poem on mirth d. R.D.C.G.
Il Penseroso, a short poem on melancholy d. R.D.C.G.
Lycidas, a celebrated elegy d. R.G.
3. Homer. Homer has had many translators, Pope, Derby, Worsley, Chapman, Flaxman, Lang, Bryant, etc.
Pope's translation. At least the first book of the Iliad. A simple, clear story of battles and quarrels, and counsels, charming in its sublimity, pathos, vigor, and naturalness. The world's greatest epic e. R.D.C.G.
4. Æschylus. Potter, Morshead, Swanwick, Milman, and Browning have translated Æschylus. The first two are the best. Flaxman's designs add much.
Prometheus Bound, the sublimest of the sublime. Be sure to reach and grasp the grand picture of the human race and its troubles which underlies this most magnificent poem d. R.D.C.G.
Agamemnon, the grandest tragedy in the world m. R.D.G.
5. Dante.
Divine Comedy. Read Farrar's little Life of Dante (John Alden, N. Y.), and then take the Comedy and read the thirty-third canto, the portions relating to the Hells of Incontinence and of Fraud, thepicture of Satan, and the whole of the Purgatorio d. R.D.G. Translated by Longfellow, Carey, John Carlyle, Butler, and Dean Church.
6. Spenser.
Faerie Queen, noting specially the first book and the book of Britomart, endeavoring to grasp and apply to your own life the truths that underlie the rich and beautiful imagery d. R.D.G. Spenser's Poems. The Calendar is published separately.
Hymn in Honor of his own Wedding d. R.D.G.
Fable of the Oak and the Briar, in Shepherd's Calendar, February m. R.
7. Scott.
Lady of the Lake e. R. Scott's Poems, or separate.
Marmion e. R.
Transcriber's note: Numbers 8 and 9 are missing in the original.
Group II.—Short Poetical Selections.
[*] Manner of Reading. Where found.
10. Payne.
Home, Sweet Home e. C.
Longfellow.
Psalm of Life. Paul Revere's Ride e. R.D.C. Longfellow's Poems.
The Building of the Ship (These may be found in most of the reading-books.) e. R.
Suspiria, and the close of Morituri Salutamus m. R.D.
Holmes.
Nautilus; the last stanza commit. e. R.D. Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table.
The Stars and Flowers, a lovely little poem,—the first verses in the Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table e. R.D.
Hunt.
Abou Ben Adhem e. R.D. Monroe.
Carew.
The True Beauty e. R.D. Palgrave, 87.
Gray.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 147.
Hymn to Adversity m. R.D. Palgrave, 159.
Progress of Poesy m. R.D. Palgrave, 140.
The Bard m. R.D. Palgrave, 123.
Saxe.
The Blind Men and the Elephant e. R.D. No. 4.
Jackson. Poems of H. H. Jackson.
The Release m. R.D.
11. Hood.
Bridge of Sighs m. R.D. Palgrave, 231.
Song of the Shirt e. R.D. No. 2.
Burns.
Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon e. R.D. Palgrave, 139.
To a Field-mouse e. R.D. Palgrave, 144.
Mary Morrison e. R.D. Palgrave, 148.
Bonnie Lesley e. R.D. Palgrave, 149.
Jean e. R.D. Palgrave, 155.
John Anderson e. R.D. Palgrave, 156.
A Man's a Man for a' that e. R.D. Burns's Poems.
Auld Lang Syne e. R.D.
Robert Bruce's Address to his Army e. R.D.
Moore.
Come rest in this Bosom e. R.D. Irish Melodies
At the Mid Hour of Night e. R.D. Irish Melodies
Those Evening Bells e. R.D. Monroe.
Coleridge.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner d. R.D.G. Coleridge's Poems.
Vale of Chamouni e. R. Monroe.
Whittier.
The Farmer's Wooing, in Among the Hills m. R.D.C. Whittier's Poems.
The Harp at Nature's Advent Strung, etc., in Tent on the Beach m. R.D.C.
Snow Bound, Centennial Hymn (No. 13), and at least glance at his Voices of Freedom m. R.D.C.
