John Earle.
1601?–1665. | Biography and Characterization |
| On a Child |
| On a Young Raw Preacher |
| On the Self-Conceited Man |
| On the Too Idly Reserved Man |
| On the Young Man |
| On Detractors |
| On the “College Man” |
| On the Weak Man |
| On the Contemplative Man |
| On a Vulgar-Spirited Man |
| On Pretenders to Learning |
| On Church Choirs |
| On a Shop-Keeper |
| On the Blunt Man |
| On a Critic |
| On the Modest Man |
| On the Insolent Man |
| On the Honorable Old Man |
| On High-Spirited Men |
| On Rash Men |
| On Profane Men |
| On Sordid Rich Men |
| On a Mere Great Man |
| On an Ordinary Honest Fellow |
Maria Edgeworth.
1768–1849. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Originality of Irish Bulls Examined |
| “Heads or Tails” in Dublin |
Jonathan Edwards.
1703–1758. | Biography and Characterization |
| On Order, Beauty, and Harmony
|
George Eliot.
1819–1880. | Biography and Characterization |
| Moral Swindlers |
| Judgments on Authors |
| “A Fine Excess”—Feeling Is Energy |
| The Historic Imagination |
| Value in Originality |
| Debasing the Moral Currency |
| Story-Telling |
| On the Character of Spike—A Political Molecule |
| From “Leaves from a Note Book” |
Sir Thomas Elyot.
c. 1490–1546. | Biography and Characterization |
| On a Classical Education |
| The True Signification of Temperance as a Moral Virtue |
Ralph Waldo Emerson.
1803–1882. | Biography and Characterization |
| Character |
| Intellect |
| Art |
| Love |
| From “Self-Reliance” |
| The Mind in History |
| From “Compensation” |
| From “Manners” |
| From “Montaigne; or, the Skeptic” |
| On Men, Common and Uncommon |
| Aristocracy in England |
| Norsemen and Normans |
Epictetus.
c. 50–c. 138. | Biography and Characterization |
| Of Progress or Improvement |
| On Providence |
| That We Ought Not to Be Disturbed by Any News |
| What Is the Condition of a Common Kind of Man and of a Philosopher |
| How Everything May Be Done Acceptably to the Gods |
Epicurus.
341–270 B.C. | Biography and Characterization |
| Of Modesty, Opposed to Ambition |
Desiderius Erasmus.
c. 1467–1536. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Goddess of Folly on the Luck of Fools |
John Evelyn.
1620–1706. | Biography and Characterization |
| In and around Naples |
| The Life of Trees |
Frederic William Farrar.
1831–1903. | Biography and Characterization |
| Some Famous Daughters |
Owen Felltham.
1602?–1668. | Biography and Characterization |
| Of Loquacity and Tediousness in Discourse |
| Of Idle Books |
| Of Violence and Eagerness |
| That Sufferance Causeth Love |
| Of Detraction |
| Of Poets and Poetry |
| Of Wisdom and Science |
| That Man Ought to Be Extensively Good |
| Of Judging Charitably |
| That a Wise Man May Gain by Any Company |
| Of Suspicion |
| Of Fear and Cowardice |
| Of Ill Company |
| Of the Temper of Affections |
| That Religion Is the Best Guide |
| Of the Soul |
| A Friend and Enemy,—When Most Dangerous |
| Of Preaching |
| On Man’s Self |
| On Insult |
François Fénelon.
1651–1715. | Biography and Characterization |
| Memorabilia of Diogenes |
| Reason the Same in All Men, of All Ages and Countries |
| Wonders of the Memory and Brain |
| The Ideas of the Mind Are Universal, Eternal, and Immutable |
| Weakness of Man’s Mind |
Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
1762–1814. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Blessedness of True Life |
| The Glory and Beauty of the Supernatural |
| The Destiny of Man |
Henry Fielding.
1707–1754. | Biography and Characterization |
| On Reading for Amusement |
| The Art of Conversation |
Kuno Fischer.
1824–1907. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Central Problem of the World’s Life |
Camille Flammarion.
1842–1925. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Revelations of Night |
| The Wonders of the Heavens |
Antonio Fogazzaro.
1842–1911. | Biography and Characterization |
| For the Beauty of an Ideal |
John Foster.
1770–1843. | Biography and Characterization |
| Decision of Character |
| On a Man’s Writing Memoirs of Himself |
Charles Fourier.
