Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© CowieJemma, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Norman Leys complained that policymakers in Africa were interested more in training loyal and industrious workers than in nurturing free peoples.
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From the British Library, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Inspired by an avid interest in English warrior heroes, the fifteen-year-old Guthlac recruited a band of freebooting militiamen.
© Adrian Cable, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
St Pega welcomed a royal servant with a serious eye condition to the monastery founded by her brother, St Guthlac.
© Clément Bardot, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.
The villagers of Mabutso in Southern Africa begged Dr David Livingstone to rid them of a menacing pride of lions.
By Amedeo Preziosi (1816–1882), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Diplomat William Eton warns his fellow Englishmen that shutting down debate does not make for a more united society.
By Barbara Krafft (1764–1825), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The offices of the Cheeryble Brothers are humming with excitement over two upcoming weddings, and Tim Linkinwater finds the mood is catching.