Books published by Cosimo Classics

In the passage which I have just quoted from chap. xxxi. of ECCLESIASTICUS, it is said, that 'wine, measurably taken, and in season,' is a proper thing. This, and other such passages of the Old Testament, have given a handle to drunkards, and to extravagant people, to insist, that God intended that wine should be commonly drunk. No doubt of that. But, then, he could intend this only in countries in which he had given wine, and to which he had given no cheaper drink except water. If it be said, as it truly may, that, by the means of the sea and the winds, he has given wine to all countries, I answer that this gift is of no use to us now, because our government steps in between the sea and the winds and us.-from Advice to Young MenSon of an innkeeper, former soldier, champion of the working class, early anticorporate activist, and member of Parliament-William Cobbett experienced life to its fullest, and in this 1829 work, he shares the wisdom of his years with the youngsters of Britain. His advice encompasses:. why it's best to be civil but never servile. why education should be "by no means... despised". why a young man should not sport with the affections of a young woman. why it's best to avoid buying anything on credit. why it may be wise not to introduce servants into your household. why it's necessary to cure the vices of wives as soon as possible. why a father should strenuously oppose the smallpox vaccine for his children. why book-reading is wholly detrimental to young women. and much more.This quaint and charming lost classic will amuse readers young and old alike.Also available from Cosimo Classics: Cobbett's Rural Rides, Volumes 1 and 2.British journalist and radical WILLIAM COBBETT (1762-1835) published the weekly newsletter Political Register and is also the author of The Progress of a Ploughboy to a Seat in Parliament (1830).

Of public diversions they have but one sort, and in all their meetings the same is still exhibited. Young men, such as make it their pastime, fling themselves naked and dance amongst sharp swords and the deadly points of javelins. From habit they acquire their skill, and from their skill a graceful manner; yet from hence drawn no gain or hire: though this adventurous gaiety has its reward, namely, that of pleasing the spectators.-from "Germany," by TacitusThe preeminent American educator of the 19th century, CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926) believed that a sound liberal education could be achieved not through textbooks but by exploring firsthand the great books and great ideas of Western civilization. (Eliot knew a good education when he saw one: during his time as president of Harvard University, from 1869 till 1909, he transformed the school from a regional college to the preeminent educational institution in the United States.)In this 1909 collection-part of his 50-volume Harvard Classics, his dream library at the foundation of enlightened scholarship-Eliot gathers essential writings of ethnography and exploration. In their own voices, hear:. Herodotus, "the father of story-tellers," on the gods of ancient Egypt. Tacitus, in the "front rank" of ancient historians, on the Teutonic tribes of the Roman era. Sir Francis Drake, "the greatest of the naval adventurers of England of the time of Elizabeth," relates his historic 16th-century journey around the Straits of Magellan. Sir Walter Raleigh, "courtier and statesman, soldier and sailor, scientist and man of letters," tells of his 1594 discovery of Guiana. and others.

[T]he history of evolution in America... has been from the cosmic to the organic, has passed through the logical phases from supernatural election to natural selection.-from "The Forerunners of Evolutionism"From his perch at the beginning of the enlightened and scientific 20th century, Woodbridge Riley surveys the history of intellectualism in America. First published in 1915 and still delightfully informative, included is a comprehensive overview of philosophical movements in the United States:· Puritanism (of the early colonials)· Early Idealism (of Samuel Johnson and Jonathan Edwards)· Deism (of Franklin and Jefferson)· Materialism (and the influence of the French)· Realism (and the influence of the Scottish)· Transcendentalism (of Emerson, et. al.)· Evolutionism (of John Fiske and James Mark Baldwin)· Modern Idealism (and the influence of the Germans)· Pragmatism (of John Dewey and William James)· Modern Realism (of the scientific 20th century)From how we as a would-be nation conceived of God's place in politics before the Revolution to how we think about modern art and modern science, this is an invigorating read.American scholar WOODBRIDGE RILEY (1869-1933) was professor of philosophy at Vassar College and lecturer at the Sorbonne. He is also the author of The Founder of Mormonism (1903), and was a contributor to the four-volume Cambridge History of English Literature (1917-1921).