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Passages for reading. Read them out aloud. Paraphrase or précis them. Discuss them with friends. Does anything surprise or impress you? How does the author work your feelings? Would you use his words? How would you direct the scene in a movie — and who would your stars be?

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On This Day

Sunday September 8 ns August 26 os

For Church feasts falling on September 8 in the New Style calendar, see The Feast of Nativity of the Virgin Mary and Finding of the Kursk icon.

August 26, 1395 os

Meeting of the ‘Vladimir’ Icon (1)

The Theotokos of Vladimir

It is one of the world’s most recognisable works of art, and a symbol of God’s blessing on all Christian Rus’.

September 8, 1380

The Battle of Kulikovo (1)

Dmitri of the Don

Grand Duke Dmitri of Moscow loosened the grip of the Tartar Horde on the people of Russia, but treachery robbed him of triumph.

by Lucy Cazalet 1870-1956

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International Relations

A Credit to His Country

The diplomat’s task is to see the best in other peoples, not to scold them for their failings.

by François de Callières 1645-1717

Lives of the Saints

The Synod of Whitby

In 664, a council at Whitby decided to align the traditions of the Northumbrian Church with those of Rome and Constantinople.

by John Richard Green 1837-1883

From the Archive

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Modern History

For Valour

The Victoria Cross is the highest award made to our Armed Forces.

Classical History

A Conqueror Has No Friends

When Alexander the Great threatened the people of Scythia, their ambassadors reminded him that a conqueror has many more burdens to carry than an ally has.

by Quintus Curtius Rufus fl. 60-80

Aesopica

Jupiter and the Bee

A bee asks a blessing of the king of the gods, but what she gets from him is not quite what she had in mind.

by Thomas James 1809-1863

Discovery and Invention

John Dalton

At fifteen John Dalton was a village schoolmaster in Kendal; at forty he had published the first scientific theory of atoms.

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Selected Authors

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W. Somerset Maugham

The Lessons of Empire

Samuel Smiles

The Great Brassey Keeps his Word

William Paley

Who Can Refute a Sneer?

Mandell Creighton

National Sympathy

Rudyard Kipling

‘Sussex’

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford

A Toast to the Greatest Composer

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Selected Topics

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Discovery and Invention

Tales of scientific innovation and merchant enterprise, from steam power and life-saving medicines to new trade partners far away, and new ways to reach them.

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Bible and Saints

Tales from the Bible, including the parables of Jesus and the story of Esther, and miracles from the lives of saints, such as our own Cuthbert the Wonderworker.

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Character and Conduct

Stories illustrating noble deeds in matters both great and small, such as the noble gesture of Sir Philip Sidney, and the determination of Benjamin Disraeli.

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Myths and Legends

Stories of wisdom, wonder and imagination from the Fables of Aesop and the epics of Homer to the folklore of India, Japan, Russia and Britain.

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The USA

Tales from our cousins to the West, telling of their independence from Britain, their bloody civil war, and their runaway prosperity — and the slender thread by which it hangs.

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Sport and Sportsmen

Stories from the world of cricket, football and other sports, and the men and women who have played them.

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The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature