Harvard Classics

Introductory note on Shakespeare's Sonnets (Wikipedia)

The most concentrated beauty of Shakespeare's unbounded creative genius is found in his sonnets. Written as personal messages to friends and not intended for publication, they reveal the inner Shakespeare more truly than do any of his great plays. (Volume 40, Harvard Classics)

Sonnets entered in the London Stationers' Register, May 20, 1609.

Introductory note on Epictetus (Volume 2, Harvard Classics)

When a man is invited to a banquet he must be satisfied with the dishes put before him. Epictetus reasoned that man should be content with what life offers, and in serenity find happiness. (Volume 2, Harvard Classics)

Introductory note on Hans Christian Andersen (Volume 17, Harvard Classics)

Flowers often tire of their stationary life and sometimes at night frolic away to a ball in a beautiful castle. Thus a fanciful story-teller accounts for their drooping condition in the morning. (Volume 17, Harvard Classics)

Introductory note on Socrates and Plato (Volume 2, Harvard Classics)

Condemned for impiety, Socrates felt so justified in the virtue of his past action that instead of receiving a death sentence, he told the judges he should be maintained at public expense as a public benefactor. (Volume 2, Harvard Classics)

Introductory note on Ernest Renan (Volume 32, Harvard Classics)

Chessboards on which, of their own accord, black pieces played against white; chariots that swiftly turned hither and yon without a driver; pots in which a coward's meat would not cook --- all these are woven into bewitching stories. (Volume 32, Harvard Classics)