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Essays, Letters & Speeches — page 19
1,469 public-domain essays, letters & speeches books, summarised. Page 19 of 31.
Dante: Six Sermons
Philip H. (Philip Henry) Wicksteed
This volume offers a series of sermons delivered from the pulpit, providing a thoughtful, accessible gateway into the life and moral vision of the medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Friends on the Shelf
Bradford Torrey
A quiet, contemplative invitation to explore the lives and legacies of literary figures, this volume celebrates the profound and sustaining friendship found between a reader and the books upon their shelves.
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 04
Unknown
The American Revolution was won not only on the battlefield but through a grueling, precarious marathon of international diplomacy. These pages reveal the intimate mechanics of how a fragile new republic secured its standing among the empires of the world.
An old master, and other political essays
Woodrow Wilson
This collection of essays serves as a meditation on the nature of governance, urging readers to look past the cold text of constitutions to the living, breathing habits of the people they serve.
Five Young Men: Messages of Yesterday for the Young Men of To-day
Charles Reynolds Brown
These addresses provide a timeless guide for young men, using biblical figures to illustrate the moral challenges of leadership, integrity, and faith in a world demanding strength of character.
Prose Fancies
Richard Le Gallienne
A gentle, wandering collection of essays, this work serves as a meditation on the beauty of the mundane and the absurdity of taking oneself too seriously. It captures the quiet, impressionistic spirit of late Victorian literary life.
State of the Union Addresses
Harry S. Truman
These addresses chronicle the pivotal transition of the United States from a nation weary from global conflict to the primary architect of a new, postwar international order.
The Library
Andrew Lang
The bibliophile’s pursuit is a quiet, scholarly sport, a lifelong hunt for rare editions and beautiful bindings that connects the modern reader to the intellectual giants of the past. It is a gentle defense of the collector’s obsession, treating books not as mere objects, but as living artifacts of human history…
Tom Watson's Magazine, Vol. I, No. 2, April 1905
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant, combative artifact of early twentieth-century American populism, blending urgent political editorials with serialized fiction. It functions as both a manifesto for radical reform and a platform for the literary tastes of a bygone era.
What's What in America
Eugene V. (Eugene Valentine) Brewster
This eclectic survey of American life and thought captures the restless spirit of the early 20th century, blending social commentary with earnest, if sometimes idiosyncratic, proposals for national reform.
Words of Cheer for the Tempted, the Toiling, and the Sorrowing
T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur
A gentle collection of moral reflections and stories designed to offer solace to those facing the inevitable trials of life, teaching that faith turns every shadow into a path toward peace.
A Hero and Some Other Folks
William A. (William Alfred) Quayle
Heroism is not a luxury, but a necessity, as essential to the human spirit as the sky is to the earth. Through a collection of reflective essays, the reader is invited to contemplate the lives of legendary figures and the enduring power of literature to reveal the divine in the human.
Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography, Vol. 2, No. 6: December, 1897
Various
This collection invites readers to look beyond the common sparrow to the vibrant, complex lives of birds, blending scientific observation with the genuine wonder of the nineteenth-century naturalist.
On Nothing & Kindred Subjects
Hilaire Belloc
A man sets out to write about Nothing and discovers, in the process, that he has instead written about everything that truly matters. This journey through the ephemeral is a meditation on the beauty of endings.
The Public Orations of Demosthenes, volume 2
Demosthenes
The ancient world’s most relentless voice warns a dying democracy that silence is not peace, and that liberty survives only through the active, often painful, defense of one’s own borders.
Letters from a Father to His Son Entering College
Charles Franklin Thwing
A father’s thoughtful counsel prepares his son for the intellectual, moral, and personal decisions that shape a university life.
On
Hilaire Belloc
Finding lasting truth requires stripping away the illusions of prestige, official pronouncements, and the comfort of empty words.
Philosophic Nights in Paris: Being selections from Promenades Philosophiques
Remy de Gourmont
Intellectual freedom requires dismantling the comforting dogmas of religion and morality to confront reality directly through critical reason, observation, and sensory experience.
Roof and Meadow
Dallas Lore Sharp
A patient observer finds the wild world waiting just beyond his doorstep, proving that even a city roof or a quiet creek can become a gateway to the mysteries of nature.
The works of the Reverend George Whitefield, M.A., Vol. 3 (of 6)
George Whitefield
A restless 18th-century evangelist crisscrosses the Atlantic, enduring mob violence, bodily exhaustion, and religious opposition to plant orphanages and stir international revivals.
"'Tis Sixty Years Since": Address of Charles Francis Adams
Charles Francis Adams
Reflecting on a lifetime of public service, a seasoned observer examines the profound shifts in American society, politics, and technology that occurred between the mid-nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.
Better Than Men
Rush C. (Rush Christopher) Hawkins
Observing four-legged companions across a lifetime reveals a silent, unselfish fidelity that routinely puts human morality to shame.
Discoveries: A Volume of Essays
W. B. (William Butler) Yeats
A fiery defense of passion, personality, and physical vitality in art challenges the cold abstractions of the modern age.
Letters To Eugenia
Holbach, Paul Henri Thiry, baron d'
Stripping away divine fear reveals that virtue and happiness stem entirely from human reason and social duty.
