Dintre toate scrierile Svetlanei Aleksievici, Ultimii martori este cea mai sf??ietoare. C?ci ce poate fi mai cumplit dec?t copil?ria ?n timp de r?zboi, mai tragic dec?t inocen?a supus? violen?ei ?i anihil?rii? Personajele acestei c?r?i, b?ie?i ?i fete, aveau, ?n perioada celui de al Doilea R?zboi Mondial – conflictul poate cel mai inuman din istorie –, ?ntre trei ?i doisprezece ani, dar r?nile c?p?tate atunci le s?ngereaz? p?n? ?n ziua de azi. ?i totu?i, ?n pofida suferin?elor descrise, textul dob?nde?te o extraordinar? for?? evocatoare pentru c? reu?e?te s? reconstituie poezia inerent? v?rstei copil?riei. Tulbur?tor prin ?nc?rc?tura sa de adev?r ?i r?v??itor suflete?te, Ultimii martori ne schimb? perspectiva asupra istoriei, a r?zboiului, a copil?riei ?i a vie?ii.

Boris Johnson exploreaz?, ?n paginile acestui volum, din ce anume este constituit ?factorul Churchill“ – acea inteligen?? unic? a unuia dintre cei mai importan?i lideri ai secolului XX. Demont?nd miturile ?i prejudec??ile care au d?inuit al?turi de realitate, Johnson realizeaz? – cu inteligen?a ?i pasiunea caracteristice – portretul unui om al contradic?iilor, al curajului contagios, ?nzestrat cu o elocin?? uimitoare ?i cu o putere inegalabil? de a croi strategii. Curajos pe c?mpul de lupt?, Churchill a trebuit s? primeasc? ordin de la rege pentru a sta departe de focul b?t?liei ?n Ziua Z; a fost de acord cu bombardamentele strategice la scar? extins?, cu toate c? ura distrugerile produse de r?zboi ?i ?i dispre?uia pe politicienii care nu ?i tr?iser? ororile. A fost un jurnalist apreciat, un mare orator ?i a c??tigat Premiul Nobel pentru Literatur?. A fost faimos pentru capacitatea de a combina serile de dineuri oficiale cu nop?ile ?n care lua decizii cruciale pentru soarta r?zboiului. Viziunea sa progresist? asupra lumii l-a f?cut un pionier ?n dezvoltarea sistemului public de s?n?tate, de educa?ie ?i de asisten?? social?, de?i a r?mas un adept incorigibil al incorectitudinii politice. Factorul Churchill nu este o carte doar pe gustul pasiona?ilor de istorie. Este o lectur? esen?ial? pentru to?i cei care doresc s? afle din ce material anume e f?cut un mare lider.

Pe 1 mai 1915, c?nd Primul R?zboi Mondial intra ?n cea de a zecea sa lun?, un transoceanic de linie luxos, la fel de bogat decorat ca un conac englezesc de ?ar?, pleca din New York cu destina?ia Liverpool, av?nd la bord un num?r record de copii. ?n r?ndurile pasagerilor domnea o surprinz?toare stare de bun? dispozi?ie, de?i Germania declarase c? apele din jurul Marii Britanii constituiau o zon? de r?zboi. Luni de zile, submarinele germane sem?naser? teroarea ?n Atlanticul de Nord. Dar Lusitania era unul dintre marile transatlantice ale epocii, cel mai rapid vapor de linie aflat ?n serviciu, iar c?pitanul ei, William Thomas Turner, avea o ?ncredere de nestr?mutat ?n regulile stricte ale r?zboiului purtat de gentlemani, care feriser?, vreme de un secol, vasele civile de orice atac. Este o poveste pe care mul?i dintre noi cred c? o cunosc, f?r? a o ?ti cu adev?rat, iar Erik Larson ne-o readuce ?n aten?ie plin? de suspans, schimb?nd rolurile ?ntre v?n?tor ?i v?nat, ?n timp ce descrie un tablou mai general al Americii la apogeul Erei Progresului. Plin? de str?lucire ?i de emo?ie, Siajul mor?ii aduce la via?? o distribu?ie de personaje evocatoare, de la faimosul librar din Boston Charles Lauriat, la pioniera din domeniul arhitecturii Theodate Pope ?i la pre?edintele Woodrow Wilson, un om sufocat de suferin?? ?i ?ngrozit de perspectiva unui r?zboi mondial. Siajul mor?ii surprinde drama pur? ?i puterea emo?ional? a unui dezastru ale c?rui detalii intime ?i ?n?eles real riscau s? r?m?n? pierdute ?n negurile istoriei.

