Variously known as the Greatest Story Ever Told, The Book of Books and many other names, the Bible is reputed to be the biggest bestseller of all time. Translated into thousands of world languages and studied, worshiped and revered in the four corners of the earth, the Bible remains Christianity's canonical text and is considered the Word of God. The King James Version (KJV) is a translation commissioned by the Church of England in 1604 and the work continued till 1611. However, it wasn't the first translation into English from the original Hebrew, and some portions in Aramaic...

The Consolation of Philosophy was written about 524 A.D. and has been called one of the most popular and influential books ever written. The book is presented as a dialogue between Boethius, the author, and Lady Philosophy, his tutor. Through her teaching, Boethius learns the true nature of fortune, misfortune, wealth, good, and evil.This dramatic reading is an attempt to present this wonderful work in an audio format while maintaining the dialogic structure of the work. Cast ListBoethius, the Narrator: Larry WilsonPhilosophy: Devorah AllenHeadings and Footnotes: KevinS

Eudemian Ethics (Greek: ΗΘΙΚΩΝ ΕΥΔΗΜΙΩΝ Latin: ETHICA EUDEMIA) discusses topics including virtue, friendship, happiness and God. It is believed to have been written before Nicomachean Ethics and to be named after Eudemus of Rhodes. Books IV, V, and VI of Eudemian Ethics are identical to books V, VI, and VII of Nicomachean Ethics and are excluded from this translation.

Economics (Greek: ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΑ; Latin: Oeconomica) may not have been written by Aristotle. The author provides examples of methods used by the state to raise money including debt, currency devaluation, commodity controls, tariffs, sales tax, fines, violence and sacrilege.

The sixth volume in the Golden Bough. Frazer continues into the second part of the compilation of analogies dealing with the recurring theme of the dying god. the worship of the dead, and dead kings. Extensive evidence is presented from the history of Egypt and what had been learned from archaeology in North Africa and the Mediterranean. The Egyptian calendar and festivals, the identify and personality of Osiris, and the relationship of the mother goddess, are discussed in length. - Summary by Leon Harvey

If Lao Tzu then had revolted against the growing artificiality of life in his day, a return to nature must have seemed doubly imperative to his disciple Chuang Tzu, who flourished more than a couple of centuries later, when the bugbear of civilisation had steadily advanced. With chagrin he saw that Lao Tzu's teaching had never obtained any firm hold on the masses, still less on the rulers of China, whereas the star of Confucius was unmistakably in the ascendant. Within his own recollection the propagation of Confucian ethics had received a powerful impetus from Mencius, the second of China's orthodox sages...

This dialogue brings Socrates face to face with the famous sophist Gorgias and his followers. It is a work likely completed around the time of "Republic" and illuminates many of the spiritual ideas of Plato. The spirituality, as Jowett points out in his wonderful introduction, has many ideas akin to Christianity, but is more generous as it reserves damnation only for the tyrants of the world. Some of the truths of Socrates, as presented by Plato, shine forth in this wonderful work on sophistry and other forms of persuasion or cookery.

This work may not be by Plato, or his entirely, but Jowett has offered his sublime translation, and seems to lean towards including it in the canon. Socrates tempted by irony to deflate the pretentious know-it-all Hippias, an arrogant polymath, appears to follow humour more than honour in this short dialogue.

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads.Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shloka (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads.Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shloka (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shloka (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shloka (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shlokas (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shlokas (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. The Chandogya-upanishad belongs to the Sama-veda. It ranks among the oldest Upanishads, dating to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit (before the 8th century BC). It figures as number 9 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shloka (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shloka (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shloka (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shlokas (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shlokas (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter)...

In this, the only extant tragedy from Aeschylus' trilogy about the House of Oedipus, Thebes is under siege from Polynices, a former prince of Thebes. After King Oedipus left his city and cursed the princes, Polynices and his brother, Eteocles, decided to rule alternately, switching at the end of every year. However, at the end of his year as king, Eteocles refused to turn power over to his brother and exiled him, fulfilling his father's curse that the two brothers could not rule peacefully. In the action of the play, Polynices and a group of Argive soldiers are attacking Thebes so that he can take his place as ruler...

Four lectures about East Indian spirituality delivered at the twenty-fifth anniversary meeting of the Theosophical Society at Benares, 1900. - Summary by Czandra

On the Heavens (Greek: Περί ουρανού, Latin: De Caelo or De Caelo et Mundo) is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise. In it Aristotle argues that the Earth is a sphere by pointing to the evidence of lunar eclipses. Aristotle also provides a detailed explanation of his theory of 'gravity' arguing that things which contain 'earth' fall towards the centre of the Universe because 'earth' is naturally attracted to the centre of the Universe. Aristotle argues that if the planet Earth was moved to the location of the Moon then objects which contain 'earth' would not fall towards the centre of the Earth but rather towards the centre of the Universe...

