Oscar Wilde's story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is one of his most popular works. Written in Wilde's characteristically dazzling manner, full of stinging epigrams and shrewd observations, the tale of Dorian Gray's moral disintegration caused something of a scandal when it first appeared in 1890. Wilde was attacked for his decadence and corrupting influence, and a few years later the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde's homosexual liaisons, trials that resulted in his imprisonment. Of the book's value as autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be--in other ages, perhaps."

Lidia Lazu semneaz? o poezie delicat-confesiv?, parcelat? pe momente distincte, cu o structur? de jurnal. De?i termenul structur? e oarecum inadecvat acestei materii de fr?gezimi ce se transcriu ca atare, f?r? grija unei osaturi, a unui tipar ce i-ar st?njeni fluiditatea, evanescent?. Fiin?a respir? neconstr?ns? de nimic, supus? doar clipei, ?nc?nta?iei tranzitoriului. A?tept?rile sale sunt naiv-fabuloase, ?n continuitatea unei copil?rii care nu s-a epuizat, care-?i tr?ie?te intens uimirile, dezvolt?ndu-le fin imaginativ... O atare autoscopie fantezista este rodul unei virtuozit??i a simplit??ii. Coeziunea textului se produce ?n jurul acestei neputin?e de a accepta ordinea pragmatic?, meschin?ria, ?n numele unei candori funciare. La polul opus criticismului luciferic, poeta se d?ruie lumii nu doar prin contempla?ie, ci ?i printr-un soi de automatism existen?ial, l?s?ndu-se ?n voia lui, sublim lipsit? de voin??. Ceea ce e o moral? a extazului. (Gheorghe Grigurcu)

The Code of Hammurabi (Codex Hammurabi) is a well-preserved ancient law code, created ca. 1790 BC (middle chronology) in ancient Babylon. It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. One nearly complete example of the Code survives today, inscribed on a seven foot, four inch tall basalt stele in the Akkadian language in the cuneiform script. One of the first written codes of law in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over eight feet tall (2.4 meters) that was found in 1901.

Intrus n lumea umbrelor“ este un roman de sertar… care a fost scris ntre 1982-1986 i care a zcut ascuns n beci, ntr-o lad cu nisip pentru ptrunjei i morcovi de iarn, din 1986 pn n 1991. Apoi s-a mutat ntr-un sertar al biroului… pn astzi… Aciunea primului volum, CAPCANA“, se petrece n anii 1982 – 1983. Un scriitor aflat n slujba partidului comunist, un autor care semnase pactul cu diavolul“, pact n general negat, dar existent n realitate, care scria cri la comand“, dezerteaz. Un personaj deopotriv curajos i destul de la nct s fi semnat acest pact blestemat, vicios, drept i cinstit n acelai timp, afemeiat i pctos, ncpnat i realist, vntor i braconier, ducnd o via deanat, trit pe muchie de cuit, o via plin de femei i de infideliti conjugale, chefuri, prieteni la fel de vicioi, curajoi, nelinitii i realiti ca i el. Obosit de contiina care nu-l las sa adoarm, se refugiaz la ar, n nordul extrem al rii, ntre pduri i dealuri, pentru a scpa de oameni i de minciun. i descoper prieteni uitai i rude pe care n ultimii ani le ignorase. Dar, cutnd un adevr de care nc nu era contient, i descoper i dumanii. ntr-o goan parc nebun dup regsirea de sine, i rentlnete iubirile pierdute, femei care l-au iubit i pe care el le prsise cutnd mereu altceva, femei pe care le iubise i care l-au prsit, prieteni i dumani care nu l-au uitat, oameni trectori prin viaa sa. Cu incontiena omului brusc trezit la realitate, se las purtat de valul ntmplrii, aflnd adevruri mereu ntrezrite i bnuite, dar tinuite ntr-o lege a tcerii pe care n-o nelege nc. Tenace din fire i venic gata s rite totul pe o carte dintr-o nevoie aproape bolnvicioas de senzaii tari, ncepe s ntrebe, contient c fr ntrebri, nu exist nici rspunsuri. Iar ntrebrile lui trezesc brusc furia stpnilor si comuniti. Ameninrile acestora i ale securitii care, la ordin, i urmrea fiecare micare, trezete n el i curajul neamului din care se trage i care dormise n el n toi aceti ani. ncpnat i ncrncenat, ncepe s afle adevrul despre colectivizarea din nordul ndeprtat, att de apropiat sufletului su. Pas cu pas afl despre crimele, ororile, minciunile i teroarea ce se aflau n spatele mreelor realizri ale partidului cruia i slujea. Afl despre oameni pe care i cunoscuse i care erau altceva dect crezuse el ca sunt. Obosit de atta minciun, se decide sa spun, n sfrit, adevrul. Realizeaz ns c pe nevzute i negndite, czuse n CAPCANA… pentru ca ce altceva este pn la urma adevrul, dect capcana propriei tale contiine! Cnd te hotrti s spui adevrul, nu te poi ocoli pe tine nsui pentru a-l spune doar despre ceilali! Adevrul este doar unul singur, i te include i pe tine i faptele tale… alturi de ceilali i de faptele lor…