Part 1: Logic (Organon) Categories, translated by E. M. Edghill On Interpretation, translated by E. M. Edghill Prior Analytics (2 Books), translated by A. J. Jenkinson Posterior Analytics (2 Books), translated by G. R. G. Mure Topics (8 Books), translated by W. A. Pickard-Cambridge Sophistical Refutations, translated by W. A. Pickard-Cambridge Part 2: Universal Physics Physics (8 Books), translated by R. P. Hardie and R. K. Gaye On the Heavens (4 Books), translated by J. L. Stocks On Gerneration and Corruption (2 Books), translated by H. H. Joachim Meteorology (4 Books), translated by E. W. Webster Part 3: Human Physics On the Soul (3 Books), translated by J. A. Smith On Sense and the Sensible, translated by J. I. Beare On Memory and Reminiscence, translated by J. I. Beare On Sleep and Sleeplessness, translated by J. I. Beare On Dreams, translated by J. I. Beare On Prophesying by Dreams, translated by J. I. Beare On Longevity and Shortness of Life, translated by G. R. T. Ross On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration, translated by G. R. T. Ross Part 4: Animal Physics The History of Animals (9 Books), translated by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson On the Parts of Animals (4 Books), translated by William Ogle On the Motion of Animals, translated by A. S. L. Farquharson On the Gait of Animals, translated by A. S. L. Farquharson On the Generation of Animals (5 Books), translated by Arthur Platt Part 5: Metaphysics (15 Books), translated by W. D. Ross Part 6: Ethics and Politics Nicomachean Ethics (10 Books), translated by W. D. Ross Politics (8 Books), translated by Benjamin Jowett The Athenian Constitution, translated by Sir Frederic G. Kenyon Part 7: Aesthetic Writings Rhetoric (3 Books), translated by W. Rhys Roberts Poetics, translated by S. H. Butcher

O nuan autobiografic, perfect ntemeiat, irizeaz concepia lui Breban de la acest nivel, miza mare a ideii fiind aceea de a demonstra – ceea ce romancierul a mai fcut… – c generaia din care face el nsui parte (Nichita Stnescu, Matei Clinescu etc.) a transformat literatura ntr-un asemenea mediu germinativ de excelene, prin intermediul promovrii esteticului ca replic alternativ sublim la grotescul ideologic din jur. Trebuie s recunoatem c Breban rmne seniorial i impecabil de fiecare dat cnd enun aceast dihotomie: de pild, nu trebuie uitat faptul c Istoria dramatic a prezentului s-a zamislit cnd mpotriva autorului se trgea cu tunul, pe motivul orchestratei acuze de colaborare cu Securitatea. Nici un raspuns n volum, nimic insidios, revanard sau resentimentar: doar idei i fapte, nu psihologie. Jos plria!“ (tefan Borbély)Numai cultura, carevaszica, ne poate lecui de aceast nesiguran identitar i numai ea poate nnobila istoria noastr de care, s-a putut constata, prozatorul maramureean nu-i mulumit… Face i alte profeii, atunci cnd n capitolul final vorbete despre specificul naional, dar despre toate acestea vom putea discuta cu alt prilej. Este o tem pe care noi, romnii, o aducem mereu n discuie fie pentru a o sataniza, fie pentru a o apra. Observ c N. Breban n-o respinge, de plano, cum fac globalitii, nici n-o smintete cu un discurs encomiastic, cum fac localitii. El procedeaz corect, aa cum procedeaz orice intelectual lucid i responsabil, adic analizeaz un concept (un concept esenial) i ncearc s-i vad viitorul… Este trist, i are de ce, cnd se gndete la lumea politic de azi i la retorica resentimentului i a rzbunrii care domin lumea intelectual… S mai spun c are i n acest caz dreptate, c dup douzeci de ani de libertate intelectualii romni, cu precdere scriitorii (ei, care s-au inut bine sub regimul totalitar), se detest cu o grea sinceritate mi amintesc de o propoziie din Eminescu (reproduc din memorie): Nu eti liber, dac nu eti drept. Se poate spune i invers: Nu eti drept, dac nu eti liber. Liber, n cazul oamenilor de litere, de prejudeci, de complexe i idiosincrazii, de eecurile i vexaiunile pe care i le-a provocat istoria i pe care spiritul nu poate s le stpneasc.“ (Eugen Simion)

Lucrarea aduce in dezbaterile istoricilor si economistilor evolutia economica si politica a Romaniei in perioada 1859-1900, marcand o contributie insemnata in acest domeniu destul de putin studiat, analizat si dezbatut.Tema centrala a lucrarii o constituie necesitatea crearii unei industrii romanesti inca de la inceputul secolului al XIX-lea, pledand in favoarea protectionismului, a independentei capitalurilor si a mainii de lucru calificata.De asemenea, autorul analizeaza dezbaterile care au avut loc in epoca pe tema industrializarii si protectionismului intre cele doua partide mari existente in a doua jumatate a secolului XIX: Conservator si Liberal, precum si cele dintre economistii de conceptie din acea vreme: D.P. Martian, I. Ghica, Ionica Tautu, P.S. Aurelian.