On Generation and Corruption (Ancient Greek: Περὶ γενέσεως καὶ φθορᾶς, Latin: De Generatione et Corruptione, also known as On Coming to Be and Passing Away) is a treatise by Aristotle. Like many of his texts, it is both scientific and philosophic (although not necessarily scientific in the modern sense). The philosophy, though, is essentially empirical; as in all Aristotle's works, the deductions made about the unexperienced and unobservable are based on observations and real experiences...

Parva Naturalia [the "short treatises on nature" (a conventional Latin title first used by Giles of Rome)] is a collection of books by Aristotle, which discuss natural phenomena involving the body and the soul. The books are as follows:I - On Sensation and the SensibleII - On Memory and RecollectionIII - On Sleeping and WakingIV - On DreamsV - On Prophecy in SleepVI - On Longevity and Shortness of LifeVII - On Youth and Old Age, Life and Death VIII - On Respiration

Opuscula is a collection of shorter books that may or may not have been written by Aristotle. 1. On Colours 2. On Things Heard 3. Physiognomonics 4. On Plants 5. On Marvellous Things Heard 6. Mechanics 7. On Indivisible Lines 8. The Situations and Names of Winds 9. On Melissus, Xenophanes, and Gorgias - Summary by Geoffrey Edwards

On the Parts of Animals by Aristotle . The first book asks whether animals were designed or came into existence by chance. The remaining three books focus on particular examples of various animals and the functions of their organs. The translator William Ogle, who was both a medical doctor and classicist, presented Charles Darwin with a copy of this translation.

Book I Grouping of animals and the parts of the human body. Book II Different parts of red-blooded animals. Book III Internal organs. Book IV Animals without blood . Books V & VI Animal reproduction. Book VII Human reproduction. Book VIII Habits . Book IX Social behavior. Book X Dealing with barrenness in women was excluded from the translation of D'Arcy Thompson for being spurious so the translation of the Clergyman Richard Cresswell is used instead. Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson was a biologist, mathematician and classicist who also wrote On Growth and Form which discusses the mathematical patterns and structures formed in plants and animals.

Movement of Animals begins with a discussion of the physics of motion and asks whether God, the Unmoved Mover, exists outside of our Universe. Progression of Animals asks why animals have the parts they do and to what end these parts are possessed. - Summary by Geoffrey Edwards

Generation of Animals ; Latin: De Generatione Animalium) Book 1: Sexual Parts, Semen & Sexual Generation Book 2: Sexes, Embryo Development & Sterility Book 3: Birds, Fish, Cephalopods, Insects, Bees & Testacea Book 4: Causes of Sex, Heredity & Teratology Book 5: Distinction between Necessity and the Final Cause Charles Darwin wrote: "Linnaeus and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere schoolboys to old Aristotle." - Summary by Geoffrey Edwards

Meteorology by Aristotle Translated by Erwin Wentworth Webster before he fell in action in 1917. Book I: The Celestial Sphere, Stars & Precipitation Book II: Seas, Winds & Earthquakes Book III: Halos, Rainbows & Mock Suns Book IV: The Elements & Secondary Qualities On the Universe is attributed to Aristotle but may have been written by Posidonius the Stoic or someone well acquainted with his work. Two candidates for the Alexander addressed in the text are Alexander the Great and Tiberius Claudius Alexander, nephew of Philo Judaeus and Procurator of Judaea, and in A...

Contra Gentes is the first of a two volume work published by Athanasius of Alexandria prior to the outbreak of the Arian controversy (ca. 319). It focuses especially on pagan beliefs and worship concluding with a defense of the Christian view of God and creation -- especially creation by the eternal Word. In this way, the ground is prepared for the second volume of his work, now published separately under the title De Incarnatione Verbi.

These 22 stories are told by the Goblin to the King Vikram. King Vikram faces many difficulties in bringing the vetala to the tantric. Each time Vikram tries to capture the vetala, it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If Vikram cannot answer the question correctly, the vampire consents to remain in captivity. If the king answers the question correctly, the vampire would escape and return to his tree. In some variations, the king is required to speak if he knows the answer, else his head will burst...

This book describes the adventures of ten Kumaras, i.e., young men, (all of whom are either princes or sons of royal ministers), as narrated by the men themselves. These narratives are replete with accounts of demigods, ghosts, gamblers, intrigues with voluptious women, astonishing coincidences, cockfights, anthropophagy, sorcery, robberies, murders and wars.