KING CHARLES THE SECOND was the son and successor of King Charles the First. These two are the only kings of the name of Charles that have appea-red, thus far, in the line of English sovereigns. Nor is it very probable that there will soon be another. The reigns of both these monarchs were stained and tarnished with many vices and crimes, and darkened by national disasters of every kind, and the name is thus connected with so many painful associations in the minds of men, that it seems to have been dropped, by common consent, in all branches of the royal family.??The reign of Charles the First, as will be seen by the history of his life in this series, was characterized by a long and obstinate contest between the king and the people, which brought on, at last, a civil war, in which the king was defeated and taken prisoner, and in the end beheaded on a block, before one of his own pala-ces. During the last stages of this terrible contest, and before Charles was himself taken prisoner, he was, as it were, a fugitive and an outlaw in his own dominions. His wife and family were scattered in various foreign lands, his cities and castles were in the hands of his enemies, and his oldest son, the prince Charles, was the object of special hostility. The prince incurred, therefore, a great many dangers, and suffered many heavy calamities in his early years. He lived to see these calamities pass away, and, after they were gone, he enjoyed, so far as his own personal safety and welfare were concerned, a tranquil and prosperous life. The storm, however, of trial and suffering which enveloped the evening of his father's days, darkened the morning of his own. ??The life of Charles the First was a river rising gently, from quiet springs, in a scene of verdure and sunshine, and flowing gradually into rugged and gloomy regions, where at last it falls into a terrific abyss, enveloped in darkness and storms. That of Charles the Second, on the other hand, rising in the wild and rugged mountains where the parent stream was engulfed, commences its course by leaping frightfully from precipice to precipice, with turbid and foaming waters, but emerges at last into a smooth and smiling land, and flows through it prosperously to the sea.

HANNIBAL was a Carthaginian general. He acquired his great distinction as a warrior by his desperate contests with the Romans. Rome and Carthage grew up together on opposite sides of the Mediterranean Sea. For about a hundred years they waged against each other most dreadful wars. There were three of these wars. Rome was successful in the end, and Carthage was entirely destroyed.?There was no real cause for any disagreement between these two nations. Their hostility to each other was mere rivalry and spontaneous hate. They spoke a different language; they had a different origin; and they lived on opposite sides of the same sea. So they hated and devoured each other.?Those who have read the history of Alexander the Great, in this series, will recollect the difficulty he experienced in besieging and subduing Tyre, a great maritime city, situated about two miles from the shore, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Cart-hage was originally founded by a colony from this city of Tyre, and it soon became a great commercial and maritime power like its mother. The Carthaginians built ships, and with them explored all parts of the Mediterranean Sea.