The work represents a synthesis published and printed in two volumes (the 1st volume in 2002, the second one, in 2004) under the aegis of Mica Valahie Publishing House in Bucharest. Being elaborated on the basis of some documents discovered in the Romanian and foreign archives, the two volumes cover the period up to 1929 in the first volume and the period from 1929 to 2005 in the second one. The paper reveals the role and place of Romanian oil in the evolution of the national and worldwide history, especially during the World War between 1939 and 1945 and in the development of the so-called “cold war”. The book insists upon the prospects of the specific “black gold” evolution.In the addendum there are to be found some interesting documents and the complete bibliography of oil.

Rejtély, amelyet másfél száz éve próbálnak írók, irodalomt?rténészek, színházi szakemberek, esztéták, filozófusok megfejteni. Mese? ?rgirus királyfi és Tündér Ilona csodásan valószer?tlen t?rténete számtalan változatban létezik a magyar népmesekincsben, s olasz k?zvetít? forrásokon át g?r?g, s?t egyiptomi gy?kerekig nyúlik vissza az aranyalmát term? fa s a két szerelmes t?rténete. Szerelmi románc? Nem fontos a kor, a táj, a t?rténelmi háttér, csak az érzelmeiben egymásba gabalyodott két ember – itt és most: Csongor és Tünde – lángolása, viharzása, minden eléjük tornyosuló akadályt leromboló akarása, szerelmi szárnyalása. Színdarab? Karakteres, jó szerepek – ?rd?g?k, boszorkányok, b?lcsek, ledérek – forgataga zegzugos cselekmény, váratlan fordulatok, lehet?ség mindenféle színpadi csoda semmi nem korlátozva megvalósítására: sok alakra bomló, egy személybe olvadó boszorkány, leveg?ben r?pk?d?, láthatatlanná váló ?rd?gfiak, f?ld mélyér?l szemünk láttára kiemelked?, fényárban úszó tündérpalota. Minden pillanatban tátva maradhat a szánk. Filozófiai traktátus? ?letutak: Kalmáré a kincs, Fejedelemé a hatalom, Tudósé a b?lcsesség; Csongoré a szerelem. A kincs elpereg, a hatalom elkopik, a tudás semmivé porlad. A szerelem ?r?k. Drámai k?ltemény? ?jfélt?l éjfélig élünk: hajnalodik, felragyog az ég, dél van, alkonyodik, beesteledik, már f?lénk borul az éjszaka. Reményekkel telten, harcra készen kezdjük hajnalban, küszk?dünk reggel, boldogok vagyunk délben, szorongunk alkonyatkor, s?tétedéskor belenyugszunk az elmúlásba. De másnap újra f?lkel a nap. V?r?smarty Mihály 1830-ban fejezte be m?vét, a cím alá azt írta: színjáték ?t felvonásban. Már csak boldogan sajgó, rejtve rejtett szomorú emlék szívében reménytelen szerelme, Perczel Etelka. Mindennapi életében legf?képpen arra büszke, hogy sok kínnal keletkezett nagy m?vét, a Zalán futását a várva várt nemzeti eposzként ünneplik. Tagja az éppen szület? Magyar Tudományos Akadémiának, a legismertebb, legfontosabb szépirodalmi és m?vészeti lapok ?dolgozótársa”, szívét melenget? jóérzés: Széchenyi István a barátja. Igaz, a pénztárcája t?bbnyire lapos, gyakran kínosan lapos, de ismert és népszer? ember. Harminc éves. Férfi. Kincse nincs, hatalomra nem vágyik, a tudásról azt gondolja: valójában senki nem tudja, mennyit ér s mire jó. De Csongor boldog, amikor megpillantja Tündét, boldog, amikor át?leli, boldog, amikor elveszíti, mert hiszi, tudja: nem ?r?kre veszítette el. Küzd, harcol, verekszik: keresi a boldogságot. S boldog, amikor embert próbáló kalandok után végre megtalálja Tündét, s f?ldi létükben ?r?kre ?sszeforrnak. Csongor és Tünde számára a szerelem a kincs, a hatalom, a tudás. El nem veszíthet? kincs, ?r?kre er?t adó hatalom, b?lcsességgé párlódott tudás. ?gy lesznek halandók halhatatlanok. ?s másnap újra f?lkel a nap.