There are 10 divisions in this title. This project is a recording of book 6. There is a number of interesting anecdotes on the lives of Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope, Monimus, Onesicritus, Crates of Thebes, Metrocles, Hipparchia, Menippus and Menedemus. Their school of thought is known an Cynicism. Most of the text in this book is devoted to the anecdotes concerning Diogenes's life and sayings. Even Alexander envied his life saying that if he had not been Alexander, he should have liked to be Diogenes.

The Enchiridion of Epictetus is a short collection of Stoic precepts compiled by Arrian, a student of Epictetus. Epictetus was a Greek philosopher and a champion of Stoicism, a philosophy dedicated to tranquility of the mind and soul via practical, actionable advice. Popular in the ancient and medieval world, it has even found favor in the contemporary military; fighter pilot James Stockdale attributed his survival of over seven years as a prisoner of war to the way of thinking contained in this short work.

Philosophical discourses of Epictetus as recorded by his affectionate student, Arrian. One main precept expounded is that we do not fear events but rather our thoughts about those events.

This tragedy is based on the mythological story of King Pentheus of Thebes and his mother Agave, and their punishment by the god Dionysus (who is Pentheus' cousin) for refusing to worship him.

The ordering novelty in the New Testament is that it places the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John at the beginning before the Gospel of Matthew, thus placing the Acts of the Apostles immediately after the Gospel of Luke. Work on the translation began in 1853 by a London businessman called Ferrar Fenton (1832–1920). The complete Bible was first published in 1903, though parts were published as separate volumes during the preceding 11 years. The translation is noted for a rearranging of the books of the Bible into what the author believed was the correct chronological order. His translation of the New Testament is based on the Greek text of Westcott and Hort.

Antiquities of the Jews was a work published by the important Jewish historian Flavius Josephus about the year 93 or 94. It is a history of the Jewish people, written in Greek for Josephus' gentile patrons. Beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve, it follows the events of the historical books of the Hebrew Bible, but sometimes omits or adds information.Volume 1 contains Books 1-5 and ends with the dedication of Samuel and death of Eli the priest.

François Fénelon became a priest in 1675, Archbishop of Paris in 1679, was spiritual advisor to Madame Guyon, and was appointed tutor to Louis, Duke of Burgundy by Louis XIV in 1689. He wrote Dialogues of the Dead, and The Lives of the Ancient Philosophers as well as The Adventures of Telemachus expressly for his instruction. Fenelon wrote against the Jansenists and in favor of the Jesuits. He is also known for his Christian Perfection: Devotional Reflections on the Christian Life and Treatise on the Education of Girls.. - Summary by Wikipedia

Delightful fables, collected by a devotee of Indian lore, recounts many of the legends told to him by tribal members, among them intriguing explanations of "Why the Chipmunk's Back is Striped," "How the Otter Skin Became Great Medicine," "How the Man Found His Mate," and "Why Blackfeet Never Kill Mice."

Commentarii de Bello Gallico (English: Commentaries on the Gallic War) is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The work has been a mainstay in the teaching of Latin to schoolchildren, its simple, direct prose lending itself to that purpose. It begins with the frequently quoted phrase "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres", sometimes quoted as "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est", meaning "All Gaul is divided into three parts".

Satyricon (or Satyrica) is a Latin work of fiction in a mixture of prose and poetry. It is believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius. As with the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, classical scholars often describe it as a "Roman novel", without necessarily implying continuity with the modern literary form.The surviving portions of the text detail the misadventures of the narrator, Encolpius, and his lover, a handsome sixteen-year-old boy named Giton...

The Catiline Conspiracy and The Jugurthine War are the two separate surviving works of the historian commonly known as “Sallust”. Nearly contemporary to the events he describes, he is supposed to have been a retired officer of Caesar’s army. “Catiline” contains the history of the memorable year 63. Sallust describes Catiline as the deliberate foe of law, order and morality (although party politics may have influenced his view). Still, Sallust does recount Catiline’s noble traits, including his courage in the final battle...

History Of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria is the masterwork of one of the fathers of modern egyptology. This work, in twelve volumes, was translated from the French original, “Histoire ancienne des peuples de l’Orient classique” and published in 1903-1904. Maspero was a largely self-taught master of hieroglyphic translation. In November 1880, he was placed at the head of a French archeological mission, which developed later into the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale...

