September

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Common sense isn't.

Fifteen Minutes a Day

The Reading Guide

[Introduction] [January] [February] [March] [April] [May] [June] [July] [August] [September] [October] [November] [December]

Also check out:
An older perspective on words in books.
An MIT Museum article on Charles Eliot.

72 FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run. . .
KEATS (Vol. 41, p. 879)

1 Expelled from College, Founded a City
While at Oxford, Penn rejected the student's gown and thereby created a furore. Later he founded a city where he sought to put his new ideas into practice.
(Penn arrested for preaching in London, Sept. 1, 1670.)
Read from Penn's SOME FRUITS OF SOLITUDE Vol. 1, pp. 321-331

2 Too Great a Price for Love
While his soldiers fought the battle of Actium, Antony fled to the arms of Cleopatra. By his flight he forfeited his right to an empire. Dryden's story of Antony's love makes us realize the folly of his infatuation for the Nile siren.
(Battle of Actium, Sept. 2, 31 B. C.)
Read from Dryden's ALL FOR LOVE Vol. 18, pp. 88-100

3 Seven Years to Reach England
Until 1783 the British refused to believe that the Liberty Bell had rung. Then they signed a treaty formally recognizing the Colonies as free and independent states.
(Treaty between England and the United States signed Sept. 3, 1783.)
Read: TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN (1783) Vol. 43, pp. 174-179

4 Voltaire Criticizes
Voltaire's daring courage led him to publish a series of letters which contained unfavorable comparisons of French customs with the English. For this he was threatened with the Bastille.
Read: Voltaire's LETTERS ON THE ENGLISH Vol. 34, pp. 85-93

5 Survival of the Fittest
Just as the individual has a definite length of life, so have species a limited duration. The progress and transition of the world, Darwin declares, will see the extinction of certain variants of human life.
(Darwin first outlines hit theory of natural selection, Sept. 5. 1857.)
Read from Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES Vol. 11, pp. 353-357

FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY 73

SEPTEMBER Reading Guide

6 The Pride of All Scotchmen
Many sons of Scotland have striven eagerly for the great place held by Sir Walter Scott. Carlyle describes the qualities that combined to make him the idol of his people and the master of historical romance.
Read Carlyle's SIR WALTER SCOTT Vol. 25, pp. 393-403

7 The King's Love
There she was undoing her hair - the loveliest woman the eyes of men ever beheld, the light of wooing in her regal eyes. A longing for her overwhelmed the warrior-king.
Read from DESTRUCTION OF DA DERGA'S HOSTEL Vol. 49, pp. 199-209

8 When Europe Lay Under Ice
There was a time when the snow fell and did not melt in summer. Then from the frozen north there descended huge masses of ice that covered northern Europe and most of North America. Glaciers reveal a new world to us.
(Helmholtz died Sept. 8, 1894.)
Read from Helmholtz's ICE AND GLACIERS Vol. 30, pp. 211-223

9 When Nature Beckons
"There are days during the year," says Emerson, "when the world of nature reaches perfection." Can anyone escape this call, especially in the glorious Indian Summer?
(Emerson retires from the ministry, Sept. 9, 1832.)
Read: Emerson's NATURE Vol. 5, pp. 223-230

10 Famous Poet-Physician
One of America's famous New Englanders, Oliver Wendell Holmes, devoted his life principally to medicine. His name, however, was made famous through his poem, "Old Ironsides," by which he saved America's most famous battleship from destruction when her fighting days were ended.
Read: Holmes' POEMS Vol. 42, pp. 1365-1370

11 Wages - Why and How Much?
What regulates wages, on what do they depend? Adam Smith, world's authority on economic problems, advances his theories on these matters.
Read from Adam Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONS Vol. 10, pp. 66-74

74 FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY

SEPTEMBER Reading Guide

12 Love Letters of Elizabeth Browning
In all literary history there is no happier love story than that of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. During their secret courtship Miss Barrett sent Browning many beautiful love letters written in verse.
(Browning married Elizabeth Barrett, Sept. 12, 1846.)
Read: SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE Vol. 41, pp. 923-932