Fire?te c?, de la schimbarea de paradigm? numit? apari?ia genurilor rock ?i folk (precedate de jazz, dar mai cu seam? de blues... ?i ?n m?sur? cov?r?itoare de explozia beat!), ?n Rom?nia comunist? (?ncerc?nd mereu s? fie sincron? cu voga occidental?), lucrurile n-au fost tocmai roz. Unii chiar se bat ?n piept c? de la ei ?ncoace se poate vorbi de...; al?ii (implica?i direct) sunt sc?rbi?i de ceea ce se ?nt?mpl?, mai cu seam? ?n lipsa unei istorii oficiale ?i documentate, ?i ??i v?d de treab?. ?n era net/Wikipedia, oricine se poate da ?n stamb?, se poate lua la tr?nt? (sub pav?za anonimatului, implicit a nesim?irii) cu orice; cum anticipa parc? Andy Warhol, a venit vremea ?n care oricine va fi fost vedet? 15 minute.Dar au existat ?i vedete reale, grei ai genurilor a?a-zis u?oare, mon?tri sacri! Celor acum ?n umbr? (cite?te underground) le este dedicat acest volum. M?rturii orale puse cap la cap despre aceia care au trecut ?i – iat? – se ?ntorc ?n Clubul Arhitecturii. Dac? un Cenaclu ?Flac?ra“, la ?nceput genial ?n scopuri, a fost mai apoi r?st?lm?cit ideologic ?i impus aproape cu for?a p?n? la implozie, clubul – recte pivni?a – din strada Bl?nari nr. 14 a rezistat peste decenii intrinsec; pe temelia solidificat? de la o zi la alta, de la un artist la altul, de la o bere la alta... Din student ?n student (dar nu numai prin ei), ?tafeta a tot fost preluat? de genera?iile care s-au perindat, iar ast?zi ne-am trezit cu o ?ntreag? istorie care apas? pe funda?iile cl?dirii vechi..., dar f?r? bulin? ro?ie! Nu, Club A nu va c?dea, a?a cum va exista ?n continuare ?i Casa Studen?ilor din Bucure?ti (ca ?i cele din Timi?oara, Ia?i, Cluj...), ?i Radioul, ?i Televiziunea, ?i Electrecordul...Din cuprins: Amintiri ? Clubul de pariuri muzicale sau Cu... v?nt ?nainte... din pupa! ? A fost o dat?... din 1969 ? Primul Festival Na?ional de Muzic? Pop ?Club A“ (16–22 decembrie 1969) ? Ro?u ?i Negru ? Romanticii ? Chromatic Grup ? Sideral (Modal Quartet) ? Olympic ‘64 ? Phoenix ? Coral... ?i Adrian Ivani?chi ? Al doilea Festival Na?ional de Muzic? Pop ?Club A“ (10–17 mai 1971) ? Modern Grup ? Metronom ? Mondial ? Timi?oara, la vest de Rom?nia ? Carusel ? Post-scriptum la al doilea festival ? Folk ?n Club A ? Mihai Munteanu ?Michone“ ? Dorin Liviu Zaharia ?Chubby“ ? Mircea ?Ciocu“ Vintil? ? Florian ?Mo?u“ Pitti? ? Doru St?nculescu ? Sorin Minghiat ? Dan Oprina ?i Mircea Valeriu Popa ? Nicu Vladimir ? Marcela Saftiuc ? Adriana Ausch ? Anda C?lug?reanu ? Zoia Alecu ? Catena ? FFN ? Valeriu Sterian (?i Compania de Sunet) ? Mircea Bodolan ? Curtea Veche nr. 43 ? Al treilea Festival ?Club A“ (5–8 iunie 1979) ? Metropol ? Academica ? Experimental Q ? Modal Q ? Mircea Florian (din Transilvania) ? Al patrulea Festival ?Club A“ (16–19 martie 1981) ? Dan Andrei Aldea ?i Sfinx ? Pro Musica ? Accent ? Redivivus ? Basorelief ? Gramophon/Post Scriptum ?i... Mircea Baniciu ? Semnal M ? Sorin Chifiriuc ?i Domino/Roata ? Grup ‘74 ? Club A – 15 ani (12–17 martie 1984) ? Nicu Alifantis ? Iris ? Liviu Tudan & Ro?u ?i Negru ? Al cincilea Festival ?Club A“ (28 februarie–1 martie 1990) ? Compact ? Holograf ? Celelalte Cuvinte ? Gala ?Club A – 30 de ani“ (18 iunie 1999)?/ ?Club A – 34 de ani“ (4 iunie 2003) ? Sfinx (Experience) ? Alexandru Andrie? ? Cargo ? Timpuri Noi ? Sfatul ?b?tr?nilor“ ? Al ?aptelea Festival ?Club A“ (13–18 mai 2011) ? Imagini ?necenzurate“

sszevissza csereberéldik egy ikerpár, lóvátesznek egy felfuvalkodott trtett, tmérdek móka, dal, vidámság szvi át két, nagy nehezen egymásra találó szerelmespár trténetét. Oly' darab ez, amint a kznség szeret, kíván, óhajt – ami nektek kell”, mondta Szász Károly errl a vígjátékról, amelynek már a címe is jókedvre derít.

