Ancient Classics

This remarkable poem, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, was Spenser's finest achievement: the first epic poem in modern English. The Faerie Queene combines dramatic narratives of chivalrous adventure with exquisite and picturesque episodes of pageantry. At the same time, Spenser is expounding a deeply-felt allegory of the eternal struggle between Truth and Error.

While wisdom is something to be accrued through experience and knowledge, "500 Quotes to Learn Wisdom from Classical Greek Philosophers" offers a shortcut. Dipping into the minds of some of the most revered thinkers of Ancient Greece, this book is packed with insights, reflections, and observations sure to inspire and stimulate thought. A superb gift for anyone with an inquiring mind. Considered one of the founders of Western and Greek philosophy, Plato (243 BC – 347 BC) was born in Athens. Many of his works are still studied to this day.

Here is the multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance, with comprehensive commentary and analysis, enabling students to fully understand and appreciate the play. Judge for yourself whether Lear is "a man more sinned against than sinning" in this moral tale that pits wisdom and age against ambition and youth. Experience and examine the power of Shakespeare's most cruel and violent tragedy.

Lady Susan is an epistolary novel by Jane Austen about a beautiful and manipulative widow scheming to arrange wealthy marriages for herself and her daughter. This book is the basis for the film Love & Friendship, written and directed by Whit Stillman, and starring Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny. This dramatized production is presented by the Online Stage.

"To call this only a 'reading' of the classic Sherlock Holmes story would be to devalue the beauty of the performance. Although you may have heard recordings of the Sherlock Holmes work before with distance and haughty affectation, none of that is present in Mr. Davies storytelling performance. This features one man, many voices and a hefty portion of talent. This performance is fresh, approachable and inviting." ( Storyteller.net Review)

"Abandon all hope you who enter here." Dante's Hell is one of the most remarkable visions in Western literature. An allegory for his and future ages, it is, at the same time, an account of terrifying realism.

On the Shortness of Life was written by Seneca around the year 49AD. He argues that we waste so much time because we do not properly value it. We expend great effort in protecting other valuables such as money and property, but because time appears intangible, we allow others to occupy it and take time away from us. Wise people, on the other hand, understand that time is the most valuable of all resources, and with effort can free themselves from external control to engage in meaningful introspection and create an intentional life.

Christmas just isn't the same without this poem which is why Monkeynut Audiobooks have brought together the unforgettable voice of Mike Read, the musical genius of film composer Andrew Stamp, and leading audiobook producer Elliott Frisby to create this full orchestral version of the famous poem by Clement Clarke Moore.

Cherished Chinese Proverbs is a bilingual collection of classic stories that have been passed down to generations of Chinese speakers. This work was originally designed as a supplement for students of Chinese as a Second Language, but in this publication we have broadened the focus. In offering these classic stories in both Chinese and English, it is hoped that native Chinese speakers might also benefit.

Platons Dialoge gehören in philosophischer wie auch in literarischer Hinsicht unzweifelhaft zu den großen kulturellen Hervorbringungen des alten Griechenlands. Ihr Einfluss auf das Denken und auf das, was wir heute allgemein unter Philosophie verstehen, kann kaum überschätzt werden. Zentrale Themen der platonischen Philosophie wie die Frage nach dem Guten und die Frage, wie man auf zwingend richtige Gründe abgestütztes Wissen erlangt, haben mehr als nur Akzente in der abendländischen Geistesgeschichte hinterlassen.

Songs of Kabir is a book from 1915 consisting of 100 poems of Kabir, the 15th century Indian poet and mystic, translated to English by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving literary work in the world. The epic poetry describes the ancient King Gilgamesh and his journey to discover the secret to eternal life.

This fascinating guide chronicles the rise and fall of ancient Greece and Rome and its cultural influence today. From palace-based societies in Minoan Crete to the Germanic invasion of Rome, it tells the story of these classical civilizations, covering their political development, the rise of the city state and the growth of their empires.

Fuenteovejuna is a play by the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega. First published in Madrid in 1619 as part of Docena Parte de las Comedias de Lope de Vega Carpio, the play is believed to have been written between 1612 and 1614. The play is based upon an actual historical incident that took place in the village of Fuenteovejuna (now called Fuente Obejuna) in Castile in 1476.

It's never been easy to be a hero. When Beowulf arrives at Hrothgar's hall, he discovers that the hall is beset by Grendel, an evil creature that kills and pillages with impunity. Beowulf, in heroic fashion, bests Grendel in combat, then follows Grendel back to his lair to finish the job.

From about the ninth to fifth centuries BCE, the population of Greece grew unprecedentedly large, expanding from about 800,000 people to as many as 13 million. About a quarter million of these lived in Athens. The average size of urban households during this period grew considerably, a fact that suggests that food was suddenly available in excesses sufficient to keep larger families healthy and alive much more effectively than just a millennium earlier. Bigger families meant bigger armies and larger communities that would eventually grow into the metropolises of Classical Greece.

In the grandfathers' time, when few yet living had been born, the People worshipped the horse, and served him, and took the gifts that he gave them: his meat, his hide, the milk of his mares. But he had not yet granted to men the greatest gift of all: the gift of riding on his back, and racing the wind. Sparrow is a shaman's daughter in a tribe that forbids women to be kings, to be shamans, to be anything but silent and tractable servants to the all-powerful men.

The Allegory of the Cave appears in Plato’s Republic and compares the effect of education and the lack of it on human nature. It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother and Socrates, who tells of people that have been chained to the wall of a cave their whole lives. They see shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them. Socrates explains that the philosopher is like a prisoner who has escaped the cave and realizes that the shadows on the wall are not the true reality at all.

Narrated in Middle English by J.B. Bessinger, Jr.

Can a druidess with the power of visions be blind to love? Weapons Master Kanyth Skaraven has always found favor with the ladies, until he meets Perrin Thomas. Though the fairy-like druid descendant seemed fated for him, he finds himself torn in two directions. His unique power with the forge is something he must keep under tight control - a control that slips when Perrin is near. But as the deadly attacks of the mad druids and their giants escalate to a fever pitch, Perrin and Kanyth must master their deepest fears as well as their desires.