Showing results by narrator "Denis Daly" in All Categories

Háfiz (1315-1390) was a lyric poet, a major figure in classical Persian literature. The compendious anthology of his poetry simply titled the Divan contains several hundred odes, from which this small selection was made by the translator. In the introduction Bicknell writes: ...we must look upon Háfiz as one of the few poets in the world who utters an unbroken strain of joy and contentment. His poverty was to him a constant fountain of satisfaction, and he frankly took the natural joys of life as they came....

Passion and intrigue among the upper classes form the basis of Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde's first successful play, which displays his trademark wit and wisdom. Beautiful and innocent Lady Windermere finds out that her husband has been keeping company with the scandalous and mysterious Mrs. Erlynne. Her discovery unleashes a host of tensions at her 21st birthday party, where London's elite have gathered to gossip.

The novel opens with Mr. and Mrs. Parker’s visit to Sanditon, a village on the coast of Sussex. Sanditon is being developed into a bathing-place under the patronage of the two principal proprietors of the parish, Mr. Parker and Lady Denham. Mr. Parker suffers an injury and receives assistance from a local farmer, Mr. Heywood. The latter’s daughter, Charlotte, is of marriageable age and has three eligible suitors: Lady Denham’s foppish son, Sir Edward; Mr. Parker’s devil-may care brother, Sydney; and Arthur, who is an unemployed hypochondriac.

Antonio, a wealthy and popular merchant, is in financial difficulty. He approaches a Jewish money lender, Shylock, who agrees to provide 3000 ducats, with a very curious bond – a pound of the merchant’s flesh, to be levied if Antonio fails to make a timely repayment. Feeling confident that his argosies will arrive in time to cover the debt, Antonio agrees to this bizarre transaction.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was the most notable literary figure of his time, just as John Dryden (1631-1700) had been of the preceding age. He was born in London, the son of a prosperous linen merchant, and to his dying day, he remained the poet of the town rather than of the country.

This collection of 35 poems is a sequel to a volume of lyrical ballads first published in 1798. While the first volume was a collaboration between Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, this anthology contains verses by Wordsworth only. Generally, the poems are less well-known than those of the earlier volume but do include major narrative pieces, like "The Pastoral Epics", "The Brothers", and "Michael".

Socrates, perhaps the most famous philosopher of the ancient world, left no writings. The method of philosophical investigation for which he is celebrated has come down to us in the form of dialogues, composed by his student, Plato. The four dialogues in this collection are known by the names of the chief characters in each: Lysis, Charmides, Laches, and Euthyphro. As they fall into a more or less natural group due to the fact that each one deals with a single ethical abstract—friendship, temperance, courage, and piety, respectively—they have been renamed based on their subjects.

This collection of aphorisms, poems and parables has been described as the reflections of a philosopher watching from his window and commenting on the scenes passing before him.

This collection of short stories by notable Australian author Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958) reflects on Australian experiences of summertime. Infused with the smells, sounds, and textures of Australian life during the Christmas season, these stories also highlight the strengths and yearnings of their characters.

Headlong Hall was the first of his seven novels, all of which display the same structure. There is a faint semblance of a plot, which is merely a device to bring together a bunch of voluble eccentrics, who converse on a wide range of topical issues. Headlong Hall is the rural seat of the ebullient Squire Headlong, who invites a number of philosophers, a clergyman, a musician, a novelist, and a phrenologist, to dine with him and share their views.

This is is the second of the verse novels by C.J. Dennis and was published in 1916. It describes the adventures of Ginger Mick, a rough and ready associate of Bill, the major character of The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. After starting life on the criminal fringes of the dubious neighbourhood of Spadger's Lane, Mick signs up for service in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, where he dies a hero's death.

This small handbook of the theory and practice of Stoic philosophy has become one of the most influential of all texts from the ancient world. It has been a source of inspiration to rulers, philosophers, and social theorists, and its cogent prescriptions about the management of one's personal life can be applied with great benefit in the hectic and confused world of today.

John Pollen (1855-1923) was an official in the Indian Civil Service. A keen linguist, he learned Russian, Esperanto, and Persian and in 1915 published an English translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. His collection contains 158 quatrains and includes a set of seven prefatory quatrains by Andrew Lang and a foreword by the Aga Khan.

During his long internment in the Tower of London Elizabethan adventurer and statesman Sir Walter Raleigh (1552 - 1618) took time to compose this thoughtful homily to his son.

Between 1895 and 1901 H. G. Wells wrote six science fiction novels, which have become among the most celebrated examples of the genre. In this collection, Wells explores a number of topics that have since become very common subjects in science fiction, including time travel, celestial beings, eugenics, alien invasion, and space exploration.

The authorship of this Gospel has been widely disputed. Some scholars accept that it was really written by Nicodemus, the Pharisee who visited Jesus by night, as described in chapter three of John’s Gospel. Others have conjectured that the Gospel was a forgery made towards the close of the third century by some zealous believer who imagined it would aid the spread of Christianity. Jeremiah Jones notes that such pious frauds were very common among Christians even in the first three centuries, and that the circulation of forgeries of this nature seems natural and probable.

Ebenezer Mac Crotchet, Esq., who has a mixed Scottish and Jewish parentage, has inherited some sterling qualities but is determined to destroy, as much as possible, all vestiges of his extraction. His villa has become a resort for literary and scientific men, with the result that the author easily provides himself with enough characters to introduce his favourite remarks on a wide range of topics, including Ancient Greek, transcendentalism, contagion, education, political economy, and meteorology.

The subject and argument of the poem are clear from the title. However, unlike Juvenal, Johnson espoused the view that Christian values are an essential aspect of a life well lived. While Johnson passes harsh judgement on the foolishness of greed and social pretensions, his scorn is much tempered by that natural compassion that has made him one of the most lovable figures in English literature.

Troward delivered these lectures at the Doré Gallery, Bond Street, London, in 1909. They were published in book form in the same year. Troward's basic thesis is that while the laws of the universe can never be broken, they can be made to work under special conditions, which will produce unexpected and remarkable results. The achievement of these results require the activation of what Troward terms the "personal factor", that, namely, of an intelligence which sees beyond the present limited manifestation of the law and thus enables the exploration of its infinite possibilities.

In the 19th century, when books were comparatively rare and expensive, encyclopedic compendiums about managing households became very popular. The most notable example in this genre is Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management, first published in 1861. Three years later, Edward Abbott, who described himself as an “Australian Aristologist”, published The English and Australian Cookery Book, which has the subtitle Cookery for the many, as well as the for the ‘upper ten thousand’.