Subjects

History

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Character and Conduct

Dare to Be Yourself

Samuel Smiles warns us against pursuing popularity for its own sake, saying that it is a kind of cowardice.

Liberty and Prosperity

A Tale Worth All His Fortune

William Cobbett recalls his first taste of classic literature, for which he had to go without his supper.

Abolition of Slavery

Wilberforce Contra Mundum

John Wesley wrote to a young William Wilberforce to encourage him in his campaign against the slave trade.

Abolition of Slavery

A Change of Heart

An irate coal merchant squares up to the oh-so-righteous gentleman who didn’t like the way he was treating his horse.

Liberty and Prosperity

A Victim of His Success

Economist Adam Smith so changed the conversation in Britain that most people take his groundbreaking insights for granted.

Modern History

An Embarrassment of Heroes

John Buchan warned that the great figures of history are often beyond their biographers’ comprehension.