A Hamlet (1601), talán legismertebb, legt?bbet játszott m?ve Shakespeare-nek. K?zéppontjában az élet kínálta, s mindenkiben f?lmerül? kérdés áll: "Lenni vagy - nem lenni?", és ha lenni - hogyan? Mi az emberi cselekvés végs? határa a vélt vagy valós hiba, netán b?n helyrehozatalához? Egyáltalán van-e igazi létezés, s ha van, az mennyire lehet veszélyes a létez?re? Vívódó, t?preng? alkotás a dráma, miként a f?szerepl? maga. Hamlet késleltetett bosszúját hosszas ?nmarcangoló kérdéselvetések, bizonyságkéresésék el?zik meg. Végül igazságot szolgáltat, de ? is belepusztul. T?rni vagy ellenszegülni? A reneszánsz ember dilemmája ?r?kérvény?! Mert a cselekvés erk?lcsileg legvitathatóbb pontja az emberi élet kioltása. Van-e joga valakinek - ha oka van is - ?lni? K?vetkezmények nélkül semmi sem vállalható, kül?n?sen nem a pusztítás. De van-e joga az embernek vélt vagy valós igaza tudatában nem cselekedni, nem vállalni a tett kockázatát? Mennyire tartozunk felel?sséggel a külvilág és saját lelkiismeretünk el?tt? Hamlet tettével válaszol a kérdésekre, ám az egész dráma nem ad egyértelm? feleletet. Nem is adhat. Remekm?vek; géniuszok és a természet sajátossága a talányosság... Nem beszélve arról, hogy a mindennapok kisebb-nagyobb d?ntéseit mindenkinek magának kell meghoznia.

A meg?zvegyült Szilvai professzornak az a terve, hogy a gyámsága alá tartozó unoka?ccséhez feleségül adja titokban nevelt gyámleányát, Mariskát. A fiú k?zben a professzor tudta nélkül Liliomfi néven vándorszínésznek áll, és meghódítja Mariska szívét. A professzor ellenzi a házasságot, éppen attól a férfit?l félti a lányt, akihez egyébként feleségül szeretné adni. Liliomfi pedig azt hiszi, hogy a nagybátyja hitvesének akarja Mariskát. A h? barát és színésztárs, Szellemfi segít Szilvai megtévesztésében, Liliomfinak adva ki magát. Egy másik - társadalmi kül?nbségek miatti - reménytelennek látszó szerelem (Gyuri, a pincér és Erzsi, a gazdag Kányai fogadós uram lánya) t?rténete ?sszefonódik Liliomfi és Mariska sorsával.

So?ia mea, pe c?te cred, mi-a fost Cinstit?. Poate acum e necinstit?. Te cred om drept… dar nu mi-e dovedit? P?rerea despre ea ?i despre tine. Avea un nume f?r? de ru?ine ?i chipul ei cu al Dianei sem?na. Cum pot s? cred c? s-ar putea schimba Deodat? ?ntr un chip ?ntunecat, Cum este acel cu care-s ?nzestrat? By the world, I think my wife be honest and think she is not; I think that thou art just and think thou art not. I’ll have some proof. Her name, that was as fresh As Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black As mine own face

Antológiánk magyar zsidó t?rténelemr?l szóló tanulmányok gy?jteménye. ?sszeállításunk azonban mind témájában, mind módszertanában kül?nb?zik az eddig megszokott ábrázolástól. A magyar (azaz a t?rténelmi Magyar Királyság területén él?) zsidóságot a t?rténetírók leginkább a modern eszmékhez lelkesen csatlakozó és asszimilációra t?rekv? k?z?sségként ábrázolták, amelyet csupán az antiszemitizmus id?szakos fellángolásai akadályoztak meg végs? céljuk elérésében. Sokszor még az is el?fordult, hogy a magyar zsidókat a legsikeresebben asszimilálódott európai zsidóságként jellemezték, ami már nyilvánvaló túlzás. Valójában a magyar zsidóság sajátos jellege sokkal inkább a jelent?s létszámú ortodox réteg határozott asszimiláció-ellenességéb?l fakadt. Az itt k?tetbe gy?jt?tt ?t tanulmány a magyar ortodoxia t?rténetével, ezzel a mostanáig igen kevés figyelemre méltatott területtel foglalkozik.