Barefoot Boy e. R.D.C.
Tennyson.
"Break, break, break, on thy cold gray Stones, O Sea" m. R.D.C. Tennyson's Poems.
"Ring out, wild Bells," in the In Memoriam m. R.D.C.
Bugle Song, in The Princess m. R.D.C. No. 2.
Charge of the Light Brigade e. R.D.C. No. 2.
The Brook e. R.D.C. Monroe.
Chaucer.
The Clerk's Tale, or the Story of Grisilde, in the Canterbury Tales m. R. Chaucer's Poems.
12. Key.
The Star-Spangled Banner e. C. No. 4.
Drake.
The American Flag e. R. No. 1.
Smith.
"My Country, 'tis of thee" e. C.
Boker.
The Black Regiment e. R. No. 1.
Campbell, full of fire and martial music.
Ye Mariners of England m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 206.
Battle of the Baltic m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 207.
Soldier's Dream m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 267.
Hohenlinden m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 215.
Lord Ullin's Daughter m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 181.
Love's Beginning m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 183.
Ode to Winter m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 256.
Thomson.
Rule Britannia m. R.C. Palgrave, 122.
Lowell.
The Crisis d. R.D.C.G. Lowell's Poems.
Harvard Commemoration Ode d. R.D.C.G.
The Fountain e. R.D.C.G.
Halleck.
Marco Bozzaris e. R. No. 1.
Macaulay.
Lays of Ancient Rome, especially Horatius, and Virginia, also the Battle of Ivry e. R.D. No. 2.
O'Hara.
The Bivouac of the Dead m. R.D. No. 5.
Mitford.
Rienzi's Address m. R. No. 1.
Croly.
Belshazzar m. R. No. 4.
13. Shelley. Shelley's Poems.
Ode to the West Wind m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 275.
Ode to a Skylark m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 241.
To a Lady with a Guitar m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 252.
Italy m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 274.
Naples m. R.D.C. Palgrave, 227.
The Poet's Dream d. R.D.C. Palgrave, 277.
The Cloud, Sensitive Plant, etc. m. R.D.C.
Byron. Byron's Poems.
All for Love m. R.D. Palgrave, 169.
Beauty m. R.D. Palgrave, 171.
Apostrophe to the Ocean, and The Eve of Waterloo m. R.D.C. Monroe.
The Field of Waterloo (These are among the most magnificent poems in any language.) m. R.D.C. No. 1.
Bryant.
Thanatopsis m. R.C.G. No. 1.
Prentice.
The Closing Year m. R.C.G. No. 1.
Poe.
The Bells; The Raven m. R.C.G. No. 1.
Annabel Lee m. R. No. 5.
Keats. Keats's Poems.
The Star m. R. Palgrave, 198.
Ode to a Nightingale m. R. Palgrave, 244.
Ode to Autumn m. R. Palgrave, 255.
Ode on the Poets m. R. Palgrave, 167.
Wordsworth.
A Beautiful Woman e. R.C. Palgrave, 174.
The Reaper m. R. Palgrave, 250.
Simon Lee m. R. Palgrave, 219.
Intimations of Immortality Palgrave, 367.
Herbert.
Gifts of God e. R.D.C. Palgrave, 74.
Read.
Drifting m. R.D.C. No. 1.
Sheridan's Ride e. R. No. 1.
Fletcher.
Melancholy e. R. Palgrave, 104.
Pope.
Rape of the Lock m. R. Pope's Poems.
14. Ingelow.
The Brides of Enderby High Tide, etc. m. R. No. 2.
Cowper.
Loss of the Royal George e. R. Palgrave, 129.
Solitude of Selkirk m. R. Palgrave, 160.
Dryden.
Alexander's Feast d. R. Palgrave, 116.
Collins.
The Passions d. R. Palgrave, 141.
Jonson.
Hymn to Diana m. R. Palgrave, 78.
Addison.
Cato's Soliloquy m. R. No. 1.
Lodge.
Rosaline m. R. Palgrave, 16.
Herrick.