1772–1837. | Biography and Characterization |
| Spoliation of the Social Body |
| Decline of the Civilized Order |
Benjamin Franklin.
1706–1790. | Biography and Characterization |
| On Early Marriages |
| Poor Richard’s Philosophy |
| Observations on War |
| Necessary Hints to Those That Would Be Rich |
| The Way to Make Money Plenty in Every Man’s Pocket |
| The Whistle |
| The Morals of Chess |
| The Ephemera—An Emblem of Human Life |
Edward Augustus Freeman.
1823–1892. | Biography and Characterization |
| How to Grow Great Men |
Gustav Freytag.
1816–1895. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Devil’s Doings in the Middle Ages |
Friedrich Fröbel.
1782–1852. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Family and the School |
| What Shall Be Taught in the Schools? |
James Anthony Froude.
1818–1894. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Science of History |
Thomas Fuller.
1608–1661. | Biography and Characterization |
| The True Gentleman |
| The Virtuous Lady |
| Of Marriage |
| The Good Wife |
| The Good Husband |
| The Good Child |
| Of Jesting |
| Of Memory |
| Of Natural Fools |
| The Good Advocate |
| The Common Barrator |
| Of Anger |
| Of Self-Praising |
| Of Apparel |
| Miserere |
| All for the Present |
| Courtesy Gaineth |
| Preparative |
| The Wrong Side of the Arras |
| Charity, Charity |
| The Harvest of a Large Heart |
| “Upwards, Upwards” |
| “Beware, Wanton Wit” |
| Ill Done, Undone |
| Music and Musicians |
Francis Galton.
1822–1911. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Mind as a Picture Maker |
James Abram Garfield.
1831–1881. | Biography and Characterization |
| Ancient Languages and Modern Pedantry |
John Gay.
1685–1732. | Biography and Characterization |
| Genius and Clothes |
Aulus Gellius.
Second Century A.D. | Biography and Characterization |
| A Rule for Husbands |
| The Reply of Chrysippus to Those Who Denied a Providence |
| Three Reasons Assigned by Philosophers for the Punishment of Crimes |
| He Who Has Much Must Necessarily Want Much |
| The Reason Democritus Deprived Himself of Sight |
| On the Abuses of False Philosophy |
| They Are Mistaken Who Commit Sins with the Hope of Remaining Concealed |
| Sentiment of the Philosopher Panætius |
Georg Gottfried Gervinus.
1805–1871. | Biography and Characterization |
| Shakespeare’s Love Plays |
Edward Gibbon.
1737–1794. | Biography and Characterization |
| On the Study of Literature |
Giraldus Cambrensis.
1146?–1223?. | Biography and Characterization |
| On the Beneficial Effects of Music |
William Ewart Gladstone.
1809–1898. | Biography and Characterization |
| Macaulay as an Essayist and Historian |
William Godwin.
1756–1836. | Biography and Characterization |
| Political Justice and Individual Growth |
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
1749–1832. | Biography and Characterization |
| Upon the Laocoon |
| The Progress of Art |
| “The Most Extraordinary and Wonderful of All Writers” |
| Wilhelm Meister on Hamlet |
| Growth by Exchange of Ideas |
| Life as an Apprenticeship |
| The Vicar of Wakefield |
Oliver Goldsmith.
1730?–1774. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Sagacity of Some Insects |
| A Chinese View of London |
| The Fall of the Kingdom of Lao |
| In Westminster Abbey |
| Liberty in England |
| The Love of “Freaks” |
| Objects of Pity as a Diet |
| The Worship of Pinchbeck Heroes |
| Whang and His Dream of Diamonds |
| The Love of Quack Medicines |
| Prefaces to “The Beauties of English Poetry” |
| Happiness and Good-Nature |
| Night in the City |
Edmund Gosse.
1849–1928. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Tyranny of the Novel |
Sarah Grand.
1854–1943. | Biography and Characterization |
| Marriage as a Temporary Arrangement |
Horace Greeley.
1811–1872. | Biography and Characterization |
| Newspapers and Their Influence |
| In the Yosemite Valley |
John Richard Green.
1837–1883. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Character of Queen Elizabeth |
| Cromwell and His Men |
Rufus Wilmot Griswold.
1815–1857. | Biography and Characterization |
| Roger Williams and His Controversies |
| William Penn and John Locke |
| Epitaphs and Anagrams of the Puritans |
George Grote.