13 Good That Came from a Game Pit
From cockfighting, bear baiting, and like sports, the wife of John Bunyan converted him to a life of humility and reverence. While imprisoned for preaching, he used his idle time in writing a fantastic story of a soul's salvation - probably the most famous allegory ever written.
(John Bunyan liberated and pardoned, Sept. 13, 1672.)
Read from Bunyan's PILGRIM'S PROGRESS Vol. 15, pp. 13-23

14 Dante and St. Peter
Dante, having journeyed through Hell and Purgatory, comes at last to St. Peter on his throne. St. Peter calls for the aid of St. James and St. John before passing final judgment on Dante's righteousness.
(Dante died Sept. 14, 1321.)
Read from Dante's DIVINE COMEDY Vol. 20, pp. 387-395

15 Refused to Serve Three Terms
George Washington retired to private life in 1796, entrusting "the preservation of the Union" to the "love of liberty." His last appeal is a vital message to American citizens, as pertinent today as when he penned it.
(George Washington published "Farewell Address," Sept. 15, 1796.)
Read: Washington's FAREWELL ADDRESS Vol. 43, pp. 233-249

16 Penalty for Silence
"Such felons as stand mute [do not confess] are pressed to death by huge weights laid upon a board that lieth over their breast and a sharp stone under their backs." Old English punishments, recorded by Holinshed, make startling reading.
Read from HOLINSHED'S CHRONICLES Vol. 35, pp. 363-370

FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY 75

SEPTEMBER Reading Guide

17 Romance on a New England Farm
For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been.'" On this theme Whittier based the story of a fair farmer girl and a rich judge.
(Whittier died Sept. 17, 1892.)
Read: WHITTIER'S POEMS Vol. 42, pp. 1351-1364

18 Home After Storms and Adventures
Every sight was full of beauty. We were coming back to our homes, and the signs of civilization from which we had been so long banished - " wrote Dana, as his ship entered Boston Harbor.
(Dana returns from two-year voyage, Sept. 18, 1836.)
Read from Dana's TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST Vol. 23, pp. 348-356

19 Humor That Survived Slavery
Held as a Moorish slave for five years, Cervantes was submitted to almost daily tortures. But even the horrors of slavery could not dull his sense of humor, as evinced by his most witty and amusing novel.
(Cervantes ransomed from slavery, Sept. 19, 1580.)
Read from Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE Vol. 14, pp. 48-54

20 Women's Rights in the Harem
The Koran defines the powers of a husband over his wives. Thus a woman unfaithful to her lord may be walled up alive.
(Mohammed arrives at Kuba after "The Flight," Sept. 20, 622.)
Read from THE KORAN Vol. 45, pp. 967-974

21 Æneas and the Old Witch
The Sybil, an old witch, personally conducts Æneas through the gate and into the jaws of hell, where terrors abound on every hand and frightful mysterious forms rule. There he is told of the greatness and glory that was to come.
(Virgil died Sept. 21, 19 B. C.)
Read from Virgil's ÆNEID Vol. 13, pp. 207-218

22 A King for a Souvenir
In the days when kings rode to battle leading their troops it was possible to make good the boast of the doughboy: "I'll bring you a king for a souvenir."
(Froissart dates Battle of Poitiers, Sept. 22, 1356.)
Read from FROISSART'S CHRONICLES Vol. 35 pp. 42-53

76 FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY

SEPTEMBER Reading Guide

23 Dying Concerns Every Man
The Romans made an art of dying. The Egyptians looked on death with complacency. Moderns fear it. Montaigne argues that the purpose of philosophy is to teach men how to die.
Read from Montaigne's TO LEARN HOW TO DIE Vol. 32, pp. 9-22

