Audio Books Podcasts
Librivox: Reflections on War and Death by Freud, SigmundJoin Now to Follow
Anyone, as Freud tells us in Reflections on War and Death , forced to react against his own impulses may be described as a hypocrite, whether he is conscious of it or not. One might even venture to assert—it is still Freud's argument—that our contemporary civilisation favours this sort of hypocrisy and that there are more civilised hypocrites than truly cultured persons, and it is even a question whether a certain amount of hypocrisy is not indispensable to maintain civilisation. When this travesty of civilisation, this infallible state that has regimented and dragooned its citizens into obedience, goes to war, Freud is pained but not surprised that it makes free use of every injustice, of every act of violence that would dishonour the individual, that it employs not only permissible cunning but conscious lies and intentional deception against the enemy, that it absolves itself from guarantees and treaties by which it was bound to other states and makes unabashed confession of its greed and aspiration to power. For conscience, the idea of right and wrong, in the Freudian sense, is not the inexorable judge that teachers of ethics say it is: it has its origin in nothing but "social fear," and whereas in times of peace the state forbids the individual to do wrong, not because it wishes to do away with wrongdoing but because it wishes to monopolise it, like salt or tobacco, it suspends its reproach in times of war. The suppression of evil desires also ceases, and men, finding the moral ties loosened between large human units, commit acts of cruelty, treachery, deception and brutality the very possibility of which would have been considered incompatible with their degree of culture. (Summary by J.C. Grey, from The Bookman: A Review of Books and Life , v.47: Mar-Aug 1918. First sentence edited for clarity.)
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Librivox: Je Ne Scai Quoi, The by Whitehead, WilliamJoin Now to Follow
LibriVox volunteers bring you 7 different recordings of The Je Ne Scai Quoi by William Whitehead. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of March 30th, 2008.
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Librivox: Dialogue Between a Methodist and a Churchman by Law, WilliamJoin Now to Follow
William Law (1686-1761) was an Anglican priest, Christian mystic, and one of the most prominent, popular, and controversial theological writers of his time. Law revolutionized the way in which 18th century Anglicans engaged the spiritual aspect of their faith, and his popularity rivaled that of John and Charles Wesley. Law adapted mystical practices from early church writings to the practice and doctrine of the modern British church, with the intention of equipping the Anglican layman to pursue intimacy with Christ. Dialogue Between a Methodist and a Churchman is one of Law's purely theological works. In it, Law engages what he sees as the most dangerous doctrines of Methodism using a dialectic format. The dialogue focuses especially on the Calvinistic doctrines of predestination and absolute depravity, and is remarkable for its extrapolation of Calvinist proof texts to refute the doctrines they allegedly prove. (Summary by Kirsten Ferreri)
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Librivox: History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. IV, The by Gibbon, EdwardJoin Now to Follow
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of the 18th century published in six volumes, was written by the celebrated English historian Edward Gibbon. The books cover the period of the Roman Empire after Marcus Aurelius, from just before 180 to 1453 and beyond, concluding in 1590. They take as their material the behavior and decisions that led to the decay and eventual fall of the Roman Empire in the East and West, offering an explanation for why the Roman Empire fell. Gibbon is sometimes called the first “modern historian of ancient Rome.” By virtue of its mostly objective approach and highly accurate use of reference material, Gibbon’s work was adopted as a model for the methodologies of 19th and 20th century historians. (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Bible (ASV) 22: Song of Solomon (version 2) by American Standard VersionJoin Now to Follow
The Song of Songs (Hebrew title שיר השירים, Shir ha-Shirim), is a book of the Hebrew Bible—Tanakh or Old Testament—one of the five megillot (scrolls). It is also known as the Song of Solomon or as Canticles, the latter from the shortened and anglicized Vulgate title Canticum Canticorum, "Song of Songs" in Latin. It is known as Aisma in the Septuagint, which is short for Αισμα ᾀσμτων, Aisma aismatôn, "Song of Songs" in Greek. (From Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Club of Queer Trades, The by Chesterton, G. K.Join Now to Follow
A collection of six wonderfully quirky detective stories, featuring the 'mystic' former judge Basil Grant. Each story reveals a practitioner of an entirely new profession, and member of the Club of Queer Trades. (Summary by David Barnes)
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Librivox: Real Mother Goose, The by AnonymousJoin Now to Follow
A heartwarming collection of nursery rhymes that will take you back to your childhood! (Summary by Allyson Hester)
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Librivox: Hurlbut's Story of the Bible Part Four by Hurlbut, Jesse LymanJoin Now to Follow
Some years ago, the editor of an English magazine sent a communication to "the hundred greatest men in Great Britain" asking them this question: "If for any reason you were to spend a year absolutely alone, in a prison for instance, and could select from your library three volumes to be taken with you as companions in your period of retirement please to inform us what those three books would be." The inquiry was sent to peers of the realm, prominent leaders in politics, judges, authors, manufacturers, merchants, gentlemen of leisure—men who would represent every aspect of successful life. In the answers it was found that ninety-eight of the hundred men named "The Bible" first on the list of the three books to be chosen. (From Book introduction)
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Librivox: Great Artists: Volume 1 by Keysor, Jennie EllisJoin Now to Follow
Biographies of Raphael Santi, Murillo, Peter Paul Rubens, and Albrecht Durer. This is a wonderful tool for art study as there are references for further study, as well as ideas for language arts to incorporate into the study. Summary by Laura Caldwell
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Librivox: People's Idea of God, The by Eddy, Mary BakerJoin Now to Follow
"The improved theory and practice of religion and of medicine are mainly due to the people's improved views of the Supreme Being." (from The People's Idea of God )
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