1794–1871. | Biography and Characterization |
| Byron and the Growth of History from Myth |
Hugo Grotius.
1583–1645. | Biography and Characterization |
| What Is Law? |
| Restraints Respecting Conquest |
François Guizot.
1787–1874. | Biography and Characterization |
| Characteristics of European Civilization |
Matthew Hale.
1609–1676. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Principles of a Happy Life |
Henry Hallam.
1777–1859. | Biography and Characterization |
| The First Books Printed in Europe |
| Poets Who Made Shakespeare Possible |
Philip Gilbert Hamerton.
1834–1894. | Biography and Characterization |
| Women and Marriage |
| To a Lady of High Culture |
Alexander Hamilton.
1757–1804. | Biography and Characterization |
| On War between the States of the Union |
| Julius Charles and Augustus William Hare. | Biography and Characterization |
| That It Is Better to Laugh Than to Cry |
James Harrington.
1611–1677. | Biography and Characterization |
| Of a Free State |
| The Principles of Government |
Frederic Harrison.
1831–1923. | Biography and Characterization |
| On the Choice of Books |
John Hawkesworth.
c. 1715–1773. | Biography and Characterization |
| On Gossip and Tattling |
Nathaniel Hawthorne.
1804–1864. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Hall of Fantasy |
| A Rill from the Town Pump |
William Hazlitt.
1778–1830. | Biography and Characterization |
| On the Periodical Essayists |
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
1770–1831. | Biography and Characterization |
| History as the Manifestation of Spirit |
| The Relation of Individuals to the World’s History |
| Law and Liberty |
| Religion, Art, and Philosophy |
Heinrich Heine.
1797–1856. | Biography and Characterization |
| Dialogue on the Thames |
| His View of Goethe |
| Napoleon |
Hermann von Helmholtz.
1821–1894. | Biography and Characterization |
| Universities, English, French, and German |
Sir Arthur Helps.
1813–1875. | Biography and Characterization |
| On the Art of Living with Others |
| Greatness |
| How History Should Be Read |
Johann Gottfried Herder.
1744–1803. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Sublimity of Primitive Poetry |
| Marriage as the Highest Friendship |
John F. W. Herschel.
1792–1871. | Biography and Characterization |
| Science as a Civilizer |
| The Taste for Reading |
Karl Hillebrand.
1829–1884. | Biography and Characterizations |
| Goethe’s View of Art and Nature |
Thomas Hobbes.
1588–1679. | Biography and Characterization |
| “The Desire and Will to Hurt” |
| Brutality in Human Nature |
Oliver Wendell Holmes.
1809–1894. | Biography and Characterization |
| My First Walk with the Schoolmistress |
| Extracts from My Private Journal |
| My Last Walk with the Schoolmistress |
| On Dandies |
| On “Chryso-Aristocracy” |
Thomas Hood.
1799–1845. | Biography and Characterization |
| An Undertaker |
| The Morning Call |
Theodore Edward Hook.
1788–1841. | Biography and Characterization |
| On Certain Atrocities of Humor |
Richard Hooker.
1554–1600. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Law Which Angels Do Work By |
| Education as a Development of the Soul |
John Hughes.
1677–1720. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Wonderful Nature of Excellent Minds |
Victor Hugo.
1802–1885. | Biography and Characterization |
| The End of Talleyrand’s Brain |
| The Death of Balzac |
| A Retrospect |
| Waterloo—“Quot Libras in Duce” |
Alexander von Humboldt.
1769–1859. | Biography and Characterization |
| Man |
David Hume.
1711–1776. | Biography and Characterization |
| Of the Dignity or Meanness of Human Nature |
| Of the First Principles of Government |
| Of Interest |
Leigh Hunt.
1784–1859. | Biography and Characterization |
| “The Wittiest of English Poets” |
| Charles Lamb |
| Light and Color |
| Petrarch and Laura |
| Moral and Personal Courage |
Thomas Henry Huxley.
1825–1895. | Biography and Characterization |
| On the Method of Zadig |
John James Ingalls.
1833–1900. | Biography and Characterization |
| Blue Grass |
Washington Irving.
1783–1859. | Biography and Characterization |
| The Hall |
| The Busy Man |
| Gentility |
| Fortune Telling |
| Love Charms |
| The Broken Heart |
Stratford-on-Avon
|