THERE were three great European nations in ancient days, each of which furnished history with a hero: the Greeks, the Carthaginians, and the Romans.??Alexander was the hero of the Greeks. He was King of Macedon, a country lying north of Greece proper. He headed an army of his countrymen, and made an excursion for conquest and glory into Asia. He made himself master of all that quarter of the globe, and reigned over it in Babylon, till he brought himself to an early grave by the excesses into which his boundless prosperity allured him. His fame rests on his triumphant success in building up for himself so vast an empire, and the admiration which his career has always excited among mankind is heightened by the consideration of his youth, and of the noble and generous impulses which strongly marked his character.??The ROMAN hero was CAESAR. He was born just one hundred years before the Christian era. His renown does not depend, like that of Alexander, on foreign conquests, nor, like that of Hannibal, on the terrible energy of his aggressions upon foreign foes, but upon his protracted and dreadful contests with, and ultimate triumphs over, his rivals and competitors at home.

O radiografie hermeneutic? a unor c?r?i-eveniment ce au v?zut lumina tiparului ?n perioada postdecembrist?, accentul fiind pus pe autorii interzi?i sub dictatur?, precum ?i pe c?r?ile poe?ilor ce devin, f?r? voia lor, o rara avis ?n societatea de tranzi?ie. Cartea se adreseaz? elevilor, studen?ilor, precum ?i publicului larg de cititori.

Abia atept s ajung… S vd, n sfrsit, New York-ul! Ultima dat cnd mi-a fost fric de moarte… De fapt nu de ea, ci de teroarea i schingiuirea fizic din sistemul nostru aberant! De ce s m-ngrozeasc moartea O simpl prelungire a vieii. O banal fa a imparitii. Moartea! O nedeplin via a singurtii...“ O istorie palpitant despre via i despre moarte.

Cartea e ca o pies? de teatru alc?tuit? din personaje, parantezele autorului, dialoguri, secven?e, scene, acte, cu leg?tura necesar?, intre acestea. ?n treac?t fie spus, critica poate s? ?ntre?in? longevitatea operei, dac? are destul? vigoare ?i dac? opera e de calitate. Sunt vorbe optimiste la vremea Internetului care, deocamdat?, nu de?ine puterea controlului critic ?i nici nu se ?ntrev?d ?anse de aceast? natur?. Tocmai de aceea pericolul dispari?iei c?rt?ii de h?rtie pare anun?area unui cataclism. Noi mai credem ?n ceva. R?m?ne hot?r?t c? interpretarea critic?, pentru a fi c?t mai aproape de text, trebuie s? se asocieze cu "partea estetic?" a demersului, care e scriitura, citatul, descrierea ?i altele. O "conversa?ie", pe c?t posibil neretoric?.

“Star Maker”, regarded as one of the true classics of science fiction, Star Maker is a poetic and deeply philosophical work. The story details the mental journey of an unnamed narrator who is transported not only to other worlds but also other galaxies and parallel universes, until he eventually becomes part of the "cosmic mind." First published in 1937, Olaf Stapledon's descriptions of alien life are a political commentary on human life in the turbulent inter-war years. The book challenges preconceived notions of intelligence and awareness, and ultimately argues for a broadened perspective that would free us from culturally ingrained thought and our inevitable anthropomorphism. This is the first scholarly edition of a book that influenced such writers as C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke and which Jorge Luis Borges called "a prodigious novel."? Some Books of Stapledon: Last and First Men (1930) Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord (1944) Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest (1935) Last Men in London (1932) A Modern Magician (1979) Death into Life (1946) Darkness and the Light (1942) A World of Sound (1936) A Man Divided (1950) The Seed and the Flower (1916)

