Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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211

The Great Northern War

Peter the Great wanted Russia to join the nations of Western Europe, but the nations of Western Europe refused to make room for him.

212

The Wisdom of the People

In one of his ‘Cato Letters’, John Trenchard took issue with the view (popular in Westminster) that the public could not be left to make up their own minds.

213

Thank Heaven for Free Speech

The authors of the ‘Cato Letters’ recalled how Greek general Timoleon replied when the people he had saved from oppression turned and bit him.

214

Lover’s Leap

Joseph Addison tells the legend of the great Greek poetess Sappho and the Lover’s Leap.

215

How I Learnt to Write

Benjamin Franklin recalls the disciplines he put himself through on the way to becoming one of America’s literary giants.

216

A Royal Rescue

Despite failing health, Peter the Great of Russia leapt into Kronstadt Bay to save some young sailors from a watery grave.