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Wilde’s literary reputation has survived so much that I think it proof against any exhumation of articles which he or his admirers would have preferred to forget. As a matter of fact, I believe this volume will prove of unusual interest; some of the reviews are curiously prophetic; some are, of course, biassed by prejudice hostile or friendly; others are conceived in the author’s wittiest and happiest vein; only a few are colourless. And if, according to Lord Beaconsfield, the verdict of a continental nation may be regarded as that of posterity, Wilde is a much greater force in our literature than even friendly contemporaries ever supposed he would become. It should be remembered, however, that at the time when most of these reviews were written Wilde had published scarcely any of the works by which his name has become famous in Europe, though the protagonist of the æsthetic movement was a well-known figure in Paris and London. (Summary from Introduction by Robert Ross)...

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Essay/Short nonfiction

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This is a true account by American woman journalist who, in 1889, set out to see whether she could beat the fictional journey in Jules Verne’s 1873 novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. Wearing one dress and carrying one handbag, Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (pen name “Nellie Bly”), reported her travels back to avid readers in America. (Summary by Mary Reagan)...

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Biography

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Fenimore Cooper - author of The Deerslayer , The Last of the Mohicans , etc - has often been praised, but just as often been criticised for his writing. Mark Twain wrote a funny, vicious little essay on the subject, in which he states: In one place in 'Deerslayer,' and in the restricted space of two-thirds of a page, Cooper has scored 114 offences against literary art out of a possible 115. (Summary by Gesine)...

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Satire

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This is chapter 9 of Thomas Babington Macaulay's History of England from the accession of James II. This chapter covers part of the invasion of England by William, the Dutch Stadtholder, later William III of England....

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History

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Ecumenical creeds is an umbrella term used in the western church to refer to the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The ecumenical creeds are also known as the universal creeds. These creeds are accepted by almost all mainstream Christian denominations in the western church, including the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican churches and Lutheran churches. A creed by definition is a summary or statement of what one believes it originates from the Latin credo meaning I Believe....

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Religion

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Edward Gibbon's massive history of Rome has become the definitive work on the subject. Spanning the years between the rise of Augustus and the invasion of Rome by the barbarians, it is...

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History

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El Evangelio según Juan es un libro de la Biblia en el Nuevo Testamento que contiene la historia de la vida de Jesucristo. El apóstol Juan el evangelista es considerado su autor.

The Gospel according to John is a book of the New Testament of the Bible that contains the story of the life of Jesus Christ. The apostle John the evangelist is considered its author....

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Religion

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The Gospel of John, (literally, According to John; Greek, Κατά Ιωαννην, Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. Like the three synoptic gospels, it contains an account of some of the actions and sayings of Jesus, but differs from them in ethos and theological emphases. The purpose is expressed in the conclusion, 20:30-31: ...these [Miracles of Jesus] are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. The book hinges on the seven signs Jesus performed and ends with the Passion of the Lord. (Summary from Wikipedia adapted by Sam Stinson)....

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Religion

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The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon (smṛti). The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being Mahabharata. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Religion

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Second, when telling such lies as may seem necessary to your international standing, do not tell the lies to the people who know the truth. Do not tell the Eskimos that snow is bright green; nor tell the negroes in Africa that the sun never shines in that Dark Continent. Rather tell the Eskimos that the sun never shines in Africa; and then, turning to the tropical Africans, see if they will believe that snow is green. Similarly, the course indicated for you is to slander the Russians to the English and the English to the Russians; and there are hundreds of good old reliable slanders which can still be used against both of them. There are probably still Russians who believe that every English gentleman puts a rope round his wife's neck and sells her in Smithfield. There are certainly still Englishmen who believe that every Russian gentleman takes a rope to his wife's back and whips her every day. But these stories, picturesque and useful as they are, have a limit to their use like everything else; and the limit consists in the fact that they are not true, and that there necessarily exists a group of persons who know they are not true...

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Essay/Short nonfiction

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The Westminster Larger Catechism, along with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is a central catechism of Calvinists in the English tradition throughout the world. The Westminster Shorter Catechism was to be easier to read and concise for beginners and the Larger Catechism was to be more exact and comprehensive. The Catechism was completed by the Westminster Assembly in 1647. It was then adopted by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1648 and (with modifications relating to the civil magistrate) by the Presbyterian Synod of New York and Philadelphia in 1788....

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Religion

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The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537) (Latin, Tractatus de Potestate et Primatu Papae), The Tractate for short, is the seventh Lutheran credal document of the Book of Concord. Philip Melanchthon, its author, completed it on February 17, 1537 during the assembly of princes and theologians in Smalcald....

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Religion

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Probably the most needful characteristic of any Christian when following Christ is humility; Andrew Murray has an insight into this important subject unparalleled in writers of any age. Summary by Jack Hielema....

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Religion

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Первая книга Пятикнижия (Торы), Ветхаго Завета и всея Библии. Повествует о периоде от Сотворения мiра и человека до смерти Иосифа во Египте. Состоит из пятидесяти глав. (from Wikipedia)...

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Religion

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Delightful sketches of British wild birds - a bird for every month of the year from the pheasant in January to the robin in December. This collection of articles, reprinted in book form from the periodical The Outlook, is full of fascinating information about bird behaviour and habitat, as well as many interesting anecdotes. (Summary by Ruth Golding)...

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Nature

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2 Chronicles was purportedly written by Ezra the scribe. It expounds the history of King Solomon and the kings came after him. It is very similar to 1 and 2 Kings, but centers primarily on the Temple as the Presence of God among the people. It is a history of the Kings of Israel. (Summary by Sundiata)...

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Religion

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A lecture on the art of fiction, given by the English critic Walter Besant on April 25, 1884, and an answer to the lecture by American writer Henry James in the same year. (Summary by Julie VW)...

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Literature

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Described by William Barclay as the Queen of the Epistles, the Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New Testament. Paul is traditionally said to have written the letter while he was in prison in Rome (around 63 A.D.). This would be about the same time as the Epistle to the Colossians (which in many points it resembles) and the Epistle to Philemon. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Religion

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Young’s Literal Translation is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible and Concise Critical Comments on the New Testament. Young produced a “Revised Edition” of the translation in 1887. After he died on October 14, 1888, the publisher in 1898 released a new Revised Edition. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Religion

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A classic of victorian travel writing, Kinglake’s book describes his journey through the Ottoman empire to Cairo, and his residence there in time of plague. [Summary by hefyd]...

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Travel