Counsel to Girls e. R. Palgrave, 82.
The Poetry of Dress e. R. Palgrave, 92.
15. Goethe.
Raphael Chorus,—a wonderful chorus of three stanzas in Faust. Read Shelley's translations, both literal and free, in his Fragments m. R.C.G. Shelley's Poems.
Omar Khayyám.
Rubáiyát, especially the "moving shadow-shape" and the "phantom caravan" stanzas, for their magnificent imagery m. R.C.G. Fitzgerald's Translation.
Euripides.
Chorus in Medea—Campbell's translation m. R.C.G. Campbell's Poems.
Calderon.
Read Shelley's Fragments m. R.C.G. Shelley's Poems.
Schiller. Schiller's Poems.
The Battle m. R. No. 4.
The Song of the Bell m. R. Publ. separately.
Molière.
Tartuffe, or The Hypocrite e. R.D. Molière's Plays.
Le Misanthrope, or The Man-Hater e. R.D.
Group III.—Short Prose Selections.
[*] Manner of Reading. Where found.
16. Lincoln.
Gettysburg Oration. Famous for its calm, clear, simple beauty, breadth, and power m. R.C. No. 2.
Irving, our greatest master of style; his prose is poetry.
Rip Van Winkle e. R.D.C. Sketch Book.
The Spectre Bridegroom e. R.D.C. Sketch Book.
The Art of Book-Making e. R.D.C. Sketch Book.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow e. R.D.C. Sketch Book.
17. Bacon.
Essay on Studies. Note the clearness and completeness of Bacon, and his tremendous condensation of thought m. R.D.C. Bacon's Essays.
Carlyle.
Apostrophe to Columbus, p. 193 of Past and Present,— Carlyle's finest passage m. R.D.C.
Await the Issue m. R.D.C. Monroe.
The account of the conversational powers of Coleridge, given in Carlyle's Life of Sterling e. R.D.C.
18. Webster.
Liberty and Union,—a selection from the answer to Hayne in the United States Senate, on the question of the power of a State to nullify the acts of Congress, and to withdraw from the Union,—the greatest of American orations, and worthy to rank side by side with the world's best m. R.D.C. No. 1.
Phillips.
Comparison of Toussaint L'Ouverture with Napoleon, in his oration on Toussaint m. R.D.C. Phillips's Speeches.
19. Everett.
Discoveries of Galileo m. R. No. 1.
Burritt.
One Niche the Highest e. R. No. 7.
20. Hugo.
The Monster Cannon, one of the great Frenchman's master strokes,—a very thrilling scene, splendidly painted e. R. No. 11.
Rome and Carthage m. R. No. 6.
De Quincey.
Noble Revenge m. R. No. 7.
21. Poe.
Murders in the Rue Morgue d. R. Little Classics.
Ingersoll.
Oration at the funeral of his brother m. R. Ingersoll's Prose Poems.
22. Scott.
Thirty-sixth chapter of the Heart of Midlothian m. R.
Curtis.
Nations and Humanity m. R. No. 11.
23. Taylor.
The sections on Temperance and Chastity in the Holy Living and Dying m. R.D.
Brooks.
Pamphlet on Tolerance,—the best book in the world on a most vital subject m. R.D.
Group IV.—Wit and Humor—Short List.
[*] Manner of Reading. Where found.
24. Lowell.
Biglow Papers e. R.D. Lowell's Poems.
Fable for Critics d. R.D.
The Courtin' e. R.D.
Holmes.
Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table m. R.D.
25. Carleton.
Farm Ballads, especially the Visit of the School Committee, and The Rivals e. S.
Stowe.
Laughin' in Meetin' e. S. No. 11.
Twain.
On New England Weather e. S. No. 13.
European Guides, and Turkish Baths e. S. Innocents Abroad.
26. Dickens.
Pickwick Papers e. S.
James De Mille. Cumnock's Choice Readings.
A Senator Entangled e. S.
Lover.
The Gridiron e. S. Cumnock's Choice Readings.
Whately.
Historic Doubts regarding Napoleon e. S. Publ. separately.