Tales of Space and Time, A collection of short stories: "The Crystal Egg", "The Star", "A Story of the Stone Age", "A Story of the Days to Come" & "The Man who could Work Miracles" ? Some Books of Wells: The War of the Worlds (1898) The Time Machine (1895) A Modern Utopia (1905) The Invisible Man (1897) The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896) The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904) The Sleeper Awakes (1910) The Story of the Inexperienced Ghost (1902) The First Men in the Moon (1901) A Dream of Armageddon (1901)

“The Blazing World”, is a Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World, better known as The Blazing World, is a 1666 work of prose fiction by English writer Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle. It has been described as an early fore-runner of science fiction.??Here on this Figure Cast a Glance.?But so as if it were by Chance,?Your eyes not fixt, they must not Stay,?Since this like Shadowes to the Day?It only represent's; for Still,?Her Beauty's found beyond the Skill?Of the best Paynter, to Imbrace?These lovely Lines within her face.?View her Soul's Picture, Judgment, witt,?Then read those Lines which Shee hath writt,?By Phancy's Pencill drawne alone?Which Peces but Shee, can justly owne.??To The Duchesse of Newcastle, ?On Her New Blazing-World.??Our Elder World, with all their Skill and Arts,?Could but divide the World into three Parts:?Columbus, then for Navigation fam'd,?Found a new World, America 'tis nam'd;?Now this new World was found, it was not made,?Onely discovered, lying in Time's shade.?Then what are You, having no Chaos found?To make a World, or any such least ground??But your Creating Fancy, thought it fit?To make your World of Nothing, but pure Wit.?Your Blazing-World, beyond the Stars mounts higher,?Enlightens all with a C?lestial Fier.??William Newcastle.

Dinu are 25 de ani, o carier? ?n presa de scandal ?i nemul?umiri pe toate planurile: e convins c? iubita ?l ?n?al?, a scris o carte pe care nu reu?e?te s-o publice, iar jobul s?u, de a scoate senza?ionalul din necazurile altora, nu-i aduce nici o satisfac?ie. ?n loc s?-?i accepte cu demnitate condi?ia de t?n?r intelectual rom?n, e decis s?-?i rezolve toate problemele, ?n doar o s?pt?m?n?. ?ntr-o astfel de situa?ie, de o gravitate medie, c?teva sfaturi ra?ionale ar putea fi exact ce are nevoie. Din p?cate, persoanele din jurul s?u nu se obosesc cu a?a ceva. Luca, prietenul s?u cel mai bun ?i fost coleg de facultate, ?l ?mpinge, de fiecare dat?, spre cea mai simpl? sau imoral? solu?ie. De cealalt? parte, fratele s?u Andrei ?ncearc? s?-l transforme ?ntr-un bun cre?tin, precum ceilal?i membrii ai sectei. Obsesia fa?? de starul hip-hop Ty Julius, impus? de cerin?ele publicului de tabloid, e singurul lucru care reu?e?te s?-i mai st?rneasc? sentimente puternice. Asta p?n? c?nd o ?nt?lne?te pe Simona, care i-ar putea schimba via?a complet, ?n bine, sau ?n r?u, sau poate chiar deloc.

There are, roughly speaking, two distinct types of Scottish Fairy Tales. There are what may be called "Celtic Stories," which were handed down for centuries by word of mouth by professional story-tellers, who went about from clachan to clachan in the "High-lands and Islands," earning a night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment, and which have now been collected and classified for us by Campbell of Isla and others.??These stories, which are also common to the North of Ireland, are wild and fantastic, and very often somewhat monotonous, and their themes are strangely alike. They almost always tell of some hero or heroine who sets out on some dangerous quest, and who is met by giants, generally three in number, who appear one after the other; with whom they hold quaint dialogues, and whom eventually they slay. Most of them are fairly long, and although they have a peculiar fascination of their own, they are quite distinct from the ordinary Fairy Tale.