Hard Times – For These Times (commonly known as "Hard Times") is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book appraises English society and highlights the social and economic pressures of the times. Hard Times is unusual in several respects. It is by far the shortest of Dickens' novels, barely a quarter of the length of those written immediately before and after it. Also, unlike all but one of his other novels, Hard Times has neither a preface nor illustrations. Moreover, it is his only novel not to have scenes set in London. Instead the story is set in the fictitious Victorian industrial Coketown, a generic Northern English mill-town, in some ways similar to Manchester, though smaller. Coketown may be partially based on 19th-century Preston. One of Dickens's reasons for writing Hard Times was that sales of his weekly periodical, Household Words, were low, and it was hoped the novel's publication in instalments would boost circulation – as indeed proved to be the case. Since publication it has received a mixed response from critics. Critics such as George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Macaulay have mainly focused on Dickens's treatment of trade unions and his post–Industrial Revolution pessimism regarding the divide between capitalist mill owners and undervalued workers during the Victorian era. F. R. Leavis, a great admirer of the book, included it—but not Dickens' work as a whole—as part of his Great Tradition of English novels. ***‘Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to Facts, sir!’ ? ?The scene was a plain, bare, monotonous vault of a school-room, and the speaker’s square forefinger emphasized his observations by underscoring every sentence with a line on the schoolmaster’s sleeve. The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s square wall of a forehead, which had his eyebrows for its base, while his eyes found commodious cellarage in two dark caves, overshadowed by the wall. The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s mouth, which was wide, thin, and hard set. The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s voice, which was inflexible, dry, and dictatorial. The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s hair, which bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface, all covered with knobs, like the crust of a plum pie, as if the head had scarcely warehouse-room for the hard facts stored inside. The speaker’s obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders,—nay, his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp, like a stubborn fact, as it was,—all helped the emphasis. ‘In this life, we want nothing but Facts, sir; nothing but Facts!’The speaker, and the schoolmaster, and the third grown person present, all backed a little, and swept with their eyes the inclined plane of little vessels then and there arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim.

RUINS OF ANCIENT CITIES, WITH GENERAL AND PARTICULAR ACCOUNTS OF THEIR RISE, FALL, AND PRESENT CONDITION. - BY CHARLES BUCKE This Volume contain these cities;Messene, Mycen?, Miletus, Nauplia, Nemea, Nineveh, The Destruction of Sennacherib, Numantia, Olympia, Puteoli, Palmyra (Tadmor), Patr?, Pella, Pergamus, Persepolis, Petra (Wady Mousa), Phigalia, Plat?a, P?stum, Pompeii, Rama, Rome, Saguntum, Hannibal’s Speech to His Soldiers, Sais, Samaria, Sapphura, Sardis, Seleucia, Selinus, Or Selinuntum, Sicyon, Sidon, Smyrna, Spalatro, Stratonice, Susa, Sybaris, Syene, Syracuse, Thebes, Troja, And Other Cities of the Troas, Tyre, Veii Fallen, fallen, a silent heap; their heroes allSunk in their urns:—Behold the pride of pomp,The throne of nations fallen; obscured in dustEven yet majestical.—The solemn sceneElates the soul! ? ?{DYER} The reader is requested to observe, that, though the plan of this work is entirely his own, the compiler of it does not put it forth as in any way original in respect to language or description. It is, in fact, a much better book, than if it had been what is strictly called original, (which, indeed, must have involved an utter impossibility:) for it is a selection of some of the best materials the British Museum could furnish; sometimes worked up in his own language; and sometimes—and, indeed, very frequently—in that of others: the compiler having, at an humble distance and with unequal steps, followed the plan which M. Rollin proposed to himself, when he composed his celebrated history of ancient times.—"To adorn and enrich my own," says that celebrated writer, "I will be so ingenuous as to confess, that I do not scruple, nor am ashamed, to rifle whereever I come; and that I often do not cite the authors from whom I transcribe, because of the liberty I take to make some slight alterations. I have made the best use in my power of the solid reflections that occur in the Bishop of Meaux's Universal History, which is one of the most beautiful and most useful books in our language. I have also received great assistance from the learned Dean Prideaux's 'Connexion of the Old and New Testament,' in which he has traced and cleared up, in an admirable manner, the particulars relating to ancient history. I shall take the same liberty with whatever comes in my way, that may suit my design, and contribute to its perfection. I am very sensible, that it is not so much for a person's reputation to make use of other men's labours, and that it is in a manner renouncing the name and quality of author. But I am not over-fond of that title, and shall be extremely well pleased, and think myself very happy, if I can but deserve the name of a good compiler; and supply my readers with a tolerable history, who will not be over-solicitous to inquire what hand it comes from, provided they are but pleased with it."Having followed this example,—the compiler wishes he could say with equal effect,—he will be fully satisfied, should judicious readers feel inclined to concede, that he has shown some judgment in selecting his materials, and some taste in binding "the beads of the chain," that connects them together. He disclaims, in fact, (as, in the present instance, he is bound to do), all the "divine honours" of authorship; satisfied with those of a selecter, adapter, and compiler; and happy in the hope that he has here, by means of the superior writers, whose labours he has used, furnished his readers with an useful, accurate, and amusing work.? ? ? ? ? C. B.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, written around 1594 to 1596. It portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta, and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.