Das Dhammapada ist eine Anthologie von Aussprüchen des Buddha. Dabei sind die Verse so ausgewählt, dass sie den Kern der Lehre des Buddha wiedergeben. Es ist einer der bekanntesten Texte dieser Lehre und findet seine weiteste Verbreitung im südlichen Buddhismus. Dort begleitet es die Schüler des Buddha vom Anfang bis zum Ende ihres Pfades. Darüber hinaus ist es ein Meisterwerk sowohl der frühen buddhistischen Literatur als auch der indischen Tradition des Karvya (Belle Lettre).

After the death of the Arian Emperor Valens, the synod of Antioch in 379 asked Gregory to help resurrect Constantinople to Nicene orthodoxy. While the most important churches were still headed by Arian bishops, Gregory transformed his cousin's villa into the Anastasia chapel. From this little chapel he delivered five powerful discourses on Nicene doctrine, explaining the nature of the Trinity and the unity of the Godhead. These are called the "Theological Orations." By the time he left Constantinople two years later, there did not remain one Arian church in all of the city.

In this late second century treatise, Hippolytus gives an excellent summary of Early Christian thinking on the subject of the antichrist. Familiar texts from Daniel and Revelation are treated together with his own current events to give a unique perspective. (Summary by Jonathan Lange)

Written primarily for children, James Baikie’s ‘peep’ at ancient Egypt is a really well done, historical account of the ways of that fascinating land so many years ago. It has stood well the test of time, being both well researched and well written. It’s a fun book for everyone, and families especially will enjoy listening together.

The first book of the Pentateuch - Genesis. Presented according to weekly parshah.Praised are You, Adonai, Our G-d, ruler of the Universe, who has made us holy with commandments and commanded us to engage in the study of Torah.

The second book of the Pentateuch - Exodus. Presented according to weekly parshah.Praised are You, Adonai, Our G-d, ruler of the Universe, who has made us holy with commandments and commanded us to engage in the study of Torah. (Introduction by Linette Geisel & traditional prayer. Parshat descriptions provided by Wikipedia)

The first of 14 volumes, this book discusses ancient civilization looking primarily at religion and philosophy.

"Jesus of Nazareth, a Biography, by John Mark," recognizes the author of the second Gospel as that "John, whose surname was Mark" (Acts 15:37), whom Barnabas chose as companion when he sailed for Cyprus on his second missionary journey. In making use of the new title, the plan of the Editor is to present "The Gospel: According to Mark" as it would be printed were it written in the twentieth rather than the first century. (Introduction from Forward, by D. Appleton & Co, Publishers, 1922)

“… an alemaunde tre schal floure, a locuste schal be maad fat, and capparis schal be distried; for a man schal go in to the hous of his euerlastyngnesse…” – Eccl. xii, 5 (see Note below).Traditionally composed by Solomon sometime around 950-970 BCE but dated on linguistic evidence somewhere in the third century, this meditation on the futility of mankind’s striving can bring comfort to those of firm or fragile faith, or of no faith at all. The text used here is a revision of Wycliffe’s original translation, made by his follower John Purvey in the mid-1390s...

Ki no Tsurayuki was a Japanese waka poet of the Heian period. In 905, he was one of the poets ordered to compile the "Kokinshu - Collected Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times". He is also one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals of Japan. The Tosa Diary, written in 935, is considered the major work of Tsurayuki. It is an account of his return to the capital Kyoto from Tosa province, where he had served as governor since 930. The journey is by boat, and Tsurayuki tells about his sea sickness and fear of pirates, his impressions of the coast, and the various offerings to placate the gods of the sea...

Lao-Tzu, also known as Laozi was a Chinese philosopher believed to have lived in the 6th century BCE and is credited with writing the Tao-Te-Ching which centers around the idea that the way of virtue lies in simplicity and a recognition of a natural, universal force known as the Tao. He is traditionally regarded as the founder of Taoism. This book is a compilation of his most profound writings translated directly from ancient Chinese texts. - Summary by Nemo

How to maintain a tranquil mind amongst social upheaval and turmoil, addressed to Serenus. (Introduction by Jonathan Hockey)

This is the second volume of the Letters, Epistles LXVI-XCII. Among the personalities of the early Roman Empire there are few who offer to the readers of to-day such dramatic interest as does Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the author of the Epistles. These letters, written by Seneca towards the end of his life, are all addressed to his friend Lucilius, who, at the time when these letters were written, was a procurator in Sicily. The form of this work, as Bacon says, is a collection of essays rather than of letters. Summary paraphrased from the Introduction in Volume 1 by Suprad.

The Metamorphosis, also known as The Golden Ass, is one of the very few novels of the Ancient World that survived to our days; one of the two novels of Roman Literature that we can still read; and the only one preserved in its entirety (the other one being the extremely fragmentary Satyricon). The story of the Metamorphosis, the tale of a man turned into a donkey that goes through many adventures to become a man again, inspired many other similar ones later on. However, more than just the plot, the style of the Golden Ass also made it famous...

