Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By an anonymous photographer, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Canada’s Hudson Bay has been a cause of war and an engine of prosperity, but long before that it was the scene of cold treachery.
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Abigail Brodsky, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
John Clayton, a British colonial official lost in the African jungle, is caught unawares by Kerchak, the gorilla.
© MM, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Pliny admired Julius Mauricus because he spoke his mind, and Emperor Nerva because he let him.
© Med, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
When Brennus the Gaul broke through the gates of Rome, Marcus Furius Camillus was far away in exile.
By Francesco de’ Rossi (1510–1563), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Marcus Furius Camillus knew he must make the Falisci submit to Rome, but the method one man proposed was more than he could stomach.
By Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506), via the Royal Collection and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Marullus was disgusted at the way that the fickle people of Rome turned so easily from one hero to another.