THE NATURE OF YOGA?In this first discourse we shall concern ourselves with the gaining of a general idea of the subject of Yoga, seeking its place in nature, its own character, its object in human evolution.??THE MEANING OF THE UNIVERSE:?Let us, first of all, ask ourselves, looking at the world around us, what it is that the history of the world signifies. When we read history, what does the history tell us? It seems to be a moving panorama of people and events, but it is really only a dance of shadows; the people are shadows, not realities, the kings and statesmen, the ministers and armies; and the events the battles and revolutions, the rises and falls of states ??are the most shad-owlike dance of all. Even if the historian tries to go deeper, if he deals with economic conditions, with social organisations, with the study of the tendencies of the currents of thought, even then he is in the midst of shadows, the illusory shadows cast by unseen realities. This world is full of forms that are illusory, and the values are all wrong, the proportions are out of focus. The things which a man of the world thinks valuable, a spiritual man must cast aside as worthless. ??The diamonds of the world, with their glare and glitter in the rays of the outside sun, are mere fragments of broken glass to the man of knowledge. The crown of the king, the sceptre of the emperor, the triumph of earthly power, are less than nothing to the man who has had one glimpse of the majesty of the Self. ??What is, then, real? What is truly valuable? Our answer will be very different from the answer given by the man of the world.??"The universe exists for the sake of the Self." Not for what the outer world can give, not for control over the objects of desire, not for the sake even of beauty or pleasure, does the Great Architect plan and build His worlds. He has filled them with objects, beautiful and pleasure-giving. The great arch of the sky above, the mountains with snow-clad peaks, the valleys soft with verdure and fragrant with blossoms, the oceans with their vast depths, their surface now calm as a lake, now tossing in fury, they all exist, not for the objects themselves, but for their value to the Self. Not for themselves because they are anything in themselves but that the purpose of the Self may be served, and His manifestations made possible.

Prin volumul Istorie ?i sacralitate, Const. Miu ne poart? prin lumea cuv?ntului spus ori scris, de la ?nceputuri ?i p?n? ?n prezent. Autorul, ?n acest volum, atrage aten?ia, al?turi de al?i autori dedica?i adev?rului, pe care domnia sa ?i citeaz?, c? lingvi?tii no?tri din motive de ne?n?eles au l?sat a se ?n?elege c? limba rom?n? ar fi una de ?mprumut. Nu putem ?ti ce anume i-a determinat pe ace?tia s? conchid? ?n privin?a unor cuvinte din dic?ionarul limbii rom?ne c? ar avea r?d?cini turcice, slave ori din limba latin?. Se pare c? au uitat c? aceast? limb? este vorbit? pe ?ntreg arealul ??rii, spre deosebire de limba italian?, ce are mai multe dialecte ?i idiomuri care difer? de la o provincie la alta.

Aceste povestiri au fost scrise ?n perioada 2010?2014 ?i publicate, ?n parte, ?n periodice. Le?am numit parabole, av?nd o anumit? inten?ionalitate, ?i am aplicat ?n realizarea lor aceea?i structur? (cvadripartit?) ?i acela?i registru can?titativ (aproximativ o mie de cuvinte).Pe cele din C?l?uzitorul de suflete (cea dint?i sec?iune) le consider europene, ac?iunea lor petrec?ndu?se ?n loca?ii diferite de pe b?tr?nul continent ?i majoritatea ideilor pe care se bazeaz? n?sc?ndu?se ?n timpul unor peregrin?ri (iubirile, c?r?ile, muzica ?i c?l?toriile sunt, dup? umila?mi p?rere, cele mai frumoase lucruri care ni se pot ?nt?mpla ?ntr?o via??). Cu excep?ia primei ?i a ultimei lucr?ri care schi?eaz? un posibil cadru, ordinea povestirilor este alfabetic?. De?i g?ndite ca fantastice, ele au ?i o dimensiune experien?ial?, ?n acela?i timp put?nd fi citite ?i ca poeme ?n proz?: ale ora??elor prin care am trecut, ale oamenilor pe care i?am cunos?cut ?i, desigur, ale sufletului meu, undeva, ?n str?fundurile mele consider?ndu?m?, ca mul?i semeni de?ai mei, oarecum poet… (Ladislau Daradici)