It is not generally agreed whether Plato was the author of any of these books. I. Hippias Major II. Second Alcibiades III. Theages IV. The Rivals V. Hipparchus

The Moralia (or The morals or Matters relating to customs and mores) is a work by the 1st-century Greek scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea. It is a collection of 78 essays and transcribed speeches that give an insight into Roman and Greek life. Extremely popular for centuries, Plutarch's Morals have been read and imitated by many generations of Europeans, including Montaigne and the Renaissance Humanists and Enlightenment philosophers. Some of the most famous chapters on history are "On the Fortune or...

The Kama Sutra, or Aphorisms on Love, has survived at least 1400 years as a dominant text on sexual relations between men and women. Vatsyayana claimed to have written the Kama Sutra while a religious student, “in contemplation of the Deity” - but references to older works, shrewd disputations by Vatsyayana of those authors' recommendations, and careful cataloging of practices in various of the Indian states indicate much more emphasis on kama, or sensual gratification. Part of the book discusses the 64 arts of love employed by masters of coitus...

Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was of Spanish origin, being born about 35 A.D. at Calagurris. At Rome he met with great success as a teacher and was the first rhetorician to set up a genuine public school and to receive a salary from the State. He left behind him a treatise "On the causes of the decadence of Roman oratory" (De causis corruptae eloquentiae), some speeches and his magnum opus, the only one to survive to our days. His Institutio Oratoria, despite the fact that much of it is highly technical, has still much that is of interest today, even for those who care little for the history of rhetoric.

This ancient Roman dialogue plays out as a religious debate between the Christian lawyer Octavius, and his close friend, a skeptical pagan named Caecilius. Caecilius is relatively agnostic, expressing skepticism towards both aspects of traditional Roman paganism, as well as towards his friend's newfangled Christian religion. Octavius attempts to give the reasons he has for his own beliefs and answer Caecilius' critiques. The author- Marcus Minucius Felix - plays the role of referee and observer. This is one of the earliest Latin texts to talk about Christianity, and describe how the new religion fit in the wider social context of the Roman world...

A philippic is a fiery, damning speech delivered to condemn a particular political actor. The term originates with Demosthenes, who delivered an attack on Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century BCE.Cicero consciously modeled his own attacks on Mark Antony, in 44 BC and 43 BC, on Demosthenes’s speeches, and if the correspondence between M. Brutus and Cicero are genuine [ad Brut. ii 3.4, ii 4.2], at least the fifth and seventh speeches were referred to as the Philippics in Cicero’s time. They were also called the Antonian Orations by Aulus Gellius...

On the Ends of Good and Evil (Latin: DE FINIBUS BONORUM ET MALORUM) discusses Skeptic, Epicurean, Stoic, Peripatetic and Academic views on the good life. Written by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Translated by Harris Rackham.

On Duties (Latin: DE OFFICIIS) discusses virtue, expediency and apparent conflicts between the two. St. Ambrose, St. Jerome and other Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church considered it to be legitimate for study. It was the second book after the Bible printed on Gutenberg's press and a standard text taught at Eton College. Written by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Translated by Walter Miller.

Tusculan Disputations (Latin: TUSCULANARUM DISPUTATIONUM) is divided into five books which discuss death, pain, grief, perturbations and virtue. At issue is whether wise people can always be happy regardless of the apparent evil that fortune throws in their way. Andrew Peabody says the A. and M. in the text may stand for Auditor, Adolescens, Atticus or Aulus and Marcus or Magister. Written by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge.

On Architecture is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect Vitruvius and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus as a guide for building projects. The work is one of the most important sources of modern knowledge of Roman building methods as well as the planning and design of structures, both large (aqueducts, buildings, baths, harbours) and small (machines, measuring devices, instruments). He is also the prime source of the famous story of Archimedes and his bath-time discovery.

Yoga sutras by Patanjali is a seminal work in yoga, this book is more about control of mind and the true goal of yoga. The sutras are extremely brief, and the translation in neat English makes it very easy for people to understand the ancient Sanskrit text. It starts with the birth and growth of spiritual man through the control of mind. In all, this is a "all in one" book for yoga philosophy written by the master himself.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are in themselves exceedingly brief, less than ten pages of large type in the original. Yet they contain the essence of practical wisdom, set forth in admirable order and detail. The theme, if the present interpreter be right, is the great regeneration, the birth of the spiritual from the psychical man: the same theme which Paul so wisely and eloquently set forth in writing to his disciples in Corinth, the theme of all mystics in all lands.We think of ourselves as living a purely physical life, in these material bodies of ours...

