Classics World Literature

The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, was presented by the Greek philosopher Plato to compare "[T]he effect of education and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor, Socrates, narrated by the latter.

Freud's landmark work about the pleasure principle covering ancient times to his own: psychology, arts, literature, science, biology, and social science.

When the narrator of Swann's Way dips a petite madeleine into hot tea, the act transports him to his childhood in the French town of Combray. Out of his Pandora's box of reflections comes a memory of an old family friend, Swann - a man who was long ago undone by romantic desire and cruel reality. In this reverie lie the insights the author seeks about his own life and ageless truths about the ephemeral nature of emotions, places, and, ultimately, love.

One of Mark Twain’s classic tales, a small band of boys in a medieval village make friends with a very real angel whose name is Satan. He assures the boys that he’s not The Satan, but his nephew. He looks like a boy of their own age, but his magical powers and unusual perspectives on morals and mankind leave the boys amazed and bewildered. Mark Twain never finished this story to his own satisfaction. In 1916, his biographer and friend Albert Bigelow Paine, with fellow author Frederick Duneka, added an evil astrologer and devised an ending, and published the version presented here.

Japanese culture has fascinated the West ever since the country’s doors opened up in the 1800s. In many ways, Japan has remained elusive, and people have travelled from all around the world to see for themselves how unique this nation remains. Another way of exploring this enigmatic culture is through its literature. The English language succeeds surprisingly well in revealing the Japanese sense of life.

«Смерть Ивана Ильича» — произведение одного из величайших писателей мира, русского прозаика и мыслителя Л. Н. Толстого (1828–1910). Над этой повестью автор тщательно работал четыре года и даже вносил поправки и штрихи уже во время корректуры. В ней рассказывается о мучительном расставании с жизнью судейского чиновника. Повесть признана одной из вершин мировой литературы и величайшим свершением Толстого в области малой литературной формы.

En el Madrid de los años inmediatamente posteriores a la Guerra Civil, los destinos de numerosos individuos de varias clases sociales y con diferentes actitudes ante la vida desfilan en una secuencia de breves y fascinantes viñetas narrativas. Con la ciudad como personaje, el conjunto es el retrato de una sociedad en la que el estraperlo, el hambre, la prostitución y el miedo conviven con efímeros destellos de ternura y humor.

The sudden death of the father of the family results in the drastic reduction of the Careys' income and they must leave their comfortable home in Boston. Nancy Carey, the eldest, recalls a vacation in Maine when they all picnicked in the garden of a big, vacant house that her father loved. She discovers that the house is available, the rent is cheap, and persuades her mother that life in The Yellow House in Beulah, Maine is the perfect place to begin their new life.

Publication posthume du penseur de Genève, les Rêveries tiennent autant du journal autobiographique que de réflexions philosophiques.

La spéculation, telle qu'elle se pratique de nos jours, naît sous le Second Empire. Aristide Rougon, dit Saccard, le promoteur immobilier de "La Curée", réapparait ici en conquérant de la finance.Le "jeu" capitaliste enflamme les passions des grandes fortunes comme des classes laborieuses. Zola démonte le mécanisme des opérations boursières et scrute les personnages typiques du milieu de l'argent.

Charles Sanders Peirce is perhaps the greatest philosophical mind to emerge from the United States. He was hugely influential on William James, Alfred North Whitehead, and many other eminent thinkers. This small volume includes two famous essays by Peirce, "The Fixation of Belief" and "Questions Concerning Certain Faculties Claimed for Man." Also included is a short, intellectual biography of Peirce which focuses on his many contributions to science and philosophy. Chosen and very slightly edited by Professor David Christopher Lane, PhD.

Als Josef K. eines Morgens aufwacht wird er überraschend verhaftet. Von einer mysteriösen Behörde soll ihm der Prozess gemacht werden. Im Laufe der Kapitel gerät K. in ein alptraumhaftes Labyrinth einer surrealen Bürokratie. K. dringt immer tiefer in dieses System ein, er erfährt Verschiedenes über die Hierarchien der "Gerichte", doch nie gelangt er zur höchsten Instanz, nie erfährt er, worin seine "Schuld" besteht. Gleichzeitig dringt das System immer weiter in K.s Leben ein. Schließlich muss er erkennen, dass der "Sinn dieser großen Organisation, dieser korrupten Bande", der Sinn dieses geheimnisvollen Prozesses die "Sinnlosigkeit" ist...

Dans ce discours à portée réaliste, Rousseau nous livre ici ses idées...

Необычайно многомерное и разнородное произведение Лермонтова, едва ли не единственное свободное от идеологического пафоса, авторских наставлений и нравоучений, было признано самым европейским из классических русских романов.

He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was as swift as the desert winds, Sham's proud pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.

The story girl of the title is the 14-year-old Sara Stanley who weaves spellbinding tales that enchant her audience that comes from near and far. These 32 stories range from the humorous and satirical to exotic romances, Scottish folk tales, retellings of Greek myths and poems by Tennyson, to ghost stories. They include the scary "Tale of the Family Ghost", and the bittersweet "The Blue Chest of Rachel Ward".

Brave New World is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published a year later. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society that is challenged by only a single individual: the story's protagonist.

Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks is a collection of sentences and quaint sayings from this renowned Puritan. Gathered by Spurgeon from the six-volume set of Brooks' Works, it remains an excellent introduction to both the man and his writing.

Écouter "Werther", c'est aujourd’hui dépoussiérer un mythe. En effet tout le monde connaît "l'histoire" de Werther et son suicide, mais peu sont ceux qui connaissent véritablement le parcours intérieur de ce geste solitaire... Geste magnifique, mais aussi geste de désespoir social face à ses blocages intimes et aux barrières convenues par une société fière de ses convenances.

This classic is still making its mark over 80 years since its debut. Author Johanna Brandt shares a personal journey of living with cancer and her discovery of how the beneficial properties of grapes cured her disease by refreshing and purifying cell structures. The virtues of naturopathy are extolled, and listeners are encouraged to detoxify their bodies and prevent disease (namely cancer) through a combination of fasting and a diet of grapes.