This Illustrated version of the "A Short History of the world" contains about 300 Illustrated picture, and many historic objects.. THE story of our world is a story that is still very imperfectly known. A couple of hundred years ago men possessed the history of little more than the last three thousand years. What happened before that time was a matter of legend and speculation. Over a large part of the civilized world it was believed and taught that the world had been created suddenly in 4004 B.C., though authorities differed as to whether this had occurred in the spring or autumn of that year. This fantastically precise misconception was based upon a too literal interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, and upon rather arbitrary theological assumptions connected therewith. Such ideas have long since been abandoned by religious teachers, and it is universally recognized that the universe in which we live has to all appearances existed for an enormous period of time and possibly for endless time. Of course there may be deception in these appearances, as a room may be made to seem endless by putting mirrors facing each other at either end. But that the universe in which we live has existed only for six or seven thousand years may be regarded as an altogether exploded idea. "A Short History of the world" by E-Kitap projesi, Illustrated version by Murat Ukray.. Also added "IN the last fifty years there has been much very fine and interesting speculation on the part of scientific men upon the age and origin of our earth. Here we cannot pretend to give even a summary of such speculations because they involve the most subtle mathematical and physical considerations. The truth is that the physical and astronomical sciences are still too undeveloped as yet to make anything of the sort more than an illustrative guesswork. The general tendency has been to make the estimated age of our globe longer and longer. It now seems probable that the earth has had an independent existence as a spinning planet flying round and round the sun for a longer period than 2,000,000,000 years. It may have been much longer than that. This is a length of time that absolutely overpowers the imagination. "

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli ( 1445 – 1510), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He belonged to the Florentine school under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, a movement that Giorgio Vasari would characterize less than a hundred years later as a "golden age", a thought, suitably enough, he expressed at the head of his Vita of Botticelli. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century; since then his work has been seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting. Among his best known works are The Birth of Venus and Primavera. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned Botticelli and other prominent Florentine and Umbrian artists to fresco the walls of the Sistine Chapel. The iconological program was the supremacy of the Papacy. Sandro's contribution included the Temptations of Christ, the Punishment of the Rebels and Trial of Moses. He returned to Florence, and "being of a sophistical turn of mind, he there wrote a commentary on a portion of Dante and illustrated the Inferno which he printed, spending much time over it, and this abstention from work led to serious disorders in his living." Thus Vasari characterized the first printed Dante (1481) with Botticelli's decorations; he could not imagine that the new art of printing might occupy an artist. The masterpieces Primavera (c. 1482) and The Birth of Venus (c. 1485) were both seen by Vasari at the villa of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici at Castello in the mid-16th century, and until recently, it was assumed that both works were painted specifically for the villa. Recent scholarship suggests otherwise: the Primavera was painted for Lorenzo's townhouse in Florence, and The Birth of Venus was commissioned by someone else for a different site. By 1499, both had been installed at Castello. In these works, the influence of Gothic realism is tempered by Botticelli's study of the antique. But if the painterly means may be understood, the subjects themselves remain fascinating for their ambiguity. The complex meanings of these paintings continue to receive widespread scholarly attention, mainly focusing on the poetry and philosophy of humanists who were the artist's contemporaries. The works do not illustrate particular texts; rather, each relies upon several texts for its significance. Of their beauty, characterized by Vasari as exemplifying "grace" and by John Ruskin as possessing linear rhythm, there can be no doubt. In the mid-1480s, Botticelli worked on a major fresco cycle with Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi, for Lorenzo the Magnificent's villa near Volterra; in addition he painted many frescoes in Florentine churches. In 1491 he served on a committee to decide upon a fa?ade for the Cathedral of Florence.

In issuing this second treatise on Crayon Portraiture, Liquid Water Colors and French Crystals, for the use of photographers and amateur artists, I do so with the hope and assurance that all the requirements in the way of instruction for making crayon portraits on photographic enlargements and for finishing photographs in color will be fully met. To these I have added complete instructions for free-hand crayons. This book embodies the results of a studio experience of twenty-four years spent in practical work, in teaching, and in overcoming the everyday difficulties encountered, not alone in my own work, but in that of my pupils as well. Hence the book has been prepared with special reference to the needs of the student. It presents a brief course of precepts, and requires on the part of the pupil only perseverance in order that he may achieve excellence. The mechanical principles are few, and have been laid down in a few words; and, as nearly all students have felt, in the earlier period of their art work, the necessity of some general rules to guide them in the composition and arrangement of color, I have given, without entering into any profound discussion of the subject, a few of its practical precepts, which, it is hoped, will prove helpful. While this book does not treat of art in a very broad way, yet I am convinced that those who follow its teachings will, through the work they accomplish, be soon led to a higher appreciation of art. Although this kind of work does not create, yet who will say that it will not have accomplished much if it shall prove to be the first step that shall lead some student to devote his or her life to the sacred calling of art? It has been said that artists rarely, if ever, write on art, because they have the impression that the public is too ill-informed to understand them—that is, to understand their ordinarily somewhat technical method of expression. If, therefore, in the following pages I may sometimes seem to take more space and time for an explanation than appears necessary, I hope the student will overlook it, as I seek to be thoroughly understood. My hope with reference to this work is that it may prove of actual value to the earnest student in helping him reach the excellence which is the common aim of all true artists. ? ?J. A. Barhydt. About Author: To many who know nothing about the art of crayon portraiture, the mastery of it not only seems very difficult, but almost unattainable. In fact, any work of art of whatever description, which in its execution is beyond the knowledge or comprehension of the spectator, is to him a thing of almost supernatural character. Of course, this is more decided when the subject portrayed carries our thoughts beyond the realms of visible things. But the making of crayon portraits is not within the reach alone of the trained artist who follows it as a profession. I claim that any one who can learn to write can learn to draw, and that any one who can learn to draw can learn to make crayon portraits. Making them over a photograph, that is, an enlargement, is a comparatively simple matter, as it does not require as much knowledge of drawing as do free-hand crayons. But you must not suppose that, because the photographic enlargement gives you the drawing in line and an indistinct impression of the form in light and shade, you are not required to draw at all in making a crayon portrait over such an enlargement. Some knowledge of drawing is necessary, though not a perfect knowledge. Many people err in supposing that only the exceptionally skilled can produce the human features in life-like form upon the crayon paper. While recognizing great differences in natural aptitude for drawing in different persons, just as those who use the pen differ widely in their skill, some being able to write with almost mechanical perfection of form, I still hold that any one who is able to draw at all can succeed in producing creditable crayons.. J. A. Barhydt.