24 Citizens Lured from Their Homes
When the serpent of Minerva disappeared from her temple, the priests said that the goddess had left Athens for the sea. Moreover, the oracles urged the Athenians to seek safety in their ships. Themistocles prompted these deceits. Why?
Read from Plutarch's THEMISTOCLES Vol. 12, pp. 13-23

25 A Courtship of Twenty Years
John Stuart Mill in his autobiography boldly tells of his love for his friend's wife. After twenty years, she was freed from her first husband and was happily married to John Stuart Mill. Read the account of Mill's courtship.
Read from Mill's AUTOBIOGRAPHY Vol. 25, pp. 116-120, 149

26 And the World Rocked with Laughter
The gaunt lunatic, Don Quixote, saw the world through glasses colored with romanticism that had gone out of style hundreds of years before he was born. Cervantes made the world laugh at the exaggerated stories it had been devouring.
(Printing of Cervantes' "Don Quixote" licensed, Sept. 26, 1604.)
Read from Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE Vol. 14, pp. 29-35

27 Pascal's Fundamentals of Religion
To-day we have Fundamentalists and Modernists, each striving for the same goal. Pascal, two hundred and fifty years ago, gave his precepts of the fundamentals of religious thought.
(Pascal confers with Descartes, Sept. 27, 1647.)
Read from PASCAL'S THOUGHTS Vol. 48. pp. 181-192

28 He Introduced the Germ
Proof that germs cause many contagious diseases was established by Louis Pasteur. His discoveries revolutionized modern science and lessened the ravages of every type of disease.
(Louis Pasteur died Sept. 28, 1895.)
Read: Pasteur's THE GERM THEORY Vol. 38, pp. 364-370

FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY 77

SEPTEMBER Reading Guide

29 Prophet of 400 Million People
Confucius was a Chinese magistrate in 500 B. C. He lost the favor of the Emperor and wandered from city to city, teaching and giving counsel. After his death, Emperor and people alike bowed before his shrine.
Read from SAYINGS OF CONFUCIUS Vol. 44, pp. 5-14

30 A Gentleman According to Emerson
An etiquette book and a good tailor do not always produce a gentleman - neither does the Social Register include only gentlemen. Emerson by quaint stories tells how fashion and manners combine to make that rare product - a gentleman.
(Emerson's first marriage, Sept. 30, 1829.)
Read from Emerson's MANNERS Vol. 5, pp. 199-208

Chinese Crime and Punishment
Confucius was a Chinese magistrate and minister of crime in 500 B.C. Though an ancient lawyer, he had modern ideas of prison reform. (See Reading Assignment for September 29th.)

THE MASTER SAID: BY BREADTH OF READING AND THE TIES OF COURTESY A GENTLEMAN WILL ALSO KEEP FROM ERROR'S PATH. - CONFUCIUS.

[Introduction] [January] [February] [March] [April] [May] [June] [July] [August] [September] [October] [November] [December]

Also check out:
An older perspective on words in books.
An MIT Museum article on Charles Eliot.

Quote of the moment
The differences between the President and the Prime Minister were at least in one respect something more than the obvious differences of national character, education, and even temperament. For all his sense of history, his large, untroubled, easy-going style of life, his unshakable feeling of personal security, his natural assumption of being at home in the great world far beyond the confines of his own country, Roosevelt was a typical child of the twentieth century and of the New World; while Churchill for all his love of the present hour, his unquenchable appetite for new knowledge, his sense of the technological possibilities of our time, and the restless roaming of his fancy in considering how they might be most imaginatively applied, despite his enthusiasm for Basic English, or the siren suit which so upset his hosts in Moscow—despite all this, Churchill remains a European of the nineteenth century.
~ Isaiah Berlin (b. 1909), British philosopher, essayist. “Winston Churchill,” Personal Impressions, Viking Penguin (1980). ~

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THE HARVARD CLASSICS

The Five-Foot Shelf of Books

Fifteen Minutes a Day

The Reading Guide

SEPTEMBER