Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
Photo by W. & D. Downey, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Thomas Huxley believed that if schools did not ground their pupils in common sense, life’s examinations would be painful.
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By Edward Ardizzone, via Wikimedia Commons. ? Public domain, or ? IWM Non Commercial Licence.
Sir Philip Sidney reminded comedians that when the audience is laughing they aren’t necessarily the better for it.
By Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
As penance for involuntary manslaughter, Heracles was sentenced to slavery under the playful rod of Omphale, Queen of Lydia.
© Ashab, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Persian scholar Al-Ghazali feared for any country where morals were lagging behind brains.
© FieldsportsChannel.tv, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.
When the Reformers sold off the treasures of Durham Cathedral, they sold a priceless piece of Scottish history into oblivion.
By Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Colour levels brightened.
After the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is alarmed to see her husband losing his grip on reality.