Polyuecteby Pierre CorneilleTranslated by Thomas ConstableINTRODUCTORY NOTEPierre Corneille was born in Rouen in 1606, the son of an official;was educated by the Jesuits, and practised unsuccessfully as a lawyer.His dramatic career began with the comedy of "Melite," but it was byhis "Medee" that he first proved his tragic genius. "The Cid" appearedin 1636, and a series of masterpieces followed"Horace," "Cinna,""Polyeucte," "Le Menteur." After a failure in "Pertharite" he retiredfrom the stage, deeply hurt by the disapproval of his audience. Six...　

WHAT IS MAN?Ia. Man the Machine. b. Personal Merit[The Old Man and the Young Man had been conversing. The OldMan had asserted that the human being is merely a machine, andnothing more. The Young Man objected, and asked him to go intoparticulars and furnish his reasons for his position.]Old Man. What are the materials of which a steam-engine is made?Young Man. Iron, steel, brass, white-metal, and so on.O.M. Where are these found?Y.M. In the rocks.O.M. In a pure state?Y.M. Noin ores....　

TIMAEUSby Platotranslated by Benjamin JowettTIMAEUSPERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: SOCRATES; CRITIAS; TIMAEUS; HERMOCRATESSocrates. One, two, three; but where, my dear Timaeus, is the fourthof those who were yesterday my guests and are to be my entertainersto-day?Timaeus. He has been taken ill, Socrates; for he would not willinglyhave been absent from this gathering.Soc. Then, if he is not coming, you and the two others must supplyhis place.Tim. Certainly, and we will do all that we can; having been...　

Christian Scienceby Mark TwainCHRISTIAN SCIENCEPREFACEBOOK I of this volume occupies a quarter or a third of the volume,and consists of matter written about four years ago, but not hithertopublished in book form. It contained errors of judgment and of fact.I have now corrected these to the best of my ability and later knowledge.Book II was written at the beginning of 1903, and has not until nowappeared in any form. In it my purpose has been to present a character-portrait of Mrs. Eddy, drawn from her own acts and words solely, not fromhearsay and rumor; and to explain the nature and scope o　

SOUTH SEA TALESSOUTH SEA TALESby Jack London1- Page 2-SOUTH SEA TALESTHE HOUSE OF MAPUHIDespite the heavy clumsiness of her lines, the Aorai handled easily inthe light breeze, and her captain ran her well in before he hove to justoutside the suck of the surf. The atoll of Hikueru lay low on the water, acircle of pounded coral sand a hundred yards wide, twenty miles in...　

1872FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE TOADby Hans Christian AndersenTHE well was deep, and therefore the rope had to be a long one; itwas heavy work turning the handle when any one had to raise abucketful of water over the edge of the well. Though the water wasclear, the sun never looked down far enough into the well to mirroritself in the waters; but as far as its beams could reach, greenthings grew forth between the stones in the sides of the well.Down below dwelt a family of the Toad race. They had, in fact,come head-over-heels down the well, in the person of the old...　

A History of Science, Volume 4by Henry Smith Williams, M.D., LL.D.ASSISTED BY EDWARD H. WILLIAMS, M.D.IN FIVE VOLUMES VOLUME IV.MODERN DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESA HISTORY OF SCIENCEBOOK IVMODERN DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESAS regards chronology, the epoch covered in the present volume is identical with that viewed in the preceding one. But now as regards subject matter we pass on to those diverse phases of the physical world which are the field of the chemist, and to those yet more intricate processes which have to do with living organisms. So 　

50 Bab Balladsby W. S. GilbertPREFACE.THE "BAB BALLADS" appeared originally in the columns of "FUN,"when that periodical was under the editorship of the late TOM HOOD.They were subsequently republished in two volumes, one called "THEBAB BALLADS," the other "MORE BAB BALLADS." The period duringwhich they were written extended over some three or four years;many, however, were composed hastily, and under the discomfortingnecessity of having to turn out a quantity of lively verse by acertain day in every week. As it seemed to me (and to others) that...　

