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Essays, Letters & Speeches — page 40
1,906 public-domain essays, letters & speeches books, summarised. Page 40 of 40.
An address to Highlanders respecting their native Gaelic
Archibald Farquharson
HOOK This urgent, impassioned plea calls for the preservation of Gaelic as the essential, God-given language of the Highland heart, warning against the spiritual and cultural erosion caused by the forced imposition of "pure" English.
The After-glow of a Great Reign: Four Addresses Delivered in St. Paul's Cathedral
Arthur F. (Arthur Foley) Winnington Ingram
A nation reflects on its identity in the wake of a monumental loss, seeking to distill the virtues of a departed monarch into practical lessons for a new century.
Notes and Queries, Number 138, June 19, 1852: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
This is a collaborative archive of nineteenth-century curiosity, functioning as a sprawling, printed conversation where scholars and enthusiasts exchange hard-won facts and lingering mysteries. It serves as a static snapshot of an intellectual community gathering around the nascent idea that no piece of historical…
Pioneer Day Exercises
Mich.) Ladies' Library Association (Schoolcraft
This collection of reminiscences captures the fading memories of a vanishing frontier, preserving the personal stories of the men and women who transformed the Michigan wilderness into a settled community during the early nineteenth century.
The defects of the Negro church
Orishatukeh Faduma
This study examines the spiritual and organizational shortcomings of the early 20th-century African American church, advocating for a shift from emotional spectacle toward intellectual rigor, social morality, and disciplined leadership.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, fifth series, no. 140, vol. III, September 4, 1886
Various
This collection of nineteenth-century journalism offers a panoramic window into the Victorian mind, blending high-minded technical reporting with the era’s penchant for dramatic, sentimental storytelling. It remains a fascinating artifact of how a broad reading public consumed the world, from the mysteries of…
The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 60: 2 Thessalonians: The Challoner Revision
Unknown
This brief letter offers guidance to a community unsettled by fear, urging them to remain grounded in their faith rather than swayed by rumors of an imminent end of the world.
Essay on the Literature of the Mexican War
W. T. (William Thornton) Lawson
This critical examination surveys the contemporary literature of the 1846–1848 conflict between the United States and Mexico, evaluating how early chroniclers documented the expansion of American territory and military strategy.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 64, No. 395, September, 1848
Various
This compendium of Victorian-era political commentary, travel narrative, and literary criticism captures the frantic pulse of a continent in the throes of revolution and the rugged isolation of the American frontier.
Episcopal Fidelity
Bayley, Emilius, Sir
The episcopal office is not a mandate for worldly power, but a solemn charge to preserve the integrity of apostolic truth through fidelity, personal holiness, and a measured, compassionate governance of the Church.
Address of President Roosevelt at Keokuk, Iowa, October 1, 1907
Theodore Roosevelt
The American landscape of 1907 serves as the backdrop for this urgent call to civic duty, where the preservation of the family home remains the ultimate measure of national prosperity and justice.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 738, February 16, 1878
Various
This February 1878 edition of a long-running Victorian periodical gathers the disparate threads of an era, mixing sober social commentary with serialized fiction, light natural history, and verse. It offers a window into the preoccupations of the late nineteenth-century middle class.
Rev. T. Connellan, to his dearly beloved brethren, the Roman Catholics of the diocese of Elphin
Thomas Connellan
A former Irish priest explains his departure from the Roman Catholic Church, framing his personal crisis of faith as an invitation to his former parishioners to re-examine the foundations of their shared religious life.
She hath done what she could
Matthew Feilde
A passionate plea for civic enlightenment, this pamphlet serves as an urgent summons to the citizens of St. Marylebone to cast their votes in favor of the Public Libraries Act.
A Letter of affectionate remonstrance addressed to the members of the Established Church in Norwich and in Norfolk and occasioned by the proposed exclusive system of infant education
John Alexander
This is a vigorous, earnest appeal for religious cooperation written during a period of intense ecclesiastical friction in 19th-century England. It serves as a historical document of the struggle to define the boundaries of public education.
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 02, July 11, 1840
Various
Deep within the precipitous, green-sloped face of Kish-Corran, hidden doorways carved into tabular limestone lead to unfathomable subterranean depths.
A Sermon Delivered before His Excellency Levi Lincoln, Governor, His Honor Thomas L. Winthrop, Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Council, the Senate, and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the day of General Election, May 28, 1828
James Walker
The vitality of a republic rests entirely upon the moral character of those entrusted with power, demanding that voters prioritize integrity over the flash of personality or the rigid demands of party loyalty.
