( newly updated TOC ) The Harvard Universal Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1909. Eliot had stated in speeches that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf. (Originally he had said a three-foot sh...

Discover the ultimate collection of classic literature with "The Complete Harvard Classics 2023 Edition". This edition includes all 71 volumes of "The Five Foot Shelf" and "The Shelf of Fiction", featuring timeless masterpieces such as "The Arabian Nights", "Paradise Lost", "Hamlet", and much more. Each volume has been carefully selected to offer an unforgettable reading experience. Additionally, this edition is presented in an easy-to-navigate format that allows you to easily browse the l...

Sir Thomas Browne was a 17th century author who wrote on a wide variety of subjects including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric. He is best known for his work entitled "Religio Medici", or "The Religion of a Doctor", which is Browne's own spiritual testament and an early example of a psychological self-portrait.Published in 1643, shortly after the author had qualified himself to practice medicine, "Religio Medici" became a best-seller throughout the European continent an...

The seventeenth century writer Sir Thomas Browne was an English polymath and author of varied works, revealing his wide learning in diverse fields, including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His most famous work is ‘Religio Medici’, a journal principally concerning the mysteries of God, nature and man, which he described as “a private exercise directed to myself.” It was an immediate success and was soon circulated widely in Europe. Noted for his melancholia tone, Browne’s ...

The Religio Medici is the apologia of a learned physician who was proud to be a Christian and a member of the Church of England as established by Elizabeth I. He recognized that under Henry VIII the Church in England had been the catholic Church in schism, whereas the Elizabethan Establishment was regarded as heretical by Rome. Yet hew rote courteously about the Pope. Unlike many seventeenth-century Protestants he never described St Peter's successor as 'Balschazar', 'the Man of Sin,' or '...

An essential classic from legendary author, Sir Thomas Browne.

This book contains the following works arranged alphabetically by authors last names:- The Divine Comedy [Dante Alighieri]- Emma [Jane Austen]- Persuasion [Jane Austen]- Pride and Prejudice [Jane Austen]- Father Goriot [Honoré de Balzac]- Jane Eyre [Charlotte Brontë]- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall [Anne Brontë]- Wuthering Heights [Emily Brontë]- The Way of All Flesh [Samuel Butler]- Don Quixote [Miguel de Cervantes]...

Thomas Browne's Religio Medici is a landmark work in the history of English literature and spiritual reflection, blending personal devotion, philosophy, and natural observation into a deeply contemplative narrative. First published in 1643, this remarkable text offers a unique insight into the mind of a 17th-century physician grappling with faith, reason, and the mysteries of existence. In Religio Medici, Browne presents an intimate exploration of his own religious beliefs, moral reflectio...

In 'The Garden of Cyrus,' Thomas Browne navigates the intricate relationship between nature, art, and philosophy through a distinctive literary style that intertwines prose and poetic elements. Published in 1658, this work exemplifies the author's fascination with the symbolism of the number five, which he meticulously explores through the lens of the quincunx—a geometric pattern that reflects both the intricacies of the natural world and human perception. Browne's exceptional blend of eru...

( newly updated TOC ) The Harvard Universal Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1909. Eliot had stated in speeches that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf. (Originally he had said a three-foot sh...

Religio Medici (The Religion of a Doctor) by Sir Thomas Browne is a spiritual testament and early psychological self-portrait. Published in the17th century, it became a European best-seller which brought its author fame at home and abroad. Structured upon the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, Browne expresses his beliefs in the doctrine of sola fide, the existence of hell, the Last Judgment, the resurrection and other tenets of Christianity.

Hydriotaphia, or Urn Burial is a work by Sir Thomas Browne. Its nominal subject was the discovery of some 40 to 50 Anglo-Saxon pots in Norfolk. The discovery of these remains prompts Browne to deliver, first, a description of the antiquities found, and then a survey of most of the burial and funerary customs, ancient and current, of which his era was aware. The most famous part of the work is the apotheosis of the fifth chapter which is considered a piece of absolutely sublime rhetoric.