The fable is a small narrative, in prose or verse, which has as its main characteristic the aim of conveying a moral lesson (the “moral”), implicitly or, more normally, explicitly expressed. Even though the modern concept of fable is that it should have animals or inanimated objects as characters – an idea supported by the works of famous fabulists such as Aesop and La Fontaine – Phaedrus, the most important Latin fabulist, is innovative in his writing. Although many of his fables do depict animals or objects assuming speech, he also has many short stories about men, writing narratives that seem to the modern eye more like short tales than fables...

Awaiting his trial on charges of impiety and heresy, Socrates encounters Euthyphro, a self-proclaimed authority on matters of piety and the will of the gods. Socrates, desiring instruction in these matters, converses with Euthyphro, but as usual, the man who professes to know nothing fares better than the man who claims to be an expert. One of Plato’s well-known Socratic Dialogues, Euthyphro probes the nature of piety, and notably poses the so-called Euthyphro Dilemma: Do the gods love a thing because it is holy, or is a thing holy because it is loved by the gods?

The Symposium (Ancient Greek: Συμπόσιον) is a philosophical book written by Plato sometime after 385 BCE. On one level the book deals with the genealogy, nature and purpose of love, on another level the book deals with the topic of knowledge, specifically how does one know what one knows. The topic of love is taken up in the form of a group of speeches, given by a group of men at a symposium or a wine drinking party at the house of the tragedian Agathon at Athens. Plato constructed the Symposium as a story within a story within a story...

In Plato’s Ion, Socrates questions Ion on whether he should really claim laud and glory for his ‘rhapsodic’ recitals of Homer’s poetry.

“Our intention is, that Timaeus, who is the most of an astronomer amongst us, and has made the nature of the universe his special study, should speak first, beginning with the generation of the world and going down to the creation of man…” ‘Timaeus’ is usually regarded as one of Plato’s later dialogues, and provides an account of the creation of the universe, with physical, metaphysical and ethical dimensions, which had great influence over philosophers for centuries following. It attributes the order and beauty of the universe to a benevolent demiurge – a ‘craftsman’ or god – fashioning the physical world after the pattern of an ideal, eternal one...

Plato's Phaedo is one of the great dialogues of his middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The Phaedo, which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's seventh and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days (the first six being Theaetetus, Euthyphro, Sophist, Statesman, Apology, and Crito).In the dialogue, Socrates discusses the nature of the afterlife on his last day before being executed by drinking hemlock. Socrates has been imprisoned and sentenced to death by an Athenian jury for not believing in the gods of the state and for corrupting the youth of the city...

“For there is no light of justice or temperance, or any of the higher ideas which are precious to souls, in the earthly copies of them: they are seen through a glass, dimly…”Socrates and his earnest friend Phaedrus, enjoying the Athenian equivalent of a lunchtime stroll in the park, exchange views on love and on the power of words, spoken and written.Phaedrus is the most enchanting of Plato’s Erotic dialogues (capitalised in honour of the god). The barefoot philosopher urges an eager young...

Νόμοι (Laws) is Plato's final dialogue written after his attempt to advise the tyrant Dionysius II of Syracuse. The dialogue takes place between: an Athenian Stranger (Socrates? A god in human form?); the quiet Lacedaemonian Megillus; and the Cretan Cleinias. The Stranger asks whether humans live to be more effective at waging war or if there is something more important a legislator should seek to achieve. During their pilgrimage Cleinias discloses his role in the establishment of a new colony...

"Naturalis Historia" (Latin for "Natural History") is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents...

Naturalis Historia (Latin for "Natural History") is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents...

The six Enneads are the collected writings of the Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus arranged by his student Porphyry into fifty-four books with each Ennead containing nine. The translator Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie arranged these books chronologically rather than according to Porphyry's numeration. This recording is organized according to Porphyry's numeration with Roman numerals indicating the Ennead and Hindu-Arabic numerals indicating the book e.g. VI.9 would be the ninth book of the sixth Ennead. A hyperlinked table of contents at Volume 1 Page 3 of the gutenberg.org text will enable you to jump to the specific Ennead if you wish to read along with the recording.