Obiter Dicta
Augustine Birrell
A quiet collection of critical essays turns an unhurried, witty eye on the art of reading, the absurdities of literary reputation, and the human quirks behind great writing.
Pieces People Ask For: Serious, Humorous, Pathetic, Patriotic, and Dramatic Selections in Prose and Poetry for Reading and Recitations
Unknown
Voices of tragedy, quiet devotion, comic misunderstanding, and civic fury echo across a sprawling canvas of late nineteenth-century performance culture.
Science from an Easy Chair
Lankester, E. Ray (Edwin Ray), Sir
An engaging collection of popular science essays demystifies the natural world, bridging the gap between rigorous laboratory discovery and everyday human curiosity.
The Future Belongs to the People
Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht
A solitary voice speaks out against an entire nation's war machine, risking prison and dishonor to insist that the true enemy of the working person is never the worker across the border.
Towards an enduring peace
Unknown
A collection of wartime essays and peace manifestos reveals how statesmen, publicists, and ordinary citizens attempted to construct a permanent global order before the first World War had even drawn to a close.
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 3, part 2: Martin Van Buren
Unknown
A young lawyer from Kinderhook fights his way to the White House, only to find his presidency consumed by a crushing financial panic and escalating border crises.
Inquiries and Opinions
Brander Matthews
A quiet masterclass in literary craft, these essays probe the mechanics behind enduring prose and the stage's physical machinery.
The New England Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, Bay State Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, April, 1886
Various
An intricate tapestry of historical study, biographical profile, local lore, and editorial reflection captures the civic and intellectual life of late nineteenth-century New England.
A Residence in France: With an Excursion Up the Rhine, and a Second Visit to Switzerland
James Fenimore Cooper
A keen observer traverses a rapidly shifting post-revolutionary Europe, examining its political fault lines while holding up a steady mirror to the rising ambitions of his young native republic.
Daedalus
J. B. S. (John Burdon Sanderson) Haldane
Modern industrial society stands on a precarious edge: either human beings will learn to adapt their ancient moral institutions to the staggering powers of applied science, or those powers will burn down the world.
The Fantasy Fan, September 1933: The Fan's Own Magazine
Various
An earnest, grassroots invitation to early speculative fiction fandom, this inaugural issue captures the enthusiasm, squabbles, and literary devotion of 1930s enthusiasts forming a community around pulp magazines.
Bizarre
Lawton Mackall
A sharp, whimsical tour of American absurdities that transforms everyday annoyances into absolute delight.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 12, No. 31, October, 1873
Various
A collection of nineteenth-century voices explores the friction between old-world traditions, social expectations, and individual freedom.
Mr. Gladstone and Genesis: Essay #5 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition"
Thomas Henry Huxley
A rigorous scientific mind systematically dismantles the attempts of a prominent statesman to reconcile Biblical creation stories with modern geological discoveries.
Occasional Papers: Selected from the Guardian, the Times, and the Saturday Review, 1846-1890, Vol. 2
R. W. (Richard William) Church
When religious authority clashes with the modern state, individuals are forced to define the boundaries of faith, law, and conscience.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1862: Devoted to Literature and National Policy
Various
A nation at war with itself struggles to define its future through the volatile mixture of political necessity, social reform, and literary ambition.
The Praise of a Godly Woman
Hannibal Gamon
A true fear of God frees the soul from all worldly terrors and guarantees an everlasting honor that no earthly criticism can tarnish.
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 13, September, 1835
Various
This inaugural collection captures the restless, intellectual spirit of 1835 America, blending rigorous historical study with whimsical tales and sharp-tongued literary criticism.
The Spirit of Japan
Rabindranath Tagore
Beneath the metallic roar of industrial progress, a quiet cultural inheritance risks being bartered away for the intoxicating illusion of modern power.
Aspects of Jewish power in the United States
Henry Ford
This volume presents a series of polemical articles focusing on the perceived influence of Jewish individuals and organizations within American public, economic, and cultural life. It serves as a historical record of a specific campaign of agitation from the early 1920s.
Cambridge Sketches
Frank Preston Stearns
A community of idealists and intellectuals shapes the course of nineteenth-century American culture through shared convictions, public battles, and quiet devotion to duty.
Conflict of Northern and Southern Theories of Man and Society: Great Speech, Delivered in New York City
Henry Ward Beecher
Two conflicting worldviews are locked in a struggle over the true nature of humanity, determining whether society exists to foster individual spiritual potential or to maintain an oppressive, power-driven hierarchy.
Letters That Have Helped Me
William Quan Judge
A collection of intimate spiritual correspondence, these letters serve as a practical guidebook for students seeking to navigate the complexities of life, personal suffering, and the pursuit of higher consciousness. They offer a grounded, meditative path through the abstract theories of late 19th-century occult…
The Logic of Vegetarianism: Essays and Dialogues
Henry S. Salt
The pursuit of a meat-free life is often dismissed as a sentimental indulgence, but this rigorous investigation asserts that it is, in fact, a matter of moral logic and social consistency. By dismantling the biological, historical, and ethical defenses of flesh-eating, the text challenges the reader to align their…