The Sabbath: A Sermon
John Warton
The Sabbath is a day set apart by divine decree to anchor the human soul in holiness, providing a necessary reprieve from the relentless demands of the material world.
A Few Words on the Crystal Palace Question
C. J. (Charles John) Vaughan
This thoughtful pamphlet navigates the tension between religious tradition and modern recreation in mid-Victorian England, questioning whether a nation’s commitment to Sunday rest can survive the pressure of public amusements. It serves as both a theological inquiry and a political appeal.
A Letter from the Lord Bishop of London, to the Clergy and People of London and Westminster
Thomas Sherlock
A seismic event serves as a catalyst for a stern moral reckoning, as the author calls upon the citizens of London to abandon their profligacy and return to religious observance.
A Second Letter on the late Post Office Agitation
C. J. (Charles John) Vaughan
A reasoned defense of administrative reform in the nineteenth-century British postal system, this text serves as a measured rebuttal to critics who viewed new Sunday regulations as a spiritual betrayal. It provides a sharp look at Victorian debates over the intersection of religious conscience and bureaucratic…
A Sermon Preach'd upon the Occasion of the Anniversary Thanksgiving of the Fifth of November, 1706: at the Church of Kensington
Nathaniel Hough
A 1706 anniversary sermon celebrates two landmark deliverances of the English state, arguing that the thwarting of both the Gunpowder Plot and the Glorious Revolution reveals the direct, protective hand of Divine Providence.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 17, Vol. I, April 26, 1884
Various
This collection of nineteenth-century journalism serves as a panoramic window into the Victorian mind, bridging the gap between rigorous civic improvement, serialized fiction, and the burgeoning curiosities of a globalized world.
A Farewell Sermon: delivered on Sunday, October 23, A.D. 1842, at the Parish Church of St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington
Joseph Holden Pott
Time’s passage is a sacred rhythm, and the final moments of a long ministry offer a unique perspective on the purpose of a life well-lived.
A Broader Mission for Liberal Education: Baccalaureate Address, Delivered in Agricultural College Chapel, Sunday June 9, 1901
John H. (John Henry) Worst
The pursuit of knowledge should not distance a person from the realities of work; rather, a truly liberal education must bridge the divide between the hand and the mind to prepare citizens for a life of purposeful action.
Count the Cost: An Address to the People of Connecticut, On Sundry Political Subjects, and Particularly on the Proposition for a New Constitution
David Daggett
Before pulling up a flourishing hill of corn to search for worms, a prudent farmer must pause to consider if the act might destroy the crop entirely. This central warning serves as the cornerstone for a rigorous defense of Connecticut’s established political order during a period of intense revolutionary fervor.
Letter from Monsieur de Cros: (who was an embassador at the Treaty of Nimeguen and a resident at England in K. Charles the Second's reign) to the Lord ----
Du Cros, Simon, active 17th century
This blistering 1693 rebuttal exposes the inner workings of European diplomacy, stripping away the self-serving veneer of a famous statesman’s memoirs to reveal the chaotic reality of seventeenth-century power.
No Refuge but in Truth
Goldwin Smith
The search for spiritual certainty remains as urgent today as it was a century ago, demanding an honest reckoning with the intersection of scientific evolution and the enduring moral influence of the Christian ideal.
Modest Remarks upon the Bishop of London's Letter Concerning the Late Earthquakes
Anonymous
An earthquake is not a divine punishment to be feared, but a natural event that invites us to examine the hypocrisy of those who claim to shepherd our souls.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, fifth series, no. 123, vol. III, May 8, 1886
Various
Within the Victorian pages of this periodical, ordinary rural customs, high-society dramas, legal guides, and haunting maritime superstitions collide to capture the full spectrum of nineteenth-century life.
A Statement: On the Future of This Church
John Haynes Holmes
Faced with a tempting call to a distant pulpit, a New York minister uses the moment to challenge his congregation to abandon sectarian division and embrace a radical new vision of community service.
The Little Review, July 1917 (Vol. 4, No. 3)
Unknown
A radical literary journal opens its pages to uncompromising modernism, fierce polemics, and restless avant-garde experimentation during the height of the First World War.
How I write my novels
Duchess
Writing novels begins not with deliberate plotting, but with waiting for spontaneous inspirations that arrive in flashes during sleepless nights or quiet moments.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 59: 1 Thessalonians: The Challoner Revision
Unknown
Written from Corinth around the nineteenth year after the Ascension, this foundational apostolic letter comforts a young, persecuted community of believers in Macedonia with enduring promises of faith, hope, and the resurrection.