The Elements of Theology was written by the Greek Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus and translated by Thomas Taylor who named his youngest son Thomas Proclus Taylor. This book consists of 211 propositions, each followed by a proof, beginning from the existence of the One and ending with the descent of individual souls into the material world. Saint Thomas Aquinas recognized that the Liber de Causis , which had been attributed to Aristotle, was actually a summary of the Elements of Theology, likely written by an Arabic interpreter. - Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Geoffrey Edwards

The Six books of Proclus, the Platonic successor, on The Theology of Plato to which a Seventh book is added by the translator, Thomas Taylor, in order to supply the deficiency of another book on this subject, which was written by Proclus, but since lost. According to the 1995 Prometheus Trust edition Book 3 Chapter 1 of this translation contains Chapters 1-4 from the original Greek, Chapter 2 contains the Greek chapters 5-6 and Chapter 3 contains the Greek Chapters 7-8. Thereafter, the translated and Greek chapters match beginning at Chapter 9...

The Germania (Latin: De Origine et situ Germanorum, literally The Origin and Situation of the Germans), written by Gaius Cornelius Tacitus around 98, is an ethnographic work on the Germanic tribes outside the Roman Empire. Germania fits squarely within the tradition established by authors from Herodotus to Julius Caesar. Tacitus himself had already written a similar essay on the lands and tribes of Britannia in his Agricola. The Germania begins with a description of the lands, laws, and customs...

The scene of the Dialogus de Oratoribus, as this work is commonly known, is laid in the sixth year of Vespasian, 75 a.D. The commentators are much divided in their opinions about the real author; his work they all agree is a masterpiece in the kind; written with taste and judgement; entertaining, profound, and elegant. It is normally considered to have been written by Tacitus, even though some ascribe it to Quintilian. The main subject is the decadence of oratory, for which the cause is said to be the decline of the education, both in the family and in the school, of the future orator. In a certain way, it can be considered a miniature art of rhetoric.

The Metamorphoses of Ovid is probably one of the best known, certainly one of the most influential works of the Ancient world. It consists of a narrative poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world through mythological tales, starting with a cosmogony and finishing with the deification of Julius Caesar. Published around 8 AD, the Metamorphoses are a source, sometimes the only source, for many of the most famous ancient myths, such as the stories of Daedalus and Icarus, Arachne or Narcisus...

The Heroides, also known as the Heroines, the Letters of the Heroines or simply as Epistles are a very famous collection of poems by Ovid, not only for their interesting subject – letters by famous mythological characters addressed to their beloved ones – but also because it’s considered by some the first example of the Epistle as a literary genre – a statement made by Ovid himself in his Ars Amatoria. The book as we have it nowadays consists of 21 letters, divided in two parts. The first...

The Rule of Saint Benedict (Regula Benedicti) is a book of precepts written by St. Benedict of Nursia for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. Since about the 7th century it has also been adopted by communities of women. During the 1500 years of its existence, it has become the leading guide in Western Christianity for monastic living in community. The spirit of St Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation: pax ("peace") and the traditional ora et labora ("pray and work").(Introduction from Wikipedia)

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity. It is considered to be one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history. It is believed to have been completed in 731, when Bede was approximately 59 years old. Divided into five books, it covers the history of England, ecclesiastical and political, from the time of Julius Caesar to the date of its completion (731)...

Theophrastus was an ancient Greek philosopher, successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic School. He wrote on many topics: biology, geology, physics, metaphysics, psychology, ethics, logic – and more. His book Characters… contains thirty brief, vigorous, and trenchant outlines of moral types, which form a most valuable picture of the life of his time, and in fact of human nature in general. They are the first recorded attempt at systematic character writing. “Apart from slight variations of local coloring and institutions, the descriptions of the old Greek philosopher might apply almost as well to the present inhabitants of London or Boston as to the Athenians of 300 B...

The full title of this book is The Origins of Christianity with an Outline of Van Manen’s Analysis of The Pauline Literature. Willem Christiaan van Manen (1842-1905) was a Dutch theologian. The vast majority of van Manen’s radical criticism of the New Testament and Christian origins has never been translated into English.In this book, Thomas Whittaker outlines the arguments of van Manen for an English-speaking audience. Van Manen’s work is not now generally known, but his views obtained notoriety by the articles and books that he wrote, in which he maintained that none of the Epistles that bear the Apostle Paul’s name were in fact written by him...

Ab urbe condita, is a monumental history of ancient Rome written in the Latin language by Titus Livius(Livy), an ancient Roman historian. The work covers the time from the stories of Aeneas, the earliest legendary period from before the city's founding in c. 753 BC, to Livy's own times in the reign of the emperor, Augustus. The last year covered by Livy is 745 AUC, or 9 BC, the death of Drusus. About 25% of the work survives.Livy's History of Rome was in demand from the publication of the first packet...

Written in the first century b.C., On the Nature of Things (in Latin, "De Rerum Natura") is a poem in six books that aims at explaining the Epicurean philosophy to the Roman audience. Among digressions about the importance of philosophy in men's life and praises of Epicurus, Lucretius created a solid treatise on the atomic theory, the falseness of religion and many kinds of natural phenomena. With no harm to his philosophical scope, the author composed a didactic poem of epic flavor, of which the imagery and style are highly praised.

