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The title of the book comes from Luke 17:21. It is a non-fiction work of the famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy. He wrote it after many years of reflexion on Christianity and Jesus. Many subjects are present such as wars, non-violence, misunderstanding by believers of the faith, etc. (Summary by enko)...

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Philosophy, Politics

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Ein klassicher Text des deutschen Liberalismus (Summary by redaer)

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Philosophy, Politics

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Excerpt: Theological Essays and Other Papers: Volume One by Thomas de Quincey.

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Contents ON CHRISTIANITY, AS AN ORGAN OF POLITICAL MOVEMENT..................................4 PROTESTANTISM............................................................................................................... 39 ON THE SUPPOSED SCRIPTURAL EXPRESSION FOR ETERNITY ................................ 90 JUDAS ISCARIOT.............................................................................................................. 103 ON HUME?S ARGUMENT AGAINST MIRACLES ........................................................... 124 CASUISTRY ....................................................................................................................... 143 GREECE UNDER THE ROMANS..................................................................................... 189...

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Excerpt: Chapter 1. Who I Was and Who She Was. Oh, while she is still here, it is still all right; I go up and look at her every minute; but tomorrow they will take her away -- and how shall I be left alone? Now she is on the table in the drawing-room, they put two card tables together, the coffin will be here tomorrow -- white, pure white ?gros de Naples? -- but that?s not it?...

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Excerpt: Chapter 1. Father Ferapont. Alyosha was roused early, before daybreak. Father Zossima woke up feeling very weak, though he wanted to get out of bed and sit up in a chair. His mind was quite clear; his face looked very tired, yet bright and almost joyful. It wore an expression of gaiety, kindness and cordiality. ?Maybe I shall not live through the coming day,? he said to Alyosha. Then he desired to confess and take the sacrament at once. He always confessed to Father Paissy. After taking the communion, the service of extreme unction followed. The monks assembled and the cell was gradually filled up by the inmates of the hermitage. Meantime it was daylight. People began coming from the monastery. After the service was over the elder desired to kiss and take leave of everyone. As the cell was so small the earlier visitors withdrew to make room for others. Alyosha stood beside the elder, who was seated again in his arm-chair. He talked as much as he could. Though his voice was weak, it was fairly steady....

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Excerpt: The Republic by Plato.

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Excerpt: Phaedrus by Plato, translated by Benjamin Jowett.

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A collection of ten short essays or other short nonfiction works in the public domain read by volunteers.

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Politics, Religion, Philosophy, Science

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Excerpt: On the thirteenth of January of this present year, 1865, at halfpast twelve in the day, Elena Ivanovna, the wife of my cultured friend Ivan Matveitch, who is a colleague in the same department, and may be said to be a distant relation of mine, too, expressed the desire to see the crocodile now on view at a fixed charge in the Arcade. As Ivan Matveitch had already in his pocket his ticket for a tour abroad (not so much for the sake of his health as for the improvement of his mind), and was consequently free from his official duties and had nothing whatever to do that morning, he offered no objection to his wife?s irresistible fancy, but was positively aflame with curiosity himself....

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volunteers bring you 16 recordings of Old Man Travelling; Animal Tranquillity and Decay, a Sketch by William Wordsworth. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for October 2, 2011. In 1842 the government awarded Wordsworth a civil list pension amounting to £300 a year. With the death in 1843 of Robert Southey, Wordsworth became the Poet Laureate. He initially refused the honour, saying he was too old, but accepted when Prime Minister Robert Peel assured him you shall have nothing required of you (he became the only laureate to write no official poetry). When his daughter, Dora, died in 1847, his production of poetry came to a standstill. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Animals, Instruction, Nature, Philosophy, Poetry

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Excerpt: ACT I. The garden of IVANOFF?S country place. On the left is a terrace and the facade of the house. One window is open. Below the terrace is a broad semicircular lawn, from which paths lead to right and left into a garden. On the right are several garden benches and tables. A lamp is burning on one of the tables. It is evening. As the curtain rises sounds of the piano and violoncello are heard....

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CHARACTERS NICHOLAS IVANOFF, perpetual member of the Council of Peasant Affairs ANNA, his wife. Nee Sarah Abramson MATTHEW SHABELSKI, a count, uncle of Ivanoff PAUL LEBEDIEFF, President of the Board of the Zemstvo ZINAIDA, his wife SASHA, their daughter, twenty years old LVOFF, a young government doctor MARTHA BABAKINA, a young widow, owner of an estate and daughter of a rich merchant...

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volunteers bring you 11 recordings of Echoes of Love’s House by William Morris. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 9th, 2011. William Morris was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts throughout his life. Today, Morris's poetry is little-read. His fantasy romances languished out of print for decades until their rediscovery amid the great fantasy revival of the late 1960s following the phenomenal success of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. But his textile and wallpaper designs remain a staple of the Arts and Crafts Revival of the turn of the 21st century, and the reproduction of Morris designs as fabric, wrapping paper, and craft kits of all sorts is testament to the enduring appeal of his work. The William Morris Societies in Britain, the US, and Canada are active in preserving Morris's work and ideas....

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Advice, Instruction, Literature, Philosophy, Romance, Poetry

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Excerpt: Orations by John Quincy Adams.

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Published in 1859, On Liberty details Mill's view that individuals should be left wholly free to engage in any activity, thought or belief that does not harm others. Simple though it sounds, it is a position that challenges our ideas on the very nature of government and society, and sheds light on some of the key issues we face today. A key text of political philosophy, On Liberty has been continuously in print since its first publication. (Summary by David Barnes)....

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Philosophy

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This tripartite essay – published variously as “On the Popular Judgment” (J. Richardson trans.), “On the Old Saw” (E.B. Ashton trans.), or “On the Common Saying” (both M.J. Gregor and H.B. Nisbet) – Kant takes up the issue of the relation of theory to practice in three distinct ways. In the first, he replies to Christian Garve’s criticism of his moral theory, in the second, he distances himself from Thomas Hobbes, and in the third, Moses Mendelssohn. The three taken together are representative of the breadth of Kant’s moral and political thought; the first section being concerned with the individual, the second with the state, and the third with the species. Although this is, on the whole, a difficult piece to approach, the second and third sections are often read as a way into Kant’s political thought, and serve this purpose well, especially when read alongside his Perpetual Peace. (Summary by D.E. Wittkower.)...

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Philosophy

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Excerpt: A Theologico-Political Treatise: Part Two -- Chapters Six through Ten by Baruch Spinoza, translated by R.H.M. Elwes.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: CHAPTER VI ? Of Miracles. Confused ideas of the vulgar on the subject. A miracle in the sense of a contravention of natural laws an absurdity. In the sense of an event, whose cause is unknown, less edifying than an event better understood. God?s providence identical with the course of nature. How Scripture miracles may be interpreted....

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Excerpt: Symposium by Plato, translated by Benjamin Jowett.

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Excerpt: Chapter 1. Almost two months had passed. The hot summer was half over, but Sergey Ivanovitch was only just preparing to leave Moscow. Sergey Ivanovitch?s life had not been uneventful during this time. A year ago he had finished his book, the fruit of six years? labor, ?Sketch of a Survey of the Principles and Forms of Government in Europe and Russia.?...

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Excerpt: Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill.

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Excerpt: I heartily accept the motto, ?That government is best which governs least?; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe--?That government is best which governs not at all?; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which the will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually....