Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
J. S. Mill argues that free trade has done more to put an end to war than any political union or military alliance.
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© Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Heracles seems to be the only one who can keep Poseidon’s rampaging white bull under control.
Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Mothering Sunday is a peculiarly British celebration of Christian faith, close family and responsible freedom.
Cynewulf reflects on the mystery of the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Mary.
© Andy F, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
Samuel Smiles explains why the London and Birmingham Railway was an achievement superior to the Great Pyramid of Giza.
From the US National Archives and Records Administration, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain. (Note: this is Richard Cobden, not ‘Richard Corden’ as given by NARA.)
Victorian MP Richard Cobden believed British politicians supporting the slave-owning American South had been led a merry dance.