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Essays, Letters & Speeches — page 19
1,906 public-domain essays, letters & speeches books, summarised. Page 19 of 40.
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.
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.
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…
AE in the Irish Theosophist
George William Russell
The bridge between the mundane world and a vast, unseen spiritual inheritance is the focus of these gathered writings, which seek to awaken the divine potential dormant within the modern soul.
Arizona Sketches
J. A. (Joseph Amasa) Munk
The American Southwest stands as a land of profound transformation, where an arid, seemingly desolate landscape conceals a rich history and untapped potential. This portrait of a frontier captures the raw beauty and rugged independence of a territory on the cusp of modern development.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, No. 411, January 1850
Various
This collection of mid-nineteenth-century essays captures the intellectual pulse of a turbulent era, blending geopolitical analysis, travelogue, and sharp debates over the economic future of British agriculture.
Lippincott's Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, Old Series, Vol. 36—New Series, Vol. 10, July 1885
Various
This collection of essays, sketches, and serialized narratives offers a vivid, multifaceted portrait of the late Victorian intellectual landscape. It serves as a time capsule, capturing the era’s fascination with travel, antiquarianism, and the domestic lives of the genteel classes.
The Fantasy Fan, March 1934: The Fans' Own Magazine
Various
A monthly bulletin for the early science fiction and fantasy community, this magazine serves as a vibrant, grassroots forum for readers and writers of the weird and fantastic during the Great Depression.
Through South Africa: His Visit to Rhodesia, the Transvaal, Cape Colony, Natal
Henry M. (Henry Morton) Stanley
This account captures the shifting political and economic landscape of turn-of-the-century South Africa, offering a stark perspective on the collision between colonial ambition and regional resistance. It serves as both a travelogue of industrial expansion and a sharp, partisan critique of the strained relations…
A Christmas Sermon
Robert Louis Stevenson
Life is a long, difficult struggle, yet grace lies in the quiet persistence of the everyday. Through the lens of a weary soldier, one finds that true success is not found in grand achievements, but in humble, imperfect service.
Folly as It Flies
Fanny Fern
The modern reader encounters here the candid, sharp-witted voice of a pioneering nineteenth-century columnist, offering a vital, unvarnished look at the domestic and social expectations of her era.
Have faith in Massachusetts
Calvin Coolidge
This collection of speeches and proclamations serves as a testament to the political philosophy of a man who equated public service with moral stewardship. It offers an intimate look at the ideals that defined a specific era of New England governance.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 53, March, 1862: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
This March 1862 issue of The Atlantic Monthly captures the intellectual pulse of the American Civil War, blending urgent political commentary with literary reflection and scientific inquiry. It serves as a vital historical window into the wartime North.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 82, August, 1864: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
This mid-Civil War periodical captures the urgency of a nation in crisis, blending rigorous political commentary with the literary pulse of 1864 America.
Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 04 (of 20)
Charles Sumner
These collected speeches and letters chronicle a pivotal transition in American history, as a dedicated legislator moves from principled dissent to the front lines of the intensifying moral crisis over slavery.
Ghosts in the Great War, and true tales of haunted houses
Unknown
The veil between the living and the dead is often paper-thin, particularly when grief or unfinished business lingers in the corners of an old house. These accounts suggest that human perception can reach beyond the physical to touch the unseen.
Poetic diction: A study of eighteenth century verse
Thomas Quayle
The poetry of the eighteenth century often stands accused of being artificial, mechanical, and overly formal, yet closer inspection reveals a complex struggle between linguistic tradition and the emerging spirit of Romanticism. This exploration re-evaluates that "age of prose and reason" by examining the…
Sermons on National Subjects
Charles Kingsley
This collection of sermons serves as a stirring, unvarnished call to moral responsibility, bridging the gap between personal spiritual devotion and the gritty, practical realities of 19th-century English life.
The Destiny of Man, Viewed in the Light of His Origin
John Fiske
This work offers a bridge between the cold precision of nineteenth-century evolutionary science and the persistent human longing for spiritual meaning. It seeks to harmonize biological ancestry with a hopeful vision of our future.
The World on Wheels, and Other Sketches
Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin) Taylor
A nostalgic and observational journey through the rapid transformation of the American landscape, tracking the evolution from the slow, rhythmic pace of the canal and stagecoach to the relentless, steam-powered velocity of the iron horse.