On The Ruin of Britain (De Excidio Britanniae)by GildasTranslation by J.A. GilesThe Works of Gildas surnamed "Sapiens", or The Wise.I. The Preface1. Whatever in this my epistle I may write in my humble but wellmeaning manner, rather by way of lamentation than for display,let no one suppose that it springs from contempt of others or thatI foolishly esteem myself as better than they; -for alas! the subjectof my complaint is the general destruction of every thing that isgood, and the general growth of evil throughout the land;butthat I rejoice to see her revive therefrom: for it is my presentpurpose to relate the deeds of an indolent and slothful race, rather...　

The Little Lame PrinceThe Little Lame PrinceBy MISS MULOCK1- Page 2-The Little Lame PrinceCHAPTER IYes, he was the most beautiful Prince that ever was born.Of course, being a prince, people said this; but it was true besides.When he looked at the candle, his eyes had an expression of earnestinquiry quite startling in a new born baby. His nosethere was not muchof it certainly, but what there was seemed an aquiline shape; his...　

OF THE DELICACY OF TASTE AND PASSIONDavid Hume1741/SOME People are subject to a certain of, which makes them extremely sensible to all theaccidents of life, and gives them a lively joy upon everyprosperous event, as well as a piercing grief, when theymeet with misfortunes and adversity. Favours and goodoffices easily engage their friendship; while the smallestinjury provokes their resentment. Any honour or mark of...　

History Of The Britons (Historia Brittonum)by NenniusTranslated by J. A. GilesI. The Prologue.1. Nennius, the lowly minister and servant of the servants ofGod, by the grace of God, disciple of St. Elbotus,* to all thefollowers of truth sendeth health.* Or Elvod, bishop of Bangor, A.D. 755, who first adopted in theCambrian church the new cycle for regulating Easter.Be it known to your charity, that being dull in intellect andrude of speech, I have presumed to deliver these things in theLatin tongue, not trusting to my own learning, which is littleor none at all, but partly from traditions of our ancestors,partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of...　

OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCESDavid Hume1742Nothing requires greater nicety, in our enquiries concerninghuman affairs, than to distinguish exactly what is owing to, and what proceeds from ; nor is there anysubject, in which an author is more liable to deceive himself byfalse subtilties and refinements. To say, that any event isderived from chance, cuts short all farther enquiry concerningit, and leaves the writer in the same state of ignorance with therest of mankind. But when the event is supposed to proceed from...　

410 BCTHE THESMOPHORIAZUSAEby Aristophanesanonymous translatorCHARACTERS IN THE PLAYEURIPIDESMNESILOCHUS, Father-in-law of EuripidesAGATHONSERVANT OF AGATHONHERALDWOMENCLISTHENESA MAGISTRATEA SCYTHIAN POLICEMANCHORUS OF THESMOPHORIAZUSAE-Womencelebrating the THESMOPHORIA(SCENE:-Behind the orchestra are two buildings, one the house ofthe poet AGATHON, the other the Thesmophorion. EURIPIDES entersfrom the right, at a rapid pace, with an air of searching for...　

The Stolen White Elephantby Mark Twain[Left out of A Tramp Abroad, because it was feared that some of theparticulars had been exaggerated, and that others were not true. Beforethese suspicions had been proven groundless, the book had gone to press.M.T.]The following curious history was related to me by a chance railwayacquaintance. He was a gentleman more than seventy years of age, and histhoroughly good and gentle face and earnest and sincere manner imprintedthe unmistakable stamp of truth upon every statement which fell from hislips. He said:You know in what reverence the royal white elephant of Siam is held bythe people of that country. You know it is sacred to kings, only kings...　

The Voice of the Cityby O HenryTHE VOICE OF THE CITYTwenty-five years ago the school children usedto chant their lessons. The manner of their deliverywas a singsong recitative between the utterance of anEpiscopal minister and the drone of a tired sawmill.I mean no disrespect. We must have lumber andsawdust.I remember one beautiful and instructive littlelyric that emanated from the physiology class. Themost striking line of it was this:"The shin-bone is the long-est bone in the hu-manbod-y."What an inestimable boon it would have been ifall the corporeal and spiritual facts pertaining to...　

The Old Bachelorby William CongreveQuem tulit ad scenam ventoso Gloria curru, Exanimat lentus spectator; sedulus inflat: Sic leve, sic parvum est, animum quod laudis avarum Subruit, and reficit.HORAT. Epist. I. lib. ii.To the Right Honourable Charles, Lord Clifford of Lanesborough, etc.My Lord,It is with a great deal of pleasure that I lay hold on this first occasion which the accidents of my life have given me of writing to your lordship: for since at the same time I write to all the world, it will be a means of publishing (what I would have everybody know) the respect and duty which I owe and pay to you. I have so much inclination to be yours that I need no other engagement. But the p　

The Greatness of Citiesby Giovanni BoteroA Treatise Concerning The Causes of the Magnificency and Greatness of CitiesDivided into three books by Sig. Giovanni Botero in the Italian Tongue, now done into English by Robert Peterson 1606Book One1. What a city is, and what the greatness of a city is said to beA city is said to be an assembly of people, a congregation drawn together to the end they may thereby the better live at their ease in wealth and plenty. And the greatness of a city is said to be, not the largeness of the site or the circuit of the walls, but the multitude and number of the inhabitants and their power. Now men are drawn together upon sundry causes and occasions thereunto t　

Massimilla Doniby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Clara Bell and James WaringDEDICATIONTo Jacques Strunz.MY DEAR STRUNZ:I should be ungrateful if I did not set your nameat the head of one of the two tales I could never have written butfor your patient kindness and care. Accept this as my gratefulacknowledgment of the readiness with which you triedperhaps notvery successfullyto initiate me into the mysteries of musicalknowledge. You have at least taught me what difficulties and whatlabor genius must bury in those poems which procure ustranscendental pleasures. You have also afforded me thesatisfaction of laughing more than once at the expense of a self-...　

The Mansionby Henry van DykeThere was an air of calm and reserved opulence aboutthe Weightman mansion that spoke not of money squandered,but of wealth prudently applied. Standing on a corner ofthe Avenue no longer fashionable for residence, it looked uponthe swelling tide of business with an expression of complacencyand half-disdain.The house was not beautiful. There was nothing in its straightfront ofchocolate-colored stone, its heavy cornices, its broad, staringwindows ofplate glass, its carved and bronze-bedecked mahogany doors at thetop of the wide stoop, to charm the eye or fascinate theimagination....