Titus Lucretius Carus , the author of "De Rerum Natura" or "On the Nature of Things," was a Roman poet and philosopher. The work, a didactic poem expounding the teachings of Epicurus, often rises to sublime and lyrical heights. Lucretius enjoins us to shun superstitious fears and religious rituals. The universe is governed by the laws of matter and energy. The world, like ourselves, is mortal. But the philosophic materialism of Lucretius does not impair his awestruck delight in the spectacle of the heavens, in the play of dust motes in a beam of light, in the sight of molten metals, or of the fierce breed of lions, or of horses surging from a starting gate...

Sample a moment of magic realism from the Red Book of Hergest: On one side of the river he saw a flock of white sheep, and on the other a flock of black sheep. And whenever one of the white sheep bleated, one of the black sheep would cross over, and become white; and when one of the black sheep bleated, one of the white sheep would cross over, and become black. Before passing on to the Mabinogion proper, Lady Charlotte Guest devotes Volume I of her compilation of medieval Welsh tales to three brief romances of Arthur’s Court...

Theaetetus (Ancient Greek: Θεαίτητος) discusses concepts including perception, true judgment and knowledge. Socrates compares the human mind to a piece of wax and is critical of lawyers who seek only to persuade.

Parmenides (Ancient Greek: ΠΑΡΜΕΝΙΔΗΣ) recounts a meeting between Socrates, Zeno and Parmenides. Topics discussed include universals, plurality and the One.

Statesman (Ancient Greek: Πολιτικός) discusses God's role in maintaining the universe and describes the statesman as a good shepherd who promotes intermarriage between the orderly and courageous.

Sophist (Ancient Greek: Σοφιστής) discusses being and not-being while drawing a distinction between the philosopher and the sophist.

Cratylus (ΚΡΑΤΥΛΟΣ) discusses whether things have names by mere convention or have true names which can only be correctly applied to the object named and may have originated from God.

Charmides (Χαρμίδης) discusses the virtue of temperance.

Laches (Λάχης) discusses examples of courage including weapons masters, soldiers who stand firm in battle, ferocious animals and the wise person who endures evils.

Philebus (ΦΙΛΗΒΟΣ) discusses pleasure, wisdom, soul and God.

Lysis (Λύσις) discusses friendship and love between the good and bad.

Menexenus (ΜΕΝΕΞΕΝΟΣ) is thought to have been written by Plato (ΠΛΑΤΩΝ). The dialogue consists of Socrates (ΣΩΚΡΑΤΗΣ) recounting a funeral oration he claims to have learned from the female philosopher Aspasia (ΑΣΠΑΣΙΑ) who may have been wealthy, a courtesan or both.

Euthydemus (Εὐθύδημος) and Dionysodorus the sophists discuss the meaning of words with Socrates.

Eryxias (ΕΡΥΞΙΑΣ) may not have been written by Plato (ΠΛΑΤΩΝ). The dialogue discusses whether wealth has value and what the aim of philosophy should be.

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 is the story of Rama, who emabrks on an epic journey followed by the fight with Ravana, the demon king who abducted Rama's wife, Sita. The epic depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. (Introduction by Om123)

This little Blue Book No. 39, by Will Durant, deals with Aristotle , a Macedonian pupil of Plato, who became the teacher of Prince Alexander. While his pupil went off to conquer the world, Aristotle returned to Athens and founded his school, the Lyceum. There he amassed the first great collection of plants and animals and laid the foundations of biology, logic, literary theory, ethics, and political science. Departing from abstract Platonic universals, Aristotle described such natural processes as the developing embryo of the chick...

The 13th century Icelandic Völsungasaga is usually read by people studying the Poetic Edda or Wagner’s Ring – which obscures the fact it is a much better story than practically everything derived from it. A riddle-telling dragon, a broken sword, a hooded mysterious wanderer – cannibalism, incest, mutilation, and sensitive hearts. This is R-rated Tolkien – and the unashamedly archaic Magnússon-Morris translation is up for the adventure.Passages spoken in Old Norse are taken from the edition of Sophus Bugge, Berlin, 1891.

Judge wrote this book because he saw a need for a book about Theosophy that everyone could understand. Discussed are after-death states, reincarnation, karma, the pitfalls of pseudo-occultism, the 7 natures of man, cyclic evolution, sages and adepts, psychic phenomena and more. Although the book is fairly elementary it will help you in your journey, whether you are just starting out or have been at it for years.