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Librivox: Candide (version 2) by Voltaire (Arouet, François Marie) show

Librivox: Candide (version 2) by Voltaire (Arouet, François Marie)Join Now to Follow

Candide is a relentless, brutal assault on government, society, religion, education, and, above all, optimism. Dr. Pangloss teaches his young students Candide and Cunegonde that everything in this world is for the best, a sentiment they cling to as the world steps in to teach them otherwise. The novel is brilliant, hilarious, blasphemous. . . and Voltaire never admitted to writing it.

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Librivox: Famous Men of Rome by Haaren, John H. show

Librivox: Famous Men of Rome by Haaren, John H.Join Now to Follow

Biographical sketches of the men of Rome, written for children. (summary by Laura Caldwell)

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Librivox: Bhagavad Gita by Arnold, Edwin, Sir show

Librivox: Bhagavad Gita by Arnold, Edwin, SirJoin Now to Follow

The content of the text is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just prior to the start of a climactic war. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and Prince and elaborates on a number of different Yogic[7] and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring glimpse of His divine absolute form. - Wikipedia

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Librivox: Snow-Bound:  A Winter Idyl by Whittier, John Greenleaf show

Librivox: Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl by Whittier, John GreenleafJoin Now to Follow

A 750-line idyllic poem about a snow-storm from the narrator's childhood.(Summary by Paul Tremblay)

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Librivox: When Stars Are in the Quiet Skies by Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George show

Librivox: When Stars Are in the Quiet Skies by Bulwer-Lytton, Edward GeorgeJoin Now to Follow

LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 different recordings of When Stars Are in the Quiet Sky by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of March 16th, 2008.

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Librivox: Miscellany of Men, A by Chesterton, G. K. show

Librivox: Miscellany of Men, A by Chesterton, G. K.Join Now to Follow

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was among the world's most prolific writers who incorporated relentless logic, wonderful humor, and a clear view of truth into an amazing tool for exposing the foolishness of the policies of the world around him through the device of paradox. It is always great fun, and certainly always a learning experience to read Chesterton. A Miscellany of Men may be his hardest work to define, as it deals with a huge array of issues, using "personal types" as illustration. It would only be bewildering, if there was not these common threads: First that these types still exist, and the same faulty reasoning applies to issues of our day, and second, that underlying all of this is a firm and reasoned defense of democracy in a sense very close to that of the American Founding Fathers. (Summary by Ray Clare)

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Librivox: Short Poetry Collection 062 by Various show

Librivox: Short Poetry Collection 062 by VariousJoin Now to Follow

LibriVox's New Short Poetry Collection 062: a collection of 20 public-domain poems.

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Librivox: Bible (YLT) 38-39: Zechariah and Malachi by Young's Literal Translation show

Librivox: Bible (YLT) 38-39: Zechariah and Malachi by Young's Literal TranslationJoin Now to Follow

Young's Literal Translation is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible and Concise Critical Comments on the New Testament . Young produced a "Revised Version" of the translation in 1887. After he died on October 14, 1888, the publisher in 1898 released a new Revised Edition. (Summary from Wikipedia)

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Librivox: Fables de La Fontaine, livre 05 (ver 2) by La Fontaine, Jean de show

Librivox: Fables de La Fontaine, livre 05 (ver 2) by La Fontaine, Jean deJoin Now to Follow

Les Fables de La Fontaine constituent la principale œuvre poétique du classicisme, et l'un des plus grands chefs d'œuvre de la littérature française. Le tour de force de La Fontaine est de donner par son travail une haute valeur à un genre qui jusque-là n'avait aucune dignité littéraire et était réservé aux exercices scolaires de rhétorique et de latin. Les Fables ont été écrites entre 1668 et 1694. La plupart mettent en scène des animaux anthropomorphes et contiennent une morale. En voici le cinquième livre. (Adapté de Wikipedia par Ezwa)

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Librivox: City of God, The by Augustine of Hippo, Saint show

Librivox: City of God, The by Augustine of Hippo, SaintJoin Now to Follow

Rome having been stormed and sacked by the Goths under Alaric their king, the worshippers of false gods, or pagans, as we commonly call them, made an attempt to attribute this calamity to the Christian religion, and began to blaspheme the true God with even more than their wonted bitterness and acerbity. It was this which kindled my zeal for the house of God, and prompted me to undertake the defence of the city of God against the charges and misrepresentations of its assailants. This work was in my hands for several years, owing to the interruptions occasioned by many other affairs which had a prior claim on my attention, and which I could not defer. However, this great undertaking was at last completed in twenty-two books. Of these, the first five refute those who fancy that the polytheistic worship is necessary in order to secure worldly prosperity, and that all these overwhelming calamities have befallen us in consequence of its prohibition. In the following five books I address myself to those who admit that such calamities have at all times attended, and will at all times attend, the human race, and that they constantly recur in forms more or less disastrous, varying only in the scenes, occasions, and persons on whom they light, but, while admitting this, maintain that the worship of the gods is advantageous for the life to come. In these ten books, then, I refute these two opinions, which are as groundless as they are antagonistic to the Christian religion. But that no one might have occasion to say, that though I had refuted the tenets of other men, I had omitted to establish my own, I devote to this object the second part of this work, which comprises twelve books, although I have not scrupled, as occasion offered, either to advance my own opinions in the first ten books, or to demolish the arguments of my opponents in the last twelve. Of these twelve books, the first four contain an account of the origin of these two cities—the city of God, and the city of the world. The second four treat of their history or progress; the third and last four, of their deserved destinies. And so, though all these twenty-two books refer to both cities, yet I have named them after the better city, and called them The City of God. (Summary by the author in his Retractationes (ii. 43) as translated by Marcus Dods)

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