Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Andrew Curtis, Geograph. Licence: CC BY_SA 2.0.
After safely negotiating the alluring Sirens, Odysseus and his crew must now decide which of Scylla and Charybdis would do the least damage.
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© Shakko, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Following the Restoration of King Charles II, the country charted a well-planned course between the extremes of civil licence and Government control.
From the Walters Art Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Armed with a length of stout cord and a large ball of wax, Odysseus and his crew prepare to face the music of the Sirens.
© Peter Trimming, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
After getting lost on a woodland walk and spraining his ankle, Samuel Pepys felt amply compensated when he stumbled across a flock of sheep.
© Herdiephoto, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0 generic.
Sir Ector, who has searched fruitlessly for his brother for seven years, finds him at last, lying in state in the Joyous Gard.
By Guillaume-Alphonse Harang Cabasson (1814-1884), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Guy de Maupassant reflects on the way that a statesman’s place in history has so often been defined not by deeds or character but by his one-liners.