The Ethics [Part II](Ethica Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata)by Benedict de SpinozaTranslated by R. H. M. ElwesPart II: ON THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE MINDPREFACE I now pass on to explaining the results, which mustnecessarily follow from the essence of God, or of the eternaland infinite being; not, indeed, all of them (for we proved inPart i., Prop. xvi., that an infinite number must follow in aninfinite number of ways), but only those which are able to lead...　

Hunted Downby Charles DickensI.Most of us see some romances in life. In my capacity as ChiefManager of a Life Assurance Office, I think I have within the lastthirty years seen more romances than the generality of men, howeverunpromising the opportunity may, at first sight, seem.As I have retired, and live at my ease, I possess the means that Iused to want, of considering what I have seen, at leisure. Myexperiences have a more remarkable aspect, so reviewed, than theyhad when they were in progress. I have come home from the Play...　

THE FORGED COUPONPART FIRSTIFEDOR MIHAILOVICH SMOKOVNIKOV, the presi-dent of the local Income Tax Department, a manof unswerving honestyand proud of it, tooa gloomy Liberal, a free-thinker, and an enemyto every manifestation of religious feeling, whichhe thought a relic of superstition, came home fromhis office feeling very much annoyed. The Gov-ernor of the province had sent him an extraordi-narily stupid minute, almost assuming that hisdealings had been dishonest.Fedor Mihailovich felt embittered, and wroteat once a sharp answer. On his return home...　

were clever and wise, but the third did not speak much, and wassimple, and was called the simpleton. When the king had become oldand weak, and was thinking of his end, he did not know which of hissons should inherit the kingdom after him. Then he said to them, goforth, and he who brings me the most beautiful carpet shall be kingafter my death.And that there should be no dispute amongst them, he took themoutside his castle, blew three feathers in the air, and said, youshall go as they fly. One feather flew to the east, the other to thewest, but the third flew straight up and did not fly far　

The American RepublicCONSTITUTION, TENDENCIES, AND DESTINYby O. A. BrownsonTO THEHON. GEORGE BANCROFT,THE ERUDITE, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND ELOQUENTHistorian of the United States,THIS FEEBLE ATTEMPT TO SET FORTH THE PRINCIPLES OF GOVERN-MENT, AND TO EXPLAIN AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OFTHE AMERICAN REPUBLIC, IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,IN MEMORY OF OLD FRIENDSHIP, AND AS ASLIGHT HOMAGE TO GENIUS, ABILITY,PATRIOTISM, PRIVATE WORTH,AND PUBLIC SERVICE,BY THE AUTHOR.CONTENTS.PAGE...　

AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONSby Adam Smith1776INTRODUCTION AND PLAN OF THE WORKTHE annual labour of every nation is the fund whichoriginally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniencesof life which it annually consumes, and which consist alwayseither in the immediate produce of that labour, or in what ispurchased with that produce from other nations.According therefore as this produce, or what is purchasedwith it, bears a greater or smaller proportion to the number of...　

POMPEY106-48 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenTHE people of Rome seem to have entertained for Pompey from hischildhood the same affection that Prometheus, in the tragedy ofAeschylus, expresses for Hercules, speaking of him as the author ofhis deliverance, in these words:-"Ah cruel Sire! how dear thy son to me!The generous offspring of my enemy!"For on the one hand, never did the Romans give such demonstrations...　

War of the Classesby Jack LondonContents:PrefaceThe Class StruggleThe TrampThe ScabThe Question of the MaximumA ReviewWanted: A New Land of DevelopmentHow I Became a SocialistPREFACEWhen I was a youngster I was looked upon as a weird sort ofcreature, because, forsooth, I was a socialist. Reporters fromlocal papers interviewed me, and the interviews, when published,were pathological studies of a strange and abnormal specimen of man.At that time (nine or ten years ago), because I made a stand in my...