Ca orice construc?ie solid?, ?i un sistem de g?ndire se pl?smuie?te pe structura unor con?cepte fundamentale cu func?ii vitaminizante pentru ?ntreaga desf??urare a g?ndului ?i pen?tru ?nchegarea lui ?ntr?o viziune articulat? ?i complex?, marcat? de cele dou? condi?ii indis?pensabile unui sistem: completitudinea ?i non?contradic?ia. ?i mai preciz?m, chiar cu riscul suspiciunii de banal, c? un sistem de g?ndire articulat nu las? ?i nu trebuie s? lase r?m??i?e sau componente necuprinse ?n ansamblu. C?ci un sistem incomplet, cu resturi sau componen?te r?mase ?n afara ?ntregului ??i pierde carac?teristica de sistem. S? preciz?m totu?i c? vorbim despre sis?tem ?ntr?un loc unde, nu doar c? lipse?te, dar a ?i fost repudiat cu o insisten?? repetat? ?i ?n?d?rjit?. Nu spun c? furia lui Cioran ?mpotriva ideii de sistem filosofic nu??i are ra?iunile ei, spun doar c? chiar acolo unde este t?g?duit?, o anumit? viziune de ansamblu asupra lumii este totu?i implicit?. Nu se poate vorbi despre parte, despre fragment f?r? s? se aib? ?n vede?re imaginea totului ?i felul cum o diviziune este a?ezat? ?n p?ntecul exist?rii. Ionel Necula

This Book, is a collection of short stories about Russia. Book contains many collections of short stories by the popular and influential Russian author, a founder of the socialist realism literary method and arguably the greatest Russian literary figure of the 20th century. Maxim Gorky also wrote about stories, plays, memoirs and novels which touched the imagination of the Russian people, and was the first Russian author to write sympathetically of such characters as tramps and thieves, emphasizing their daily struggles against overwhelming odds..Some Other Books Maxim Gorky: Mother (1907) Creatures That Once Were Men (1918) Twenty-six and One and Other Stories (1902) The Man Who Was Afraid (1901)

Surse oficiale precizeaz?: Metroul-2 este un obiectiv guvernamental, care prezint? interes din punctul de vedere al leg?turilor subterane ?i, ?n caz de necesitate, poate fi folosit at?t ca sistem sigur de comunica?ii, c?t ?i ca mijloc de transport. Dac?, p?n? ?n prezent, n-au existat motive s? fie ascunse aceste informa?ii, atunci, de ce nu se spune dac? Metroul-2 este depozit secret pentru rezervele de aur ale Rusiei sau tunel care duce la cele mai mari z?c?minte de bog??ii minerale sau drumul folosit de Stalin ca s? mearg? la ?nt?lnirile cu Buharin? Ce s-a petrecut ?i ce se petrece acolo? Mai ?nt?i, de ce au fost ?mpu?ca?i constructorii Metroului-2? De ce au disp?rut at??ia oameni ?i de unde a ap?rut plutoniul pentru armament sub p?m?nt? Cine folose?te ?n prezent bunc?rul de sub Kremlin? De ce se ascund cu grij? informa?iile despre acesta, despre bunc?rul secret a lui Stalin ?i despre ?nmorm?nt?rile ?n mas? din subteranele metroului? Sau despre legendara bibliotec? a lui Ivan cel Groaznic, precum ?i despre cauzele pr?bu?irii parcului acvatic din Moscova? Despre toate acestea ?i despre multe altele v? va povesti un ziarist care a cutreierat ?mpreun? cu diggerii tunelurile subterane ?i s-a ini?iat ?n tainele sumbre ale metrourilor din Piter ?i Moscova.