Vasari says, and rightly, in his Life of Leonardo, "that he laboured much more by his word than in fact or by deed", and the biographer evidently had in his mind the numerous works in Manuscript which have been preserved to this day. To us, now, it seems almost inexplicable that these valuable and interesting original texts should have remained so long unpublished, and indeed forgotten. It is certain that during the XVIth and XVIIth centuries their exceptional value was highly appreciated. This is proved not merely by the prices which they commanded, but also by the exceptional interest which has been attached to the change of ownership of merely a few pages of Manuscript. That, notwithstanding this eagerness to possess the Manuscripts, their contents remained a mystery, can only be accounted for by the many and great difficulties attending the task of deciphering them. The handwriting is so peculiar that it requires considerable practice to read even a few detached phrases, much more to solve with any certainty the numerous difficulties of alternative readings, and to master the sense as a connected whole. Vasari observes with reference to Leonardos writing: "he wrote backwards, in rude characters, and with the left hand, so that any one who is not practised in reading them, cannot understand them". The aid of a mirror in reading reversed handwriting appears to me available only for a first experimental reading. Speaking from my own experience, the persistent use of it is too fatiguing and inconvenient to be practically advisable, considering the enormous mass of Manuscripts to be deciphered. And as, after all, Leonardo's handwriting runs backwards just as all Oriental character runs backwards—that is to say from right to left—the difficulty of reading direct from the writing is not insuperable. This obvious peculiarity in the writing is not, however, by any means the only obstacle in the way of mastering the text. Leonardo made use of an orthography peculiar to himself; he had a fashion of amalgamating several short words into one long one, or, again, he would quite arbitrarily divide a long word into two separate halves; added to this there is no punctuation whatever to regulate the division and construction of the sentences, nor are there any accents—and the reader may imagine that such difficulties were almost sufficient to make the task seem a desperate one to a beginner. It is therefore not surprising that the good intentions of some of Leonardo s most reverent admirers should have failed. Leonardo's literary labours in various departments both of Art and of Science were those essentially of an enquirer, hence the analytical method is that which he employs in arguing out his investigations and dissertations. The vast structure of his scientific theories is consequently built up of numerous separate researches, and it is much to be lamented that he should never have collated and arranged them. His love for detailed research—as it seems to me—was the reason that in almost all the Manuscripts, the different paragraphs appear to us to be in utter confusion; on one and the same page, observations on the most dissimilar subjects follow each other without any connection. A page, for instance, will begin with some principles of astronomy, or the motion of the earth; then come the laws of sound, and finally some precepts as to colour. Another page will begin with his investigations on the structure of the intestines, and end with philosophical remarks as to the relations of poetry to painting; and so forth. Leonardo himself lamented this confusion, and for that reason I do not think that the publication of the texts in the order in which they occur in the originals would at all fulfil his intentions. No reader could find his way through such a labyrinth; Leonardo himself could not have done it. ABOUT AUTHOR: Leonardo Da Vinci, Born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy, Leonardo da Vinci was concerned with the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his work as a painter, sculptor, inventor and draftsmen. His ideas and body of work—which includes "Virgin of the Rocks," "The Last Supper," "Leda and the Swan" and "Mona Lisa"—have influenced countless artists and made da Vinci a leading light of the Italian Renaissance.Quotes"Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind."? ? ? ? ? – Leonardo da Vinci Humble Beginnings:Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy. Born out of wedlock, the love child of a respected notary and a young peasant woman, he was raised by his father, and his stepmothers. 'The Last Supper'In 1482, Lorenzo de' Medici, a man from a prominent Italian family, commissioned da Vinci to create a silver lyre and bring it to Ludovico il Moro, the Duke of Milan, as a gesture of peace. Da Vinci did so and then wrote Ludovico a letter describing how his engineering and artistic tal